kceyThe bad news, the regular season is over, the good news, the playoff season is starting, yeah! This is it. Everyone has a chance to start their run to the Broadmoor Championship and the auto-bid to the NCAA tournament.
For the bottom six teams this weekend is do or die time. For the top six it is a time to tune up for a run at/into the NCAA tournament. Last year there were no upsets in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. This year I think we might see an upset or two in the first round. Looking at the match-ups this weekend only UNO-BSU have played each other 4 games this season, everyone else is just 2 games.
The Goon and I will be attending the Final 5 again this year. So, next week I will try and get some predictions up for the 2 play-in games on Thursday. And maybe get something up on Friday and Saturday for those games too.
I hope everyone has enjoyed my weekly guessing attempts again this year. I look forward to seeing some of you in St. Paul next week.
WCHA FINAL standings
TEAM……………........W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota…....…….21-6-1…43
2. Denver……..…….......…17-8-3…37
3. Nebraska-Omah.a.…..17-9-2…36
4. Minnesota-Duluth......15-8-5…35
5. Minnesota…….....…...13-10-5…31
6. Colorado College..….13-13-2…28
7. Wisconsin……….....….12-13-3…27
8. Alaska-Anchorage…12-14-2…26
8. St. Cloud State…......11-13-4…26
10. Bemidji State…….….8-15-5…21
10. Minnesota State..….8-16-4…20
12. Michigan Tech….……2-24-2…6
WCHA (Numbers are current PairWise Rank)
Michigan Tech @ #3 North Dakota (season series UND wins 2-0-0)
Last weekend the Sioux swept the MTU Huskies in Houghton.
The Sioux beat-up the Huskies last weekend, by 6-1 and 11-2 scores. UND just needs to keep playing their game - use their speed and size to their advantage. The Sioux need to take care of Tech in 2-games and then concentrate on the Final Five. It appears that MTU might have decided to phone it in last weekend. But this weekend, it’s a new season, everyone is even. The Huskies can try and play spoiler this weekend, but UND needs to keep focused on the games this weekend and not look ahead. SIOUX SWEEP
Minnesota State @ #5 Denver (season series DU wins 2-0-0)
Last weekend the Mavericks were swept by the UAA Seawolves in Mankato and the Pioneers split with the SCSU Huskies in Denver.
The Pioneers are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games, not bad, but not good either, especially heading into the playoffs. The Mavericks enter the playoffs on a three game losing skid. MSUM owns a 3-8-3 WCHA road record this year, while DU has an 11-2-1 home WCHA record. The Pioneers beat the Mavericks in Magness Arena back in mid-November by scores of 3-2 and 6-1. Denver definitely is the better team in this match-up, but don’t count the Mavericks out. If MSUM’s goalie(s) get hot they could steal a game in Denver. But in the end, the Pioneers are just too deep for the Mavericks. PIONEERS SWEEP
Bemidji St. @ #6 Nebraska-Omaha (season series BSU wins 3-0-1)
Last weekend the Beavers earned 1-point against the UM Gophers in Bemidji and the Mavericks split with the UMD Bulldogs in Duluth.
The Mavericks get a chance this weekend to get some revenge on the only WCHA team they didn’t beat in the regular season. The Beavers will have the mental edge in this series, they know they can beat UNO. The Mavericks have to stick to their game plan and play at a higher level than BSU, if they want to go on to St. Paul. The Beavers will need to score more than 2 or 3 goals per game in Omaha if they want to win. BSU needs to find some offense, especially if senior Matt Read is unable to play (injury) this weekend.
MAVERICKS in 3
#20 St. Cloud St. @ #10 Minnesota-Duluth (season SCSU wins 1-0-1)
Last weekend the Huskies split with the DU Pioneers in Denver and the Bulldogs split with the UNO Mavericks in Duluth.
In early February the Huskies invaded Amsoil Arena and beat the Bulldogs 8-2 and tied in the rematch 3-3. SCSU is 5-2-2 in their last 9 games with loses to UND and DU, not too shabby. The Bulldogs are 2-4-2 in their last 8 games with wins over UNO and MSUM. This series has upset written all over it. SCSU is playing its best hockey of the year and are looking like the team that was picked to finish in the top 3 to start the year. The Bulldogs seem to be sliding into the playoffs. UMD needs to get back on track if they want to secure a bid to the NCAA tournament, which would include winning their first round playoff series. The Huskies still have hopes of making the NCAA tournament, but they need to win this series and do some damage in St. Paul to get in. Looking at the stats UMD has not last a league game when they were ahead after the 1st period, same goes for their 2nd period. The Huskies need to get a lead or be tied after the 1st and 2nd if they want to win, according to the stats. This could be the most interesting series this weekend, in my opinion.
SCSU in 3
Alaska-Anchorage @ #18 Minnesota (season series tied 1-1-0)
Last weekend the UAA Seawolves swept the MSUM Mavericks in Mankato and the Gophers took 3-points from the Beavers in Bemidji.
At the end of January in Minneapolis the Gophers beat the Seawolves 5-1 to open the series and the Seawolves responded in the rematch winning 1-0. Prior to last weekend UAA had only 3 road wins on the season, now they have 5 with a sweep of MSUM. The Gophers seem to be heating up at the right time of the year, they are riding a 7-game unbeaten streak, 5-2-0. The Seawolves will be looking for the upset this weekend and earn their second ever trip to the Final Five. The Gophers still have hopes of getting into the NCAA. In order for the UM to get in they need to keep winning, but beating UAA will not help them too much, but they need to beat them to move onto St. Paul. The Gophers will need to use their speed and cause UAA to take penalties this weekend. If UAA can find ways to score they could make life miserable for the Gophers. When the Seawolves get a lead and play defense, it can make for a frustrating game.
GOPHERS in 3
Wisconsin @ #14 Colorado College (season series tied 1-1-0)
Last weekend the Tigers split with the Badgers in Madison
A rematch from last weekend, this should be an interesting series, now that they have moved from Madison to Colorado Springs. The Tigers are 7-6-1 at home in WCHA games this year, and the Badgers are 5-7-2 away from the Kohl Center. (The Tigers have lost 3 of their last 4 home playoff series.) CC has clawed their way back into the NCAA picture and UW has fallen off the NCAA picture. Since these teams are the 6 & 7 seeds there won’t be much of an upset if UW won the series. The Badgers need to get more scoring from their forwards, if they want to advance to St. Paul. The Tigers need play smart hockey and not take any bad penalties this weekend.
TIGERS in 3
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