Archive of USCHO’s blog content
The battles in every conference have been intense and this weekend saw an opportunity for some teams to make statements about key competitors in their respective leagues. While some teams made some noise and asserted themselves, others let favorites know they aren’t going away. The last of the unbeatens has fallen and for some teams … Read more
…And Out Come The Seawolves Alaska Anchorage limped into Houghton, Mich., last weekend. The Seawolves, losers of three of their past four coming into the series with Michigan Tech, were outscored 8-2 by Minnesota State the previous weekend in Mankato, Minn. And instead of returning to Anchorage, UAA remained in the Midwest, giving them some … Read more
The weekend in women’s Division III has come and gone, and as always, you just never know with some of these teams. Who could have predicted St. Benedict tying No. 9 Gustavus Adolphus 2-2 Friday night and then winning 3-2 in overtime Saturday, or even Connecticut College playing No. 3 Middlebury tight, only to lose … Read more
League leaders solidified The teams that came into the week with the best winning percentages in their leagues are still on top, and the leads were either maintained or increased. No. 1 Wisconsin takes control of the WCHA Annie Pankowski scored the winning goals both days, and Ann-Renée Desbiens was stellar in net as the … Read more
Streaky Without peeking, which two teams have the longest unbeaten streaks in Atlantic Hockey? One is pretty easy: Holy Cross swept Mercyhurst in convincing fashion this past weekend, 5-4 and 7-3. The Crusaders never trailed on the weekend opening 3-0 and 5-0 leads on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Holy Cross, which got goals from 10 … Read more
With no NCHC teams playing in holiday tournaments this season, the 2015 portion of this season is quickly winding down. Plenty happened this weekend, though, and here are three of the bigger talking points. UND rolls past Pioneers What many expected to be a tight rivalry series between ninth-ranked Denver and No. 4 North Dakota … Read more
Last week: Dan: 7-3-1 Chris: 9-1-1 On the season: Dan: 59-31-8 (.643) Chris: 69-21-8 (.745) This Week’s Picks: Friday, December 4 and Saturday December 5 Canisius at Air Force Dan: These are teams heading in opposite directions. Canisius has won only once since Halloween, and Air Force is 3-1-1 in their last five games. Couple … Read more
Oh, it’s about time! Big Ten conference hockey begins this weekend! So far this season, the Big Ten is 29-32-11 (.479) in nonconference play. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I have done predicting the first two months of the season. Last week Drew: 7-1-1 (.833) Paula: 5-3-1 (.611) Season Drew: 39-21-12 (.625) Paula: 41-19-12 (.653) … Read more
Dave and I had equally as impressive weeks last week, thus my lead stands at five games. (Did I hit “bold” there?) Jim last week: 12-2-1 Jim to-date: 79-26-19 Dave last week: 12-2-1 Dave to-date: 74-31-19 Friday, December 4 Vermont at Boston University Jim’s pick: I feel like Vermont is better than it is playing right … Read more
Last time: 5-2-4 Overall: 20-9-6 It’s the last full weekend of conference play prior to the holiday break. Here’s a look at the games set for this weekend. All matchups start at 7 p.m. unless noted. Friday, Dec. 4 Quinnipiac at Yale, 6:35 p.m. The Bulldogs have only beaten the Bobcats once since 2011, but … Read more
Individual sports like tennis often have ladders where participants challenge others of similar ability but a slightly higher ranking, and then the challenger moves up the ladder with a win. The schedule this weekend offers something similar in several leagues for the last full slate of games in 2015. The purest example occurs in the … Read more
Shane here … We’re into December. Hard to believe the season is two months old already. So what do we know? Not much more than we did before the season started. Minnesota State, Michigan Tech and Bowling Green are still the league favorites. Travel to Alabama, Alaska and the Upper Peninsula is still a grind … Read more
I had a pretty good week last weekend, going 20-6-1 (.759). On the year, I am now 181-48-21. We have one of the biggest series of the year on tap, as undefeated Wisconsin hosts nemesis Minnesota. The CHA sees a rivalry renewed between Mercyhurst and Robert Morris, and North Dakota also tries to get the … Read more
Matthew and I picked the same last weekend, and did pretty well overall, going a perfect 10-0. I think that’s a first ever in the time that we’ve covered the conference. On the year, I am 55-24-8 (.678), and Matthew is 52-27-8 (.643). Let’s see how we can do this week. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 4-5 Miami … Read more
It’s almost the end of the semester, but don’t for one second think that games the next couple weekend don’t matter. They do. Like always, the women’s D-III team of Candace and Matt make their predictions on this weekend’s key contests. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 4-5 No. 6 St. Thomas vs. Hamline Candace: Both of these games … Read more
The games are winding down in the semester, but the importance of the matchups seems to be ramping up as we enter December hockey. Last week, I stumbled with my picks at 3-3-1 (.500), which brings the season record down to 16-7-3 (.673). Like a lot of teams on the ice, I, too, am in … Read more
And then there was one. Only one unbeaten remains in D-III and the East after this past weekend’s nonconference and tournament play that saw exciting action and upsets aplenty. Standing tall after the Primelink Tournament is Plattsburgh, who technically beat Middlebury and tied Norwich in Northfield, Vt., but won the tournament in the second overtime … Read more
Shootouts are not the norm in college hockey, particularly for schools out east. But this weekend, they twice translated to trophies for Hockey East teams. 1. UMass-Lowell plays comeback kids at inaugural Friendship Four Wild and wooly is the only way to explain UMass-Lowell’s championship at the inaugural Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland. … Read more
Bobcats skate to Nutmeg Classic Championship No. 5 Quinnipiac defeated host Yale, 3-0, in the title game of the Nutmeg Classic. Taylor Cianfarano’s 15th goal of the season at 16:48 of the second period broke a scoreless tie. She assisted on third-period goals by Nicole Connery and Melissa Samoskevich, the latter into an empty net, … Read more
With the Thanksgiving holiday this past weekend, the schedule was a bit light for D-III women, but the action sure wasn’t. The Cardinal/Panther Classic at Middlebury had three ranked teams taking part, and the event lived up to its name as a classic indeed. In the opening game Friday, No. 2 Elmira knocked off No. … Read more