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BEMIDJI, Minn. -- The Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team may have been idle last week, but the team continues its ascension in the nation’s major NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey polls.  The Beavers have been slotted at No. 5 in this week’s USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine poll as well as the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports poll.

The Beavers, who are 18-6-2 overall and 10-2-0 in College Hockey America play, are most recently coming off a Jan. 29-30 series during which they split a conference two-game set with Robert Morris University.  BSU took the series opener 5-1 before dropping Saturday’s game 5-2.

The No. 5 billing marks the Beavers’ third consecutive week in the top 10 and their first among the nation’s top five teams in nearly two months but remains under the team’s high water mark of No. 4 set Dec. 7, 2009.  Bemidji State has now been ranked among the nation’s top 15 men’s ice hockey teams for a school record 17 weeks.

Miami University (Ohio) is the nation’s No. 1 team in both polls for the third consecutive week.  The RedHawks have been atop the polls 16 weeks this season.

The State of Hockey is again well represented as St. Cloud State University and University of Minnesota Duluth joining BSU in the top 10.
The Beavers have made an appearance in every poll of the 2009-10 season and remain the CHA’s only program to appear in either publication.

The USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country. The poll, published weekly by the Associated Press, is a joint production of USCHO.com, which provides in-depth coverage of college sports, including hockey, lacrosse, soccer and others, and CBS College Sports Networks, Inc., the only digital media company dedicated solely to college sports. CBS College Sports operates a 24-hour college sports cable network, also available via DISH and DirecTV satellite.

The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll, now in its 15th year, is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey Magazine, the most widely distributed hockey magazine in the world.

This week the Beavers (18-6-2; 10-2-0 CHA) return to CHA play with a trip to Pittsburgh, Pa. to face Robert Morris. The league series is scheduled to begin at 6:05 (CST) Friday. The finale will follow with a 6:05 p.m. (CST) opening face off Saturday. Both games will be played at RMU’s Island Sports Center.

--bsu--