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, as well as hit on a few items of interest in the sport.
With just five games left before the holiday break, here’s my ballot coming off a light slate of Thanksgiving weekend games:
- Michigan
- Quinnipiac
- Wisconsin
- Michigan State
- North Dakota
- Denver
- Penn State
- Minnesota-Duluth
- Western Michigan
- Maine
- Boston College
- Dartmouth
- Northeastern
- Minnesota State
- UConn
- Miami
- Boston University
- Cornell
- Providence
- Harvard
Maine plays three conference games in six days
With a weekend off following a split at Boston College on Nov. 21-22, I kept Maine at No. 10 on my ballot (the Black Bears are 11th in the final vote). Three Hockey East games before the break loom large. The Black Bears host rival UNH for a pair at Alfond Arena on Friday and Saturday before taking on UMass-Lowell at Cross Insurance Arena on Dec. 10 in the team’s annual visit to Portland. I expect freshman goalie Mathis Rousseau to play at least one of those games, and likely one of the home games against Lindenwood on Dec. 13-14. Rousseau made 21 saves to earn his first career shutout in Maine’s 3-0 win at Boston College.
Junior Albin Boija is a returning All-American in Maine’s net, but he hasn’t been as sharp as he was most of last season. That doesn’t mean Boija has been ba — he does have a pair of shutouts — but he looks like he’s fighting the puck at times. If Rousseau is able to emerge as a stable, steady backup who can give Boija a break once in a while, that’s not a bad thing. Especially with five games in 10 days coming up before the holiday break.
North Dakota is on a roll
The Fighting Hawks swept a pair of games from Bemidji State last weekend and won six of their last seven games. With Denver’s 6-5 overtime loss to Minnesota, I flipped North Dakota and Denver on my ballot this week, moving the Hawks up a spot to No. 5 (they finished fifth in the poll). Boston Bruins fans can keep an eye on North Dakota freshman forward Will Zellers. The Bruins acquired the rights to Zellers from Colorado in last season’s trade deadline deal for Charlie Coyle. Zellers is tied for the team lead with nine goals in 14 games and scored in each of last weekend’s wins.
Big games in the Big Ten this weekend
Michigan and Michigan State, two teams that have each spent time at No. 1 this season, play a home-and-home series this weekend. I’ve had the Wolverines in the top spot each of the last two weeks, and Michigan State gained three first-place votes with a sweep of Colgate over the weekend. (Michigan is atop the final vote and Michigan State is third, behind Wisconsin). If either team sweeps this series, I think it becomes a clear No. 1. A split maintains the status quo.
