DENVER – The Denver Pioneers hockey team is ranked No. 9 in the nation in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey's newest polls that were released on Monday.
DU is slotted No. 9 for the second straight week in the USCHO.com poll and moved up one spot from No. 10 in the USA Hockey rankings. The Pioneers are presently No. 10 in the NPI computer rankings that determine the NCAA Tournament field.
Denver split its weekend series at then-No. 5 North Dakota, falling 5-0 on Friday before earning a 3-2 victory on Saturday to end a six-game winless streak (0-5-1). The Fighting Hawks moved up one spot to No. 4 in both polls.
Michigan remains as the top team in the nation, earning 49-of-50 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll and is the unanimous choice on the USA Hockey list. Michigan State climbed to second after sweeping then No. 2 Wisconsin while NCHC-foe Western Michigan is at No. 3 on the list. The UW Badgers dropped to No. 5.
Joining Denver (9/9), North Dakota (4/4) and Western Michigan (3/3( in the rankings from the NCHC is Minnesota Duluth at No. 7/6. Arizona State, Miami and St. Cloud State earned votes in both polls while Colorado College was selected by a portion of the electorate in USCHO.com.
The Pioneers will play St. Cloud State this weekend to begin a four-game homestand, with the Huskies just outside of both polls with the second-most votes among programs not ranked in the top 20.
Hockey East has the most teams ranked with five in each poll, while the NCHC, Big Ten and CCHA are tied for the second-most with four teams rated on each list. All of the NCHC and Big Ten squads are ranked in the top 10.
UP NEXT: Denver hosts St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday at Magness Arena before taking on Minnesota Duluth the following weekend on Jan. 30-31 to wrap up its second, four-game homestand of the season and a stretch where it is playing eight-of-10 contests on home ice. All games will be ava
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 31st annual USA Hockey 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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