GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota held its ground in both national polls this week, setting the stage for a top-10 matchup with Omaha on Friday and Saturday at Ralph Englestad Arena.
North Dakota received 32 of 50 first-place votes to stay on top of the USCHO.com Division I men’s poll, while ranking second in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll with 13 of 34 first-place votes. Omaha was ranked No. 9 in both polls, a slide of three spots after being swept by Denver last weekend.
The Fighting Hawks enter the week with an 18-2-2 overall record and are tied with St. Cloud State for first place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings with 27 points. The Mavericks are in fifth place in the NCHC with 13 points.
UND and UNO do battle at 7:37 p.m. Central on Friday and at 7:07 p.m. on Saturday.
| USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll | |||||||||
| Rk. | School (First place votes) | Record | Pts. | PR | |||||
| 1. | North Dakota (32) | 18-2-2 | 980 | 1 | |||||
| 2. | Quinnipiac (18) | 19-1-3 | 967 | 2 | |||||
| 3. | Providence | 13-3-4 | 833 | 3 | |||||
| 4. | Boston College | 14-4-2 | 815 | 7 | |||||
| 5. | St. Cloud State | 17-5-0 | 775 | 4 | |||||
| 6. | Michigan | 13-3-3 | 747 | 8 | |||||
| 7. | Harvard | 8-3-3 | 676 | 5 | |||||
| 8. | Cornell | 11-2-2 | 661 | 9 | |||||
| 9. | Omaha | 14-5-1 | 603 | 6 | |||||
| 10. | Boston University | 11-6-3 | 562 | 11 | |||||
| 11. | Massachusetts-Lowell | 12-4-4 | 561 | 10 | |||||
| 12. | Yale | 8-4-3 | 437 | 12 | |||||
| 13. | Notre Dame | 10-4-7 | 375 | 15 | |||||
| 14. | Denver | 9-7-4 | 326 | 17 | |||||
| 15. | Penn State | 13-4-3 | 300 | 14 | |||||
| 16. | Bowling Green | 13-6-5 | 223 | 16 | |||||
| 17. | Minnesota Duluth | 8-7-4 | 159 | 19 | |||||
| 18. | St. Lawrence | 10-7-2 | 152 | 13 | |||||
| 19. | Minnesota State | 11-7-4 | 124 | 18 | |||||
| 20. | Rensselaer | 11-7-4 | 71 | 20 | |||||
| Others receiving votes: Robert Morris 65, Michigan Tech 59, Union 12, Holy Cross 10, Minnesota 7. |
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| USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll | |||||||||
| Rk. | School (1st 1 votes) | Record | Pts. | PR | |||||
| 1. | Quinnipiac (21) | 19-1-3 | 497 | 1 | |||||
| 2. | North Dakota (13) | 18-2-2 | 487 | 2 | |||||
| 3. | Providence | 13-3-4 | 401 | 3 | |||||
| 4. | Boston College | 14-4-2 | 376 | 7 | |||||
| 5. | St. Cloud State | 17-5-0 | 363 | 5 | |||||
| 6. | Michigan | 13-3-3 | 358 | 8 | |||||
| 7. | Cornell | 11-2-2 | 301 | 9 | |||||
| 8. | Harvard | 8-3-3 | 300 | 4 | |||||
| 9. | Omaha | 14-5-1 | 245 | 6 | |||||
| 10. | Boston University | 11-6-3 | 192 | 11 | |||||
| 11. | Massachusetts-Lowell | 12-4-4 | 191 | 10 | |||||
| 12. | Yale | 8-4-3 | 130 | 12 | |||||
| 13. | Notre Dame | 10-4-7 | 100 | 14 | |||||
| 14. | Denver | 9-7-4 | 59 | NR | |||||
| 15. | Penn State | 13-4-3 | 58 | 15 | |||||
| Others receiving votes: Bowling Green 7, Minnesota Duluth 6, St. Lawrence 6, Rensselaer 2, Michigan Tech 1. |
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