Ask any one around me, and they’ll tell you of my organization and attention to detail. So then, there’s no reason I’d lose track of my picks record? Right? Wrong. I’ve hopelessly lost track of where I stand, which was getting better down the stretch run.
Anyway, here’s a Saturday morning preview of the weekend. With more snow expected for the New England area, it’s a possibility some of these games will join their midweek counterparts in the cancellation column. More on that after the predictions.
Saturday, Feb. 5
ECAC Northeast
Becker at Western New England: WNEC has gone up against the best of the conference, facing Johnson & Wales, Nichols, Wentworth, and Curry over the last four games, all losses. Becker is a tad below those four, and they’ve only won once in their last seven outings, but I think they’ll get the win in the Golden Bear’s second to last home game of the year. Becker 5, Western New England 3
Wentworth at Nichols: While Wentworth has pieced it together slowly, Nichols has been on an outright hot streak lately. The Bisons have won four in a row and have quickly put to rest their slow start in conference play. Both teams are neck in neck, with the Leopards hold a game and one point advantage over Nichols. Look for Nichols to extend their winning streak to five in what should be a fast paced contest. Nichols 5, Wentworth 4
Curry at Suffolk: The Colonels’ out of conference schedule is in the past, and a league title is possibly sitting in their future. Curry is tied with Johnson & Wales for the top spot and hasn’t lost in six games. Meanwhile, instead of competing for home ice, Suffolk is simply trying to keep their playoff hopes alive, as they are two points ahead of Salve Regina for the last spot. A stark contrast to last year, when the Rams where in the thick of things. Curry 4, Suffolk 1
Salve Regina at Johnson & Wales: The aforementioned Seahawks have run the gauntlet lately against some of the conference’s toughest teams. They’ve played well in spurts against Curry, Nichols, and Wentworth, but head coach Andy Boschetto said Salve Regina has to avoid momentarily lapses that cost them the game. Can that happen at JWU, they of the 7-2 conference record, the most wins of any team in conference play? The Seahawks will have their hands full with the Wildcats’ offense, which has been spectacular this year, which is something Salve Regina hasn’t been in their own end, yielding a conference-worst 121 goals on the year overall. Johnson & Wales 6, Salve Regina 2
MASCAC
Salem State at UMass-Dartmouth: Another weekend, another new leader in the MASCAC, as UMD claimed the top spot with a win over Fitchburg Thursday. Salem State kept pace, breaking away from a pesky Worcester State on Thursday as well. This is the rubber game of the season series and could have an implication for tiebreakers down the road. Tough one to call, but I’ll take the home team. UMass-Dartmouth 3, Salem State 2 (OT)
Framingahm State at Westfield State: This game has playoff implications, but not in the way you’d have thought prior to the year. If all held, the Owls would be looking to move up the ladder and secure home ice, as they were in the thick of things in the MASCAC last year. Instead, they’ll be looking to stay out of the basement, as they are currently tied with the Rams for the last playoff spot. But Westfield did shock Plymouth State Thursday, so there could be momentum to be had from that. I think they’ll get by in a slugfest. Westfield State 7, Framingham State 6
Worcester State at Plymouth State: What a difference a month can make. The Lancers have lost four of their last five, and tumbled down the standings. Fortunately, they have enough of a gap between the last playoff spot that they shouldn’t have to work about falling out of the postseason. Meanwhile, Plymouth State doubled their loss total on the year with two defeats in the last week. A three game losing streak? Seems doubtful. Plymouth State 4, Worcester State 2
Midweek Report
Salve Regina lost a pair of games to the weather last week, with games at Assumption and Suffolk being postponed. No makeup date for the Assumption game has been posted, while the trip to Suffolk will be made up at a later date. Also, Nichols pushed their home game against Becker from Wednesday to Monday at 8:10.
Scores
Thursday
Johnson & Wales 3, Wentworth 2
Curry 9, Western New England 4
Salem State 5, Worcester State 3
UMass-Dartmouth 3, Fitchburg State 1
Stonehill 4, Framingham State 1
Westfield State 4, Plymouth State o
