Jack Hittinger

1. State champions Coming into this weekend’s North Star College Cup, Bemidji State were afterthoughts. As the lone unranked team in the competition, the Beavers didn’t get much chatter prior to their game Friday against No. 7 Minnesota Duluth. Beating the Bulldogs 4-0 changed that a little. Winning the whole damn thing on Saturday — … Read more

Jack here. We’re almost 2/3rds of the way through the college hockey season. In the WCHA, that means… well, it means we’re probably nowhere near close to figuring out which team is going to win the MacNaughton Cup, but we maybe have a decent idea. Right now Minnesota State holds an eight-point first-place lead and … Read more

Dare we say this is rivalry week in the WCHA? Lots of good matchups this weekend, with, once again, all 10 team in action against each other. And there’s some history between a lot of these teams, even if that history only goes back to last season. So without further ado, let’s pick … Minnesota … Read more

1. Mavericks pulling away? Michigan Tech has led the WCHA standings for what seems like the entire season. But after the past two weekends, the paradigm is starting to shift. Minnesota State has surged to a six-point lead after taking seven points in the last two weeks. The Mavs swept Lake Sueprior State this weekend then … Read more

I love these weeks, and there needs to be more of them. It’s good for the WCHA when all 10 WCHA teams are in action, especially when they’re all playing against each other, which is the case this weekend. It’s just the second time this season that it has happened, but it gets everyone paying … Read more

Shane here … Happy new year, everybody! Jack and I weren’t so hot with our WCHA picks last week. Didn’t see that Lake Superior State tournament championship in Florida coming (Congratulations, Lakers!). Didn’t see Michigan Tech and Ferris State losing in the first round of the Great Lakes Invitational. The picks get no easier this … Read more

And we’re back! Kinda. The WCHA eases back into action this week with three teams participating in holiday tournaments. Michigan Tech and Ferris State are making this season’s Great Lakes Invitational an ostensible all-Michigan version of a WCHA/B1G challenge Sunday and Monday in Detroit, while Lake Superior State is making its first trip to the Florida College Hockey Classic. … Read more

Slim pickings as far as college hockey goes this week. In fact, aside from a Bemidji State/Ohio State women’s series also happening this weekend, this is the only non-exhibition Division I action this week. Shane still has a slim lead over me in the overall picks but I gained on him thanks to picking the … Read more

1. Tech, Minnesota State tied at the top No matter what happened this weekend, the WCHA’s top three teams would have been set going into intermission anyway. Michigan Tech and Minnesota State — both of whom played nonconference contests this weekend — are tied at the top of the league table with 20 points, while … Read more