NCHC picks: 12-12

Well, Matthew gained right back the game I’d picked up on him the previous week. Last week, I went 5-3 (.625) to move to 57-25-4 (.686) on the year, while Matthew went 6-2 (.750) to move to 52-30-4 (.627) on the year.

It’s the last big weekend of the first half, so let’s see how we do.

Friday-Saturday, Dec. 12-13

No. 1 North Dakota at No. 11 Denver
Candace: This looks like a split, though Dave Haktsol has his team playing awfully well. Denver 3-2, North Dakota 4-2
Matthew: UND has been a ridiculous 19-1-2 in the month of December the past five years, but I think they’ll tick up one in the loss column this weekend. Split. Denver 3-2, North Dakota 3-1

St. Cloud State at No. 12 Omaha
Candace: Omaha killed me last weekend with their results against Miami. Nevertheless, (yoo-hoo RedArmyUNO, over here), I’ll pick a split. St. Cloud 2-1, Omaha 3-1
Matthew: UNO’s been excellent in the first half of this season, and I think they’ll do the business this weekend at home against a St. Cloud State team that has underwhelmed thus far. Omaha 4-2, 3-1

Colorado College at Western Michigan
Candace: CC needs some success on the road at some point, but there’s no percentage in picking it yet. Western Michigan 3-2, 2-1
Matthew: These two teams are at the bottom of the NCHC standings, but I think CC’s record is more indicative of its play than Western’s is, so I like the Broncos here. Western Michigan 2-1, 2-0

No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 4 Michigan Tech
Candace: I’m tempted to be an NCHC homer and pick a sweep, but I’m just not able to. Michigan Tech 3-2, Minnesota-Duluth 4-2
Matthew: Tech has been probably my favorite national storyline over the first half of the season, but even though they’re coming off of a week where the Huskies were able to rest and recover, I think UMD will come away from Houghton with a split. Michigan Tech 3-1, Minnesota-Duluth 3-1