Archive of USCHO’s blog content
With three weeks (plus one game: Tuesday’s rescheduled Yale at Brown contest) to go, let’s take a look at how the annual spring scramble is shaping up. Ten of the league’s dozen teams have played 16 games, and in 48 hours, so too will have Yale and Brown. Right now (and God knows how the … Read more
Can’t handle this I’ve been around long enough to see some bad ideas in sport. A prime example is the use of FoxTrax to illuminate the puck on NHL telecasts to help viewers follow its movement in the 1990s. If you can’t figure out where a black puck is on white ice on your own, … Read more
Snowed out Franklin Pierce’s series at Canton on Friday and Saturday was canceled due to the snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast this weekend. On Saturday, Nichols-Curry, Elmira-Manhattanville, Fitchburg State-Assumption, Bowdoin-Trinity, Colby-Wesleyan, and Worcester State-Framingham State were all pre-empted by continuing adverse weather conditions. Deuces wild game-winners Brad McBride scored twice, including the game-winner, as … Read more
While winter was bearing down on the East Coast, the hockey in the Midwest couldn’t have been hotter. 1. Notre Dame controls its own destiny. The Fighting Irish beat Michigan twice while everyone else around them split, most notably Miami and Western Michigan. It’s the first two-game sweep Notre Dame has managed in the new … Read more
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I know that Dave talked a lot about Merrimack’s recent success in last week’s column, but with Sunday’s victory over Massachusetts, this season for the Warriors has taken on an entirely different different meaning. That leads the three things I learned in this (albeit) abbreviated weekend in Hockey East: 1. Merrimack now can focus on … Read more
Three (four) things from Atlantic Hockey play this weekend: Winter wonderland Six of the 12 games on slate this weekend were postponed due to the massive blizzard that hammered the Northeast. The Western pod got its games in (Rochester Institute of Technology at Robert Morris, Air Force at Mercyhurst and Canisius vs. Niagara), but all … Read more
Last week: 5-3-4 Overall: 79-75-27 Eight teams are bunched within three points of each other, so this weekend could either untangle the mess that currently is the ECAC standings, or bunch together either further. The Northeast is set to be hit with a potentially devastating snow storm this weekend. Two games Saturday (Yale at Brown, … Read more
I knew last time out was a fluke. I’m sure you did, too. Last week: 2-6-2 (.300) Season to date: 97-69-25 (.573) I should have flipped a coin. This week There are five CCHA series this week with Lake Superior State taking a bye week. Every series is Friday-Saturday — unless that winter storm throws … Read more
First off, congratulations to the Adrian Bulldogs! They are once again the MCHA regular season champions, as they clinched their sixth consecutive title in a win and tie against Lake Forest last weekend. There are only two more weekends of the regular season left to play, and currently my season total picks are at a … Read more
A 5-1-0 (.833) weekend makes it three strong pick weeks in a row. I might just be getting my game in high gear for the playoffs, which is exactly what all of the conference teams are trying to get going. The overall season numbers are now 49-16-7 (.729). Percentage is solid, and with just two … Read more
Nothing has come easy for Johnson and Wales this season, and that doesn’t figure to change in the stretch run, where points are precious and every period means something. Which is exactly why Saturday’s date vs. Becker is must-win territory for the Wildcats. Johnson and Wales took a four-game winless streak into the week, and … Read more
What’s a little snow in the forecast? The threat of a foot or four hasn’t put a damper on what should be white hot action in the SUNYAC this weekend. Jammed at the top, in the middle, all over. This penultimate weekend could be what determiness the post-season fates of each of the nine squads … Read more
Ouch! That is the only thing to say about a 2-3-1 (.417) record last weekend that leaves me with a 41-16-7 (.695) overall record and a big overall percentage drop heading into the final two weekends of the regular season. Just like the games being played, there are no guaranteed picks, no matter where the … Read more
Had my worst week of the season so far, going just 1-4 a week ago, bringing my overall record to 40-12-4 (.750) for the 2012-13 campaign. Let’s see how I fare with six league games on tap this weekend. Friday, February 8, 2013 Hobart (17-3-2 overall, 9-2-1 ECAC West) at Manhattanville (12-7-2, 5-4-2) The No. … Read more
The regular season winds down this weekend with a few teams still jockeying for playoff positioning in the NCHA. Here’s what we do know: Wisconsin-Eau Claire and St. Norbert are already set for the start of the conference playoffs, earning the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively. Last weekend, St. Scholastica pulled itself out of … Read more
Well, I took a chance last week so Arlan and I wouldn’t completely double up our picks, even though I really wanted to pick St. Lawrence in its second game against Clarkson. It looked like it might pay off, but the Saints rallied, so Arlan gained a game back on me in our picks race. … Read more
Did someone actually say “bet the ranch” when predicting yet another Boston University Beanpot win over Northeastern? Well, that was hyperbole, you see. Officially, USCHO deplores all forms of gambling. (Except, of course, when Jim and I play poker. That isn’t gambling. That’s separating fools from their money.) As for how the two of us … Read more
No. 7 North Dakota at No. 14 Nebraska-Omaha Joe: A lot has been made of the outdoor game but this series will be decided by North Dakota offense, which must attack the net against UNO’s defense, which is seventh overall in the WCHA. UND will, but expect UNO senior John Faulkner to steal one win. … Read more
Last Week: 9-3-1 On the Season: 113-52-24 (.661) A snow storm is predicted to hit the Northeast this weekend, affecting travel from Boston to Buffalo. There’s a good chance some of these games will be postponed, especially since the majority are home-and-home series, meaning the teams will be traveling between the games. Check back for … Read more