Michigan State Rises to Sixth; Miami Continues to top Rankings

Michigan State keeps climbing the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men’s Poll.

Next stop, top five?

The Spartans are on the brink, checking in this week at No. 6 after a sweep of a home-and-home series with then-No. 6 Michigan.

Miami retained the top spot after tying a pair of games against Ferris State at home. North Dakota stayed put in second; Denver and Massachusetts-Lowell each moved up a spot to third and fourth, respectively; and Cornell fell two spots to fifth.

Michigan State was the biggest upward mover in the poll, advancing eight spots from last week. The Spartans are one of the early surprises this season after a dreadful 10-23-5 season a year ago.

The Wolverines, meanwhile, fell 10 spots to 16th after seeing their losing streak stretch to four games.

Quinnipiac moved up seven spots to No. 13 after improving to 8-1 with victories over Harvard and Dartmouth.

Wisconsin rejoined the poll at No. 15 after a home sweep of Alaska-Anchorage. Defending national champion Boston University, just 3-6 on the season, dropped out of the rankings following a split with Merrimack.

This week’s highlight series is No. 3 Denver hosting No. 2 North Dakota on Friday and Saturday. Other games between ranked teams include No. 5 Cornell hosting No. 19 Princeton on Friday and No. 13 Quinnipiac on Saturday; No. 6 Michigan State playing No. 14 Notre Dame at home on Thursday and in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sunday; and No. 9 Yale hosting No. 11 Massachusetts on Thursday.