Final 5 Match-Ups (by Donn)

This is it, the last WCHA Final 5 as we have known it for decades.  Three out of last weekend’s first round series went to three games, which is not too surprising, given the depth and talent of the conference as a whole.  I’m looking forward to this long weekend of hockey and hopefully will take a lot of good memories from it. Most of the teams that are not going to St. Paul are done for the year, with the exception of DU.  The Pioneers could get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament; they are currently sitting at #13 in the pairwise.

WCHA FINAL STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

1. St. Cloud St……………18-9-1.……….37
2. Minnesota……………...16-7-2……..…37
3. North Dakota.………….14-7-7………..35
4. Denver…………..……..14-9-5..….......33
5. Wisconsin…....………..13-8-7………...33
6. Minnesota State………16-11-1....…….33
7. Nebraska-Omaha…......14-12-2…....…30
8. Colorado College …….11-13-4..….….26
9. Minnesota-Duluth….….10-13-5……….25
10. Michigan Tech………..8-16-4…..…..20
11. Bemidji State……..…..6-15-7......…..17
12. Alaska-Anchorage…....2-20-6.....…..10

The # numbers below are now the PAIRWISE rankings.

Thursday Games

Colorado College @ #6 North Dakota

Last weekend NoDak ended MTU’s season in three games (5-3W, 2-1L, 6-0W) in Grand Forks and the Tigers beat their archrival Pioneers in three games (5-3L, 2-1W, 4-3W) in Denver.

2012-13 series – Tied wins 2-2-0

The first series was in Colorado Springs Nov30/Dec1 with the Tigers winning the first game (5-3) and UND winning the second in overtime (3-2).  They met for the second series in Grand Forks in mid-January with the Tigers again winning the opening game (4-3) and UND winning the finale (5-3).

UND has a chance to be the first four-peat champion this weekend and it starts with a stiff test in CC.  The Tigers have the offensive power to compete with anyone in the league; the big question is their defense and goaltending.  The same could be said about UND, they too have has some blips in their own zone too.  Both have a short week after playing three games (Fri/Sat/Sun) and then a short rest and travel before this Thursday night game.  The Tigers need to keep winning to extend their season, UND could lose and still make the NCAA tournament.  I’m going with UND in this game, since they have been getting more consistent play in the net.  NODAK WINS

(I also want them to win so we all get to see another UND/UM game.)

#9 Minnesota State @ #16 Wisconsin

Last weekend the Mavericks took out the UNO Mavericks in three games (4-3Wot, 2-1L, 3-1W) in Mankato and the Badgers ended the UMD Bulldogs season by sweeping them (3-1, 4-1) in Madison.

2012-13 series – Tied 2-2-0

The first series was in Madison on Nov23/24 with the Mavericks sweeping the series (4-2, 4-2).  They met for the second series in Mankato in mid-January with the Badgers returning the favor in dramatic fashion, by sweeping the Mavericks in overtime in both games (4-3ot, 2-1ot).

The Badgers have clawed their way back in the NCAA tournament picture, now they are firmly on the bubble with their #16 rank.  The Mavericks would be in the NCAA tournament if it started this weekend, but if get some wins this weekend they can move up the rankings and improve their seeding. 

This game I’m not sure about who is going to win, I don’t have a feeling right away for one team or the other.  Both are playing well and need/want to advance to Friday’s game against SCSU.  Even with UW being the “home” team in this game, I’m going to go with the “visitors” for the win, in overtime.  MAVERICKS WIN

Friday Games

#12 St. Could St.

Last weekend the Huskies swept the Seawolves (6-1, 5-1) in St. Cloud.

Season Series
vs MSUM – SCSU wins 2-0-0
vs UW – Tied 1-1-0

Since the Huskies are the top seed they will “host” the winner from Thursday’s MSUM/UW play-in game.

If my prediction from Thursday hold true, the Huskies will be facing in-state foe Mankato for the right to advance to the championship game.  SCSU had to settle for “sharing” the MacNaughton Cup and now will want the Broadmoor Trophy all to themselves.  The Huskies have not captured the playoff title since 2001 and the Mavericks have never hoisted either piece of hardware.  HUSKIES WIN

#2 Minnesota

Last weekend the Gophers swept the Beavers (2-1ot, 4-3) in Minneapolis.

Since the Gophers are the second seed they will “host” the winner of the CC/UND from Thursday’s play-in game.

Season Series

vs UND – UM wins 1-0-1
vs CC – UM wins 1-0-1

Again, if my Thursday predictions hold true, the Gophers will face long, long, time rival UND in the evening tilt at the Xcel Center.  Last year these team clashed in a semi-final game, remember… the Gophers staked themselves to a 3-0 lead, UND called a time out, and then rattled off 6 unanswered goals for a 6-3 win.  (Then UM and UND met a week later again at the Xcel Center in the NCAA tournament with the UM winning.)  I don’t think we will get that kind of game this time around, but who knows, that’s why they play the games.  I’m inclined this time around to give the nod to the Gophers in this game, to set-up a rubber match with the Huskies.  GOPHERS WIN

Saturday - CHAMPIONSHIP Game

Well this as far as I’m allowed to stretch my predictions.  We’ll know by the end of Friday if I’m even close to correct.  But if I am, it’s a SCSU/UM game for the Broadmoor trophy, a title that cannot be shared, and the auto-bid for the NCAA tournament.  I’m thinking the Gophers might be spent emotionally if they beat UND the evening before.  The Gophers are a pretty solid lock on a number one seed, whereas the Huskies could use another quality win to solidify their spot in the tourney.  HUSKIES WIN

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings: Week 22 (thehockeywriters.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think it is time to do a top ten list, since I haven’t done with this season, so here it goes.

10 – Number of league games most teams have left
9 – Teams that realistically have a chance at home ice
8 – Games BSU has gone without a win currently
7 – Weeks left in the regular WCHA season
6 – WCHA Teams in the USA Today College Hockey Poll
5 – Number of tie games both UND and UW have
4 – Home games left for MSUM
3 – Periods per hockey game
2 – Outdoor games for the WCHA this season
       (UND/UNO, Feb-9 & UM/UW, Feb-17)
1 – Where SCSU sets to start February

WCHA STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

1. St. Cloud St……………12-6-0…….….25
2. Minnesota……………...10-4-4……..…24
2. Nebraska-Omaha…......11-5-2…....….24
4. Minnesota State……….10-9-1.…...….21
4. North Dakota.………..…8-5-5…….…..21
4. Wisconsin…....…………8-5-5………...21
7. Denver…………..……...8-6-4…….......20
8. Minnesota-Duluth….…..8-7-3…………19
9. Colorado College ……..7-10-1..…..….15
10. Bemidji State……..…..4-10-4......……12
11. Michigan Tech………..4-10-4…..……12
12. Alaska-Anchorage…....1-15-4…...……5

WCHA Games

#12 St. Could St.  @ Bemidji St.

Last weekend the Huskies took three points from NoDak (3-1, 2-2ot) in Grand Forks and the Beavers were swept by the UNO Mavericks (5-3, 2-1) in Bemidji.

The Huskies are on a four game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) entering this weekend and the Beavers on a eight game winless streak (0-6-2).  SCSU can put the on official notice that they are in the driver’s seat for the McNaughton Cup with a sweep of the Beavers this weekend.  However, BSU would like nothing better than to play the spoiler to one of their in-state rivals.  The Beavers need to get some timely scoring and stay out of the box, if they want a chance to beat SCSU.  But in the end, the Huskies will leave Bemidji with the points.  HUSKIES SWEEP

Colorado College @ Alaska-Anchorage

Last weekend the Tigers were on a bye and the Seawolves were swept by the Badgers (5-2, 2-1) in Madison.

The Tigers need to get a sweep this weekend if they want to have any chance of getting into the top half of the standings before the regular season ends.  The Seawolves appear to already be mathematically eliminated from home ice, sorry UAA.  The Tigers are 4-8-0 this year away from Colorado Springs, and the Seawolves are 2-7-3 at home in Sullivan Arena.  The Tigers might be a rusty after a weekend off, so look for the Seawolves to come out guns a blazing and try to put CC away early.  The Tigers have the firepower to put up goals, however they are giving up the lion’s share of goals too.  SPLIT

#10 Denver @ Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend the Pioneers were on a bye and the Bulldogs beat the US U-18 team (3-1) in Duluth.

The Pioneers are on a three game winless streak now, and have been streaking all year, going on two 4 game win streaks, a 5 game win streak, and an 8 game winless streak.  DU has not won a road game since Nov-16 at Colorado Springs.  The Bulldogs have been playing five hundred hockey all season, winning some, losing some.  But looking a little deeper, the wins are against teams lower than them and the losses are against the teams above them.  This is a tough series to predict give the ups and downs of DU and UMD struggles against good teams.  SPLIT

#19 Wisconsin @ #7 North Dakota
Last weekend the Badgers swept the Seawolves (5-2, 2-1) in Madison and NoDak got a point from the SCSU Huskies (3-1, 2-2ot) in Grand Forks.

The Badgers have 1 loss in their last 14 games, going 10-1-3, since Nov-30.  However, in that stretch they have 4 wins versus UAA, 2 wins over Huntsville, and tied MTU twice, so it hasn’t been the toughest competition.  Meanwhile, NoDak is winless in their last four games, going 0-2-2 against UM and SCSU.  If UND wants to keep in the hunt for the last WCHA title as we know it they need wins this weekend.  If NoDak can get the ship righted and some timely saves, they can take the points they need to have.  The Badgers should be confident heading into this weekend give their current winning ways, but their confidence or over-confidence could be their undoing in Grand Forks. 

NORTH DAKOTA SWEEP

Michigan Tech @ #14 Nebraska-Omaha

Last weekend the Huskies were on a bye and the Mavericks swept the Beavers (5-3, 2-1) in Bemidji.

These teams met back in November, with the Mavericks sweeping the Huskies in Houghton by scores of 2-1 and 5-3.  UNO has gone 4-1-1 in their past six league games, and MTU is 3-2-1 over that same span.  The Huskies have just two wins on the road in WCHA play this year and those came at the expense of BSU.  The Mavericks are 8-3-1 at home this season and haven’t lost at home since Dec-14 to the other Mavericks.  The numbers point to the Mavericks which is what I’m looking at to predict this series. 

MAVERICKS SWEEP

BYE WEEK

#1 Minnesota
#15 Minnesota State

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

Here we are the start of a new year, 2013, and the start of the second half of the WCHA season.  I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa and the New Year Holiday, I know I did J

WCHA STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

1. St. Cloud St………….…9-5-0………….18
2. North Dakota.………..…7-2-3…..……...17
2. Denver…………..………7-4-3………....17
4. Minnesota State……….8-6-0.…...…….16
5. Minnesota………………6-3-3………….15
5. Nebraska-Omaha………7-4-1……........15
7. Minnesota-Duluth….…..5-6-3…………..13
8. Colorado College ……..5-6-1..….……..11
8. Bemidji State……..…….4-7-3..…….......11
10. Wisconsin…....…………2-5-5………......9
10. Michigan Tech………….3-8-3……….….9
12. Alaska-Anchorage…......1-8-3…...….…..5

WCHA

Wisconsin @ Alaska-Anchorage

Last weekend both the Badgers and Seawolves were off for the holidays.

After this series these teams will be halfway through the league schedule and will be in the lower half still.  The funny thing is this is the first of two series these teams play against each other this month.  They meet again in Madison the 25^th and 26^th of January too.  The Badgers with a sweep could almost even their record, almost. The Seawolves need some wins and momentum if they want to climb their way up the ladder.  This series will likely be the last time the Badgers visit Anchorage in a long time, given the upcoming conference changes.  I’m going with the upset special to start the year.  SEAWOLVES SWEEP

Colorado College @ #16 Nebraska-Omaha

Last weekend, the Tigers were off and the Mavericks were swept by the Quinnipiac Bobcats.

The Tigers appear to be on a vegetarian diet as of late, they haven’t feed the win column in the last 5 games.  CC has only one win in its last ten games.  The Mavericks have also fallen on hard times with only one win in their last five games.  The Tigers are a respectable 3-5-0 on the road and the Mavericks are 6-3-1 in Omaha this year.  I’m taking the easy prediction here.  SPLIT

Non Conference Games

#10 Western Michigan @ Bemidji St.

Last weekend, the Broncos tied Michigan St. (1-1) and lost to MTU (4-0) at the Great Lakes Invitational tournament.  The Beavers lost to UMass (4-3) and New Hampshire (3-2 ot) in the Ledyard Bank Classic.

The Broncos are 3-3-1 away from Kalamazoo this year and the Beavers are 3-3-2 at home in Bemidji this year.  The Beavers have been play well the last month and I don’t see them getting swept at home to start 2013.  SPLIT

#12 Cornell @ #11 Denver
The Pioneers defeated Boston U (6-0) over the holiday weekend, to end an eight game winless streak.  The Big Red beat Ferris State (5-3) and lost to Maine (6-4) in the Florida College Classic last weekend.

Cornell has played only three away games this season and are 1-2-0 in those contests.  The Pioneers are 7-4-1 at home in Magnus Arena this season.  It’s hard to say if DU is off their slide after their win.  And if the pollsters are accurate, this should be a very even series with eleven versus twelve.  SPLIT

Providence @ #14 Minnesota State

The Friars were off over the holidays and the Mavericks beat Brown (3-1) and Connecticut (3-1) in the UConn Hockey Classic.

The Mavericks are still red purple hot, only losing once in their last nine games, going 8-1-0 over that span.  The Friars are on a three game winless skid going 0-1-2, and are currently sitting in fourth place in Hockey East.  I have to go with the hot hand in this series.  MAVERICKS SWEEP

Northern Michigan @ #15 St. Could St.

The Wildcats were off over the holidays and the Huskies split a series with RPI (4-3L, 2-1W) in St. Cloud.

The Wildcats have one win (over MTU) in their last six games, and the Huskies have won three of their last four games.  SCSU will be looking to build some momentum this weekend before mushing into the WCHA schedule the rest of the year.  HUSKIES SWEEP

#20 Holy Cross @ #7 North Dakota

Last weekend, the Crusaders beat Yale 5-4 and NoDak enjoying the Christmas and New Years weekends off.

The last time the Crusaders were in Grand Forks was March 24-25, 2006, for the NCAA west regional.  I’m sure many of you remember those games. HC beat the Gophers 4-3 in overtime, in the opening game, which many called the greatest upset in NCAA history of hockey.  UND beat Michigan in their first round game, and then beat HC in the regional final 5-2.  This time around I don’t think Holy Cross will leave Grand Forks with a win.  NODAK SWEEP

#3 Notre Dame @ #1 Minnesota (Tuesday)

The Irish have been off since mid-December and the Gophers beat Air Force (4-0) and Boston College (8-1) in the Mariucci Classic last weekend.

The Irish are on a 6 game winning streak (their last loss was to UND on 11-23-12) and the Gophers are on a 5 game unbeaten streak.  I’m going to say rust is going to be on the Irish and the Gophers will jump to an early lead and hold on to win.

BYE WEEK

Minnesota-Duluth
Michigan Tech

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

There were a few surprises last weekend that I didn’t see coming at all.  The biggest was Wisconsin taking three points from the Pioneers in Denver.  If you would bet on that in Vegas you would be having a very Merry Christmas this year.  The other was UMD taking three from the Huskies in Houghton; looks like Coach Sandelin might have his dogs working together now. 

WCHA STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

1. Denver…………..………7-2-1………....15
2. St. Cloud St………….…6-4-0………….12
2. Minnesota………………5-3-2………….12
4. Nebraska-Omaha………5-2-1……........11
5. Colorado College ……..5-3-0..….……..10
5. North Dakota.………..…4-2-2…..……...10
5. Minnesota State………..5-5-0.…...……10
8. Michigan Tech………….3-6-1………….7
8. Minnesota-Duluth….…..2-5-3…………..7
8. Wisconsin…....…………2-5-3………......7
11. Bemidji State……..…..2-6-2.…….........6
12. Alaska-Anchorage…....1-4-3…...….…..5

WCHA Games

#4 Minnesota @ #19 Colorado College

Last weekend the Gophers split (2-3, 3-2) with the UNO Mavericks in Minneapolis and the Tigers split (5-3, 2-3ot) with NoDak in Colorado Springs.

The Tigers trail the Gophers by only 2 points in the standings and have played 2 fewer games to boot.  The Gophers are 4-2-1 away from Minneapolis this season and the Tigers are 5-4-1 at home in World Arena.  Both teams are a +4 in goal differential this year in the WCHA, UM is 28-24 and CC is 31-27.  The Gophers have scored almost half of their goals on the power play, so if the Tigers want to increase their odds of winning, they need to stay out of the sin bin.  CC has to be looking to take out a little frustration after Saturday’s loss to NoDak, since they gave up the tying goal with 13 seconds left and gave up the winner 51 seconds into overtime.  SPLIT

Alaska-Anchorage @ Minnesota State

Last weekend the Seawolves split (3-4ot, 3-1) with the SCSU Huskies in Anchorage and the Mavericks swept (3-0, 6-1) the Beavers in Mankato.

The Seawolves notched their first WCHA win last weekend to erase the goose egg in the win column.  The Mavericks notched their second sweep in as many weekends, is now on a 4 game winning streak in the conference.  The Mavericks now find themselves with an even record and are looking to secure a winning record heading into the Christmas break (they play at UNO before the break too).  MSUM is hot right now and UAA is, well, not.  MAVERICKS SWEEP

#14 Nebraska-Omaha @ #17 St. Could St. 

Last weekend the Mavericks split (3-2, 2-3) with the Gophers in Minneapolis and the Huskies split (4-3ot, 1-3) with the Seawolves in Anchorage.

The Mavericks just had their 7 game win streak snapped on Saturday night and are looking to start a new streak this weekend.  The Huskies are 4-4-0 over their last eight games, all WCHA games.  This should be an evenly matched series, with the teams separated by a lone point in the standings.  When the dust settles this weekend from these tilts, I think the one point margin will still exist.  SPLIT

Bemidji St. @ Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend the Beavers were swept (3-0, 6-1) by the MSUM Mavericks in Mankato and the Bulldogs took 3-points (7-3, 4-4ot) from the MTU Huskies in Houghton.

The Bulldogs are 2-2-2 over their last six games (UND, SCSU, MTU) and the Beavers are 1-4-1 (MTU, UAA, MSUM) over that same span.  UMD lead the BSU by a point in the standings, but both teams are feeling the pinch with Christmas break just around the corner.  If the Bulldogs can get a sweep this weekend at home they will almost even their record and further themselves from the Beavers.  I’m in the mindset that UMD has gotten their game back on track after a dismal start.  BULLDOGS SWEEP

#6 Denver @ #9 North Dakota

Last weekend the Pioneers got a point (1-1ot, 1-3) from the Badgers in Denver and NoDak split (3-5, 3-2ot) with the Tigers in Colorado Springs.

The Pioneers come to Grand Forks sitting atop the WCHA standings, five points ahead of NoDak; however NoDak has two games in hand on Denver.  The last time these teams met was the Final Five Championship game, which NoDak won 4-0. They met last season for a pair of games in late February in Denver, with the teams trading wins, UND 4-3 in the opener, and DU 5-3 in the rematch.  There has been some animosity between these two teams for a good decade now, it started back up with UND’s Robbie Bina getting checked from behind and suffering a broken neck.  Since then the dislike and contempt for each other has festered.  The most shocking moment was back on January 24, 2009, when DU coach Gwozdecky walked across the ice after being ejected from the game.  Anyway, back to this weekend, both teams fell a little flat last weekend and will obviously be trying to right the wrongs.  DU will be looking to find its scoring touch, after only scoring two goals last weekend.  UND is the opposite, they need to cut down on their opponents scoring chances and shoring up their defensive zone.  SPLIT

Michigan Tech @ Wisconsin

Last weekend the Huskies got a point (3-7, 4-4ot) from the Bulldogs in Houghton and on Tuesday night they lost to Northern Michigan (2-1) and the Badgers took 3-points (1-1ot, 3-1) from the Pioneers in Denver, last weekend.

It might be too early to say the Badgers have turned the corner, but after last weekend’s effort in Denver, fans in Madison have something to be merry about.  Meanwhile the Huskies have just two wins in their last ten games, 2-7-1, over that span. Of course, UW’s win last Saturday was their first October 26^th against UMD, and the Badgers have yet to win at home in the Kohl Center this season.  These two are currently tied in the standings with seven points apiece and I have a feeling they will still be tied come Sunday.  SPLIT