Maine Trust for Local News sports columnist Travis Lazarczyk is a voter in the USCHO.com men’s hockey poll. Each week he will share his top 20 votes, as well as hit on a few items of interest in the sport.
- Michigan State
- Western Michigan
- Boston University
- Michigan
- Denver
- Penn State
- Quinnipiac
- North Dakota
- Maine
- Boston College
- UConn
- Ohio State
- Colorado College
- Minnesota
- UMass
- Providence
- Augustana
- Cornell
- Union
- Minnesota State
Black Bears take a hit: Maine was less than three minutes from a big win and at least a split at Quinnipiac on Friday night, but allowed two late goals with the Bobcats skating an extra attacker, and settled for a tie that felt like a loss. That complete loss of momentum carried into a 4-0 loss on Saturday. I jumped Quinnipiac up to No. 7 and dropped the Black Bears to No. 9. In the final voting, the Wildcats are sixth and the Black Bears are 10th. Maine’s penalty kill has to improve. The Bobcats scored four power-play goals in the two games, including three Saturday. Maine has talent, that’s obvious. What’s not obvious is if the Black Bears have the spark to win the gritty games. Maine gets a chance to prove it with a pair of games at Alfond Arena against Colgate this weekend. The Raiders (1-2-1) earned a tie at Boston University (fourth in the poll) on Oct. 11.
The new No. 1. Michigan State made my choice fairly easy with a sweep at Boston University, last week’s choice. It was a weekend full of intriguing nonconference matchups between ranked teams. We know Maine tied and lost at Quinnipiac. North Dakota and Minnesota split a pair. UConn and Ohio State also split a pair. Minnesota State and Wisconsin tied twice. I haven’t ranked Wisconsin on my ballot, but the Badgers came in at No. 17 in last week’s poll. The biggest nonconference matchup this week is the home-and-home between Western Michigan and Michigan. Another big game Friday is Denver at Boston College. The Pioneers beat BC in March to advance to the Frozen Four.
In Hockey East, a pair of games worth keeping an eye on is the home-and-home between UConn and BU. Will the Terriers rebound after the losses to Michigan State? How will the Huskies fare after the Ohio State split?
