1. Miami - So, I established last night that the RedHawks are, in my opinion, a better team than North Dakota, so you knew they'd be No. 4 or higher, but I'm giving them full marks. Jeff Zatkoff gives Miami a presence in goal that neither Notre Dame nor Michigan can boast right now, and Charlie Effinger is still a very capable backup (who might even be able to start over Billy Sauer or Jordan Pearce, although I suspect that if he were capable of his sophomore year form over the long haul, it'd be an even split with him and Zatkoff). There's also that size, strength, and physical presence that Miami brings. If you look at the comments that Rensselaer head coach Seth Appert made about how physically strong the RedHawks are, and how much further along they are in their physical development compared to RPI, you can say the same thing - albeit not to the same degree - when comparing them to Michigan or Notre Dame, particularly that very young Michigan team.

As for Denver, that would be a hell of a game - especially if it were in to happen in Denver this April - with great goaltending on both sides behind well-coached teams with skill and character. Again, though, I think the size, experience, and physical development favor Miami, and the RedHawks certainly have enough skill to match up with the Pioneers in that department. I think it'd be a game decided in the third period - where, coincidentally, the RedHawks have outscored the opposition 36-6 - and Miami would wear DU down for the win.

2. Denver - The fact that I had to thing as long and as hard about the Denver-Miami question is a testament to how good the Pioneers are, because Miami is one hell of a team, even without Nathan Davis. The Pioneers, meanwhile, found a way to win when they weren't playing their best on Friday at Alaska-Anchorage - Peter Mannino comes up big in one of DU's tightest spots of the season - and then showed how good they could be at their best with a 6-2 win on Saturday. This is still a young team up front, which becomes a real concern when you look at a big, nasty, veteran team like Miami, but in a young WCHA the Pioneers are in great position with veteran goaltending and defense.

3. Michigan - I want to say that Michigan's youthful lineup and unproven goaltending are going to become major issues when they get into the meat of their CCHA schedule and have to play Michigan State, Notre Dame and Miami, but then again, we all thought those would be issues throughout the season, and so far, Michigan is leading the CCHA, swept the College Hockey Showcase, and swept the best CCHA team they played. They also have three very nice non-conference wins that they can put in the bank for the NCAA tournament. Hail, hail to Michigan for one hell of a first half, but I like the RedHawks and the Pioneers as the season goes along.

4. Notre Dame - Like the Wolverines, the Irish have done admirably with a young team - especially on the blueline, with three senior defensemen gone from a year ago - and they even split their series with Miami in the first half. Still, I get the sense that the real glory for the Irish is yet to come, when Brad Phillips is ready to take on the lion's share of the goaltending duties, and the young defensemen have grown into their roles. Still, this is a team that is more than capable of competing with the other CCHA powers, a Frozen Four contender, and a strong step forward for Notre Dame, in terms of the development of the program, if not in terms of wins and losses.

5. North Dakota - The harsh light of high expectations made a solid, if unspectacular, first half in Grand Forks seem like cause for concern. The Sioux will get New Hampshire for a pair after Christmas in lieu of a holiday tournament, and a strong performance there - the Sioux will have their full complement, while UNH will be without James vanRiemsdyk - would likely spark a big second half for Dave Hakstol's bunch. In the meantime, after seeing the "Kosha Boy" parody video on YouTube, I'm wondering how long it will be until some NoDak fan comes up with lyrics for "Crank That Oshie Boy." I can hear it now... "SIOUX!!! SIOUX!!!"

6. Boston College - I said it before, and I'll say it again: Nathan Gerbe will not win the Hobey Baker Award. That said, if he keeps on putting up numbers the way he has been of late, he will be a finalist, and more importantly, he will help win a whole lot of hockey games for the Eagles. Be annoyed if you want that Ben Smith won't be playing for the U.S. at World Juniors, but his presence at the Dodge Holiday Classic will put BC in excellent position to capture a big win there that will pay dividends when tournament time comes around.

7. Northeastern - The Huskies are the surprise team of the season in Hockey East so far, at least in a positive light. There were certainly plenty of people who expected Greg Cronin's team to be good, but the same kind of "home ice in the playoffs, NCAA tournament berth" good that UMass was last year, not "first place in Hockey East" good. This team isn't all that great at any one thing - except goaltending, ase Brad Thiessen is where it all starts - but they're scrappy and they find ways to win. The question now is if they can keep doing that in the second half.

8. St. Cloud - The bleeding has stopped in St. Cloud. Unfortunately, SCSU's next game is against Miami, and the RedHawks will make the Huskies bleed all over again. Andreas Nodl, Ryan Lasch and Garrett Roe continue to be the most dependable scorers for Bob Motzko's team. If they continue to produce in the second half and Jase Weslosky continues to turn in solid performances, the Huskies will be a factor in the WCHA.

9. Minnesota - They're just not used to this in Minnesota. Of course, they're used to losing key contributors over the summer but not once the season starts. The Jimmy O'Brien departure looks a lot bigger in hindsight, but at the same time, the return of Mike Carman after World Juniors has the potential to be huge for Don Lucia's team. This is a team that hasn't handled its youth well, particularly on defense, where Alex Goligoski, Erik Johnson and Mike Vannelli are sorely, sorely missed in front of goaltending that's very unpredictable.

10. Rensselaer - The Engineers have done well for themselves in the first half, but their games against top-flight competition have shown that they're not quite ready for prime time. They have good goaltending, very capable senior leadership, and some nice young talent up front, but those young players need time to develop physically and become the kind of players that RPI needed to have this weekend against Miami. I have a feeling that eventually, guys like Tyler Helfrich, Chase Polacek and Jeff Foss will be those kinds of guys, but that takes time. RPI is the best ECAC Hockey team I've seen so far, and will be a tough out in that conference's tournament, but they're not ready on the national level yet.

11. Harvard - Was there a bit of smoke and mirrors going on with the Crimson in the first half? Not exactly, but Ted Donato's team has certainly been leaning too heavily on Kyle Richter and goals by defensemen, and that showed in the losses to RPI and Boston College. Harvard's forwards need to start producing more - only three Harvard forwards have three or more goals this season - and keep opponents from cracking down on the guys who are scoring. There are three Ivy graduates on the staff - two Harvard alums and a Cornellian - so between them and the players, they're smart enough to figure it out.

12. Cornell - The Big Red have it where it counts so far this season. Two big neutral-size losses to BU and RIT? Sure. But they're 4-2 in ECAC Hockey play with both losses to hot teams (that aren't all that hot anymore) by a single goal. Ben Scrivens has proven a servicable heir to the great Cornell goaltenders from earlier this decade, Riley Nash has been a real impact freshman, and has this team really only played nine games? There's a story yet to be told here, and it will likely have at least one chapter that takes place in Albany.

13. Alaska-Anchorage - Dave Shyiak's bunch played reasonably well against Denver, outshooting the Pioneers in both games, and really forcing Peter Mannino to win the Friday game, but with no real go-to player up front and Jon Olthuis and his .875 save percentage in the net, UAA doesn't have what it takes to be a long-term factor in the WCHA this season, although they can certainly beat any team in the conference on any given night.

14. Quinnipiac - The Bobcats hold wins over the two best teams in ECAC Hockey thus far in Clarkson and RPI, and they've done it with only two goals from Brandon Wong, who, to his credit, has been effective distributing the puck (10 assists). Peter Vetri and Bud Fisher have formed a nice goaltending tandem that should get more solid as the season goes along. Quinnipiac is very quietly three games over .500, and that breakout season we were expecting is still a possibility, even if it hasn't happened yet.

15. Dartmouth - After graduating Tanner Glass, Grant Lewis, Ben Lovejoy and Mike Hartwick and losing David Jones and T.J. Galiardi to the AHL and the WHL, respectively, Bob Gaudet has to be looking back at a .500 first half and thinking, "Well, that could have been a whole lot worse." Now, the record also includes a 2-4-1 mark in ECAC Hockey play, but for a team that's playing four freshmen and a sophomore on the blueline more often than not, the .500 first half is encouraging. The question is whether the young players will grow into their roles and power a second-half improvement, or whether they'll hit the wall and Dartmouth will tailspin. At worst, it should be a respectable rebuilding year in Hanover.

And the rest...

16. Nebraska-Omaha - The Mavericks have had awful struggles in net behind a team that isn't quite in sync offensively. There's strong offensive talent there, though.

17. RIT - The Tigers have a major opportunity out of the break against a struggling Minnesota team that will be missing several key performers.

18. Boston University - The snowstorm that wiped out the Terriers' game against Dartmouth gives the Terriers one more game with those four suspended players, most notably. Brandon Yip and Bryan Ewing

19. Yale - The Bulldogs are 10-8-4 in the first half over their first two seasons of the Keith Allain Era.

20. St. Lawrence - So close, yet so far: the Saints are 3-7 in one-goal games.

21. Princeton - The Tigers are making progress, but will have to keep competing on the road, since they see a lot of it this season.

22. Colgate - Did the Raiders' 4-1-1 stretch going into the break give them momentum they can build on?

23. Union - Here's a crazy stat: The Dutchmen have more wins against the CCHA (three) than against their own conference (one).

24. Brown - Will the Bears get stronger eating home cooking, with 10 of 16 at home in 2008? They can only hope.

25. American International - Dan Ramirez can give AIC a chance to win, but the Yellow Jackets aren't always capable of taking that chance.

26. Alabama-Huntsville - The Chargers also bring up the rear in the first half of the season, playing the last game before the Christmas tournaments on Tuesday night against Robert Morris.

And that's where we'll close it out for the first half. With no games this weekend - although I'm considering a trip to Hartford to see my friends Hugh Jessiman and Mike Ouellette play for the Wolf Pack - the Rink Rat Rankings will take a hiatus next week, but we'll have a fresh edition December 31 with five new teams: UMass-Lowell, Clarkson, Maine, Colorado College and UMass.