Minnesota climbs to the top, NCHC parity in the pod – Season 3 Episode 5

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) look at the games of the past week and a couple of news items.

Last week there were four undefeated teams who had seen action, but this week there's one. Minnesota's perfect 8-0 record has the poised and confident Golden Gophers reaching No. 1 in the USCHO.com men's D-I poll.

The teams right behind all had one or more losses in the past week, including North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth in the very competitive NCHC pod in Omaha, and Boston College, which lost its first game of the season to UConn.

The WCHA is down to eight teams with the announcement of Alaska's suspended season – which the team is working to reverse – and off to a great start is Bowling Green.

Plus, we ask whether the IIHF is really doing all it can to protect players as they head to Edmonton.

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts