Paula C. Weston

The last regular-season weekend of the CCHA was exciting. It was also difficult — and I’m not talking about my picks. Last week: 8-3-1 (.708) Season to date: 118-86-29 (.569) I don’t know how that happened. This week We begin the CCHA playoffs this weekend with three best-of-three series at single sites. Times are local. … Read more

The final weekend of regular-season CCHA play was very interesting, thanks to a couple of upsets and some overtime. 1. Miami is the last-ever CCHA regular-season champ. The RedHawks needed to win one game to capture the regular-season championship, but they needed to play two to do so. After losing 3-0 to Ohio State Friday … Read more

In their final home game as Spartans, Michigan State’s seniors led their team to a 1-0 upset over visiting Western Michigan. The only goal of the night came from the line of Kevin Walrod, Anthony Hayes, and Chris Forfar, three seniors whose line was put together the morning of the game. “I’d been thinking about … Read more

In recent seasons, a win streak of a mere three games would have been so routine, so small for Michigan that it hardly would have merited mention. This season, though, is different. Languishing near the bottom of the standings for the second half of 2012-13, the Wolverines have struggled to put together consistent efforts from … Read more

I think that this is the first time in my tenure as CCHA columnist for USCHO.com that I’m glad that all 11 teams make the playoffs. I’ve never been an advocate of letting everyone into the playoffs. I like the idea of someone not having played well enough to earn a chance to make it … Read more

The second-to-last weekend of CCHA play taught us a few things. 1. Notre Dame and Western Michigan are well matched. The Fighting Irish played two games against the Broncos in Kalamazoo and the teams split their points evenly but unconventionally. The teams tied both nights, with the Broncos taking the extra shootout point after Friday’s … Read more

As we head into the penultimate weekend of CCHA regular-season play — ever — here’s how I’ve done so far. Last week: 3-6-1 (.350) Season to date: 106-79-26 (.564) I suppose I should content myself with the possibility of an overall regular-season picks record above .500. This week With two weekends left, every game in … Read more

Some weekends are more interesting than most. Disclaimer: I haven’t worked out every possible permutation with ties and shootouts, so these are reasonable (but rough) estimates. 1. Four teams are still in the hunt for the regular-season title. Interestingly, each of them was paired this past weekend against another still mathematically capable of capturing the … Read more

Please forgive my omission of a pick for the Tuesday Northern Michigan-Michigan Tech game. Some Februaries are more challenging than others. Last week: 6-4-0 (.600) Season to date: 103-73-25 (.575) Certainly better than last week — and it would have been much better, had Ohio State and Alaska split in the way that I had … Read more