It was a great weekend last week. At the same time that Arlan paid up for the six pack I won for winning last season’s picks, I got enough games right that I passed Arlan for the season. Last weekend, I went 17-5-3 (.711) to bring my season total to  78-37-14 (.658), while Arlan went 15-7-3 (.687) to move to 77-38-14 (.651). Let’s see what’s on tap for the weekend.

Friday, Nov. 23

Cornell at Dartmouth
Candace: Dartmouth gave Cornell fits last year, but the Big Green aren’t as strong. Cornell 4-1
Arlan: Big Red’s goaltending situation is an unknown, but Dartmouth has been a bit iffy defensively. Cornell 5-3

Boston College at Quinnipiac
Candace: BC appears to be in a groove again. Boston College 4-1
Arlan: The Bobcats have been much better at home; don’t know what to expect from them on neutral ice. Boston College 6-3

Providence at Brown
Candace: I picked Brown to sweep last weekend and the Bears scored a single goal. Won’t make that mistake again. Providence 3-0
Arlan: The Friars have slowed a bit, but it’s tough to pick a team that doesn’t score. Providence 2-0

Friday-Saturday, Nov. 23-24

Minnesota-Duluth at North Dakota
Candace: North Dakota doesn’t usually do sweeps, but Minnesota-Duluth is a step below its usual level. North Dakota 4-3, 3-2
Arlan: Both UND and UMD look to be as healthy as they’ve been so far. North Dakota 2-1, 3-2

St. Cloud at Wisconsin
Candace: I see Wisconsin trending upward. Wisconsin 4-1, 5-1
Arlan: The Huskies didn’t show much versus the Bulldogs last weekend. Wisconsin 3-0, 5-1

Ohio State at Princeton
Candace: OSU has too many guns. Ohio State 5-1, 4-1
Arlan: Princeton is in the bottom third in both offense and defense. Ohio State 3-2, 4-2

Saturday, Nov. 24

Cornell at Harvard
Candace: Harvard is better than I thought, but doesn’t have enough. Cornell 3-2
Arlan: The ECAC race is tight; having Colgate as a travel partner could eventually hurt Cornell in these second games of the weekend. Cornell 3-2

Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 24-25

Minnesota at New Hampshire
Candace: UNH is showing signs of life, but Ohio State thought that a few weeks ago before playing Minnesota. Minnesota 4-1, 5-1
Arlan: Doubt that we’ll see a repeat of last season when UNH was outscored 17-1. Minnesota 3-1, 4-1

Tuesday, Nov. 27

Havard at Northeastern
Candace: Pre-Beanpot preview. I think the Crimson take it. Harvard 3-1
Arlan: Wish I knew the result of Harvard’s game with Cornell before having to pick this one. Harvard 3-2

Lindenwood gets in the win column
It took a year plus a few more weeks, but Lindenwood finally has a win over a team that competes at the D-I level full-time. The Lions swept Sacred Heart a year ago, but despite their D-I label, the Pioneers only dabble in that pool. Thus, Lindenwood’s 5-1 win over Penn State on Friday was historic in that sense in addition to yielding its first CHA points. Nicole Hensley claimed her first win in net, Kendra Broad scored the game-winner, and Allysson Arcibal added a couple goals.

Penn State didn’t have to wait much longer to record a first CHA win of its own, as the Nittany Lions turned the tables with a 3-2 win over Lindenwood the next day. Taylor Gross twice scored to erase deficits and Micayla Catanzariti netted the deciding goal on a power play with 5:50 remaining. Nicole Paniccia upped her record to 5-6-1 at PSU.

Tigers best Bears
With all of those Lions, can Tigers and Bears be far behind? RIT had its best weekend of the young season, traveling to Providence and leaving with a sweep of Brown. The 2-0 win in the opener was comfortable enough against the offensively-challenged Bears, but the difference in the 2-1 triumph in the second game was a third-period short-hander by Erin Zach.

Colonials win another road series
Another CHA squad, Robert Morris, had to settle for a win and a tie at Rensselaer. Thea Imbrogno and Kelsey Thomas had two-point games in the 3-2 victory, but Thomas had to score late on Saturday to equal an early Jordan Smelker tally in the 1-1 deadlock.

The eighth time is the charm?
Vermont tied Providence, 2-2, on Sunday, in the wake of a 5-1 win over Connecticut on Friday. That runs the Catamounts unbeaten streak to three games. This is the eighth time that Vermont has had a three-game string without a loss over the last three seasons. The previous seven times, VMU went down in defeat when trying to up it to four straight.

How the top 10 fared
The number of remaining undefeated teams was cut in half on Sunday, as No. 6 Harvard came up a goal short in a 2-1 loss at No. 7 Boston University. Jenelle Kohanchuk opened the scoring with a shorty for the Terriers two days after she had a four-point game as BU blew away Providence, 7-1.

No. 5 Boston College started the week by snatching a tie out of the jaws of victory, as Reagan Fischer scored twice in the third period to earn a 3-3 tie for Dartmouth. The Eagles did better back in Boston on Friday and Sunday for a home-and-home series with No. 9 Northeastern. BC raced out to an early 4-0 lead and parlayed that into a 6-4 win at NU, as Haley Skarupa had four points. The Eagles started quickly on Sunday as well, grabbing a 2-0 lead. The Huskies fought back to take a 3-2 lead in third period via a Paige Savage goal. The lead lasted all of 32 seconds. Melissa Bizzari registered both the tying goal and the winning one in the final minute to give BC a 4-3 win and a sweep.

No. 2 Cornell dispatched travel partner Colgate with ease by 9-0 and 9-2 scores. Brianne Jenner led the way with a half a dozen goals and a trio of assists on the weekend, and sophomore goaltender Katelyn Pippy was the winner both times.

No. 3 Clarkson also registered a sweep, but again this week the second win didn’t come easily. On Friday, the Golden Knights spotted Quinnipiac a goal and then scored the rest for a 4-1 win. Jamie Lee Rattray completed a hat trick into an empty net. She was the hero in overtime at Princeton the next day, overcoming a successful penalty shot by the Tigers’ Kelly Cooke. Erica Howe stopped 57 of the 59 shots she faced over the two games.

Amanda Makela and Stephanie Ciampa recorded back-to-back 4-0 shutouts over Yale for No. 4 Mercyhurst. The Lakers have not allowed a goal in their last 234 minutes and 45 seconds of play.

The power play let No. 8 Ohio State down on Friday in a 4-2 loss to Wisconsin. The Badgers scored two short-handed goals and added a penalty-shot goal by Karley Sylvester that was drawn via another breakaway while short-handed. The Buckeyes gained revenge on Saturday by charging to a three-goal lead and securing a 3-1 win with 33 saves by Chelsea Knapp. Taylor Kuehl scored twice and now leads OSU with 11 goals.

Michelle Karvinen made her season debut for No. 10 North Dakota in a 3-1 and 7-1 sweep at Bemidji State. Perhaps Karvinen’s addition can revive an offense that has sputtered to this point; she accounted for six points on the weekend, and the seven goals scored by the team on Sunday is three more than the previous one-game high for the year.

No. 1 Minnesota completed its seventh sweep of the year, sending Minnesota State away with 3-0 and 9-1 defeats.

Thanks to picking the Princeton-Rensselaer game correctly, I gained another game on Arlan, pulling within one. Overall, I went 7-3-4 (.642) to move to 61-32-11 (.639), while Arlan wen 6-4-4 (.571) to move to 62-31-11 (.649). We have many games on tap this week that we are picking, so let’s get to it.

Friday, Nov. 16

St. Lawrence at Princeton
Candace: Which Tigers show up, the ones that can score six in a game, or the ones that can’t score period? St. Lawrence 5-1
Arlan: Saints are now above .500 after starting 0-5. St. Lawrence 3-1

Clarkson at Quinnipiac
Candace: This should be a really good indicator of how good Clarkson truly is. A game the Knights need to win to  contend for the ECAC. Clarkson 3-1
Arlan: If the Golden Knights aren’t any healthier than they were a week ago, then the edge shifts to the Bobcats. Clarkson 2-1

Providence at Boston University
Candace: With Poulin back, I have difficulty picking against the Terriers, especially since they can score in bunches. Boston University 4-1
Arlan: Not long ago, I was thinking that the Terriers were one of the top two teams in the country; time for the pendulum to start to swing back that way. Boston University 4-2

Friday-Saturday, Nov. 16-17

Robert Morris-Rensselaer
Candace: This should be a good series for the Colonials to toughen up in. Robert Morris 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: One gets the sense that both the Engineers and Colonials are sitting on a better game than they’ve displayed thus far. Robert Morris 5-2, 4-3

Wisconsin at Ohio State
Candace: Both teams were off last week, and it’s the hardest series to call this weekend. Have the Badgers turned a corner? Are the Buckeyes as good as their record indicates? Wisconsin 3-2, 3-1
Arlan: The first of several split predictions that are doomed to fail. Ohio State 3-1, Wisconsin 5-1

Minnesota-Duluth at St. Cloud
Candace: Minnesota-Duluth has been mercurial, but I don’t think home ice is enough for the Huskies. Minnesota-Duluth 3-1, 2-1
Arlan: The records are roughly even, but the computers favor UMD. St. Cloud 2-1, Minnesota-Duluth 3-0

Minnesota State at Minnesota
Candace: Always pick Minnesota. Minnesota 5-1, 6-1
Arlan: The Mavericks attempt to prevent Minnesota from setting a consecutive wins record. Minnesota 4-2, 4-1

RIT at Brown
Candace: I haven’t had much luck this year when I pick RIT. If Brown can actually score goals, a sweep wouldn’t surprise me. Brown 4-3, 2-1
Arlan: This series looks dead even. Even two ties wouldn’t be a surprise. Brown 1-0, RIT 2-1

Friday, Sunday, Nov,. 16 and 18

Boston College vs. Northeastern
Candace: If the Eagles ever get more disciplined on defense, they could become the team to beat in the East. Boston College 3-2, 3-1
Arlan: The Eagles haven’t displayed an ability to win twice in a week thus far, but they have managed to play five straight without losing. Boston College 4-3, 5-2

Saturday, Nov. 17

Clarkson at Princeton
Candace: Another game for the Golden Knights to keep pace with Cornell. Clarkson 3-0
Arlan: I think any Tigers victories this weekend will have to come from RIT. Clarkson 4-0

St. Lawrence at Quinnipiac
Candace: The Saints should carry a seven-game win streak into this game. After playing tough against Cornell, the Bobcats looked underwhelming last week. Honestly, you could flip a coin in this one. St. Lawrence 3-2
Arlan: I’d like the Saints better if this game was in Canton. Quinnipiac 2-1

New Hampshire at Maine
Candace: Every time I pick New Hampshire I lose, but I haven’t had much luck picking Maine this year either. Decisions, decisions…. New Hampshire 3-2
Arlan: A little background … Maria Lewis was talking about the number of fans that turned out in Bemidji to support Maine on its only trip to the Midwest, and I mentioned that the Black Bears could also play in cities like St. Cloud or Mankato. She looked at me and said, “So we’re not good enough to play Minnesota?” I didn’t say that. But in case I subconsciously thought it, here’s a little support for her team. Maine 3-2

Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 17-18

North Dakota at Bemidji State
Candace: With the Lamoureux twins having skated in international competition last weekend, they could be even faster. Bad news for Bemidji. North Dakota 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: The Beavers may be the faster team, but UND has better finishers as it looks for its first Sanford Center sweep. North Dakota 3-1, 5-3

Sunday, Nov. 18

Providence at Vermont
Candace: Providence should rebound from losing to the Terriers to take this game. Providence 3-2
Arlan: The Friars seem to drop one game a season to the Catamounts. Vermont 4-2

Harvard at Boston University
Candace: Harvard is undefeated this year, but the Terriers are a notch above anyone the Crimson have played, and are at home. Boston University 3-2
Arlan: Over the last couple of weeks, the Crimson have been off the ice while the Terriers have just been off. Harvard 2-1

St. Lawrence at Connecticut
Candace: Connecticut is still trying to establish some consistency. St. Lawrence 3-1
Arlan: The Saints complete a whirlwind tour of three cities in three days. St. Lawrence 3-2

Tuesday, Nov. 20

Quinnipiac at New Hampshire
Candace: I hate picking games with New Hampshire. Quinnipiac 3-1
Arlan: Is this a new record for most games picked in a week? We’re probably due for another tie. Quinnipiac 4-3

Four Nations week results at home and abroad
The annual Four Nations Cup tournament, matching the national teams of the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland, was held this week in Finland. In anticipation of losing players to national team commitments, a number of top college teams did not schedule a game, so the slate was lighter than usual. There is still plenty of hockey to discuss, particularly in Hockey East, where all eight teams laced the skates up.

WCHA sabbatical
The least active league was the WCHA, where Bemidji State and St. Cloud State hosted Maine and Lindenwood, respectively, in nonconference series. After viewing half of each series and talking to the head coaches, those four teams will be the subject of my column this week. Until then, suffice it to say that the Black Bears overcame travel complications and a sizable disadvantage in shots on goal to win and tie in Bemidji, including one of those comebacks from a three-goal deficit that are becoming routine for Maria Lewis’ team. Meanwhile, the Huskies became the latest WCHA opponent to sweep the Lions.

Business as usual in Hockey East
While all of the Hockey East teams were in action, they weren’t all at full strength. No. 5 Boston University only had one game on the docket, but as it turned out, that was one too many. Editor Candace Horgan said in our weekly predictions that she couldn’t see any way for the Terriers to lose to New Hampshire, even without Marie-Philip Poulin. How quickly we forget. BU became masters of finding new and creative ways to go down in defeat last season whenever its brightest star was out of action, and the Terriers added to that list on Friday. They fell into a 3-0 hole against the Wildcats before closing to within a goal, but could not come up with an equalizer. Jenn Gilligan earned her first win of the season, including stopping Kaleigh Fratkin on a third-period breakaway. Hannah Armstrong led UNH with three points, and put an exclamation mark on the upset by adding an empty-net goal.

Providence played three different HEA opponents over the course of the week, and its results covered the whole spectrum. The week began in shaky fashion for the Friars, as No. 7 Boston College got goals from six different players and three assists from rookie defenseman Lexi Bender as it squashed PC by a 6-1 score. Saturday’s game looked to be heading to a similar finish when frosh Sarah Bryant was chased from the Friars’ net for the second straight game as Connecticut opened up a 3-0 lead. Junior Nina Riley entered in relief and slammed the door on UConn’s offense the rest of the way, while Nicole Anderson scored twice and added an assist to fuel a spirited 5-3 comeback win for PC. The glass was half full on Sunday for each team, as Arielle O’Neill scored short-handed to give New Hampshire a 2-2 tie with the Friars.

No. 8 Northeastern was minus three forwards, most notably Kendall Coyne, as it entertained Vermont twice. That was no problem for the Huskies in Saturday’s 4-1 win, but NU had to settle for a single point on Sunday as the Catamounts came from behind to secure a 4-4 tie. The game was knotted at 3-3 in the third period when Vermont goaltender Roxanne Douville stoned Tori Hickel on a penalty shot. Chelsiea Goll scored her first goal of the season on a rebound to seemingly give the Huskies a win at 18:34. However, Douville came off for an extra attacker and Brittany Zuback deflected in an Amanda Pelkey shot for the tying goal just 56 seconds later.

ECAC has 10 members in action
Cornell and Harvard sat the week out, but the other 10 ECAC teams took to the ice. Dartmouth got the deciding goal from Lindsey Allen late in the second period and defeated state rival UNH, 3-2, to start things off on Tuesday.

The North Country teams were at home and both Clarkson and St. Lawrence fashioned sweeps of Yale and Brown. The tightest of the four games was the Golden Knights 2-1 edging of Brown on Saturday, as Carly Mercer supplied both goals to allow Erica Howe to decision Aubree Moore in net.

Rensselaer continued to display an uncanny ability to play just bad enough to lose. The Engineers saw their record drop to 2-7-1, and six of those losses have been by a single goal. In both losses over the weekend, 6-5 to Princeton and 3-2
to Quinnipiac, RPI had more shots on goal, but too high a percentage of the opponents’ attempts found a way into the Engineers’ cage.

Union went undefeated, but the Dutchwomen didn’t win either, yielding an unassisted goal to Kelly Babstock to settle for a 2-2 tie versus the Bobcats on Friday. Saturday was Union’s turn to rally; Rhianna Kurio scored with 35 seconds remaining and an extra attacker on the ice to salvage a 1-1 draw with Princeton.

Colgate coach Greg Fargo saw plenty of Rochester Institute of Technology while he was at Elmira and both squads competed in the ECAC West conference. Perhaps that familiarity proved advantageous in the Raiders being able to nip the Tigers, 2-1, on a Taylor Volpe goal in nonconference action on Friday.

Only Lakers sit in the CHA
RIT played another nail-biter against conference foe Syracuse. Carly Payerl scored on a power play in the final five minutes to put the Tigers up 2-1, but Akane Hosoyamada gained a draw for the Orange on a power play of their own with three minutes left.

Robert Morris started its conference schedule at Penn State, and the Nittany Lions saw plenty of Rebecca Vint. She scored five times as the Colonials won, 7-1, on Saturday. PSU was able to hold her to a single tally on Sunday, but a 49-save effort by Nicole Paniccia wasn’t enough to prevent a 4-1 win by RMU.

United States claims gold at Four Nations Cup
Canada handed the United States a 3-1 loss during the preliminary round, but when the two teams met in the championship game, the Americans did all of the scoring with a 3-0 victory. Kendall Coyne’s short-hander put her team up to stay and former Wisconsin goalie Jessie Vetter was perfect on 26 shots. North Dakota’s Jocelyne Lamoureux had assists on both of the power-play goals by Hilary Knight and Anne Schleper.

I finally made up some ground on Arlan, though if I had picked a St. Lawrence sweep, I’d be only one behind him. Overall last weekend, I went 17-1-1 last week (.921), while Arlan went 15-3-1 (.815). Overall on the year, I am 54-29-7 (.638), while Arlan is 56-27-7 (.661). Many of the top squads have bye weeks due to players being at the Four Nations Cup, but we’ve got a few picks for you.

Friday, November 9

Yale at Clarkson
Candace: Clarkson is going to be tough to beat this year. Clarkson 4-1
Arlan: Yale seems much improved this season, but then so are the Golden Knights. Clarkson 3-1

Princeton at Rensselaer
Candace: Like Arlan, I have no idea who to pick in this one. Princeton hasn’t won since beating Rober Morris, though finally showed signs of being able to score against Colgate. Princeton 3-2
Arlan: I have no handle on a Princeton team that doubles up on RMU, but ties Colgate after being dismantled by Harvard. Rensselaer 3-2

Brown at St. Lawrence
Candace: St. Lawrence may have turned a corner this past weekend. St. Lawrence 3-1
Arlan: Goals figure to be scarce in this one. St. Lawrence 2-1

Boston University at New Hampshire
Candace: Even without Poulin, I can’t see any way the Terriers lose. Boston University 4-1
Arlan: Nothing more fun than trying to figure out a BU game when Poulin isn’t playing. Boston University 3-1

RIT at Colgate
Candace: Colgate has played well in its last couple of games, and RIT is coming off a bye week. RIT 4-2
Arlan: I think this is an absolute toss up as Colgate’s rookie goalie has been playing well and the Raiders are at home. RIT 3-2.

Friday-Sunday, November 9 and 11

Maine at Bemidji State
Candace: Maine has been struggling, but so has Bemidji. Avoid the reverse split problem. Bemidji State 3-1, 3-2
Arlan: The Black Bears probably get a split, but I have no idea of the order so I’ll just pick the home team. Bemidji State 4-2, 2-1

Saturday-Sunday, November 10-11
Robert Morris at Penn State
Candace: This could be the stepping stone to a fierce series against Mercyhurst for Robert Morris. Robert Morris 3-2, 3-1
Arlan: Paniccia could steal one for Penn State but the odds are better that she doesn’t. Robert Morris 4-1, 3-2

Vermont at Northeastern
Candace: Vermont is showing signs of being a better team this year, but Northeastern is one of the top squads in the conference. Northeastern 3-1, 4-1
Arlan: No Coyne, Savage or Povova, but Catamounts will still have fewer bodies available. Northeastern 2-1, 4-1

Saturday, November 10

Connecticut at Providence
Candace: Another mismatch. Connecticut has not been playing that well. Providence 4-1
Arlan: Connecticut has actually been a little better than I expected. Providence 4-2

Sunday, November 11

New Hampshire at Providence
Candace: Providence is on the uptick, while any momentum New Hampshire had from beating Boston College is a distant memory. Providence 4-1
Arlan: Friars have won eight of the last nine in this classic rivalry. Providence 3-1

Monday, November 12

Boston College at Dartmouth
Candace: The Eagles are starting to take flight in the last few games. Boston College 4-1
Arlan: Rutter favors BC, while KRACH likes Dartmouth. Boston College 5-3

Questions answered
Last week, I questioned whether No. 8 Boston College, clearly one of the most talented squads in the country, was playing like a top-10 team. The Eagles responded with their best week of the season in a Wednesday-Saturday home-and-home series with archrival Boston University. BC blew out the No. 3 Terriers, 7-1, to take the road half of the week. Saturday’s game was a wild see-saw affair that ended in a 5-5 tie. BU was without the services of Marie-Philip Poulin in the second game, something it became all too familiar with last season. However, this time it was because she had left to join Team Canada for the Four Nations Cup.

The series raises a red flag for each team. Brian Duroucher can’t be thrilled that his team allowed a dozen goals over the two games. Meanwhile, Katie Crowley’s squad surrendered five goals on just 21 shots on Saturday. That’s a pattern that surfaces time and again in the BC losses.

Pickett’s charge
In a match up of Huskies versus Huskies, No. 7 Northeastern emerged as the top dogs, demolishing Connecticut 9-1. Last week, I also said that someone besides Kendall Coyne for NU needed to step up as a scoring threat, and Casey Pickett did so in a big way, scoring four goals and mixing in a pair of assists. Coyne also had a six-point game, with a goal and five helpers.

Home at last
No. 10 Ohio State had its hands full on the road against a scrappy St. Cloud State team that was likely happy just to be back home, in both hockey and overall. Due to renovations being performed at the National Hockey Center, SCSU’s home opener wasn’t scheduled until November. Hurricane Sandy arrived before the team could fly home from Providence the previous weekend, so the Huskies’ return to St. Cloud was delayed until Wednesday.

SCSU battled back to tie on Friday before Tina Hollowell scored in the third period to give the Buckeyes a 3-2 win. On Saturday, the Huskies demonstrated that they were used to dealing with adversity by scoring a pair of short-handed goals to carry a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. However, the third period was all OSU, as Paige Semenza tied the game, Danielle Gagne gave her team its first lead, and Hollowell finished off the 4-2 win into an empty net.

Friars building
Could something big be brewing in Providence? Not a hurricane this time, but the Friars, who swept Maine over the weekend to improve to 6-3-1 on the season. A scoring-by-committee approach seems to be working for Bob Deraney, as nobody on his team has more than 10 points, but 10 players have at least four and five others have recorded multiple points.

A scarcity of Catamounts
Vermont took to the ice three times on the week, and lost to RPI, 5-1, Robert Morris, 6-2, and the Colonials again, 3-2 in overtime. The good news for the Catamounts was that they were up to 16 skaters by the weekend, after only having 11 for the Wednesday clash with the Engineers.

How the rest of the top 10 fared
In a key series matching a couple of NCAA hopefuls, No. 4 Clarkson headed west to do battle with No. 9 North Dakota, and if the penalty minutes are indicative of the action, battle is quite accurate. On Friday, a checking-from-behind penalty on UND senior Monique Lamoureux swung the game in the Golden Knights’ favor. Danielle Skirrow scored the game-winner during the five-minute power play, and the hosts didn’t have the services of Lamoureux in attempting to mount a comeback. Clarkson got an insurance goal from Jamie Lee Rattray and won, 3-1. The teams combined for 22 minor penalties in the second game. North Dakota capitalized on two third period power plays to overcome a deficit and salvage a split with a 3-2 triumph. Jocelyne Lamoureux scored twice and freshman Meghan Dufault completed the rally.

No. 5 Mercyhurst didn’t enjoy quite the laughs at Lindenwood’s expense that it did a season ago, but with 6-1 and 6-0 wins, the Lakers demonstrated that the Lions still have plenty of ground to close.

In recent years, No. 2 Cornell had to deal with the loss of starting goaltender Amanda Mazzotta to injury on multiple occasions. It was more of the same as her successor, Lauren Slebodnick, was knocked out of the 4-0 win over Princeton on Friday. Stefannie Moak got the call in net on Saturday, and she didn’t last 60 minutes either, but the culprit this time was the Quinnipiac top line of Kelly Babstock, Nicole Kosta, and Nicole Connery. They got to Moak for three goals in just over six minutes of play in the second period. Katelyn Pippy finished up and didn’t allow further damage as Cornell rallied for a 4-3 win behind third-period goals from Cassandra Poudrier and Alyssa Gagliardi.

All indications are that the Big Red can expect a challenge for the ECAC crown, as No. 6 Harvard didn’t allow a goal on the weekend in upping its record to 4-0. Brown and Yale were dispatched by 3-0 and 4-0 scores, respectively.

No. 1 Minnesota improved to 12-0, the best start in the program’s history, with a sweep at Minnesota-Duluth by scores of 4-1 and 4-0. The Gophers winning streak dating back to last season has now stretched to 20 games. The previous two times that Minnesota arrived at the Four Nations Cup week with perfect records were in 2003 and 2004. The Gophers went on to claim NCAA titles in each of those seasons.

Well, last week finally saw a pretty good slate of picks for both Arlan and I. Unfortunately for me, because I picked Quinnipiac over Harvard and Minnesota State over Mercyhurst, I didn’t gain any ground on Arlan in the race for a six-pack. In fact, I lost another game. Last week I went 17-4-3 (.770), moving to 37-28-6 (.563), while Arlan went Arlan 18-3-3 (.812) to move to 41-24-6 (.619) We’re going for a big slate of games again this weekend.

Friday, November 2

Princeton at Cornell
Candace: Cornell looked vulnerable last weekend, but Princeton isn’t the team to take advantage. Cornell 5-1
Arlan: Cornell was uninspiring last weekend, while Princeton was borderline lousy. Cornell 5-1

Friday-Saturday, November 2-3

Northeastern vs. Connecticut
Candace: Connecticut still has a ways to go to get back to the upper realm in Hockey East. Northeastern 3-1, 4-1
Arlan: St. Cloud State should have hung around the East so it could have truly been, “Huskies, Huskies, Huskies!”  Northeastern 4-0, 5-2

Providence at Maine
Candace: Home ice is probably good for one win, but which night. Decisions, decisions. Providence 3-1, 3-2
Arlan: A rematch of a Hockey East quarterfinal from a year ago. Maine 2-1, Providence 4-2

Ohio State at St. Cloud
Candace: St. Cloud has shown some moderate improvement this year, but Ohio State has shown great improvement. Ohio State 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: The Buckeyes could manage only a split in St. Cloud last season. Ohio State 2-0, 3-2

Minnesota at Minnesota-Duluth
Candace: Last year, my picks mantra was “Always pick Wisconsin.” This year, it’s “Always pick Minnesota.” The scary thing is the Gophers look better this year than they did last season, when they won all the marbles. Minnesota 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: Expect the unexpected, although paradoxically, once you expect it then it’s no longer unexpected. Minnesota 2-1, 4-2

Minnesota State at Wisconsin
Candace: The Mavericks caught the Badgers off guard in week one. My bet is it doesn’t happen this time. Wisconsin 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: The Mavericks often tend to have one good month, and I’m thinking that month may be over. Wisconsin 2-0, 4-1

Clarkson at North Dakota
Candace: The marquee series of the weekend. I’ll probably get the split dates wrong, but maybe I can gain some ground on Arlan if I pick against him. Clarkson 2-1, North Dakota 3-2
Arlan: The last time these two programs played, each was an independent. North Dakota 3-1, Clarkson 4-3

St. Lawrence at New Hampshire
Candace: This should be a really close series. St. Lawrence is off to a rough start, and New Hampshire has played better than expected. New Hampshire 3-2, St. Lawrence 3-2
Arlan: St. Lawrence skates well, so I’m not sure the Whittemore ice works to the Wildcats’ advantage. St. Lawrence 2-1, 4-3

Saturday, November 3

Quinnipiac at Cornell
Candace: I got burned picking Quinnipiac to beat Harvard last week. Not making that mistake this week. Cornell 3-2
Arlan: So far this season, Quinnipiac’s better efforts have come at home. Cornell 4-2

Boston University at Boston College
Candace: Last week, in picking Wednesday’s game between the two, I said, “I keep picking BC against the Terriers, and they keep losing. Now that I pick the Terriers, watch the Eagles come out on top.” They did, with a vengeance, winning 7-1. Something tells me the Terriers will be really angry about that. Boston University 4-2
Arlan: Do these teams play every week? Anyway, the road team has won 13 of the last 16 conference meetings between the two. Boston University 3-2

Tuesday, November 6

New Hampshire at Dartmouth
Candace: In-state rival games are such a bitch to pick correctly. Dartmouth 2-1
Arlan: Both teams are at the end of Friday-Saturday-Tuesday stretches, but UNH had the Sandy-induced travel complications as well. Dartmouth 3-1

Wednesday, November 7

Providence at Boston College
Candace: If BC loses on Saturday, expect this to be the bounce-back game. Boston College 4-2
Arlan: Long week for the Friars with road trips to both Orono and Boston. Boston College 5-4

Is it back to normal or just the new normal?
Either the results this past week weren’t as wild as in previous weeks, or I’m starting to adjust to the current landscape, because the winners and losers weren’t as surprising. That’s not to say that there weren’t some scores that raised a few eyebrows, due to either being lopsided or remarkably close.

All up and running
With the first games for Harvard, Brown, and Dartmouth, all of the D-I programs have commenced play.

Harvard made the biggest splash of those three, first getting the best of a road duel at Quinnipiac with senior Laura Bellamy backstopping a 2-0 shutout, then pummeling Princeton, 9-1, behind a five-point effort from senior Jillian Dempsey.

Brown lost its opener at Cornell by a 2-0 score, but given the second goal was into an empty net, that was an encouraging start after the team’s return to the postseason in 2012. The Bears got into the win column on Saturday, besting Colgate, 4-1. Brown got strong goaltending, as Katie Jamieson stopped 35 of 36 shots versus the Big Red and Aubree Moore was only beaten on one of the Raiders’ 27 attempts.

Dartmouth played the same opponents as the Crimson in the opposite order and did not fare as well. The Big Green’s 3-1 decision at Princeton was satisfactory enough, although not as impressive as Harvard’s foray into Hobey Baker Rink. Dartmouth’s disappointment came on Saturday, as the Bobcats administered an 8-3 thrashing. After Lindsay Holdcroft, last season’s primary netminder, patrolled the crease in the win, sophomore Katie Milligan got the call in game two. Milligan had no answers for Quinnipiac’s top line, as Nicole Kosta celebrated a hat trick and Kelly Babstock had a goal to go with her four assists.

Yale produces best weekend in two seasons
Yale earned its first win of the season at Colgate on Friday; the 3-0 triumph was only the second win for the Bulldogs in a stretch of 32 contests dating to the start of last year. Just as impressive for Yale was taking Cornell down to the wire on Saturday. The Big Red needed a third-period, power-play goal to take a 3-2 verdict, despite enjoying a 42-10 bulge in shots on goal.

Rivalry born?
In what figures to be the first of many series matching new CHA members Penn State and Rochester Institute of Technology, RIT claimed a comfortable 4-1 win on Thursday before needing to scramble back for a 2-2 tie on Friday. The result gives the Tigers third place at the expense of the Nittany Lions. Lindenwood and Robert Morris have yet to debut in league play.

Results involving the top 10
Two series matched a pair of ranked competitors, and in each the higher-ranked team swept. No. 5 Mercyhurst likely brought an end to No. 10 Minnesota State’s stay in the poll, humbling the Mavericks by scores of 8-1 and 3-1.

No. 1 Minnesota trailed for the first time this season and was challenged in both games at No. 8 North Dakota, but found a way to settle matters in its favor. Noora Räty recorded both wins, becoming the winningest goaltender ever at Minnesota with 85. Other win marks for the senior to challenge would be Wisconsin’s Jessie Vetter’s total of 91, most by a WCHA goalie, and the NCAA threshold of 100 posted by Mercyhurst’s Hillary Pattenden in March.

Next up for UND is a series hosting No. 4 Clarkson. The Golden Knights quietly went about their business, dispatching visitors Union and Rensselaer by tennis scores of 6-0 and 6-2 respectively. Seven different players recorded a pair of points versus the Dutchwomen, as Erica Howe produced her third blanking of the campaign, while freshman defenseman Erin Ambrose’s four points highlighted the derailing of the Engineers.

No. 2 Cornell played three times on the week and got less impressive with each successive win. A 5-1 dismissal of St. Lawrence on Tuesday began the week that ended with the aformentioned closer-than-expected weekend. Nonetheless, a perfect week figures to be sufficient for the Big Red to retain its perch.

However, some tightening of the gap down to No. 3 Boston University seems to be in order after the Terriers controlled both Maine and Robert Morris. Kayla Tutino and Sarah Lefort came up with two-goal games over the weekend.

No. 7 Northeastern tied Robert Morris, 3-3, before bouncing back with a 3-0 win at the expense of Maine. Kendall Coyne had a pair of two-goal games and Rachel Llanes totaled four points.

Harvard’s strong start makes the No. 9 Crimson the likeliest team to ascend the rankings. After a third straight week of .500 play or less by No. 6 Boston College, this time splitting 3-2 decisions at home against Minnesota-Duluth, the Eagles look to be deserving of a demotion.

As for a squad poised to jump back into the 10 best, consider Ohio State. The Buckeyes rolled to 4-1 and 10-1 dismantlings of Bemidji State, including a Taylor Kuehl hat trick.

Another hat
After a coming back from an 0-2 hole to tie visiting St. Cloud State, Providence notched a 4-2 win on the strength of a hat trick from Nicole Anderson. The series win moves the Friars above the .500 mark for the season.

A couple of years ago, my good friend and former colleague Theresa Geist (née Spisak), when writing her weekly WCHA column, was so flummoxed by the continuing upsets in the conference that she got the clever idea of proving that a coin flip couuld beat her thought out predictions. Every week, she would give her best pick, as well as the coin flip’s pick. As I recall, the coin flip either tied her predictions or beat them over the course of the year. After another rough weekend that saw a slew of upsets, I’m beginning to wonder if the coin flip might beat mee this year.

Last week, both Arlan and I went 8-9-2. I incorrectly guessed that RIT would beat Princeton, and Arlan got the splits wrong on Clarkson-Mercyhurst. That moves me to 20-24-3 (.457), while Arlan is 23-21-3 (.521). This coming weekend is one of the biggest of the year, and we are picking most of the games. Hopefully, some sense of normalcy will return.

Thursday-Friday, October 25-26

Minnesota-Duluth at Boston College
Candace: Both squads have been inconsistent so far. This is one series that is completely up in the air. Minnesota-Duluth 3-2, Boston College 4-2
Arlan: The Bulldogs have never lost a Thursday game (2-0). Minnesota-Duluth 3-2, Boston College 3-1

RIT at Penn State
Candace: Even though RIT lost to Princeton last week and let me down, they played the Colonials tough. I think the Tigers should have enough for a sweep. RIT 4-3, 4-2
Arlan: RIT has thus far beaten the teams it should beat, while PSU has been more volatile. RIT 5-4, 3-1

Friday, October 26

Dartmouth at Princeton
Candace: Princeton looked good against the reigning CHA champs last week when they crushed Robert Morris. Not sure they have enough to beat the Big Green. Dartmouth 4-2
Arlan: Princeton has advantage of being at home and a week of games played. Dartmouth has advantage of being a better team. Dartmouth 4-2

Harvard at Quinnipiac
Candace: If this had been last week, I definitely would have picked the Bobcats. I’m still thinking that they can win this, especially since they have more games. Quinnipiac 2-1
Arlan: Using election-year lingo, early projections show this one is too close to call. Harvard 2-1

Rensselaer at St. Lawrence
Candace: St. Lawrence has to get untracked at some point. This should be the opportunity. St. Lawrence 3-1
Arlan: One-goal losses at BU and Northeastern had me feeling better about RPI. After another one versus Union, I fear the Engineers may just be good at losing. St. Lawrence 4-1

Maine at Boston University
Candace: Maine is off to a rough start, but they did get Brittany Ott back. That won’t be enough; expect her to see more than 40 shots. Boston University 5-1
Arlan: Maine took two of three last season, all played within a week. Boston University 5-2

Robert Morris at Northeastern
Candace: Robert Morris may take a month or two to get into the form that saw the team win the CHA tournament last year. Northeastern 3-1
Arlan: After suspect results last week, Colonials will have to earn “Picks” love. Northeastern 4-2

Friday-Saturday, October 26-27

Bemidji State at Ohio State
Candace: Ohio State got crushed last week by Minnesota, while Bemidji took three points from Wisconsin on the road. This might end up being a split, but I’ll pick the home squad in both. Ohio State 4-2, 3-2
Arlan: I think the voters in USCHO poll gave up on the Buckeyes too soon. Ohio State 4-1, 2-1

Minnesota State at Mercyhurst
Candace: Minnesota State has looked very strong out of the gate. This will probably be a split. Minnesota State 4-2, Mercyhurst 4-2
Arlan: Chances are good that the Mavericks get at least a tie in game two. Mercyhurst 3-0, 3-2

Friday-Sunday, October 26 and 28

New Hampshire at Wisconsin
Candace: Aside from the loss to Vermont, New Hampshire has looked pretty good this season, while Wisconsin has loked monumentally awful. This might end up being a split, but I’ll give the Badgers the benefit of the doubt to avoid getting the split dates wrong. Wisconsin 3-2, 3-2
Arlan: New Hampshire, accustomed to Olympic ice, has the bad timing of finally visiting the Badgers just when they’ve made the switch to an NHL-sized rink. Wisconsin 2-1, 4-2

Saturday, October 27

Rensselaer at Clarkson
Candace: Like Arlan, this is one of the few games of which I am absolutely positive. Clarkson 5-1
Arlan: I feel more certain of this result than any other this week; that means I obviously have it wrong. Clarkson 4-0

Harvard at Princeton
Candace: The last time these two faced each other, it went to overtime in the ECAC tournament. Princeton did beat Harvard at home last year, but I don’t see it happening this go-round. Harvard 2-1
Arlan: The plus or minus in Harvard/Princeton games is off the charts. Harvard 3-1

Dartmouth at Quinnipiac
Candace: I wish I could see this in person. It’s hard to know what Dartmouth is capable of, but I think they come out on top to start the year 2-0. Dartmouth 2-1
Arlan: The Big Green march through October undefeated. Because that’s only two games, as a bonus pick I’ll note that Cornell will defeat Yale. Dartmouth 3-2

Maine at Northeastern
Candace: Brittany Ott is back in net, but it won’t be enough for Maine. Northeastern 3-2
Arlan: Both teams with very short turnaround after playing a different opponent the night before. Northeastern 5-2

Saturday-Sunday, October 27-28

Minnesota at North Dakota
Candace: This could be the weekend that Minnesota finally loses, but I’ll stay with the Golden tide till proven wrong. Minnesota 5-2, 4-2
Arlan: I’m told I should add points to my Minnesota picks; that’s good advice. Minnesota 4-2, 2-1.

St. Cloud at Providence
Candace: St. Cloud has shown some signs of life so far this year. I think split, but I’ll probably get the days wrong. St. Cloud 3-2, Providence 3-1
Arlan: SCSU has 16 players from Minnesota while Providence has 11, so these teams are likely more familiar with each other than one might think. St. Cloud State 2-1, 1-0

Wednesday, October 31

Boston College at Boston University
Candace: I keep picking BC against the Terriers, and they keep losing. Now that I pick the Terriers, watch the Eagles come out on top. Boston University 4-2
Arlan: Three of the BC’s first seven games are against BU. The Eagles have to figure out how to win some of them. Boston University 6-4

Not even hindsight is 20/20 in wake of inexplicable results
Each week when I sit down to do my game predictions, I think this would be easier if the outcomes were more predictable. Sometimes there are games or series that make one say, “Yes, I should have seen that,” after the results are in the books. This year, it’s been more like, “Did I really see that?”

People who like to conclude that Team A beat Team B and Team B beat Team C and so on, until the conclusion that Team A must be better than Team X is reached, can have a field day. For example, Sacred Heart split against Penn State. The Nittany Lions also split with Vermont. The Catamounts defeated New Hampshire. The Wildcats won one and lost one versus Boston College, so apparently Sacred Heart is at least the equal of BC, the preseason pick to take Hockey East. Or not.

Orange split
Some of the curious happenings took place in Syracuse, where the Orange hosted Quinnipiac. The Bobcats claimed a narrow 3-2 victory on Friday on the strength of Erica Uden Johansson’s second goal of the game in the final seconds of overtime. The winning goal came on a power play that resulted from a rare holding call on Syracuse goaltender Jenesica Drinkwater. So what did Quinnipiac do with the momentum from that nail-biting victory? Promptly went out and lost 4-0 the next day, as Syracuse goalie Kallie Billadeau made 29 saves, and if she held anyone, it went undetected by the striped shirts.

Tigers triumph
Congratulations to Rochester Institute of Technology on notching its first win of the season over a full-time D-I opponent. RIT bested Yale, 3-0, a day after coming up a goal short in a 2-1 loss to Princeton. The two Ivies also visited Robert Morris on the weekend, and in each case, RIT posted a better margin versus the visitors than did the Colonials, as RMU beat Yale, 2-0, and fell to Princeton, 6-3. One might have expected a stronger showing from the 2012 CHA Tournament champions.

With its perfect weekend, Princeton is one of two remaining unbeaten teams. Brown, Dartmouth, and Harvard will kick off their seasons on Friday.

Bulldogs regress
Minnesota-Duluth, coming off its sweep of Wisconsin, took that momentum to Mankato to face Minnesota State for the first time since an on-ice incident in Duluth resulted in the suspension of Mavericks coach Eric Means for the first couple series of this season. The Bulldogs built a 3-0 lead on Friday, but were unable to hold it through the final 10 minutes, as Kathleen Rogan scored an extra-attacker goal at 19:49 of the third period. The game remained deadlocked through overtime, and the Mavericks made the unusual move of changing to backup goaltender Erin Krichiver for the shootout, which they won to gain the extra league point.

Danielle Butters was back in the MSU net on Saturday, she saved all 28 shots, and teammate Tracy McCann scored the game’s only goal in the third period to give the hosts five of a possible six points from the series.

How the top 10 fared
It was a rough week for many of the top teams, as eight tasted defeat. A big reason for this was many of the ranked teams played opponents that were ranked as well.

The marquee pairing of the weekend was likely No. 2 Cornell traveling to No. 3 Boston University. On Saturday, the Big Red came from behind, scoring twice while short-handed to win, 5-2. Sunday saw Cornell get on the board first, but BU scored five unanswered goals to exact some revenge. For the series, Marie-Philip Poulin and Isabel Menard each chipped in four points for the Terriers, while a dozen different players got on the scoresheet for the Big Red.

Earlier in the week, BU visited No. 8 Northeastern and hung a 4-1 defeat on the Huskies. The Terriers broke a scoreless tie in the final minute of the second period with a Kayla Tutino power-play goal and pulled away.

No. 5 Clarkson traveled to Erie to face No. 7 Mercyhurst. The Golden Knights had the best of the proceedings on Friday, as Erica Howe pitched a 36-save shutout in a 3-0 win. The Lakers came back with a 4-3 victory the next day, getting goals from four different sources and a three-assist effort from Christine Bestland. Junior Jamie Lee Rattray scored four goals on the weekend for Clarkson.

No. 6 Ohio State made a trip to Minneapolis to duel No. 1 Minnesota and didn’t fare any better than the Gophers’ previous opponents, falling 7-2 and 8-0. The hosts winning streak grew to 16, dating back to last season.

No. 4 Boston College couldn’t hold a two-goal lead at New Hampshire and lost to the Wildcats, 4-3. The Eagles proved better with a lead at home on Sunday and vanquished UNH, 5-2. Newcomers Alexis Crossley of UNH and BC’s Dana Trivigno and Haley Skarupa all had two-goal games.

No. 10 North Dakota had its hands full with St. Cloud State. Jocelyne Lamoureux scored three of her team’s four goals as UND recorded 3-1 and 1-0 wins. On the season, Lamoureux has eight tallies, while the rest of her teammates combined have but seven. Jorid Dagfinrud saved 34 of 35 shots. She wasn’t UND’s primary goaltender to start the season, but she now leads the nation in goals-against-average at 0.30 and save percentage at 0.981. Dagfinrud will put those numbers to the test when Minnesota’s top-ranked offense invades Grand Forks next weekend.

In the most historic action of the week, No. 9 Wisconsin opened the doors to its new home, LaBahn Arena, but the building’s tenants got off to a shaky start. The Badgers dropped a 1-0 decision to Bemidji State in the opener, as Kristin Huber became the answer to a trivia question by scoring the arena’s first goal and Abby Ryplanski made 27 saves for the shutout. The Beavers scored first the next day as well. After watching her team go 10 periods without a goal, captain Brianna Decker finally broke the drought just as I was about to start calling her team “Wiscnsin”, thinking there no longer was any ‘O’ in Wisconsin. The teams traded goals until BSU’s Sadie Lundquist tied it at 3-3 in the final minute. The Badgers won a shootout to salvage two points.