MANKATO, Minn. --- Minnesota State men's hockey was ranked 16th by USCHO.com and USA Hockey on Monday, March 2, in the NCAA Division I national polls. The Mavericks claimed five of six points against Northern Michigan at home with a 2-2 tie (MSU wins shootout 2-0) and a 3-0 win as they won the CCHA regular season championship.
Michigan received 24 first-place votes to move into first in the poll in the USCHO Poll with 965 points. Michigan State dropped to second in the poll with 941 points, with North Dakota, Western Michigan and Providence rounding out the top-five.
Other CCHA teams ranked in the USCHO Poll include Augustana at #15, St. Thomas at #19 and Michigan Tech at #20.
Minnesota State (18-9-7, 14-7-5 CCHA) hosts Ferris State (7-25-2, 6-18-2 CCHA) this weekend in the first round of the CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs. Game one is scheduled for Friday, at 7:07 p.m., with game two set for Saturday at 6:07 p.m. Game three will be held on Sunday at 5:07 p.m., if necessary.
USCHO Division I Men's Poll (March 2)
| Rank |
Team (First Place Votes) |
Record |
Pts |
Last Poll |
| 1 |
Michigan (24) |
26-7-1 |
965 |
2 |
| 2 |
Michigan State (11) |
24-7-1 |
941 |
1 |
| 3 |
North Dakota (14) |
25-8-1 |
929 |
3 |
| 4 |
Western Michigan (1) |
24-9-1 |
855 |
4 |
| 5 |
Providence |
22-9-2 |
738 |
6 |
| 6 |
Penn State |
20-10-2 |
724 |
5 |
| 7 |
Denver |
21-11-3 |
723 |
8 |
| 8 |
Quinnipiac |
26-7-3 |
708 |
7 |
| 9 |
Cornell |
20-8-1 |
573 |
11 |
| 10 |
Minnesota Duluth |
20-13-1 |
549 |
9 |
| 11 |
Wisconsin |
19-11-2 |
471 |
12 |
| 12 |
Dartmouth |
19-7-4 |
450 |
14 |
| 13 |
Boston College |
19-12-1 |
405 |
10 |
| 14 |
Connecticut |
17-10-5 |
351 |
13 |
| 15 |
Augustana |
20-10-4 |
285 |
15 |
| 16 |
Minnesota State |
18-9-7 |
220 |
18 |
| 17 |
Massachusetts |
19-12-1 |
185 |
19 |
| 18 |
Maine |
18-12-3 |
136 |
20 |
| 19 |
St. Thomas |
18-11-5 |
130 |
17 |
| 20 |
Michigan Tech |
21-12-3 |
64 |
16 |
Others receiving votes: Union 34, Bowling Green 32, Boston University 7, Ohio State 5, Sacred Heart 5, St. Cloud State 5, Bentley 4, Miami 4, Colorado College 2
USA Hockey Division I Men's Poll (March 2)
| Rank |
Team (First Place Votes) |
Last Week |
Record |
Weeks in Top 20 |
| 1. |
Michigan, 668 (26) |
2 |
24-6-0 |
22 |
| 2. |
North Dakota, 637 (7) |
3 |
25-6-1 |
22 |
| 3. |
Michigan State , 631 (1) |
1 |
24-7-1 |
22 |
| 4. |
Western Michigan , 577 |
4 |
23-8-1 |
22 |
| 5. |
Providence , 513 |
6 |
20-9-1 |
22 |
| 6. |
Penn State , 496 |
5 |
21-8-2 |
22 |
| 7. |
Denver, 484 |
8 |
25-6-3 |
22 |
| 8. |
Quinnipiac, 476 |
7 |
19-11-3 |
22 |
| 9. |
Cornell, 392 |
10 |
20-12-0 |
22 |
| 10. |
Minnesota Duluth, 374 |
9 |
18-8-1 |
19 |
| 11. |
Wisconsin, 331 |
13 |
19-10-1 |
22 |
| 12. |
Dartmouth, 310 |
12 |
18-7-3 |
16 |
| 13. |
Boston College, 289 |
11 |
19-11-2 |
22 |
| 14. |
Augustana, 208 |
15 |
17-9-4 |
10 |
| 15. |
Connecticut, 204 |
14 |
20-10-4 |
22 |
| 16. |
Minnesota State, 168 |
18 |
18-10-4 |
22 |
| 17. |
Massachusetts, 118 |
19 |
21-10-3 |
14 |
| 18. |
Maine, 90 |
RV |
17-9-6 |
19 |
| 19. |
St. Thomas, 86 |
16 |
18-12-0 |
10 |
| 20. |
Union College, 28 |
20 |
19-10-3 |
3 |
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan Tech University, 27; Bowling Green University, 24; Boston University, 7; Bentley University, 2.
