The Goon and I were at last Saturday’s game in St. Cloud. Needless to say we enjoyed the game, 8 goals, a few little scuffles, and what would have been a fight, if the linesman wouldn’t have stepped in before it started. The city of SC is fun place to visit, and we enjoyed visiting with various SC fans before and after the game. I would recommend visiting SCSU for a game, if you have the chance.
The Playoff picture is starting to clear up after last week. It appears that DU, UMD, UW, and SCSU will be at home for the first round of the playoffs. It also appears that UAA, MSU-M, and MTU will be on the road. The only question is if either UND or possibly UM can catch CC for the 5th and last home ice spot. CC has to play the Gophers this weekend and the Sioux the following weekend, so both teams have a chance to take points from the Tigers.
CURRENT WCHA STANDINGS
TEAM…………………..GP….W-L-T…PTS
1 Denver….……………......22….14-4-4….32
2 St. Cloud State…..…..24….14-7-3….31
3 Minnesota-Duluth…....22….14-7-1….29
3 Wisconsin…………….....22….13-6-3….29
5 Colorado College……...22….11-8-3….25
6 North Dakota…………...22….9-10-3….21
7 Minnesota…………….....22….8-12-2….18
7 Alaska-Anchorage…...24….8-14-2….18
9 Minnesota State……...22….6-15-1….13
10 Michigan Tech……....22….4-18-0….8
WCHA
#6 Minnesota-Duluth at #11 North Dakota
Last weekend the Bulldogs were enjoying their last bye weekend and the Sioux split a series with the Huskies in St. Cloud.
Earlier this season the Bulldogs and the Sioux split in Duluth. This will also be the 4th team the Sioux will be playing after they had a bye week. The Sioux are looking to keep the momentum going after their 8-1 stomping of SCSU. UND needs to get all the points they can to try and grab the final home ice spot. UMD also wants points to try and catch the MacNaughton Cup. I would like to think that Saturday’s win will be the turning point of the season and the Sioux will now go on a tear. The Bulldogs have cooled off as of late, going 2-4-0 in their last 6 games. I’m going to with my team this weekend, SIOUX SWEEP.
#7 Colorado College at Minnesota
Last weekend the Tigers were resting up on an off weekend and the Gophers were swept by DU in Denver. (On an odd side note, this is first week in the Chinese New Year, and it is now “The Year of the Tiger”.)
The Tigers have cooled off in league play, going 3-5-0 in their last 8 WCHA games. Meanwhile the Gophers have never really heated up this season and have gone 2-5-1 in their last 8 games. The UM has a losing record (7-8-1) at home this season, which is odd, even for this version of the Gophers. The Gophers need to sweep the Tigers if they want to catch them in the standings. Being a Sioux fan, I need to cheer for the Gophers in these games (Friday at 6pm, Saturday at 3pm, odd times…) so that UND can catch up to CC. I’m going to call this my upset special of the week, heck maybe the season and I’m probably going to regret making this call. GOPHERS SWEEP.
#4 St. Cloud State at #3 Wisconsin
Last weekend the Huskies split at home with UND and the Badgers swept the Mavericks in the Kohl Center.
Back in November these teams split in St. Cloud, with each team winning 4-1. The Huskies have only lost twice since the beginning of 2010, and are 2-2-1 in their last five games. Could it be that SCSU is starting to cool off? After this weekend SCSU will only have two games left, against MSUM. So the Huskies need points to hold off UW in the standings. The Badgers also have only lost twice since the New Year, and are 5-1-0 in their last 6 games. UW is a stellar 12-2-3 at home this season, and SCSU is 9-6-0 on the road. The Badgers are leading the league in scoring, and also goal differential (they are a +32). BADGERS 3pts.
Michigan Tech at #2 Denver
Last weekend the Huskies were taking a mid-winter break and the Pioneers swept the Gophers in Denver.
Looking at the standings this match-up might happen again come March 12th. The Huskies are a pretty solid lock for the 10-spot in the league and DU has the inside track for winning the league. DU has to take it one game at a time, and not look past MTU. DU just has to play their game and they should take all the points this weekend. For the Huskies, they need to find ways to score; they are averaging just over 2 goals per game, while they surrender over 4 goals per game. In these games of worst versus first, I’m going with first. PIONEERS SWEEP.
Alaska-Anchorage at Minnesota State
Last weekend the Seawolves were on their bye week and the Mavericks were swept in Wisconsin by the Badgers.
UAA still is alive for home ice, but that dream is on life support. More likely is that UAA can try and grab 7th place in the league from the Gophers and put MSUM into 9th. The Seawolves seem to have a little trend going on this season, lose Friday and win Saturday. After this weekend UAA will only have 2 league games left, so they need to get as many points as they can on this road trip. The Mavericks have quietly slipped away from my radar. The only thing they got going for them is they are ahead of Tech. I’m going call this series a SPLIT.
Donn a beer that UMN won't sweep the Tigers, I would say it's going to be an easy 4 points for the Tigers. Also, I hope you didn't jinx the team this weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteGoon is right, there's no way Goldy posts a sweep against CC. A split would probalby be the best they can do. I don't see a Sioux sweep either, that sounds more like a split to me. The Huskies have not won in Madison since 2001 and if they get 1 point there this weekend, it would be good.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a pretty classy guy, Sioux7. Your comments are straight forward and you back up predictions with real, actual stats. You should take over Goon's job full time!
WCHA, I am pretty sure that blogging isn't my full time job and no one asked you to come here. I am still waiting to hear your spin on how your team was lucky to get a point against the Sioux, pretty much ran your team out of the building on Saturday night as well.
ReplyDeleteMake that two points against the Sioux.
ReplyDeleteIf I predicted splits in every series every weekend, it looks like I'm just playing it safe. The numbers are there, they are facts, from the PAST, they can't predict the future... or can they :)
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that UM sweeps so UND can catch up to CC and the Sioux can grab home ice. That prediction is more hope than anything.
My team, if you can call it that, was pitiful on Saturday, especially in the second period. Considering it was still 0-0 after the first, that makes it even more pathetic. No doubt the Huskies probably played their worst game of the season and the Sioux probably their best (subject to opinion of course). That being said, it was a split and only by the saving grace of Dan Dunn's 43 saves the night before did the Huskies manage 2 points. Every once in a while the Huskies do manage to put together a respectable season, and I think this one qualifies thus far, don't you? It would be nice to see the Huskies finally claim a McNaughton Cup. If they finish in 2nd (where they currently reside), it will be the 4th time this decade.You must remember that the expectations for every team are different. Your team's expectations are higher than, say, Anchorage. Too-shay?
ReplyDeleteGood news!!!
ReplyDeleteGophers sweep CC.
I owe Donn a beer. :)
ReplyDelete