Well this is it, the last weekend of hockey
before Christmas. It seems to me that
the first half of the season has just flown by, way too quickly. The biggest surprise last weekend had to be
MTU and UW tying both of their games in Madison.
This will be my last post before the holiday break. So, I wish a Merry Christmas to all the Goon's World readers. I will have my predictions up after Christmas for all the holiday tournaments.
WCHA STANDINGS
2012-2013
Team………………………W-L-T………Points
1. Denver…………..………7-3-2………....16
2. Minnesota………………6-3-3………….15
3. Minnesota State……….7-5-0.…...…….14
3. St. Cloud St………….…7-5-0………….14
5. Nebraska-Omaha………6-3-1……........13
5. North Dakota.………..…5-2-3…..……...13
7. Colorado College ……..5-4-1..….……..11
8. Michigan Tech………….3-6-3……….….9
8. Minnesota-Duluth….…..3-6-3…………..9
8. Wisconsin…....…………2-5-5………......9
11. Bemidji State……..…..3-7-2.…….........8
12. Alaska-Anchorage…....1-6-3…...….…..5
WCHA
Games
#11 Denver
@ Bemidji St.
Last weekend the Pioneers got a point (2-2ot,
6-3) from NoDak in Grand Forks and the Beavers split (2-4, 2-1) with the
Bulldogs in Duluth.
The Pioneers have been sliding down the hill
since their series with CC; they are winless in their last six games, going
0-4-2. DU has been having a hard time
finding the back of the goal, only netting 12 goals in those 6 games. The Beavers return home to the Sanford
Center, after spending the last two weekends on the road (Mankato and
Duluth). BSU ended their three game
losing streak by getting a win on Saturday night in Duluth. The Pioneers did not look that good last
weekend in Grand Forks, so they might be looking for a little mental pick-me-up
this week. BSU will need to play strong
defensively, to give themselves a chance to get some points. SPLIT
#8 North
Dakota @ Michigan Tech
Last weekend NoDak took three points (2-2ot,
6-3) from the Pioneers in Grand Forks and the Huskies split (1-1ot, 3-3ot) with
the Badgers in Madison.
NoDak has been doing well this first half of
the season, both defensively and offensively.
This will likely be the last time these two teams meet for some time,
with the conferences splitting next year.
Last year the teams only played in Grand Forks with the Sioux taking
three points that weekend. The last time
they played in Houghton was March of 2011, with the Huskies taking a pair of
beatings, 6-1 and 11-2, that weekend. But
this is a different year, with different players, different coaches, and like
the saying goes past performance doesn’t predict future outcomes. NoDak 3-pts
Colorado
College @ #17 St. Could St.
Last weekend the Tigers got a point (2-4,
4-4ot) from the Gophers in Colorado Springs and the Huskies split (5-6, 2-1) with
the UNO Mavericks in St. Cloud.
The Tigers currently trail the Huskies by three
points in the standings, but have played two fewer games. CC would like to get into the top half of the
ledger before the Christmas break, but that means they need at least one win
and some help. SCSU will be looking to
distance themselves from CC and lock into the top half before the break. The Tigers are 3-3-0 on the road this year
and the Huskies are tough at home in the National Hockey Center this year,
going 6-2-0. I’m going with each team
get a win this weekend. SPLIT
Minnesota-Duluth
@ Alaska-Anchorage
Last weekend the Bulldogs split (4-2, 1-2) with
the Beavers in Duluth and the Seawolves were swept (1-3, 0-3) by the MSUM
Mavericks in Mankato.
The Bulldogs are struggling this year as are
the Seawolves, both teams have six losses and three ties on their records. UMD has played two more games that UAA and
those two more games are in the win column.
The long flight could give the Bulldogs the time they need to
contemplate their situation or it might be just away to kill time. This will be the Seawolves last games before
Christmas, their next games are Jan. 4-5 at home against UW. The Seawolves are averaging just less than
two goals/game and the Bulldogs are just under three goals/game. I expect a couple of low scoring games with
favors UAA a bit more than UMD. SPLIT
#20 Minnesota
State @ #13 Nebraska-Omaha
Last weekend the MSUM Mavericks swept the Seawolves
(3-1, 3-0) in Mankato and the UNO Mavericks split with the SCSU Huskies (6-5,
1-2) in St. Cloud.
Both Mavericks are exceeding their preseason
expectations, which is obviously good for both herds. MSUM is only two points from the top and UNO
is only three points from the top. The
difference is that UNO has two games in hand on MSUM. Omaha is 5-2-1 at home this year and MSUM is
3-3-1 away from Mankato. Both teams are
averaging over three goals per game, so there should be plenty of offense to go
around this weekend. MSUM comes into
this series as the hottest team in the conference winning their last six games,
all WCHA games mind you. The caveat is
those wins were over the bottom three teams, UW, BSU, and UAA. MSUM has a much tougher opponent this
weekend, but they should be confident given their winning streak. They just can’t afford to be over
confident. SPLIT
Non
Conference Games
Alabama-Huntsville
(3-12-1 overall) @ Wisconsin (2-7-5
overall) (Thu / Fri)
Last weekend the Chargers swept (5-2, 4-1) the Finlandia
Lions (D-3 school in the MCHA) in Huntsville and the Badgers split with the MTU
Huskies (1-1ot, 3-3ot) in Madison.
The Badgers are still winless at home this
season and this is their last home series until 2013 (they host Miami Jan.
18-19). I think this is the weekend they
have been waiting for in Madison, their first home win or wins of the
season. I’m going to go with Cardinal
and White to go into the Christmas break on a high note. BADGERS SWEEP
BYE
WEEK
#4 Minnesota
