Longer hours on Black Friday Shoppers are treated to extended store hours on Black Friday, and several teams did their part, as four out of 10 games on the day played beyond regulation. In the only one of these contents to not reach a decision, Brown fought back from a 2-0 hole to tie Providence … Read more
It was a great weekend last week. At the same time that Arlan paid up for the six pack I won for winning last season’s picks, I got enough games right that I passed Arlan for the season. Last weekend, I went 17-5-3 (.711) to bring my season total to 78-37-14 (.658), while Arlan went … Read more
Lindenwood gets in the win column It took a year plus a few more weeks, but Lindenwood finally has a win over a team that competes at the D-I level full-time. The Lions swept Sacred Heart a year ago, but despite their D-I label, the Pioneers only dabble in that pool. Thus, Lindenwood’s 5-1 win … Read more
Thanks to picking the Princeton-Rensselaer game correctly, I gained another game on Arlan, pulling within one. Overall, I went 7-3-4 (.642) to move to 61-32-11 (.639), while Arlan wen 6-4-4 (.571) to move to 62-31-11 (.649). We have many games on tap this week that we are picking, so let’s get to it. Friday, Nov. … Read more
Four Nations week results at home and abroad The annual Four Nations Cup tournament, matching the national teams of the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland, was held this week in Finland. In anticipation of losing players to national team commitments, a number of top college teams did not schedule a game, so the slate … Read more
I finally made up some ground on Arlan, though if I had picked a St. Lawrence sweep, I’d be only one behind him. Overall last weekend, I went 17-1-1 last week (.921), while Arlan went 15-3-1 (.815). Overall on the year, I am 54-29-7 (.638), while Arlan is 56-27-7 (.661). Many of the top squads … Read more
Questions answered Last week, I questioned whether No. 8 Boston College, clearly one of the most talented squads in the country, was playing like a top-10 team. The Eagles responded with their best week of the season in a Wednesday-Saturday home-and-home series with archrival Boston University. BC blew out the No. 3 Terriers, 7-1, to … Read more
Well, last week finally saw a pretty good slate of picks for both Arlan and I. Unfortunately for me, because I picked Quinnipiac over Harvard and Minnesota State over Mercyhurst, I didn’t gain any ground on Arlan in the race for a six-pack. In fact, I lost another game. Last week I went 17-4-3 (.770), … Read more
Is it back to normal or just the new normal? Either the results this past week weren’t as wild as in previous weeks, or I’m starting to adjust to the current landscape, because the winners and losers weren’t as surprising. That’s not to say that there weren’t some scores that raised a few eyebrows, due … Read more
A couple of years ago, my good friend and former colleague Theresa Geist (née Spisak), when writing her weekly WCHA column, was so flummoxed by the continuing upsets in the conference that she got the clever idea of proving that a coin flip couuld beat her thought out predictions. Every week, she would give her … Read more
Not even hindsight is 20/20 in wake of inexplicable results Each week when I sit down to do my game predictions, I think this would be easier if the outcomes were more predictable. Sometimes there are games or series that make one say, “Yes, I should have seen that,” after the results are in the … Read more
Another tough week in the picks department, though at least we were both over .500. I went 8-7 (.533), while Arlan went 10-5 (.666). Overall on the year, I am 12-15-1 (.446), while Arlan is a respectable 15-12-1 (.553). We’ve got some exciting series on tap this weekend, including the much-anticipated one between Boston University … Read more
Strong out of the blocks Of the 34 teams that make up the four Division-I conferences, only seven, the six Ivies and Robert Morris, have yet to play their first game. Among those 27 teams that are underway, five have perfect records: Boston University, Clarkson, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Northeastern. Mercyhurst, with one tie through … Read more
Well, with all the upsets, last weekend I got hammered in my picks, and Arlan didn’t do much better. I went 4-8-1 (.346) while Arlan went 5-7-1 (.423). Ouch, if we continue that way, Vegas better not come calling. We’ll challenge ourselves with some interesting games this week. Friday-Saturday, October 12-13 North Dakota at Ohio … Read more
Early women’s results not following form In the movie “Moonstruck,” the character played by Olympia Dukakis speaks the line, “What you don’t know about women is a lot.” I was reminded of that over the weekend, as once again I was forced to conclude that what I don’t know about women’s hockey is a lot. … Read more
It’s that time of year, which means Arlan and I are off to the races in our picks race. I won the regular season last year by one game, going 188-64-24 (.724) against Arlan’s 187-65-24 (.721). I also did well in the playoffs. We’ll see who gets the Picks Champion title and six-pack of beer … Read more
Well, I correctly picked both semifinal games to raise my postseason record to 28-12 (.700). Just one more game, with me trying to stay over .700 for both the postseason and the regular season. It’s the marquee game that almost everyone has anticipated during the postseason. Minnesota vs. Wisconsin I’ve voted these two teams 1-2 … Read more
It’s down to four teams. In last week’s picks, I went 3-1 (.750), missing only the BC-St. Lawrence game. I seem to have trouble picking BC games of late. For the postseason, I am now 26-12 (.684). Let’s see how I do on the last three games. I’ll pick the semis first, and will update … Read more
Four visitors evicted Saturday’s first round of the NCAA tournament had a little of everything. Whether you like wide-open offense, defense clamping down for 60 minutes, great saves, soft goals, goalie changes, video review, or overtime tension, there was something to offer — and that was just in Ithaca, N.Y. When the goal lights had … Read more
Well, my second week in the playoffs I didn’t do so well. Just far too many upsets. I did great the first day, but it was all downhill from there, as I finished 7-5 (.583), dropping to 23-11 (.676). Arlan did a great job previewing the games this weekend, so let’s see if I can … Read more