ELMIRA, N.Y. — Following a pair of games against nationally-ranked teams over the weekend, the Elmira College women’s ice hockey team moved down two spots in the rankings to No. 3, according to both the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) and D3hockey.com national polls.
Voters in both the USCHO and D3hockey.com polls elected the Soaring Eagles the third-best team in the nation this week after finishing 0-1-1 at the ultra-competitive Panther-Cardinal Classic. Elmira opened with a 1-1 overtime draw against former No. 4/4 Middlebury College, before suffering its first loss of the year to longtime rival and No. 2/2-ranked Plattsburgh State on Sunday.
After winning the Panther-Cardinal Classic, Adrian College (9-1-0) became the country’s new No. 1. The Bulldogs, who beat Plattsburgh in the opening round and the host Panthers to capture the tournament title, vaulted four spots in the USCHO poll from No. 5, and five spots from No. 6 in the D3hockey.com poll. Adrian collected 11 out of 15 possible first-place votes to finish with 146 points in the USCHO rankings and received 10 first-place votes and 142 points in the D3hockey.com rankings.
Following Adrian, Plattsburgh State (6-1-0) remained second in both editions of the polls. The Cardinals finished with five first-place votes and 137 points in the USCHO polls, and four first-place votes with 133 points according to D3hockey.com. Following No. 3 Elmira (5-1-1), Norwich University (5-2-0) fell one spot to No. 4.
The two national polls begin to differ in the bottom half of the top-10. The USCHO has Middlebury (2-1-1) ranked No. 5, followed by a contingent of western programs. At No. 6 is Wisconsin-River Falls (7-1-0), followed in order by Hamline (5-1-0), St. Thomas (8-0-0), Gustavus Adolphus (5-1-1), and Wisconsin Eau-Claire (5-2-1) in spots No. 7-10. D3hockey.com favored Wisconsin-River Falls as the fifth-place team with one first-place vote, thus dropping Middlebury to No. 6. Hamline came in seventh, followed by the Golden Gusties of Gustavus Adolphus at No. 8, St. Thomas at No. 9, and Wisconsin Eau-Claire rounding out the rankings at No. 10.
USCHO Poll
No. Team (1st-Place Votes) Record Pts Prev.
1 Adrian (11) 9-1-0 146 5
2 Plattsburgh State (4) 6-1-0 137 2
3 Elmira 5-1-1 109 1
4 Norwich 5-2-0 95 3
5 Middlebury 2-1-0 84 4
6 Wisconsin-River Falls 7-1-0 71 7
7 Hamline 5-1-0 69 5
8 St. Thomas 8-0-0 51 8
9 Gustavus Adolphus 5-1-1 41 9
10 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 5-2-1 10 10
Others receiving votes: Connecticut College 5, Augsburg 2, Utica 2, Amherst 1, Manhattanville 1, William Smith 1.
D3hockey.com Poll
No. Team (1st-Place Votes) Record Pts Prev.
1 Adrian (10) 9-1-0 142 6
2 Plattsburgh State (4) 6-1-0 133 2
3 Elmira 5-1-1 117 1
4 Norwich 5-2-0 97 3
5 Wisconsin-River Falls (1) 7-1-0 87 7
6 Middlebury 2-1-1 75 4
7 Hamline 5-1-0 64 5
8 Gustavus Adolphus 5-1-1 40 8
9 St. Thomas 8-0-0 35 9
10 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 5-2-1 20 10
Others receiving votes: Hamilton 8, Connecticut College 4, Manhattanville 1, Oswego State 1, Utica 1.
