Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Hockey Drops In National Polls
10/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 30, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - For just the second time in nearly a year, the Michigan State hockey team is not ranked first in one of the two national polls. This week's USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and U.S. College Hockey.com rankings were released Monday (Oct. 30).
The Spartans, coming off a pair of losses at Nebraska-Omaha last weekend, are ranked fourth in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll with 204 points. Minnesota is the new No. 1 team with 284 points and 18 first-place votes. St. Cloud State, with 262 points and one first-place vote, is ranked second followed by Denver with 205 points. Nebraska-Omaha rounds out the top five. Other Central Collegiate Hockey Association schools in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll are Northern Michigan (12th), Michigan (13th), Alaska Fairbanks, Western Michigan, Miami and Ohio State (receiving votes).
Minnesota is also the top-ranked team in the U.S. College Hockey.com poll with 590 points and 31 first-place votes. St. Cloud State is second with 562 points and eight first-place mentions. MSU, with 450 points and one-first place vote, drops to third. Denver and North Dakota make up the rest of the top five. Other CCHA teams in the USCHO poll are Nebraska-Omaha (sixth), Northern Michigan (10th), Michigan (14th) Western Michigan, Alaska Fairbanks, Miami and Ohio State (receiving votes).
Prior to yesterday, MSU had held the top spot in one or both national polls in all but one week since Nov. 6, 2000. The lone exception was last April, when national champion Boston College was ranked first in the final USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll of the season. The Spartans were ranked third.
USA TODAY/AMERICAN HOCKEY MAGAZINE POLL (Oct. 29)
Rank Team (1st-place votes) Votes 1 Minnesota (18) 284 2 St. Cloud State (1) 262 3 Denver 205 4 Michigan State 204 5 Nebraska-Omaha 197 6 Boston University 169 7 North Dakota 160 8 Colorado College 153 9 Mass.-Lowell 149 10 New Hampshire 104 11 Harvard 102 12 Northern Michigan 83 13 Michigan 58 14 Maine 50 15 Dartmouth 22
Receiving votes: Wisconsin 14, Cornell 10, Providence 9, Alaska Fairbanks 9, Minnesota-Duluth 9, Western Michigan 8, Miami 5, Michigan Tech 4, Iona 3, Boston College 2, Ohio State 2, Union 2, MSU-Mankato 1.
U.S. COLLEGE HOCKEY ONLINE POLL (Oct. 29)
Rank Team (1st-place votes) Votes 1 Minnesota (31) 590 2 St. Cloud State (8) 562 3 Michigan State (1) 450 4 Denver 413 5 North Dakota 395 6 Nebraska-Omaha 387 7 Colorado College 360 8 Boston University 324 9 Mass.-Lowell 252 10 Northern Michigan 228 11 Harvard 177 12 New Hampshire 163 13 Maine 133 14 Michigan 124 15 Dartmouth 45
Receiving votes: Western Michigan 43, Minnesota-Duluth 36, Alaska Fairbanks 34, Wisconsin 21, Miami 18, Cornell 16, Rensselaer 10, Union 5, Providence 4, Iona 3, Ohio State 3, Clarkson 2, Boston College 1, MSU-Mankato 1.
