WCHA Champion North Dakota is also Nation's No. 1-Ranked Team
March 9, 2004
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MADISON, Wisc. For the 15th time in the past 18 weeks, the University of North Dakota is the nation's No. 1-ranked Div. 1 men's college hockey team. The 2003-04 WCHA regular season champions, sporting a nation's best .786 winning percentage, a 26-6-3 record, and winners of six straight games, were the top ranked club in both of this week's (March 8-14) national polls, the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll and the USCHO.com Division 1 Men's College Hockey Poll.
At No. 1, Coach Dean Blais' Fighting Sioux lead a parade of six WCHA-member teams among the nation's top 15 this week and five among the top eight. The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (23-10-4) are No. 4 in both polls, the Wisconsin Badgers (20-10-8) are No.5 in the USA Today/AHM poll and No. 6 in the USCHO.com ranking, the Denver Pioneers (23-10-5) are No. 5 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 6 in the USA Today/AHM poll, the two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota Golden Gophers (22-13-3) are No. 8, and the St. Cloud State Huskies (18-14-4) are No. 15. Denver currently sports the nation's longest unbeaten streak at nine games (7-0-2). Also receiving votes in the polls was Colorado College (18-15-3).
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association has had at least six teams ranked among the nation's top 15 the past 11 consecutive weeks, has had at least five teams ranked among the nation's top 15 in the national polls in 21 of 23 weeks, and has had seven of it's 10 teams among the top 15 five times overall.
The upcoming weekend of March 12-14 marks the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The five, best-of-three series will have No. 1-seed North Dakota hosting No. 10 Michigan Tech, No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth hosting No. 9 Minnesota State, No. 3 Wisconsin hosting No. 8 Alaska Anchorage, No. 4 Denver hosting No. 7 Colorado College, and No. 5 Minnesota hosting No. 6 St. Cloud State. The five first-round playoff winners will then advance to the 2004 Red Baron WCHA Final Five, set for March 18-20 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll #24
March 8, 2004 (first-place votes in parentheses)
| Rk | Team, Points (1sts) | Last Week | Record |
| 1 | North Dakota, 510 (34) | 1 | 26-6-3 |
| 2 | Maine, 473 | 3 | 26-7-3 |
| 3 | Boston College, 439 | 2 | 26-6-4 |
| 4 | Minnesota-Duluth, 400 | 5 | 23-10-4 |
| 5 | Wisconsin, 336 | 4 | 20-10-8 |
| 6 | Denver, 323 | 7 | 23-10-5 |
| 7 | Michigan, 322 | 6 | 23-11-2 |
| 8 | Minnesota, 281 | 10 | 22-13-3 |
| 9 | Miami, 241 | 9 | 20-12-4 |
| 10 | New Hampshire, 213 | 8 | 18-12-6 |
| 11 | Michigan State, 153 | 14 | 22-14-2 |
| 12 | Ohio State, 150 | 11 | 21-15-0 |
| 13 | Colgate, 110 | 12 | 19-10-5 |
| 14 | Notre Dame, 55 | T-15 | 18-12-4 |
| 15 | St. Cloud State, 34 | 13 | 18-14-4 |
others receiving votes: Cornell, 12; Colorado College, 9; Rennselaer, 8; Brown, 4; Holy Cross, 4; Massachusetts, 2; Bemidji State, 1.
USCHO.com Division 1 Men's Hockey Poll
March 8, 2004 (first-place votes in parentheses)
| Rk | Team, (1sts), Points | Record | Last Week |
| 1 | North Dakota (40), 600 | 26-6-3 | 1 |
| 2 | Maine, 553 | 26-7-3 | 3 |
| 3 | Boston College, 516 | 26-6-4 | 2 |
| 4 | Minnesota-Duluth, 476 | 23-10-4 | 5 |
| 5 | Denver, 390 | 23-10-5 | 8 |
| 6 | Wisconsin, 382 | 20-10-8 | 4 |
| 7 | Michigan, 367 | 23-11-2 | 6 |
| 8 | Minnesota, 343 | 22-13-3 | 10 |
| 9 | Miami, 268 | 20-12-4 | 9 |
| 10 | New Hampshire, 235 | 18-12-6 | 7 |
| 11 | Michigan State, 179 | 22-12-4 | 14 |
| 12 | Ohio State, 165 | 21-15-0 | 11 |
| 13 | Colgate, 150 | 19-10-5 | 12 |
| 14 | Notre Dame, 67 | 18-12-4 | 15 |
| 15 | St. Cloud State, 39 | 18-14-4 | 13 |
others receiving votes: Cornell, 30; Colorado College, 20; Brown, 8; Rensselaer, 5; Massachusetts, 3; Bemidji State, 2; Dartmouth, 1; Providence, 1.
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