Just two more weekends of the regular season after this one. If that isn’t enough motivation for some of these D-III women’s teams, I’m not sure what is. Candace and Matt are back again to forecast the weekend.

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 5-6

Concordia (Minn.) at No. 8 St. Thomas
Candace: St. Thomas had a rough weekend last week, but I think they rally here. St. Thomas 3-2, 3-1
Matt: UST dropped four places in the poll this week after losing three straight last week. Ouch. Doesn’t sound like a team that’s peaking at the right time. The hard times continue this weekend, but not as bad as last week. Concordia 5-4 (OT), St. Thomas 3-2

Saturday, Feb. 6

Franklin Pierce at Holy Cross
Candace: I will generally pick my alma mater in a tight game. Holy Cross 3-2
Matt: Two teams with outstanding records, so what gives? Each team has solid forwards, ‘D,’ and goaltending. Sounds like a tight game to me. Holy Cross 2-1

Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 6-7

Cortland at No. 1 Plattsburgh
Candace: Given how the Cardinals handled Elmira last weekend, I foresee easy wins for the home team. Plattsburgh 5-1, 4-1
Matt: Cortland is above .500 at 9-8-1, but Plattsburgh has 11 more wins, eight fewer losses, and one less tie. Yeah, so, it has to be a Cardinals sweep here. Plattsburgh 5-1, 4-0

Tuesday, Feb. 9

No. 2 Adrian at No. 7 Wisconsin-River Falls
Candace: A marquee matchup that should be decided by a goal. I’m picking the visitors. Adrian 3-1
Matt: Adrian should sweep St. Scholastica this coming weekend and River Falls should be Wisconsin-Superior, but is there enough gas in the tank for Adrian to get two more points out of River Falls? You bet. Adrian 4-2

I had a pretty good week last week, going 24-7-2 (.757). On the year, I am now 309-88-46 (.749). It’s hard to believe there are only three weeks left in the regular season. Let’s see how we do this week.

Friday, Feb. 5

Rensselaer at Clarkson
The Golden Knights can be mercurial, but I like them on home ice. Clarkson 3-2

Princeton at Colgate
A huge game in the home ice playoff race in the ECAC. Colgate gets revenge. Colgate 3-2

Quinnipiac at Cornell
I don’t think the Big Red are strong enough to stop the Bobcats. Quinnipiac 3-1

Yale at Dartmouth
I’m beginning to wonder if Dartmouth will win again this season. Yale 2-1

Brown at Harvard
The Crimson should regroup after the Beanpot disaster. Harvard 3-1

Union at St. Lawrence
The Saints are usually good enough to beat those below them in the standings. St. Lawrence 3-1

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 5-6

RIT at Lindenwood
I think the Tigers will likely sneak one here, but I though that last week against Penn State too. Lindenwood 2-1, 2-1

Syracuse at Penn State
The Nittany Lions are getting better down the stretch, but the Orange pick up needed points. Syracuse 2-1, 3-1

Mercyhurst at Robert Morris
I thought the Colonials would win against the Lakers the first time they met, and that didn’t work out too well. Mercyhurst 2-1, 3-1

Vermont at New Hampshire
The Catamounts have been too inconsistent for me to pick them. New Hampshire 3-1, 3-2

Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota State
I’m picking the Mavericks to get their first conference win. Minnesota State 2-1, Minnesota-Duluth 3-2

Wisconsin at Ohio State
The Buckeyes got a surprise win last weekend against Minnesota-Duluth, but the Badgers are in a different category. Wisconsin 4-1, 5-1

North Dakota at Minnesota
Just based on what happened when North Dakota had its rematch against Wisconsin, I think the Gophers get a sweep, especially with the boost of Amanda Kessel’s return. Minnesota 2-1, 3-1

Saturday, Feb. 6

Union at Clarkson
The Golden Knights tighten their hold on second place. Clarkson 4-1

Quinnipiac at Colgate
One of the harder games to pick. Colgate can trouble the Bobcats, but I think the superior Quinnipiac defense wins the game. Quinnipiac 2-1

Princeton at Cornell
Another game I’m not too sure about. I think the visitors get one win on their road trip. Princeton 2-1

Brown at Dartmouth
Let’s call the Big Green to finally get a win again. Dartmouth 2-1

Yale at Harvard
A potential trap game for the Crimson, but I see them dodging a bullet. Harvard 2-1

Rensselaer at St. Lawrence
This is the type of game the Saints should win, but might not. Rensselaer 2-1

Northeastern at Providence
The Huskies take care of business before their two huge games against Boston College. Northeastern 4-1

Boston College at Connecticut
The Huskies have a solid defense, but as long as the Eagles aren’t looking ahead to Tuesday’s game against the other Huskies, they should prevail. Boston College 4-1

Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 6-7

Merrimack at Maine
A loss for the Black Bears would be bad. I think the Warriors will steal one. Maine 3-2, Merrimack 2-1

Sunday, Feb. 7

Providence at Connecticut
The Huskies solidify home ice in the Hockey East playoffs. Connecticut 3-2

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Harvard at Boston University
If the Terriers can play like they did against Northeastern, I think they win. Boston University 3-2

Boston College versus Northeastern
This should be a barn-burner of a game. Let’s call BC to win a Beanpot for Alex Carpenter. Boston College 4-2

Well, thanks to correctly picking Miami to beat Denver Friday, Matthew gained a game back on me. I still hold a lead as we go into the home stretch of the season. Last week, I went 5-3 (.625) to move to 89-42-14 (.662), while Matthew went 6-2 (.750) to move to 85-46-14 (.634).

We’re light on action this week, so let’s see how we do.

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 5-6

No. 3 St. Cloud State at Miami
Candace: Miami hurt me last week by beating Denver, but I think St. Cloud is a better team than Denver. St. Cloud 4-2, 4-1
Matthew: The RedHawks have been hot lately, but I have a feeling SCSU goes into Oxford and shows why it’s at the top of the league standings. St. Cloud State 3-1, 3-1

Colorado College at Minnesota-Duluth
Candace: Minnesota-Duluth has been struggling of late, especially on Fridays, and Colorado College is playing much better, but maybe home ice will help. Minnesota-Duluth 2-1, 3-2
Matthew: I like CC to steal one of these games, but I’m not sure which one they’ll get. Colorado College 3-2, Minnesota-Duluth 3-1