There was a shootout and a shutout, on the road at rival. That was enough for the college hockey voters to extend and enlarge Wisconsin's lead atop the rankings this week, landing 44 of 50 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll, and 30 of 34 in the USA Hockey top 20.

No. 2 Michigan, which was off this past weekend while the Badgers traveled to Minnesota, received every other first-place vote, and was listed first in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index that will eventually be used to determine the at-large teams and seedings for the NCAA Tournament.

Good thing they're on a collision course to play in early December, as we're four week away from a potential No. 1 vs. 2 showdown in Ann Arbor if neither team stumbles before Dec. 4-5. However, that may be a big if.

Wisconsin (7-0-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten) has a bit of an easier route for the rest of the month, with all six games on the schedule at home in Madison, against Ohio State, Penn State and Canisius — none of which are currently ranked.…