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1. DENVER (18-10-4, 13-7-4, Pairwise No. 12)

Remaining series: home vs. North Dakota, at UNO. Comment: Chance to wrestle the MacNaughton Cup for the regular-season title from Minnesota or Minnesota-Duluth took a hit with 5-2 loss Saturday at Wisconsin, which ended a four-game unbeaten streak — the Pioneers are four points behind first-place Minnesota. Still, the preseason WCHA favorite Pioneers are hot, going 8-2-1 since being upset by Alabama-Huntsville.

2. MINNESOTA (21-11-1, 17-7-0, No. 9)

Remaining series: at UNO, home vs. Wisconsin. Comment: Gophers come to Omaha having swept Bemidji State after losing twice at Denver. Kent Patterson has been the Gophers' only goalie this season, and he's posted a 2.10 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. Notice that the WCHA's top six teams will square off this week.

3. NORTH DAKOTA (17-11-3, 13-10-1, No. 15)

Remaining series: at Denver, home vs. MSU-Mankato. Comment: A win, instead of a tie, Saturday at home against Michigan Tech would have put North Dakota alone in fourth in the standings instead of tied with Colorado College and UNO, but 5-1-1 mark in the past seven games is impressive. And, if North Dakota can get a couple of points in Denver, the final weekend at home is potentially the easiest of the contenders.

4. MINN.-DULUTH (20-7-5, 14-6-4, RPI No. 7)

Remaining series: home vs. Colorado College, at St. Cloud St. Comment: Bulldogs are 3-4-2 in WCHA games since Jan. 14, the night UNO ended their remarkable 17-game unbeaten string. Are the defending national champions gearing up for another postseason run, or have they lost their edge?

5. UNO (14-12-6, 11-8-5, No. 24)

Remaining series: home vs. Minnesota, home vs. Denver. Comment: Mavericks were impressive in getting three points out of Michigan Tech and another two — and almost three — out of Colorado College the past two weekends, but it doesn't get any easier back home at the CenturyLink Center with Minnesota and Denver coming in. Still, UNO is the only contender finishing with four straight at home. Contributions starting to come from sources other than the top two lines, an encouraging sign for Mav fans.

6. COLORADO COLLEGE (16-12-2, 13-10-1, No. 19)

Remaining series: at Minnesota-Duluth, home vs. Michigan Tech.Comment: Tigers' health has improved after seven regulars, including the top three scorers not named Schwartz (Rylan or Jaden), were out for a sweep at Bemidji State two weeks ago. But they still should feel fortunate to have gotten two points against UNO, winning Friday despite being outplayed and getting a favorable ruling on a late goal that was waved off.

7. MICHIGAN TECH (13-15-4, 10-10-4, No. 37)

Remaining series: home vs. St. Cloud St., at Colorado College. Comment: Winless streak at four games for Huskies, who managed to pick up a tie two weeks ago against UNO and again Saturday at North Dakota. A top-six finish for home ice in the playoffs is still a possibility, making this weekend's series huge.

8. ST. CLOUD STATE (13-15-4, 10-11-3, No. 26)

Remaining series: at Michigan Tech, home vs. Minnesota-Duluth. Comment: Overtime home loss Friday to Alaska-Anchorage was a painful setback in the Huskies' bid for home ice — Saturday's 8-3 win is proof. They're four points out of the top six, and the schedule isn't favorable.

9. BEMIDJI STATE (15-14-3, 9-12-3, No. 25)

Remaining series: home vs. Wisconsin, at Alaska-Anchorage. Comment: Sweep at hands of Minnesota ended a four-game unbeaten streak that included three-point weekend at UNO and sweep of Colorado College. Beavers have the easiest schedule remaining of any WCHA team, though traveling to Alaska isn't a breeze. If they take care of business, seventh place seems reasonable — and that would likely allow them to avoid the Gophers, Bulldogs and Pioneers.

10. MSU-MANKATO (12-20-2, 8-16-2, No. 47)

Remaining series: bye week, at North Dakota. Comment: Mavericks scratched out a tie with Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday, their only point of the weekend. Before that, they'd gone 6-3 in their previous nine WCHA games, with two of the losses by one goal, including one (to UNO) in overtime.

11. WISCONSIN (13-15-2, 8-14-2, No. 32)

Remaining series: at Bemidji St., at Minnesota. Comment: Saturday's 5-2 win against Denver snapped a five-game skid for the Badgers, during which they were outscored 19-7. Two road series await them.

12. ALASKA-ANCHORAGE (8-20-2, 5-20-1, No. 50)

Remaining series: vs. Alaska-Fairbanks (nonconference), home vs. Bemidji State. Comment: Seawolves are 2-11 since Dec. 9, but one of the wins was Friday in overtime at St. Cloud State and the other was two weeks ago against Minnesota-Duluth.

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