If you read the last edition of Bettor’s Edge well before the holidays, there was a hope to return a week ago.
But the schedule became pretty fractured between limited schedules and postponements related to COVID.
Those postponements continue yet again this weekend, and it seems the popular opinion is that they will continue likely through the end of January. What that will create is a month of February with a very compressed schedule. Don’t be surprised to see teams play five, maybe even six games in eight days. And if you’re a bettor, you have to take fatigue into account.
You also can watch trends, though. When teams get hot and are playing more than just two games in a weekend, often times those teams will ride that wave. The same can be said for losing streaks. When a team struggles and doesn’t get much practice time to fix their issues, those 2-3 game losing skids can turn into 5, 6 or 7 games.
Pay attention to those streaks and how often teams are playing when making your wagers.
Going back to mid-December when we last were talking college hockey betting, you had four-of-five favorites win, helping winning percentages for our writers. If you bet a five-team parlay that week, $100 would’ve paid $1,076.59. Not exactly chump change, but not much of a payday either.
This weekend, there will only be four games discussed below after the Minnesota Duluth-St. Cloud State series was postponed. But let’s give you our staff picks and a little bit of insight.
You can make your selections on the five games listed below as well as five others in USCHO Pick ‘Em. Go to social.uscho.com to join the fun!
As usual, a disclaimer:
Understand, this is for entertainment purposes only. USCHO.com is not a licensed gambling platform and no money may be wagered through this site or any subsidiary of USCHO.
All games are the first games when they occur in a two-game series, unless noted. Saturday game as marked appropriately.
Enjoy and, if you bet, may you be successful.
* Games marked with asterisks indicates odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
No. 14 Cornell (+225) at No. 5 North Dakota (-285) *
Cornell entered last weekend with the best winning percentage in college hockey. But after two losses at Arizona State, the Big Red have taken a nose-dive in the PairWise and are now almost desperate to get a win in – of all places – Grand Forks this weekend if they hope to improve NCAA Tournament hopes.
There’s not a ton of history between these two teams. In fact, the pair haven’t played since 2010. There could be a tiny bit of rust for the Fighting Hawks, which has played but an exhibition game vs. the U.S. Under 18 team since Dec. 11.
Not surprisingly, there’s not a ton of confidence in Cornell heading into the Ralph among the USCHO staff. And at +225, Vegas isn’t showing belief in the Big Red either.
Perfect spot for an upset?
No. 13 Notre Dame (-115) at Penn State (-105) *
It’s rare that the sportsbooks set odds with both teams as slight favorites, but that’s the case here as you have two Big Ten teams battling for their own place in and around the NCAA Tournament bubble.
The Irish, which continue to play their best hockey as a frontrunner, are coming off a loss to Niagara that certainly hurts their PairWise position. It was their second loss to an Atlantic Hockey opponent this year, having also fallen in overtime to RIT (OT loss, of course, doesn’t hurt as much in the PWR).
Penn State, which is 9-1-0 outside of the conference, has only Big Ten games remaining, looking to improve on their current 3-7 B1G record.
This series will be a rematch of last season’s B1G quarterfinal game, won by Penn State, 6-3, despite the Nittany Lions losing the final three regular-season games against the Irish.
Ferris State (+650) at No. 1 Minnesota State (-775)
Since we began writing this column in October, Minnesota State at -775 is the heaviest favorite we’ve featured. So why even look at this series?
Because when Minnesota State and Ferris State meet, it’s always a battle. Yes, the Mavericks swept last season’s series, including a two-game series victory in the WCHA quarterfinals. But the Mavericks needed OT in one matchup on a night that Ferris State did something few teams ever do: chase goaltender Dryden McKay from a game.
These are two legendary head coaches in Mike Hastings and Bob Daniels, so despite the heavy odds in Minnesota State’s favor, don’t be surprised to see these games closer than expected. And certainly to be shocked to see a major upset.
No. 10 Massachusetts (+110) at No. 6 Michigan (-105) – Saturday
With Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State postposed due to COVID, UMass and Michigan take the stage in the rare Saturday-Sunday series in Ann Arbor.
UMass has an interesting streak on the line in this series as the Minutemen have not lost a game in regulation since the second night of the regular season, October 3. They’ve continued their ascent up the PairWise after being swept by Minnesota State that opening weekend and could take a massive jump forward if they could takes the bulk of the points on the road this weekend.
Michigan is headed the other way in the PairWise having dipped from first to sixth in short order. They should have a full compliment of players after five returned from the (canceled/postponed/massively screwed up) World Juniors. But wins could become difficult if some Wolverine players head to the Olympics in the coming weeks.
Pick records to date (last week):
Jim Connelly – 36-14 (5-0)
Chris Lerch – 31-19 (5-0)
Ed Trefzger – 31-19 (3-2)
Paula Weston – 29-21 (2-3)
Dan Rubin – 29-21 (3-2)
Matthew Semisch – 29-21 (3-2)
Drew Claussen – 29-21 (4-1)
John Doyle – 27-23 (4-1)
Jack Hittinger – 27-23 (4-1)
Nate Owen – 22-28 (2-3)
