What'd I miss?

I'm back from a couple of days or R and R. So what happened during Minnesota State's bye week?

Well, the Mavericks stayed at No. 8 in the latest USCHO poll and moved up to No. 8 from No. 10 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings.

As expected, idle Minnesota State also dropped out of first place in the WCHA standings, as Bowling Green took 4 of 6 points from Bemidji State last weekend, a 3-1 win and a 3-3 tie with a shootout loss.

The Falcons now have a three-point lead over the Mavericks atop the standings, but MSU has two games in hand. Minnesota State has four games in hand over Michigan Tech, which sits one point back in third place.

Those games in hand won't change this weekend as all 10 WCHA teams will be in action against each other. Here's the schedule:

Minnesota State at Lake Superior State
Alabama Huntsville at Bowling Green
Ferris State at Michigan Tech
Northern Michigan at Bemidji State
Alaska at Alaska Anchorage

Current standings look like this:

1. Bowling Green, 24 points (12 GP)
2. Minnesota State, 21 points (10)
3. Michigan Tech, 20 points (14)
4. Northern Michigan, 18 points (10)
5. Alabama Huntsville, 16 points (10)
5. Ferris State, 16 points (10)
7. Lake Superior State, 11 points (10)
7. Alaska, 11 points (12)
9. Bemidji State, 10 points (8)
10. Alaska Anchorage, 9 points (8)