The Tennessee Ice Vols have fought through obstacles this season with some key losses and the forfeiture of four wins.

However, none of those hardships matter now as the Ice Vols beat South Florida and Richmond over the weekend to advance through the South Regional and to the National tournament.

The Ice Vols took on the South Florida Ice Bulls Friday morning and tamed USF with a 6-4 win. Saturday night the Ice Vols took charge going up 5-1 in the second period against Richmond and held strong for a 7-4 victory to clinch a share of the South Regional with Old Dominion.

The Ice Vols now advance to the National tournament where 16 teams have earned bids. The Ice Vols, the No. 3 seed out of the South, will be in Pool A and will face San Diego State, the No. 2 seed out of the Pacific Region.

Hope, the No. 1 seed out of the North and Fairfield, the No. 4 seed out of the Atlantic are the other teams in Pool A.

Ice Vols wrap up regular season this weekend

Before Tennessee makes the trip to Rochester, Minn., for the National tournament the Ice Vols will play one more game against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.

The Ice Vols dominated Eastern Kentucky earlier this season, winning 13-1. Kevin Jones had five goals and three assists in the game and Joe Williams added four goals and two assists.

NHL Power Rankings                                   

Top Five

1. Dallas Stars (37-21-5) - Dallas has won nine of their last 10 and is definitely the hottest team right now. They are only 10 points behind Detroit for the league lead, pulling a lot closer than they have been in recent weeks.

2. Montreal Canadiens (33-19-9) - The Habs are winners of four straight and seem to have risen out of the slump they were in.

3. New Jersey Devils (34-21-5) - New Jersey has won four of five with its only loss coming to Atlanta in a shootout.

4. Atlanta Thrashers (29-28-4) - Atlanta would probably be sitting third this week had it not been for a loss to the Islanders. The Thrashers have won three of four and seem to be peaking at the right time of the year.

5. Minnesota Wild (34-21-5) - The Wild have won four of six. All four wins were in overtime or shootout which might seem skeptical, but the way I see it they are finding ways to win close games and that's what makes championship caliber teams.

Bottom Five

26. San Jose Sharks (31-20-8) - The Sharks have lost four straight, getting themselves a spot on my bottom five.

27. Columbus Blue Jackets (27-26-9) - Columbus has struggled lately with only one win in their last six. That win was against Detroit, the team they are right ahead of on my list.

28. Detroit Red Wings (42-15-5) - After such a dominating season, the Red Wings have collapsed and the bottom is approaching. They have one win in seven games against Colorado. Luckily they built such a huge lead giving them a lot of breathing room in the standings.

29. Colorado Avalanche (30-25-5) - The Avalanche have lost four straight and just got shutout by the Red Wings.

30. Philadelphia Flyers (30-24-6) - Last week I was reluctant to include them in my bottom five, but now the Flyers have lost eight straight and only have one point in those games. That will drop them to the very bottom quickly.

Trade deadline approaching

The NHL has always been known for some big trades come deadline time and there have already been 13 trades since the New Year.

Several of the players in these trades are lesser known names. However, with less then a week until the trade deadline hits Feb. 26, at 3 p.m., the trading should start to get heavy with some big name players included.

One team to watch out for is the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's no secret that they are looking to trade Mats Sundin, but if he doesn't waive his no-trade clause look for Toronto to deal other big players in the organization.

The Atlanta Thrashers also seem to be shopping Marian Hossa around and they could likely trade him. It seems San Jose and Anaheim are the most interested but don't be shocked if he goes somewhere else or stays in Atlanta as the Thrashers are closing in on a playoff spot.