Well, both Arlan and I kicked off our picks season in great style. I went 8-1-1 (.850), as did Arlan 8-1-1 (.850). We have some tougher games to pick this week, so hopefully our prognostication abilities are up to the task. Friday-Saturday, October 7-8 Bemidji State at Ohio State Candace: Bemidji did well to take … Read more
A new season starts with a wealth of optimism, but more questions than answers. Although we are still awaiting the onset of conference play, action ramped up around the country, with a number of games matching squads of similar prospects. Two of the series of note featured participants that spent most of last season in … Read more
Last season, I had a great time writing a weekly picks column, and I finished with an excellent record of 193-60-24 (.740) on the season. Let’s see if I can better that this year (a tough challenge). Also joining me in weekly prognostications will be new USCHO Women’s D-I columnist Arlan Marttila, who I want … Read more
It’s said that the most important factor in real estate is location. The three most important factors in real estate are quickly rising in prominence in women’s hockey. Schools’ proximity to one another, and a desire by the NCAA to limit travel costs, can produce a tournament bracket come March where the top-seeded team is … Read more
OK, I promised to write another picks if I got one of my semifinals picks wrong, so here we go. Before we get into the nitty gritty though, I just want to say I think it’s pretty cool that I got the scores of BOTH games in the semifinals right in my last picks column. … Read more
Well, last week wasn’t my best effort picks-wise, as I went 2-2 (.500). I honestly didn’t think Boston University could get by Mercyhurst, and while I believed Boston College could beat Minnesota, everything I saw of both teams this year made me think Minnesota had the edge. Over in the USCHO forums, user Maine-iac started … Read more
In the conference championships, I did a pretty amazing job picking the winners of each game, missing only Northeastern’s upset of Boston University. I correctly picked the winners of each tournament though, as well as Syracuse upsetting Niagara, going 11-1 (.916). That brings my season picks to 189-57-24 (.744). Next up are some tough picks … Read more
I had an awesome week last week, going 16-2 (.888) and correctly picking every playoff series, including picking that Clarkson-Dartmouth would go three. I incorrectly figured that St. Lawrence would win a game off Harvard, and that North Dakota would sweep Bemidji State. Overall on the season, I am now 178-56-24 (.736). Obviously, we are … Read more
Last week was a tough one for me, particularly in the ECAC, where I incorrectly picked three results. I finished 12-5-4 (.666) last week, which isn’t too terrible. That brings my season record to 162-54-24 (.725). The WCHA and ECAC kick off their first round playoff series this week, and Mercyhurst closes its season. Let’s … Read more
Well, I had a pretty awesome week with my picks last weekend, going 16-2-3 (.833). That brings me on the season to 150-49-20 (.731). We’ve got two weeks left in the season before the playoffs start, and the Pairwise has changed little in the last month. However, there could be some interesting position-jockeying in the … Read more
I had a smoking week last week, going 16-3-2 (.809), including correctly picking the Beanpot winners, to improve my record on the year to 134-47-17 (.719). It’s hard to believe there are only three weeks left in the season. Let’s dive into this week’s picks. Friday-Saturday, February 11-12 Mercyhurst at Syracuse: The Orange have emerged … Read more
With Wisconsin scoring another shootout win last week, I did pretty good in my picks, going 14-5 (.736). That brings my overall record to 118-44-15 (.709). We’ve only got four weeks left in the season, and while a few teams are a virtual lock for the post-season, there is still some room for positioning. Let’s … Read more
I, for the most part, righted the ship last week, going 11-3 (.785). I’m calling Wisconsin’s shootout win a win, so there it is. One thing I think that we can take away from last weekend is that Minnesota is one of the hottest teams in the country right now. For a while, the Gophers … Read more
One week after going almost perfect, I had a pretty dismal picking performance, going 10-7-1 (.583). I think the lesson to take away from it is that, barring Cornell, I should just stay away from ECAC games, as outside of Cornell, I was 0-3. Overall on the season, I am now 93-36-15 (.697). Let’s try … Read more
I pretty much rocked it last week, going 11-0-1 (.958). In fact, regarding the one tie, I did say in my write-ups, “The Catamounts will probably play the Sioux tough, and one tie is possible.” Dang those Catamounts and their ties (nine and counting!). On the season, I am now 83-29-14 (.714). Let’s see how … Read more
Well, I finished the first half strong, going 8-2-1 (.772). Overall on the season, I am 72-29-13 (.688). Almost all of the top teams are in action this weekend, so let’s get right back to it. Friday-Saturday, January 7-8 Syracuse at Mercyhurst: Syracuse has scored some decent wins this year, showing signs that they may … Read more
Well, I had a pretty good week last week, going 10-2-1 (.807). I think we learned last week that Wisconsin may be even better than we thought, and Bemidji deserves mention as one of the top teams in the WCHA. The only really surprising result last week was St. Cloud pulling a tie with Minnesota-Duluth. … Read more
Success on the ice can beget buzz in the rink. So it is in Ithaca, where the No. 1 Big Red drew a record crowd (2,326) to Cornell’s Lynah Rink. The throng was rewarded, too, with a 3-0 blanking of Clarkson. Brandton Thomas of the Ithaca Journal was there to see it all. Time was … Read more
Well, last week I certainly improved on my recent struggles with picks. I even picked not only the score, but the OT win, in the first Wisconsin win over Minnesota-Duluth. Since Ohio State won the first game in a shootout, I’m going to say that overall, I went 9-3 (.750). On the season, I am … Read more
There was a battle royale in Madison this weekend between No. 4 UMD and No. 1 Wisconsin. The teams earned a split, with the host Badgers eking out a 3-2 overtime win on Friday. That set the stage for a revenge match, and a whale of one it was, with the Bulldogs quieting a large … Read more