Seven Hockey East teams in the NCAA tournament? That’s not-so-far-fetched whatsoever.

Since the beginning of the New Year, I’ve been talking about a seemingly unlikely scenario that six Hockey East teams could reach the NCAA tournament. Well, in the sense of being greedy, it’s not out of the questions that seven – yes, seven - Hockey East teams could punch their NCAA tickets. For a couple of teams – namely Northeastern and, … Read more

Hockey East Picks – March 21-22

Surprisingly, I had a half-decent record in the crazy quarterfinal round of games, thanks in large part to picking the entire New Hampshire-Northeastern series correctly. And with a .670 winning percentage entering the final weekend of games, I can now officially claim domination over Dave. I had him beat when he went on injured reserve … Read more

Women’s D-I picks: March 21

Well, last weekend I could only go 2-2 (.500), putting me at 26-17 in the playoffs so far. Let’s see if I can do any better this time around. Friday, March 21 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Another classic battle between these rivals. Minnesota won all four games this season, though three were close. I think the … Read more

Atlantic Hockey Picks, March 14-16 (The Championships)

Last Week: Dan: 4-5 Chris: 4-5 On the season: Dan: 154-88-23 (.625) Chris: 160-82-23 (.647) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 21 No. 7 Canisius vs No. 1 Mercyhurst Dan: Having seen Canisius last week, I can unequivocally state they’re not a team of destiny. The term “team of destiny” implies they’re not good enough to … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten Tournament: March 20-22, 2014

And we do come down to it. Drew Claussen, that upstart, edged ahead of me admirably in the final weekend of regular-season play. Last week Drew: 4-2-0 (.667) Paula: 2-4-0 (.333) That wrong-way split in East Lansing hurts my heart. Season Drew: 85-43-14 (.679) Paula: 86-41-16 (.657) This week This inaugural Big Ten Tournament will … Read more

Down to the final four

The semifinals are set for this weekend with four teams punching their ticket to get one step closer to the Division III national championship in Lewiston, Maine. Let’s take a look back at the path teams took to get there: First Round Alex Larson’s 45-save performance was not enough for Nichols as the Bison fell … Read more

Three things: The end of the regular season as we know it

The regular season is over, and before we all move on to predicting conference tournaments and at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, let’s take a look back at the last regular season weekend in the Big Ten. 1. Gophers clinch at Yost Junior Kyle Rau netted a goal at the 2:44 mark of overtime in … Read more

Three Things: Atlantic Hockey – Quarterfinals

Three things from the past weekend in Atlantic Hockey (with apologies to the band Asia): Sole survivor Atlantic Hockey received its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last season, but it was clear by December that it wasn’t going to happen this time around. Despite some high-profile upsets, the league’s non-conference record wasn’t strong … Read more

Women’s D-III wrap: NCAA first round

Wisconsin River Falls 4, Lake Forest 1 Throughout the season, the Falcons have relied on scoring depth throughout the lineup. Saturday, the trend continued, as four different players hit the score sheet for Wis.-River Falls.  Ashley Kuechle, who made 15 stops for the Falcons, ran her unbeaten streak to 20 games with the tournament victory. … Read more

Underdogs rule the first round

Perhaps it’s only fitting that a league that produced so many series splits had only one of the favored teams, second seed North Dakota, advance to the Frozen Faceoff semifinals in Minneapolis. North Dakota barely escaped a tough Colorado College team, winning game three, 4-3, on Sunday night. Heart-stopping RedHawks While the Miami RedHawks had … Read more

Irish eyes smile, River Hawks keep defense alive and one team (make that TWO teams) need to keep practicing

After Notre Dame beat Boston College on the final day of the regular season, there was a reason to believe that the Irish could beat the Eagles in a best-of-three series. Still, it was difficult to pick Notre Dame. That leads the three things I learned this week: 1) Notre Dame proves postseason proficiency I … Read more

Atlantic Hockey Picks, March 14-16 (Playoffs: Quarterfinals)

Last Week: Dan: 6-5 (Talk about your late season slides. -Dan) Chris: 9-2 On the season: Dan: 150-83-23 (.631) Chris: 156-77-23 (.654) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 14 – Sunday, March 16 (Best of three series): No. 8 Holy Cross at No. 1 Mercyhurst Dan: There are three things that are certain in life – … Read more