d1w d1women

This weekend kicks off women’s D-I play again. In my final weekend of the first half, I closed strong, going 11-2-3, moving to 207-62-29 on the season. Let’s see if I can start 2016 off with a bang. Friday, Jan. 1 Brown at Princeton The Tigers have done well against teams below them in the … Read more

A new year arrives and brings with it more college hockey. Half of the Ivy League gets started on 2016’s first day in two of the four conference games over the weekend, all in the ECAC. The start of the work week brings a couple of Hockey East contests. The CHA and WCHA teams that … Read more

Giant killers For the second time this season, No. 9 North Dakota ruined the perfect record of a top-ranked team, in this case, No. 1 Wisconsin. Goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie shut the Badgers out for the series, making 26 saves on Friday when the Fighting Hawks won, 3-0, and thwarting another 41 shots as the teams … Read more

I had a terrible week last week, going 15-12-5 (.546), I think possibly my worst performance ever. The ECAC and WCHA killed me. On the year, I am 196-60-26 (.741), still good odds for Vegas. Let’s see if I can close strong. Thursday, Dec. 10 Boston College at Syracuse This will be closer than last … Read more

A light schedule takes us into the break, but still offers a little of everything. Skarupa and Crowley both at 199 and counting Boston College senior forward Haley Skarupa has 199 career points on 94 goals and 105 assists. She will try to reach the 200 career point milestone, while Katie Crowley looks for her … Read more

League leaders solidified The teams that came into the week with the best winning percentages in their leagues are still on top, and the leads were either maintained or increased. No. 1 Wisconsin takes control of the WCHA Annie Pankowski scored the winning goals both days, and Ann-Renée Desbiens was stellar in net as the … Read more

Individual sports like tennis often have ladders where participants challenge others of similar ability but a slightly higher ranking, and then the challenger moves up the ladder with a win. The schedule this weekend offers something similar in several leagues for the last full slate of games in 2015. The purest example occurs in the … Read more

I had a pretty good week last weekend, going 20-6-1 (.759). On the year, I am now 181-48-21. We have one of the biggest series of the year on tap, as undefeated Wisconsin hosts nemesis Minnesota. The CHA sees a rivalry renewed between Mercyhurst and Robert Morris, and North Dakota also tries to get the … Read more

Bobcats skate to Nutmeg Classic Championship No. 5 Quinnipiac defeated host Yale, 3-0, in the title game of the Nutmeg Classic. Taylor Cianfarano’s 15th goal of the season at 16:48 of the second period broke a scoreless tie. She assisted on third-period goals by Nicole Connery and Melissa Samoskevich, the latter into an empty net, … Read more

Holiday weekends often mean special tournaments and showcases in college hockey, and because most women’s teams are on an extended break around Christmas, Thanksgiving is typically the busiest weekend for special events. This year, we have three classics and cups, as well as some other key nonconference clashes. Nutmeg Classic Yale hosts the 12th edition … Read more

Last week I had my worst week of the year, going 21-10 (.677) to move to 161-42-20 (.766) on the year. There are a lot of tournaments this weekend, so I’ll have to do a second set of picks on Saturday if I’m wrong on the Nutmeg Classic, but let’s see what I can do … Read more

Quinnipiac assumes ECAC lead No. 8 Quinnipiac combined an impressive sweep in the North Country with minimal action in ECAC Hockey to take sole possession of first place in the league. The Bobcats started the weekend by blanking No. 4 Clarkson, 3-0, giving them four straight wins over the Golden Knights. Quinnipiac’s Taylar Cianfarano was … Read more

No, not the kind that you saturate in butter, bake inside a turkey, and then wonder why you feel so stuffed yourself after eating three helpings during a Thanksgiving feast. Although that might play into it, if some coach has an Aunt Edna with a stuffing recipe that would put the late Julia Child to … Read more

I had a pretty good week last week, going 20-4-3 (.796). On the year I am 140-32-20 (.781). The marquee matchups this week are in the east, but let’s see how I do. Friday, Nov. 20 Quinnipiac at Clarkson A long road trip equals a win for the home team, but it won’t be easy. … Read more

Badgers yield a goal but remain perfect After an NCAA record shutout streak of more than nine games, or 624 minutes and 19 seconds, No. 1 Wisconsin finally had to watch an opponent celebrate. By the time Maria Lindh of Minnesota-Duluth scored in the third period on Saturday, the Badgers already led, 4-0, on their … Read more

I had a decent week again, going 20-5-4 (.758) to move to 120-28-17 (.778) on the year. Let’s see how we can do this week with some big games on tap out west. Friday, Nov. 13 Rensselaer at Dartmouth Two teams that are very hard to predict makes me lean toward home ice. Dartmouth 3-2 … Read more

We start with three matchups that once would have been marquee games for not only the week, but the whole season. Teams rise, others fall, and on paper, these pairings aren’t what they used to be. But it doesn’t mean they still can’t surprise us and produce some drama. New Hampshire at No. 2 Boston … Read more

Some gotta win, some gotta lose … Or they could tie, as we see on Saturdays in the CHA. First win for the Friars After seven straight setbacks, Providence hit the win column for the first time this year, rallying in the third period to defeat New Hampshire, 5-4. Trailing by two coming out of … Read more

Two teams that have finished first and second in Hockey East in some order for the last three seasons, and four of the last five, collide for the first time this year. No. 2 Boston College at Boston University, Saturday, 3 p.m. EST, Boston University at Boston College, Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST In recent years, … Read more