Week Eight Picks

Well, I'm in Vegas right now for a little R&R, so I'm going to keep it short this week and only give my prediction on the scores. I'll be back in full swing next weekend.

I went 5-5 last week and am now 52-43 on the year.

Conference Games
Anchorage @ CC, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
UAA wins Friday 3-2, CC wins Saturday 4-2

Non-conference Games
Mankato @ Lowell, Friday 6:00, Saturday 3:00
Mankato sweeps 4-1, 4-2

Notre Dame @ UND, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Notre Dame wins Friday 4-3, Sioux win Saturday 5-2

Northern Michigan @ Bemidji, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
NM wins Friday 3-2, Bemidji wins Saturday 3-1

Lake Superior @ Denver, Friday 8:37
DU wins 3-1

Air Force @ Denver, Saturday 8:07
Denver wins 4-1

Michigan @ Wisconsin, Friday 7:07
Wisconsin wins 5-4

Michigan State @ Wisconsin, Saturday 8:07
Wisconsin wins 3-1

Michigan State @ Minnesota, Friday 7:07
Minnesota wins 4-3

Michigan @ Minnesota, Sunday 4:37
Michigan wins 5-4

Week Seven Matchups

Here we are in week seven already. This season is flying by so far, which is kind of disappointing. However, there are still a lot of games to be played.

Last weekend saw Bemidji State get its first win at their new arena. Congrats to them for (finally) getting it.

UND went in to Badger country last weekend and took all four points from the Badgers for the first time in 62 games! I know some of you may not like my take on the Badgers, but I'm still not sold on them. A win last weekend would have went a long way with my, but they dropped two games at home. With that said, they're still better than I thought they would be this season. At the looks of it, they'll probably be in the top three or four to end the season.

UNO continue its hot streak when they walked in to the National Hockey Center and took three of a possible four points from the Huskies with a convincing 3-0 win Friday and a 4-4 tie on Saturday. Dean Blaise's coaching style has not changed one bit. Watching this UNO team is exactly like watching his Sioux teams. They are hard working, hard hitting, and never give up. They don't ever seem to let off of the gas, and it works.

SCSU is now 4-6-2 overall and 2-3-1 in the WCHA. Remember, this is the team that was picked to finish second or third in the WCHA this season. Their biggest problem in that they don't move their feet the entire game. They have got to start skating. They were outplayed badly by UNO last Friday until about the midway point of the second when they finally started to skate to the puck instead of gliding to it. It was still tough to get a shot through the trees they have for defensemen, but they were no longer being outplayed. Saturday's game saw the Huskies come out flying the first two periods and taking a 3-2 lead into the third. The Mavericks came out of the second intermission and were flying (very UND-esque). I don't know if the Huskies were shocked, or what, but they weren't moving their feet for the first 10 minutes of the third and that led to two UNO goals to take a 4-3 lead. It wasn't until the midway point that the Huskies started moving again, and they were reward with 1:04 left with the game tying goal. OT was end-to-end, and both teams had chances to win. The Huskies had the best chance when Ben Hanowski had a mostly open net to shoot at, but shot the puck high. When SCSU starts consistently moving its' feet, they'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Duluth continues its (mostly) hot start with a sweep of Michigan Tech, and Bemidji split with Anchorage in Bemidji.

Last week I went 7-5 in my picks, and would've been 8-4 had I not switched my Bemidji/Alaska picks at the last minute. I am now 47-38 on the season. This week sees five WCHA series and no non-conference series.

Minnesota @ Michigan Tech, Friday/Saturday 6:07
These teams are, surprising, very evenly matched at this point in the season. Yes, the Gophers have found a way to win more games, but the Huskies seem to playing more consistently. Tech boasts a PP that's four points better than the U's, and their PK's are pretty even with Tech getting a slight edge there too. The difference maker in this series could be determined by how many times Tech gets to the penalty box and if the Gophers can capitalize on those opportunities. In my mind, this series is really a coin flip. However, I have to go with the trend for the Gophers right now.
Tech wins Friday 4-2, Gophers win Saturday 4-2

Duluth @ Wisconsin, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This is an interesting series this weekend. When you look at the statistical comparison for each of these teams, they are very evenly matched. Special teams are with a point of each other, and scoring offense/defense is pretty even as well, with Duluth getting a slight edge in goals scored in league games. Wisconsin is coming off of a weekend where they were swept at home, and the Dogs are coming off of a home sweep against Tech. Against the upper echelon teams in the country Wisconsin is winless. With that said, Duluth has really only played UND, where they split. I think UW finally gets the monkey off its back this weekend, but it won't last long.
Wisconsin wins Friday 2-1, Duluth wins Saturday 4-3

North Dakota @ Nebraska-Omaha, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
I am looking forward to this series. I actually with that I were going to this series, because I think it's going to be a great one. Dean Blaise faces his old team for the first time since returning to the college coaching ranks. In the statistical areas, UNO wins the PK battle (almost six points better than UND), and they're scoring over one goal per game more than the Sioux. Both coaches are going to have their teams ready to play, but I don't think Blaise is going to let his predecessor get the better of him right away. This should be a fast paced, hard hitting series, and I envy you who are there.
Omaha wins Friday 5-2, Sioux win Saturday 4-3

Bemidji @ Denver, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
Bemidji takes its second road trip of the season, and it doesn't get any easier at Denver than it did at St. Cloud. Denver is coming off of a sweep of Mankato at home while the Beavers split with Anchorage in Bemidji. Statistically, the Beavers hold a huge advantage on the PP and Denver holds a huge advantage on the PK. Overall, Denver outscoring its opponents by a goal and Bemidji is being outscored by a goal. This game could come down to a special teams battle. I think Denver is going to find the back of the net on the PP more often than Bemidji. Taking into account that this is a road series, in the mountains, for the Beavers, I have to call a sweep.
Denver sweeps 4-1, 4-2

St. Cloud @ Anchorage, Friday 10:37, Saturday 10:07
This is a must sweep series for the Huskies if they have any hopes of finishing in the top three or four in the WCHA. They are currently 2-3-1 so it's still not out of reach, but it's going to be tough. The Huskies holds an advantage on special teams, scoring offense, and scoring defense. Alaska holds the edge in work ethic, at least so far in this early season. Anchorage is a hard working team that will beat to lose pucks if you don't work hard as well. I am down on the Huskies right now because they can't seem to put a full game together. A road trip is just what these guys need to get their season back on track. (Here's what a roadtrip can do for a team.)
Huskies sweep 3-2, 4-3

Week Six Matchups

Congratulations to Bemidji on its first WCHA win in program history. Sadly, it came on a horribly weak goal given up by SCSU's Dan Dunn :46 into OT, but it was their first win, nonetheless.

The Gophers continued to prove that they are ready and willing to roll over to any team in the league which was evidenced by their 6-0 drubbing at the hands of the Badgers last Friday at Mariucci. I don't know what's with this team, but something's got to change for them. If I were a member of Gopher nation, I'd be worried at this point. From what I'm hearing and seeing there doesn't seem to be much in the way of team unity/chemistry right now, nor does there seem to be a will to win on most nights.

Omaha is off to a hot start this season, and remains as the lone unbeaten school in the WCHA. They just look to be clicking everywhere so far this season. Unfortunately, clicking early isn't the key. In any sport, it's not who's hot first, it's who's hot last. We'll see if Omaha can keep it up.

Denver and CC are two teams who are still trying to find their identities in this early season. Neither team really knows what's going on. They both have great nights, and the both have awful nights (see CC's 9-2 loss to the Gophers and then coming back the following weekend and beating Denver 9-2).

Tech is a team that I'm still not sure of. They showed some scoring ability early, but haven't really played anyone. In fact, the only real WCHA test they had was against the Badgers and they were swept.

I went 6-4 in my picks last weekend and am now 40-33 on the season. Things are moving in the right direction as far as that's concerned. It ought to be another interesting weekend.

Conference Games
Tech @ Duluth, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This will prove to be Tech's toughest battle in this early season. They boast one of the top PP unit's in the country, but so does Duluth, and both teams PK's are similar, with Tech killing at about a 5% higher rate. Tech has showed the ability to score some goals this season, but their Achilles heal is still goaltending. They're giving up over 3.5 GPG so far this season. They're shown the ability to score. Now, they need to show the ability to keep their puck out of their own net. I don't see that happening this weekend, however, going up against the potent UMD Bulldogs.
'Dogs sweep 6-2, 4-1

North Dakota @ Wisconsin, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This is the first true test the Badgers will have in this early season. They've played the U and Denver, but both of those teams are sketchy at best in this early season. Neither team really knows its full capabilities. The Sioux, on the other hand, is a pretty solid team. They come out to battle every night (with the blatant exception of the Maine series, of course). If what the Badgers have done so far this season is any indication of the telling tale of this team, the Sioux may have their hands full. UW boasts the 3rd best offense and 4th best defense in the nation, thus far. Again, they haven't really had strong competition thus far. It should be a fun series to watch, though, as this is one of the bigger rivalries in college hockey.
Split. North Dakota wins Friday 4-2, Badgers win Saturday 3-2

Anchorage @ Bemdji, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Having not seen Alaska play in this early season makes it difficult to really say what kind of team they are. Bemidji, on the other hand, is a quick, hardworking team that will beat you to many pucks if you're not moving. They're problem is that they have one line. Last weekend, against St. Cloud, the Beavers only line that was able to produce anything was the George-Read-Lowe line. It's good to have one top line, but you still need to have other lines that can produce. The Beavers don't look to have that yet. Anchorage is not a great team, by any means, but they have shown some heart early on when they came back from a four goal deficit to tie the Sioux. I could see Bemidji completing the sweep in this one, but I just don't think the Seawolves are going to roll over for them.
Split. Bemidji wins Friday 2-1, Anchorage wins Saturday 4-3

Mankato @ Denver, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
This is one of those series that I just don't know about. Offensively, they are identical, but it's defensively where there's almost a half GPG difference in favor of DU. After last Saturday's embarrassing loss to CC, I have to say that Denver is going to come out with a vengence. They're going to be hungry to get on the board often and get the W. Mankato, on the other hand, is Mankato. They're going to play their game, but it just isn't going to be enough...especially playing at Denver.
Denver sweeps 6-0, 4-1

Omaha @ St. Cloud, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This series could very easily end up in an Omaha or St. Cloud split. The Mavericks are playing extremely well so far this season, and the Huskies have been inconsistent at best. Omaha boasts the second best offense in the nation, the fifth best PP, and the 13th best PK. I don't even want to say where St. Cloud is in those categories... Omaha is a large team, with 12 players 6'2"+ and 15 over 200 lbs. St. Cloud has eight and seven players in those categories, respectively. With that said, when St. Cloud shows up to play, they are one of the best teams in the country. They are fast, skillfull, and have a nose for the net. The Huskies problem is that they seem to forget that they are playing 60 minute games twice per weekend. They showed flashes of absolute domination in each series this season for extended periods of time, and those flashes always came when they were moving their feet. When they stop moving their feet, they get beat. If the Huskies can move their feet for 120 minutes this weekend, I'd chalk up a sweep for the Huskies. As it stands, I just don't see that happening.
Split. Omaha Friday 5-2, Huskies Saturday 4-3

Non-Conference Games
Colorado College @ Air Force, Friday 8:05
Air Force is a mis-leading team. They boast an offense that has score nearly four GPG, but they scored 12 goals in one game against American International... CC plays in the WCHA; the toughest league in the nation. They proved to themselves that they could score some goals with their 9-2 drubbing of Denver last Saturday. I think they're going to continue they're winning ways.
CC Wins 4-1

Yale @ Colorado College, Saturday 8:07
Yale comes into this game boasting a 4-0-0 record, but they haven't played anyone of any significance so far. CC has played ten games so far and should have a better grip on who they are as a team. The PK looks to be the Achilles heal of Yale. If CC can capitalize on their PP's, they should be able to get a win.
CC wins 4-2

Week Five Matchups

It was an interesting week last week. Tech showed their true colors, the Gophers had an offensive explosion, and St. Cloud continued its inability to show up for at least one game of the weekend.

A few teams will be without players this week for various reasons. The Gophers will be without Nick Bjugstad and Jake Parenteau due to mono, and they will also be missing Zach Budish after he injured his knee in a moped accident earlier in the week. Mankato's Ryan Galiardi will be out a couple more week's with a knee injury. Denver will be without Adam Murray (groin injury), Nick Shore (wrist), Dustin Jackson (mono), and Jesse Martin due to a vicious hit by UND's Brad Malone, who is suspended for Friday's game vs. UMD.

This week should be a fun week with five league series, and all of them are, or are close to, rivalries. Bemidji's at SCSU, Wisconsin travels to the Gophers, Duluth and UND square off at the Ralph, the Mavericks battle the Mavericks in Omaha, and CC and Denver play a home-and-home series. All games should be fun to watch, and all are fairly unpredictable.

Unpredictability isn't going to keep me from picking scores for the weekend. Last weekend I went 6-6 and am now 34-29 on the year. Not too bad considering how tough it is to pick scores in this league.

Wisconsin @ Minnesota, Friday/Saturday 7:07 pm
This could be one of the biggest rivalries in the game. Bucky traveling to Goldy is always fun to watch. I honestly don't know who to pick in this and on what night. I am fairly certain that this will not be a sweep for either team. The Badgers have shown some offensive prowess and defensive ability. The Gophers have shown that they can score some goals, after their offensive outburst against CC last weekend. It ought to be an interesting weekend. I'm picking a split.
Wisconsin wins Friday 5-2, Minnesota wins Saturday 3-1

Duluth @ North Dakota, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Duluth comes into this series as the nation's #2 ranked team and the only team in the WCHA that is still unbeaten in this early season. They are flying offensively and defensively, and it's going to take quite a team to take them down. I think UND is just the team to do that. With the exception of the series at Maine, the Sioux have been a pretty tough team to beat this year, too. I see a tie and win for the Sioux here.
Tie Friday 3-3, UND wins Saturday 3-2

Mankato @ Omaha, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
This could be an interesting series this early. Omaha is coming off a bye week after suffering their first loss of the season at the University of Michigan the previous week. They have scored a ton of goals so far this season, where Mankato has not. Both teams are giving up about 3 goals per game so far in this early season. I think Omaha's offense is going to be the difference maker here, though.
UNO sweeps 5-2, 6-1

CC @ Denver, Friday 8:37, Denver @ CC, Saturday 8:07
One of the bigger rivalries in the league, this has the potential to be a low scoring affair. Both teams have given up about the same amount of goals and have also scored the same. There is a half goal difference in the goals against category in favor of Denver. Traditionally, Denver is the better defensive team, but if it weren't for the performance last weekend against the Gophers CC would be tied, or leading, Denver in that category this year. Neither team is proving to be offensive power-houses, and I don't see that changing too much this weekend. I'm going to go with the home team both nights.
Denver wins Friday 2-1, CC wins Saturday 3-2

Bemidji @ St. Cloud, Friday/Saturday 7:07
This is the first meeting between these two teams since October 2008, where the teams split a pair of games in Bemidji. This is also the first conference matchup between these two teams since the 1986-87 season when both teams were playing at the D-III level. Bemidji has played only four game this season, all at home, and are 0-3-1 so far. Their PP is clipping along at 16.7% and their PK is at 68.2. In addition, Bemidji isn't the greatest on Olympic sheets, posting a 5-28-3 all-time record. Although, they were 2-1-1 last season. The Huskies PP isn't much better at 17%, but their PK is 83.3%; much better than BSU's. I think the big sheet and special teams play will spell a Husky sweep, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Bemidji squeak out a win when St. Cloud decides they don't need to show up for one of the games.
St. Cloud sweeps 4-2, 5-1

Huskies Drop One to Quinnipiac

The Huskies decided they didn't want to show up for tonights game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats. After a sluggish first period, which saw the Huskies standing around most of the period, the Huskies managed to come out tied at 1.

The Huskies found their stride in the 2nd and outshot the Bobcats 10-1 and took a 2-1 lead into the 3rd.

The Bobcats, then, poured on the pressure in the third and put three goals behind Husky goalie Mike Lee and secured a 4-2 win.

Cam Reid scored his first collegiate goal and Taylor Johnson scored his first goal of the season for the Huskies.

Alright Husky fans, I know it looks grim right now, but it is still early and this is a pretty stacked team. We need to be patient. I know that all of us want to see the Huskies tearing it up and amassing win after win right now, but I'd rather see us get off to a slow start and finish strong than start strong and finish weak.

We've got one more non-conference game before we get into the bulk of the WCHA schedule. Tomorrow's another night, and I expect to see the Huskies come out with some fire.

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Week Four Matchups

Week four is here, and we have some pretty good matchups. NoDak takes on Denver at REA, Bemidji takes on Duluth at the BREC, and Wisconsin takes on Tech at the Kohl Center.

The NoDak/Denver rivalry has been brewing since the Robby Bina incident at the 2005 Final Five. There have been some pretty tense games over the last five seasons. Let's not forget the Gwoz being tossed twice in the span, too.

The Duluth/Bemidji matchup is intriguing because they are so close to one another...natural rivals. In addition, this is the first time these teams have met in league play.

Wisconsin/Tech is intriguing because of the role reversal we've seen, so far, this season. Tech is top five in scoring in the nation this season and Wisconsin has had recent trouble scoring.

Now, I saw a blog today that said it was almost do-or-die time for Bemidji because they're 0-2 in league play. Anyone who follows the WCHA knows that just isn't true. We're not even heavily into the season at this point, and I've seen more than one team come from a slow start to finish in the top 3 of the league.

Last weekend I went 8-4 and predicted 2 scores correctly. That puts my record on the season at 28-23 with 3 scores predicted correctly.

WCHA Games
Denver at North Dakota, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Some pretty heated games have been played in this series recently. With Denver not have a very offensively talented team, and the Sioux coming off of an embarrassing last weekend, I expect to see the Sioux sweep.
UND 5-2, 3-2

Duluth at Bemidji, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
With the arena opener out of the way against the Sioux, the Beavers welcome the Bulldogs to town for their second league series of the season. Unfortunately for the Beavers, things don't get any easier. The Dogs have outscored their opponents 24-7 in their first six games, and I don't see that streak ending against the Beav's. Duluth sweeps the Beavers.
Duluth 7-1, 4-2

Michigan Tech at Wisconsin, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Tech is off to its best start since the '72-'73 season when they went 8-0 to start the season. Wisconsin has been able to win a few games this season, but they've been against the likes of Holy Cross and Alabama-Hunstville. We'll find out more about Tech this weekend and see how far the Badgers have fallen.
Split. Tech wins Friday 4-3, Wisconsin wins Saturday 3-2

Minnesota at Colorado College, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
The Gophers have not faired well in league play so far this season, but they did manage to squeak out a win against SCSU on Sunday. CC has had a tough go of it as well, dropping a game last Friday to Mankato. This series could go either way, so I'll pick a split.
Minnesota wins Friday 3-2, CC wins Saturday 2-1

Mankato at Anchorage, Friday/Saturday 10:07
These two teams are "rivals" for scheduling. They always play each other four times per season. They're also two unpredictable teams. Last Friday, Anchorage took the Bulldogs to the brink, but fell short in OT and Mankato knocked off CC at home on Friday. It's tough to say who wins. Both teams have scored a few goals this season, but both teams have given some up too. I'll go with a split.
Mankato wins Friday 4-3, Anchorage wins Saturday 5-3

Non-Conference
Quinnipiac at St. Cloud, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Quinnipiac is 3-1 so far on the season, but they haven't really played anyone, and all of their games have been at home. The Huskies, on the other hand, are 2-3-1 and are looking for a breakout weekend. After being embarrassed during their last home stand against Miami, the Huskies should be hungry to win a couple at home. They were able to put a mostly complete game together last Friday against the U. I'm gonna go with a sweep for the home team.
St. Cloud 6-1, 4-3

Gophers Hold Off Huskies to Manage a Split

The Huskies have apparently reverted to their old ways. After scoring first, to go up 1-0, the Huskies gave up a goal a mere 33 seconds later. The Gophers scored the game winner with 1:30 left in the first.

The Huskies opened the scoring on a Brett Barta goal to take a 1-0 lead at 6:12 of the first. After some nice puck movement down low, Mitch MacMillan passed the puck to Kevin Gravel, who then passed to Barta who buried his head and unleashed a slap shot from the point that beat Kent Patterson, in net for the Gophers.

On a play that I didn't get a good look at, the Gophers managed to beat Dan Dunn at 6:45 of the first. With 1:43 left in the 1st, the Huskies Drew LeBlanc took a penalty for interference. It too the Gophers just 13 seconds to score. The puck took a funny bounce right to Eric Haula, who was standing in front of the Husky net. He passed to Jacob Cepis on the far side, and he passed the puck to Jay Barribal, who shot the puck into a wide open net.

Today's game was completely different than Friday's game for the Huskies. They came out of the gate pretty slow and sluggish, and ended the game controlling play and competing. The Gophers, on the other had, came out of the gate flying. They beat the Huskies to lose pucks all over this ice and created good opportunities for the first two periods of play.

The Huskies found their stride in the third, and had multiple opportunities to tie the game, but Patterson proved too strong in nets for the Huskies.

All-in-all, the Huskies only showed up for 20 minutes of a 60 minute game, and it caught up them here. They should have already learned this in their first few games, but if they don't learn how to play for 60 minutes EVERY night, they're not going to win as many games as they should. Hopefully they'll figure it out soon enough.

Huskies Smoke the Gophers

Well, Husky fans, this is something we all enjoy seeing. Our hockey team took down the "mighty" Minnesota Golden Gophers in a very convincing manner. Yeah, they scored a couple of late goals on us, but the game was pretty much over at that point anyway. It was a bummer to see Mike Lee miss the shutout, yet again, though.

The Huskies opened the scoring 2:21 into the game on a Brian Volpei goal. Garrett Roe shot the puck from the point and the puck deflected right to Volpei who buried it into the open net, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

Nine-and-a-half minutes later, the Huskies struck again; this time on the power play. With the Gophers a man short, the Huskies were controlling the puck in the offensive zone. They were getting some good rotation on the power play and created some space to open the door for Jared Festler. From the half wall, Drew LeBlanc passed to Tony Mosey, standing in the faceoff circle, who then passed to Festler on the backside for a beautiful bing, bing play to put the Huskies up 2-0.

Period two saw even more offense from the Huskies, and effectively put the game out of reach for the Gophers. With the Huskies on a 4-on-3 power play, Nick Jensen and Roe were playing catch from about the top of the faceoff circles trying to setup one-timers for one another. Finally, Roe got a clean one off and it hit the pipe. Fourtunately, it bounced right to Tony Mosey, who was camped out on the back of the crease, and he buried it to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead at 5:22 of the second.

The Gophers started to show signs of life after the third goal by the Huskies, but it didn't last too long. St. Cloud took a penalty chasing after Gophers in their zone. With Minnesota on the power play the Huskies got another break. The Gophers dumped the puck in deep and Chris Hepp found the puck behind the net. He rang the puck around the boards and Roe picked it up around the Husky blue line. He then skated up the wall, into the Gopher zone, and cut back to the middle of the ice where he fired a shot, using the defenseman as a screen, that beat goalie Alex Kangas to put the Huskies up 4-0.

A mere 44 seconds later, the fourth line for the Huskies found the back of the net on a nifty move by freshmen wing Nic Dowd. He got control of the puck near the boards, cut towards the net, used a great move to freeze the defenseman, moved around him, and got Kangas to bite on the play, thus opening the net for the fifth goal of the game for the Huskies.

Mike Hoeffel scored midway through the third for the Gophers and Tyler Matson scored with just over 30 seconds left in the game to cut the embarrassment for the Gophers down a little. They were, however, meaningless goals.

Overall, I thought the Huskies played well. They gave up some turnovers, but they didn't end up in the back of the net because of the superb play of goalie Mike Lee. The D and forwards did a nice job, all night, of clearing the puck away from the front of the net any time there was a rebound which eliminated a lot of scoring chances for the Gophers.

The Huskies finally had a offensive outburst tonight, and it was led by Roe's three points. "In the first four games, I haven't played well," Roe said. "There's a lot of pressure and a lot of focus on me and how I play.

"I had been turning the puck over," said Roe. "The coaches had kind of been harping on me to improve right away and deservedly so. I'll take that. I got back to my roots and working hard."

"Nobody puts more pressure on Garrett than he does to himself," said Husky goalie Mike Lee. "I know I wasn't worried about him and I don't think anybody else was worried about him. He's going to find a way to get it done and be that little bulldog."

And that's exactly what happened.

The rematch is set for 2:07 on Sunday afternoon at Mariucci arena. Let's hope the Huskies can close out their first sweep of the season.

What would you like to see?

I've been struggling to decide on how often to post and on what I should post on a weekly basis. I'd like to know what you all would like to see and how often. Please leave your suggestions in the comment area.

Week Three Matchups

Week three of play is upon us already. It's still too early to predict too much, but some of the early results have been interesting thus far. Take, for instance, Michigan Tech. Through five games they're 3-0-2 and are off to their best start since the '70's. Who ever would have thought that would have happened. I know I wouldn't have. I guess that trip to Europe, in August, has helped them out.

Instead of sweeping, or even winning a game, the Gophers decided that it would be better to lose their first two WCHA games to UNO while they were welcoming them to the league. UND, on the other hand, decided to welcome Bemidji into the league by sweeping them at the brand new Bemidji Regional Events Center. Denver lost two games at home to the #1 ranked BC Eagles, and SCSU managed to squeak a tie out of their series with Miami last weekend. On a positive note, Duluth and Wisconsin both swept their opponents last weekend.

I went 9-8 in last weekends picks and am 20-19 so far on the season. At least I'm over .500. Here are this week's picks.

WCHA Games
Anchorage @ Duluth, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Duluth has put up some goals in the first two weekends of the season and they're at home. I don't see Anchorage having too much of a chance here. I'm going to go with the Duluth sweep.
Duluth 5-2, 6-3

Colorado College @ Mankato, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
The Mavericks are a pretty feisty team and have scored more goals than CC has so far this year. However, they've also given up twice as many. I'm going to go with a split on this one.
Mankato wins Friday 4-3, CC wins Saturday 3-1

Wisconsin @ Denver, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
This is really going to be the first tough weekend for the Badgers. You saw what happened against BU in their first game, and the subsequent three games have been against sub-par competition, to put it lightly. The Pios are coming off of being swept at home by the Eagles. I honestly don't know on this one, so I'll go the easy route and pick a split.
UW wins Friday 4-2, Denver wins Saturday 4-2

St. Cloud @ Minnesota, Friday 7:07, Sunday 2:07
Instead of your typical Friday/Saturday series, game two in this one had to be pushed back to Sunday due to a visit from Obama. This is the second time I can recall that the Huskies have played the Gophers in back-to-back games at Mariucci in the regular season, so it ought to be interesting. This one could yield some interesting results. The Gophers are fresh off of being downright embarassed on their home ice last weekend by UNO, and the Huskies should be hungry for another win. The Huskies played a much improved game on Saturday nigh, as compared to Friday, and they looked like they were starting to finally get their feet under them. It sounds like the Gophers, really, have yet to do that. This is always a fun series as it's one of the closest geographically in the league. It's tough to pick a sweep in this one, so split it is.
Huskies win Friday 5-2, Gophers win Sunday 6-3

Non-Conference
North Dakota @ Maine, Friday 6:30, Saturday 6:00
These non-conference games are always tough to pick because we just don't see the teams enough to really know them. Just looking at the record of Maine, and knowing the level the Sioux compete and play at, I have to pick a Sioux sweep here.
North Dakota 3-1, 4-3

Omaha @ Michigan, Friday/Saturday 6:35
UNO has been hot so far this season, and they haven't, necessarily, beat only slouches either. However, this is being played at Michigan, and the Mavericks haven't done too hot against these guys in the past. I will give them the benefit of a new season here and go with the split.
UNO wins Friday 4-2, Michigan wins Saturday 5-3

Well, there you have it. Please feel free to leave any comments you may have.

Week Two Matchups

Well, who would’ve thought that Michigan Tech would be 2-0-1 after three games, with two of those games coming against Northern Michigan? If you’re read my blog, you know it wasn’t me. I also wouldn’t have picked the Sioux to blow a four goal lead to Anchorage…ANCHORAGE!

It was an interesting weekend for the WCHA. They went 13-2-5 in all games, with SCSU and UW losing the only two. In what is the most surprising loss, Clarkson defeated SCSU 6-2 in what should’ve been an easy game for the Huskies. Predictably, UW lost to BU. Although, it was a closer game than I thought it would be.

I went 11-11 on my picks last weekend, with seven of those games picked wrong actually ending in ties. I only picked one final score correctly.

League Games
North Dakota @ Bemidji, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Bemidji is opening up its new arena so expect them to be pumped up for this one. The Sioux are still a pretty good team though. Expect a split.
Bemidji wins Friday 3-2, UND wins Saturday 3-2

Mankato @ Tech, Friday/Saturday 6:07
We have the 2-0-1 Michigan Tech Huskies vs. the 0-0-2 Mankato Mavericks. Who’d have thought either one of these teams would be unbeaten at any point in the season. I’m going to go with a win and a tie for the home team.
Tech wins Friday 4-2, Tie on Saturday 3-3

Omaha @ Minnesota, Friday/Saturday 7:07
The Gophers are coming off of a high scoring weekend last weekend. Jay Barriball is officially back folks. Omaha won pretty convincingly on Friday with an 8-0 win over Clarkson. They then capped the weekend off with a win over RIT. I’ve gotta go with the home team both nights on this one. Welcome to the WCHA…
UMN sweeps 3-1, 3-2

Non-Conference Games
Boston College @ Denver, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
This is going to be a tough series. Both games could go either way. I still don’t know what to expect out of this new look Denver team. I’m predicting a split.
BC wins Friday 3-1, DU wins Saturday 4-2

Miami @ St. Cloud, Friday/Saturday 7:07
The Huskies record against Miami isn’t the greatest at 1-7-1. Miami went to UNH last week and managed to split a pair of 6-3 games. The Huskies struggled to score against RIT, but managed to win. Saturday’s games were marred be defensive errors in a 6-2 loss against Clarkson. Expect a Miami sweep.
Miami 3-1, 4-1

Providence @ Duluth, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Honestly, I’m not sure what to expect out of Providence as I’m not real familiar with Hockey East schools. I can say that UMD will be a tough team, and if you put them on the PP you’re probably not going to win. I’m going to call both games for UMD.
Duluth 4-1, 5-2

Huntsville @ Wisconsin, Friday 7:07, Sunday 1:07
I don’t expect a lot out of Huntsville. However, they are an independent trying to prove themselves to the different leagues to try and gain admission into one. The Badgers, on the other hand, still have some question marks they’re dealing with, like who’s going to score, etc.? They lost a close one last weekend to BU and then killed Holy Cross. Should be an easy sweep for the Badgers.
UW 5-2, 6-2

Alaska Gold Rush, Carlson Center, Fairbanks, Alaska
Colorado College vs. Anchorage, Friday 7:07
Anchorage came away with a surprising tie last Friday against UND. They were down 5-1 in the game and scored 4 unanswered goals to tie the game. They then went on to beat Air Force. CC won a 2-1 game against RPI and then tied them the following night. Offense could be an issue for CC. I have to go with Anchorage here.
UAA wins 3-2

Union vs. Anchorage, Saturday 7:07
Union has scored some goals this year, but they were against lowly Sacred Heart. I’m going to give this one to the “home team”.
UAA wins 4-2

Colorado College vs. Alaska, Saturday 10:07
Alaska had a tough time scoring against the Sioux last weekend, but didn’t give up much. I’m gonna stay with the WCHA again.
CC wins 4-2

SCSU/Gopher Schedule Change

The Saturday, October 23 game between the Huskies and Gophers has been moved to Sunday, October 24 at 2:07 due a visit by the President to the U of M campus on the 23rd.

This Shouldn't Be Shocking, but It Is...

So I'm listening to the Gopher hockey game on my way to a friends house this evening and heard UMass score a goal. It just happened to be their third goal of the evening and a Gopher player committed an infraction deserving of a penalty. Wally Shaver (play-by-play guy) proceeds to tell the unintelligent Glen "the Gophers do no wrong" Sonmor that he remembers reading somewhere that a team can score on a delayed penalty and it will still result in a power play. Well, this is a new rule in the WCHA this year. The part that really got me was when he commented on how he didn't know what league it was and that he thought it was the NHL. The genius Sonmor then pipes up with a classic, well I don't know. I never heard that. 30 seconds later the ref brought the Gopher player to the box and Wally says, "I guess it was college that they introduced that rule to."

Seriously!?! How stupid are you two? You are the radio broadcasters for one of the biggest programs in the nation and you can't keep up on the few rule changes that come through each year. This is why your fans are so stupid! You're being paid, what I'm sure is a hefty sum of money, to know these things and pass them on to the fans throughout the course of the game!

TV Schedule

For those of you looking for a nation wide TV schedule, I found one on USCHO.com.

Game on! SCSU vs. RIT, SCSU vs. Clarkson

Finally, the season is starting. I don't know about all of you, but I've been waiting for this. Sadly, we Husky fans have to wait another week to see our squad in person. Sadly, all I've been able to find is streaming audio for the game, but I'll keep my eyes open for streaming video as well.

RIT comes into this season having advanced to the Frozen Four last season. They are the coaches pick to finish first in Atlantic Hockey this year. The line on them is that they should have some good offensive fire power, but lack defensive depth and have some question marks in goaltending.

The Huskies actually are a similar team, in respect to the defense. Last year's D was mediocre at best, and the loss of minute-eater Garrett Raboin could be a problem. However, I do think guys like Oliver Lauridsen and Chris Hepp are ready to make that next step and eat some valuable minutes. We have one of the best one-two goalie tandems in the country in Mike Lee and Dan Dunn, and Hobey hopeful Garrett Roe up front to lead the team.

This years teams should have no problem scoring goals. We still have Roe, Mosey, and LeBlanc who can not only score, but can skate with the best of them. We also have one of the fastest skaters in the country in Travis Novak who, if he can finally match his puck handling to his speed, should be able to have a 30+ point season. Captain Aaron Marvin is also looking to bounce back after a very mediocre, if not bad, junior season and lead this team. The addition of forwards Mitch MacMillan and Nic Dowd should prove to be invaluable, and we also have Ben Hanowski and Jared Festler coming back with improved games.

The Huskies should win this game. I'm going to keep it close, though, and say 3-2. It is possible, however, that the Huskies will put up some bigger numbers if RIT's goaltending is suspect like people are saying it is.

Clarkson, on the other hand, is a completely different story. They were picked to finish 12th in their league by the coaches and the media. They look to have issues on offense and between the pipes. Then again, the offseason can do a lot for a player if they really work at it. I don't think they have a shot, though. The Huskies should win this fairly convincingly by a score of 5-1.