- Well, North Dakota finally swept somebody, and it's the team that handed the Fighting Sioux their first loss of the season (hey, remember when everyone thought North Dakota was unstoppable?). They even did it without major contributions on the score sheet from T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan, as each player had a single assist in each game. Jean-Philippe Lamoureux wasn't called on to be a superstar in either contest, but he got the job done with a pair of one-goal outings. Remember, Miami's Jeff Zatkoff doesn't have a single shutout, but has a leg up on Lamoureux in the Hobey race -for all that's worth, since Ryan Miller effectively killed the Hobey Baker hopes of all mortal netminders - because he went the entire first half with giving up more than two goals in a game.

- Northeastern, meanwhile, had a surprising split with Merrimack, part of a wild Hockey East weekend that saw preseason conference favorite New Hampshire move into first with a home-and-home sweep of UMass. The plot really seems to be thickening nicely in Hockey East, as Boston College appears to be picking up steam with the return of Brock Bradford (two more goals as BC finished off a weekend sweep of Vermont), UNH is doing its thing, and those early season surprises - not just Northeastern, but both UMasses - are still in the mix. Hey, even BU has five points in its last three conference games, Providence is very much a factor, and as Merrimack has proved with the win over Northeastern and 1-0 loss to UNH last week, they can't be written off on any night.

- Bowling Green was on the wrong end of Lake Superior's first CCHA win of the season, on a less-stellar-night for Jimmy Spratt. Goaltending is the question for that team, but even with Spratt and Nick Eno being something not quite consistent, the Falcons are an intriguing and an exciting team. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing them take on Western Michigan on Friday.

- That leaves RPI, swept at the hands of Cornell and Colgate. The Engineers, as has been discussed in several outlets, took on an absurdly difficult non-conference schedule, and expects the lessons learned to pay dividends this season. Of course, Cornell is perennially among the best teams in ECAC Hockey, and while Colgate has disappointed so far, the Raiders are strongest in the area that, insane non-conference schedule notwithstanding, RPI is lacking: experience. Home and home with Union this weekend will certainly be interesting, especially after the Dutchmen surprised Cornell.

It should be one heck of a ride, so stop by Monday for the debut of Breakout, Break In.