The USCHO.com weekly rankings were released on Monday and, for the first time in school history, both the Forester men's and women's teams are listed. The women are ranked 10th and the men 12th.
The Lake Forest College women's team climbed into the top 10 after posting an 8-0 victory at Finlandia University and a 4-4 tie at the College of St. Scholastica over the weekend. The Foresters are now 10-5-3 overall and 9-3-2 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association play, good for second place in the league. They had not appeared in the USCHO.com poll since being ranked ninth in the country in the preseason. After reaching the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history last season, Lake Forest was listed eighth in the final poll of the year.
The Forester men currently own the longest unbeaten streak in the nation at a team record 15 games. Lake Forest was ranked 15th in the last two USCHO.com polls and climbed to a season-best 12th after sweeping a home-and-home series with Lawrence University over the weekend. The team prevailed 4-1 on the road Friday night and 6-3 at home on Saturday. Lake Forest is now 13-3-5 overall and in second place in the NCHA stanings with an 11-1-2 record in conference games. Prior to January 19, the Foresters had not been listed among the top 15 in the USCHO.com poll since November 8, 2004.
Through the "Home Ice Advantage" campaign, Lake Forest has made significant renovations to its facility over the last few years, including a few in the last week. The lobby received a major new facelift and a large "Forester Hockey" banner now spans the enrite length of the north wall of Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. The most recent enhancements will be unveiled to the public at this Saturday's men's game against Milwaukee School of Engineering and again next Friday for the women's game against Concordia University Wisconsin.