Minnesota Remains No. 1 Spot In The USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll
March 9, 2004
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The University of Minnesota remained No. 1 in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll for the second consecutive week. The Golden Gophers earned 18 of 19 first-place votes with their weekend sweep of St. Cloud State University. The wins also earned Minnesota its third WCHA regular season title in four years. Forward Krissy Wendell led the Gophers on both Friday and Saturday, notching two power-play goals -- one the game winner -- in Friday's 3-1 victory. Wendell also registered the game-winning goal in Saturday's contest, where she recorded four goals and one assists in Minnesota's 7-5 win.
No. 6 University of Minnesota-Duluth climbed two places in the poll after also sweeping their weekend series, blanking Minnesota State University-Mankato, 9-0 and 3-0, Friday and Saturday, respectively. No. 4 University of Wisconsin defeated Bemidji State University in both games this weekend, blanking the Beavers, 6-0, on Saturday, and earning a 2-1 victory on Sunday. The WCHA begins its post-season on Friday, March 12 with Minnesota State University facing off against Ohio State University to determine which team will remain in the play-offs. Saturday the semi-final round will begin with No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth skating against No. 5 Wisconsin, and No. 1 Minnesota hosting the winner of Friday's game. The WCHA Championship will be held on Sunday.
No. 2 Dartmouth College defeated Cornell University, 5-1, on Saturday, before heading to Hamilton, N.Y. to earn a 4-1 victory against Colgate University. No. 3 Harvard earned two shutouts this weekend, blanking Yale University, 1-0, on Saturday; No. 9 Princeton University met the same fate on Saturday, falling, 2-0, to the Crimson. No. 4 St. Lawrence University also earned four conference points this weekend, defeating Union College, 13-0, on Saturday and, 9-1, on Friday. St. Lawrence and Harvard earned ECAC Regular Season Co-Champion honors. The ECAC quarterfinals begin on Friday with Colgate traveling to No. 4 St. Lawrence; No. 9 Princeton facing off against No. 10 Brown University; No. 3 Harvard hosting Cornell, and Yale at No. 2 Dartmouth.
In CHA action, No. 7 Mercyhurst College and Niagara University split the weekend series. Niagara defeated Mercyhurst, 3-1, on Saturday, and fell to the Lakers, 5-2, on Sunday. The CHA holds the conference semi-finals this weekend, with Niagara hosting Findlay University and Mercyhurst facing off against Wayne State University. The championship game will be held on Sunday.
The seventh annual USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from women's college ice hockey coaches and journalists, as well as composite votes from officers of the American Hockey Coaches Association and American Hockey Magazine, the official publication of USA Hockey.
USA Today/American Hockey Magazine
Women's College Hockey Poll -- #21
(first-place votes in parentheses)
| Rank | Team, Points (1st place votes) | Last Week | Record |
| 1 | University of Minnesota, 189 (18) | 1 | 26-4-2 |
| 2 | Dartmouth College, 162 | 2 | 22-5-2 |
| 3 | Harvard University, 160 (1) | 3 | 25-3-1 |
| 4 | St Lawrence University, 125 | 4 | 24-7-1 |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin, 123 | 5 | 24-5-3 |
| 6 | University of Minnesota-Duluth, 84 | 8 | 19-11-2 |
| 7 | Mercyhurst College, 74 | 6 | 24-6-4 |
| 8 | University of New Hampshire, 61 | 7 | 21-8-4 |
| 9 | Princeton University, 45 | 9 | 20-9-0 |
| 10 | Brown University, 18 | 10 | 16-10-2 |
Others receiving votes: Providence College, 3; Minnesota State University, 1
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