Everyone plays this week. First, though, let’s look at how Drew Claussen and I are doing with the picks. (Hint: Drew’s doing just fine.) Last week Drew: 3-3-0 (.500) Paula: 1-5-0 (.167) Season Drew: 36-21-3 (.625) Paula: 23-34-3 (.408) I correctly picked two series to split last week, Michigan State-Ohio State and Penn State-Michigan. Unfortunately, … Read more
Happy Sunday afternoon before a shortened work week! The first weekend of Big Ten conference play is officially in the books. Four of the league’s six teams played each other this weekend. Here’s how things shook out: Ohio State and Michigan State split their Thursday/Friday series. The Spartans took the first game 3-1 and the … Read more
Conference play begins this week with two league series, starting with Michigan State at Ohio State tonight. Wisconsin takes on two former WCHA foes, and Minnesota plays the U.S. Under-18 Team. Drew and I pick all the games that count, officially. Last week Drew: 7-2-0 (.778) Paula: 4-5-0 (.444) Season Drew: 33-18-3 (.639) Paula: 22-29-3 … Read more
It’s painfully obvious that Drew Claussen is the oddsmaker here. Last week Drew: 4-4-0 (.500) Paula: 1-7-0 (.125) Season Drew: 26-16-3 (.611) Paula: 18-24-3 (.433) In my defense, I did pick Michigan State to split with New Hampshire, with each team winning opposite nights of the ones I predicted. This week There are five Big … Read more
I realized last week that I’d made a mistake in my ongoing picks record. I’ve rectified that this week. Last week Drew: 7-2-1 (.750) Paula: 6-3-1 (.650) Season Drew: 22-12-3 (.635) Paula: 17-17-3 (.500) This week Wisconsin returns to action this weekend after a two-week absence. There are four Big Ten teams in play; Michigan … Read more
There are five Big Ten teams with nonconference series this weekend. Wisconsin is off again this week. Bentley and Penn State began their two-game set last night, and Drew and I published the picks for that series yesterday. We’ll include those picks in our season total next week. (Hint: Drew’s already up on me, 1-0, … Read more
Five Big Ten teams play this weekend, starting with tonight’s game between Bentley and Penn State in Pegula Arena. This two-game set concludes Friday night; both games begin at 7:00 p.m. and neither is televised. These are the last home games for the Nittany Lions until Jan. 9. We’ll have the rest of the picks … Read more
It’s early, and it’s not pretty. Last week Drew: 3-6-1 (.350) Paula: 2-7-1 (.200) Season Drew: 7-10-2 (.421) Paula: 5-12-2 (.316) I did call the New Hampshire-Michigan split … with each team winning on the night opposite of when I picked it to win. Story of my life. This week There are four Big Ten … Read more
Five Big Ten teams are in action this week. First, let’s see how Drew Claussen and I did picking last weekend. Last week Drew: 3-4-1 (.437) Paula: 2-5-1 (.313) Season Drew: 4-4-1 (.500) Paula: 3-5-1 (.368) So there’s that. At least I called the split in Columbus … with the Buckeyes winning in nights opposite … Read more
With the Michigan teams sitting idle this weekend, four teams in the Big Ten each played two games. Here’s how things played out. Minnesota beat Minnesota Duluth 4-3 and defeated RPI 3-0 Wisconsin lost to Alaska 1-0 and was dropped by Alaska Anchorage 4-2. Ohio State took Providence to overtime twice, winning 5-4 on Friday … Read more
Both Drew Claussen and I began the season on a high note, each choosing Ferris State for the win over Michigan last week, so we’re each 1-0-0. This week There are two nonconference series and two tournaments. Four Big Ten teams are playing this weekend. IceBreaker Tournament Notre Dame hosts the 18th annual IceBreaker Tournament … Read more
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
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
The regular season is over, and before we all move on to predicting conference tournaments and at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, let’s take a look back at the last regular season weekend in the Big Ten. 1. Gophers clinch at Yost Junior Kyle Rau netted a goal at the 2:44 mark of overtime in … 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
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
As most of North American continues to experience the Big Freeze of 2014, we can at least take comfort that this first season of Big Ten play has been entertaining. This is how my partner-in-writing, Drew Claussen, and I have called it so far. Last week Drew: 3-1-0 (.750) Paula: 3-1-0 (.750) Season Drew: 76-38-12 … Read more
The schedule’s even lighter than usual this week, with two Friday-Saturday series. Minnesota and Ohio State sit this one out. First, let’s see how Drew Claussen and I are doing. Last week Drew: 3-2-1 (.583) Paula: 4-1-1 (.750) Season Drew: 73-37-12 (.648) Paula: 75-34-14 (.667) This week All four games are televised this week. All … Read more
It was a weekend that produced a sweep for Minnesota, a sort of sweep for Michigan State and a split for the Badgers and Buckeyes. Here are three things that I saw from this weekend’s action in the Big Ten. 1. The Gophers I was really intrigued to see how Minnesota would respond after getting … Read more
The schedule for this season has allowed for few conference-only weekends, all on a Friday-Saturday schedule, but that’s what we have this week in the Big Ten. First, let’s see how Drew Claussen and I are doing with picks this season. Last week Drew: 1-3-2 (.333) Paula: 2-2-2 (.500) Season Drew: 70-35-11 (.651) Paula: 71-33-13 … Read more