Just wondering why Cornell is ranked so low in the USCHO rankings. They have Quinnipiac ranked 16th and we beat them, also Princeton is ranked 19th but is lower in the ECAC than we are. Lastly, Union and Niagara received more votes than Cornell, but both are ranked lower in the ECAC and we beat Niagara TWICE. What gives?
I imagine what you're referring to is the USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men's Poll, which is precisely that: a poll. 50 people who know their stuff about D-I hockey (largely coaches and reporters, I believe) give their top 20 lists each week, and what you see is the compilation of those results. Collectively, these 50 people mostly think that Cornell is not a top 20 team. I can't say I disagree at the moment.
All that being said, the polls don't matter.
I believe the answer is "the season is more than a handful of games that you remember."