Women’s D-I picks: Jan. 3

Well, we closed the first half in a neck-and-neck race. Arlan pulled ahead of me by one game in correctly picking a Wisconsin sweep of North Dakota, as he went 13-2-4 (.789) to finish the first half 117-45-19 (.698), while I went 12-3-4 (.736) to finish the first half 116-46-19 (.693). We’ve got a few interesting contests in store this week, so let’s get to it.

Thursday, Jan. 3

Boston College at Clarkson
Candace: The Eagles have been hot to close the first half, and I think they should take a very close game here. Boston College 2-1
Arlan: Don’t know if Clarkson would be a ranked team without Jamie Lee Rattray and Erin Ambrose. Boston College 3-1

Northeastern at St. Lawrence
Candace: The Saints have been pretty up and down, but so has Northeastern, so this is a tough game to pick. I’ll go with home ice. St. Lawrence 2-1
Arlan: Neither the Saints nor the Huskies have managed an impressive win to date; good chance of OT. Northeastern 2-1

Friday, Jan. 4

Northeastern at Clarkson
Candace: This is another that is really tough to pick, especially if the Huskies lose to St. Lawrence. Even with Howe, I wonder if the Golden Knights have enough sans Rattray and Ambrose. Northeastern 3-2
Arlan: The Golden Knights have just enough to sneak by the Huskies. Clarkson 3-2

Boston College at St. Lawrence
Candace: The Eagles continue to stay hot. Boston College 4-2
Arlan: Eagles’ comeback win in NCAA quarterfinal seems to have put SLU in a funk. Boston College 5-2

Friday-Saturday, Jan. 4-5

RIT at Robert Morris
Candace: I went against my gut and picked Merchyhurst to sweep the Colonials, and lost both. I’ll go the other way this time. Robert Morris 2-1, 3-1
Arlan: After a 10-game road trip, the Colonials are now in the midst of eight consecutive skates at home. Robert Morris 2-1, 4-2

North Dakota at Lindenwood
Candace: I feel more confident picking these games than any other. North Dakota 5-1, 6-1
Arlan: The ‘Lams combined for 13 points in the teams’ only meeting a year ago, and this will be the Lions’ third and fourth games in five days. North Dakota 7-1, 10-0

Saturday, Jan. 5

Providence at Yale
Candace: The Elis have played several teams very close, but I think Providence should take this. Providence 4-2
Arlan: After starting well, the Friars have lost four straight and need a win to climb back to .500. Providence 4-3

Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 5-6

Colgate at Vermont
Candace: Since getting blown out by Cornell, the Raiders have done well, including an upset of Clarkson, while Vermont has recovered from its injury plague to go undefeated over its last five, but three of those were against Connecticut. A tough series to pick. This will probably be a split, but I don’t want to get the dates wrong. Vermont 2-1, 1-0
Arlan: Interesting matchup of former D-III coaches whose teams were playing better by the end of the first half. Vermont 2-1, 4-3
Tuesday, Jan. 8

Boston University at Connecticut
Candace: The Terriers need a win to keep pace with Boston College. Boston University 5-2
Arlan: The Huskies were able to shake the rust off versus Princeton, but the odds favor a rusty BU. Boston University 5-2
Wednesday, Jan. 9

Boston College at Northeastern
Candace: The Eagles took two close ones earlier in the year, and need this one to be able to capture Hockey East. Boston College 4-3
Arlan: NU is due to win one of these meetings eventually. Boston College 5-3