Game picks by USCHO writers
Hey! There’s hockey this weekend! Once again, Drew Claussen and I will be covering the Big Ten for USCHO.com. Once again, I’m sure that my partner-in-writing will shame me in the picks category. As a reminder, here’s how each of us did during the 2013-14 regular season: Drew: 85-43-14 (.679) Paula: 86-41-16 (.657) This week … Read more
Three things from Championship weekend in Atlantic Hockey: Marathon Friday’s semifinals saw a total of 168 minutes of hockey with both games needing overtime to settle things. The “early” semifinal between defending champion Canisius and regular season champ Mercyhurst went into double overtime before Golden Griffin defenseman Stephen Farrell’s shot from the point found the … Read more
Well, Matthew and I went 0-2 in our first round picks. Let’s see if we can do better for the consolation and championship games. North Dakota vs. Western Michigan Candace: Western Michigan coach Andy Murray made a big deal about playing for a 20-win season and sending his seniors out with a big during the … Read more
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
The WCHA Final Five is upon us with an entirely different look compared to year’s past. In essence, it’s become almost a cross between the CCHA’s old Super 6/championship weekend at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit and the Final Five we all came to love and cherish at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, … Read more
Well, neither Matthew nor I had much luck picking the games last weekend, what with all the upsets and all. We went 4-5 (.444) on the weekend, and I only correctly picked one series (North Dakota), while Matthew picked Western Michigan to win its series, so he was correct on two, but neither of us … Read more
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
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
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
Time to pick the quarterfinals. I may have been perfect in the opening round, but it’s difficult to pick a best-of-three. So often, if a team wins game one, they sweep. But this year’s Hockey East field is about a tightly stacked as possible. Thus, sweeps will be difficult. That said, even if I pick … Read more
It’s the final weekend of regular-season play. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I have done with our picks so far. Last week Drew: 3-2-1 (.583) Paula: 4-1-1 (.750) Season Drew: 81-41-14 (.647) Paula: 84-37-16 (.672) This week All series this weekend are Friday-Saturday. Minnesota at Michigan Drew: Minnesota needs two points to put a bow … Read more
It’s playoff time, and there are some intriguing matchups to kick off the WCHA tournament. The fact that the first round pits former CCHA teams against leftover WCHA teams (following the league’s breakup) adds to the interest. But the tournament is bigger than bragging rights. A trip to the Final Five is on the line, … Read more
Overall: 71-47-12 It’s the second week of the playoffs in ECAC Hockey, with four berths in the championship weekend at Lake Placid on the line. Each series is a best-of-three, with all games starting at 7 p.m. No. 10 Dartmouth at No. 1 Union Season series: Union 2-0. The Big Green were the only lower-seeded … Read more
I finally got a bigger lead on Matthew in our picks race. Last weekend, I went 5-3 (.625), while Matthew went 3-5 (.375). On the year, I am 92-66-22 (.572), while Matthews is 87-71-22 (.544). The first round brings some brutal matchups, so let’s see how we can do. Thursday-Saturday, March 13-15 Denver at Nebraska-Omaha … Read more
All home seeds moved on (more on that in a bit), but it wasn’t as easy as just saying it. A look at three things (okay, four) that made this weekend as insane as I’ll try to make it out to be: Holy Cross Gets Divine Intervention If I had to guess, some late night … Read more
Last Week: Dan: 5-6-1 Chris: 7-4-1 On the season: Dan: 144-78-23 (.635) Chris: 147-75-23 (.647) This Week’s Picks Friday, March 7 – Sunday, March 9 (Best of three series): No. 12 Army at No. 5 Robert Morris Dan: My problem with this series is that it’s ripe conditions for a trap series for RMU. Army … Read more
Let’s get right to the action… all games start at 7:00, unless otherwise noted. 12 Princeton at 5 Clarkson Note: Saturday’s game begins at 7:30 Clarkson swept the season series against beleaguered Princeton, winning 4-3 in Jersey and 3-1 in Potsdam. Forgive my bluntness, but the Tigers look like dead meat: They have only scored … Read more
Here’s how Drew Claussen and I are doing with two weeks to go. Last week Drew: 2-1-1 (.625) Paula: 2-1-1 (.625) Season Drew: 78-39-13 (.650) Paula: 80-36-15 (.668) This week In the final two weeks of Big Ten conference play, there are three Friday-Saturday series with each team playing. Michigan State vs. Michigan Drew: Like … Read more
Just when I began getting cocky, karma put me back in my place last week. Jim last week: 4-4-1 Jim to-date: 147-66-28 (.668) Dave to-date: 123-65-24 (.637) Friday, March 7 #10 Massachusetts at #7 Vermont Jim’s pick: I think that Vermont has enough of the depth at each position to win this game and advance. … Read more
Unlike the WCHA standings, there’s no question how this regular season pick ’em battle will end. First place: Shane Frederick. Last place: Matt Wellens. Unlike the last place team in the WCHA standings, however, I still get to make the playoffs for redemption. Here is how Shane and I predict the final weekend of the … Read more