On mornings like this when I look back to the CCHA picks blog — and the league’s 11 participants — I am suddenly digging the six-league Big Ten. And my partner-in-writing, Drew Claussen, is a genius. Last week Drew: 3-1-0 (.750) Paula: 1-2-1 (.375) Season Drew: 57-26-8 (.670) Paula: 57-26-9 (.668) This week Once again, … Read more
And the picks percentages take another hit this week. Last week Drew: 1-2-1 (.375) Paula: 1-2-1 (.375) Season Drew: 54-25-8 (.667) Paula: 56-24-8 (.682) This weeks It’s all Big Ten action this week and everyone plays. Michigan at Wisconsin Drew: After the Great Lakes Invitational, the Wolverines need a good weekend to prove to me … Read more
Minnesota and Wisconsin were the only two Big Ten teams in action this weekend. The Gophers played in their home tournament, the Mariucci Classic, and tied Colgate before downing RPI. The Badgers split a home series with former WCHA foe Alaska-Anchorage. Here are three things that I saw in the four games. 1. Gophers look … Read more
Well … Drew and I were both wrong about the GLI. Last week Drew: 4-3-1 (.563) Paula: 4-3-1 (.563) Season Drew: 53-23-7 (.681) Paula: 55-22-7 (.696) This week It’s a light schedule this week before full-on Big Ten play begins Jan. 10. Only the two league teams formerly with the WCHA play this weekend; both … Read more
Happy holidays, everyone! Five of the six Big Ten teams return to play this week. First, let’s see how my partner-in-writing, Drew Claussen, and I finished up the first half of the season. Week of Dec. 13-14 Drew: 3-0 Paula: 3-0 Season Drew: 49-20-6 (.693) Paula: 51-19-6 (.711) This week We have two tournaments and … Read more
Very light weekend in terms of games in the Big Ten, but here are three things I saw in the three games. Kerdiles makes up for mistake in a big way At the end of a very long shift on the power play, Wisconsin sophomore Nic Kerdiles attempted a long cross-ice pass. Instead of finding … Read more
What a show Ferris State and Michigan put on Wednesday night! It was exactly what a match between Nos. 3 and 4 should be — and contained exactly the kind of passion befitting a longstanding rivalry. So, Drew picked Ferris State and I picked Michigan … and they tied. Here’s how we’re doing so far, … Read more
Hey! There’s a game tonight! And it’s a doozy! Ferris State at Michigan Paula: That the Bulldogs are tearing up the new WCHA makes my heart very happy. Very. Undefeated in the WCHA (10-0-2), Ferris State is riding a 13-game undefeated streak into Yost Ice Arena. Last weekend, FSU swept former CCHA and current WCHA rival … Read more
Last week Drew: 6-2-0 (.750) Paula: 7-1-0 (.778) Season Drew: 43-20-4 (.672) Paula: 45-19-4 (.691) This week There are only eight games remaining for Big Ten teams in the first half of the season, including these two conference series this weekend — which are the last league games until after the holiday break. Penn State … Read more
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Sure, the day itself is over and we’re all the worse for it — okay, so I am the worse for it — and everyone who celebrates Christmas is rushing right into that, but there is still plenty for which to be thankful today. Here in the States, we can be doubly … Read more
Last week Drew: 6-2-0 (.750) Paula: 6-2-0 (.750) Season Drew: 34-16-4 (.666) Paula: 35-16-4 (.672) I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I mean, it’s not surprising that Drew’s doing so well, but why am I still above .500? This week Half the Big Ten plays in this final weekend of nonconference-only action. … Read more
Massachusetts-Lowell beat Penn State last night, 4-0. Drew Claussen and I had those picks yesterday, but I’ll remind you here that we both picked the River Hawks to sweep their two-game road series, which concludes tonight. Last week Drew: 4-3-0 (.571) Paula: 6-1-0 (.857) Season Drew: 28-14-4 (.652) Paula: 29-14-4 (.659) This week There are … Read more
There’s a game tonight! Massachusetts-Lowell at Penn State This is actually a two-game series, Thursday and Friday at 7:00 p.m. in University Park. Because the series begins tonight, here is what Drew Claussen and I have for it. We’ll have full picks and our records Friday morning. Drew: Penn State is on a two-game winning … Read more
Last week Drew: 6-2-1 (.722) Paula: 6-2-1 (.722) Season Drew: 24-11-4 (.666) Paula: 23-13-4 (.625) And I’d like to thank the Bulldogs and the Buckeyes for their right-way split. Such a rare thing for me. This week There are three nonconference series this weekend and a single nonconference game. Both Michigan and Wisconsin have the … Read more
Four out of the five Big Ten teams in action last weekend enjoyed playing another round of non conference games at home — all five enjoyed some success, going a combined 7-1-1 . Here are three things I saw. 1. Wisconsin rebounds against Lake Superior State The Badgers’ losses to Boston College and Boston University … Read more
Can we just be happy that the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge is over? I mean, it was great to have such high-level nonconference action early in the season. Did we really need a reminder of Hockey East’s dominance over teams formerly affiliated with the CCHA and WCHA? Last week Drew: 6-3-2 (.636) Paula: 4-5-2 (.454) … Read more
There’s one midweek game in the Big Ten this week. We’ll get our season picks record with the results from last weekend updated on Friday. Bowling Green at Ohio State Drew: The Buckeyes captured their elusive first win last weekend against Robert Morris on Friday, and then added another one to the win column against the … Read more
I don’t know about you, but I am jonesing for some college hockey. Last week Drew: 4-5-1 (.450) Paula: 6-3-1 (.650) Season Drew: 12-6-1 (.658) Paula: 13-6-1 (.675) This week Everyone but Wisconsin plays this week. It’s all nonconference play as league games don’t begin for another month. Boston College at Minnesota Drew: The Hockey … Read more
Happy Friday, everyone! Last week Drew: 8-1-0 (.842) Paula: 7-3-0 (.700) The total number of games differs because I posted a pick for Tuesday’s OSU-BGSU game and Drew did not. As last week was the first week we picked, those are also our season totals. This weekend Five Big Ten teams are in nonconference action … Read more
There’s a game tonight. I should make a prediction. For those of you new to the way I do things, I’ll give a running record of my picks every Friday, regardless of how many games there were between that Friday and the previous one. That means you’ll know how I’m doing on Friday. Unless I … Read more