Minnesota Duluth captured all 50-first place votes in this week's USCHO poll to take over the top spot in college hockey. The Bulldogs swept previous unanimous No. 1 North Dakota over the weekend in downtown Duluth.
The No. 1 ranking belongs to the Bulldogs for the first time since the 2011-12 season when they held the top spot for eight straight weeks in December and January.
Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin told the Duluth News Tribune on Saturday after a 3-0 victory there is "a long way to go down and it's hard to stay [at No. 1] all year. More importantly, I'm really pleased that we started the league with a couple wins against a good hockey team."
The Bulldogs are the first Minnesota Division I hockey program to be ranked No. 1 since Minnesota State Mankato held the honor in March 2015. The Gophers were last ranked No. 1 in November 2014 and were knocked out of the top spot by the Bulldogs.
JASON GONZALEZ
