Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

Here we are the middle of January, heart of winter, the midway part of the WCHA season.  This is where the teams need to find their way or loss their path to home ice in the playoffs.  The top half wants to keep winning to try and claim the top spot and bottom half need to win to avoid the road playoff trips.  At this juncture, it is safe to say the MacNaughton Cup race is wide open, with the top eight teams separated by four points.

WCHA STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

1. Denver…………..……..8-4-4………......20
1. Nebraska-Omaha….....9-5-2…..………20
3. Minnesota………………8-3-3………….19
3. North Dakota.………..…8-3-3…..……...19
5. St. Cloud St………….…9-5-0………….18
6. Minnesota-Duluth….…..7-6-3………….17
6. Wisconsin…....…………6-5-5……….....17
8. Minnesota State……….8-8-0.…...…….16
9. Colorado College ……..6-9-1..….…….13
10. Bemidji State……..…..4-7-3....……....11
11. Michigan Tech………..3-10-3……….….9
12. Alaska-Anchorage…....1-12-3…...….….5

Non Conference Games

#8 Miami (OH) (12-5-5 overall) @ Wisconsin (8-7-5 overall)

Last weekend the RedHawks got a point at Northern Michigan (2-1L, 3-3ot) and the Badgers swept the MSUM Mavericks (4-3ot, 2-1ot) in Mankato.

The RedHawks currently sit in second place in the CCHA, behind Notre Dame.  The Badgers have only won twice at home this year and both of those were against Huntsville, who are 3-17-1 on the season.  The Badgers are on a 10 game unbeaten streak, going 7-0-3, since Nov. 30^th.  I think the Badgers will find that RedHawks will prove to be a tough opponent this weekend, since they are ranked in the top ten.  SPLIT

WCHA Games

Minnesota-Duluth @ Colorado College

Last weekend the Bulldogs swept the MTU Huskies (1-0, 5-4) in Duluth and the Tigers split with NoDak  (4-3W, 5-3L) in Grand Forks.

The Bulldogs have struggled against the teams ahead of them in the standings, but luckily the Tigers are below them.  This series will boil down to who wants it more.  The Tigers cannot afford to split at home if they want to keep their hopes alive for a top half finish this year.  The Tigers have the offensive talent to play with the top teams in the league, they just need to clamp down on defense and get some timely saves from  their net minders.  In the end, I don’t believe either team will sweep.  SPLIT

Bemidji St. @ Michigan Tech

Last weekend the Beavers were off and the Huskies were swept (1-0, 5-4) by the UMD Bulldogs in Duluth.

These teams met earlier this season in Bemidji with the Huskies sweeping that series, by winning both games in overtime.  The Beavers will look to distance themselves from fellow lower half team MTU.  BSU is two points ahead of the Huskies and also have two games in hand on them.  The Beavers are currently on a four game winless stretch and need to win if they want to avoid falling down the standings.  The Huskies just can’t seem to find a winning formula, that they can use week in and week out.  If the Huskies can put up a few goals, they can put the struggling BSU offense on the ropes.  I’m going on the ropes and going with the home team this weekend.  HUSKIES SWEEP

#7 Denver@ #19 St. Could St. 

Last weekend the Pioneers took three points from the UNO Mavericks (7-4, 3-3ot) in Denver and the Huskies enjoyed a bye.

These teams met back in early November in Denver with the teams splitting that series, SCSU won 3-0 on Friday and DU won 6-1 on Saturday.  The Huskies have slid a bit as of late losing three of their last four.  The upside is that they were all non-conference games, so that hasn’t hurt them in the WCHA standings.  The Pioneers seem to back on track since their eight game slide, they are now on a five game unbeaten streak, four wins and a tie.  Both teams are in thick of the hunt for the league title this year, which should make for a great series at the National Hockey Center.  I’m leaning right down the middle in these games.  SPLIT

#14 Minnesota State @ Alaska-Anchorage

Last weekend the Mavericks were swept by the UW Badgers (4-3ot, 2-1ot) and the Seawolves were swept by the UM Gophers (4-3, 7-1) in Minneapolis.

After a disappointing weekend the Mavericks look to have just what the doctor ordered, UAA.  The Seawolves have only two wins at home in Anchorage this season.  The airplane ride should give the Mavericks some time to reflect on what went wrong last weekend and refocus on this series.  MAVERICKS 3pts

#6 North Dakota @ #1 Minnesota

Last weekend NoDak split the CC Tigers (4-3L, 5-3W) in Grand Forks and the Gophers swept the Seawolves (4-3, 7-1) in Minneapolis.

This weekend will mark the 282^nd and 283^rd hockey games between North Dakota and Minnesota; the Gophers lead the all-time series 137-130-14.  In 2012, they split a series in January at the Engelstad Arena, and in March UND beat UM (6-3) in the WCHA Final Five, and a week later UM beat UND (5-2) in the NCAA tournament, with both those games at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.  It appears to be this will be the last meeting between these two teams, barring any NCAA tournament games, until 2016.  So, better enjoy these games, and you might want to record them to watch again later.

Last weekend neither of these teams looked all that impressive in their games.  I bet they both are on top of their games this weekend.  Since these teams are splitting into two new leagues next year, it only seems appropriate that they split their last league series.  SPLIT

BYE WEEK

Nebraska-Omaha