There are now 6 WCHA teams ranked in the to 20 this week (8 if you want to count Bemidji St. and Nebraska-Omaha already.)
This weekend is another weekend in which all the teams are in conference play. After this weekend 2 teams will reach the half-way mark in regular season league games, MSU-M and UAA.
CURRENT WCHA STANDINGS
#...TEAM...............GP....W-L-T...PTS
1 Colorado College.....10....7-2-1...15
1 Denver................10....7-2-1...15
3 Minnesota-Duluth....10....6-3-1...13
4 North Dakota.........10....5-4-1...11
4 St. Cloud State......10....5-4-1...11
4 Wisconsin............10....5-4-1...11
7 Minnesota State.....12....4-7-1....9
8 Alaska-Anchorage....12....4-8-0....8
9 Minnesota............10....3-6-1....7
10 Michigan Tech......10....2-8-0....4
#3 North Dakota at #12 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Sioux beat Ohio St. and tied Miami(OH) and the Bulldogs had Thanksgiving weekend off.
I'm thinking we could call this the a U.S. Highway 2 rivalry. Last year the Bulldogs won and tied UND in Duluth and then beat the Sioux in the Final 5 semi-final game (they didn't play in Grand Forks last season). If I recall correctly the Sioux are something like 18-9-1 in their last 28-games versus UMD. The Sioux are 125-69-8 all-time against UMD, and are 52-37-5 in Duluth. The Bulldogs are tied for the most goals scored in the WCHA with 36 in ten games while surrendering 29. The Sioux have allowed the fewest goals, 17, in the WCHA while lighting the lamp 29 times in 10 games. This looks like UND's d-men will have to continue their solid play and Eidsness too, if the Sioux are to earn some points this weekend. The Bulldogs will need to play better in their own end if they want to win, true they score but they give 'em up too. SIOUX SWEEP.
#2 Denver versus #6 Colorado College
The Pioneers split with the SCSU Huskies in Denver and the Tigers split with the Seawolves at World Arena in Colorado Springs.
I'm thinking we could call this series either the I-25 rivalry or Rumble in the Rockies, I like the latter. This is also a battle for first place in the WCHA standing at the moment. Like I've said before I don't think CC is as good as their ranking and this weekend I'll find out for sure. The teams CC has faced this year have a combined record of 40-50-5 and for DU their opponents this year are a combined 43-49-8, hmm, maybe I'm wrong about CC, who knows? Last year these teams tied 3 times and CC one the other meeting 3-2. With rivalries you can usually throw the records out the window. I'm taking the safe bet, SPLIT.
Minnesota State versus Minnesota
The Mavericks got a home sweep over visiting MTU and the Gophers lost at Michigan and won at Michigan St. in the College Hockey Showcase.
The Gophers trail the Mavericks by 2 points in the standings, but the Gophers have 2 games in hand on them. These are must have points for both teams this week, for MSUM to keep them firmly in the middle of the league. The Gophers need points if they want to have a chance at stay in contention for a home playoff spot. Last season the Mavericks won the series 2-1-1, sweeping at home and losing and tying on the road. Since this is a a home-and-home series, I'm going with the home teams to win, SPLIT.
Michigan Tech at #16 Wisconsin
The MTU Huskies were swept at Mankato by the Mavericks and the Badgers won at Michigan St. and then lost at Michigan in the College Hockey Showcase.
The Huskies are giving up twice as many goals as they are scoring in the league (21gf, 42ga). The Badgers are scoring an average of 3.3/game and letting in 2.2/game (33gf, 22ga) in the WCHA. On paper this should be a no brainer, but this is the WCHA. The only realy blip on UW's radar this year was a home loss to the Gophers, and I don't see any blips on their radar for this weekend. BADGERS SWEEP.
#20 St. Cloud State at Alaska-Anchorage
The SCSU Huskies split on the road with the Denver Pioneers and the UAA Seawolves split on the road with the CC Tigers.
(This ones for the Goon) The small, fast, fleet-footed Huskies will invade the Sully this weekend to take on the big, slow, lumbering Seawolves for pair of WCHA tilts. Okay, SCSU has 6 loses this season, 2 to Miami(OH), 1 UND, 1 DU, so they have held their own against the countries best teams so far this year. Seawolves on the other hand have beat UND and DU at home (SCSU beat UND and DU on the road). UAA is a long trip and the Seawolves play better at home then the road. This is yet another tought series to predict... SCSU 3pts.
Donn, I will bet you a big beer that the big, slow, lumbering team from Anchorage guts out a split and I will bet you a beer. UAA has split some good teams, UND, DU and C.C. all three times they were blown out of the rink, in fact each time they were beat they seem to come back and win the next night. It means that UAA fans aren't giving their coach enough credit, he making adjustments on Saturday to be successful. If I was Lasch or Roe I would keep my head on a swivel because I could see one of them getting Portwooded.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct on Anchorage. Most people write them off without even thinking about it, but truth is they have put together a pattern of getting blown out one night and then winning a close one the second night against the likes of Denver, North Dakota, Mankato, and CC. We all know they can't compete with anyone except Tech if the game speeds up, so they must slow it down to a crawl and play "Wild-type" hockey if you will. I say Duluth manages a tie one night at home against the Sioux and Denver sweeps CC for the coveted Gold Pan trophy
ReplyDeleteThe Wild aren't playing a slow it down brand of hockey any more, last night game was unbelieveable and the Wild are finally getting settled into a up tempo style of play, that kid they just picked up from michgian is playing a lot better than I thought. It was nice to see Sheppard as a healthy scratch last night.
ReplyDeleteI am going to go with Split in the UND and UMD series.
ReplyDeleteNot that it matters and I’m certainly not trying to defend Anchorage; but IMHO I would not consider 7-3 (DU) or 4-1 (Mankato) close ones, even if one goal was an empty netter. I just don't like seeing a pattern developed when there really isn't one, with all due respect.
ReplyDeletep.s. I think the neutral zone trap has been a disservice to the game of hockey and its fans. It takes two of the best things about hockey (speed and creativity) and eliminates them.
The rivalry between CC and DU is know as the battle for the Gold pan... Each year the two team play for a Gold pan trophy...
ReplyDeleteEsox