It’s a common line when teams become No. 1 in December — it’s being No. 1 in March that matters. But is being No. 1 in December a good predictor of being No. 1 in March? We’ll take a look at the history.ÂÂ
Here are the No. 1 teams in the last November poll, since the USCHO poll started in 1998.
11/30/98 UNH — lost national final
11/29/99 Harvard — lost in ECAC semifinals (not selected for nationals)
11/27/00 Dartmouth — lost NCAA semifinal
11/26/01 UMD — won NCAA title
11/25/02 Minnesota — lost NCAA semifinal
11/24/03 Minnesota — won NCAA title
11/29/04 Minnesota — won NCAA title
11/28/05 St. Lawrence — lost NCAA semifinal
And here are the No. 1 teams in the last poll of December — which in some ways is a closer analogy to the current poll since this season started earlier than in the past.ÂÂ
12/14/98 Harvard — won national title
12/13/99 Northeastern — lost in ECAC quarterfinals (not selected for nationals)
12/18/00 Dartmouth — lost in NCAA semifinals
12/17/01 UMD — won NCAA title
12/16/02 Harvard — lost NCAA final
12/15/03 Minnesota — won NCAA title
12/13/04 Minnesota — won NCAA title
12/12/05 St. Lawrence — lost NCAA semifinal
And one last list — the dates for which the national champions were actually No. 1 in the polls. Minnesota (2004, 2005) is the only program to win the NCAA title without having a 4-week period ranked below No. 1.
1999 Harvard (12/3-end of season)
2000 Minnesota (never)
2001 UMD (never)
2002 UMD (preseason-1/7)
2003 UMD (presason-11/4, and 3/17)
2004 Minnesota (10/13-1/19, 2/16-end of season)
2005 Minnesota (all season)
2006 Wisconsin (11/21 and 1/16-1/30)
