Pickin’ the Big Ten: October 28-29

The Big Ten may not have the best inter-conference record in Division I, but B1G Hockey is still floating above .500 — and I’ll take that, all things considered. Let’s see how Drew Claussen and I are floating so far. Last week Drew: 4-4-2 (.500) Paula: 4-4-2 (.500) Season Drew: 12-11-4 (.519) Paula: 14-9-4 (.593) … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Oct. 21-22

So far, B1G Hockey has had a solid start to the 2016-2017 season. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I have started. Last week Drew: 3-3-1 (.500) Paula: 4-2-1 (.643) Season Drew: 8-7-2 (.529) Paula: 10-5-2 (.647) This week Five Big Ten teams are in action this weekend, each playing two-game Friday-Saturday series. Wisconsin is playing … Read more

Badgers score an impressive split and Ohio State remains undefeated

Good morning everyone. I usually try and post these Sunday evening, but I ran my first full marathon yesterday so my motivation to do anything else was very low. Paula also completed the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon yesterday. It’s safe to say we covered more miles than any other columnist duo. Five of the … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Oct. 14-16

The Big Ten had a decent opening weekend. So did Drew Claussen and I, although we were each bitten by picking splits the wrong way. Drew: 5-4-1 (.550) Paula: 6-3-1 (.650) This week All six B1G teams are in action this weekend, although Minnesota plays the U.S. Under-18 team in exhibition tonight. Michigan State and … Read more

Splits and near-misses and glimpses of good things to come

We had an interesting first weekend in the Big Ten, with every team picking up at least one win and two teams rewarding the B1G coaches for a little preseason faith. 1. The Nittany Lions, the Wolverines and the Badgers each earned splits. After a decisive 4-2 win over St. Lawrence Thursday night, Penn State … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Oct. 7-9

Last night, Penn State kicked off the Division I season for B1G hockey with a 4-2 win over visiting St. Lawrence, giving me a very temporary edge over my partner-in-writing, Drew Claussen. We’ll factor in last night’s pick with our overall totals from this weekend in next Friday’s blog. This is how we fared for … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: St. Lawrence at Penn State, Oct. 6

Drew Claussen and I nearly forgot that there’s a game tonight. Nearly. St. Lawrence at Penn State Drew: Penn State is going to be an interesting team this year. Teams have handled a large turnover before and been successful, but the Nittany Lions can look within their own conference to find an example of a … Read more

It’s almost time to pick B1G hockey

Next Thursday, Oct. 6, the season begins officially for Big Ten hockey when St. Lawrence plays Penn State, but this weekend, five B1G teams are warming up with exhibition play. Victoria at Wisconsin This game at the Kohl Center begins at 7:00 p.m. Saturday and gives Wisconsin fans their first chance to see the Badgers … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten championship game: March 19, 2016

This is it, our last Big Ten picks blog of 2015-16. Where did the season go? Yesterday, the top two teams advanced, which means that Drew Claussen went 1-1 and I went 2-0 with picks for the day. Season Drew: 80-54-19 (.585) Paula: 82-52-19 (.598) Big Ten championship game Today’s game begins at 7:00 p.m. … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten semifinals: March 18, 2016

The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes advance from yesterday’s quarterfinals. That means that Drew Claussen went 2-0 (1.000) and I went 1-1 (.500) in our picks. Season Drew: 79-53-19 (.586) Paula: 80-52-19 (.593) Big Ten championship tournament This year, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul., Minn., hosts the Big Ten tourney. Penn State plays Michigan … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten quarterfinals: March 17, 2016

For the Big Ten championship tournament, Drew Claussen and I have decided to make our picks day by day. First, our running totals: Last week Drew: 3-2-1 (.583) Paula: 4-1-1 (.750) Season Drew: 77-53-19 (.581) Paula: 79-51-19 (.594) Big Ten championship tournament This year, the Big Ten tournament is played March 17 through March 19 … Read more

Gophers are the champions but Michigan is still the favorite

The regular season is officially in the books. The final weekend wasn’t necessarily very dramatic, but there were two series that could have changed the seeding of the conference tournament and another that was a preview of the only predetermined matchup that is going to happen in St. Paul. In the end the seeding was … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: March 11-12

It’s the last weekend of regular-season play. It’s not the last weekend, however, for Drew Claussen and me to predict how B1G teams will fare. Last week Drew: 2-4-0 (.333) Paula: 2-4-0 (.333) Season Drew: 74-51-18 (.580) Paula: 75-50-18 (.587) This week Last weekend was a weekend of missed opportunities for the top three Big … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: March 4-6

We are getting down to it. Last week, I was bitten by the wrong-way split in the Michigan-Minnesota series. Drew Claussen, however, was not. Last week Drew: 2-1-1 (.400) Paula: 1-2-0 (.400) Season Drew: 72-47-18 (.555) Paula: 73-46-18 (.599) This week Everyone plays in this penultimate week of the regular season. Minnesota still holds first … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 25-27

There are two B1G series this weekend and one begins tonight. First, how Drew Claussen and I are doing with the picks: Last week Drew: 2-3-0 (.400) Paula: 2-3-0 (.400) Season Drew: 70-46-17 (.590) Paula: 72-44-17 (.605) Both of us couldn’t have been more wrong about last week’s Michigan State-Wisconsin series, but props to Drew … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 19-20

Minnesota leads the league with 33 points, but the Gophers are off this week. Michigan trails Minnesota by a point, but the Wolverines play a single nonconference game this week. That makes for an interesting weekend for our six-team league. First, though, Drew Claussen and I share our picks percentages, which were a wee bit … Read more

Minnesota is alone in first after a sweep, but Michigan and Penn State kept pace

All six Big Ten teams were in action against each other this weekend, with the three teams at the top of the standings traveling to face off against the three at the bottom. The road warriors, for the most part, prevailed against the bottom three. Here’s how things played out: Minnesota swept Ohio State Michigan … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 12-13

Happy Valentine’s Day! Last week, Drew Claussen and I were both bitten by the wrong-way split. Last week Drew: 1-3-0 (.250) Paula: 1-3-0 (.250) Season Drew: 65-42-15 (.594) Paula: 68-39-15 (.619) This week Everyone plays and everyone plays on Friday and Saturday. Michigan at Wisconsin Drew: I think that Michigan has the best chance of … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 5-6

There are two B1G series this week. First, how Drew Claussen and I are doing with the picks: Last week Drew: 4-4-0 (.500) Paula: 2-6-0 (.250) Season Drew: 64-39-15 (.606) Paula: 67-36-15 (.631) This week The Wolverines and Spartans face off and Penn State travels to Minnesota. Michigan vs. Michigan State Drew: Congratulations to Michigan … Read more