Archive of USCHO’s blog content
Congratulations to Boston College associate coach Mike Cavanaugh and legendary Boston Herald sportswriter John “Jocko” Connolly for the awards recently bestowed on them by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Jim and I hold Mike and Jocko in the highest regard. Their knowledge and passion for the sport are matched only by what great guys they … Read more
Now these are the kinds of picks that I make that everyone knows, loves, and mocks. Last week’s record includes the Tuesday night game between Notre Dame and Bowling Green Last week: 4-5-2 (.455) Season to date: 77-56-23 (.567) The Buckeyes and Bulldogs split … but neither won on the night I predicted. Of course. … Read more
There is a lot on the line this weekend with the top two teams in four out of the five conferences meeting each other. Three of the four matchups are two-game series and there is one solo matchup. Separation Saturday (Friday and Sunday as well) is upon us. Norwich @ Manhattanville Norwich and Manhattanville kick … Read more
Life and death? Well, perhaps matters aren’t quite that critical. However, with five SUNYAC playoff hopefuls stacked within two points of each other, the coming weekend may put a big crimp in the postseason hopes of at least a couple of these conference rivals. There should be few, if any, dull moments to be seen … Read more
So I was a bit too confident in my conference picks last week, and the conference proved to have more parity than I had expected. I fell below .500, yet again, with a 3-2-2 (.428) pick record. That brings my season record to 37-26-4 (.552). Yuck. This week sees interesting division match-ups. The top dog … Read more
Wow! The pursuit of consistency is elusive, as last week’s 4-3-1 (.563) record clearly shows. The season still looks very strong at 35-13-6 (.704), but I will need to get back on track if I aim to keep my winning percentage over the 70 percent success rate. The bonus games killed me last week, so … Read more
Wow! The pursuit of consistency may not be so elusive after all, as a 6-2-0 (.750) record last weekend leaves me with a 28-12-6 (.674) overall record. Definitely moving in the right direction in terms of success rate, which is something I will have to continue to work on. There were definitely some key upsets … Read more
Last week, St. Norbert earned two crucial wins at Wisconsin-Superior to surpass Norwich as the top-ranked team in the NCAA D-III. Part of me wanted to pick the Yellowjackets to sneak past the Green Knights and get at least one win, but the rational part of me won out. Sometimes, you just have to go … Read more
January is flying by, and it’s time for another week of trying to look smart when it comes to making picks in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Four weekend series are on top in league play as teams continue to battle it out for the conference title and positioning for the postseason. Four teams all … Read more
Well, thank’s to Emily Field’s OT goal (see photo at right), I maintained my slim lead over Arlan in the picks race. If I had gone with my original intention before looking at game scores, I would have picked Providence though and be up by three. Last week, Arlan and I went 17-3 (.850) to … Read more
I finished 5-1 last week, although I didn’t expect Cortland to upset Utica. So far, I’m 34-6-4 (.818) for the season, while ECAC West schools get back to conference action this week. Jan. 17 Elmira at Nazareth The Soaring Eagles (7-9 overall, 2-4 ECAC West) scored 17 goals in a two-step sweep of Morrisville last … Read more
It’s not often you see a first-place team stuck in a winless streak that covers more than a month. Welcome to life in the ECAC Northeast. Western New England (6-9 overall, 4-1 in the league) is indeed in one of those funks, and more than anything else, it’s because the Golden Bears have scheduled up … Read more
No. 6 North Dakota at No. 1 Minnesota Joe: This series should bring out the best in both teams. That bodes well for UND, which did not put together a full 60 minutes each night against Holy Cross and Colorado College. North Dakota will have to play its best to beat Minnesota, which it will … Read more
The news got back to Alabama-Huntsville while the school was closed because of a snowstorm. Maybe it was a sign. “Somebody called me and said Huntsville got in because hell froze over,” UAH athletic director E.J. Brophy said Thursday night. He was in a mood to joke after getting the result the school has been … Read more
Though I had a pretty good week, Dave held right with me. Jim last week: 8-1-1 Dave last week: 8-1-1 Jim’s record-to-date: 73-47-12 Dave’s record-to-date: 80-40-12 Here are this week’s picks: Friday, Jan. 18 Massachusetts at Boston College Jim’s pick: With the way these two teams are headed, I can’t pick against BC. BC 4, … Read more
Last week: 6-2-1 Overall: 62-64-22 The league’s one-two combo of Quinnipiac and Princeton have the weekend off, so now’s a good time for the rest of the ECAC to start taking advantage of those games in hand. All start times are 7 p.m. unless noted. I’ll be in Providence for Dartmouth and Brown tomorrow, so … Read more
Last Week: 8-3-1 On the Season: 88-43-21 (.648) This Week’s Picks: Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19 Robert Morris at American International – There could be some good goaltending in this series between AIC’s Ben Meisner and RMU’s Eric Levine. The Yellow Jackets have been struggling to score goals since early December, so RMU … Read more
Ah, that is more like it! My first true sweep of the season happened last week when I went 3-0 on all my picks! The MASCAC is heating up now, with even more conference games scheduled to take place tonight and this weekend. With only a few more weeks to go, we will see which … Read more
Another Tuesday, another game. No. 5 Notre Dame at Bowling Green. The Irish lost to Minnesota in Minneapolis last Tuesday (Jan. 8) and split with Michigan State in East Lansing Friday and Saturday. The Falcons had the weekend off, having last played last Tuesday, a 5-1 road win over Michigan. The Irish are 7-1-0 versus … Read more
Big-time upset Babson pulled one of the biggest upsets of the season on Saturday as it used three first-half goals and a strong goaltending effort by Zeke Testa to knock off top-ranked Norwich, 4-1, at Kreitzberg Arena. It marks the first time since 2007 that Babson has beaten Norwich. The Beavers were outshot, 26-5, in … Read more