Big Ten

Ice Breaker, Wisconsin and Minnesota State sweeps, and why Pairwise is premature: Weekend Review Ep. 2

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Notre Dame players celebrate a goal by Colin Theisen (13 - Notre Dame) (2018 Omar Phillips)
Notre Dame players celebrate a goal by Colin Theisen (13 - Notre Dame) (2018 Omar Phillips)
Notre Dame players celebrate a goal by Colin Theisen (13 – Notre Dame) as the Fighting Irish take the 2018 Ice Breaker title (photo: Omar Phillips).

Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger review the top results of the weekend: Notre Dame won the Ice Breaker tournament after a dramatic semifinal and shutout of Providence. Wisconsin swept Boston College while Minnesota State did the same to Boston University, while Minnesota Duluth got into the win column with a pair of victories at Michigan Tech.

Also: North Dakota scored just twice in a tie and loss at Bemidji State, while Ohio State survives first-ever week at No. 1 with a pair of road wins at Arizona State.

Plus: Union’s Cole Maier has seven points in three games.

And finally: Why you shouldn’t pay attention to the Pairwise Rankings this early — but why you should take notice of one of its components.

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Pickin’ the Big Ten title game: March 17

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It all comes down to this. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I have done with picks so far: Last week Drew: 3-1 (.750) Paula: 4-0 (1.000) This season Drew: 100-54-14 (.637) Paula: 103-51-14 (.658) The championship game No. 3 Notre Dame (24-9-2), the top overall seed in the Big Ten tournament, hosts No. 5 Ohio … Read more

Ohio State’s Rohlik, college hockey analyst Starman join March 13 installment of USCHO Live!

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Our guests on the March 13 edition of USCHO Live! are Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik, whose No. 5 Buckeyes travel to No. 3 Notre Dame Saturday for the Big Ten championship, and CBS Sports and ESPN college hockey analyst Dave Starman.

Listen live or on-demand: http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2018/03/13/ohio-states-rohlik-analyst-starman-join-march-13-installment-of-uscho-live/

Close games, favorites and a surprisingly strong conference

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Big Ten fans were treated to two fantastic semifinal games Saturday night. Congratulations to winners Notre Dame and Ohio State, who will play for the B1G championship this Saturday, March 17 — St. Patrick’s Day — in the Compton Family Ice Arena. 1. Two televised 3-2 thrillers provided a perfect showcase for college hockey. Maybe … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten semifinals: March 10

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Drew Claussen and I didn’t do so badly last weekend. There were six games played, but we both predicted seven games would be played. Last week Drew: 5-2-0 (.714) Paula: 5-2-0 (.714) This season Drew: 97-53-14 (.634) Paula: 99-51-14 (.646) The semifinals The top seeds survived last weekend’s best-of-three series, with each team sweeping its … Read more

Carvel, Gadowsky to guest on March 6 installment of USCHO Live!

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(THOMAS KENDALL/THOM KENDALL FOR UMASS ATHLETICS)

Our guests on the March 6 edition of USCHO Live! are Massachusetts coach Greg Carvel, whose Minutemen won a three-game series at Vermont to advance to take on No. 7 Northeastern in the Hockey East quarterfinals, and Penn State Guy Gadowsky, whose No. 12 Nittany Lions move on to the Big Ten semifinals against No. 5 Notre Dame after a weekend sweep of then-No. 11 Minnesota.

Listen live or on-demand: http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2018/03/06/carvel-gadowsky-to-guest-on-march-6-installment-of-uscho-live/

Pickin’ the Big Ten playoffs: March 2-4

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It’s playoff hockey time! I’m excited for the new format this year, from the best-of-three series to the campus sites to the single-elimination games that begin next week. Here’s how Drew Claussen and I did with picks during the regular season. Last week Drew: 6-2-0 (.750) Paula: 5-3-1 (.625) This season Drew: 92-51-14 (.631) Paula: … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 23-24

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The final weekend of regular-season Big Ten hockey is here! My writing partner Drew Claussen’s pick record and mine has nearly converged as the season has progressed, and I’m happy to say that we’re both on track to finish the season above .500. Last week Drew: 3-2-1 (.583) Paula: 3-2-1 (.583) This season Drew: 86-49-14 … Read more

Three things from the Big Ten’s penultimate weekend

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The Big Ten regular season is nearing the finish line. Six of seven teams were in action this weekend, with Wisconsin having the weekend off. Here’s how things played out: Michigan swept its home-and-home series with Notre Dame Michigan State and Penn State split their series at East Lansing Minnesota downed Ohio State on Friday … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 16-18

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26 Jan 18: The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers host the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a B1G matchup at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN. (Jim Rosvold/USCHO.com)

It’s the penultimate weekend of regular-season play — you know I’ve been waiting all season to use that word — and this is how Drew Claussen and I have come through it so far. Last week Drew: 2-3-1 (.416) Paula: 2-3-1 (.416) This season Drew: 83-46-13 (.630) Paula: 86-43-13 (.651) This week Everyone but Wisconsin … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 9-10

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John Lethemon of Michigan State (Andrew Knapik/MiHockeyNow) ((Andrew Knapik/MiHockeyNow))

The top two teams in the conference meet and two series feature long-time rivals. This should be a very good weekend of B1G hockey. First, though, Drew Claussen and I have picks records to share. Last week Drew: 4-1-1 (.750) Paula: 2-3-1 (.416) This season Drew: 81-43-12 (.640) Paula: 84-40-12 (.662) This Week Notre Dame … Read more

UConn’s Cavanaugh, USCHO.com’s Weston join Feb. 6 edition of USCHO Live!

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Mike Cavanaugh (UConn - Head Coach) The Boston University Terriers defeated the visiting University of Connecticut Huskies 4-1 (EN) on Sunday, November 17, 2013, at Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. (Melissa Wade)

Our guests on the February 6 edition of USCHO Live! are Connecticut coach Mike Cavanaugh, whose Huskies are just two points out of a first-round bye in Hockey East, and USCHO.com Big Ten columnist Paula C. Weston. Listen live or on-demand: http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2018/02/06/uconns-cavanaugh-uscho-coms-weston-join-feb-6-edition-of-uscho-live/

Three things about the weekend that was

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Greetings from a frigid Southern Minnesota, a state that everyone now knows is cold in February thanks to all the Super Bowl coverage. Six of the seven Big Ten teams were in action against each other this weekend with Minnesota taking the weekend off. Here’s how things turned out: Ohio State and Michigan State split … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Feb. 2-3

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26 Jan 18: The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers host the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a B1G matchup at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN. (Jim Rosvold/USCHO.com)

Happy Groundhog Day! Six more weeks of winter, four more weeks of regular-season hockey, and another day of looking at the progress that Drew Claussen and I have made with this year’s picks. Last week Drew: 4-1-1 (.750) Paula: 3-2-1 (.583) This season Drew: 77-42-11 (.635) Paula: 82-37-11 (.673) This week Six teams play single-site, … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Jan. 26-27

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FEB 25, 2017: Dakota Joshua (OSU - 8). The #12 Ohio State Buckeyes get shut out 1-0 by the University of Michigan Wolverines at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH. (Rachel Lewis)

It’s a rare weekend of all-conference, Friday-Saturday, single-site play — and four of the six games are televised! As we approach the end of January, let’s see how Drew Claussen and I have been picking things. Last week Drew: 5-1-0 (.833) Paula: 5-1-0 (.833) This season Drew: 73-41-10 (.629) Paula: 79-35-10 (.677) Doesn’t Drew look … Read more

Michigan’s Pearson, Northeastern’s Madigan guest on Jan. 16 USCHO Live!

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01 Oct 16: Mel Pearson (Michigan Tech - Head Coach). The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs host the Michigan Technological University Huskies in a non-conference matchup at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, MN. (Jim Rosvold/USCHO.com)

Our guests on the Tuesday, January 16, edition of USCHO Live! are two coaches coming off successful weekends, Michigan’s Mel Pearson and Northeastern’s Jim Madigan. Listen: http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2018/01/15/michigans-pearson-northeasterns-madigan-guest-on-jan-16-uscho-live/

Splits, a sweep and paradigm shifts

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To say that the results from B1G hockey this weekend were surprising would be a bit of an understatement — unless you’re Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan. 1. Two B1G splits. The Spartans went to Madison and came away with three points after beating Wisconsin 2-0 Friday night before losing 5-2 Saturday. After a … Read more