Former RedHawk Austin Czarnik signs with the Boston Bruins.

And now there will be two former Miami RedHawks on the Boston Bruins hockey team. Austin Czarnik joins former RedHawk Reilly Smith.

Congratulations to captain @ACzarnik7 on signing with the @NHLBruins! Thank you for 4 great years! #Brotherhood pic.twitter.com/j7X6tjkK2p
— The Brotherhood (@MiamiOH_Hockey) March 31, 2015

Excited to be a part of the Boston Bruins organization! Thank you @MiamiOH_Hockey and @MiamiUniversity for the best 4 years of my life!
— Austin Czarnik (@ACzarnik7) March 31, 2015

NCHC Playoff First Round Preview and Predictions

The regular season is now over, and the playoff brackets are now set. Most of the seeding wasn't final until the last day of the regular season, however seeds 1 (North Dakota), 7 (Western Michigan), and 8 (Colorado College) were set last Friday when North Dakota took the Penrose Cup outright. The top four seeds in the NCHC have their quarterfinal best of three series at home against the bottom four seeds. This year the match-ups are 1 North Dakota vs. 8 Colorado College, 2 Miami vs. 7 Western Michigan, 3 Nebraska-Omaha vs. 6 St. Cloud State and 4 Denver vs. 5 Minnesota-Duluth. 

1 North Dakota vs. 8 Colorado College

These two teams met four times this season with North Dakota winning all four contests, one of which while in Colorado Springs by a 7-2 score and a Mark MacMillan hat trick. When CC came to Grand Forks for a second half series, the story was much different. In two very tightly contested battles, CC would be the thorn in UND's side, making it seem like it was a battle of top five teams in the country. UND would prevail on the weekend with a sweep, but maybe the most well earned sweep of the season. 

Who to Watch:

UND: With MacMillan out, probably for the rest of the season, Focus for the offense will go to Senior Michael Parks, who likes to spend most of his time behind the goal line, Junior highlight reel Drake Caggiula, and master playmaker Freshman Nick Schmaltz. However this is a roster that seems to have someone different step up each night and in the second half their top producer has been Senior defender Nick Mattson. Finally, you look to Hobey Baker finalist Zane McIntryre. Zane leads the country in wins with 25, tied with Michigan Tech goalie Jamie Phillips, is 8th in save percentage at .931 and 14th in goals against average at 1.99. 

CC: Junior center Cody Bradley is the only Tiger with 10 goals this season, and is also the only Tiger with over 20 points as well. The junior center has been the sole hope for offensive production for the season, but Senior forward Scott Wamsganz is on the 20 point threshold sitting at 19 points for the season. Never count out Sophomore defender Jacob Slavin for making some plays from the point either. Slavin is probably their best defenseman.

Who Wins?

UND should win the best of three series in two games Friday and Saturday, but I think one of these games will be within a goal or two and a very tight defensive battle. UND wins Friday 3-1 and Saturday 5-2, however if UND sits back any, which I don't think will happen, but if they do, look for CC to take advantage and try to force a third game this weekend. 

2 Miami vs. 7 Western Michigan

Miami took 11 out of a possible 12 points against the Broncos this season with one overtime tie and shootout victory when they went to Kalamazoo for a series during the second half. The series that took place in Oxford was not as tightly contested, especially during the Saturday night contest with Miami winning by a score of 5-2. 

Who to Watch:

Miami: Senior assist machine Austin Czarnik has 31 assists on the season for the RedHawks and a team leading 36 points.Junior Riley Barber shares the team lead in goals with Junior Sean Kuraly who both are at 17 goals for the season. With Seniors Cody Murphy and Blake Coleman both over the 10 goal mark for the season as well, you can't count those two out when it comes to scoring either. 

WMU: Although the season ended somewhere they didn't want it to, Sophomore Sheldon Dries and Junior Colton Hargrove both are tied for the team lead in points with 25. Senior Justin Kovacs is not far behind with 24 points this season with 18 of those being helpers. 

Who Wins?

I can't see this series ending any other way then a Miami sweep, but if you remember last year, the only home ice team to advance to the Frozen Faceoff last year was North Dakota. For that reason, I think this series goes the distance and WMU wins Friday 2-1 with Miami coming back with a Saturday win of 4-2 and Sunday 3-1.

3 Nebraska-Omaha vs. 6 St. Cloud State

This is the series that I am most looking forward to. With Omaha falling off late in the season to lose the number one spot to North Dakota, and St. Cloud being a thorn in everybodys side this season despite being below the 500 mark, this series has classic written all over it. With both teams getting sweeps this season on their home ice, and the late season sweep of Omaha in St. Cloud a couple weeks ago being the catalyst in Omaha falling in the standings, look for the Mavericks to come out guns a blazing and look to gain some revenge. 

Who to Watch:

UNO: Sophomore Austin Ortega set the NCAA record for game winning goals in a season last weekend when he netted his 11th game winner. He is the leader with 18 goals on the season and tied with fellow Sophomore Jake Guentzel with points at 33, the youth movement in Omaha is on. Three of the top five in points for the Mavericks are freshman, Jake Randolph, Tyler Vesel, and Avery Peterson. Also look for Sophomore Justin Parizek to be a threat to score some goals as well. 

SCSU: Junior Johnny Brodzinski and Junior Joey Benik lead this team who's power play is top 5 in the NCAA. The top power play unit has combined for over 70 points this season with the extra man, so look for the Huskies to take advantage of every man advantage they are able to get this weekend. 

Who Wins?

No question in my mind this one goes the distance. I am taking St. Cloud to take the series and get the "upset" over Omaha as they have been struggling as of late, who is 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. St. Cloud wins Friday 3-2, Omaha Wins Saturday 4-3, St. Cloud wins 2-0.

4 Denver vs. 5 Minnesota-Duluth

With the season series seeing two splits, this series should also be very tightly contested, possibly the tightest of the four series. Duluth does hold the biggest victory this season with a 6-1 victory, but that came in Duluth. Every other game had a two goal or less margin, which is how I expect this to turn out. 

Who to Watch:

Denver: Freshman Danton Heinen leads the team with an amazing 42 points this season and Sophomore Trevor Moore is close behind at 39 points. Moore is the team leader in goals this year at 19 goals on the season. However, you can't talk about Denver without talking about Senior defenseman Joey LaLeggia. His puck moving ability and willingness to take it up on the rush has him tagged as one of the top offensive-defensemen in the NCAA. 

UMD: The usual suspects Tony Cameranesi, Alex Iafallo and Austin Farley are at it again this season and are leading this team on the helper side of things. the three are all at just 8 goals on the season and look to Dominic Toninato who leads the Bulldogs at 16 goals followed by Justin Crandall who has 12. 

Who Wins?

This should be a very close series, but Denver comes out on top. Their firepower will be too much for this UMD team. Denver wins Friday 3-1 and Saturday 4-3.

NCHC Three Things

With six teams in conference play this weekend, Duluth in non conference play, and NCHC leader,

Omaha, off, this is a big weekend for the six teams in NCHC play to gain some ground in the conference standings. So here are three things I believe will come out of this weekend.

1. North Dakota Puts Offense on Display
The final series of an entire month at home, UND looks to close out this homestand just one point behind Omaha, who sits at 29 points on the season. Last time North Dakota met Colorado College this season, Colorado Springs got a good taste of what the UND offense has with UND outscoring CC 10-3 on the weekend, including a 7-2 victory in the Saturday night game. With scoring coming equally on all four lines for UND, I'd expect them to score plenty of goals once again this weekend and take a sweep of CC into their battle in Omaha next weekend.

2. Miami Returns to Winning Ways
Miami had a rough weekend in St. Cloud in their last week of play and were swept by the Huskies. Their off week last weekend couldn't have come at a better time to regroup and refocus to finish out the stretch run strong and healthy, and with their series against Denver at home this weekend, I expect a successful weekend for the Red Hawks. One game will be close and possibly take overtime because Denver is always a tough opponent and very good this season, but Miami comes out hard Friday night and will win by more than one goal.

3. Western Michigan Continues to Roll
Since late November, the Western Michigan Broncos have been on a roll. at 7-1-2 since November 28, they have been one of the top teams in the conference and are finding success as they look to make another return trip to Minneapolis this March. With now only seven points back of third place North Dakota, this is a team who could possibly keep rolling into home ice once the NCHC playoffs start this March. There recent success will continue into St. Cloud this weekend as they take battle with the toughest sub 500 team in the country. This will be the series to watch in the NCHC this weekend.

Miami RedHawks: Riley Barber Returning, Lot of Unfinished Business

#186888280 / gettyimages.com

Miami RedHawk forward Riley Barber is returning to Miami for his Junior Season.

“There’s a lot of unfinished business that I have at Miami that I definitely want to take care of,” he said. “That’s the main thing that brought me back.” (CSNWashington)

Last season, there was a rumbling that a lot of the top players at Miami were going to sign with their professional teams, after the season was over. Then a funny thing happened. The RedHawks went on a run and almost qualified for the NCAA  tourney, but fell just one game short, losing in the NCHC Championship Game. Maybe that had a hand in their decisions?

UND shuts out WMU, Probably Makes tourney with Wisconsin Win

Minneapolis, MN – The University of North Dakota Hockey team came into the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Frozen Faceoff third place game with their NCAA playoffs hopes on life support. First, they needed to win the third place game, if they had any chance of getting an at large NCAA bid. UND also needed help to make the NCAA tourney.

UND took care of their own end of the deal by shutting out the Western Michigan Broncos 5-0.

Leading the way for UND, was sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg and junior forward Connor Gaarder. Gothberg was rock solid between the pipes, stopping 25-of-25 shots, to earn his third shutout of the season. That was also the second time Gothberg had shutout Broncos in the last month.

A day after being shut out by the Miami RedHawks, UND came out of the gates with a lot of energy. UND was a buzz saw, they came out and pushed the pace. Gaarder scored the first of his two goals at the 01:42 mark of the first period. Gaarder would score his second marker 10:00 minutes later. With his two goals, Gaarder pushed his season total to seven goals, a career high for the junior from Edina, Minnesota.

UND would never let Western Michigan into the game.

After scoring goals in bunches during the month of February, UND had trouble scoring goals in the month of March. Today, UND would erupt for five goals.

UND head coach Dave Hakstol reflected on his team's win today and the situation that his team was in.

“We fought hard for our 23rd win of the year today,” Hakstol said. “That puts us in a situation where although we don’t control our destiny, we gave ourselves a chance. We did what we had to do today. We played a good hockey game. It’s going to be a long three, four hours, sitting, waiting and watching."

Hakstol continued. “Waking up on November the 30th, with five wins, as a staff, I couldn’t be prouder of this group. The type of team they have become. Working hard continuing to build and grow. This win gives us a chance to wake up tomorrow morning to prepare for a regional tourney. We will see where the cards fall.”

“I think the biggest thing after the game yesterday, we were kind of disappointed in our locker room,” assistant captain Stephane Pattyn. “We knew we had to win a game this weekend. We really wanted it to be that first one, then we would have a chance at a championship tonight. Right after the game, we had to turn the page and make sure we won that one today. I think our team did a good job at doing that.”

WMU head coach Andy Murray was the only representative from his team to speak to the media after the game.

“They’re (UND) a quality group and a solid coaching staff, certainly deserving of the win today,” Murray said. “Our kids competed. Maybe it’s my Canadian background, but I have never been very good playing for third place. Not normally used to it.”

Western Michigan ends their season with (19-16-5) record. UND improves to (23-13-3) and with the Wisconsin Badgers winning the Big Ten Hockey Conference tournament, UND “should”  make the NCAA tourney.

(Box Score)

Related articles

• UND Advances to the Frozen Faceoff (insidehockey.com)
• UND Slips Past WMU (insidehockey.com)
• UND Hockey: Players' Only Meeting Turns Season Around (thehockeywriters.com)
• Miami Blanks UND (insidehockey.com)

Miami blanks UND 3-0

Miami University (Ohio) logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Minneapolis, MN – Coming into the National Collegiate Hockey Conferences Frozen Faceoff, three of the four teams needed to win the tourney to continue their season. 

The University of North Dakota came into Friday’s game as an NCAA bubble team. At a minimum, they need to win at least one game this weekend.

After being shutout 3-0 by Miami University, UND has one more chance to extend their season. They must get a win tomorrow against Western Michigan if they’re going to have a chance. They also will be scoreboard watching.

Again, for those asking, it appears if UND, UW & Lowell win, UND is in. If not, UND is out.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) March 22, 2014

The game was closer than the score, UND outshot Miami 32 to 28, but they weren’t able to get anything past Miami sophomore goalie Ryan McKay, who was very solid and stopped 32-of-32 shots. UND goalie Zane Gothberg stopped 25-of-28 shots, but struggled with the puck at times.

One of the big concerns coming into the tourney was the condition of the Target Center ice. The ice appeared to be a little soft, but it didn’t look like the ice was a factor in the game.

“It improved from yesterday,” UND senior defenseman Dillon Simpson said. “It’s tough place for the game of hockey, where it isn’t usually played. I think they did a good job trying to make it as good especially after practicing on it yesterday. All in all, it was okay. It was a little soft, but at the end of the day it was fine.”

Over the last four games, UND has made a habit of falling behind. In three of the last four games, UND has given up a two goal lead twice and a three goal once (against Miami).  UND is 1-2-0 in those three games. Miami would get goals from Blake Coleman, Austin Czarnik and Anthony Louis. Coleman would lead Miami with (1g-1a—2pts).

After the game, UND head coach Dave Hakstol was very complimentary to the RedHawks.

“Hats off to Miami University, they played a great game tonight,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “They played hard, as did our team. Both teams battled hard. They scored the first goal of the game – got a critical one in the second period and we couldn’t fight our way back into it. This one is over, it’s in the past. Our focus is now moves to tomorrow at three thirty in the afternoon.”

On February 15, 2014, UND ran over the Miami RedHawks 9-2, at Ralph Engelstad Arena. At the time, Miami didn’t have the services of Coleman, who was injured. This time around, Miami was a much different team with the junior from Plano, Texas.

“They’re a lot better team than we played a month ago, junior forward Mark MacMillan said. “Obviously they got (Blake) Coleman back from injury and I think that he put a spark in their team. They went in and swept Saint Cloud last weekend and came in and played a great game against us tonight. Much different team than we faced last time.”

With the loss to the RedHawks, UND (22-13-3) is currently sitting at 15th in the Pairwise. They need to win the third place game to extend their season, but they also need help. The UND captain was asked what his team needed to do, to get the win tomorrow.

“I think first and foremost, it starts with myself, handling things the right way,” Simpson said. We got a young team and we have good group of guys. We all know the task at hand, they now what needs to be done.”

The Miami University head coach Enrico Blasi seem relieved that his RedHawk team (15-19-3) was one game away from going to the NCAA playoffs after finishing eight in the NCHC standings.

“Obviously, a real good game for us,” Enrico Blasi said. I thought Ryan (McKay) made some really huge saves when we needed them. Timely goals, and timely bounces.  I thought we did a good job keeping them on the outside for the most part.”

Blasi continued, “I was thinking on the bench that sometimes you have to have a little bit of faith in your team. About a month ago I don’t think any of you guys would have picked us to be here in this position. I always say everything happens for a reason. Guys stayed with each other. They played hard. They practiced hard. They stayed positive. We’re going to the championship game tomorrow night.”

UND faces off against the Western Michigan Broncos in the third place game at 3:38 p.m. Central, tomorrow at the Target Center.

The NCHC announced that 9,113 fans attended today’s games at the Target Center.

(Box Score)

Miami vs. UND NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semi Final (Lines)

Miami RedHawks athletic logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

UND Forward lines

9 Drake Caggiula–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks (A)

21 Brendan O’Donnell –19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson
28 Stephane Pattyn(A)  –13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell

29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair – 22 Andrew Panzarella

North Dakota Defense Pairings

5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue
18 Dillon Simpson ©–24 Jordan Schmaltz
4 Keaton Thompson–2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders

Out: 7-Wade Murphy (Fr., F), 20-Gage Ausmus (Fr., D), 25 Mitch MacMillan (Sr F), 26-Coltyn Sanderson (So., F), 30-Matt Hrynkiw (Fr., G)

Miami University RedHawks Forward Lines

25 Blake Coleman– 7 Austin Czarnik © – 14 Cody Murphy

25 Anthony Louis – 9 Sean Kuraly –11 Riley Barber

19 Max Cook (A) – 26 Justin Greenberg–12 Alex Gacek

10 Alex Wideman– 22 Kevin Morris – 18 John Doherty

Miami RedHawks Defense Pairings

5 Chris Joyaux – 8 Matthew Caito

4 Matt Joyaux – 28 Paulides

55 Trevor Hamilton–6 Michael Mooney

Miami RedHawk Goalies

35 Ryan McKay

1 Jay Williams

Related articles

• Colorado College Beats North Dakota in O.T. (insidehockey.com)
• UND Beats BSU in Grand Forks (insidehockey.com)
• UND Advances to the Frozen Faceoff (insidehockey.com)

Miami's game-winning goal against SCSU

Miami University RedHawks forward Justin Greenberg scored with 2.6 seconds remaining in regulation, securing the win against the Saint Cloud State Huskies. I don't know if it's Karma or what,  but all of the higher seeds have been knocked out of the NCHC tourney, so far. North Dakota is the highest seed left. If UND get's to Minneapolis, they will be the top seed at the NCHC tourney.

Congratulations to @DU_Hockey @MiamiOH_Hockey and @WMUHockey for punching the first 3 tickets to @TheNCHC #FrozenFaceoff
— Josh Fenton (@Fenton_JC) March 16, 2014

RedHawks Sweep Huskies with 4-3 Win: Justin Greenberg's goal with 2.6 seconds left won it for Miami. http://t.co/CK7p05w0ws #MUStandAs1
— Miami Athletics (@MiamiRedHawks) March 16, 2014

big props to @MiamiOH_Hockey @WMUHockey @DU_Hockey for winning series on the road tonight, looking forward to next week's #FrozenFaceoff gms
— ben holden (@benholdenpxp) March 16, 2014

UND vs. Miami Lines - Game Two

Miami University Redskins logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

UND Forward Lines

9 Drake Caggiula–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks (A)
28 Stephane Pattyn (A)–19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson

21 Brendan O’Donnell–13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell

20 Gage Ausmus – 29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair

UND Defense Pairings

5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue

18 Dillon Simpson ©–24 Jordan Schmaltz
4 Keaton Thompson – 2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg

33 Clarke Saunders

Scratches: 7 Wade Murphy 22 Andrew Panzarella, 25 – Mitch MacMillan, 26 - Coltyn Sanderson, 30 Matt Hrynkiw.

Miami University RedHawks Forward Lines

95 Anthony Louis – 7 Austin Czarnik © - 11 Riley Barber

10 Alex Wideman – 9 Sean Kuraly – 12 Alex Gacek

14 Cody Murphy – 26 Justin Greenberg – 19 Max Cook (A)

18 John Doherty – 22 Kevin Morris – 15 Bryon Paulazzo (A)

Miami RedHawks Defense Pairings

8 Matthew Caito – 5 Chris Joyaux

4 Matt Joyaux – 28 Paulides

2 Taylor Richart – 55 Trevor Hamilton

Miami RedHawk Goalies

35 Ryan McKay

1 Jay Williams

Hakstol quoted here. "@DanWetzel: From an overwrought overtime, T.J. Oshie smiles his way into hockey lore. Column: http://t.co/65JfV0qznj”
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 15, 2014

Sophomore Zane Gothberg will start in goal tonight. He had been injured since the week leading up to Jan. 24-25 series at DU.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 15, 2014

Related articles

• Clash of the Titans: Miami Plays North Dakota for Weekend Set (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Dave Starman Shares His Thoughts On The Historic Weekend (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Beats BSU in Grand Forks (insidehockey.com)

(Video) UND 3 Miami 2

Kudos to CBS Sports Network, when they cover the games, their broadcasts are second to none. Here's something to chew on, during the 11-2-1 run, UND has won five games by a score of 3-2. Breaking it down further, UND is 15-2-1 when they score three or more goals. UND is 0-7-2 when they score two or less.

.@benholdenpxp & @DStarmanHockey lifting the @TheNCHC PenRose Cup for the @UNDMHockey game live on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/VHsIAooG6t
— Andy Parr (@AndyTParr) February 15, 2014

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: 10 Must Follow Twitter Accounts (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Dynamic Duo Bright Spot for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Age is Just a Number (thehockeywriters.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

We have now hit the home stretch of the schedule; it is pretty much all NCHC games that rest of the way.

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T-SW………Points

St. Cloud St……………….7-3-2-0…………...23
North Dakota………………7-5-0-0……….….21
Denver…………………..…6-4-2-1…………..21
Nebraska-Omaha…………6-4-2-1…………..21
Western Michigan………..6-5-1-1…………...20
Minnesota-Duluth…………5-6-1-1……….….17
Miami………………………3-8-1-1….…….….11
Colorado College……….. 2-7-3-1…….….….10

NCHC Games

Miami @ Colorado College

Last weekend the RedHawks split with the Mavericks (2-2sow, 5-1L) in Oxford and the Tigers tied and lost to the Providence Friars (2-2ot, 7-2) in Colorado Springs.

Who would have thought that Miami would be one point ahead of the last place team in January?  The RedHawks need a sweep this weekend if they want to try and salvage this season.  The Tigers are in the same boat as the RedHawks, they need points, and fast.  This is a chance to get back into a race for home ice in the first round, get swept and uh-oh, you’re all by yourself in the basement.  RedHawks Sweep.

#18 North Dakota @ #16 Denver

Last weekend NoDak tied (in Bemidji) and beat (in Grand Forks) the Beavers (1-1, 4-2) and the Pioneers split with the Bulldogs (3-2Wot, 2-2sol) in Duluth.

These longtime rivals get to renew their acquaintances this weekend in Denver.  But now DU has a new head coach in this series, the first time since Hakstol took over at UND nine years ago.  I don’t predict any “fighting” in this series since they are tied in the standings and no one wants to be suspended for a game.  NoDak is playing well as of late and so is Denver.  SPLIT

Minnesota Cup Tournament

MSU-Mankato (14-10-0) vs UMD (9-9-2)

Last weekend the Mavericks swept the Ferris State Bulldogs (6-2, 4-3) in Mankato and the Bulldogs split with the Pioneers (3-2Lot, 2-2sow) in Duluth.

With this being a tournament and in-state bragging rights it’s safe to say all the teams will be playing to win this thing.  I’m going with the Mavericks, just because they have some momentum in their corner.  MAVERICKS WIN

#5 SCSU (12-4-4) vs #1 Minnesota (17-2-3)

Last weekend the Huskies were swept by the Broncos (5-5sol, 2-1) in St. Cloud and the Gophers swept the Buckeyes (1-0, 4-2) in Minneapolis.

The Huskies will be looking to bounce back this weekend and prove they are one of the elite teams in the country.  And if they knock of the Gophers that will prove they belong in the top five.  HUSKIES WIN

The winners play each other and the losers play each other on Saturday.  So if my Friday night predictions are correct, that would end up with SCSU versus MSU-M for the championship and UMD vs UM for third place.  MSUM wins the title and UM takes third.

Bye Week

Nebraska-Omaha

#19 Western Michigan

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

I forgot to post my predictions last weekend, but believe me, I got them all correct. J  Here are this weekend match-ups and they are up for your viewing pleasure.

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T-SW………Points

St. Cloud St……………….7-2-1-0…………...22
North Dakota………………7-5-0-0……….….21
Denver…………………..…5-4-1-1…………..17
Nebraska-Omaha…………5-4-1-1…………..17
Minnesota-Duluth…………5-5-0-0……….….15
Western Michigan………..5-5-0-0…………...15
Colorado College……….. 2-7-3-1…….….….10
Miami………………………3-7-0-0….…….….9

NCHC Games

Western Michigan @ #3 St. Cloud St. 

Last weekend the Broncos swept the RedHawks (5-4, 3-2) in Kalamazoo and the Huskies split with the Pioneers (6-3W, 5-2L) in Denver.

With a sweep last weekend the Broncos can now see the top of the standings.  If they could pull off another pair of wins with weekend they would be could be looking down the standings…  However, that is a tall task; the Huskies will be looking to cement their top spot in the standings.  The Broncos have won four in a row and 5 of the last 6 games.  So they do have some momentum going into SC, but there’s a reason they are ranked number three.  HUSKIES SWEEP

#16 Denver @ Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend the Pioneers split with the Huskies (6-3L, 5-2W) in Denver and the Bulldogs swept the Mavericks (3-2, 3-1) in Omaha.

The Bulldogs have won three in a row entering the weekend.  The Pioneers have won, lost, and tied their last three games.  DU is 3-2-3 on the road and UMD is 3-4-1 at home.  I’m going with the UMD on Friday and DU on Saturday.  SPLIT

Nebraska-Omaha @ Miami

Last weekend the Mavericks were swept by the Bulldogs (3-2, 3-1) in Omaha and the RedHawks were swept by the Broncos (5-4, 3-2) in Kalamazoo.

The Mavericks have lost four in a row and haven’t won a in their past six games.  The RedHawks are losers of their last three and lost four of the last five.  Someone could end their slump this weekend at the expense of the other, could.  SPLIT

Non-Conference Games

Bemidji State vs #20 North Dakota (Fri. Bemidji, Sat. Grand Forks)

Last weekend NoDak swept the Tigers (5-3, 3-2) in Grand Forks and the Beavers swept the Lake Superior (5-2, 3-1) in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan.

The Beavers are 3-8-3 on the road and 4-3-3 at home, and NoDak is 7-4-1 at home and 4-3-1 on the road.  UND leads the all-time series 25-2-2.  It appears that UND is heating up with winning seven games in a row, here’s to the streak continuing this weekend.  NORTH DAKOTA SWEEP

#7 Providence (13-5-4) @ Colorado College (2-15-3)

Last weekend the Friars lost to Boston College (5-2) on the road and the Tigers were swept by NoDak (5-3, 3-2) in Grand Forks.

The Tigers have been struggling all season long and it doesn’t get any easier this weekend with the Friars from the Hockey East coming for a visit.  FRIARS SWEEP

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers (thehockeywriters.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

I Hope everyone is having an awesome Thanksgiving.  Here is a little hockey for you to digest today too.

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

Nebraska-Omaha…………5-1-0…………..15
St. Cloud St……………….4-1-1…………...13
Denver…………………..…3-2-1…………..11
North Dakota………………3-5-0……….….9
Minnesota-Duluth…………2-2-0……….….6
Western Michigan………..2-2-0…………...6 
Miami……………………….2-4-0……….….6
Colorado College………...1-5-2…….….….6

Non-Conference Games

#20 New Hampshire (7-6-1) @ Colorado College (1-8-2)

Last weekend the Tigers managed a point (2-2ot, 6-2L) against the Huskies in St. Cloud and the Wildcats split with the Providence Friars (3-2Wot, 4-2L) in Providence.

In this battle of the felines, I’m going with the visitors from Hockey East.  The CC Tigers could try and borrow the old Exxon commercial saying, “It’s like putting a tiger in your tank.”  Oops, they should change it to, “The Tigers have Tanked.”… WILDCATS SWEEP

#13 Miami (7-6-1) @ Bemidji St. (5-7-2)

Last weekend the RedHawks were swept (6-3, 3-1) by the Mavericks in Omaha and the Beavers split with Lake Superior (3-1L, 2-1Wot) in Bemidji.

The RedHawks have lost three in a row, but the good news is they have BSU this weekend, which is something they should be thankful for.  The Beavers play well at home in the Sanford center, but the RedHawks have too much talent and should overwhelm the Beavers this holiday weekend.  REDHAWK SWEEP

St. Lawrence (7-5-2) at North Dakota (4-6-2)

Last weekend NoDak earned a point (3-1L, 3-3ot) against the Terriers in Boston and the Saints split with RIT (5-3W, 6-4L) in Rochester, NY.

Some background on the Saints – they play in the ECAC, they are located in  Canton, NY, the University was founded in 1856, and they have an enrollment of about 2,000, they play on a NHL sheet and it seats about 3,000 fans.

NoDak is winless in their last three games, and SLU has lost three of their last four games, so both teams should be hungry for some wins this weekend.  Unfortunately I think the visitors are going to leave with an empty tummy.  NODAK SWEEP

Shillelagh Tournament

Western Michigan (5-5-2) vs Northeastern (8-5-0)

Last weekend the Broncos swept (2-0, 4-1) the MSU Spartans in a home-and-home series and the Huskies

The Broncos have been, well, let’s call it streaky so far this year, win a couple, loss a couple.  Same could be said for the Huskies this season.  I don’t have a clue in this one, so I’ll let my magic 8-ball pick it… Broncos Win

The other game is Notre Dame (8-5-1) vs UA-Huntsville (0-12-0), which ND should win.  So it is the winners on Friday play for the title on Saturday and the loser play for third on Saturday.

So with the predictions, that means WMU will play ND and NU will play UAH.  Thus we have the Irish winning the tournament and the Chargers not winning a game.

BYE

Denver

#18 Minnesota-Duluth
#17 Nebraska-Omaha
#2 St. Cloud St.

Related articles

• Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Dave Starman Shares His Thoughts On The Historic Weekend (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Women's Hockey Morning Skate: November 15th, 2013 (thehockeywriters.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

Denver…………………..…3-2-1…………..11
Nebraska-Omaha…………3-1-0…………..9
St. Could St……………….3-1-0…………...9
North Dakota………………3-5-0……….….9
Miami……………………….2-2-0……….….6
Minnesota-Duluth…………2-2-0……….….6
Western Michigan………..2-2-0…………...6 
Colorado College………...1-4-1…….….….4

NCHC Games

Colorado College @ # St. Cloud State.

Last weekend the Huskies swept the hapless UAH Chargers in Huntsville (10-0, 4-3) and the Tigers lost to the Falcons (3-1) on Tuesday evening in Colorado Springs.

The Tigers will look to move out of the NCHC basement this weekend with a trip to St. Cloud.  But they will have a tough go of it, against a high caliber Huskies team.  The Huskies will have it a little harder than last weekend’s games in Huntsville.  Still, SCSU has the better team.  HUSKIES SWEEP

# Miami @ Nebraska-Omaha

Last weekend the RedHawks split (2-0W, 3-2L) with the UW Badgers in Oxford and the Mavericks split with Michigan (3-2W, 4-3L) in Omaha.

This is series for Omaha is the end of their gauntlet stretch (NoDak, UMich, UMiami) in November.  If the Mavericks can get another split they will be well deserving of a BIG thanksgiving dinner.  The RedHawks have also split their last two series as well.  I say they both continue on their splitting streaks.  SPLIT

Non-Conference Games

# Minnesota-Duluth @ #1 Minnesota (Fri/Sun)

Last weekend the Bulldogs split (4-2L, 6-3W) with NoDak in Grand Forks and the Gophers swept the Minnesota State Mavericks (4-1, 3-0) in Minneapolis.

The Bulldogs travel south down I-35 for this weekend tilts with in-state foe the Gophers.

This will be UMD’s third weekend in a row on the road; the Bulldogs have split their last four series.  The Gophers have played a couple of quality series (BC, ND) this season, but didn’t sweep those series.  Now after this weekend the number one team in the country has a fairly soft schedule the rest of the season.  I think the Bulldogs will have another split on their record come Sunday evening.  SPLIT

# North Dakota @ Boston University

Last weekend NoDak split the Bulldogs (4-2W, 6-3L) in Grand Forks and the Terriers lost at Maine (7-0) and won at home against Connecticut (4-1).

A year ago the Terries made the trip to Grand Forks and this year NoDak travels to BU for the return games.  If they could this would be a good rivalry to keep going into the future.  Both teams are still trying to find their ways this season, winning some and losing some.  I think it continues on for both in Boston.  SPLIT

Michigan State vs Western Michigan

Last weekend the Broncos were swept by the Pioneers (5-3, 1-0) in Denver, and the Spartans were swept by Michigan Tech (3-0, 3-2ot) in Houghton.

The Broncos are on four game winless streak and will be looking to right the ship this weekend against an in-state foe.  The Spartans are winless on the road, so this home and home series might be what the doctor ordered.  I’m taking the home team, teams.  SPLIT

Air Force vs Denver

Last weekend the Falcons beat the CC Tigers (3-1) and the Pioneers swept the WMU Broncos (5-3, 1-0) in Denver. 

The Pioneer have won three in a row and are undefeated in four games.  Now they start playing a lot more road games, six out of the next seven are away from Magness Arena.