Game picks by USCHO writers
While in Florida visiting family for the holiday and failing to thwart my mother’s attempts to ruin my diet, I had an interesting conversation with one of my parents’ Christmas dinner guests. “So, Paula, I hear you’re in Flint now,” said the guest, a lovely lady approximately the age of my mother, Dolly Weston. That … Read more
Well, it’s just about the New Year, which personally I hope translates to much improved success in picking these games. To this point, I’m six games behind my elderly elder. Seeing as there is no column this week, we decided to take a bit of an expanded look at each of the upcoming weekend’s holiday … Read more
Overall: 42-41-19 Winter break is coming for an end for most teams, and several ECAC team are participating in the numerous holiday tournaments across the country. (Check out the complete tournament breakdown here). There are a lot of games between now and Monday, so I’ll roll out the picks in waves. All times are 7 … Read more
Welcome back to the WCHA Blog after a week off. This week’s games are spaced out from Thursday to Monday with some teams facing opponents to be determined in their second games of the weekend, so we’ll release the picks in waves. Look for the next set of picks Saturday. RPI at No. 16 St. … Read more
Last week: 4-4-4 Overall: 42-39-19 I really should have titled this post “North Country picks,” as St. Lawrence and Clarkson are the only ECAC teams in action this weekend. Enjoy the holidays and be sure to check back next week for a first-half wrap-up Saturday, Dec. 15 Mercyhurst at Clarkson., 7 p.m. Clarkson has put … Read more
Last week: 7-2-3 On the season: 59-31-19 (.628) This Week’s Picks: Saturday, Dec. 15: Mercyhurst at Clarkson – Clarkson is coming off a big sweep of archrival St. Lawrence while the Lakers split with American International last weekend. I’m going with the home team. Clarkson wins. Robert Morris at Penn State – The teams will meet … Read more
Last week? Not so good as the week before … Last week: 4-4-2 (.500) Season to date: 63-35-18 (.621) I am grateful to be above .500 overall nearing the midway point of the season. This week It’s rare in mid-December for nearly everyone to play, but that’s how it is this weekend in the CCHA … Read more
Minnesota State at Nebraska-Omaha Joe: Minnesota State is on a roll, but commenters have a very legitimate concern when they point out the six wins in a row are against bottom-tier teams. That means MSU is good (beating the teams they should) but not that good (only 1-5 against top-tier teams Denver, Minnesota and St. … Read more
Alabama-Huntsville at Wisconsin Joe: The Badgers will get their first win in the Kohl Center though both games should be close. Sweep. Tyler: I think the only way Wisconsin loses a game this weekend is if its goaltending doesn’t replicate the great performances it’s had all season and if the offense continues to be a … Read more
Last week: 4-4-1 On the season: 52-29-16 (.619) This Week’s Picks: Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8: Air Force at Bentley – The Battle of the Falcons is a tough one to pick. I’m going with a split. Bentley has done better the second night of a series so far, so that’s the order I’ll … Read more
Well, they say this is the season of miracles. Last week: 8-2-1 (.773) Season to date: 59-31-16 (.630) I counted Tuesday’s pick of the MTU-NMU game. This week There are four CCHA series and one nonconference set. All series are Friday-Saturday and single site except for the Robert Morris-Ohio State series, which is home-and-home. All … Read more
Jimmy and I only disagreed on a single game last week. Which means we both got shellacked on Friday and had to make do with modest Saturday comebacks. Even though he picked up a game on me, I’m still ahead by five so I’ll be heading into the holidays with a nice cushion barring a cataclysmic collapse. … Read more
Here are our predictions for this weekend: No. 6 Denver at No. 9 North Dakota Joe: The key for UND will be reviving its 37th-ranked power play (15.1 percent) against a solid DU penalty kill (86.4 percent overall). They will at home against a DU squad motivated to pick up some of the points lost … Read more
Last week: 6-4-2 Overall: 38-35-15 We’re at the unofficial halfway point of the college hockey season, with most teams winding down the pre-holiday break portion of their schedules this weekend. All games are at 7 p.m. unless noted. Friday, Dec. 7 Colgate at Massachusetts I realize all-time records mean little, especially considering there’s a lot … Read more
There’s a game tonight between Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan. It’s a Tuesday. As the kids say, WTF — which stands, of course, for “What Tremendous Fun!” Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan. At home last weekend, the Huskies lost to and tied Minnesota-Duluth, 7-3 and 4-4. Late in the third period and down 4-2, MTU … Read more
Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan Joe: Neither team comes into this single-game Tuesday night on a roll with the WCHA’s Huskies losing and tying Minnesota-Duluth over the weekend while the CCHA Wildcats were swept on the road by Western Michigan. Based on recent strength of schedule, I pick NMU to win at home. Tyler: Michigan … Read more
Three things from Atlantic Hockey play this weekend: Western weekend winners – The Western side of Atlantic Hockey went 5-0-1 against its Eastern counterparts this past weekend. On the season, the West “pod” leads the East 16-6-4 in inter-region play. Things are more distributed in the standings, with Western teams holding down the 1, T4, … Read more
Last week: 9-3-3 Overall: 32-31-13 I finally showed some signs of knowing what I’m talking about last week, posting my best picks record of the season. Here’s a look at this upcoming weekend, with a couple bonus midweek games thrown in. All games are 7 p.m. unless noted. Friday, Nov. 29 Clarkson at Cornell Cornell … Read more
I knew last week would be a bit painful. Perhaps I should be grateful for any week in which I at least break even. Last week: 4-3-1 (.562) Season to date: 51-29-15 (.616) Wrong-way splits … sigh. This week It’s a full slate of CCHA action this week, with 10 teams playing and Bowling Green … Read more
No. 13 Nebraska Omaha at No. 3 Minnesota Joe: Gophers freshman goalie Adam Wilcox, who leads the league’s top scoring defense (1.77 goals) gets a serious test when he faces the Mavs’ WCHA’s second-ranked offense (3.75 goals). Neither team has a clear advantage with Minnesota and Nebraska Omaha at Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in … Read more