Game picks by USCHO writers
Nate last week: 8-3 Nate overall:56-51 Brian: ? (I stopped keeping track a while ago. It was too depressing.) Friday, February 17 Colgate at St. Lawrence Nate: Raiders head coach Don Vaughan said earlier this week he couldn’t remember the last time Colgate won at Appleton (it was 2007). Both teams have been playing well … Read more
We are coming down to it. Theoretically, eight CCHA teams are in the hunt for the regular-season title. Theoretically. That’s everybody above 10th place except for the Buckeyes, who have two fewer regular-season games remaining than everyone else above 10th place. All the Bulldogs or Broncos have to do is win out to win it … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha (13-11-6, 10-7-5 WCHA) at No. 15 Colorado College (15-11-2, 12-9-1 WCHA) Tyler: UNO is probably the most inconsistent and unpredictable team in the WCHA, not only wins and losses, scoring and goaltending as well. If Josh Thorimbert returns this weekend, which CC coach Scott Owens is optimistic about, CC is going to shut the Mavericks down. … Read more
Call me the comeback kid, the UMass-Lowell of picks, whatever. There are three weeks left in the regular season and, for the first time all year, I’m back in first place! Dave last week: 3-6-1 Jim last week: 7-2-1 Dave’s record-to-date: 97-64-14 Jim’s record-to-date: 98-63-14 Friday, February 16 Merrimack at Boston College Jim’s pick: So many difficult games … Read more
Last Week: 9-2-1 On the Season: 141-58-25 (.685) This Week’s Picks: Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18 Mercyhurst at Air Force – All series are big this time of the season, but this one is probably the most critical, with the first-place Falcons holding a two point edge over the Lakers. Mercyhurst won … Read more
The weekend starts early in Atlantic Hockey with local rivals Canisius and Niagara squaring off Tuesday and Thursday. The “Battle of the Bridge” contests open tonight at Canisius, where Niagara has won the last two meetings, and the over the Grand Island Bridge(s) to Niagara on Thursday. The teams tied 1-1 earlier in the season, … Read more
Coming down to the last few weeks, there is so much uncertainty in the CCHA — and the standings are so very close — that it’s overwhelming to consider all the permutations. Here are a few interesting tidbits, though: Ferris State and Western Michigan are the only two teams near the top of the standings … Read more
Jim and I finally put together an excellent week. Let’s see if we can make it two in a row. Dave last week: 10-1-0 Jim last week: 10-1-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 94-58-13 Jim’s record-to-date: 91-61-13 Here are this week’s picks: Friday, February 10 Maine at Providence Dave’s pick: Two teams going in different directions. The Black Bears … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha (12-11-5, 9-7-4 WCHA) at Michigan Tech (13-13-2, 10-8-2 WCHA) Tyler: The hotels will be full in Houghton this weekend with the annual Winter Carnival, but the Mavericks won’t be lodging in them. UNO will stay 45 minutes away in Baraga, Mich., according to the Omaha World Herald. The Huskies haven’t exactly derived any kind of an … Read more
Come Monday morning there will be just two weekends left in the regular season of ECAC play. Seems hard to believe, doesn’t it? Here’s a look at what’s on tap for this weekend. Last week: 4-7 Overall: 48-48 Friday, Feb. 10 Brown at Cornell With Union playing just one game, Cornell has a chance to … Read more
Last Week: 5-5-1 On the Season: 132-56-24 (.679) This Week’s Picks: Thursday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 11 Rochester Institute of Technology vs. Canisius – The Golden Griffins defeated the Tigers earlier this season, snapping an eight-game winless streak against the Tigers. I think RIT, coming off a pair of stinging losses at Air Force, … Read more
It’s the beginning of the end — of this season, anyway. Here’s how I’m doing: Last week: 6-3-1 Season to date: 95-63-23 (.588) Remember that adage about a broken clock and the frequency of its accuracy? Yeah. Like that. This week Everyone plays this weekend. All series are Friday-Saturday, single site. The games in Ann … Read more
Last Week: 4-7-2 On the Season: 127-51-23 (.689) This Week’s Picks: Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4 Rochester Institute of Technology at Air Force – The Tigers won the only meeting so far between the two teams back in November, which evened the all-time series between the teams at 14-14-3. I’m expecting two close … Read more
Bemidji State (12-12-2, 6-10-2 WCHA) at Nebraska-Omaha (15-10-2, 11-9-0 WCHA) Tyler: UNO’s goaltending is highly questionable with Ryan Massa questionable after he suffered a concussion against Minnesota State, Jan. 21. He’s been the one guy to emerge from UNO’s goaltending situation with stability. He allowed three goals on 110 shots in his last three games but … Read more
Yet another mediocre weekend of picks for Dave and me. Guess that’s a product of how tight this league is. Jim’s last week: 5-4-0 Dave’s last week: 5-4-0 Jim’s record-to-date: 81-60-13 Dave’s record-to-date: 84-57-13 Friday, February 3 Boston University at Merrimack Jim’s pick: Even though I rarely pick against Merrimack at home (though did last weekend and … Read more
Friday, February 3 Colgate at Union This is the Game of the Night… and the only reason it’s not the Game of the Week is because there is an equally intriguing Union-Cornell game on Saturday. This is the first meeting of the season between these teams, and Union is both ahead in the standings and … Read more
What a strange season. In one of those if-the-season-were-to-end-today scenarios, seven CCHA teams would likely make the NCAA tournament; all seven of those teams are currently ranked. Lake Superior State just dropped out of the current rankings. To be honest, I don’t know what to think. In past years when the CCHA has appeared strong … Read more
Was there a more pathetic performance last weekend than my picks? I’ll give you Kyle Williams and Billy Cundiff but can you name a third? I didn’t think so. Dave last week: 4-6-0 Jim last week: 5-5-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 79-53-13 Jim’s record-to-date: 76-56-13 Here are this week’s picks: Friday, January 27 Maine at Boston University Dave’s pick: … Read more
Minnesota State (8-17-1, 4-13-1 WCHA) at Bemidji State (11-11-2, 5-9-2 WCHA) Tyler: Minnesota State had one of the worst power plays in the WCHA, but its clicking since Christmas, converting seven times in 26 attmepts. The Beavers are killing at a league-worst 76.4-percent rate over that stretch but this doesn’t make the Mavericks good enough to … Read more
Here we go…the last weekend of January is here. There’s ten games on tap for Friday and Saturday, including a pair of televised matchups tonight. Last week: 3-6 Overall: 37-37 Friday, Jan. 27 Brown at Dartmouth These are two teams that are maddeningly frustrating to figure out. Brown gets shut out by last place RPI … Read more