It'll be a showdown this weekend when newly minted No. 1 Minnesota hosts No. 2 Michigan State, two teams that have now both been the top-ranked team this season in the USA Hockey / The Rink Live poll.
The last time the Gophers sat atop the list was Oct. 23, 2023. It is the 100th week all-time Minnesota has held the top spot, the most of any team.
Minnesota is coming off back-to-back shutout victories over then No. 6-Michigan, which fell two spots this week.
After the Gophers and Spartans, Boston College, Denver and Maine round out the top five.
The NCHC has six teams in the rankings, while Hockey East has five. The Big Ten and ECAC Hockey have four each and the CCHA has one.
Rank, school, last week, record, weeks in top 20
1. University of Minnesota, 664 (29), 4, 15-2-1, 11
2. Michigan State University, 622 (2), 1, 12-2-0, 11
3. Boston College, 608 (1), 3, 11-3-1, 11
4. University of Denver, 586 (1), 2, 13-3-0, 11
5. University of Maine, 561, 5, 12-2-2, 11
6. Western Michigan University, 507, 7, 10-3-1, 11
7. Providence College, 472, 10, 12-3-2, 11
8. University of Michigan, 408, 6, 10-5-1, 11
9. St. Cloud State University, 399, 9, 10-5-0, 11
10. University of Massachusetts Lowell, 346, 13, 10-3-2, 7
11. Colorado College, 323, 8, 9-4-1, 11
12. Boston University, 252, 11, 8-6-1, 11
13. Minnesota State University, 251, 15, 12-4-2, 9
14. Cornell University, 189, 12, 5-3-3, 11
15. Ohio State University, 184, 16, 11-4-1, 8
16. Quinnipiac University, 163, 18, 8-6-1, 10
17. Dartmouth College, 162, 14, 6-3-1, 5
18. University of North Dakota, 135, 17, 9-7-1, 11
19. Clarkson University, 123, 20, 11-5-2, 4
20. Arizona State University, 94, 19, 8-7-1, 3
Others receiving votes: University of New Hampshire, 37; University of Massachusetts, 28; University of Connecticut, 12; Colgate University, 7; Bemidji State University, 6; Bentley University, 5; Harvard University, 3; Michigan Tech University, 3.
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