Despite the fact that neither has played an official game yet, voters in the USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll flip-flopped their opinions of the top two teams Monday, leaving Minnesota in the No. 1 slot.
The Gophers, who open their season at home against Alaska-Fairbanks this weekend, outpaced Denver despite the fact that the Pioneers earned more first-place votes (23 to Minnesota’s 15).
Similarly, the third- and fourth-place teams swapped spots, as Cornell moved up to No. 3, just ahead of No. 4 Boston College. In fifth for the second straight week was Ohio State, and Colorado College, which took the Ice Breaker Invitational with a two-win weekend, was sixth.
Michigan, the victor in a weekend sweep of Quinnipiac, came in seventh, followed by idle New Hampshire and then North Dakota, which split a pair of games at the Ice Breaker Invitational. Michigan State, which beat UND to take the Lefty McFadden Invitational title, was next at No. 10.
Wisconsin and Maine, both of which went 1-1 on the weekend, were 11th and 12th, respectively, followed by Northern Michigan, Boston University and Dartmouth.
Colgate beat Massachusetts-Lowell to move up to No. 16, with Harvard and then the aforementioned River Hawks in the next two spots. Vermont was again No. 19, and Bemidji State debuted at No. 20 after sweeping a road series at Minnesota-Duluth, which dropped out of the poll.
