Gophers near unanimous No. 1 in hockeyland

Since Dec. 30, the Gophers have beaten then-No. 1 Boston College 8-1, then No. 2 Notre Dame 4-1. They took last Friday off and barely beat Alaska Anchorage 4-3 and, the next night, routed the Seawolves 7-1.

They are 16-3-3, have a seven-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) and are 11-1-3 in their last 15. Yet someone is still not voting for them as No. 1.

In the uscho.com poll, the Gophers have 47 of the 50 first-place votes. No. 3 New Hampshire has one and Quinnipiac two.

In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, the Gophers have 31 first-place votes, Quinnipiac three.

And in the only poll that really matters -- done by a computer which compares numbers -- the Gophers are No. 4 in the PairWise ratings.

Tied for first are those Quinnipiac Bobcats, who have a 17-3-3 mark. They have one more win than the Gophers, the only team with 16.

Tied with Quinnipiac are Boston College and New Hampshire.

RANKINGS UNDER MICROSCOPE

The second WCHA team in all the rankings is North Dakota. That should add a little more spice to this weekend's series at Mariucci between UND and the Gophers.

North Dakota is sixth in the uscha.com and USA Today polls, and tied for sixth with Boston University in the PairWise ratings.

* In the uscho.com ratings, Boston College is second with 924 points -- a whopping 74 points behind the Gophers. The other WCHA teams in the poll are North Dakota at No. 6, Denver at No. 7, Nebraksa Omaha at No. 13 and Minnesota State Mankato at No. 14.

* USA Today has its top five WCHA teams in the same spots.

* In the PairWise ratings, which mimic how the NCAA picks its field, North Dakota is tied for sixth with Boston University, Denver is No 8 and Minnesota State Mankato is on the tournament bubble, tied for No. 15.