No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 1 Minnesota Joe: Coming off a 24-day break should mean some rust for the CCHA-leading Irish who cannot afford a slow start. The Irish are 12-0-0 when they get the first goal and 2-4-0 when the opposition scores first. It seems likely Minnesota will come out strong at home and take an early … Read more
No. 12 Cornell at No. 11 Denver Joe: The Big Red have been scoring pretty consistently with 20 goals in the past five games, but none against teams with as strong a defense as Denver anchored by sophomore goalie Juho Oklinuora, who has been playing well of late. Denver sweeps. Tyler: Joe’s right in that … Read more
Bemidji State vs. No. 2 New Hampshire Joe: Bemidji State was too sloppy with the puck, negating a strong first period and squandering a 2-0 lead in a 4-3 loss to UMass in the tournament opener. The Beavers cannot afford that against a top-tier team. Wildcats win in schools’ first-ever meeting. Tyler: It’s hard to … Read more
Bemidji State vs. Massachusetts, Ledyard Bank Classic, Sunday Joe: Bemidji State, 2-1-1 in its last four games, takes on UMass (5-9-2) which is 1-4 in its last five games and has only four players in double figures in points, led by junior Braden Gracel with 13 (seven goals). The other semifinal pits host No. 2 … Read more
Air Force, No. 1 Boston College at No. 4 Minnesota, Mariucci Classic, Saturday and Sunday Joe: No. 1 and Hockey East-leading Boston College (11-2-1) will get head coach Jerry York his all-time wins mark against Alabama-Huntsville (3-14-1) on Dec. 29, taking pressure off the Eagles to focus on the real task at hand; beating the … Read more
Welcome back to the WCHA Blog after a week off. This week’s games are spaced out from Thursday to Monday with some teams facing opponents to be determined in their second games of the weekend, so we’ll release the picks in waves. Look for the next set of picks Saturday. RPI at No. 16 St. … Read more
Minnesota State at Nebraska-Omaha Joe: Minnesota State is on a roll, but commenters have a very legitimate concern when they point out the six wins in a row are against bottom-tier teams. That means MSU is good (beating the teams they should) but not that good (only 1-5 against top-tier teams Denver, Minnesota and St. … Read more
Alabama-Huntsville at Wisconsin Joe: The Badgers will get their first win in the Kohl Center though both games should be close. Sweep. Tyler: I think the only way Wisconsin loses a game this weekend is if its goaltending doesn’t replicate the great performances it’s had all season and if the offense continues to be a … Read more
Minnesota State deserves to be ranked With their sixth win in a row and third league sweep in as many weeks, Minnesota State, picked by most to be a bottom-three team in the WCHA, now sits in a tie for third place headed into the final weekend before the holiday break. It would be a … Read more
Here are our predictions for this weekend: No. 6 Denver at No. 9 North Dakota Joe: The key for UND will be reviving its 37th-ranked power play (15.1 percent) against a solid DU penalty kill (86.4 percent overall). They will at home against a DU squad motivated to pick up some of the points lost … Read more
Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan Joe: Neither team comes into this single-game Tuesday night on a roll with the WCHA’s Huskies losing and tying Minnesota-Duluth over the weekend while the CCHA Wildcats were swept on the road by Western Michigan. Based on recent strength of schedule, I pick NMU to win at home. Tyler: Michigan … Read more
No. 13 Nebraska Omaha at No. 3 Minnesota Joe: Gophers freshman goalie Adam Wilcox, who leads the league’s top scoring defense (1.77 goals) gets a serious test when he faces the Mavs’ WCHA’s second-ranked offense (3.75 goals). Neither team has a clear advantage with Minnesota and Nebraska Omaha at Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in … Read more
No. 7 North Dakota (5-3-2) at No. 6 Notre Dame (8-3) Joe: UND goalie Clarke Saunders has shown he can steal a game even if the Irish barrage him with shots. Notre Dame’s CCHA-leading defense (1.64 goals) should slow down North Dakota’s balanced attack enough to garner one win. Split. Tyler: The Irish defense is … Read more
You wouldn’t think it by looking at the outcomes but Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin were not only competitive on the road but both had opportunities to escape with the majority of points. UMD had a one-goal lead six minutes into the third period. Until Mark MacMillan scored with 34 seconds left in overtime Saturday in Grand … Read more
No. 2 Denver (7-1, 5-1 WCHA) versus No. 14 Colorado College (7-3, 4-0), home and home series Joe: This always entertaining series enters its 20th year with the Gold Pan Trophy on the line. The deciding factor could be special teams with a good Denver play (20 percent), especially with a healthy Nolan Zajac, taking … Read more
Most agreed No. 20 (for now) Minnesota-Duluth would not be as strong as recent years past, but few expected the Bulldogs (2-5-1, 0-3-1 league) to be in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s basement at this point. Last-place UMD’s inconsistency continued during a road sweep at the hands of Nebraska- Omaha that concluded with a 6-3 … Read more
No. 2 Minnesota (5-2, 2-2 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (2-2-2, 0-1-1) Tyler: Minnesota travels north to the Last Frontier needing a win more than any other team in the league. The Gophers haven’t proven the preseason hype, but it is common for even the best teams in the WCHA to go through a rough patch. The … Read more
Wisconsin lost its most valuable skater, Mark Zengerle, to a broken left index finger suffered while killing a penalty in Saturday night’s 3-0 home loss to Colorado College. Zengerle will be out five to six weeks, according to Andy Johnson of Bucky’s Fifth Quarter, who spoke with Zengerle after the game. The Badgers’ sputtering offense … Read more
Minnesota State (2-2-2, 0-2 WCHA) vs. No. 2 Minnesota (4-1, 1-1) Joe: Minnesota’s power play (15 percent) should find its footing against Minnesota State’s last-place penalty kill (71.4 percent) which would allow the Gophers, even though they are still trying to jell, to use their superior offensive talent to sweep this home and home series. … Read more
Here are three observations from this past weekend in the WCHA: Denver forwards are producing plenty of goals After preseason questions about their ability to score regularly, the Denver forwards have recorded 12 of the team’s 20 goals in the Pioneers’ 4-0 start, including victories against No. 11 Massachusetts-Lowell and an improved Michigan Tech team, … Read more