(all PWR and RPI tables from USCHO)
| Rk | Team | PWR | Rk | W-L-T | Win % | Rk | RPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston University | 24 | 2 | 19-5-1 | .7800 | 1 | .5994* |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 23 | 1 | 19-4-3 | .7885 | 2 | .5813 |
| 3t | Vermont | 20 | 10 | 14-6-4 | .6667 | 4 | .5740 |
| 3t | Cornell | 20 | 3 | 14-3-3 | .7750 | 5 | .5730* |
| 3t | Michigan | 20 | 7 | 19-8-0 | .7037 | 6 | .5723 |
| 3t | Minnesota | 20 | 13 | 12-6-5 | .6304 | 7 | .5612* |
| 7 | Northeastern | 18 | 5t | 17-6-2 | .7200 | 3 | .5777 |
| 8t | Miami | 17 | 14 | 15-8-4 | .6296 | 9 | .5510 |
| 8t | Denver | 17 | 9 | 16-7-3 | .6731 | 8 | .5612 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 15 | 18 | 12-8-4 | .5833 | 10 | .5477 |
| 11t | Yale | 13 | 4 | 14-5-1 | .7250 | 13 | .5400* |
| 11t | Princeton | 13 | 8 | 14-6-0 | .7000 | 11 | .5444* |
| 13 | Boston College | 12 | 22 | 11-8-4 | .5652 | 12 | .5405 |
| 14 | Ohio State | 11 | 11 | 16-8-3 | .6481 | 14 | .5373 |
| 15 | North Dakota | 10 | 21 | 15-11-3 | .5690 | 16 | .5327 |
| 16t | Wisconsin | 9 | 19 | 14-10-3 | .5741 | 17 | .5325 |
| 16t | Minnesota-Duluth | 9 | 17 | 13-8-6 | .5926 | 15 | .5355 |
| 18 | St. Lawrence | 7 | 23 | 13-10-2 | .5600 | 19 | .5277 |
| 19 | St. Cloud State | 6 | 24t | 14-11-2 | .5556 | 18 | .5289 |
| 20 | Air Force | 5 | 5t | 17-6-2 | .7200 | 20 | .5238 |
| 21t | Colorado College | 3 | 20 | 13-9-6 | .5714 | 21 | .5227 |
| 21t | Alaska | 3 | 24t | 12-9-6 | .5556 | 22 | .5225 |
| 21t | Massachusetts | 3 | 28t | 11-11-3 | .5000 | 24 | .5150 |
| 24 | Dartmouth | 2 | 15t | 11-7-2 | .6000 | 23 | .5212 |
| 25 | Mass.-Lowell | 0 | 28t | 12-12-0 | .5000 | 25 | .5133 |
For Saturday's game, a win might allow UW to win the comparison with North Dakota (especially if the Sioux drop another game to SCSU), but more importantly, it will ice down the comparison win against UMD.
While the PWR's intricacies can be confusing, the most important part of the formula is the RPI. The RPI breaks ties within individual comparisons and also breaks ties when three or more teams have won the same number of comparisons.
If you look at the above PWR standings, you'll note that the PWR rank is remarkably similar to the RPI rank. In fact, in the relevant part of the RPI (the teams under consideration for the tournament, the top 15 or so), the rank order almost exactly matches, with a few exceptions (Northeastern is underperforming compared to it's RPI, Yale is above it, and UMD is under).
Big picture, this means UW's single biggest improvement in the rankings will come from improving its RPI. UMD currently has a better RPI than UW, if only by a small margin. A win tonight is another step in the right direction for UW's RPI.
The current RPI looks like this:
| Rk | Team | RPI | Rk | W-L-T | Win % | Rk | SOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston University | .5994* | 2 | 19-5-1 | .7800 | 2 | .5385 |
| 2 | Notre Dame | .5813 | 1 | 19-4-3 | .7885 | 23 | .5123 |
| 3 | Northeastern | .5777 | 5t | 17-6-2 | .7200 | 6 | .5302 |
| 4 | Vermont | .5740 | 10 | 14-6-4 | .6667 | 1 | .5431 |
| 5 | Cornell | .5730* | 3 | 14-3-3 | .7750 | 30 | .5045 |
| 6 | Michigan | .5723 | 7 | 19-8-0 | .7037 | 7 | .5285 |
| 7 | Minnesota | .5612* | 13 | 12-6-5 | .6304 | 3 | .5378 |
| 8 | Denver | .5612 | 9 | 16-7-3 | .6731 | 10 | .5239 |
| 9 | Miami | .5510 | 14 | 15-8-4 | .6296 | 9 | .5248 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | .5477 | 18 | 12-8-4 | .5833 | 4 | .5359 |
| 11 | Princeton | .5444* | 8 | 14-6-0 | .7000 | 39 | .4922 |
| 12 | Boston College | .5405 | 22 | 11-8-4 | .5652 | 5 | .5323 |
| 13 | Yale | .5400* | 4 | 14-5-1 | .7250 | 45 | .4777 |
| 14 | Ohio State | .5373 | 11 | 16-8-3 | .6481 | 34 | .5003 |
| 15 | Minnesota-Duluth | .5355 | 17 | 13-8-6 | .5926 | 19 | .5165 |
| 16 | North Dakota | .5327 | 21 | 15-11-3 | .5690 | 11 | .5207 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | .5325 | 19 | 14-10-3 | .5741 | 14 | .5186 |
| 18 | St. Cloud State | .5289 | 24t | 14-11-2 | .5556 | 13 | .5200 |
| 19 | St. Lawrence | .5277 | 23 | 13-10-2 | .5600 | 18 | .5170 |
| 20 | Air Force | .5238 | 5t | 17-6-2 | .7200 | 53 | .4584 |
| 21 | Colorado College | .5227 | 20 | 13-9-6 | .5714 | 28 | .5065 |
| 22 | Alaska | .5225 | 24t | 12-9-6 | .5556 | 24 | .5114 |
| 23 | Dartmouth | .5212 | 15t | 11-7-2 | .6000 | 36 | .4949 |
| 24 | Massachusetts | .5150 | 28t | 11-11-3 | .5000 | 12 | .5200 |
| 25 | Mass.-Lowell | .5133 | 28t | 12-12-0 | .5000 | 15 | .5178 |
Earlier, I discussed the RPI's forumla. USCHO's RPI page amalgamates the OPct and OOPct factors into one "strength of schedule" component. Thus, UW's RPI displayed above (.5325) is the result of a 25% weight on the winning percentage and a 75% weight on the SOS (as USCHO has already done the math on that end).
So, improving UW's winning percentage will help increase their PWR. Also, UW's remaining opponents, including tonight's game against Duluth, should also increase the SOS factor. 4 of the 5 teams left on UW's schedule have better RPIs than UW - thus winning games will both improve the RPI and bump up UW in the WCHA standings.
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