There are a handful of important games this weekend in the world of women’s Division III hockey, so without further ado, Candace and Matt make their picks.

Friday, Jan. 22

No. 9 Castleton at St. Anselm
Candace: A tough game to pick. I think the home team wins a close one. St. Anselm 3-2
Matt: Castleton is ranked, but it’s hard to ignore that 13-2-0 record at St. Anselm. I see St. A’s win here. St. Anselm 4-2

Friday-Saturday, Jan. 22-23

No. 2 Elmira at Chatham
Candace: The Soaring Eagles will keep pace with top-ranked Plattsburgh. Elmira 5-1, 4-1
Matt: Looks like a sweep for the Soaring Eagles. Elmira 4-1, 3-0

Finlandia at No. 3 Adrian
Candace: Adrian is looking more and more like one of the teams to beat for the national championship. Adrian 4-1, 6-1
Matt: This series shows that NCAA women’s hockey is alive and well in Michigan. Unfortunately for Finlandia, the Bulldogs take both games by wide margins. Call them wins for Adrian on shutouts by Brooke Gibson and Jade Walsh. Adrian 5-0, 6-0

Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 23-24

No. 1 Plattsburgh at Oswego
Candace: I’m beginning to wonder if Plattsburgh might match what Minnesota did a few years ago. Plattsburgh 4-1, 4-0
Matt: Plattsburgh probably won’t lose another game. Ever. The Cardinals take down their in-state rivals 3-1 and 4-2 here.

Wednesday, Jan. 26

No. 4 St. Thomas at No. 8 Wisconsin-River Falls
Candace: Can home ice propel River Falls to an upset? Possibly. Wisconsin-River Falls 3-2
Matt: This weekend, UST plays a home-and-home with St. Catherine, and my money says the Tommies get the sweep there and then head to River Falls to grab a weeknight victory. St. Thomas 3-2

Despite my inability to pick CHA games, I still went a very respectable 24-7-4 (.742) last week. On the year, I am 265-76-39 (.748), better than Vegas odds.

Friday, Jan. 22

Rensselaer at Brown
Based on Brown’s loss to Merrimack, I’m going with the Engineers. Rensselaer 3-1

St. Lawrence at Colgate
Colgate squeaked one out against the Saints on the road in December. I think they do so again at home. Colgate 2-1

Clarkson at Cornell
Cornell just hasn’t shown enough consistency for me to think it can win this. Clarkson 3-1

Union at Yale
Two teams that will likely not make the playoffs. Home ice wins. Yale 3-1

Friday-Saturday, Jan. 22-23

Mercyhurst at Lindenwood
The Lions are showing continued improvement, but I think the Lakers take the sweep. Mercyhurst 2-1, 2-1

Robert Morris at Penn State
The Nittany Lions might throw a scare into the Colonials, but not enough to win. Robert Morris 2-1, 3-1

Syracuse at RIT
Did last week’s win show the Tigers are getting a spark? Maybe, but I’ll go with the Orange to sweep. Syracuse 3-1, 3-2

Vermont at Boston College
The Eagles haven’t been playing that great so far in the second half, but they are still winning. Boston College 4-2, 5-2

Connecticut versus Northeastern (home-and-home)
Home ice on Saturday won’t make any difference for Connecticut. Northeastern 4-1, 3-1

Ohio State at Minnesota State
I like the Mavericks to pick up a conference win in this series. Minnesota State 2-1, Ohio State 3-1

Minnesota at St. Cloud State
The Huskies have been known to throw a scare into the Gophers, but I have to go with Minnesota to sweep. Minnesota 3-1, 4-1

Bemidji State at Minnesota-Duluth
The Bulldogs weren’t able to beat Bemidji in October, but they are better now than then. Bemidji State 2-1, Minnesota-Duluth 2-1

Saturday, Jan. 23

Union at Brown
Will the Dutchwomen finally get a win? Probably not. Brown 2-1

Clarkson at Colgate
Look for the visitors to get revenge for the loss back in December. Clarkson 3-2

St. Lawrence at Cornell
Home ice versus the team that showed promise last weekend. Hmm. Cornell 3-2

Dartmouth at Harvard
Will the loss to BC be a springboard, or an emotional drain? Harvard 2-1

Rensselaer at Yale
I’m bucking a trend here and going with the lower-ranked team. Yale 3-2

Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 23-24

New Hampshire at Maine
The Black Bears haven’t won in a while, so I’ll go with the visitors. New Hampshire 3-2, 2-1

Providence versus Boston University
Wednesday’s beat down by Quinnipiac shows how far the Terriers have fallen, but I think they win on home ice and then use that to get the win on the road Sunday. Boston University 3-1, 2-1

North Dakota at Wisconsin
The Badgers will be super motivated to get revenge for the series loss in December, and I think they do. Wisconsin 3-2, 4-1

Monday, Jan. 25

Princeton at Connecticut
This will be a close one, but I like the Tigers to pull it out. Princeton 3-2

Tuesday, Jan. 26

Boston College at Merrimack
I have difficulty seeing this being as close as the last time BC played Merrimack on the road. Boston College 5-1

Last weekend, thanks to Anthony Louis’ last-second goal for Miami, I increased my lead over Matthew in our season picks’ race. I didn’t have a great week, going 3-2-2 (.571), while Matthew went 2-3-2 (.428). On the year, I am 80-36-13  (.670) while Matthew is 75-41-13 (.631).

We have some intense matchups this week, so let’s see how we can do.

Friday-Saturday, Jan. 22-23

No. 19 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 15 Denver
Candace: I’d like to pick the Pios to sweep, but I just don’t see it. Denver 3-2, Minnesota-Duluth 2-1
Matthew: This one’s a bit tough to call, but Denver has played well lately and they’re at home so I’ll stick my neck out slightly. Denver 3-1, 3-2

Western Michigan at No. 5 St. Cloud State
Candace: Western is a very scrappy team, as evidenced by their never-say-die play against Denver last weekend. Still, I have to think St. Cloud has the edge. St. Cloud State 3-2, 3-1
Matthew: Western always takes points in St. Cloud, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen again. Western Michigan 3-2, St. Cloud State 4-2

Colorado College at No. 2 North Dakota
Candace: The Tigers are playing better, but I think that after North Dakota blew last Friday’s game against Omaha, they will play with more consistency this weekend. North Dakota 4-2, 4-1
Matthew: CC’s rested after having last week off and the Tigers are looking much better than they did at the start of the season, but I don’t know if they take points this weekend. North Dakota 3-1, 3-1

Miami at No. 7 Omaha
Candace: The last time these two played, both games went to overtime. This series is the hardest for me to call, because who knows which RedHawks team and which Mavericks team will show up? I’m going out on a limb and calling Omaha to sweep, though I think both games are close. Omaha 3-2, 2-1
Matthew: UNO has lost three of its last four, but I like the Mavericks to take care of business at home here. Omaha 3-2, 3-1