Game picks by USCHO writers
I know it’s a cliche when sports announcers say, “It all comes down to THIS!” before a championship game, but it’s a cliche for a reason. This week’s WCHA championship game features two Upper Peninsula rivals playing on UP soil for the right to advance to the NCAA tournament. What could be better? Both Northern … Read more
Matthew and I correctly picked all the series, even if we didn’t do so hot in picking the games. Matthew only picked series, but he did give a game number, while I gave scores. Based on that, I went 5-4 while Matthew went 4-5, as we didn’t see Denver and St. Cloud needing three games, … Read more
Drew Claussen and I didn’t do so badly last weekend. There were six games played, but we both predicted seven games would be played. Last week Drew: 5-2-0 (.714) Paula: 5-2-0 (.714) This season Drew: 97-53-14 (.634) Paula: 99-51-14 (.646) The semifinals The top seeds survived last weekend’s best-of-three series, with each team sweeping its … Read more
It’s semifinal time! Three of the WCHA’s top four seeds advanced to this round. The “odd” team out is Michigan Tech, who was the fifth-seed and swept fourth-seeded Bemidji State but was only an “upset” in name only. The winners this weekend move on to the single-game WCHA championship to play for the brand-new Jeff … Read more
Last week: Dan: 8-0 Chris: 7-2 On the season: Dan: 104-85-25 (.544) Chris: 113-77-25 (.584) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 9 – Sunday, March 11 Atlantic Hockey First Round Best Of Three Series No. 11 Sacred Heart at No. 1 Mercyhurst Chris: With just 10 points separating first and last place this season, this is … Read more
Well, Dave pulled the rabbit out of his (expletive) last weekend perfectly picking the Vermont-Mass series. Thus, I’m going to have to correctly pick a couple of upsets this week or else the old man will be the champion, despite having trailed the entire season. Jim last week: 3-4-0 Dave last week: 5-2-0 Jim to … Read more
We have entered the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Quinnipiac was the only lower seed that moved on at the No. 9 seed so it will go No. 1 vs. No. 9, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 Last time: 6-4-2 Overall: 66-45-12 No. 9 … Read more
Friday-Sunday, March 9-11 Colorado College at No. 4 Denver Candace: CC has turned Magness Arena back into World Arena North, as it did about a decade ago, but I think Denver is going to tough it out. I’m also wondering how the CC goaltenders’ confidence will be after getting shelled by Western Michigan last Saturday. … Read more
Conference playoff season is upon us, and it might be the most fun part of college hockey in my humble opinion. The best-of-three series, to me, most closely resemble “playoff hockey” — there’s something about playoff series rather than single-elimination tournaments that rewards consistency rather than puck luck. (Of course, those winner-take all elimination games … Read more
Last week: Dan: 4-5-1 Chris: 6-3-1 On the season: Dan: 96-85-25 (.527) Chris: 106-75-25 (.575) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 2 – Sunday, March 4 Atlantic Hockey First Round Best Of Three Series No. 11 Sacred Heart at No. 6 Rochester Institute of Technology Chris: The teams split two weeks ago and I think they’ll … Read more
It’s the final weekend of the NCHC regular season, and only one of the first-round series is actually set. We know Denver and Minnesota Duluth will be home for the first round, but we don’t know who they will play, or who the final home ice team is. Last week, I gained another game on … Read more
Playoff hockey gets underway this weekend in the ECAC, as the fifth through twelfth place teams will meet across four best-of-three series set to begin on Friday night. It’s worth noting that no lower-seeded team has won a first-round playoff series since 2015, when ninth-seeded Rensselaer beat eighth-seeded Clarkson. I’m picking all of the higher-seeded … Read more
It’s playoff hockey time! I’m excited for the new format this year, from the best-of-three series to the campus sites to the single-elimination games that begin next week. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I did with picks during the regular season. Last week Drew: 6-2-0 (.750) Paula: 5-3-1 (.625) This season Drew: 92-51-14 (.631) Paula: … Read more
Amazing. After 22 weeks of the regular season, Dave and I have the exact same record. It’s almost impossible to believe. The postseason will be the deciding factor this year. May the best man win. Jim last week: 5-3-1 Jim to date: 131-81-26 Dave last week: 6-2-1 Dave to date: 131-81-26 Hockey East playoffs – … Read more
It’s the last weekend of the regular season. There’s still a MacNaughton Cup championship to be decided, plus three playoff spots and four teams left to claim them. What’s going to happen? Let’s find out! Lake Superior State at Ferris State The Lakers have gotten themselves back into playoff contention thanks to a four-game win … Read more
I extended my lead on Matthew last week thanks to Denver and Duluth, as I went 6-1-1 (.813) while Matthew went 4-3-1 (.563). On the year, I am now 90-52-20 (.617), while Matthew is 86-56-20 (.592). Two weekends are left, so let’s see how it plays out! Friday-Saturday, Feb. 23-24 No. 12 North Dakota at … Read more
The final weekend of regular-season Big Ten hockey is here! My writing partner Drew Claussen’s pick record and mine has nearly converged as the season has progressed, and I’m happy to say that we’re both on track to finish the season above .500. Last week Drew: 3-2-1 (.583) Paula: 3-2-1 (.583) This season Drew: 86-49-14 … Read more
I remain a game behind Jim despite a stellar week. Dave last week: 7-2-0 Jim last week: 7-2-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 125-79-25 Jim’s record-to-date: 126-78-25 Here are this week’s picks: Friday, Feb. 23 Maine at Boston College Dave’s pick: The Eagles win convincingly to clinch at least a share of the regular season title. BC 4, Maine 1 Jim’s pick: … Read more
Well we’ve reached the final weekend of the regular season and there’s plenty of things that still need to be decided. All games are 7 p.m. puck drops. Last time: 7-3-2 Overall: 60-41-10 Friday, Feb. 23 Harvard at Brown It’s unknown if Ryan Donato will play this weekend after his stellar performance at the Olympics. … Read more
Last week: Dan: 3-6 Chris: 2-7 On the season: Dan: 92-80-24 (.531) Chris: 100-72-24 (.571) This Week’s Picks Thursday, February 22 American International at Holy Cross Chris: The teams played last Saturday in Springfield, with AIC coming out on top, 1-0. This is the Crusaders final game of the season, and therefore their last chance … Read more