Parting Schotts

College Hockey Slap Schotts 2011-12: Week 7 — The vacation edition

I'm still on vacation for a couple of more days. I spent most of the time in Philadelphia taking care of some things for my Mom, who recently broke her leg (I mean, she suffered a lower-body injury. After all, injuries are kept secret in hockey, right?). I'll be back next Monday with a more thorough blog.

But I have just a couple of thoughts.

-- Congratulations to Merrimack. For the first time in program history, the Warriors are the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

Merrimack (8-0-1) is the only unbeaten team in men's Division I college hockey. The Warriors didn't play over the weekend, but took over the top spot when last week's No. 1, Minnesota, lost to St. Cloud State on Friday. Minnesota beat St. Cloud on Saturday.

Coach Mark Dennehy has transformed the Warriors from a team that was near the bottom of Hockey East to one of the elite teams. You can compare Merrimack's rise to Union's under Nate Leaman.

Merrimack will host Union Dec. 17. It would be neat to see Merrimack still at No. 1 then.

-- Union freshman defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is listed on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's players to watch list for the NHL draft. Gostisbehere has three assists in 12 games so far this season.

Union stays in same poll spots
Union remains 13th in the USCHO.com/NCAA hockey poll. But the Dutchmen have some company.

The Dutchmen are tied with Lake Superior State in the poll. Both teams earned 389 points. Union beat RPI, 5-1, last Tuesday. The Lakers played to a 2-2 tie at Canisius on Saturday before beating the Golden Griffins, 4-2, Sunday.

Union stayed at No. 12 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. The Dutchmen got 133 points, six less than No. 11 Michigan. The two teams face each other at 3 p.m. Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan was swept at home by Ohio State over the weekend.

USCHO.com/NCAA Poll
Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Merrimack (27) 8-0-1 967 2
2 Notre Dame (10) 9-2-2 932 4
3 Minnesota (11) 11-3-0 914 1
4 Colorado College (1) 7-2-0 842 5
5 Boston College (1) 9-4-0 789 3
6 Minnesota-Duluth 9-3-2 744 8
7 Ferris State 10-3-1 647 6
8 Yale 5-1-1 629 9
9 Ohio State 10-3-1 562 14
10 Denver 5-3-3 549 11
11 Michigan 7-5-2 481 7
12 Western Michigan 6-4-3 410 10
13 Union 6-3-3 389 13
13 Lake Superior 9-3-2 389 12
15 Boston University 6-4-1 311 16
16 Colgate 8-4-1 266 17
17 Cornell 5-2-0 249 18
18 Michigan Tech 7-4-1 186 15
19 Nebraska-Omaha 6-6-2 69 19
20 Michigan State 7-5-0 48 NR
Others receiving votes: Miami 43, St. Cloud State 18, Northern Michigan 17, Massachusetts-Lowell 15, Clarkson 10, New Hampshire 9, Providence 9, RIT 4, Air Force 2.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Rank School Last Week's Ranking 2011-12 Record Weeks in Top 15
1 Merrimack, 492 (20) 2 8-0-1 7
2 Minnesota, 461 (12) 1 11-3-0 7
3 Notre Dame, 455 (2) 4 9-2-2 8
4 Colorado College, 410 5 7-2-0 8
5 Boston College, 363 3 9-4-0 8
6 Minnesota Duluth, 328 8 9-3-2 8
7 Ferris State, 274 6 10-3-1 5
8 Yale, 269 9 5-1-1 8
9 Denver, 202 11 5-3-3 8
10 Ohio State, 192 T-14 10-3-1 2
11 Michigan, 139 7 7-5-2 8
12 Union, 133 12 6-3-3 8
13 Western Michigan, 125 10 6-4-3 8
14 Lake Superior State, 69 13 9-3-2 4
15 Colgate, 61 NR 8-4-1 2
Others receiving votes: Boston University, 54; Cornell, 48; Michigan Tech, 5.

Union moved up from 12th to 11th in the latest Inside College Hockey Top-20 Power Rankings.

To view INCH's Power Rankings, click here.

My vote
I have a vote in the USCHO.com poll. Here is how I voted this week.

1) Merrimack
2) Minnesota
3) Notre Dame
4) Colorado College
5) Minn. Duluth
6) Boston College
7) Yale
8) Ferris State
9) Denver
10) Michigan
11) Ohio State
12) Union
13) Western Michigan
14) Lake Superior State
15) Boston U
16) Colgate
17) Michigan Tech
18) Cornell
19) Michigan State
20) Nebraska-Omaha

Daily Gazette ECACH Awards
Time for my first weekly awards of the season.

Player of the Week — Austin Smith, Colgate
The senior forward have five goals in two Raiders' wins. He scored all of Colgate's goals in Friday's 3-1 victory over Quinnipiac. Smith scored twice to help Colgate beat Princeton, 4-1, Saturday.

Goalie of the Week — Andy Iles, Yale
The sophomore netminder posted weekend shutouts. He has 15 saves in a 4-0 victory over Princeton on Friday. Iles was tested more by Quinnipiac on Saturday, stopping 32 shots in a 4-0 triumph.

Rookie of the Week — Chris Martin, St. Lawrence
The freshman forward scored twice to help the Saints beat Harvard, 4-3, Saturday.

Teams of the Week — Cornell
Two impressive home wins, both by shutout.

If you have any comments, post them below, or e-mail them to me at schott@dailygazette.com. You can follow me on Twitter (@slapschotts) Also, please become a fan of two Facebook pages — The Daily Gazette On Ice, and my "Slap Schotts" college hockey segment page.

Good Monday! Good Hockey!

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