Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

Notables from last week:

UND lost d-man Chay Genoway for an un-determined amount of time after getting checked from behind.

UND had its 17-game home unbeaten streak end with a loss to SCSU (It was a win over SCSU that started the streak)

BSU got its first ever win against UM on Sunday night in convincing fashion, 6-2.

UW got off to fast start on Friday again, by scoring 14 seconds into the game, the previous Friday (Nov. 6) they scored 24 seconds into that game. Has UW made some sort of "Fast Friday Formula" for the fans?

UMD Justin Fontaine scored 4 goals on Saturday against MTU, and UMD now has 4 of the top 5 scorers (points/game) in the WCHA, who would a thunk it!



Current WCHA Standings

#..TEAM................GP..W-L-T...PTS
1 Colorado College.......8...6-1-1....13
2 North Dakota...........8...5-2-1....11
3 Denver..................6...4-1-1....9
3 Minnesota-Duluth......8...4-3-1....9
3 Wisconsin...............8...4-3-1....9
6 St. Cloud State.........6...3-2-1....7
6 Minnesota...............8...3-4-1....7
8 Alaska-Anchorage......8...2-6-0....4
8 Michigan Tech..........8...2-6-0....4
10 Minnesota State.......8...1-6-1....3


WCHA
Minnesota State at Alaska-Anchorage
Last week the Mavericks were swept by the Tigers in Mankato, and the Seawolves where swept by the Badgers in Madison.

The Seawolves are 3-3-0 at home this season and the Mavericks are 0-3-1 on the road. Last year the Mavericks won the year 2-1-1 against the Wolves. Both these teams find themselves in the bottom of the standings, a sweep by one team will definitely help them avoid the dreaded "doormat" title. UAA will be back home where they have had some good success this year and will look to capitalize on a struggling Mavericks team. MSU-M and UAA have only scored 16 goals in 8 league games for an average of 2-goals/game. The first team to score more than twice will probably be the winner of these games. This series I'm going with the home team SEAWOLVES SWEEP.


#20 Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota
Last weekend the Bulldogs split at home against the Huskies from MTU, and the Gophers split at home against the Beavers of BSU.

UMD is tied with CC with 29 goals scored in league games so far this year, that's a 3.63goals/game average. UM has scored 19 goals in thier 8 games, for a 2.38 average. The obvious here is that UM needs some solid/stellar goal tending this weekend if they want to try and get some points from their opponents up I-35. The Bulldogs are scoring, but they get scored on also, giving up 24 goals in those 8-games. The big Olympic rink at Mariucci may not help the Bulldogs, as they play on a smaller rink at the DECC. The big sheet does however help some the speedy skilled players to maneuver bettere, unless the reffing interferes with it(which happens at all the WCHA rinks it seems). If UMD can play solidly in their own end they should be able to control these games. I'm going to go with a SPLIT.


#15 Wisconsin at St. Cloud State
Last week the Badgers crushed the Seawolves in Madison for a sweep, and the Huskies salvaged a split on the road with UND.

These teams are next to each other in the standings at with about 1/3 of the season played. Last season these teams split their only series in St. Cloud. Both teams are finding ways to win games and are trying to keep themselves with reach of the top spots in the league. From what I've seen of these teams, I would have say that UW has the more potent offense as a whole, SCSU has their top 2 guys and that's about it. The Badgers defense is their strong point, so as long as they keep the small speedy Huskies contained Bucky should pick up plenty of points this weekend. However, if the Huskies goalie(s) get hot they could end up stealing a game from UW, just like UM did a couple of weeks ago. BADGERS 3-PTS


#2 North Dakota at #3 Denver
The Sioux split at home against SCSU, and DU rested up last weekend.

This is the series we have all been waiting for. Now we have to wait and see if all the stars will be in this game, Cheverie & Wiercioch from DU and Genoway for UND. This should be a great series to watch, two talented teams that can skate, hopefully the refs don't mess it up. DU should be rested after a bye week, but then again sometimes you get a little rusty too. UND lost last Saturday but they didn't get out played, they outshot SCSU 49-28, and UND's Aaron Dell, let in 3 goals on 7 shots, ouch. I see a SPLIT in this series, which should hopefully be one for the ages and set-up an excellent rematch in Grand Forks Jan.29-30.



Non-Conference
Robert Morris(3-6-1 overall) at #7 Colorado College(7-2-1 overall)
RMU took 3-pts last weekend from fellow CHA member Niagra, and CC swept the Mavericks in Mankato.

CC has gotten off to quick start this season, but for the most part they have done it against the lower teams (sweeps of MSUM, MTU). Now the Tigers host another team with a sub-500 record. RMU has lost to BSU twice and Ferris St. twice (FSU just tied Miami twice) so they may have loses but when you lose to top ranked teams it isn't always as bad as it appears. I like underdogs in this series, I'm going out on a limb here, and going with RMU COLONIALS 3-pts.