Well, I'm a day late with my picks this week. Part of that was due to tournament games and the larger portion is due to the fact that I just flat didn't get them done in time.
For those of you who missed the scores yesterday: CC defeated Michigan State 5-4 (Great Lakes Invitational), Michigan defeated Michigan Tech (Great Lakes Invitational), and the most surprising victory is SCSU's victory over Cornell in the Florida College Classic.
I said the Huskies victory over Cornell is the most surprising because SCSU trailed 3-0 with just over two minutes left in the second period of that game. They scored late in the second to draw within two goals, and tied it up with about seven minutes left. The scored the game winner midway through OT. This was the first time the Huskies have overcome a three goal deficit and won since Feb. 3, 2001. Maybe this is the type of game that will get the Huskies back on track...
Last week I went 3-0 to improve my record to 76-60 on the season. There are a lot of picks this week and every game is non-conference, with a couple games WCHA vs. WCHA.
Great Lakes Invitational
Michigan State vs. MTU, Thursday 3:05
Neither MTU of MSU are having great seasons, but Tech has been pretty awful as of late.
MSU wins 4-2
CC vs. Michigan, Thursday 6:35
CC has been on a roll as of late, but Michigan is no slouch. I don't know who to pick in this one. I'm going to have to give it to the "home" team though.
Michigan wins 4-3
Florida College Classic
SCSU vs. Miami, Thursday 6:35
This marks the third meeting between these two teams this season. Miami won the first game 6-3 and the two teams tied the second 1-1 at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud at the beginning of the season. SCSU is now 2-9-1 in its last 11, but they had a nice come from behind win last night. I have to go with the trend here.
Miami wins 4-1
Mariucci Classic
Ferris State vs. BSU, Friday 3:07
Bemidji has kept a pretty good chunk of their games in the first half of the season close with great goaltending and good defense. They will need both again in this one.
Ferris State wins 4-3
Union vs. UMN, Friday 6:07
Union has had a pretty good season thus far and the Gophers have been very up and down so far. Yes, this is the Gophers "tournament", but I think Union is going to pull this one out.
Union wins 4-3
Union vs. BSU, Saturday 4:07
Bemidji, again, will need great goaltending and good D. I think Union will prove too much for them. However, the Beavers have certainly surprised me before.
Union wins 3-2
Ferris State vs. UMN, Saturday 7:07
The Gophers should be hungry enough to rebound from their previous night's loss to win this one.
Gophers win 4-3
Shillelagh Tournament
MSUM vs. Notre Dame, Saturday 6:05
Mankato played UND very tough two weeks ago, and they always seem to work their butts off. However, Notre Dame should be able to pull off the W in this one.
Irish win 4-2
MSUM vs. Boston U. or Brown, Sunday TBD
Given that this is a true tournament I don't know who Mankato will play for sure.
If they play BU, the lose 4-1. If they play Brown, they win 3-1
Non-conference
UNO vs. Quinnipiac, Thursday 6:30, Friday 11:00 am
UNO is a pretty solid team and they should be able to keep up the pace with this opponent to start the second half. UNO sweep.
UNO 4-3, 3-1
UMass vs. UW, Thursday/Friday 7:07
UMass is having a tough time of it this season while Badgers look like they haven't really lost a step. UW sweep.
UW 3-1, 4-0
UND vs. UMD, Thursday 7:37
This game marks the grand opening of UMD's new arena, Amsoil Arena. This should be a pretty good game to watch. However, sometimes all of the pomp and circumstance can be a distraction with these things. This really could go either way, but I really think the Sioux are going to get the last word on this one.
Sioux win 3-2
Northern Michigan vs. Denver, Friday 7:07, Saturday 8:07
NMU isn't having a bad season, but Denver is doing really well given all of the losses they had coming into the season. It's going to be tough to get into the win column this weekend for NMU. Denver sweeps.
DU 5-2, 4-3
UMD vs. Clarkson, Monday/Tuesday 6:00
Duluth will be coming off of a game on Thursday, but they'll be hungry to get into the win column again. Clarkson is no slouch, though. Split.
UMD wins Monday 4-2, Clarkson wins Tuesday 3-2
