Women’s D-III weekend picks Feb. 15: End of regular season matchups will be the deciding factor on who wins their respective conference

Ellen Carter (8) and Jillian Gibbs (26) of Endicott (David Le/Endicott College)
Ellen Carter (8) and Jillian Gibbs (26) of Endicott take on Morrisville with the CHC title on the line. (David Le/Endicott College)

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 15-16

No. 1 St. Thomas versus No. 4 Hamline
This series will determine who is the regular season champion in the MIAC. St. Thomas is clearly the favorite to win, as they are first in the rankings and have yet to lose a game. On the other hand, Hamline is an extremely strong offensive team and is more than capable of upsetting St. Thomas. Picking this series is extremely difficult, but I must stick with the undefeated team. St. Thomas 4-3, 3-1

Endicott versus Morrisville
More than likely, this series will determine the CHC regular season champion. Endicott is currently one point ahead of Morrisville, but it won’t matter if Morrisville can sweep the Gulls. Morrisville seems to have more depth to their roster with players who can score. For that reason, I will be picking Morrisville to win this series and the CHC regular season. Morrisville 3-0, 2-1

St. Scholastica versus Lake Forest
The winner of these two games will most likely end up second in the NCHA, unless Adrian loses to Marian. Statically, St. Scholastica scores more goals per game than Lake Forest, but I don’t think that will stop the Foresters from winning a game. These two teams seem to be as even as they have ever been, which is why I’m predicting they will split the series. Lake Forest 3-2, St. Scholastica 2-1

No. 8 Middlebury versus No. 10 Williams
Middlebury is leading the NESCAC right now, and although they have been upset a few times, I still believe they are too strong for Williams to sweep them and take the NESCAC regular season title. This match up will be great for both teams as playoffs start next weekend, and playing each other will get both parties ready. Middlebury 4-2, 3-2

Saturday, Feb. 16

No. 6 Wisconsin-River Falls versus No. 7 Wisconsin-Eau Claire
The last time these two teams played, Wisconsin-Eau Claire smoked the Falcons, 5-1. The game was not that long ago, and I’m sure it is still fresh on the minds of both teams. The Blugolds proved that they can not only compete with Wisconsin-River Falls, but beat them. However, I’m going with the Falcons on this game, thinking they will rebound from their last lost. Wisconsin-River Falls 5-4