SB Nation’s Women’s College Hockey Division I Poll: Raiders Rising

After some wild upsets over the last couple of weeks, there was a little more stability last weekend as teams start to show their true colors.

While the two ranked teams from Minnesota will go head-to-head this week, upstate New York is quickly becoming a women’s hockey hotbed. Here's this week's rankings:

1. Wisconsin (8-0-0), 149 (8) — Last Week: 1

• Last Week: W 3-2 @ Minnesota State (10/13), W 3-1 @ Minnesota State (10/14)

• Coming Week: v Bemidji State (10/20, 10/21)

Wisconsin pulled out a pair of tough wins to stay undefeated and remain atop the polls. They'll face a tough Beavers team that took a struggling Minnesota team to OT last weekend.

2. Clarkson (5-0-1), 141 (6) — Last Week: 2

• Last Week: W 2-0 @ Penn State (10/13), W 2-0 @ Penn State (10/14)

• Coming Week: @ St. Lawrence (10/20), v St. Lawrence (10/21)

A pair of shutouts keep Clarkson near the top heading into a home-and-home with arch-rival St. Lawrence.

3. Boston College (2-0-0), 133 (2) — Last Week: 3

• Last Week: No Games

• Coming Week: v Quinnipiac (10/17), @ Connecticut (10/20), @ Vermont (10/22)

The Eagles had the week off, and they're going to need it; they host Quinnipiac in a mid-week contest that won't be easy. The week after that Hockey East play with a pair of road games against Connecticut and the University of Vermont in the same weekend.

4. Ohio State (5-0-1), 109 — Last Week: 7

• Last Week: W 2-0 v Minnesota Duluth (10/13), W 4-3 v Minnesota Duluth (10/14)

• Coming Week: @ St. Cloud State (10/20, 10/21)

Ohio State is surging and their wins at home over fellow poll resident Minnesota-Duluth kept them atop the WCHA. Now the Buckeyes travel to St. Cloud for a pair of conference games.

5. Colgate (4-0-0), 92 — Last Week: 9

• Last Week: W 3-0 v Northeastern (10/14), W 5-2 v Northeastern (10/15)

• Coming Week: v Mercyhurst (10/20, 10/21)

The Raiders made a statement this weekend, destroying the Huskies in both games and earning the title of “Belles of the Ball”. Their shutout streak may have ended, but they'll attempt to start that streak again as they host Mercyhurst.

6. St. Lawrence (2-0-2), 72 — Last week: 6

• Last Week: W 2-1 @ Merrimack (10/13), T 0-0 OT@ Merrimack (10/14)

• Coming Week: v Clarkson (10/20), @ Clarkson (10/21)

The Saints did not get the results they wanted against the Warriors but still had better luck then other teams in this week's poll. They now have their annual non-conference series against Clarkson that will be a great preview for the rest of the season.

7. Minnesota (3-2-1), 55 — Last Week: 8

• Last Week: W 3-1 @ Bemidji State (10/13), W 4-3 OT @ Bemidji State (10/14)

• Coming Week: @ Minnesota-Duluth (10/20, 10/21)

The Gophers are struggling. They managed to take two wins to keep them in contention for the WCHA, but they now travel to Duluth in what has quickly become must-win games for both these teams.  If either team pulls out a sweep, it could banish the other from the land of the ranked.

8. Minnesota-Duluth (2-4-0), 35 —Last Week: 4

• Last Week: L 0-2 @ Ohio State (10/13), L 3-4 @ Ohio State (10/14)

• Coming Week: v Minnesota (10/20, 10/21)

The Bulldogs had a rough weekend against OSU, who have taken the NCAA by storm. Now UMD hosts a Minnesota team that is almost as desperate as they are to stay relevant.

9. Cornell (0-0-0), 31 — Last Week: 10

• Last Week: W 5-1 v Shenzen Vanke Rays EX (10/13)

• Coming Week: No Games

Cornell took care of the lesser of the two Chinese pro teams. They now have a week off before kicking off their regular season.

10. Northeastern (2-3-1), 27 — Last Week: 5

• Last Week: L 0-3 @ Colgate (10/14), L 2-5 @ Colgate (10/15)

• Coming Week: @ Syracuse (10/20, 10/21)

This was about as disappointing a weekend as the Huskies could have imagined; the only bright side is that they're the first team to score on Colgate this season.  They head back out to upstate New York for a pair against Syracuse that's quickly turned into a must-win.

Also Receiving Votes: Robert Morris 13, Quinnipiac 9, Providence 5, New Hampshire 5 Merrimack 3, Bemidji State 1