Four of Michigan’s seven Division I men’s teams are ranked in both national polls released Oct. 12, and three of them sit inside the top six. Michigan and Michigan State hold at No. 2 and No. 3 in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls, Western Michigan climbs two spots to No. 6 in both, and Michigan Tech lands at No. 14 in both, though the two polls moved the Huskies in opposite directions.
Where Michigan stands
Michigan (4-0-0) is No. 2 in the USCHO poll, where it drew 14 first-place votes, and No. 2 in the USA Hockey poll with one first-place vote. Both ranks are unchanged from last week. The Wolverines visit No. 1 Denver on Friday and Saturday in a top-two matchup. Our latest: Michigan series wrap vs. Alaska Anchorage.
Michigan State (2-0-0) holds at No. 3 in both polls, with three first-place votes in the USCHO poll and one in the USA Hockey poll. The Spartans play a single game at RIT on Saturday in Rochester, N.Y. Our latest: Michigan State series wrap vs. Northern Michigan.
Western Michigan (2-0-0) moves up two spots to No. 6 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls, from No. 8 last week. The Broncos play a home-and-home with Notre Dame, hosting the Fighting Irish at Lawson Arena on Friday before traveling to South Bend on Saturday. Our latest: Western Michigan series wrap vs. Ferris State.
Michigan Tech (3-1-0) is No. 14 in both polls, but it got there from different directions: down two spots from No. 12 in the USCHO poll and up two from No. 16 in the USA Hockey poll. The Huskies host Alaska on Friday and Saturday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. Our latest: Michigan Tech series wrap at St. Cloud State.
Also receiving votes
No other Michigan team received votes in either poll this week; Northern Michigan, Ferris State, and Lake Superior State are unranked.
The top five
USCHO.com top five: 1. Denver, 2. Michigan, 3. Michigan State, 4. North Dakota, and 5. Wisconsin.
NCAA NPI
The NPI is the ranking the NCAA uses to select and seed the 16-team NCAA tournament field. The NCAA.com NPI page could not be read for this report, so these positions come from College Hockey News’ NPI table as of Oct. 13, which updates as results come in. With only a handful of games played, the early-season NPI moves a lot from week to week.
- Michigan: No. 3 (inside the top 16)
- Michigan State: No. 6 (inside the top 16)
- Western Michigan: No. 10 (inside the top 16)
- Michigan Tech: No. 24
- Lake Superior State: No. 25
- Northern Michigan: No. 39
- Ferris State: No. 44
Week-to-week NPI changes are not listed because last week’s positions could not be confirmed.
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