When you have two people who are wearing Hockey East tinted glasses and picking non-league games, well let’s just say their records aren’t going to be very impressive if Hockey East struggles as it has been. But hey, .500 is an excellent batting average, right? Jim last week: 8-8-3 Dave last week: 9-7-3 Jim to-date: … Read more
Our scheduled guests for the October 18 edition of USCHO Live! are North Dakota coach Brad Berry — whose defending national champions are a unanimous No. 1 in this week’s USCHO.com Division I men’s hockey poll — and Maine beat writer Larry Mahoney of the Bangor Daily News. Listen live at 8 p.m. EDT or after the show on-demand: http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2016/10/17/north-dakotas-berry-maine-writer-mahoney-slated-for-oct-18-edition-of-uscho-live/
With Hockey East going a collective 7-9-3 this weekend in non-league play, the league’s early-season collective struggles continue. While March seems so far away, might the results this month rear their ugly head come March? That leads the three things I learned this weekend. 1. Non-league woes could translate to thin NCAA representation come March Sure, … Read more
It’s hard to believe Jim opened the season by going .500 and… taking the lead! Dave last week: 7-9-3 Jim last week: 8-8-3 Dave’s record-to-date: 7-9-3 Jim’s record-to-date: 8-8-3 Here are this week’s picks: Friday, Oct. 14 Merrimack at Clarkson Dave’s pick: When you open the season with a 2-1 home loss to Sacred Heart despite getting a 14-5 advantage … Read more
Our guest on the October 11 edition of USCHO Live! was Rich Coppola, Sports director at Fox 61 in Hartford and one of the radio voices of UConn hockey. Jim and Ed also reviewed the happenings in college hockey over the summer.
These are the three things I think I learned this week. 1.Beware the Atlantic Hockey Conference. It wasn’t that long ago that games against the Atlantic Hockey Conference were considered close to automatic wins. Maybe not by the lower end of the Hockey East, but certainly among the elite. Not this past weekend. Atlantic teams … Read more
After handily beating Dave last year in our weekly picks contest, I know he’ll be looking for revenge. With this weekend’s non-conference action, I think there are a lot of difficult games to pick. So fingers crossed for a good start! Friday, October 7 Air Force vs. Boston College (at Icebreaker Tournament, Denver, Colo.) Jim’s … Read more
These are the three things I think I learned this weekend (other than “triple overtime takes a long time!”). 1. Northeastern won its second Hockey East title and first since 1988. Who’d a thunk it back when the Huskies were 1-11-2? Has there ever been a turnaround from an opening record like that to a … Read more
Dave went with strategy over intelligence last weekend and made a bad deficit a horrid one. Butt-kick central. This is like a six-goal victory. On to the Garden. Jim last week: 8-1-0 Jim to date: 189-65-36 Dave last week: 3-6-0 Dave to date: 174-80-36 Friday, March 18 Hockey East Semifinals (at TD Garden, Boston) No. … Read more
A year ago, the NCHC made history placing six teams in the NCAA field, the most any conference had ever placed in a single season. Could Hockey East repeat that feat? That leads the three things I learned this week. 1. Hockey East could have six teams in NCAA field We know some simple facts … Read more
Stick a fork in me. I’m done. With a six-game deficit staring me in the face last week, I had to go for some long shots. And for a while on Friday night, it looked like I might pick up an amazing four games on Jim heading into Saturday. My faux thoroughbreds, however, couldn’t hold … Read more
These are the three things I think I learned this week. 1. Once the playoffs start, there are no easy games. I’ll admit it. I thought that Maine and Massachusetts had the proverbial snowball’s chance in Tampa. UMass had been getting shellacked by seemingly everyone over the second half. Boston University, by contrast, had positioned … Read more
I’m not going to prematurely celebrate as things can still change on a dime, particularly if Dave decides to leave his brain behind and pick differently than I do in most games this weekend in a singular attempt to catch up. But I picked up two more games on Dave last weekend and hold a six … Read more
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/
A five-team race late in the season became a three-team race in Hockey East’s final weekend. And in the end, though Boston College captured the top seed in the playoffs, the Eagles and the Providence Friars ended up atop of the league. That leads the three things I learned this weekend. 1. Eagles and Friars … Read more
The regular-season is coming to an end and thanks to calling the Merrimack/Maine split correctly last weekend, I maintain my four-game lead over Dave with four weekends of play remaining. Jim last week: 7-3-1 Jim to date: 165-59-36 Dave last week: 7-3-1 Dave to date: 161-63-36 The picks below are made according to series with … Read more
It looked as if the Notre Dame Fighting Irish might be headed to their first Hockey East regular season title, in just year three in the league, heading into last weekend. And for about 53 minutes on Friday, there was plenty of reason to believe that might happen. That changed quickly and leads the three … Read more
Good grief, I only got one game wrong last week but made up no ground on Jim. Dave last week: 10-1-2 Jim last week: 10-1-2 Dave’s record-to-date: 154-60-35 Jim’s record-to-date: 158-56-35 Friday and Saturday, February 19-20 Because every team except Massachusetts and Massachusetts-Lowell is playing a two-game series against the same opponent, we will list picks for each series … Read more
These are the three things I think I learned this week. 1. Notre Dame is now the team to beat. But… The Irish have their destiny in their own hands with a one-point lead with two weeks to go. That’s thanks primarily to their own strong play, sweeping Maine last weekend to make them 11-1-0 … Read more
Thanks to Northastern’s win over Harvard in the Beanpot consolation game and a late Merrimack goal last Saturday night to earn a tie with Connecticut, I picked up a key game late in the season on Dave. It’s almost getting to the point that he’s going to have to begin to get desperate, pinching the … Read more