Duluth brushes WMU aside Minnesota Duluth gave itself the easiest route to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, sweeping Western Michigan in a quarterfinal series by a combined 7-0. Bulldogs sophomore goaltender Hunter Shepard added to his school season record for shutouts on Friday by backstopping Duluth to a 5-0 Game 1 win. Duluth picked up its … Read more
Friday-Sunday, March 9-11 Colorado College at No. 4 Denver Candace: CC has turned Magness Arena back into World Arena North, as it did about a decade ago, but I think Denver is going to tough it out. I’m also wondering how the CC goaltenders’ confidence will be after getting shelled by Western Michigan last Saturday. … Read more
It’s the final weekend of the NCHC regular season, and only one of the first-round series is actually set. We know Denver and Minnesota Duluth will be home for the first round, but we don’t know who they will play, or who the final home ice team is. Last week, I gained another game on … Read more
I extended my lead on Matthew last week thanks to Denver and Duluth, as I went 6-1-1 (.813) while Matthew went 4-3-1 (.563). On the year, I am now 90-52-20 (.617), while Matthew is 86-56-20 (.592). Two weekends are left, so let’s see how it plays out! Friday-Saturday, Feb. 23-24 No. 12 North Dakota at … Read more
Duluth gains important sweep With its weekend sweep of Miami, Minnesota Duluth moved into a tie for third place in the NCHC standings with North Dakota. Though the Bulldogs swept the Fighting Hawks this year, the two teams only played two games against each other, what the NCHC deems an “unbalanced schedule,” so the next … Read more
Matthew and I went 3-1 last weekend, so I still have a two-game lead in our picks race, as I am 84-51-19 on the year, while Matthew is 82-53-19. Here’s the weekend that could decide the season though, so let’s see which of us comes out on top. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 16-17 No. 2 Denver vs … Read more
Matthew and I picked the same winners last weekend, and we ended up going 4-2 (.667), because even though we picked a split for Miami vs. Western Michigan, we picked the wrong winner each night. On the year, I am 81-50-19 (.603) while Matthew is 79-52-19 (.590).Unfortunately for him, we see the games the same … Read more
Denver’s top players deliver The No. 4 Denver Pioneers got points mostly from their top-line players, Henrik Borgström, Dylan Gambrell, and Troy Terry in sweeping No. 9 Minnesota Duluth in Denver, and also sweeping all four games against the Bulldogs this season. On Friday, Borgström got the lone goal in highlight-reel fashion, banking in a … Read more
Picking Duluth to sweep last weekend paid off for me, and I gained another game on Matthew in our picks race, even though I went a miserable 2-4-2 (.375), but Matthew only got one game right, going 1-5-2 (.250). On the year, I am 77-48-19 (.600) while Matthew is 75-50-19 (.586). Friday-Saturday, Feb. 2-3 No. … Read more
At one point last weekend, I thought Matthew and I might finish perfect, but Saturday was cruel to those hopes. Instead, we finished a middling 4-3. On the year, I am 75-44-17 while Matthew is 74-45-17. Friday-Saturday, Jan. 26-27 Miami at Colorado College Candace: Both of these teams have been struggling of late and could … Read more
Beware the Bulldogs Don’t look now, but Minnesota Duluth has won four games in a row, and six of its last seven while going undefeated in those games. This weekend, the Bulldogs, who have been many NCHC writers sleeper pick for the second half, including mine, posted an impressive sweep of North Dakota, winning 5-3 … Read more
Well, I regained the lead on Matthew, courtesy of Minnesota Duluth, as I went 5-2-1 (.687) to Matthew’s 4-3-1 (.562). On the year, I am 71-41-17 (.616) and Matthew is 70-42-17 (.6058), so it’s not like a lot separates us right now. The big series is in Duluth, so let’s see how we can do. … Read more
St. Cloud, Western skate to split No. 12 Western Michigan stands to rise in the national rankings after earning a road split this weekend at second-ranked St. Cloud State. Western handed the Huskies their first home loss of the season on Friday as two goals each from Hugh McGing and Lawton Courtnall (both empty-netters in … Read more
Matthew and I went a middling 3-3 (.500) last weekend, moving us to 66-39-16 on the year, not stellar by any means. Oh well. Don’t look at us before you go to Vegas. Friday-Saturday, Jan. 12-13 No. 15 Minnesota Duluth at Colorado College Candace: Duluth impressed last weekend, and with its missing players back from … Read more
Matthew and I didn’t do particularly well last week, going 5-3-3 (.590). On the year, we are 63-36-16 (.617). It’s a light weekend in the NCHC, and we see things the same way again this weekend. Friday-Saturday, Jan. 5-6 No. 4 Denver at Miami Candace: Last year, Miami came into Denver and earned two ties … Read more
Well, Matthew and I finished our last weekend 2-2 (.500), as our NCHC sweep picks didn’t work out so well. Entering the New Year, we are tied 58-33-13 (.620). Let’s see if we can start well. Thursday, Dec. 28 No. 12 Western Michigan at Bowling Green Candace: Even though Western isn’t that great on the … Read more
Denver gets all it can handle with Dartmouth Having won only one of its last four games in regulation, not everything is going swimmingly at the holiday break with second-ranked Denver. The Pioneers were made to work hard to split last weekend with a Dartmouth team that came to Magness Arena on Friday carrying an … Read more
As we go into the final weekend of the year, Matthew and I are dead even, thanks to me picking Minnesota Duluth last weekend to sweep Omaha. They didn’t, but they won on Saturday. Last week, I went a fairly dismal 2-3-3 (.437), while Matthew went 1-4-3 (.312). On the year, we are now both … Read more
I swear, Miami games are killing me. I correctly picked Denver to sweep Minnesota Duluth, but because I didn’t see the RedHawks splitting with Cornell, I didn’t gain any ground on Matthew. Last week, we both went a very respectable 6-2 (.750). On the year, I am 54-28-10 (.641) while Matthew is 55-27-10 (.652). Friday-Saturday, … Read more
Our scheduled guests on the Tuesday, December 5, edition of USCHO Live! are Denver coach Jim Montgomery, whose defending national champion Pioneers are again perched at No. 1 in the USCHO.com men’s D-I hockey poll, and first-year Niagara coach Jason Lammers, whose Purple Eagles entered the poll this week at No. 20. Listen live at 8 p.m. EST or after the show on-demand: http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2017/12/05/dec-5-uscho-live-to-feature-montgomery-lammers/