I agree with the person who posted that the placement of the WCHA teams
is hard to understand.  Looking at UND, CC and UM shows three different
situations:
 
1. UND- The reason for their placement is due to their record
(obviously) and observations from other teams and coaches (NMU's caoch said
that UND was the best team that they have played this year, and they have
played CC). Even though the Sioux have not played the top teams in the
WCHA yet, if they continue to play like they have so far, they will
legitimize a top 10 spot.
 
2.  U of MN- I agree that at the moment they are placed too high.  To me,
they
are similar to Notre Dame in college football.  Even if the Fighting
Irish end up with a .500 record, the odds are good that they will be in a
bowl game and in the top 25.  U of MN has one of the best college hockey
reputations in the country and as such, people are hesitant to not
mention them in their polls.  This team is very young, and several more
series need to transpire before they start to reach their potential and
make a stronger case for being in the top 10.
 
3.  CC won the WCHA last year and almost won it all.  Therefore, there is
much more inertial resistance in the poll for them to make a big fall.
If they continue to split, they will reach a point where the resistance
is no longer enough, and they will fall quite a few spots.
 
What will be interesting to watch is what happens to UND and U of MN if
the two teams split this weekend (which is my prediction).  Do they stay
the same?  Does UM go up and UND down?
 
 
IMHO the standing right now shouild be:
       UND-6th
       U of MN-11th
       CC-14th
                                                        charles
P.S.  What has happened to DU?  Are they going to make a big turn-around?
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