USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men's Poll
January 22, 2007
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Minnesota (36) 21-3-3 795 1
2 New Hampshire ( 4) 18-4-1 760 2
3 Notre Dame 20-5-1 691 3
4 St. Cloud State 16-4-4 670 6
5 Denver 18-8-2 629 5
6 Maine 15-6-2 575 4
7 Boston University 12-4-6 542 8
8 Miami 18-8-2 500 9
9 Michigan State 16-8-1 488 11
10 Clarkson 14-6-3 418 10
11 Vermont 14-8-2 387 14
12 Michigan 17-9-0 378 13
13 Boston College 12-8-1 345 7
14 Colorado College 14-9-1 333 12
15 North Dakota 13-11-2 214 18
16 Niagara 15-8-3 183 20
17 St. Lawrence 12-9-2 148 19
18 Cornell 9-7-3 88 15
19 Lake Superior 13-10-3 67 17
20 Quinnipiac 11-8-4 54 16
Others Receiving Votes:
21 Wisconsin 10-12-2 39
22 Massachusetts 11-8-3 37
23 Bemidji State 12-9-3 23
24 Ohio State 9-10-5 11
25 Dartmouth 9-8-2 8
25 RIT 14-8-2 8
27 Michigan Tech 11-13-2 4
28 Nebraska-Omaha 11-11-6 3
29 Alaska-Anchorage 11-12-3 1
29 Northeastern 8-11-4 1
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
January 22, 2007
Team Points (First Place Votes) Last Poll Record
1 University of Minnesota 509 (33) 1 21-3-3
2 University of New Hampshire 471 (1) 2 18-4-1
3 University of Notre Dame 418 3 20-5-1
4 St. Cloud State University 414 6 16-4-4
5 University of Denver 374 4 18-8-2
6 Boston University 317 8 12-4-6
7 University of Maine 314 5 15-6-2
8 Michigan State University 259 11 16-8-1
9 Miami (Ohio) University 252 9 18-8-2
10 Clarkson University 177 10 14-6-3
11 University of Michigan 166 13 17-9-0
12 University of Vermont 162 14 14-8-2
13 Colorado College 105 12 14-9-1
14 Boston College 99 7 12-8-1
15 University of North Dakota 24 NR 13-11-2
Others receiving votes: Niagara University 16, Cornell University 1, Quinnipiac University 1, Sacred Heart University 1.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but what the hell are we still doing in that poll?!
[quote Beeeej]Not to put too fine a point on it, but what the hell are we still doing in that poll?![/quote]It's a top 20 poll, which means it ranks more than one third of the teams in college hockey. Even with our recent struggles it's not too hard to imagine that pollsters think us in the top third, especially when you can immediately lump at least a dozen or so CHA and AHA teams at the bottom. We are still above .500 at least.
The real answer - why the hell are there 20 teams in the poll?
I modified the poll a bit to include the records of the teams in the "other" category. We're now including over half of the teams in D-I. There aren't that many more teams with records above .500. If everyone played everyone in a round robin, team number 30 would have a record around .500. Which is about right with what we have.
[quote KeithK]The real answer - why the hell are there 20 teams in the poll?[/quote]
People have brought this up before, of course, but this time I'm going to say it: I don't see what the big problem is.
Ok, so they poll for the top third. Why's that so bad? I think it's nice that they ask not just what the most elite teams are, but what the opinions are on any team that's decently good. If you think about a three-tier system -- a nice number of tiers, I think -- the question is basically, "what are the top-tier teams?" Perfectly reasonable. On top of that, you can't forget that the NCAA tournament has 16 teams. So the poll then becomes "what teams do you think are going to make it to the tourney, and which are serious contenders?" Again, a perfectly reasonable question.
So basically my point is: If you think polls should only care about the teams that kick ass, then yes, 20 is too much. But if you're wondering not just which teams are the best, but which teams are pretty darned good, 20 is a good number both in absolute terms and in terms of being the top third.
There, I've said it. Now I can rest easy the next infinite times this comes up. :-P
This week's INCH Power Rankings are here (http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/5Polls/0607/polls_0520.htm)
We drop out of the rankings along with Quinnipiac, but strangely enough Dartmouth jumps in at 19, despite their being in 6th in the ECAC... although they did just win three in a row against some decent Atlantic Hockey teams.
[quote sah67]This week's INCH Power Rankings are here (http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/5Polls/0607/polls_0520.htm)
We drop out of the rankings along with Quinnipiac, but strangely enough Dartmouth jumps in at 19, despite their being in 6th in the ECAC... although they did just win three in a row against some decent Atlantic Hockey teams.[/quote]
Nothing in the INCH power "ratings" should be surprising because they're just the rantings of one editorial staff.
I'm off to sleep, but we tie Q and SHU for 17th in USA Today, below Niagara. :-/
QuoteOthers receiving votes: Niagara University, 16; Cornell University, 1; Quinnipiac University, 1; Sacred Heart University, 1.
Yeah, we've had this debate before and probably will again. While you present a reasonable case, I still think it's silly to rank the top third of teams. It's hard enough tot hink that the pollsters (coaches or media) have had enough exposure to the top 10 or 12 teams to be able to rank them. They certainly don't have the exposure to reasonably rank the top 20. Unless of course they're simply using statistical measures, in which case why have a poll at all? Top third in hockey is also inconsistent with what's done with polls in other sports (top third of squeakball would be 80 teams or so).
[quote KeithK]Top third in hockey is also inconsistent with what's done with polls in other sports[/quote] Well, so is polling about a fun sport. ;-)