NCHC picks: Jan. 15-19

Last week, I went one-up on Matthew in our season picks race, thanks to North Dakota. I was 3-2-1, while Matthew was 2-3-1. On the year, I am 20-12-6, while Matthew is 19-11-6.

Friday-Saturday, Jan. 15-16

St. Cloud State at Western Michigan
Candace: I still don’t have a good handle on the Broncos, but it seems like the Huskies have been on a tear. I’ll pick the road sweep. St. Cloud State 3-2, 4-2
Matthew: Western is fresh off a pretty good weekend against Miami, having been swept by the RedHawks a week earlier. At the risk of inviting wrath from SCSU fans, let’s go with a split here. Western Michigan 2-1, St. Cloud State 4-1

Sunday-Monday, Jan. 17-18

North Dakota at Denver
Candace: Denver finally beat North Dakota a month ago, but the Pioneers really struggled after that. Plus, they are coming off a missed weekend of games against CC due to COVID. Eh, I’ll go for a Fighting Hawks sweep. North Dakota 3-2, 3-2
Matthew: I like what UND has done lately and am tempted to pick a sweep here, but I struggle to think of the last time I went on a limb here where it worked out. North Dakota 3-1, Denver 3-1

Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 18-19

Omaha at Colorado College
Candace: Unlike Matthew, I think the Mavericks can get a split, even after missing weeks due to COVID. The wildcard is this will be Omaha’s first series away from home, as all the pod games were played in Omaha, and I wonder how much that helped their strong start. Colorado College 4-2, Omaha 3-2
Matthew: Even with these games being pushed back a few days, Omaha will likely have a shortened bench for this series. The Mavericks will also be rusty anyway, having not played in nearly a month. They’d do well to get a split here, but I don’t that it happens. Colorado College 4-2, 3-2