By Nate Ewell

More than two-thirds of Division I men's teams are off for exams and the holiday break, with 15 games on this weekend's schedule. With that in mind, this week's notes look ahead to the second half, with the first post-Christmas games slated for Dec. 28.

College hockey is in an era of unprecedented parity, and the start of the 2018-19 season has certainly illustrated that. Five teams have held the No. 1 ranking in the national polls already this season, with 11 teams earning first-place votes. Two of those – Ohio State and Massachusetts – reached No. 1 for the first time in school history, while seven of the top nine teams in this week's poll are seeking their school's first national championship.

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Grand Forks Herald: Fatherly advice has worked for Keane, UND
UND.com: For Nardella, hockey is a family affair
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Five More Storylines No One Should be Without

Year of the D – Defensemen have grabbed headlines thus far in 2018-19, particularly those who contribute offensively. Harvard's Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./U.S. NTDP/CAR) leads all players with 1.82 points per game, while Quinnipiac's Chase Priskie (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Salmon Arm-BCHL/WSH) is just one off the national lead in goals with 12. Two first-round NHL picks – Cale Makar (Calgary, Alta./Brooks-AJHL/COL) and Quinn Hughes (Orlando, Fla./U.S. NTDP/VAN) – join Fox and Priskie among the nation's top 23 scorers.

Defensemen by the Numbers
11 – Lead their teams in scoring (or share the lead)
10 – Average at least a point per game
7 – Returning All-Americans
5 – First-round NHL draft picks

National scoring race – Two Penn State linemates – Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa./U.S. NTDP/CHI) and Alex Limoges (Winchester, Va./Waterloo-USHL) – stand 1-2 in the national scoring race, but four players are within four points of Barratt, and 15 are within nine points. That sets up a wide-open race for the Hobey Baker Award and other national honors. Barratt and Arizona State's Johnny Walker (Phoenix, Ariz./Chicago-USHL) share the national goal scoring lead with 13, but 19 players have already hit double digits in goals.

National Points Leaders
29 – Evan Barratt, Penn State (CHI)
28 – Alex Limoges, Penn State
26 – Taro Hirose, Michigan State
25 – Odeen Tufto, Quinnipiac

Down to the wire – The first-place position in all six conferences could change in the span of a weekend, with four of the six either tied or separated by just one point at the top. Massachusetts (7-0-0) and St. Cloud State (6-0-2) boast the best conference records, but no lead is safe at the break.

Conference Leaders (Point lead over second place)
Atlantic Hockey: Air Force (3 pts.)
Big Ten: Ohio State and Wisconsin
ECAC Hockey: Yale (1)
Hockey East: Boston College and Massachusetts
NCHC: St. Cloud State (6)
WCHA: Minnesota State (1)

Red light Lions – Scoring is relatively flat since this time last year, at least on a national basis. Not so in State College, Pa., where Penn State is putting up remarkable offensive numbers. The Nittany Lions have scored 5.29 goals per game, more than a goal per game ahead of any other team. They already have 90 goals with a game to play before the break (Saturday vs. Princeton at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center). No team has scored that many goals in the first half in the last six years (as long as that data is readily available); no team has finished the season averaging more than five goals per game since Quinnipiac in 1999-2000 (5.42).

Most Goals, by Team, at Holiday Break
2018-19: 90, Penn State (17 GP, with one remaining)
2017-18: 82, Penn State (20 GP)
2016-17: 77, Union (19 GP)
2015-16: 77, St. Cloud State (18 GP)
2014-15: 67, Minnesota State (17 GP)
2013-14: 70, Union (18 GP)
2012-13: 69, Colorado College (20 GP)

Rising Sun Devils – Arizona State earned the program's first national ranking in the first half of 2018-19 and currently sits at No. 15 and 13 in the two national polls. The Sun Devils – in their fourth season of Division I play – stand ninth in the Pairwise Rankings that mimic the NCAA Tournament selection criteria. Their 12-6-0 start comes without conference affiliation, giving the sport's newest program a chance to become the first independent since 1992 (Alaska Anchorage) to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. ASU is led by local product Johnny Walker (Phoenix, Ariz./Chicago-USHL), who shares the national goal-scoring lead (13), and Joey Daccord (Boston, Mass./Muskegon-USHL/OTT), who leads the nation in wins (12) and shutouts (4).

Key Upcoming Dates

Dec. 26-Jan. 5: IIHF World Junior Championship, British Columbia | NCAA participants
Dec. 28-29: Desert Hockey Classic in Glendale, Ariz., features four ranked teams
Jan. 5: Notre Dame hosts Michigan at Notre Dame Stadium
Jan. 18: Bemidji State hosts Michigan Tech on Lake Bemidji
Feb. 4 & 11: Beanpot (TD Garden, Boston)
Feb. 15-16: Last two NCAA champions meet as Minnesota Duluth hosts Denver
Feb. 17-24: USA Hockey's Hockey Week Across America
March 8-10: Conference tournament play begins in Atlantic Hockey, Big Ten, ECAC Hockey and WCHA
March 15-17: Conference tournament play begins in Hockey East and NCHC
March 23: Conference championship games
March 24: NCAA Selection Show
March 29-31: NCAA Regionals (Providence, R.I.; Manchester, N.H.; Fargo, N.D.; Allentown, Pa.)
April 11 & 13: NCAA Frozen Four (KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y.)

WJC Note of the Week

As many as 17 schools could have players participating in the IIHF World Junior Championship based on preliminary rosters. The United States, which features 22 current NCAA players and one recruit, will open training camp Saturday. Additional NCAA players are on preliminary rosters for Canada (four), Finland (three) and the Czech Republic (one).

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

Saturday West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., the final resting place of Hobey Baker, will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the legend's passing with a public event … With a new alternate jersey, Arizona State now has 135 possible uniform combinations … 27 players have had hat tricks this season … 25 Division I programs have hosted (or will host) a teddy bear toss this season.