Hey all. Luckily, for your sake, I didn’t try something dumb like think of a David Bowie lyric to go with each series this weekend. OK, I tried for like 20 minutes but quit and just decided to listen to the albums Low and Aladdin Sane instead while making my picks. I also wasted time … Read more
Shane here … Seems like we’re just about back to normal in terms of the college hockey schedule. Sure, Michigan Tech is in sunny Arizona for Arizona State’s tournament, but eight other WCHA teams are in action against each other, including two teams which have been off for the last three weekends. Yes, all you … Read more
Happy holidays, everybody. Welcome to that odd time in the college hockey season full of traditional tournaments, nonconfernece showdowns and, for some, the continuation of a long winter’s nap. It all makes for tough pickin’. The action starts tonight (Tuesday) with the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit, which has turned into a fun all-Michigan matchup. … Read more
Happy holidays everyone. Just one series to worry about this week, so let’s get right to it … Colorado College at Alabama Huntsville Shane: It’s a matchup between the bottom two teams in the NCHC and WCHA. Each has just three wins. The Chargers are on a 10-game winless streak, but I thought they showed … Read more
Jack here … The semester is winding down for most of the schools in the WCHA. As such, just about every team will play a couple games this weekend before shutting down until after Christmas (save Alabama Huntsville, which plays a nonconference series next weekend). All that means is one final week of league action … Read more
Our guests on the Dec. 8 edition of USCHO Live! are North Dakota coach Brad Berry, whose No. 4 Fighting Hawks remain atop the NCHC standings after a weekend sweep at Denver, and Doyle Woody, who covers Alaska-Anchorage for the Alaska Dispatch News. Join us live at http://www.uscho.com/uscho-live/2015/12/08/north-dakotas-berry-anchorage-writer-woody-join-dec-8-uscho-live
Shane here … We’re into December. Hard to believe the season is two months old already. So what do we know? Not much more than we did before the season started. Minnesota State, Michigan Tech and Bowling Green are still the league favorites. Travel to Alabama, Alaska and the Upper Peninsula is still a grind … Read more
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What are we thankful for? Overtime games and ties, apparently. There were plenty of those last week in a league that seems to filled with parity but not necessarily a lot of goals. Perhaps that will change this weekend. Perhaps we should pick all ties and see if we come out any … Read more
Shane here … These predictions are anything but easy. I called a couple of splits correctly last weekend but picked the wrong teams on the wrong days. Loss, loss. So it goes. Jack and I could have gone the easy route and simply picked sweeps and splits, but we don’t play that way. Go big … Read more
As we get to the “it’s early, but not too early” portion of college hockey’s schedule, the WCHA, as predicted, seems to have three teams separating themselves from the pack. Minnesota State and Michigan Tech are currently tied for first in the league. Bowling Green is the highest-ranked team in the league (15th) but is … Read more
Shane here … It’s the first weekend of November, and Jack and I are all square on our picks. I’d say great minds think alike, but you have to have some luck, too. For example, we both picked a split between Bowling Green and Alaska Anchorage last week but different winners on different days. Two … Read more
Shane here … Finally, Jack, we have a weekend in which all the WCHA teams are playing each other. It’s weekends like this that, I think, help the conference, as you have teams and fans all paying attention to what’s happening. It sure has been an interesting start to the season, and picking ain’t easy. … Read more
We had to hurry to get our picks in, since Lake Superior State and Michigan State play tonight (Thursday), while everyone else is on the normal, Friday-Saturday schedule, including a couple more WCHA series (Jack and I actually will be in the same building this weekend!). Jack had a pretty good week last week, and … Read more
Shane here … It was a wild first week in all of college hockey. There were results that made you question your rankings and picks. Instead of tossing everything I studied in the preseason out the window, I’m going to give my gut at least another week. Can’t speak for Jack, who sent his picks … Read more
The fifth season of USCHO Live! kicks off with a preview of all six men’s Division I conferences in a special two-hour episode. Join us for the conversation and information, Tues., October 13, from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at blogtalkradio.com/uscholive.
It’s opening weekend for just about everybody in the WCHA (Michigan Tech is the lone dissenter, as the Huskies have two exhibition games this weekend to get ready for their regular-season opener next week against Ferris State). With three of the league’s teams playing home-and-home series against nonconference instate rivals (along with the NMU/Wisconsin and … Read more
Shane here. It’s Final Five time, after seeing the crowds at Joe Louis Arena for the first day of the Big Ten tournament, it will be interesting to see just how many people show up to the Xcel Energy Center to see the mighty WCHA. No matter who’s in the crowd, I’d expect some pretty … Read more
There are few phrases in the English language as appealing as “playoff hockey.” (“Free food,” “good beer” and “live music” may be the only ones that surpass said phrase.) Luckily, the WCHA begins its playoffs this weekend with four best-0f three series. The Final Five is back at the Xcel Center next weekend (just like … Read more
Well, here we are. The final week of the regular season. And, like last year, there remains much to be decided, including the regular-season championship, the final home-ice spot for the league tournament as well as the final playoff spot. The theme of the weekend from the league coaches seems to be, “Everybody’s playing for … Read more
Two weeks left. Four games to go in the regular season. No team has clinched anything but home ice. No team has been eliminated from contention. Welcome to the WCHA. This weekend all 10 teams are in action with plenty on the line — the MacNaughton Cup, the final home ice slot, the final playoff … Read more