As I posted to that "other" board, but with some interest in the thread here
(and with one spelling correction !):

Two things overlooked in the thread on Maine's early successes:

1. These games are important for all teams when it comes to the end of
season and the Tournament. Placement in the Round of 16, being "on the
bubble" on selection, and even the seeding at a regional site, all are in
the balance in EVERY game.

The loss to Niagra for NH, ND for the Eagles or if Maine had lost to the
Saints, the U-18 or the other little sisters of the poor they have had so
far can come back to bite them in their RPI numbers or more arbitrarily when
the selection committee is faced with a non-numbers driven seeding decision
for March.

2. Placement in the polls is one of several valuable recruitment tools. You
and I might believe that early season polls don't mean much, but it could to
a young player who might look at the poll results as one indication of how
"good" a program is. Also, you can't deny that some recruiters must use "our
team is consistently in the top 10" when telling a prospect that there is a
distinction between their own program and the competition.

Personally, I don't want Maine as #1 either. While you wonder sometimes how
the voters in the poll are thinking, you surely must be relieved that their
majority vote isn't the seeding decision for the Round of 16 -- the ONLY
poll that really counts..

That being previously said out on USCHO...

For us, convincing wins in Maine's first two games will loom large in March
on the calculation of PWR and RPI, and should factor positively in the more
subjective "strength of schedule" considerations before the selection
committee.  Good news, especially if it means we might avoid being shipped
away to an on-campus site in the Midwest or West.

Dan