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

UConn’s Cavanaugh, USCHO’s Weston are March 1 guests

Our guests on the March 1 edition of USCHO Live! are Connecticut coach Mike Cavanaugh, whose Huskies clinched a Hockey East home playoff series with a dramatic, come-from-behind win on Saturday, and Paula C. Weston, USCHO.com Big Ten columnist. Join us live at http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2016/03/01/uconns-cavanaugh-uschos-weston-are-march-1-guests/

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

Pickin’ the Big Ten: Jan. 8-9

When Drew Claussen sent me his picks for the blog this week, he said something about redeeming himself after his holiday tournament picks performance. We’ve all been there. And, seriously, who knew that Ohio State — the only unranked team in the Florida College Classic — would prevail? I didn’t have them winning a single … Read more

Pickin’ the Big Ten holiday style, Dec. 28-Jan. 2

It’s holiday tournament time! Everyone plays for midseason glory except for Wisconsin, who plays a single exhibition game against Trinity Western University Jan. 1. Picks records for Drew Claussen and me first. Dec. 19 Drew: 0-1-0 (.000) Paula: 0-1-0 (.000) Season Drew: 44-27-13 (.601) Paula: 47-24-13 (.637) Both Drew and I picked Michigan State to … Read more