The Maine hockey team still hasn't cracked the national polls so far this season - in this week's
USCHO.com/College Sports Division I top 20 poll, the Black Bears got 30 votes, behind Harvard (40 votes) and UMass-Lowell (39 votes), in theory making Maine No. 23 in the poll.

Maine, however, did not receive any votes in this week's USA Today/USA Hockey top 15 poll.

In a third poll, InsideCollegeHockey.com's weekly top 20 power rankings, the INCH staff dubbed Maine a "bubble" team, along with Harvard, Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage.

I spoke with INCH editor Joe Gladziszewski earlier this afternoon about Maine's spot in, or just on the periphery, of the weekly polls. Maine, he explained, has done enough so far this season to merit national consideration in the polls but not enough to crack USA Today's top 15 or USCHO.com's top 20 just yet.

"With Maine, seven games unbeaten is impressive," Gladziszewski said. "But from a strength-of-schedule side of things, if Maine had gotten a point from Northeastern or at Anchorage, maybe that puts them on the next level."

Gladziszewski explained that in putting together the weekly power rankings, there's a criteria that takes into consideration a team's wins, its strength of schedule, head-to-head competition and a team's consistency. Also, the INCH staff considers everything else that's going on in college hockey, a sort of chaos theory - what happens to one team in one part of the conference or the country will somehow affect another team's standing. (Does that make sense?)

But the bottom line to entering the national polls?

"Wins," Gladziszewski said. "If Maine can get one in the next two games against Vermont or Northeastern, it could propel them. I think it would put them in the rankings."

If Maine loses both, the bubble could burst.

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Maine's opponent this Saturday did something that no other team has done in 18 years. Vermont swept a back-to-back series from Boston University on BU's home ice. Maine was the last visiting team to take a weekend series from BU, defeating the Terriers 4-3 and 6-3 on Nov. 20-21, 1992 at Walter Brown Arena.

Vermont (7-3-2, 4-3-1 Hockey East) travels to Massachusetts for a rare mid-week game at 7 p.m. Tuesday before facing Maine on Saturday at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington.

Maine, UMass and Vermont are currently tied for third place in this week's Hockey East standings.

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