Well, I'm back online and in full swing this week. Vegas was great, but it's good to be home.
The only league series last weekend was a split by UAA and CC at CC. All other series were non-conference series, including the Big Ten Showdown (or whatever they call it) where the WCHA teams went 2-1-1. UND got a win and a tie out of Notre Dame. Mankato swept lowly UMass Lowell. Denver took out LSSU and Air Force. Finally, Bemidji split a series with Northern Michigan in Bemidji.
This weekend sees two series played by "natural rivals", as dubbed by the WCHA. The SCSU/UND series and the UNO/Bemidji series. The other rivalry series taking place this weekend is the Gopher/Mankato series in Mankato.
The SCSU/UND series see Aaron Marvin returning to Grand Forks for the first time since he sat Chay Genoway for the season after checking him from behind last year. I think, for the most part, the Sioux players are FINALLY over it, but I am kind of interested to see what the fan reaction is. Yes, the Huskies did play them three times after the incident last year, but two of those games were at the NHC and the other was at the X. Drunk college students tend to exacerbate a situation that doesn't need to be. Chay said at the beginning of the season that he didn't think it was a dirty hit and that it was done.
The UNO/Bemidji series marks the first match-up between the newbies of the WCHA. They really are telling two different tales with the success and failure of each season. UNO has come in and surprised, I think, everyone in the league with their success. No one was expecting them to be this good this soon. I guess it's not surprising that UNO is having success this early on. It has a coach that has been in the WCHA before and knows how to win it. The Beavers, on the other hand, have been met with many failures in this early season when some of their fans thought they'd come in and have an impact immediately. Sadly, those fans thought the CHA was just as competitive as the WCHA is...
Last weekend I went 9-5 and am now 61-48 on the season. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. This weekend sees all 12 teams playing conference games, so we have six league match-ups for the first time ever.
CC @ Tech, Friday/Saturday 6:07
CC comes into this series having split with UAA in Colorado Springs last weekend while Tech had a weekend off after being swept at home by the Gophers. CC is still trying to find/define itself as we approach the midway point of the season. They're a struggling team who's trying dig themselves out of an early hole. Tech is trying to keep itself from being buried in the cellar of the league for another season. Both teams have had good offensive games, but can either do it this weekend? I'm gonna call a split here.
Tech wins Friday 4-2, CC wins Saturday 4-3
DU @ UMD, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This series marks that end of an era at UMD. These are the final two games to be played at the DECC. The Dogs will even be wearing throwback jerseys this weekend in commemoration of the event. Add all the hoopla together with the fact that they're a pretty good hockey team and you could get another good weekend out of them. They're 6-0 at the DECC this season, and I don't know if that's going to change. Denver comes into the weekend with a .500 road record and they'll be facing a very full, very tough crowd at the DECC. Yes, they're a good team, but they did get blown out by CC already this year and Bemidji gave them a run for their money too. I'm not quite sure what to expect yet, but my gut is telling me that UMD is going to sweep this one.
UMD 4-1, 4-3
UMN @ MSUM, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
The Gophers come into this series fresh off a win over #8 Michigan, and Mankato is fresh off a sweep of UMass Lowell. This is usually a pretty intense series because it's the Gophers. (Do they have a series in this league that isn't a rivalry?) The question is, what Gopher team is going to show up? The one doesn't compete and buries themselves early on, or the one that comes out flying and doesn't quit? I'm going to have to go with the second one. The Gophers have played much better away from the confines of Mariucci arena than they have in the building. They're 4-5-1 at home and 4-0-0 on the road. Mankato will outwork you if you're not ready for them, so the Gophers need to be careful to not get blitzed in the early goings of either game. I don't suspect that'll be a problem, though. Gopher sweeps this one.
Gophers 5-2, 3-1
UNO @ Bemidji, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
This marks the first time these two teams have met as members of the WCHA. As mentioned earlier, it really has been a tale of success and failure for these two. UNO has all the success and Bemidji the failure. The Beavers have shown little to no life at home, and it doesn't seem to matter to UNO where they win. Bemidji is a hardworking team, but so is Omaha. Omaha seems to be more physical than Bemdji and they are definitely bigger than the Beavers. I don't think these games are going to be too close. Omaha sweeps.
Omaha 6-1, 5-2
SCSU @ UND, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Both teams came into the season with high expectations. The Sioux were picked to win the league, while the Huskies were picked to finish second or third, depending on the poll. With the exception of an embarrassing sweep at Maine, the Sioux have mostly lived up to their expectations, thus far. The Huskies can't seem to get it ingrained into their thick skulls that they need to play a full 60 minutes. This could be the weekend that they turn it all around, but I highly doubt that. If they couldn't figure it out against Omaha (which is the hardest working team I've seen thus far), there's nothing to make me think they can figure it out against the Sioux. This series could end up in a split, but I highly doubt it. Sioux sweep.
Sioux 5-2, 4-1
UW @ UAA, Friday/Saturday 10:07
Anchorage seems to have this uncanny ability to keep the game close and make it interesting. They haven't been defeated by multiple goals many times this season, and I don't expect that trend to stop this weekend. The Badgers have found a way to beat the teams they should, but haven't found a way to beat the ones they shouldn't. I got chewed out by a Twitter follower during the UND series because I said I didn't believe in them yet because they hadn't beaten/played anyone too tough up to that point. I think I was right in what I said. They proceeded to be swept by UND and UMD at home in consecutive weekends. Although I'm still not sold on the, I do think they'll be able to to continue they're trend of beating the teams the should. I have to go with a Badger sweep in two one-goal games (Anchorage could easily salvage a tie or pull one out, though).
UW 4-3, 3-2
