If someone would have said UMD would have been on top of the WCHA with ten games to go at the beginning of the season, I would’ve said, “Is that a type-o, don’t you mean UND?” We have to hand it to the Bulldogs they have been a good solid team this year, and are taking advantage of their league schedule (they play MTU, MSUM, & UND 4 games, all are currently in the bottom half of the league).
The playoff picture is starting to take shape, it looks like both UMD and DU will get home ice, and MSUM and MTU will be on the road.
The interesting thing I noticed in the standings is that 6th place UND has a winning record and 7th place Minnesota has a .500 record. If certain games go a certain way, you could see only 6 points separate the top 7 teams in the league, talk about what could be a pile up in the standings.
The WCHA now has 5 out of the top 7 spots in the USCHO poll this week, or 6 out of the top 12, or if you count BSU, then there would be 7 out of the top 14. The pollsters really seem to love the dub.
WCHA STANDINGS
TEAM…………………GP.…W-L-T….PTS
1 Minnesota-Duluth….18….12-5-1..…25
2 Denver……………....16….10-3-3..…23
3 Colorado College…..18…..9-6-3……21
4 St. Cloud State……..16…..9-5-2……20
4 Wisconsin…………..16…..9-5-2……20
6 North Dakota……….18…..8-7-3……19
7 Minnesota…………..16…..7-7-2……16
8 Alaska-Anchorage…18.….6-11-1….13
9 Minnesota State…….18….5-12-1….11
10 Michigan Tech…….18.....2-16-0…..4
WCHA
#7 Colorado College at Alaska-Anchorage
Last week the Tigers split at home against the Badgers, and the Seawolves swept the MTU Huskies in Houghton.
Back around Thanksgiving these teams split a pair in Colorado Springs. The Seawolves are 2-1-1 in their last four WCHA games and the Tigers are 1-3-0 over that same stretch. The boys from Up North are looking to move into contention for home ice by extending their current winning streak, and the CC Tigers need some points to stay in the top five. Are we now seeing the CC team, which many of us predicted to finish in the bottom half of the league? The Tigers gave up 10 goals last weekend, seeing that, they were lucky to get a split. CC needs to limit their opponents scoring, if they want to win some more games. The boys from UAA look to be playing their best hockey of the year right now, a sweep of cellar-dwell MTU, and a tie and one goal lose to DU, in their last outings. I like the Seawolves at home to take some points this weekend. SEAWOLVES 3PTS.
Minnesota away/home #12 St. Cloud State
Last week the Gophers got 3 points at home against the Sioux, and the Huskies swept Quinnipiac on in Connecticut.
Have the Gophers finally righted their ship? This weekend is another big test for them, the Huskies were my pre-season dark horse of the league and they are quietly sneaking up the standings. SCSU is just five points out of first with two games in hand on UMD. I like the way the Huskies are playing right now they are H.O.T. winning 6 in a row and are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games. The Gophers set a record on Saturday scoring goals 7 seconds apart. However, the Gophers were outshot and had fewer scoring chances than the Sioux, but did get some “puck luck” as it were. I’m going with the Huskies in this series, SCSU SWEEP.
#1 Denver at #3 Wisconsin
Last weekend the Pioneers were enjoying a bye-week, and the Badgers split with the Tigers in Colorado.
DU has really owned the Badgers in Madison the past six years. The last time the Badgers beat the Pioneers in Madison was Friday October 30, 2004. DU won the next night (Halloween), and has won their last 7 games in the Kohl Center. The Pioneers are three points ahead of Bucky right now in the standings and both teams will want to get some points to secure their spots for home ice. The Pioneers are starting a tough road stretch, next week they are on the road again at “their real rival North Dakota” according to a DU hockey player.
Both teams are playing well right now and I’m going to take the easy way out and call this series a SPLIT.
Non-Conference
#4 Minnesota-Duluth at/home #14 Bemidji State
Last week the Bulldogs swept the Mavericks in Mankato, and the Beavers split at fellow CHA member Niagara.
This should be an entertaining series between two highly ranked teams, and soon to be league foes. It looks be the Bulldogs are trying to send the DECC out with style and a WCHA title this year. I haven’t been to the DECC in a few years but it was a fun building to watch hockey in and I’m sure it will be missed by the faithful UMD fans. I’m looking at the big picture in this non-conference home-and-home series. I’m taking the WCHA here, BULLDOGS SWEEP.
#5 North Dakota at #9 Cornell
Last week the Sioux got a point playing the Gophers, and the Big Red beat Clarkson and tied St. Lawrence.
The Sioux are in the second half of the season and will be looking to get some wins this weekend to start their “second half run” which they have done every year since Hakstol took over as coach. However, is this the year that streak comes to an end? Does UND start calling this a rebuilding year, if they don’t get a win or two this weekend. The Sioux do have 10 freshmen on the team this season. The other issue in Grand Forks has been the injury bug, Genoway has been out since mid November (concussion), Zajac was out for a month but is back now (hernia surgery), Hextall is out for what sounds like another month (leg injury), Knight was out last weekend… I’ll say this when the Gopher fans started to cheer “over-rated” last Saturday, I would have to agree with them. If UND is the 4th best team in college hockey, that doesn’t say much for the state of hockey as a whole. I’m not making excuses, but if I wanted too, there would be a couple to choose from. Okay, enough of my whining about the Sioux.
I’ve never been impressed with teams from the ECAC (Goon is not impressed with ECAC teams either…) even when they are ranked. I have to look at the big picture and go with WCHA in this match up, SIOUX SWEEP.
OFF – BY WEEK
Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks
Michigan Tech University Huskies
I would really like to see C.C. take three points this weekend, that would help UND a lot they don't have a chance against the Black Bears. Especially on the big ice against C.C. big, slow, lumbering team takes one point.
ReplyDeleteI'm nervous about this, Donn. Have you picked a Bulldogs sweep yet? We seem to do well when you predict a split, can you change it?
ReplyDeleteThose are maybe your best predictions of the season there Sioux7, complete with very wise arguments as to WHY they will happen too. One major change though: I think Denver takes 3 or 4 points at Bucky instead of just a split. Denver has absolutely owned Wisconsin at the Kohl Center, and I think that trend continues. It will be interesting to see whether Goldy's 5-1 pasting of the Sioux last Saturday was just a fluke win during a mediocre season or a rebound towards better things to come. And there is no doubt that UMD is far better than anyone thought they would be, sitting in first place with just 10 games to go...
ReplyDeleteSioux7, the Badgers beat Denver at the Kohl Center at the 2008 Midwest Regional, while it was not a WCHA game, it was still at the Kohl Center. Just saying...I thought a Sioux fan would remember since your fans were there throwing coins onto the ice during the final.
ReplyDeleteRWD,
ReplyDeleteBSU got swept my MSUM, and then UMD swept MSUM. So my logic on that one is UMD sweeps BSU.
The Goon is going to be at the game in Bemidji this weekend.
Gandalf,
ReplyDeleteI should have said regular WCHA games, thanks for adding that NCAA tourney info.
I can apologize only so much, for some of the dumb idiots who throw items onto the ice. Just because some UND fans are jerks doesn't mean every UND fan is a jerk. I've met lots of nice fans from other schools at the Final Five (including UND), and you also see so obnoxious drunk fans as well.
The only thing I encourage throw on the ice is hats, after a hat trick :)
If the weather doesn't improve and the road condition stay as is, the Goon is going home and staying there. If that is the case I am going to hook my laptop up the the TV and watch Cornell and UND tonight.
ReplyDeleteGandalf, I remember that game the Badger beat DU 5-2 in the west regional and that was the year that caused the NCAA to change it rules because Wisconsin qualified for the NCAA tourney with a losing record and the eastern schools cried.
ReplyDeleteSioux7, I was being sarcastic about the coin comment. INCH (the biggest collection of dumb fucks outside of Capitol Hill) said that Badger fans should know better than to throw coins on the ice at the end of that game when it could have been ANYONE. Unless the person actually saw a Badger fan do it, it is bullshit to call out a fanbase, when it could have been a Sioux fan or a Princeton fan who stuck around for the final. It certianly wouldn't have been a DU fan since finding one non-parent outside of Magness would be news worthy.
ReplyDeleteNo one should be throwing coins on the ice, I agree only hats, and INCH can go fuck themselves.
I feel better now, always do when I rip on INCH.
Donn, you picked us to sweep Tech (which I think was your only other tUMD sweep pick of the year) and we split. Obviously you are to blame.
ReplyDeleteWho the hell throws coins on the ice? That's money, people. Throw something else.
I remember that NCAA regional like it was yesterday. A record 7 WCHA teams made it to the field of 16, and they put Denver (who had just won the Final 5 no less) in a regional where they had to go to the Kohl Center and play the host team Wisconsin, who shouldn't have even been in the tournament to begin with. Mankato should have been in it instead - they finished higher in the standings, they won the head to head series, and they had more wins. It was definately a conspiracy, the NCAA wanted Wisconsin to play because it meant more fans, and more fans mean more $.
ReplyDelete