1. Wisconsin

The rich get richer. Wisconsin handled business against Penn State this weekend, outscoring the Nittany Lions 10-4. They’re ranked #6 in the country at the start of the holiday break and don’t look like they’ll be leaving anytime soon.

2. Michigan State

The Spartans dispatched Notre Dame in both games this weekend with a combined score of 7-3. Wisconsin and Michigan State look poised to battle it out down the stretch, both here and in the standings, and separate themselves from the rest of the conference.

3. Minnesota

The Gophers struggled at times against bottom-feeder Ohio State, even losing in a shootout on Saturday, though winning ugly is better than losing so they’ll remain in the #3 spot for the holiday break. But please note: there is a sizeable gap between #2 and #3. 

4. Notre Dame

Despite getting swept by Michigan State, the Irish didn’t look completely lost this weekend. Notre Dame has performed well against teams not named Michigan State or Boston College, but the second half of their schedule is considerably tougher. 

5. Michigan

The Wolverines were idle this weekend, but moved up a spot thanks to Penn State’s lackluster performance against Wisconsin. Michigan will enjoy a long holiday break before hitting the ice again on January 12th against Stonehill.

6. Penn State

The Nittany Lions looked plain bad against Wisconsin this weekend. Granted, Wisconsin has done (and will continue to do) that to many teams, but this seemed like more than the standard “losing to a better team” performance. Luckily for Penn State, the second half of their schedule is easier so there’s time to turn it around.

7. Ohio State

Buckeye fans: time to celebrate! Ohio State won a conference game for the first time since October 21st. That brings their conference win total to… (checks notes) two, none in regulation. All jokes aside, the Buckeyes put up a gutsy performance against Minnesota this weekend, but their poor performance earlier in the season keeps them at the bottom of our rankings.