Archive of USCHO’s blog content
It’s out in the open now. No team can sleep on Michigan Tech. No. 1 Minnesota made the trip to Houghton, Mich. to play the Huskies in the only WCHA matchup of the weekend and took a surprising punch in the mouth from the home team Friday night. The Huskies beat the Gophers, 5-3, using … Read more
Bit of a quiet weekend, as only five teams played a regular season game, with the Ivies wrapping up their preseason scrimmages and Union out of action. Still, plenty of things to focus on, highlighted by St. Lawrence’s two-night romp over Maine in Orono. Line ’em up, sit ’em down: St. Lawrence is currently on … Read more
Last Week: 9-6-2 On the Season: 9-7-3 (.553) As usual, I picked a split correctly (American International and Penn State) but in the wrong order. This week features of a host of games against ranked teams. This Week’s Picks: Friday, Oct. 19 No. 19 Colorado College at Air Force – The Tigers lead the … Read more
Another tough week in the picks department, though at least we were both over .500. I went 8-7 (.533), while Arlan went 10-5 (.666). Overall on the year, I am 12-15-1 (.446), while Arlan is a respectable 15-12-1 (.553). We’ve got some exciting series on tap this weekend, including the much-anticipated one between Boston University … Read more
Well, this has been one very ugly start for me and I find myself in a hole to the old man (aka Dave) early. Hopefully I can stop the bleeding here in week 3. Jim last week: 5-3-1 Dave last week: 7-1-1 Jim’s record-to-date: 5-6-1 Dave’s record-to-date: 8-3-1 This week’s picks: Friday, Oct. 19 Boston College … Read more
No. 1 Minnesota (2-0) at Michigan Tech (1-1) Joe: The Huskies will not score eight goals at home like they did against Lake Superior State on Saturday. That is too bad because they might need to against a powerful UM offense. Gophers sweep despite a more challenging series. Tyler: The big Olympic sheet played into … Read more
It isn’t good … but it isn’t wretched. Yet. Last week: 12-7-3 Season to date: 12-7-4 (.609) This does not include Thursday night’s Notre Dame loss. I’ll include the whole ND series in next week’s picks percentage. We have another full schedule this week, with every CCHA team playing in nonconference action. I picked the … Read more
Still a few weeks off from intra-conference conflicts, but an encouraging nine-game docket awaits ECAC Hockey this weekend, including a couple of intriguing road deuces with St. Lawrence at Maine, and RPI at Minnesota State. Friday, Oct. 19 Bowling Green at Colgate 7:00 pm ET Brian: The Falcons and Raiders already have an opponent in … Read more
No. 13 Minnesota Duluth (1-1) at No. 9 Notre Dame (2-0), Thursday-Friday Joe: The Bulldogs were called out by coach Scott Sandelin. They will respond. Senior Mike Seidel started off at the pace (three goals) UMD needs. The Irish looked pretty good at the Icebreaker, but the Bulldogs should garner a split. Tyler: Forced to … Read more
Hey! There’s a game tonight! This is a quick pick for the series between Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame, played tonight and tomorrow at the Compton Center in South Bend. The puck drops at 7:35 p.m. each night. I’ll have picks for the rest of the weekend — and my record for last weekend (hint: it … Read more
This weekend featured a lot of close games for ECAC Hockey members – five of the dozen tilts were decided by a goal, or not decided at all – but who’s surprised? Welcome to another coronary-inducing year in the tightest league in all the land. Clarkson so close, yet so far The Golden Knights bit … Read more
Strong out of the blocks Of the 34 teams that make up the four Division-I conferences, only seven, the six Ivies and Robert Morris, have yet to play their first game. Among those 27 teams that are underway, five have perfect records: Boston University, Clarkson, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Northeastern. Mercyhurst, with one tie through … Read more
Three things from last week: 1. It’s getting better. Last year, the opening weekend of the college hockey season saw Atlantic Hockey teams go 1-14 in non-league action, and that single win was in the consolation game of a tournament between two AHA teams. This season opened with a more respectable 4-8-2 record for the … Read more
It was an uneven weekend for the CCHA and goaltending in the early going leaves a lot to speculation. 1. Notre Dame junior Steven Summerhays posted a .962 save percentage in his two wins in the Ice Breaker Tournament. ND coach Jeff Jackson has said that Summerhays saw significant improvement in the second half of … Read more
The Hockey East slate of game has barely begun and already I sit here with my jaw dropped. The team that made the jaw hit the floor, of course, is Northeastern. The Huskies pulled a minor upset midweek, knocking off newly-ranked Merrimack. But Saturday was the game-changer. NU’s upset of No. 1 Boston College leads … Read more
Here are three things that grabbed my attention this opening weekend: Minnesota makes a powerful statement The Gophers’ dominant performance in a nonconference series sweep over No. 16 Michigan State sent word around the college hockey world that Minnesota may indeed be as good as the preseason hype. Saturday’s 7-1 win was so lopsided that … Read more
I suppose I should be hanging my head in shame at starting the year 1-2. I should be asking who would have expected Merrimack to knock off fifth-ranked Union? And who would have expected Maine to fall to Quinnipiac? The sad rationalizations should be flying. Instead, I’m giddy with delight. Why? Because I may be … Read more
Well, with all the upsets, last weekend I got hammered in my picks, and Arlan didn’t do much better. I went 4-8-1 (.346) while Arlan went 5-7-1 (.423). Ouch, if we continue that way, Vegas better not come calling. We’ll challenge ourselves with some interesting games this week. Friday-Saturday, October 12-13 North Dakota at Ohio … Read more
No. 16 Michigan State at No. 2 Minnesota Joe: Mariucci should be a loud place for the MSU rookies (12 on the roster) to handle with Gopher fans excited about this UM squad. Goalie Will Yanakeff (.922 save percentage) gives the Spartans a chance against Minnesota’s offensive firepower, led by Nick Bjugstad, the media and coaches’ … Read more
I picked up right where I left off last year in terms of my picking (in)ability. Regardless, here’s a look at this weekend as everyone except for the Ivy schools are in action. Last week: 1-2 Overall: 1-2 No. 11 Ferris State at RPI The Engineers paid a visit to head coach Seth Appert’s alma … Read more