Well, if there was a desire to present to you some betting advice in this new USCHO Bettor’s Edge column, week one gave mixed results, depending on how you approach the mission.
If you wanted to find out what teams were heavy favorite, congratulations. USCHO Bettor’s Edge properly nailed all of the favorites last Friday night as Boston College (shootout), Northeastern, Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth and Denver were all winners.
If you had the ability to bet a five-team parlay using the odds USCHO presented, you’d have made $956.93 for every $100 bet. Not bad if you can find the bookie!
But if you, like me and everyone else, wanted to find a random upset, you were out of luck. The closest you came was Quinnipiac’s comeback against Boston College where the Bobcats trailed by two, tied the game and nearly won in regulation. Eventually, though, the Eagles took the shootout earning an extra point that helped propel them to the IceBreaker (part I) Tournament championship.
This week, two of the five games come from the IceBreaker (part II) Tournament in Duluth, Minn., which features a field that could preview the Frozen Four.
As usual, a disclaimer:
Understand, this is for entertainment purposes only. USCHO.com is not a licensed gambling platform and no money may be wagered through this site or any subsidiary of USCHO.
Enjoy and, if you bet, may you be successful.
No. 3 Michigan (+120) at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (-110)
IceBreaker Tournament
Of the five games selected for this week’s column, this is the only one without a clear cup favorite. And that’s probably a large show of respect for Minnesota Duluth. Obviously the tournament host will be comfortable in its own building. But the first major opportunity for the USCHO writers to back a talent-heavy Michigan team leaves them unmoved.
Advantage Bulldogs?
No. 1 Minnesota State (-300) vs. No. 10 Providence (+210)
IceBreaker Tournament
Minnesota State has certainly made a statement in the first two weekends with their sweep of then No. 1 Massachusetts and a split with No. 2 St. Cloud State. But can a squad like Providence give Minnesota State some headaches. They did a couple of regionals ago when the Mavericks jumped to a quick 3-0 lead only to get into penalty trouble and surrender the final six goals.
Stay out of the box for Minnesota State means they could return to the win column.
No. 18 Northeastern (+200) vs. No. 6 Boston College (-180)
Boston College looked strong in the IceBreaker (part I) tournament last weekend. Though it was actually Northeastern that controlled its destiny heading to the second day only to fall to Quinnipiac, 3-0. Goaltender Devon Levi has proved to be the strength of the NU team, but if BC’s guns get cranking, expect the Eagles to frustrate this NU team that needs to reign in its discipline.
BC is certainly the pick, but hard to find an overwhelming advantage.
No. 7 North Dakota (-370) vs. No. 20 Bemidji State (+500)
Somehow, this is the only unanimous pick for the USCHO staff, with the Fighting Hawks heading on the road to face a plucky Bemidji State squad. Can North Dakota be slowed? That’s the biggest question and with the question difficult to answer, you have to give a significant advantage to the road team.
No. 17 Notre Dame (+190) vs. No. 16 Michigan Tech (-170)
What a wake up call Michigan Tech gave to college hockey with its impressive sweep of Big Ten member Wisconsin last weekend. The difficult question to answer is where that rolls over to this weekend. Notre Dame has plenty of talent but has to take the show on the road to what will be an amped up Houghton crowd.
If Notre Dame is motivated by the road trip, maybe this is the upset?
Last week’s records:
Ed Trefzger (national columnist): 5-0
Chris Lerch (AHA columnist): 5-0
Jim Connelly (national columnist): 4-1
John Doyle (HE columnist): 4-1
Drew Claussen (B1G columnist): 4-1
Dan Rubin (national columnist): 3-2
Paula Weston (national columnist): 3-2
Nate Owen (ECAC columnist): 3-2
Jack Hittinger (CCHA columnist): 3-2
Matthew Semisch (NCHC columnist): 3-2
