The 2014 and 2015 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Games will be held at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y., USA Hockey announced Tuesday. The 2014 edition will be played on Thursday, Sept. 25, while the date for the 2015 game will be announced next year. The 2012 event was also staged in Buffalo and the 2013 game was played in Pittsburgh.
Wisconsin’s Eaves, USCHO’s Weston join us on Jan. 14 USCHO Live!
Our scheduled guests on the Jan.14 episode of USCHO Live! are Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves and USCHO.com Big Ten columnist Paula C. Weston.
Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET at blogtalkradio.com/uscholive. If you can’t listen live, check out the podcast of USCHO Live! available on the player at the right (click through if you’re reading this via RSS.)
Be part of the conversation! Call (646) 200-4305, send your tweets to @USCHO, or your emails to [email protected].
Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach, administer and play college hockey, and journalists who cover the sport.
About the hosts
Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.” Jim is the winner of the 2012 Joe Concannon award, and is a studio analyst for NESN.
Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and as RIT’s play-by-play voice for seven seasons. Ed is VP and general manager of CBS Sports Radio affiliates 1310 and 1590 The Team in Rochester, N.Y.
TMQ: PairWise shows which teams have more work to do than others
Here’s our weekly look at big events and big issues around Division I men’s college hockey.
Todd: As we do around this time every year, last week we turned on the PairWise Rankings, which this year have been updated with the new NCAA selection criteria. So now we get a better sense of what each result does to a team’s NCAA tournament hopes.
As Jayson Moy pointed out in the first Bracketology of the season, the rankings in January may not seem to mean much but they’re a decent predictor of which teams will end up in position for an at-large bid in March. Of the teams lingering around the cutoff point, which do you think has the most reason to be concerned about missing the tournament?
Jim: Right now, there are four teams on the wrong side of the bubble that may surprise some: Denver, North Dakota, Western Michigan and Miami. North Dakota is just below the line at 19th, but the other three have a lot of work to do if they’re going to move up and get themselves into the NCAA tournament.
At the same time, it’s interesting to see a team like Northeastern, picked to finish last in Hockey East, tied for sixth. We all do know, however, that there’s plenty of hockey left to play.
Todd: Wisconsin and Michigan almost traded spots in the PairWise after the Badgers swept the Wolverines last weekend. Wisconsin moved from 15th to 10th, while Michigan dropped from ninth to 15th. You could argue that these are the two teams that will be battling Minnesota for the Big Ten championship, and the Badgers definitely took a step forward in that process last weekend.
On the other hand, Providence has taken a few steps back in recent weeks, going 0-3-1 in its last four games, including a 5-2 loss at Boston College last Friday in which Jon Gillies allowed an un-Jon-Gillies-like four goals on 30 shots. How deep do the Friars’ recent problems go?
Jim: Having seen Friday’s Providence-Boston College game in person, I can say with certainty that the result of that game was much more about how well BC played as opposed to the Friars and Jon Gillies playing poorly. That was quite possibly the best the BC offense has looked all year, at times pinning PC in its own end for minutes on end.
All of that said, if Providence has high hopes of winning the Hockey East regular season title, something that most feel is possible, it will have to find a way to solve Boston College. That is the challenge for all of the Hockey East teams as right now, as at 8-1-1 in Hockey East play, the Eagles seem dominant.
Todd: From the top of Hockey East, let’s go to the bottom of the standings in the NCHC. That’s where you’ll find Miami, which was ranked No. 13 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll a week ago but dropped out after a pair of losses at Western Michigan. The RedHawks are also down to 27th in the PairWise.
A lot of people expected a lot more out of Miami this season, and I still think the RedHawks are capable of being a strong team down the stretch. You have to wonder, however, whether the hole they have dug is too deep.
Jim: I have been quite shocked to have seen Miami drop to the bottom of the NCHC and out of the national polls altogether. With just two wins in its last nine games, you can officially say this team has hit a slump.
The biggest problem seems to be defense. After giving up just four goals in a five-game span in November, the RedHawks have given up 30 goals in that nine-game stretch in which the team is 2-6-1. I think we all knew that a good hockey team would be at the bottom of the NCHC given the prominence of the league’s programs; I just don’t think any of us thought it would be Miami.
Todd: On the other side of that sweep is Western Michigan, a team we’ve talked about recently but one that seems poised to make a run in the second half. The Broncos put that to the test this weekend at No. 3 St. Cloud State, a series that will be one to keep an eye on.
That’s one of four series in the state of Minnesota that pique my attention. Ohio State plays Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium on Friday as the Gophers finally get in on hosting one of these outdoor games. Denver travels to Minnesota-Duluth in a series between teams that are two points apart in the crowded midsection of the NCHC standings. And Minnesota State hosts Ferris State, with the Bulldogs looking to pull a little farther away in the WCHA. What’s up out east?
Jim: Well, one of college hockey’s best rivalries will be renewed on Friday night when Boston College hosts Boston University. But if these two teams play the way they did last weekend, this will be a mismatch. BC, as mentioned, was solid against Providence on Friday but BU looked lifeless against Maine at Fenway. Even though the game was interrupted by a rain delay, that was no excuse for the Terriers falling behind 5-0 before losing 7-3.
Additionally, Yale will travel to Clarkson on Friday in a battle of two nationally ranked ECAC Hockey teams, while a red-hot New Hampshire team will host Union for two in another meeting of ranked teams. Plenty of good hockey to keep an eye on this weekend.
Standings starting to come into focus
There were several marquee games across the country in the second week back from the holiday break as Babson-Norwich, Utica-Oswego and St. Scholastica-Wisconsin-River Falls were some of the games that people were keeping an eye on.
Here’s how everything shook out last weekend.
ECAC East
No. 6 Babson and No. 5 Norwich had the stage to themselves on Thursday night at Fenway Park. The two teams didn’t disappoint with Shane Gorman scoring the lone goal to give Norwich the 1-0 victory. Chris Czarnota only needed to make 21 saves for the shutout, while Jamie Murrary made 30 saves for Babson.
Massachusetts-Boston, the third team in the conference ranked in the USCHO.com Men’s Division III Poll at No. 15, had the mild 4-2 upset over Norwich Friday night. Jeremy Finger had two goals for UMass-Boston, while Michael Kuhn and Peter MacIntyre also scored. Norwich picked goals from Travis Jenke and Gerard McEleney.
New England College scored victories over the two Maine schools in conference in Southern Maine and the University of New England.
ECAC Northeast
Johnson and Wales picked up two victories with a 4-0 victory over Massachusetts-Dartmouth and a 3-2 game over Williams in overtime.
Stefan Brucato and Eddie Patterson each scored two goals in the victory over UMass-Dartmouth, while Joey Ballmer made 25 saves for the shutout. Johnson and Wales relied on three different goal-scorers in the win over Williams. Patterson added his third of the weekend and Alex Porrier and Aaron Arm also scored. Ballmer picked up his second win of the weekend.
As for the rest of the conference, it was a tough nonconference weekend. Nichols went 1-1 after dropping a 4-1 decision to Hobart, but bounced back to a 9-4 victory over Morrisville.
ECAC West
Conference-leading Utica split the weekend by beating ECAC Northeast opponent Western New England 5-1 and dropping a 5-3 decision to Oswego.
Five different players scored for the Pioneers in the win over Western New England. Easton Powers had a goal and an assist, while Jon Gaffney, Lou Malvasi, Zac Lazzaro and Kevin Kirisits also scored. Mike Baird had two assists and Nick Therrien made 20 saves.
On Saturday, Ridge Garbutt had a goal and an assist in the loss to Oswego, while Adam Graff and Jordan Hobaica also scored.
Elmira also split the weekend, falling 5-4 on Friday night against Buffalo State. Michael Collins had two goals, while Eric Davis and Carter Shinkaruk also scored. In the 5-1 win on Saturday against Geneseo, Jarryd ten Vaanholt notched two goals with Shinkaruk, Brian Depp and Josh Burnell also scoring. Sal Magliocco made 35 saves in the win.
MASCAC
Westfield State has quietly moved up to the standings to be in a tie for first place. On Wednesday, it picked up an 8-1 victory over Becker. T.J. Powers had two goals, while Taylor Murphy, Jackson Leef and Dalton Jay each had a goal and assist. Tyler Prendergast, Jake Suvak and Maxime Richard also scored.
In a conference matchup between Framingham State, they came away with the 4-1 win. Murphy, Jay, Dan O’Connor and P.J. McCadden scored. Jonathan LoParco picked up the victory in goal. Brendan McCarron scored for Framingham State.
Salem State had the big game against UMass-Boston at the Frozen Fenway event where it fell 4-2 on Tuesday. On Saturday, they returned to conference play, defeating Plymouth State 3-2. Eric Defelice, Kyle Phelan and John Needham scored in the win. Chad Barthelmess and Mike Freitag scored for Plymouth State.
MIAC
St. Thomas picked up a 5-2 victory over Finlandia last Friday night. Thomas Williams had two goals, while Nick Nielson had a goal and assist. Connor McBride and Jordan Lovick also scored. Joe Morris made 17 saves. The Tommies followed up that effort with a 3-0 win over Wisconsin-Superior. Tyler Gubb had a goal and an assist, while Michael Dockery and Alex Nielstrom scored. Drew Fielding made 19 saves for the shutout
Concordia (Minn.) earned two points over the weekend with a 4-4 tie with Marian. Garrett Hendrickson had a hand in all four goals with a hat trick and an assist. Caleb Suderman had the game’s tying goal.
Wisconsin-Stout defeated Concordia (Minn.) on Saturday, 5-4 in overtime. Hendrickson had a goal, while Jeremy Johnson netted a goal and an assist. Jordie Bancoft and Dan Hrabowych also scored in the losing effort.
NCHA
The newly-annointed No. 1 Adrian Bulldogs look to keep the top spot in the USCHO.com Poll as they went 1-0-1 this weekend.
They earned a 4-4 tie Friday night with St. Olaf. Jeremy Olinyk, Josh Cousineau, Shelby Gray and Brent Sauve scored for Adrian. Saturday against Gustavus Adolphus, they earned a 2-0 shutout win on the back of Scott Shackell’s 33-save effort. Cousineau scored along with Kevin Balas.
St. Norbert went to overtime twice this weekend as the Green Knights defeated Wisconsin-River Falls 3-2 when Pijus Rulevicius picked up the game-winner with three seconds remaining in overtime. Brandon Hoogenboom and Chris Rial also scored.
SNC then settled for a 2-2 tie with Wisconsin-Stevens Point as Blake Thompson and Reid Campbell scored for the Green Knights.
NESCAC
Williams and Trinity also had the opportunity to play at Fenway Park on Tuesday. Williams doubled up Trinity 4-2 behind four goals in the final inning. George Hunkele scored twice and added two assists, while Craig Kitto had a goal and assist. Nick Anderson also scored.
For Trinity, Jackson Brewer and Sean Orlando scored.
Amherst traveled up to Maine and dropped both games to Colby and Bowdoin. Tyler Lingel scored twice for Colby in the 5-2 win over Amherst. Nick Lanza, Devin Albert, Ben Chwick also scored. Andrew Fenwick and Brandon Burke scored for Amherst.
Bowdoin came away with the 4-2 win over Amherst with Harry Matheson, Colin Downey, Connor Quinn and Matt Rubinoff all scoring. Aaron Deutsch and Andrew Kurlandski scored for Amerst.
SUNYAC
Plattsburgh continues to have a strong season as the Cardinals picked up a 4-3 win over Skidmore and a 6-1 win over Castleton. Michael Radisa, Dakota Mason, Anthony Calabrese, Barry Roytman all scored in the win over Skidmore, while Spencer Finney made 19 saves in the win. Alex Jensen had a hat trick against Castleton with Michael Cassidy, Graham Yeo and Michael Radisa also scoring.
Geneseo picked up a 7-2 victory over Franklin Pierce on Friday as seven players scored a goal. Nick Horrigan made 18 saves in the victory. Oswego also picked up a 5-3 win over Nazareth. Matt Galati had two goals in the victory.
WIAC
Wisconsin-River Falls, after falling 3-2 to St. Norbert on Friday, ended Saturday with a 3-3 tie with St. Scholastica. Willie Hess, Zach Schrotenboer and Jeff Bergh were the goal-scorers Saturday night. Tanner Milliron made 19 saves.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point defeated Lawrence 7-2 as Max Bobrow led the way with two goals. Kyle Brodie, Garrett Ladd, Kyle Heck, Nick D’Avolio and Kyle Sharkey also lit the lamp. Brandon Jaeger stopped 30 shots in the win.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire defeated Northland 5-0 and Lawrence 4-0
The Badgers prevail, the Spartans like their shootouts and the Gophers have a close call
The first full weekend of Big Ten play isn’t quite yet over — Minnesota and Penn State have a game tonight — but let’s look at what we’ve learned from the last three days.
1. The WCHA still owns the CCHA.
I know that’s a personal filter, but I can’t help but think of Wisconsin’s sweep of Michigan this way. In reality, Wisconsin has found its collective feet after a rocky start to the 2013-14 season and the Wolverines apparently have forgotten how to score. The Badgers are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games, averaging just over four goals per game in that span. Michigan has now lost four in a row with an average of 1.25 goals per game in those four, and the Wolverines haven’t scored more than two goals in Division I play since a 5-4 win over Ohio State Dec. 2. Wisconsin’s offense is now sixth in the country.
2. Don’t bet against the Spartans in the shootout.
For the second time this season, Michigan State earned the extra shootout point against a league opponent. After allowing three third-period goals in a 5-3 loss to Ohio State Friday night, the Spartans and Buckeyes tied, 1-1, Saturday and Michigan State prevailed in the sixth round of the subsequent shootout. In spite of OSU’s third-period outburst Friday, these two teams looked very evenly matched on the weekend.
Also, my partner-in-writing, Drew Claussen, looks like a genius. He called OSU to win and then called for the Saturday tie. He was feeling Ohio State. I’ll never doubt him again.
3. Perhaps Don Lucia is correct in stating that Minnesota is not so dominant.
I mean, they look pretty good to me, but the coach knows better than I do — and after seeing a two-goal lead against Penn State evaporate last night, I’m a bit of a believer. Minnesota outshot Penn State 45-30 and managed to win 3-2, with the Nittany Lions scoring late in the second and early-ish in the third period. Tonight’s game should be very interesting, indeed.
Bulldogs launch themselves back into contention
Although we’re starting to see more daylight open up between the NCHC’s sets of leaders and trailers, it appears to be time to start thinking about adding Minnesota-Duluth to the former category.
Duluth spent the first half of the season putting up a decidedly mediocre record and splitting series almost as though that was the Bulldogs’ job. UMD coach Scott Sandelin’s club appeared to make a breakthrough last weekend, though, in picking up its first sweep of the season at Nebraska-Omaha.
Each night of the two-game set saw one Duluth forward line really click.
In its’ 3-2 win Friday, Duluth’s third line of Alex Iafallo, Dominic Toninato and Adam Krause accounted for the first two goals of the game before defenseman Andy Welinski scored the eventual game-winner in the third period.
Sandelin made zero changes to his lineup for the rematch, and Saturday night saw Duluth’s second line get its own time to shine. Joe Basaraba’s two goals and big performances from linemates Austin Farley and Caleb Herbert helped the visitors to a 3-1 win.
Even more credit for both nights’ triumphs has to go to Bulldogs goaltender Aaron Crandall. The senior will undoubtedly be the NCHC’s goaltender of the week after stopping 38 and 52 shots against UNO, including several monster saves in both games of the series.
Duluth now finds itself 9-8-1 overall and 5-5 in the league, which is far from incredible. However, with a lot of winnable games coming up over the next four weeks ahead of a trip to first-place St. Cloud State Feb. 14-15, if Crandall stays hot and he keeps getting goal support from the offense in front of him, UMD might be able to parlay its success last weekend into something much bigger by the time they face the Huskies and then enter the home stretch of the regular season.
UNO’s struggles continue
UMD and the team it swept last weekend appear to be moving in very different directions.
UNO’s pair of losses last weekend at home to the Bulldogs marked the third time the Mavericks have been swept this season and the second time in two weeks. What’s worse, at 8-11-1 and 5-4-1-1 in the NCHC, UNO has now lost five of its last six games, and the only win came via an overtime shootout at Colorado College Dec. 7.
The news gets worse if you’re a Mavericks fan.
A year ago this week, UNO was four games above .500, tied with Denver for first place in the WCHA, and the Mavericks had a legitimate Hobey Baker Award candidate in Ryan Walters. Now, UNO is three games below .500, is only in fourth place in the NCHC by two points over Duluth, and the Mavericks’ leading scorer, forward Josh Archibald, is tied with 11 others for 39th in the country in terms of points with 21.
Archibald’s tied for fourth in Division I with 14 goals, which UNO fans surely find great to see from the junior forward who has improved by leaps and bounds every year he’s been in Omaha. However, when he’s the only Maverick on the national radar in terms of leaders in either goals or assists, it’s one more sign not enough is being done by UNO’s attacking corps.
There’s an even bigger mess to be dealt with in UNO’s own end of the ice. The Mavericks are 49th in the country in scoring defense, having conceded 3.35 goals per game so far this season, and UNO has D-I’s third-worst penalty-killing units, only succeeding at a 73 percent clip.
Poor defensive displays tend to beget poor goaltending numbers, too, and that’s one way to describe UNO’s goalies’ figures so far. Junior Ryan Massa (11 appearances) and freshman Kirk Thompson (10) have fairly evenly split time in the Mavericks’ nets this season, and Thompson’s leading the way statistically with a 2.95 goals-against average and a .885 save percentage, numbers not much better than Massa’s (3.34, .882).
Looking at the Mavericks’ remaining schedule, there’s a chance things could get worse for them. UNO is at fellow NCHC struggler Miami this upcoming weekend, and then the Mavericks will face the league’s current top three teams – St. Cloud State, North Dakota and Denver – all in a row.
North Dakota gets back on track
North Dakota didn’t post earth-shattering results in its Canadian exhibition tour Jan. 3-4, losing 3-2 in overtime to British Columbia before eking past Simon Fraser 4-3 the following day. Since then, though, UND has gotten back to the form that served the team well heading into the holiday break.
UND was made to work hard for its 5-3 and 3-2 wins at home last weekend to seventh-place Colorado College, but the bottom line is that UND was able to pick up six points from the series, something that hasn’t been incredibly common in the NCHC so far and will only become even rarer as we head into the final couple of months of the regular season.
Even better, UND is now on a seven-game winning streak in non-exhibition games. That number may well go up to nine this next weekend after a home-and-home series with a Bemidji State team four games below .500 and with eight home losses already this season.
At 11-7-2 overall and 7-5 in the NCHC, UND’s 21 points thus far currently put it only one point behind SCSU for first place in the league. What’s even more exciting is that UND has a favorable schedule until it visits the Huskies Feb. 28 and Mar. 1, so expect to see at least a two-horse race at least until we switch our calendars over from February to March.
Women’s D-III wrap: Jan 13
Startling day for Sabres
Boosted by junior forward Amanda Waigand’s natural hat trick, Marian ended a seven game winless slide with a season-defining upset over sixth ranked St. Scholastica, Saturday afternoon in Fond du Lac. Waigand, the all-time scoring leader for the Sabres, scored twice in a span of 56 seconds in the third. The Saints had held a 2-1 edge midway through the final period before Waigand struck. Waigand, who currently has 36 career goals, completed her sharp performance with an empty net goal with 55 seconds remaining in the period. Marian held the nation’s top scorer, Nina Waidacher pointless for the first time this season. Waidacher collected a pair of goals, and was named the third star of the game in the series opening 6-3 Saints victory, Friday night. In registering five goals, the Sabers tied for their highest offensive output of the season.
Sophomore goalie Ali Glazer finished with 43 saves in gaining her second win of the season. The successful result for Marian provided the Saints with their initial loss of the season away from home. The Sabres (4-8-1) triumph marked the programs’ first against a ranked opponent. With the win, Coach Jamie Kivi’s team surpassed their three win total of a year ago (3-20-2).
Beacons successful in reset mode
In spite of being outshot 43-13, Massachusetts-Boston squeezed by St. Anselm 1-0 at the Clark Athletic Center in the Beacons lone action of the past weekend. Following an unpromising 1-6-1 start to the season, the Beacons have spun off a seven game unbeaten run (5-0-2) and improving its overall record to the .500 level. In the competitive ECAC-East, the Beacons have moved within two points of fourth place Castleton. The Beacons are certainly labeling themselves as a tough draw, given the second half surge. In addition to its most recent win, UMB has well against top clubs such as Colby (4-3), Southern Maine (3-0) and St. Thomas (1-1).
Batters, Falcons take three
Wisconsin-River Falls capped a three-win week with a 2-1 win over host Concordia (Minn.) at the Moorhead Sports Center, Saturday afternoon. Katie Batters was front and center, producing a record-tying five-point performance (3-2-5), as the Falcons overwhelmed host St. Olaf 8-1, Wednesday night. The Falcons limited Concordia to a scant 16 shots on goal in a 3-0 win on Friday. Batters, tied for eighth in goals nationally, finished with a seven point week. The Falcons (10-3-2, 3-2-1 WIAC) are 8-0-2 in their last ten. The three road victories upped W-RF’s mark to 8-2-0 overall.
NESCAC at the top
A pair of conference wins over Colby this week elevated Amherst into a tie with Middlebury at the head of the NESCAC standings. The Jeffs and Panthers are both 5-0-1 in conference action. Senior goalie Kerri Stuart lowered her GAA to 1.40 and record to 5-0-0 in conference with the 4-1 and 2-1 result over the Mules. Amherst will host Middlebury this upcoming weekend at the Orr Rink on Friday and Saturday.
Crusaders repeat
Holy Cross junior forward Nicole Giannino earned MVP honors at the Rutland Herald Invitational, as the Crusaders captured the tournament for the second consecutive season. Giannino put four points on her stat sheet for the weekend, including a goal and a helper in a 3-2 win over host Castleton in the championship game. Giannino finished with a dozen points in 27 games a year ago. Her weekend efforts advanced point total to 14 (6-8-14).
Rain delays, panic buttons and a sign of life
Yes, you can have a rain delay in hockey. That leads my list of three things I learned this week in Hockey East:
1. If you play hockey at a baseball stadium, expect a rain delay
Rain delay isn’t a term that hockey fans are familiar with, but on Saturday those in attendance at Frozen Fenway had the unique opportunity to experience such a delay. Thunder, lightning and heavy rains interrupted the first period of the game between Boston University and Maine at Fenway Park as part of the final game of Frozen Fenway. Credit to all those involved who worked extremely hard to get the ice surface back to playing shape in the delay that lasted 1 hour, 9 minutes. At the end of the day, somehow both hockey games were completed with Maine and Northeastern coming away winners.
2. Time to push the panic button at BU?
Anyone who tolerated the rain delay at Fenway now know that there is cause for concern for Boston University. The Terriers fell behind 5-0 to Maine before rallying to get within two before surrendering two empty-netters for a 7-3 final. The BU defense looked pedestrian for much of the first half of the game as Maine scored at will, including four first period goals. BU is 2-5-1 in Hockey East and sits in 10th place. There are still 12 league games left for BU, but this is quickly becoming a lost season for the struggling Terriers and first-year head coach David Quinn.
3. Merrimack back to winning ways
Merrimack had plenty of reason for concern heading to Clarkson for a two-game series this weekend. The Warriors entered the weekend with just a single win in their last 10 games (1-6-3) and were headed on the road to face a very good team in 11th-ranked Clarkson. A rally on Friday night to tie the game was spoiled as Merrimack fell, 3-2. But Saturday’s 4-0 shutout provided a lot of good signs for the struggling Warriors club. For starters, the Warriors potted four goals (one was an empty netter) and two of those came on the power play, something that needs to click if Merrimack is to have any success. On top of that, Rasmus Tirronen finished the game with a 34-save shutout. It is still a long-way back for the Warriors, but Saturday’s win could be the jump start this team needs.
Women’s D-I wrap: Jan. 13
Ragged week for ranked teams
A number of the teams ranked in the top 10 experienced struggles, including some disappointing results versus unranked teams.
The only ranked team to sweep was No. 6 Clarkson. The Golden Knights handled St. Lawrence twice, 6-0 in Canton and 3-0 on home ice. Erica Howe needed to only make 36 saves to earn two shutouts and push her national-best total to nine on the season. Jamie Lee Rattray scored twice and added an assist in the first win, while Olivia Howe netted a pair in the second.
No. 9 Robert Morris shrewdly took the week off, and the other eight top teams were either beaten or tied at some point.
Top-four split
No. 2 Wisconsin’s 16-game unbeaten streak came to an end on Saturday courtesy of No. 4 North Dakota. Michelle Karvinen scored UND’s first goal and assisted on the game-winner in her team’s 4-1 triumph. Lexie Shaw saved 20 shots to get the win.
Shelby Amsley-Benzie took over in the North Dakota net on Sunday and was touched for three goals in the second period as Wisconsin seized control in a 4-1 victory of its own. Alex Rigsby remained on the Badgers’ bench for both games, Ann-Renée Desbiens was between the pipes, and she shook off her first collegiate loss to make 29 saves in winning her ninth game. Blayre Turnbull netted a pair of goals.
Worst stops first
Neither Wisconsin nor North Dakota lost much ground to No. 1 Minnesota in the WCHA standings thanks to Ohio State’s shootout win over the Gophers on Saturday. Ally Tarr took advantage of a Minnesota defensive miscue to score on a breakaway at 18:19 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2, and Kendall Curtis was the only shooter to find the net in a nine-round shootout. Despite earning two points on the weekend, the Buckeyes still occupy the WCHA basement, two points behind Minnesota State and St. Cloud State. The Gophers took the Friday night game, 6-0, as Amanda Leveille made 28 saves, Hannah Brandt netted a hat trick, and Dani Cameranesi added two goals and an assist.
Harvard head scratcher
No. 5 Harvard lost its second ECAC game of the season, 2-0. Yale took down the Crimson, whose earlier loss was to Rensselaer, the team tied with the Bulldogs for seventh in the conference. The loss leaves Harvard 4-2 against the bottom half of the league, compared to 4-0-1 versus the top. Jackie Raines and Kate Martini scored for Yale, and Jaimie Leonoff out-dueled Emerance Maschmeyer.
Maschmeyer and the Crimson had a better result on Friday, taking care of Brown, 3-0. Gina McDonald scored and assisted.
Beanpot warmups
No. 7 Boston College started the week impressively on Wednesday, thumping No. 8 Boston University, 4-1. The Eagles took a three-goal lead six minutes into the second period and cruised, keyed by a goal and two assists from Kate Leary.
The Eagles unexpectedly found the going tougher against Northeastern. The two squads deadlocked on Saturday, 1-1. Hayley Scamura gave the Huskies a first-period lead, and Haley Skarupa answered a minute and a half later. From that point, the game belonged to NU’s Chloe Desjardins (40 saves) and BC’s Corinne Boyles (39 saves). The Huskies took a 2-0 lead on Sunday, but BC was able to rally. Emily Pfalzer capitalized on a five-on-three power play to halve the deficit. A second-period injury to Claire Santostefano left Northeastern with just eight forwards and two centers, and the Eagles were able to exploit the tiring Huskies and score third-period goals by Kristyn Capizzano and Meagan Mangene and win, 3-2.
BU played a single game on the weekend at Maine, and came home with a 5-3 win despite generating only 14 shots. Louise Warren scored twice and Sarah Lefort had three points.
Big Red outgun Lakers
In the most prolific offensive display of the weekend, No. 3 Cornell came home from Mercyhurst with a 4-4 tie and a 6-4 win. Cornell took three separate one-goal leads on Friday, only to have the Lakers answer. Shelby Bram gave the hosts their only lead of the weekend midway through the third period, but Jessica Campbell completed the scoring with five minutes left in regulation on a power play. Eight different players scored in the game; Cornell’s Alyssa Gagliardi was tops in points with three.
The Big Red chased Amanda Makela with five goals in less that 32 minutes on Saturday. Jillian Saulnier and Jess Brown each struck for two goals and a helper. J’nai Mahadeo had three assists in defeat.
Another RPI upset
Host Rensselaer grabbed a second-period lead on No. 10 Quinnipiac on a goal by Lauren Wash and two by Alexa Gruschow. A pair of tallies by Shiann Darkangelo left the Bobcats a goal short in a 3-2 win for RPI.
Quinnipiac was able to salvage four points from the week thanks to a late goal from Amanda Colin in a 1-0 win over Union on Saturday. The Bobcats started the week with a 3-1 win over Princeton that featured a Kelly Babstock hat trick.
Meanwhile, Rensselaer added a 4-4 tie with Princeton, overcoming a hat trick by the Tigers’ Denna Laing. Heidi Huhtamaki’s power-play goal in the third period drew the Engineers even and completed the scoring.
Union enjoying record season
Union got the best of Princeton for the first time in the head-to-head history of the two teams. The 2-1 victory for the Dutchwomen gave them eight wins on the season, including three in ECAC play, both new highs for the program. Stefanie Thomson and Kathryn Tomaselli struck 100 seconds apart early in the second period to provide the offense. Thanks to Shenae Lundberg’s 28 saves, that was enough.
Stalemate in classic rivalry
New Hampshire and Providence clashed twice in a series that now includes 139 all-time meetings. Each team took a 4-1 verdict on its own ice. Jessica Hitchcock had three goals among her four points on the weekend for the Wildcats, and Nicole Gifford chipped in with three points. Allison Micheletti scored twice for the Friars, and by assisting twice, senior Corinne Buie reached the century mark in points for her career.
Other results
In the only CHA game, RIT defeated Syracuse, 3-2.
In other ECAC action, Lindsey Allen scored twice in Dartmouth’s 5-4 win over Yale. Janice Yang tallied the second of her two goals to earn Brown a 3-3 tie with Dartmouth.
Hockey East play saw Connecticut and Vermont exchange shutout wins. The Catamounts took the opener, 3-0, and the Huskies came back to triumph on Saturday, 2-0.
Zoe Hickel had three goals and five points as Minnesota-Duluth swept a WCHA series from Minnesota State. Abby Ness had a pair of goals in St. Cloud State’s 3-1 win at Bemidji State, but the Beavers came back with a 2-1 win on Saturday on late goals by Rachael Kelly and Stephanie Anderson.
In nonconference action, Colgate and Penn State traded overtime wins, with Taylor Volpe and Hannah Hoenshell netting game winners.
Two teams roll at home, another finds redemption on the road
Three things I think I learned this week:
1. No place like home
Much was made of Alaska Anchorage’s travel problems last week, (In case you missed it, weather delays stranded the Seawolves in Minneapolis until Thursday.), yet it found a way to win two games and spoil Minnesota State’s long trip to Alaska. Senior goaltender Chris Kamal was a big reason for the wins, allowing just one goal a night to a team that had averaged 3.9 goals per game over their previous nine games. Perhaps recent history was on the Seawolves’ side. The bulk of their turnaround under new coach Matt Thomas has taken place at Sullivan Arena, where they are an impressive 9-2-1.
2. FSU showdowns
Ferris State remained undefeated in WCHA play (12-0-2) with a sweep of Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs pushed hard to sell out the games and got full houses for their wins, drawing 2,490 on Friday and 2,529 on Saturday. Up next is a trip to Mankato to take on Minnesota State. Had the Mavericks been able to win two games at Anchorage, first place would have been up for grabs. It still has a chance to be a great series. I’m curious to see what kind of crowds they get in Mankato Friday and Saturday.
3. A season saved?
Bemidji State went into the weekend at Lake Superior State on an eight-game winless streak. Four ties in that stretch kept the Beavers afloat, but they needed a win – or two. They got the sweep against the No. 19 Lakers – on the road no less – and are in the thick of the WCHA race for home ice (top four). “This was a huge game,” Beavers coach Tom Serratore said on the radio after Saturday’s game. “I told our guys this is game seven of the Stanley Cup finals, and that’s how it’s going to be for the rest of the year. The sweep is what we needed to rectify last season.”
Rankings roundup: How ranked teams fared, Jan. 6-12
Here’s how the 20 teams in the Jan. 6, 2014, USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll fared in games from Jan. 6 to Jan. 12:
No. 1 Minnesota won at Penn State 3-2 on Sunday. Record: 14-2-3. Next: at Penn State, Jan. 13; vs. Ohio State, Jan. 17-18.
No. 2 St. Cloud State won at No. 17 Denver 6-3 on Friday, lost at No. 17 Denver 5-2 on Saturday. Record: 12-3-3. Next: vs. Western Michigan, Jan. 17-18.
No. 3 Ferris State beat Michigan Tech 1-0 on Friday, beat Michigan Tech 3-2 on Saturday. Record: 17-3-3. Next: at Minnesota State, Jan. 17-18.
No. 4 Union lost at No. 7 Quinnipiac 2-1 on Friday, won at Princeton 3-0 on Saturday. Record: 13-4-3. Next: at New Hampshire, Jan. 17-18.
No. 5 Boston College beat No. 6 Providence 5-2 on Friday, tied Brown 3-3 on Saturday. Record: 14-4-3. Next: vs. Boston University, Jan. 17; vs. Maine, Jan. 18.
No. 6 Providence lost to No. 16 Northeastern 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday, lost at No. 5 Boston College on Friday. Record: 13-5-4. Next: at Colorado College, Jan. 17-18.
No. 7 Quinnipiac tied at Harvard 2-2 on Tuesday, beat No. 4 Union 2-1 on Friday, beat Rensselaer 6-2 on Saturday. Record: 17-3-5. Next: vs. Merrimack, Jan. 17; at Merrimack, Jan. 18.
No. 8 Michigan lost at No. 14 Wisconsin 5-2 on Friday, lost at No. 14 Wisconsin 3-1 on Saturday. Record: 10-6-2. Next: vs. Michigan State at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Jan. 23; at Michigan State, Jan. 24.
No. 9 Massachusetts-Lowell lost to No. 16 Northeastern at Fenway Park, Boston, on Saturday. Record: 14-6-1. Next: vs. Maine, Jan. 17; vs. Boston University, Jan. 18.
No. 10 Yale beat Harvard 5-1 at Madison Square Garden, New York, on Saturday. Record: 8-3-4. Next: at Clarkson, Jan. 17; at St. Lawrence, Jan. 18.
No. 11 Clarkson beat Merrimack 3-2 on Friday, lost to Merrimack 4-0 on Saturday. Record: 13-7-2. Next: vs. Yale, Jan. 17; vs. Brown, Jan. 18.
No. 12 Cornell did not play (Friday’s game vs. Massachusetts canceled because of a compressor failure). Record: 8-4-3. Next: at Harvard, Jan. 17; at Dartmouth, Jan. 18.
No. 13 Miami lost at Western Michigan 5-4 on Friday, lost at Western Michigan 3-2 on Saturday. Record: 9-9-2. Next: vs. Nebraska-Omaha, Jan. 17-18.
No. 14 Wisconsin beat No. 8 Michigan 5-2 on Friday, beat No. 8 Michigan 3-1 on Saturday. Record: 13-6-1. Next: vs. Ohio State, Jan. 24-25.
No. 15 Notre Dame beat Alabama-Huntsville 7-1 on Friday, beat Alabama-Huntsville 5-0 on Saturday. Record: 12-8-1. Next: vs. Lake Superior State, Jan. 17-18.
No. 16 Northeastern won at No. 6 Providence 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday, beat No. 9 Massachusetts-Lowell 4-1 at Fenway Park, Boston, on Saturday. Record: 13-6-3. Next: vs. Vermont, Jan. 17-18.
No. 17 Denver lost to No. 2 St. Cloud State 6-3 on Friday, beat No. 2 St. Cloud State 5-2 on Saturday. Record: 11-7-4. Next: at Minnesota-Duluth, Jan. 17-18.
No. 18 Vermont won at St. Lawrence 4-2 on Tuesday, lost at Colgate 3-2 on Saturday. Record: 11-7-3. Next: at Northeastern, Jan. 17-18.
No. 19 Lake Superior State lost to Bemidji State 5-2 on Friday, lost to Bemidji State 3-1 on Saturday. Record: 11-10-1. Next: at Notre Dame, Jan. 17-18.
No. 20 New Hampshire beat Dartmouth 4-2 at Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H., on Saturday. Record: 13-10-1. Next: vs. Union, Jan. 17-18.
A change at the top
Union’s 6-4 win over Quinnipiac on Dec. 7 helped ensure the Dutchmen would end the first half in sole possession of first place in the ECAC.
But on Friday, the Bobcats reclaimed the top spot with a 2-1 win over Union in Hamden. Quinnipiac held the Dutchmen scoreless for the first two periods, the first time that’s happened all season. The loss also snapped Union’s ten-game unbeaten streak.
The Bobcats ended the weekend with a convincing 6-2 win over Rensselaer Saturday, extending their unbeaten streak to six. Freshman Sam Anas had a goal and two assists against the Engineers, giving him 30 points in 25 games.
Quinnipiac has played two more conference games than Union, and the Dutchmen have the better winning percentage in league play, so don’t expect the Bobcats to run away with the Cleary Cup like they did last season.
Skidding Engineers
A stellar second-half last season appeared to put RPI in a good position entering this year. But one win in their last eight games has dropped the Engineers to 8-10-4.
Junior goalie Scott Diebold has started every game since Jason Kasdorf was lost to an injury early in the year. Diebold was solid in the early going, but has allowed five goals in three of the last four games.
It’s possible the Engineers are in the same situation as Harvard was last year after Steve Michalek left the team in December. Michalek’s departure meant the Crimson had few options behind Raphael Girard in net, asHarvard (and Girard) struggled in the second half. The same could be happening with Diebold and the Engineers. Freshman Jake Soffer made his collegiate debut in the third period at Quinnipiac Saturday, stopping 11-of-12 shots.
RPI mixed up its lines in both games this weekend. It will be interesting to see how things look in goal and the rest of the lineup when the Engineers resume play Jan. 24 against Dartmouth.
Yale wins on the big stage
The first Rivalry On Ice matchup went to Yale, with the Bulldogs beating Harvard 5-1 Saturday in a non-conference game at Madison Square Garden. The game, which had been promoted throughout the year, had an announced attendance of 15,525. The opening puck drop featured current New York Ranger and former Harvard forward Dominic Moore, former Rangers Mike Richter (Yale) and Mark Messier and Secretary of State John Kerry (Yale).
Cody Learned had two goals for Yale, and was named the game’s MVP.
Three Things: January 12, 2014
A look back at the weekend that was in Atlantic Hockey after another surprisingly wild weekend of interdivisional play:
All Roads Lead To Erie
For all the talk of undefeated streaks ending last week by Bentley and RIT, the team everyone’s seemingly forgetting about is Mercyhurst. The Lakers swept Holy Cross this weekend, their seventh consecutive league weekend without a loss. They haven’t lost a league game since surrendering a 3-2 lead after the second period against Canisius on November 9th, an eventual 4-3 loss. They’ve seemingly beaten everybody, and their 11-1-1 start has them three points up on second place Bentley, six points ahead of the cut-off for a first round bye. They’ve outscored league opponents, 57-25, and they’ve won every conceivable type of game.
This past weekend, it was more of the same. On Friday, Holy Cross outshot Mercyhurst in the first period by a 23-5 margin despite not a single penalty being called. Despite the Lakers putting up better numbers in the second (outshooting the Crusaders, 14-10), they found themselves on the wrong end of a 18-7 deficit in the third. Final shot totals had Holy Cross outshooting Mercyhurst, 51-26, in a fast-paced game featuring only two penalties for both teams. Yet the Lakers won, 1-0, off a goal by Kyle Cook early in the third. Jimmy Sarjeant picked up his 12th win of the year. The next night, Holy Cross outshot Mercyhurst, 38-27, but Chris Bodo registered a hat trick to lead the Lakers to a 4-2 victory and a four-point weekend.
Coming out of their weekend in Worcester, Mercyhurst now took a lead or was tied into the third period in all but one game. They’re 2-1 in one-goal games, 5-0 in three-plus goal games. They’ve scored first in ten games, winning eight. Even when they don’t score first (all three times it’s happened), they simply don’t lose. We knew they’d be good this year, and they were the prohibitive favorite among both the coaches and the media. But it’s the way they’re doing it, being quietly dominant, that should have everyone taking note that all roads, this year, are leading to the Great Lakes in Pennsylvania.
Role Reversal
RIT joined Atlantic Hockey for the 2006-2007 season. On the final weekend of the regular season, the Tigers, ineligible for the postseason tournament, faced the Bentley Falcons in Watertown, MA. The Tigers beat Bentley on Friday of that weekend, 3-0, to clinch the regular season championship in their first season of AHA competition. On Saturday, the Tigers lost, 7-6, in the only decision of the season by goalie Jared DeMichiel (who would backstop the Tigers to the 2010 Frozen Four three years later).
Until Friday, that was the last time Bentley’d beaten RIT at home. Six times the Tigers and Falcons met at the John A. Ryan Arena and six times Bentley failed to pick up a victory. On Friday, though, that whole slate changed as the Falcons laid a whupping on the Tigers, 8-2, behind four second period goals. The next night, Bentley won again, 4-1, giving them their first ever sweep of the Tigers in a sloppy game played in less than ideal conditions after 50-degree weather and humidity made ice conditions extremely poor (though it was still better than the Maine-BU game at Fenway Park)
In years past, with the Falcons and Tigers coming off the wrong end of bad weekends (Bentley scored only one point against Niagara; RIT was swept by UConn), the expectations would be there that the eastern team would lose to their more historically powerful opponent. But Bentley beat RIT handily, holding them below 30 shots on both nights. Brett Gensler finished the weekend with eight points, including four goals and a five-point night on Friday, becoming the all-time Division I goals leader for Bentley in the process. Alex Grieve collected his second hat trick of the season, and defenseman Steve Weinstein continued an assault on the record books with three assists.
On the flip side, it was the fourth consecutive loss for RIT. The Tigers dropped all the way to eighth place, one point ahead of AIC for the final home slot in the playoffs. Goalie Mike Rotolo, statistically the best goalie in the AHA two weeks ago, is all of a sudden vulnerable, yanked from Friday’s matchup and replaced in goal by Jordan Ruby on Saturday. His save percentage dropped to .907 while his goals against average rose to 2.79, and he’s 0-3 over the last two weeks. Entering the UConn weekend with a goal difference of +7 (27-20), RIT is now -7, giving up 40 goals to just 33 scored. They were 6-7-3 overall, nearly .500, 5-3-1 in conference play. They’re now 6-11-3 with a pedestrian 5-7-1 AHA record.
The Falcons are now 5-1-2 against the western division, winning three of their four series with their complementary scheduling pod. Next weekend they head to Canisius, where they were swept in the playoffs’ first round last year, to kick off a six game road trip featuring a trip to Erie to play Mercyhurst. RIT, meanwhile, returns home to the friendly confines of Ritter Arena to host Army.
East-West Record Update
Last year, the west won the divisional matchups with the east by nearly 2:1 margin, going 43-21-8 and winning all but two season series. This year, Bentley alone has won three series against the west, losing only to Niagara. Beyond that, Connecticut’s won two series while gaining a point against Canisius and splitting this past weekend with Robert Morris. As a result, the east is climbing back against the west, though the pod of Air Force, Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, RIT, and Robert Morris is still ahead, 28-15-5.
Mercyhurst is a perfect 8-0 against the east to lead their western pod with 16 points, and Canisius is 5-2-1. For the east, Bentley and UConn have 12 and 11 points against the west, respectively. The east is losing major ground with its other four school who’ve combined for 11 points; AIC is in “third place” among eastern schools against the west with a 2-6 record and four points after dominating Niagara this weekend, 6-2 (though they did lose, 5-0, on Saturday). Army, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart all have a single victory, with SHU picking up their first on Sunday against Canisius. The majority of the west, meanwhile, is hovering around .500, with Air Force going 3-2-3, Niagara going 4-3-1, and RIT and RMU are both 4-4.
Not surprisingly, the standings reflect these results. Bentley and UConn trail only Mercyhurst in the standings, while the other four schools occupy all the road slots for the first round of the playoffs. Luckily, there are more games left within the divisions; that should leave the east close enough where some home series will shift closer to the Atlantic coast. Key matchups continue this week; UConn (tied for third with Air Force) heads to Mercyhurst just four points out of first, while second place Bentley plays fifth place Canisius. AIC, one point behind RIT for eighth place and two behind Robert Morris for seventh place, heads to Pittsburgh to play the Colonials in another highlighted matchup.
Gallery: Colorado College at North Dakota
Here are photos from Saturday’s North Dakota win over Colorado College in Grand Forks, N.D.:
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In spite of it all, players say they loved Frozen Fenway
BOSTON — At least it didn’t decide a national championship.
Unlike the Frozen Four held at Ford Field in Detroit four years ago, the two weekends of Frozen Fenway hockey affected no more than one game in the standings.
Although after the heavens opened and dumped inches of water on ice already coping with 58-degree weather, even a single league game seemed too much.
“[Playing in] those conditions for league points was difficult,” Massachusetts-Lowell coach Norm Bazin said after his team lost to Northeastern 4-1 on Saturday. “If I had to do it over again, I wish it was a nonconference game. But everyone knew what it was for leading up to it.”
The puck got stuck in puddles, icing became a near physical impossibility, and players picked up what felt like five pounds of water on their sodden jerseys. One almost expected an announcement over the PA system that during an intermission, two Boston-area swim teams would compete in the freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.
After last week’s problems with brittle, cracking ice because of the severe cold, about the only thing missing was lightning.
Then that struck in the second game.
“Other than locusts, we’ve had just about everything we could experience,” Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna said. “The challenge all day was keeping the puck playable. I don’t think the players were at any risk with the exception of the thunder that got me moving faster than I have in many years.”
The mantra “enough already” could be heard in abundance among media members, and many fans voted by staying home. After an unbroken string of sellouts in all previous Frozen Fenways run by Hockey East, this year’s games attracted 31,569 fans a week ago and 25,580 on this night, both numbers appearing grossly inflated due to weather-related no-shows.
In fairness, the terrible weather on both weekends put a damper on sales. Running the event to include eight teams over two days instead of four teams over one also spread the interest thin.
But no matter how you slice it, the difficulties this year would seem to argue for some respite in future Frozen Fenways. Even Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson commented that the event had lost its novelty.
“That’s [a decision] for another time,” Bertagna said. “When we get a little distance from today, there’ll be plenty of time for conversations on how many games is too many.”
All that said, you’d be hard-pressed to convince the participants that any reduction is in order.
“It was amazing — the whole atmosphere,” Northeastern goaltender Clay Witt said after stopping 47 of 48 shots. “It’s something I’ll tell my grandkids about. The conditions, the buildup, the change in the times [moving them up to try to beat the rain] and all the distractions that go along with it. And doing it with a really good group of guys. It was exactly what you could ask for.”
Not even the buckets of rain could put a damper on Witt’s enthusiasm.
“In the first period, I was wishing it wasn’t raining,” he said, “but looking back it makes it way cooler.”
And for a local kid like Lowell’s Joe Pendenza, not even ending up on the losing side could tarnish the experience.
“It was pretty cool, that’s for sure,” he said. “Even yesterday at practice, I was just soaking it all in.
“[It was] pretty cool being on the same field where we — [the Red Sox] — won a World Series, just being able to see the Green Monster. Being a local guy and coming here a lot of times made it something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Like Witt, Pendenza didn’t feel the conditions diminished the experience at all. Other than ending on the winning side, he suggested only one improvement.
“It would have been cooler to have had snow,” he said.
For Maine’s Devin Shore, whose team had to endure over a one-hour rain delay — yes, a rain delay at a hockey game played on a baseball field — the stunning heroics of the Red Sox last fall made it more memorable than any other Frozen Fenway, regardless of the conditions.
“It means even more because they just won the World Series,” Shore said. “You’re sitting in the dugout, waiting for the game, and [you think] that David Ortiz was sitting right there, picking up the telephone and calling the relievers. It means way more than any other year.”
So while others may disagree, the player votes are in and they’re unanimous and enthusiastic: Frozen Fenway forever.
Finally, it’s beginning to feel like Big Ten season
MADISON, Wis. — The Big Ten logo has been in the ice behind the goals at the Kohl Center for many months now.
Wisconsin fans could have been forgiven for not noticing.
Of the Badgers’ first six home series, only one was against a team from its new league, and it was Penn State, the newest Division I NCAA hockey member, that was the first Big Ten opponent.
Even Badgers coach Mike Eaves was saying this week that this whole Big Ten thing still doesn’t quite feel real.
It hasn’t helped that the conference schedule was backloaded — entering Friday, only eight of the 60 league games on the schedule had been played.
Maybe it wasn’t the best way to introduce Big Ten hockey to the masses, but that might start to change with what is happening this weekend.
For the first time, all six Big Ten teams are playing conference games on the same weekend. In Madison, Wisconsin and Michigan started a series for the first time since they were both in the WCHA in 1981; each time they had met since, it was a single game.
For both the Badgers and the Wolverines, Friday’s 5-2 Wisconsin win was the equivalent of starting the Big Ten snowball down the hill. Wisconsin plays its last 16 regular season games in conference play. For Michigan, it’s 18 straight and 19 in a row against conference teams when you include the loss to Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational third-place game on Dec. 28.
Minnesota has a pair of nonconference games left and Penn State has one, but otherwise it’s now all Big Ten, all the time.
For Wisconsin, that means finally going into some unfamiliar Big Ten buildings. The one conference road series the Badgers have played this season was at Minnesota, a former WCHA rival.
“It still doesn’t feel real yet,” Eaves said on Wednesday. “Now we have consecutive weekends. I think it’ll really become solidified when we get in other people’s barns. That’s tangible.”
Michigan got some of that feeling Friday.
The Wolverines hadn’t played in Madison in more than three years, and their welcome back wasn’t memorable.
“It’s a dose of reality for our team,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “This is what it’s going to be like. Obviously, the bar is higher, and I think it’s going to be great but tonight was a learning experience.”
Ohio State started its stretch of 18 straight league games to end the regular season on Friday with a 5-3 victory over Michigan State, which also plays 18 straight in the Big Ten.
Minnesota and Penn State play a Sunday-Monday series in State College, Pa., to get their runs to the finish line rolling.
For Wisconsin, Friday’s win over Michigan wasn’t the start of league play but it might as well have been considering that their other Big Ten series were buried in a first half full of nonconference play.
“It’s a real feeling. It’s here,” Badgers junior winger Matt Paape said. “We’re either going to run with it or see how things go but it’s definitely a good feeling to start off with a big-time win for us.”
In Madison on Friday, we saw that Big Ten hockey is, in fact, real. Spectacular? That we’ll have to determine in March.
13-year-old Maine recruit Oliver Wahlstrom mature for his age, coach says
Oliver Wahlstrom is 13 years old, a seventh-grader at Maine’s North Yarmouth Academy and has made a verbal commitment to his home-state Black Bears.
The college hockey recruiting world took notice of that last fact when it started making the rounds Thursday night after his school and family got the publicity going.
In addition to being the first player from the 2000s to have given a college hockey team a verbal commitment, Wahlstrom, 5-foot-9, 155-pound forward, is the youngest known player ever to have verballed in hockey.
Is he ready at age 13 to make that call when he won’t be a college player until the fall of 2019? That’s impossible to say, but his coach at North Yarmouth Academy said Wahlstrom has traits beyond his years.
“I think what’s unique about Oliver is his maturity at his age, as funny as that sounds,” said Eric Graham, the second-year varsity coach at the prep school. “He’s a very mature kid. He’s very committed to working hard and reaching his goals, much more beyond a typical seventh-grader for sure.
“He’s very rigid and very structured in his approach to the game, and I think that’s helped him get to this point. I think it also helps that he’s a Maine kid. And obviously, every Maine kid grows up dreaming to go to the University of Maine.”
Five years ago, while I was covering Wisconsin for The Capital Times, I talked to 14-year-old Jordan Schmaltz, who had just given the hometown Badgers a verbal commitment before he started high school.
His father, Mike, said it was “surreal” that his 14-year-old son was getting a scholarship offer.
Schmaltz is currently in his second season at North Dakota, proof that careers don’t always progress as originally planned.
Wahlstrom has earned his share of attention, even before his early commitment.
YouTube helped with that:
[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TxGVSw6Ayw]
[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1USRRFzwR04]
Graham said being a viral phenom helped turned Wahlstrom into a known commodity.
“He’s definitely someone that has had attention following him around, and I think it was only a matter of time once he started playing at the high school level that some colleges were going to start catching onto the buzz,” Graham said.
That transition to varsity came this season, and Graham said Wahlstrom’s skating ability makes the seventh-grader able to compete at the higher level.
His awareness of where everyone else is on the ice doesn’t show up in those YouTube clips, but it may be one of the better parts of his game.
“I think that is so far beyond a typical 13-year-old skill set,” Graham said. “It’s really off the charts, especially with the ice awareness.”
Maine coaches aren’t able to talk about Wahlstrom until after he signs a National Letter of Intent, and that day is quite a ways away.
No one knows for sure what will happen by 2019, when Wahlstrom is now scheduled to join the Black Bears. Will his career stay on the same advanced arc? Will Maine have the same appeal to him? Will major juniors get in the picture?
Given all that, let’s just take this development as what it is: another sign that college hockey recruiting is going younger, yes, but also just a nonbinding commitment.
Weekend picks aplenty
Our slew of men’s Division III columnists is back in the saddle this week with their weekend predictions.
How will games the next few days shake out? Our people have some ideas…
ECAC East – Tim Costello
The first picks of the second half finished at 3-1-1 (.700), which continues this season’s solid performance at 22-7-4 (.727) overall.
This week finds excitement at Frozen Fenway for two of the nation’s best (played Thursday night) and several other key matchups and I won’t shy away from picking the tough ones. It is just a question of how well I can pick them.
Friday, Jan. 10
University of New England @ St. Anselm
The second half did not start so well for the Hawks, but home ice could be a welcome venue against a very game Nor’easters squad. The Hawks need to get more consistent in their overall game and this weekend’s conference matchups bring that focus to the still young team. St. Anselm 4-3.
Skidmore @ Plattsburgh
The Cardinals fell from the No. 1 perch nationally this week so what better way to send a strong message on their quality of play than a quality win against a strong ECAC East opponent. There is too much firepower and disciplined play from the Cardinals for the Thoroughbreds to run amok on the road. Plattsburgh 5-3.
Norwich @ Massachusetts-Boston
What a weekend with three teams being nationally ranked facing each other. The venue is not a Frozen Fenway locale, but the intensity is just as high at the Clark Center for these teams battling for top spots in the standings. It is a playoff-type atmosphere but the Cadets defense is just good enough to hold off the high-powered Beacons. Norwich 4-3.
Saturday, Jan. 11
Castleton @ Plattsburgh
It’s the back end of the travel partners playing against the leaders from the SUNYAC conference and while this one is close, the home team takes it on the strength of special teams for a weekend sweep. Plattsburgh 3-2.
League leaders or other match-ups are all important points and potential tie-breakers – drop the puck!
ECAC Northeast – Nathan Fournier
Friday, Jan. 10
Manhattanville at Curry
Curry continues to struggle after dropping games last week to Oswego and Wisconsin-Stout. It doesn’t get any easier with Manahattanville coming into town. Manhattanville will be playing its first game of the New Year. They possess a potent power play at 28.6 percent. I expect them to have no problem with Curry in a 5-1 victory.
Hobart at Nichols
This will be a very entertaining game with Hobart playing a very competitive schedule and Nichols off to a strong start. Hobart relies on everyone on the roster to contribute, while Nichols has four guys with ten or more points. Both teams are very good on the penalty kill. I expect this game to be a tight game. I will go with Nichols 3-2.
Western New England at Utica
This should be a very wide-open game with Western New England scoring 44 goals in 12 games with Utica scoring 46 goals in 13 games. Utica is 3-2 at home, while Western New England is 1-3 on the road. I think Western New England doesn’t have the depth as Utica and I have the Pioneers taking this game 5-3.
Saturday, Jan. 11
Curry at Connecticut College
Both teams are looking for wins, so I expect it to be a competitive game. The Colonels will have to try to keep JC Cangelosi in check who has six goals and eight assists in 11 games for Connecticut College. I will go with Curry in a 3-2 game.
Morrisville at Nichols
Morrisville has struggled this season, so it could a trap game for Nichols. The Mustangs have a very good power play at 25.4 percent. Two of their three wins this season have come on the road. I will go with the Bison of Nichols in a 6-4 contest.
Hobart at Salve Regina
The Seahawks will have a tough test against Hobart. They also need a victory as they have lost six in a row. The good news is they return home where five out of their seven wins have come come from. Hobart will be playing their second game in a row. In a high-scoring affair, I will take the Seahawks 5-4.
Canton at Suffolk
Canton is 1-2 against ECAC Northeast opponents this season, picking up a victory over Becker while falling to Western New England and Nichols. This should be a competitive game with Suffolk. The Rams are 3-1 at home, which I expect to help them as they look for their first victory of 2014. Suffolk in a 5-2 contest.
Sunday, Jan. 12
Morrisville at Becker
The Hawks are hoping for a better start in the second half of the season after a rocky first half. They should be ready to go as they wait for Morrisville to roll into town. Cody Edwards is expected to be a leader for Becker offensively. If he can get going, Becker will be a very tough team to play against. At the end of the day, I will take Morrisville in a 4-3 game.
Canton at Curry
Curry will be playing their third game of the weekend. There will be some tired legs for them, but Canton should have some bus legs of their own. It won’t be the greatest game to ever be played, but it will a competitive one. I will take the home team in this one and I predict Curry picking up its second win of the weekend in a 2-1 game.
Monday, Jan. 13
Stonehill at Western New England
Stonehill is a team to be respected and Western New England will have its hands full. They are very good on the penalty kill and have four wins on the road. They also have five guys with 10 points or more. The Golden Bears are 6-1 at home. Western New England will take this game 6-3.
Tuesday, Jan. 14
Western New England at Assumption
Assumption has struggled this season and I believe Western New England should have no problem with Assumption. The Greyhounds have a respectful penalty kill which could frustrate the Golden Bears, if they can’t get their power play going. Western New England takes this one 7-1.
Manhattanville at Nichols
This is will a very good midweek nonconference contest. The key for Nichols is to make sure Manhattanville doesn’t get out to a lead in the first period. The Valiants are 6-0 when they leading after one period. I expect Alex Larson to see a lot of pucks in the game. In the end, I see him backstopping Nichols to a 4-2 win.
Salve Regina at Oswego
The Seahawks play another strong nonconference opponent in Oswego. It will be a good test for Salve Regina heading into in conference play. If Salve Regina can outshoot Oswego, they could have a chance as the are 6-2 when they are outshooting their opponents. Still, I think Oswego will take this game 7-4.
Wednesday, Jan. 15
Stonehill at Becker
Stonehill has offensive firepower that I believe will be tough for Becker to contain. They are very good at closing games with a 5-1 record when leading after two periods. I have Stonehill winning 6-2.
ECAC West – Dan Hickling
Friday, Jan. 10
Western New England (8-5-0) @ No. 8 Utica (9-2-2) – Utica 4, WNEC 2
WNEC is a Jekyll and Hyde bunch — can’t lose at home, can’t seem to win on the road. Utica, which has been ambushed before at home (remember Morrisville?), will not be caught laying back this time.
Saturday, Jan. 11
Hobart (4-4-4) @ Salve Regina (6-7-0) – Hobart 5 Salve Regina 1
Here you have two teams heading in opposite directions. Hobart is fresh off its win against (then) top-ranked Plattsburgh eager to get back into the national picture. Salve is in a free-fall having lost six straight after a 6-1-0 start. No change in trajectories this time out.
MASCAC – Nathan Fournier
Saturday, Jan. 11
Worcester State at Massachusetts-Dartmouth
Both teams have struggled so far this season, but at times, UMass-Dartmouth has been competitive and I believe they will come out on top. If Worcester State can outshoot UMass-Dartmouth, the Corsairs haven’t won a game when outshooting their opponnet. I have the Corsairs winning 4-2.
Plymouth State at Salem State
Even though Plymouth State is traveling to Salem State, I give them the advantage because I think Salem State will have a let down game after playing in Fenway Park. Plymouth State will be hungry for a victory, so I will take the Panthers in a 5-3 victory.
Framingham State at Westfield State
This should be a very good contest. Framingham State is coming off a tough loss to Western New England last weekend. Both teams have four wins in the conference. I think Westfield pulls it off in a 3-2 win.
Tuesday, Jan. 14
Westfield State at Southern New Hampshire
Southern New Hampshire has a strong club and have scored 59 goals and have a 36.1 percent conversion rate on the man-advantage. Westfield will have to tighten up their power play. I will take Southern New Hampshire in a 6-4 game.
Thursday, Jan. 16
Massachusetts-Dartmouth at Framingham State
A game that sees last season’s MASCAC playoff champion and the team that has finally reached their potential this season in Framingham State. I expect it to be a very tight game, but I believe UMass-Dartmouth will get snakebitten in a close game once again. The Rams will take it 4-3.
Salem State at Westfield State
Salem State should be refocused and take on a Westfield team that will be playing their second game in three days. In a tight conference, this game means a lot to both teams who are looking to be one of the top four teams in MASCAC. The Vikings take this one 6-3.
Fitchburg State at Plymouth State
The Falcons of Fitchburg State could climb to the top half of the MASCAC with a victory. They spread their offense over four players who have accumulated 10 or more points this season. Picking up a win over last season’s regular-season champion will be a confidence boast. The Falcons win it 4-3.
MIAC/WIAC – Brian Lester
As we enter the second weekend of January, teams in the MIAC and WIAC find themselves involved in several crossover games.
They are the type of games that provide good tests for the teams from both leagues and can turn out to be launching pads for success in league play or hamper the momentum teams hope to carry back into conference play during the second half.
The delay is over, though. It’s time to take my best shot at predicting the outcomes of this weekend’s games.
Here are the picks. Enjoy your weekend.
Friday, Jan. 10
St. John’s vs. Wisconsin-Sout
The Johnnies enter this game at 6-6 overall and will be looking to take care of business at home. They haven’t been bad offensively, scoring 31 goals on the year, but only two players have four or more goals. Josh Gross and Tyson Fulton have tallied four goals apiece and will be counted on to play well this weekend.
But the big key for the Johnnies is to get the job done on defense behind the play of goalie Saxton Soley. He has allowed 19 goals and has racked up 200 saves on the season. If he plays well, the Johnnies are going to be in a position to win.
Stout has won two of its last three and is 4-8. The Blue Devils seem to have found their footing after losing five consecutive games and they are capable of matching the Johnnies from an offensive standpoint.
Kevin O’Donnell leads the Blue Devils with seven goals. Stout has scored 33 goals in all. But Stout has allowed 37 goals on the year and the play of goalie Corey Koop could make or break Stout’s chances in this game. He has allowed 34 goals and has tallied 378 saves. I’ll give the Johnnies the edge because they are at home. St. John’s, 3-2.
St. Olaf vs. Adrian
The Oles have played a rigorous schedule already, facing off against several nationally-ranked teams, and it doesn’t get much easier playing top-ranked Adrian.
St. Olaf comes in on a three-game winless streak and is 3-8-2 overall. For the Oles to have a shot, Dan Cecka has to be on top of his game offensively. Cecka has racked up seven goals and three assists on the year. The Oles will have to be on top of their game defensively as well. They have allowed 40 goals on the year.
If St. Olaf can steal momentum early, it might have a shot, but it won’t be easy against an Adrian team that is 12-0-1 and ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history.
The Bulldogs have punched 63 goals into the net, including 15 by Josh Ranalli, and have allowed only 16 goals on the season. Adrian simply has too many offensive options to come up short in this one. Adrian 5-1.
Bethel vs. Wisconsin-Superior
Bethel hasn’t had an easy season, sitting at just 1-9-2 on the year, and it has yet to win a game at home. The Royals have been competitive, though, losing six games by a goal, and I expect them to battle hard again on Friday.
Bethel needs to be productive on offense. It has scored only 24 goals on the year, with Brock Rafaelle and Travis Payne tallying five goals apiece. If others can step up around them, the Royals could be in a position to grind out a win.
Superior is only 4-7-2 and has tallied 32 goals on the season. Pat Dalbec and Cody Hotchkin have struck for five goals apiece. The Yellow Jackets have allowed 37 goals, though, while Bethel has given up 40.
The team that takes control early is going to be in good shape and skate to the win. Superior is on a four-game winless streak but I expect them to end that against the Royals. Superior, 4-3.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point vs. Lawrence
The Pointers are No. 2 in the country and 11-1 on the season. They have won their last two games and nail down another win at home.
With 69 goals on the year, Stevens Point will be tough to deal with. Garrett Ladd leads the way with 12 goals and Joe Kalisz has tallied eight goals. Five other players have scored at least five goals, and that balance can be a pain to deal with for any opponent.
If the Pointers are clicking offensively, they are going to be just fine because I don’t think Lawrence will be able to keep pace with their offensive attack.
The Pointers have also been tough on the power play, having scored 14 goals in 52 opportunities. Opponents are just 6-of-58 on the power play against the Pointers.
Lawrence, after all, has struggled to keep opponents off the scoreboard. It has allowed 58 goals on the season and has scored just 36 goals. Blake Roubos leads Lawrence with six goals and nine assists.
Goalie Anton Olsson will be tested for Lawrence, and if he plays his best game of the year, perhaps the Poiners will be upset. I don’t see it happening. Stevens Point, 6-1.
Saturday, Jan. 11
Gustavus Adolphus vs. Adrian
Gustavus is having a pretty good season. The Gusties are 7-3-2 and haven’t lost a game since Nov. 15. It has picked up five wins during that seven-game stretch, but keeping that momentum going won’t be easy against the Bulldogs.
Gustavus has scored 40 goals this season, including eight by Corey Leivermann, and John McLean has racked up 229 saves while fashioning a 2.52 goals against average. Gustavus should be able to hang around, but pulling off the upset will require its best effort of the year. Again, I think Adrian’s offense will be too much to handle. Adrian, 5-2.
Concordia (Minn.) vs. Wisconsin-Stout
The Cobbers are 9-3-1 and have won three consecutive games. Caleb Suderman has been pivotal to Concordia’s success, having scored nine goals and dished out seven assists on the season.
If he has a big game, the Cobbers are going to be in a position to take care of business. Concordia has tallied 43 goals in all and should have the edge offensively against Stout. The Cobbers will also be able to lean on the play of Chris Neamonitis, who has a goals against average of 1.82. If he is on top of his game, the Cobbers won’t have any problems winning this nonconference battle. Concordia, 5-2.
St. Thomas vs. Wisconsin-Superior
The Tommies have a MIAC championship in their sights this season and the last thing they want to do is have that momentum slowed down by a nonconference opponent. St. Thomas is 8-2-2 and has lost only once in its last seven games.
The difference-maker could be goalie Drew Fielding, who owns a goals-against average of 1.64. He has racked up 319 saves on the season and he will make it difficult for the Yellow Jackets to cash in on scoring opportunities.
Plus, the Tommies aren’t bad on offense either. Alex Altenbernd leads the way with six goals, but his teammates are more than capable of stepping up at any given time. I don’t expect St. Thomas to have a tough time picking up another win. St. Thomas, 4-1.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire vs. Lawrence
Eau Claire is starting to find its stride a bit, having won three consecutive games, and this will mark the second time this season the defending national champions have played Lawrence.
The Blugolds earned a 5-0 win in the last meeting and I don’t expect that result to change too much this time around.
Joe Krause leads Eau Claire with eight goals and seven assists and the Blugolds have scored 45 goals as a team while allowing only 25. Offensively, they should be able to overwhelm Lawrence and make it tough for goals to be scored as well. Eau Claire, 4-0.
NESCAC – Tim Costello
The snow storm on New Year’s did raise some havoc with the schedule, including the postponement of Trinity vs. Becker. I still finished at 3-1-0 (.750) for the week and now stand at 15-2-2 (.842) overall. Back into league play this week and everything is up for grabs for just about everyone in the conference.
Here are the picks:
Friday, Jan. 10
Wesleyan vs. Williams
The Cardinals really have shown their balance in scoring across key players like freshman Elliott Vorel, senior Keith Buehler and last week’s conference player of the week, Jay Matthews. Only problem is the Ephs just don’t give up too many goals. In this case, the defense wins out at home. Williams 3-2.
Trinity @ Middlebury
Congratulations to coach Bill Beaney on his 500th win at the school last weekend. He is just 14 wins away from 600 for his overall career and the Bantams would be a big win for his team that looks to continue their current winning streak on home ice. Middlebury 4-2.
Saturday, Jan. 11
Hamilton @ Colby
The Continentals have two big time players in Michael DiMare and Joe Quattrocchi and their leadership will be a big difference maker against a still-maturing Colby squad that is looking for consistency in their overall game. Hamilton 4-2.
Amherst @ Bowdoin
The Polar Bears will need to find their game in high gear to start their move up the standings and beating a team above them is a good way to start move north. Hopefully, the holidays have a healthy lineup paying dividends for the home team. Bowdoin 3-1.
Williams @ Johnson and Wales
The Ephs have had an interesting New Year already with a holiday tournament, date at Frozen Fenway and two tough league opponents right out of the gate. That said, they won’t take J & W lightly on Saturday night on the road. Williams 4-1.
It’s time to see who is going to get hot and who is still on break – drop the puck!
SUNYAC – Dan Hickling
Friday, Jan. 10
Skidmore (6-4-4) @ No. 3 Plattsburgh (10-1-2) – Plattsburgh 3, Skidmore 1
The Cardinals are bound to be feeling a little owly after suffering their first loss of the year last weekend and being toppled from the No. 1 ranking, and on home ice, no less. Skidmore is a solid club, but Plattsburgh will likely be on its full game.
Sunday, Jan. 12
Morrisville (3-8-1) @ Becker (1-9-2) – Morrisville 5 Becker 3
An interconference tilt pitting a pair of victory-starved clubs. Should be interesting. Should be a win for the ‘Stangs.
Pickin’ the Big Ten: Jan. 10-13, 2014
And the picks percentages take another hit this week.
Last week
Drew: 1-2-1 (.375)
Paula: 1-2-1 (.375)
Season
Drew: 54-25-8 (.667)
Paula: 56-24-8 (.682)
This weeks
It’s all Big Ten action this week and everyone plays.
Michigan at Wisconsin
Drew: After the Great Lakes Invitational, the Wolverines need a good weekend to prove to me that their performances as of late aren’t going to become a trend. Even though the Badgers split with Alaska-Anchorage last weekend, they’re used to playing on the slightly larger surface at Kohl Center, which should help them against the Wolverines.
Paula: I’ve always pitied the team that faces Michigan after the Wolverines have experienced disappointment, as they did in Comerica Park. This weekend, though, I think the post-disappointment curse — for Michigan’s opponent — is moot. These are the 125th and 126th games between the Wolverines and the Badgers, and this series is the first two-game set the teams have played since January 1981, when I was a junior at North Syracuse Central High School. Huh. Anyway, the last time they met, the Wolverines and Badgers tied, 4-4, in the final College Hockey Showcase (Nov. 26, 2010). Wisconsin is 2-1-1 in the last four meetings in this series. Friday’s game begins at 8:00 p.m. Central and is carried by the Big Ten Network; Saturday’s game begins at 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
Drew’s picks: Michigan 4-2, Wisconsin 3-1.
Paula’s picks: Wisconsin 3-2, Michigan 3-2.
Michigan State at Ohio State
Drew: I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ve been feeling Ohio State a lot this season. I haven’t had any personel contact with Steve Rohlik, so there’s no chance he slipped me some Ohio State Kool-Aid. Michigan State did shut out Michigan at the GLI 3-0, which is more impressive than Ohio State sweeping Mercyhurst last time out, but I’m feeling Ohio State … just not enough for the sweep.
Paula: Long-time readers of my CCHA column are probably begging me to throw in a punchline about Ohio State at this point, but I digress. These two teams fascinate me this season. Each works incredibly hard. Each does everything it can with the tools available to it. Each has seen success because of that. The Spartans lead this series 82-28-8, but the teams are 5-5-0 in the last 10 meetings; the last time the teams met was in 2012, with Ohio State sweeping, 1-0 and 3-1 (Nov. 30-Dec.1). Friday’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern and is carried by the Big Ten Network; Saturday’s rematch begins at 7:05 and is not televised.
Drew’s picks: Ohio State 4-2, 3-3 tie.
Paula’s picks: The series between these two teams began in 1964. So did I. Michigan State 3-2, Ohio State 3-2.
Minnesota at Penn State
Drew: The Gophers may have lost to Colgate last weekend, but after they trounced RPI on Saturday I don’t think they’re in for any kind of slump. I’m not saying that Penn State doesn’t have a shot to at least steal a tie this weekend, but I think Minnesota will get the sweep.
Paula: This series marks the first time these two teams are meeting. As Drew pointed out, the Gophers were on the right side of a big win in the last game of their holiday tournament while the Nittany Lions were not. An interesting note from the PSU press release: These are the eighth and ninth games for the Nittany Lions against ranked opponents in a 10-game span, and Penn State’s only win against a top-10 opponent was a 3-2 OT win over Wisconsin Feb. 25, 2013 — when I was a mere lass of 48. This is a Sunday-Monday series, with each game beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Want something fun to do Monday night? Watch the game on the Big Ten Network, which is carrying Monday’s match.
Drew’s picks: Minnesota 6-2, 4-3.
Paula’s picks: Minnesota 4-2, 4-2.
