Maine Trust for Local News sports columnist Travis Lazarczyk is a voter in the USCHO.com men’s hockey poll. Each week he will share his top 20, as well as hit on a few items of interest in the sport.

Some minor tweaks near the top of this week’s ballot, plus one omission I thought long and hard over:

1. Michigan
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan State
4. North Dakota
5. Denver
6. Quinnipiac
7. Dartmouth
8. Penn State
9. Minnesota-Duluth
10. Western Michigan
11. Boston College
12. UConn
13. Northeastern
14. Minnesota State
15. Harvard
16. Cornell
17. Providence
18. Colorado College
19. Miami
20. Holy Cross

Maine drops off ballot

After watching the Black Bears lose a pair of games to UNH at Alfond Arena this weekend and fall to 8-7-1, I thought a lot Sunday about where I would rank Maine when I submitted my ballot Monday morning. Even after splits with Vermont and Boston College, I still had the Black Bears 10th last week.

After watching the team play this weekend, I realized I’m not watching one of the top 20 teams in the country right now. (Maine is 15th in the poll this week).

Can the Black Bears reclaim a spot next week? Absolutely, but it will take 60 minute efforts in each of their three games this week, Wednesday against UMass Lowell at Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena, and Saturday and Sunday at Alfond against Lindenwood. The team has talent, but also has a lot of newcomers who are learning on the job that college hockey isn’t the same as juniors, and it isn’t easy.

The Big Ten is top heavy

My top three all come from the Big Ten, and it wasn’t really close. Any inner debate I had was about juggling the order. I decided splitting a pair of games with a strong Michigan State team wasn’t enough to remove Michigan as my No. 1, although the case can be made for Wisconsin after the Badgers swept Notre Dame, outscoring the Fighting Irish 16-6 in the process. Penn State, the other Big Ten squad in my top 10, had the weekend off. The entire conference is now on break until at least the end of the month.

Dartmouth stays hot

Nearing the midpoint of the regular season, the surprise team has to be Dartmouth. The Big Green are 10-0 after wins over Brown and Yale this past weekend. I moved the Big Green to No. 7 this week. Suddenly, Dartmouth’s 46-year NCAA tournament drought looks like it could end. Dartmouth last made the tourney in 1980. It was a five-team field that year, so the Big Green went right to the Frozen Four, where they lost to eventual national champion North Dakota. Dartmouth won’t go undefeated, but it will be fun to see how long it can stay that way. The Big Green host Army on Friday, and play at UNH on Sunday.