DENVER – The University of Denver hockey team was voted as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live national polls that were released on Monday.
The Pioneers received all 50 first-place votes in the USCHO.com ranking and all 34 top tallies for the USA Hockey/The Rink Live list. This is the first time that DU has been the unanimous choice in each poll since also doing it in the final rankings for the 2023-24 campaign.
Denver has held the No. 1 spot in each of the eight polls this season and have held the top spot in nine straight rankings dating back to the end of last year following its NCAA-record 10th national championship.
DU is off to its best start in program history and improved to 12-0-0 after sweeping then-No. 9/10 North Dakota in Grand Forks last weekend, winning 5-2 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday. The Pioneers—who have won 21 straight games dating back to last year and are one win shy of tying the program record of 22—lead the country in goals for (4.75) and goals against (1.42) per game, and they are also in the top 10 in the nation in power play (34.6%, 3rd), penalty kill (93.9, 6th), shooting percentage (.142, 2nd), save percentage (.938, 4th), shots per game (33.4, 9th) and shots against per game (23.0, T-2nd).
Denver garnered all 1,000 points in the USCHO.com poll after previous-No. 2 Boston College held the other two first-place votes last week but lost 5-4 at Connecticut on Saturday. Michigan State moved to No. 2 overall after previously being at No. 4, while BC dropped to No. 3 and Minnesota fell from No. 3 to No. 4. Michigan and Maine are tied for No. 5 in the poll.
The Pioneers picked up all 680 points for the second straight week in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live ranking, which had same top five as the USCHO.com poll. Michigan owns the No. 5 spot outright with 525 points while Maine is No. 6 with 514 points.
The NCHC has five teams ranked in each poll, which is the second-most in USCHO.com and tied for the most in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live list (Hockey East). The conference's three ranked teams on the USCHO.com list are tied with Hockey East and the Big Ten for the most, while the league has a nation-best four in the top 10 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll.
All five NCHC teams rank in the top 12 in the USCHO.com poll (the best among all conferences). Behind Denver in the polls are fellow conference foes Colorado College at No. 7/8, Western Michigan at No. 9/9, St. Cloud State at No. 11/10 and North Dakota at No. 12/14. Arizona State received votes in each ranking as well.
While it is also early in the season, the Pioneers also presently hold the top spot in the Pairwise Rankings that determine the teams for the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT: No. 1 Denver begins its home conference slate this weekend as it hosts Arizona State at Magness Arena in the teams' first-ever matchup as NCHC opponents. Friday's start time is 7 p.m. MT while Saturday's game begins at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on Altitude 2. Both contests will also be available on NCHC.tv.
About the USCHO.com: The Division I men's ice hockey poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country.
About the USA Hockey/The Rink Live Poll: The 30th annual USA Hockey/The Rink Live Men's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.
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