1. Michigan State

Despite only mustering a shoot-out win against Minnesota, the Spartans retain this week’s top spot. Their series sweep against Wisconsin last week is boosting them, but that is looking less impressive after Wisconsin’s sleepy performance in Friday’s game against Alaska-Anchorage. If Michigan State’s offense stays hot, it’ll take a lot to remove them from #1.

2. Minnesota

In the past two weeks, Minnesota has settled into more of a typical Gopher hockey team – tough defense and scoring in spurts. They beat Michigan State in overtime Saturday, claiming the Spartans’ consolation point which could loom large down the stretch. A consistent Minnesota team is trouble for the Big Ten.

3. Wisconsin

As the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end.” The Badgers are living that now after dropping three of the last four. Their early-season run is looking more like an anomaly with each passing week, but Wisconsin is still a dangerous team.

4. Penn State

Penn State moves up two spots after a thorough dismantling of Lindenwood (combined score of 16-4) and is gaining momentum in the Power Rankings. A tough test against Minnesota is on tap for them this week where they’ll look to prove they are a contender in the conference.

5. Michigan

A win and a tie in a weekend series is usually enough to catapult a team in the rankings, but that’s not the case for the Wolverines. This stagnation, however, is not an indictment of their play and is simply a product of other teams looking more impressive. Michigan is waiting to explode so don’t be surprised to see them near the top if they perform well this weekend.

6. Notre Dame

It’s hard to penalize a team for looking bad against the top team in this week’s national rankings, but with a high-performing conference like the Big Ten, sometimes it has to happen. The Irish didn’t do themselves any favors by falling 6-1, either.

7. Ohio State

The Buckeyes swept the weekend’s series against Princeton, but even that’s not enough to dig them out of the hole they’ve created. Ohio State plays very well in non-conference matchups, but when they have to slug their way through Big Ten game, they look uninspired.