Three things from a B1G opening weekend

1. Penn State really is that good. The Nittany Lions completed their 10-game home stand by sweeping Michigan in the opening weekend of Big Ten play, 6-1 Thursday and 5-1 Friday. Penn State has one loss this season, and the wins against the Wolverines extended the Nittany Lions’ win streak to 11 games, their unbeaten … Read more

Pickin' the Big Ten: Dec. 1-3

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! In other words, Big Ten league play begins this week! B1G Hockey is 42-22-9 in nonconference play to start the season, with a Division I-leading .637 win percentage. This is how Drew Claussen and I are doing so far. Last week Drew: 3-4-1 (.438) Paula: 3-4-1 (.438) … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: November 25-27

This is the final week of full-on nonconference play for the Big Ten before league action begins next Thursday, and B1G hockey is in good shape with a record of 38-19-8 and a .646 win percentage. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I are doing so far, too.Last weekDrew: 6-2-0 (.750)Paula: 6-2-0 (.750)This week, it was … Read more

Pickin' the Big Ten: November 25-27

This is the final week of full-on nonconference play for the Big Ten before league action begins next Thursday, and B1G hockey is in good shape with a record of 38-19-8 and a .646 win percentage. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I are doing so far, too. Last week Drew: 6-2-0 (.750) Paula: 6-2-0 (.750) … Read more

Minnesota flexing its muscle as early-season road warriors

If it’s a weekend and there’s hockey to be played, then the Golden Gophers must be on the road. For Thanksgiving, Minnesota heads east to play Northeastern Friday and Boston College Saturday. Last weekend, the 5-3-2 Gophers split a home-and-home series against Minnesota State, and the Gophers have played just four home games this season … Read more

The comforts of home

This weekend in the Big Ten, it was clear that home was a good place to be. For the most part. 1. Penn State can do no wrong. The Nittany Lions continue to roll along and roll over visiting opponents in the friendly confines of Pegula Arena. Penn State extended its win streak to nine … Read more

The comforts of home

This weekend in the Big Ten, it was clear that home was a good place to be. For the most part. 1. Penn State can do no wrong. The Nittany Lions continue to roll along and roll over visiting opponents in the friendly confines of Pegula Arena. Penn State extended its win streak to nine … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Nov. 18-19

B1G Hockey continues its solid start to the season with a collective nonconference record of 32-17-8 and the second-best nonconference win percentage (.632) in Division I, right behind the NCHC (.635). Drew Claussen and I aren’t doing too badly overall, either. Last week Drew: 6-1-1 (.813) Paula: 5-2-1 (.688) Even though I called the Ferris … Read more

Pickin' the Big Ten: Nov. 18-19

B1G Hockey continues its solid start to the season with a collective nonconference record of 32-17-8 and the second-best nonconference win percentage (.632) in Division I, right behind the NCHC (.635). Drew Claussen and I aren’t doing too badly overall, either. Last week Drew: 6-1-1 (.813) Paula: 5-2-1 (.688) Even though I called the Ferris … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Nov. 10-12

Michigan State kicks off the weekend with a home game against former CCHA rival Ferris State Thursday night. Before we get to the picks, though, let’s look at how Drew Claussen and I have been faring. Last week Drew: 4-3-2 (.556) Paula: 5-2-2 (.667) Season Drew: 22-18-7 (.543) Paula: 26-14-7 (.628) Not bad. This week … Read more

Pickin' the Big Ten: Nov. 10-12

Michigan State kicks off the weekend with a home game against former CCHA rival Ferris State Thursday night. Before we get to the picks, though, let’s look at how Drew Claussen and I have been faring. Last week Drew: 4-3-2 (.556) Paula: 5-2-2 (.667) Season Drew: 22-18-7 (.543) Paula: 26-14-7 (.628) Not bad. This week … Read more

Big Ten squads have youngsters leading the way

This week, the column is all about some of the minutia of the league, the little things that seem to be adding up to some interesting first impressions for B1G Hockey in the early going. That scoring margin Three of the top ten scoring offenses nationally belong to Big Ten teams: Ohio State (4.44 goals … Read more

Three things we saw from a B1G weekend of hockey

1. Robert Morris is Ohio State’s Achilles’ heel. For reasons unknown to anyone other than RMU coach Derek Schooley and OSU coach Steve Rohlik, the Colonials by and large have the collective number of the Buckeyes. Robert Morris dealt Ohio State its first loss of the season Friday night in Columbus and a doozy it … Read more

Pickin' the Big Ten: Nov. 4-5

It’s completely my fault that picks for Thursday night’s game between Niagara and Penn State weren’t posted. I have nothing to gain by telling you that Drew Claussen picked the Nittany Lions by a score of 5-2, because he’s going to take a win for that game and I’m going to take one in the … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: October 28-29

The Big Ten may not have the best inter-conference record in Division I, but B1G Hockey is still floating above .500 — and I’ll take that, all things considered. Let’s see how Drew Claussen and I are floating so far. Last week Drew: 4-4-2 (.500) Paula: 4-4-2 (.500) Season Drew: 12-11-4 (.519) Paula: 14-9-4 (.593) … Read more