Men's Hockey Drops One Spot to No. 4/4 in Rankings

One week after rising to its highest poll position in school history, the Harvard men’s ice hockey team took a small step back on Monday.

After falling 4-1 to Yale on Saturday, the Crimson (10-2-2, 6-1-2 ECAC) dropped one spot from third to fourth in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. Harvard also spent three weeks at No. 4/4 from December 15 to January 5 during the winter break.

Leapfrogging the Crimson was Minnesota State, who made the jump from fourth to first in both polls. North Dakota and crosstown rival Boston University rounded out the top three, with UND receiving a slight edge from USA Today and BU having the advantage according to USCHO.com.

Despite its latest loss, Harvard still earned five first-place votes in each poll. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs, who had their way with the Crimson on Saturday, rose one spot to No. 18 in the USCHO.com poll.

Harvard saw its position in the PairWise, RPI, and KRACH rankings slip as well. After topping all three polls last week, the Crimson came in at No. 2 in the PairWise and RPI rankings and No. 4 in the KRACH poll on Monday.

Through 14 games, Harvard is out to its best start since 1992-1993. The Crimson had won seven consecutive games heading into its latest contest at Madison Square Garden against Yale—the only team that has beat Harvard all season.

The Crimson will look to rebound this weekend as it resumes conference play at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

USCHO.com Poll (First-place votes)

1. Minnesota State (20)
2. Boston University (12)
3. North Dakota (9)
4. Harvard (5)
5. Minnesota-Duluth (4)
6. Massachusetts-Lowell
7. Bowling Green
8. Nebraska-Omaha
9. Miami (Ohio)
10. Vermont
11. Michigan Tech
12. Quinnipiac
13. Denver
14. Providence
15. Colgate
16. Minnesota
17. Boston College
18. Yale
19. Michigan
20. Merrimack

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll (First-place votes)

1. Minnesota State (13)
2. North Dakota (8)
3. Boston University (7)
4. Harvard (5)
5. Minnesota-Duluth
6. Massachusetts-Lowell
7. Nebraska-Omaha (1)
8. Bowling Green
9. Vermont
10. Miami (Ohio)
11. Michigan Tech
12. Quinnipiac
13. Minnesota
14. Colgate
15. Providence