College Hockey Rankings: Boston College Moves To No. 1, Denver Pioneers Walk To No. 3

The 2011-12 college hockey season kicked off for most teams over the weekend, and in the latest USCHO Top 20 poll there is a new No. 1 team. The Boston College Eagles jumped from No. 5 to the top of the poll, receiving 36 first-place votes. The Eagles captured the 2011 Ice Breaker Tournament championship by defeating the Michigan St. Spartans and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

The former No. 1 team, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, split a weekend series against the defending Frozen Four champion Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. They lost the opening game, 4-3, before coming back for a 5-3 victory on Saturday. They received seven first-place votes and slipped to No. 2.

The Denver Pioneers started the season as the No. 4 team and moved to No. 3 without having played a regular season game yet. The Pioneers start their season this weekend with a trip to Massachusetts for games against Boston College and Boston University. North Dakota fell from No. 3 to No. 6. The Colorado College stayed at No. 7, as their season has yet to start.

Air Force went 0-2 in the Ice Breaker Tournament by giving up two third-period leads, but they received 14 votes in the latest poll.

Here is the current Top 20:

Others receiving votes: Colgate 71, Ferris State 60, Dartmouth 31, Northern Michigan 29, Bemidji State 24, St. Cloud State 23, Alaska 18, Air Force 14, Alaska-Anchorage 13, Rochester Institute of Technology 8, Harvard 6, Lake Superior 6, Michigan State 5, Massachusetts 3, Quinnipiac 3, Minnesota State 2, Northeastern 2, Ohio State 2.