ACHA’s top squads showing more parity than in past

By KEVIN BRICKER
Collegian Staff Writer

Lately, there's been an underlying theme arising in the American Collegiate Hockey Association -- unpredictability.

On the ice, teams have been trading wins more than Dallas Stars forward Brett Hull whines to the media.

Opponents are beating up on each other, leaving many two-game series in a complete stalemate and teams wondering where they rank amongst the rest of the league.

"I think you can go down to the top 14 and they can beat anybody else," Iowa State coach Al Murdoch said. "There's a lot of parity."

This past weekend No. 3 Michigan-Dearborn traveled to No. 7 Illinois and each club snagged a victory. On Friday Michigan-Dearborn won 6-4. Saturday, Illinois came away with a 4-3 triumph.

In the desert, No. 6 Towson and No. 5 Arizona skated to 10-7 and 6-5 finals. The Icecats won Friday, but Towson rebounded Saturday and salvaged the series.

"All you got to do is look at the scores over the last two weeks," Towson coach Marshall Stevenson said. "Everybody's getting bumped around."

Adding another element of uncertainty to the league is the rankings. Tomorrow the fifth poll will be released, but just the first since Dec. 18.

"(Rankings) two through nine you could just draw out of a hat," Michigan-Dearborn coach Joe Aho said.

In a span of a month teams have risen, struggled and some have continued their ways -- particularly No. 1 Penn State. The Icers have not lost since Nov. 21 and likely will remain atop the ACHA poll.

While the Icers continue to win, No. 2 Iowa State has slipped. Since starting the season with 15 consecutive wins, the Cyclones have encountered adversity lately.

Iowa State's 9-2 triumph Friday at No. 16 Colorado was its first win in its last four games (1-2-1), and just its second in its last six (2-2-2). But an 8-5 loss on Jan. 11 came to NCAA Div. I squad Bemidji State on the road, an unenviable challenge for a club-level team.

Murdoch expects his squad to drop in the poll. The rankings determine the seedings for the ACHA Tournament, but a fall in the poll suits him.

"We've got a really young team," Murdoch said. "I don't mind being seeded a little bit lower because you can sneak up on teams."

But Aho doesn't feel his team should vault past Iowa State.

"Over our last four games we're really not playing well," he said. "If we would've swept Illinois I would've said ‘Yes (we'd pass Iowa State).' "

Ohio continues to roar toward the top. With a two-game sweep at No. 4 Western Michigan this past weekend, the No. 10 Bobcats raised their stock and some eyebrows around the league. Ohio is 9-0-2 in its last 11 games.