The Top 25 College Hockey Teams of the NCAA Era

[Fighting Sioux 23]

I'll be crunching the numbers for this thread probably at some point in May or early-June. However, I would not expect any Top-25 teams from this season. We probably won't even have any Top-50 seasons...although North Dakota might be close. I'm also guessing we'll only have one or two Top 100 teams. In any event, I'll post an update once I have the numbers together.

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

I see where I did not post the 2020-2021 teams (none made the Top 25), but I will post them along with the 2021-2022 squads after I crunch the numbers.

Just glancing at the numbers, I believe that with a win tonight Minnesota State would likely finish in the Top 25...and could very well push for a Top 5-10 spot. I believe their 39 wins would also be the most since Maine won 42 in 1992-1993.

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Okay, I've finished crunching the numbers for the NCAA Tournament Teams from this season, but I have a bit of cleanup work from last year, so here we go...

2020-2021 Season

No team cracked the Top 25 (or Top 50), and overall it was a fairly down year. A lot of that likely has to do with the lack of: (1) games in general, and (2) non-conference games. However, there was one Top-100 squad:

#71 - North Dakota Fighting Hawks - 158.5835 Points
UND was the #1 overall seed, but lost a brutal 5-OT Regional Final to miss out on the Frozen Four. North Dakota did manage to win over 75% of its games, and captured NCHC Regular Season and Tournament Championships to crack the Top-100. The Hawks land just between the 2001-2002 New Hampshire Wildcats and the 2004-2005 Boston College Eagles.

The rest:

#150 - Minnesota State Mavericks - 127.111 Points
#158 - Minnesota Golden Gophers - 124.7213 Points
#219 - Massachusetts Minutemen - 105.3336 Points
#250 - St. Cloud State Huskies - 98.065 Points
#277 - Wisconsin Badgers - 93.0417 Points
#312 - Boston College Eagles - 86.0093 Points
#488 - American International Yellow Jackets - 56.8196 Points
#497 - Lake Superior State Lakers - 55.6644 Points
#510 - Michigan Wolverines - 54.0971 Points
#535 - Quinnipiac Bobcats - 49.5845 Points
#571 - Bemidji State Beavers - 45.1996 Points
#594 - Boston University Terriers - 40.795 Points
#595 - Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs - 40.7254 Points
#668 - Nebraska Omaha Mavericks - 21.8057 Points
#676 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - 18.0268 Points

There have been 692 teams ranked in this formula. The average team sits at 89.1634 Points. So, in 2020-2021 we had 6 above-average teams. No team finished in the Top 10%, and only one team finished in the Top 20%. Notably, two teams finished in the Bottom 10%, and five teams finished in the Bottom 20%. Overall, it appears--at least from my formula--that 2020-2021 was a relative down year in college hockey.

How did the 2021-2022 squads do? Find out in my next post... ; p

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

2021-2022 Season

We had one team crack the elusive "Top 25 College Hockey Teams of the NCAA Era." That alone is a tremendous feat, considering that we are going into our 75th season of the NCAA Tournament Era. However, we also had 8 teams crack 100 points...a measuring stick that I look at for what teams really had strong seasons. Altogether, I would classify this year as an "up year" in terms of the dominance we saw on the ice. But here are this year's teams/rankings:

#11 - Minnesota State Mavericks - 210.996 Points
The Mavericks were twenty minutes away from likely cracking the prestigious Top 10 on this list (filled with the likes of the undefeated 1969-1970 Cornell Big Red, the 1984-1985 RPI Engineers, the Hrkac Circus, the 1992-1993 Maine Blackbears, and the 2008-2009 BU Terriers). Unfortunately for Minnesota State, they weren't able to hold on, and they "slip" to just outside the Top 10, and became the second-best team to fail to win the title. They featured the Hobey Baker winner, an outstanding group of All-American and All-Conference players, won 38 games, and nearly brought home the title. A tremendous season, and truly one of the all-time great seasons in college hockey history.

#56 - Denver Pioneers - 168.045 Points
The Pioneers had some hiccups this season, but steamrolled their competition in March and April, going an impressive 8-1 and outscoring their opponents 33-13 en route to capturing the program's record-tying 9th National Championship. Denver had its share of All-Americans and All-Conference players, and captured a share of the NCHC Regular Season Championship. The only outstanding blemish on their record was a shocking loss to Minnesota Duluth in the NCHC Tournament Semifinals. Otherwise, a very, very strong season. DU finished between the 1991-1992 LSSU Lakers, and the 1987-1988 LSSU Lakers...a fitting trio of champions.

#90 - Michigan Wolverines - 147.38 Points
The #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, Michigan featured perhaps the most talented roster in the history of college hockey. With a glutton of NHL First Rounders, the Wolverines finished a strong second in the Big Ten Regular Season standings, and captured the Big Ten Tournament Championship. While the UM's season was clouded by investigations and allegations of "dodging" opponents, the Maize and Blue skaters put together an impressive showing on the ice, advancing to the Frozen Four before bowing out to the eventual National Champion Denver Pioneers. The Wolverines land between the 1991-1992 Michigan Wolverines, and the 1971-1972 BU Terriers.

The Rest:

#170 - Quinnipiac Bobcats - 121.9428 Points
#195 - North Dakota Fighting Hawks - 114.524 Points
#199 - Western Michigan Broncos - 112.064 Points
#224 - Minnesota Golden Gophers - 104.0144 Points
#240 - Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs - 100.0163 Points
#369 - Massachusetts Minutemen - 74.916 Points
#371 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - 74.72 Points
#467 - Northeastern Huskies - 60.5232 Points
#542 - St. Cloud State Huskies - 48.9733 Points
#554 - American International Yellow Jackets - 47.8348 Points
#561 - Harvard Crimson - 46.1413 Points
#600 - Michigan Tech Huskies - 39.8919 Points
#604 - Massachusetts Lowell Riverhawks - 39.2082 Points

Again, the average team is 89.1634 Points. So, we had 8 above-average teams, including a Top-25 team, and two Top 10% teams. Overall, the "average" team this season was 94.45 Points. As a result, I would couch this season as an "above-average" season, and the "best" season in the past 5 years.