Well, the final weekend of the season is here. This season has gone by incredibly fast, for me anyway. Yes, my Huskies haven't performed to the level that anyone has expected, but it isn't horribly surprising to me. Yes, I picked them in the top half of the standings, but I honestly felt as though they could go either way. Defensively, this is not a very good team, but they have picked it up recently.
SCSU is one of the hottest teams in the league since the Christmas break. Since they came back from break, the Huskies are 9-4-1. Really, they should be 11-3, but they blew TWO three goal leads where they lost one and tied one. Those points are absolutely huge to this team right now. Since those series, the Huskies have been playing with desperation...or something.
They went toe-to-toe with UND and had good chances to win both games. A late GTG by the Sioux on Friday night saw the Huskies lose a point there, and a fluke goal, deflected off a Husky stick, was the difference in the 3-2 loss to the Sioux on Saturday. The Huskies rebounded the following weekend and embarrassed the Badgers by 5-2 and 7-3 scores at the National Hockey Center. The last four games for the Huskies have been incredible.
It finally looks as though the defense has shored itself up and is not allowing the back-breaking chances they have been. The D is playing tough hockey, they're clearing the front of the net, and they're getting in lanes and blocking shots. It's been a pleasant surprise.
Last weekend against the Beavers, the Fighting Sioux clinched the MacNaughton Cup. Sunday's win against the Beavers clinched the 15th WCHA title for the Fighting Sioux. That's such an incredible number... Congrats to the Sioux and their fans on another title.
Let's talk playoff scenarios. The Sioux have clinched the top spot in the playoffs no matter what the outcome of this weekends games are, and Tech is stuck at the 12th spot no matter what. The Sioux would win a potential tie by virtue of league wins. If Denver swept and the Sioux were swept, UND would have 19 wins to their 18.
There are three teams fighting for second through fourth. Denver (35), Omaha (34) and Duluth (33). All three of these teams have clinched home ice. What we're waiting on is who they play.
Minnesota (28), CC (26), UW (25), and SCSU (24) are all in the hunt for the final two home playoff spots. One point this weekend will clinch home ice for the Gophers, and one win will clinch home ice for the Tigers. Wisconsin will need a sweep to clinch the final home ice spot, and the Huskies will have to sweep the Pioneers (at Denver) AND have Wisconsin win and tie against the Tigers.
Anchorage (22), Bemidji (20), and Mankato (20) are just looking to finish as high as they can. Bemidji is really the only team who could play spoiler this weekend as they host Minnesota. Anchorage and Mankato play one another.
I'm going to take a guess at the four teams fighting for the final two spots. I'm thinking it's going to be UMN, UW, CC, and SCSU. That would mean the Huskies would travel to the U, where they've never won in the playoffs, and CC would travel to UW. As I'm thinking about match-ups, it occurs to me that the best team the Beavers could play is Omaha as they're 3-0-1 against the Mavericks this season. I'm excited to see the final standings after the Husky/Pioneer game on Saturday night.
Let's get to the picks. Last week I went 8-4 and am now 138-111 on the season. We have all twelve teams playing in six conference series this weekend. Every series except the UND/MTU series has playoff implications.
UND @ MTU, Friday 6:07, Saturday 4:07
This series doesn't mean a whole lot for either team, but both teams want to set the precedent for next weekend. I don't see the Huskies having a chance against this team, however.
Sioux sweep 6-2, 5-0
CC @ UW, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This is a series has some major implications for the playoffs. It's the difference of home ice and playing on the road. CC needs two points this weekend to clinch, and the Badgers need four. CC hasn't won on the road since before the Christmas break, but Wisconsin is not a good team right now. Personally, I'd like to see a win and tie by the Badgers to give my Huskies a shot at home ice, but I'm feeling a split out of these two teams.
Split. UW wins Friday 4-3. CC wins Saturday 3-2
UNO @ UMD, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This is just for a shuffling of 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in the league. 2nd place gets a buy in the quarterfinals at the Final Five, so to say it's meaningless would be misleading. This will be a hard fought series. UNO had a decent showing at home against Denver last weekend, and UMD did not have a good series at CC.
Split. UNO wins Friday 4-1, UMD wins Saturday 4-2
UAA @ MSUM, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Anchorage holds a two point lead over the Mavs right now. Really, this series doesn't mean a whole lot, just "bragging" rights. I don't know what else to say on this one. Both teams are pretty equal.
Split. UAA wins Friday 3-2, Mankato wins Saturday 4-2
UMN @ BSU, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
The Gophers are still trying to clinch that five seed and one win, or two points, will do that. The Beavers would like to finish outside of 11th, but I'm not feeling it for the Beavers this weekend. The Gophers have been playing decent hockey lately, and the Beavers seem to be consistent, but they just don't have the talent level. It'll be a good warm-up for the Beavers for the playoffs.
Gophers sweep 5-2, 3-2
SCSU @ DU, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
The Huskies are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, but Denver is a pretty good team, too. Home-ice advantage and senior night will probably play into this, but the Huskies are fighting for that final home-ice spot in the playoffs, so desperation by the Huskies could come into play here. I think the Huskies will give a great effort, but things just won't line up for them.
Split. Huskies win Friday 3-2, Denver wins Saturday 4-2
