Weekend picks: Dec. 2

Thanks to Air Force, I gained another game on Matthew in our picks race, and more importantly made it above .600 in the season picks. Last week, I went 5-1-2 (.750) while Matthew went 4-2-2 (.625). On the year, I am 43-26-12 (.604) while Matthew is 36-33-12 (.518). We have some big rivalry series this … Read more

Weekend wrap: Nov. 27

Denver wins ugly Denver won both its games this weekend, but coach Jim Montgomery couldn’t have been happy about the way the Pioneers did so, especially Saturday against Wisconsin. Against both Air Force Friday and Wisconsin Saturday, the Pioneers had difficulty holding onto the lead in the third period, and need an OT goal from … Read more

NCHC picks: Nov. 25

My picking Minnesota-Duluth sweeps has been working out nicely in my contest with Matthew. I gained another game on him in our picks contest, going 4-1-3 (.687) while Matthew went 3-2-3 (.562). On the year, I am 38-25-10 (.589), while Matthew is 32-31-10 (.506).It’s not a busy weekend, but let’s see how we can do.Friday, … Read more

Three things: Nov. 20

History gets made in St. Cloud Many people believe life is better for bacon’s presence therein. The list of true believers apparently doesn’t stop at the door to North Dakota’s dressing room. The eighth-ranked Fighting Hawks made history this weekend, defeating No. 12 St. Cloud State 4-0 on Friday night in St. Cloud, Minn., before … Read more

Weekend picks: Nov. 18

Picking a Duluth sweep got me another game up on Matthew in our weekly picks contest, simply because they won on a night Matthew picked Western to win. Last week, I went 5-3 (.625) while Matthew went 4-4 (.500). On the year, I am 34-24-7 (.576) while Matthew is 29-29-7 (.500). Friday-Saturday, Nov. 18-19 Miami … Read more

Weekend picks: Nov. 11

Last week, I got Duluth’s sweep of St. Cloud right, but Matthew got the North Dakota-Minnesota Saturday result right, so we both went 4-3-1 (.562). On the year, I am 29-21-7 (.570) while Matthew is 25-25-7 (.500). Let’s see how we do this week. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 11-12 St. Cloud State at Colorado College Candace: Colorado … Read more

Three things: Nov. 6

Misery at Mariucci continues Many fans around the NCHC miss rivalries from their teams’ previous conferences. North Dakota fans got to live one out this weekend as the third-ranked Fighting Hawks played twice on the road against old WCHA foe Minnesota. Coming out of the series, UND fans might feel thankful their team no longer … Read more

Weekend Picks: Nov. 4

I thought I was looking good to put distance between Matthew and me last week after Friday, but then Minnesota-Duluth had to go and sweep North Dakota. Regardless, I still picked up another game, going 6-4 (.600) while Matthew went 5-5 (.500). On the year, I am 25-18-6 (.571) while Matthew is 21-22-6 (.489). Friday-Saturday, … Read more

NCHC picks: Oct. 28

I gained one more game on Matthew last weekend. If I’d been smart and been a league home and picked Miami Saturday, it would have been too. Oh well. Last week, I went 6-4-2, while Matthew went 5-5-2. On the year, I am 19-14-6 (.564), while Matthew is 16-17-6 (.487). Friday-Saturday, Oct. 28-29 Western Michigan … Read more

Three things: Oct. 23

A few of the bigger talking points from around the NCHC landscape this weekend. UND digs out of early holes again We’re talking about a small sample size just five games into the season, but North Dakota doesn’t seem to have much trouble erasing early deficits. The top-ranked Fighting Hawks have now given up the … Read more

NCHC picks: Oct. 21

On Friday, I thought I might run away with the picks contest early, but Matthew rebounded with his picks Saturday. We both went a dismal 5-6-2 (.461). On the year, I am 13-10-4 (.555) while Matthew is 11-12-4 (.481). Let’s see if we can get any better. Friday Colorado College at No. 10 Boston College … Read more

NCHC picks: Oct. 14

Thanks to correctly picking the Colorado College-Massachusetts split, I have a two-game lead on Matthew in our annual picks contest. Last week, I went 6-4-2, while Matthew went 4-6-2. On the year, I am 8-4-2 while Matthew is 6-6-2. Let’s see if I can widen the lead this weekend. Friday-Saturday, Oct. 14-15 Western Michigan vs. … Read more

Three things: Oct. 9

Title defense starts brightly North Dakota began its quest for a ninth national championship and second in two years strongly. Atlantic Hockey’s Canisius was the Fighting Hawks’ first test this past weekend in Grand Forks, and UND ran into few problems while winning both games of the teams’ series by a combined 10-1. UND’s offense … Read more

NCHC pick: Oct. 8

The only reason this matchup in the Icebreaker is a surprise is that the two Frozen Four teams from last year are playing in the consolation game. Saturday, October 8 Boston College at Denver Candace: Neither team looked particularly strong Friday, but I don’t see the Pioneers losing two in a row on home ice. … Read more

Weekend picks: Oct. 6

Matthew and I both got off to a good start, picking the sweep by Minnesota-Duluth last week. So, we’ve started 2-0. I doubt our perfection will last through this weekend, but let’s see how we do. Thursday-Friday, Oct. 6-7 Western Michigan vs Ferris State Candace: I don’t have a good handle on the Broncos yet, … Read more

Start your engines

It’s time hockey fans. The NCHC kicks off its season this weekend with a nonconference matchup between No. 17 Michigan Tech and No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth. Once again, NCHC columnists Matthew Semisch and Candace Horgan will be picking each week’s contests, and holding a friendly little season-long contest to see who can correctly pick the most … Read more

Weekend Wrap: March 20

The Frozen Faceoff pitted the four top seeds in the NCHC against each other. Three of the four, North Dakota, St. Cloud and Denver, had already qualified for the NCAA tournament, while Minnesota-Duluth’s win over North Dakota on Friday and a Minnesota loss to Michigan in the Big Ten championship assured the Bulldogs of a … Read more

Weekend picks

It’s the final day of the NCHC season. Three, possibly four teams, will advance to the NCAA tournament, where I’m sure they will represent the league well. Candace and Matt went 1-1 (.500) in their semifinal picks, with Candace correctly picking Minnesota-Duluth and Matthew picking St. Cloud State. Let’s see how we do on the … Read more

Weekend Picks: March 17

Well, I correctly picked all four series last week, though I expected the Duluth-Miami series to go three games. I went 7-1 (.875) in games. Matthew went 6-2 (.750). I am now 121-51-14 (.688) on the year, while Matthew is 115-57-14 (.655). We will do two sets of picks, picking Friday’s games first, and then … Read more