Lambert on the NCHC....

This is what Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy fame had to say about the NCHC on CHN. It would be interesting to see how many college hockey games that he has actually watched this season?

NCHC

Colorado College: This would have to be one hell of a “second-half surge.”
Denver: Yeah, 5-3 sounds just about right for a Denver win at UMass. I very much buy that as a reasonable result.

Miami: Riley Barber as captain of the US World Junior team seems like a no-brainer. One of the few returners, and he's very, very good. Given the amount of ice time he's been eating up for the RedHawks this year, he might never come off the ice in Sweden.

Minnesota-Duluth: The reason Justin Crandall isn't a goalie, and instead is the best forward on UMD this season, is that after his brother Aaron and his dad Jeff both played that position, his mom said he couldn't.

Nebraska-Omaha: I guess that yes, it is fair to say Jake Guentzel and Josh Arbcibald have been "key contributors" for the Mavs this season, given that the latter is a point-a-game player and the former is third on the team in assists as a freshman.

North Dakota: Oh a kid from Grand Forks committed to UND? Seems like that was a slam dunk. They've only been recruiting him his whole life.

St. Cloud: The St. Cloud Times gives the Huskies an “A” for the first half, which they say is “grading on a curve.” No need for a curve, they're just one of the best teams in the country.

Western Michigan: Lawson Arena got a scoreboard upgrade over the summer because NCHC rules mandated it, but apparently any talk about a new arena any time soon is just wishful thinking. “Lawson looks very nice,” said WMU athletic director Kathy Beauregard, stretching things a little.

So, we are to  believe that the National Collegiate Hockey Conference was built on entitlement, I find that statement interesting. So, only the Big Ten Hockey Conference was allowed to forward their interests. All others had to stand fast. Actually, if anything, the re-alignment allowed a team (UAH) to find a conference and this will allow for future expansion. I am not convinced that we're done moving teams around, just yet.

This seems not to have stopped the NCHC from trying to make itself more impressive, which is apparently the kind of thing we should have come to expect from a league built on entitlement more than anything else. When the Big Ten was announced, all the “prestige” programs, or whatever you want to call them, that were being left behind in the CCHA and WCHA simply decided that they couldn't be bothered slumming it against these other, lesser programs which were beneath their status and probably contempt, and thus was born the “National” Collegiate Hockey Conference, which is a curious name considering that on a geographical basis it ignores all the parts of the nation not between Ohio and Colorado.

That there was a fan vote to name the finals of the conference tournament is all good and well, and settling on the Frozen Faceoff (perhaps by design not more than a little evocative of “Frozen Four”) earlier this month, which beat out the NCHC Championship, is a little icky but not in the end that big of a deal.

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

Here we are the Halloween weekend, and we almost have a full NCHC schedule, three out of four isn’t bad.  Next thing you know Thanksgiving will be upon us.

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

Colorado College………...1-1-0…….….….3
Miami……………………….1-1-0……….….3
Minnesota-Duluth…………1-1-0……….….3
North Dakota………………1-1-0……….….3
Denver…………………..…0-0-0…………..0
Nebraska-Omaha…………0-0-0…………..0
St. Could St……………….0-0-0…………...0
Western Michigan………..0-0-0…………...0 

NCHC Games

Nebraska-Omaha @ Denver

Last weekend the Mavericks were swept by Cornell (5-3, 4-3) in Omaha.  The Pioneers beat Niagara 5-1 and lost to Canisius 4-1 last weekend in Denver.

Last season in the WCHA the Pioneers took three points from the Mavericks in there only series in Denver.  I know past performance does predicted future performance, but I like Denver at home.  PIONEERS 3-PTS

#9 St. Could St. @ #5 North Dakota

Last weekend the Huskies swept Colgate (4-2, 4-3) in St. Cloud.  NoDak “unofficially” beat the US U-18 team (4-1) in Grand Forks.

Last season these teams split a series in St. Cloud and SCSU took three points in the series in Grand Forks.  NoDak has typically had “average” first halves of the season and then done much better after Christmas.  With that and the fact that we have a series between top 10 teams, I’m going the easy way.  SPLIT

Colorado College @ Western Michigan 

Last weekend the Tigers were swept by Clarkson (1-2L, 0-1) in Potsdam, NY.  The Broncos were not playing last weekend.

The Tigers head east this weekend to Kalamazoo (it’s fun to say Kalamazoo, isn’t it!) and hit the ice at Lawson Arena, which NHL sized.  Being early in the season, it makes it difficult to make an educated prediction.  But hey, let’s make a prediction anyway.  I’m picking the Tigers to win on Friday and the Broncos to win on Saturday.  SPLIT

Non-Conference Games

Canisius @ #6 Miami

Last weekend Canisius lost to Air Force 3-2 and beat Denver 4-1 in Colorado.  The RedHawks lost and tied the Providence Friars (2-3ot, 4-4ot) in Rhode Island.

The Golden Griffins surprised us last weekend, I would have picked them to beat AFA and lose to DU, not the other way around.  But Canisius has a much stiffer test this weekend when they travel to Oxford, Ohio.  It’s hard to pick against Miami in this series.  RedHawks SWEEP.

#20 Minnesota-Duluth @ Ohio State

Last weekend the Bulldogs split with Notre Dame (3-2L, 4-1W) in Duluth.  The Buckeyes swept Robert Morris (5-3, 4-3) in a home-home series last weekend and beat Bowling Green (5-3) on Tuesday night in Columbus.

This isn’t hockey related, but the OSU marching band did an amazing performance the other weekend at the football stadium.  Now on to hockey, the Buckeyes hockey program is not the football program, but they are both now in the big ten conference.  OSU and there new conference will need to pick up wins against quality teams, if they want the big ten to succeed.  I don’t think that will happen this weekend.  BULLDOGS SWEEP.