Halftime of the college hockey season is just about done, and it’s time to look ahead to the rest of what shapes up to be a pretty competitive year. Let’s take a look into our crystal ball and try to determine what’s ahead for the WCHA’s 10 teams:
Key games/series
Shane: As of right now, the race for the MacNaughton Cup appears to be a three-team race. Minnesota State and Michigan Tech are tied atop the standings, and Bowling Green is three points behind with two games in hand.
Minnesota State swept Michigan Tech in mid-November, handing the Huskies their only two conference losses so far, and the two teams meet again Feb. 27-28 in Mankato in a series that just might determine who wins the league’s regular season title.
Another team to keep an eye on is defending champion Ferris State, which can get back in the hunt with a crazy month of games from Jan. 16 to Feb. 14 when it plays eight games in a row against Minnesota State and Bowling Green.
Jack: Looking beyond the race for the MacNaughton Cup, the competition for that fourth and final home-ice slot will also be quite intriguing. At the break, Ferris State and Northern Michigan are tied for fourth place with 12 points apiece.
Alaska, which isn’t postseason-eligible, is in sixth with 10 points while Bemidji State is seventh with nine points. Because Alaska is out of the running for the playoffs but can still earn points, games against the Nanooks are still going to be key for everyone involved.
Ferris opens up the second half this weekend in Fairbanks, which will be a key series for the Bulldogs to put some separation between themselves and the rest of the field competing for home ice.
Given how the league’s standings are always-changing, it may not do much good to look beyond January, but if both Bemidji State and Northern Michigan are still in the middle of the league table in February, that Feb. 13-14 series in Marquette could go a long way to deciding who will be hosting a first-round playoff series.
Predicted champion/standings
Shane: As tight as I believe this race is, I remain confident that the Mavericks are the best team in the conference and will win their first MacNaughton Cup by season’s end.
The Mavericks have too much firepower, making it difficult for defenses to key on one line. Their schedule is not easy going forward, and their goaltending needs to get more consistent, but an underrated aspect of the team is its puck-possession time, which has kept opposing team’s shots to a minimum. My final standings look like this:
1. Minnesota State
2. Michigan Tech
3. Bowling Green
4. Ferris State
5. Alaska*
6. Bemidji State
7. Northern Michigan
8. Alaska-Anchorage
9. Alabama-Huntsville
10. Lake Superior State
* — ineligible for postseason
Jack: I’m inclined to agree with you, Shane. I think the Mavericks have proven themselves to be the best team in the league. They’ve already swept Tech on the road so I think technically they hold some sort of tiebreaker if the teams finish tied.
That being said, Michigan Tech is a good hockey team. Jamie Phillips should be a Hobey Baker Award candidate this year and if the Huskies can score a little more in front of him they are going to be scary come tournament time:
1. Minnesota State
2. Michigan Tech
3. Bowling Green
4. Ferris State
5. Northern Michigan
6. Bemidji State
7. Alaska*
8. Alaska-Anchorage
9. Alabama-Huntsville
10. Lake Superior State
* — ineligible for postseason
Predicted award winners
Shane: Right now, the races for the conference’s individual awards and statistical leaders are wide open. That’s really no surprise. But there are a lot more players to choose from now than when we were picking preseason awards.
That being said, it’s generally the second half of the season that makes the biggest impact on voters.
Player of the year: Bryce Gervais, Minnesota State
Rookie of the year: Brad McClure, Minnesota State
Defensive player of the year: Colton Parayko, Alaska
Coach of the year: Chris Bergeron, Bowling Green
All-WCHA
F Bryce Gervais, Minnesota State
F Tanner Kero, Michigan Tech
F Matt Robertson, Ferris State
D Zach Palmquist, Minnesota State
D Colton Parayko, Alaska
G Jamie Phillips, Michigan Tech
Jack: I think we can probably agree that Chris Bergeron is going to be coach of the year (although Tech’s Mel Pearson could swoop in and claim that honor). Either way, these awards are tough to dole out at midseason.
So here’s a guesstimate. There are too many good players in the WCHA this year.
Player of the year: Tanner Kero, Michigan Tech
Rookie of the year: Max McHugh, Alabama-Huntsville
Defensive player of the year: Colton Parayko, Alaska
Coach of the year: Chris Bergeron, Bowling Green
All-WCHA
F Bryce Gervais, Minnesota State
F Tanner Kero, Michigan Tech
F Tyler Morley, Alaska
D Matt Prapavessis, Bemidji State
D Colton Parayko, Alaska
G Jamie Phillips, Michigan Tech
Bold prediction
Shane: A WCHA team will compete for the national title. Is this bold enough? Do I need to pick an actual team? Would it be better to pick a team winning the actual championship? Probably not. Might be nice. Have some guts, man!
Let’s just say this: The feel-good story of this sport come April 11 will be the WCHA team that is playing for a championship. Will it be Michigan Tech, going for its fourth title but first since 1975 (the Huskies last shot at a fourth came in ’76)? Will it be Bowling Green, going for its second but first since Jerry York’s team won that four-overtime thriller over Minnesota-Duluth in 1984? Will it be Minnesota State, going for its first as a Division I program (it won a D-II title in 1980)? Stay tuned.
Jack: How about Alabama-Huntsville in the Final Five? Due to Alaska’s postseason ineligibility, only one team (besides the Nanooks) is going to be left out of the playoffs rather than two, so there’s another shot for a team in the lower half of the standings to make a playoff run.
If the Chargers can get into the playoffs, I think they’d have a chance to steal two games from someone. We’ve seen their ability to stay in games against the top teams in the league, especially with goaltender Carmine Guerriero. Can they do it twice in the row in the playoffs?
Who makes the NCAA tournament and why?
Shane: Commissioner Bill Robertson boldly said last summer that he hoped the WCHA could get three or more teams in the national tournament, and I believe that will happen. Three teams are in position to do that, with Minnesota State, Michigan Tech and Bowling Green (sensing a theme here?) all in the top 10 of the PairWise Rankings to start 2015.
Those teams’ consistency in conference play and success outside the league (a combined 10-6-1 record against solid competition) will keep them in the mix, and there might even be a No. 1 seed in the group.
Jack: If those three teams stay in their positions at the end of the season, the WCHA may have the opportunity to sneak in a fourth team if someone else wins the Final Five and wins the at-large bid. Even if that doesn’t happen, there’s a good chance the WCHA will have more teams in the tournament than the Big Ten, which should at least make old-school WCHA fans happy.
If Minnesota State, Michigan Tech and Bowling Green don’t all make it, I’d be surprised.
