BEMIDJI -- The Bemidji State men’s hockey team has entered the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine NCAA Division I poll, and also climbed two spots in this week’s USCHO.com poll. Both weekly polls were released Monday.
BSU is ranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll for the first time since being slotted at No. 15 in the preseason poll on Nov. 2. The Beavers are No. 12 this week with 84 points in the 15-team rankings .
Bemidji State is No. 13 in the 20-team USCHO poll after receiving 288 points.
The rankings in each poll are the team’s highest since achieving identical rankings of No. 10 in both polls on March 2, 2020.
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BSU (15-8-3) swept Michigan Tech in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals last weekend, winning by scores of 3-1 and 4-1.
Fellow WCHA member Minnesota State remained at No. 3 in both national polls.
Bowling Green had been ranked No. 13 in both polls, but dropped out of the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and fell three spots to No. 16 in the USCHO poll. The Falcons were eliminated from the WCHA playoffs in a three-game loss to Northern Michigan last weekend.
Lake Superior State, Bemidji State’s opponent in Friday’s WCHA semifinals, rose one spot to No. 17 in the USCHO poll after sweeping Alabama Huntsville. The Lakers are unranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
The top five teams in both national polls remained unchanged from last week. The identical top fives feature Boston College at No. 1, followed by No. 2 North Dakota, No. 3 Minnesota State, No. 4 Minnesota and No. 5 Wisconsin.
The fourth-seeded Beavers will clash with No. 2 seed Lake Superior State in the WCHA semifinals at 7:37 p.m. Friday, March 19, at the Mayo Clinic Health Systems Event Center in Mankato. Top-seeded Minnesota State will host No. 6 seed Northern Michigan in the other semifinal at 2:07 p.m. Friday. The semifinal winners will advance to the WCHA championship game at 7:07 p.m. on Saturday, March 20, in Mankato.
