Following the successful completion of pod play in Omaha, Neb., the NCHC has announced changes to its upcoming schedule for the second portion of the 2020-21 season.
Neither Matthew nor I did particularly well last week in our picks. I was 5-6-1, while Matthew was 6-5-1. On the year, I am 13-9-3, while Matthew is 14-8-3. This is the final weekend of pod play before the break. It’s been an interesting experiment, which some very surprising results. Friday, Dec. 18 Western Michigan … Read more
Pod play is like a mini-Frozen Faceoff every day, and it has already produced some stellar games. Matthew and I are off to a good start, with each of us going 8-3-2 in the first week of play. We’ll be picking an entire week’s worth of games each Friday. Let’s see how we do this … Read more
Grad transfer Hank Johnson made 38 saves as Mercyhurst and junior forward Stephen Ipri (pictured), a team that finished last season last of 60 clubs in the PairWise last season, opened the 2020-21 campaign with a 2-1 upset of No. 18 Bowling Green (File photo)
Going forward, Matthew and I will be publishing picks a week in advance. We’ve already seen some interesting results in the NCHC, so let’s look at this weekend’s games. Friday, Dec. 4 No. 1 North Dakota versus No. 4 Denver Candace: Denver wasn’t able to hold on against Minnesota Duluth the other night, and last … Read more
The NCHC announced changes to its 2020-21 schedule on Friday. The changes were necessary due to a positive COVID-19 test and quarantine requirements for the entire Colorado College team, forcing the Tigers to delay the start of their season. The pod will still begin on Tuesday, Dec. 1 as scheduled at Omaha’s Baxter Arena. Colorado … Read more
It seems surreal. The last time I sat down at my computer to do a story on the NCHC, I had interviewed Denver coach David Carle about the abrupt end to the college hockey season. Carle, in a statement that seems prescient, said, “I think the lesson to be learned, or one of the many, … Read more
After hoisting the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions in 2019-20, North Dakota has been selected to do the same in 2020-21, as the Fighting Hawks topped the 2020 NCHC preseason media poll released Monday. North Dakota received 27 of a possible 28 first-place votes, totaling 223 points to sit first in the poll. NCHC … Read more
After releasing its plans and format for the 2020-21 season on Oct. 16, the NCHC on Monday unveiled the updated conference schedule for the season. All eight NCHC teams will play a 26-game conference slate for a total of 104 conference games in 2020-21. The NCHC season will be divided into two portions. The first … Read more
St. Cloud State has announced the hiring of Dave Shyiak as an associate head coach for the men’s hockey team (photo: Jim Rosvold).
According to Center Ice View, St. Cloud State will have two graduate transfers on its roster next season in Colgate forward Jared Cockrell and Michigan Tech defenseman Seamus Donohue.
St. Cloud State assistant coach Mike Gibbons has announced his plans to retire prior to the start of the 2020-21 season (photo: SCSU Athletics).
For a brief moment last weekend, I thought I’d picked up another two games on Matthew in our picks race, but alas, I misread the score of Friday’s game between Minnesota Duluth and Western Michigan. Instead, we had the same record, as I was wrong on that game but correct on the Omaha-CC game. Last … Read more
Matthew and I went a middling 5-3 (.625). On the year, I am now 71-49-19 (.579), while Matthew is 67-53-19 (.550). Friday-Saturday, Feb. 7-8 St. Cloud State at Colorado College Candace: CC looked good in one game and terrible in its next last weekend, but the Tigers lost both. Can the Huskies jump over Omaha … Read more
Minnesota Duluth has been my Kryponite more often than not this season. Last weekend, picking the Bulldogs to sweep St. Cloud State ended up costing me a game in the picks race with Matthew, but I still have three games in hand. Last week, I went 2-3-2 (.437), while Matthew went 3-2-3 (.562). On the … Read more
Learning my lesson from the last time Denver faced a ranked Hockey East team paid off, as I gained another game in the picks race with Matthew by picking a DU sweep. Last week, I went 5-1-2 (.750), while Matthew was 4-2-2 (.625). On the year, I am now 53-39-15 (.565), while Matthew is 49-43-15 … Read more
Well, picking all NCHC wins last weekend did me no favors, but since I called the North Dakota sweep, Matthew and I had identical records last weekend of a dismal 2-4 (.333). On the year, I am 36-29-12 (.545), while Matthew is 35-30-12 (.532). Neither of us has done well this season :(. This is … Read more
Well, I caught Matthew, thanks to picking North Dakota to win on Saturday. Last week, I went 4-3-1 (.562), while Matthew went 3-4-1 (.437). Neither of us exactly set the world on fire. On the year, Matthew and I are both 29-23-11 (.547). League games always make picking things harder, so let’s see how we … Read more
Picking winners on the wrong night killed Matthew and I last week, and Minnesota Duluth continues to drive me insane. I almost picked them to sweep the Goofs last weekend, but was afraid I’d fall farther behind Matthew if I did after their Wisconsin series hurt me in our race. C’est la vie. Last week, … Read more
St. Cloud State announced Wednesday the hiring of Nick Tomczyk as the Huskies’ new director of hockey operations and video coordinator (photo: Dan Hickling).