Well, hello again hockey fans. I hope any one that may have celebrated Thanksgiving with family and friends in the United States had a good one, and sorry to those folks who were looking for thoughts and previews for action last week’s action.
With last week being unusual, and teams travelling for tournaments and non-conference games, ultimately we saw those teams that we have become so familiar with pick up wins to keep the ball rolling on what some teams look at as a break from the action.
So without any further wait here is the slate for this week’s action.
#1 Providence College- The Friars return to conference play this weekend as they get prepped for a home-and-home series with #16 Merrimack College. The Friars are coming off a 4-3 non-conference win over Yale last Saturday. MC on the other hand was blanked by Union at home 4-0. Pick: This will most likely be one of the closest series we see all weekend, Fri. MC , Sat. PC.
#2 Boston College- The Eagles are still flying high on Chestnut Hill and look to keep the hot streak rolling as they entertain the Northeastern Huskies in a Saturday-Sunday home-and-home. Jerry York’s team picked up two wins last week with 5-1 and 6-2 wins. BC still has one of the best Goals Against Averages in the nation. Pick: Huskies are down and out in the pound, sweep for the Eagles.
#3 Quinnipiac University- These pesky Bobcats just don’t know how to lose, it isn’t in their DNA. As they sit at 13-0-2 to this point in the season, QU is off and on the road this week. Friday night the #10 Yale Bulldogs await the Bobcats. Then it’s a quick turn around, Saturday’s action for QU puck drop is at 4 p.m. as the Brown Bears welcome the Cats to Providence. Pick: Bobcats stay hot, two more wins for QU.
#5 University of North Dakota- The newly nicknamed Fighting Hawks welcome the University of Denver to Grand Forks. UND is coming off a split with the St. Cloud State Huskies in their latest action on Nov. 20-21. Meanwhile it was a sweep for DU of Wisconsin in the same week’s action. Pick: Split. Fri. UND, Sat. DU.
#5 UMass Lowell- The Riverhawks are back in Hockey East this week after a trip to Belfast, Ireland for The Friendship Four, which they emerged as champs. This week in another Saturday-Sunday home-and-home, pits the Riverhawks against the UConn Huskies. UConn sits in the basement of Hockey East with just a lone win for two points, on the other hand the Riverhawks are sitting on top of the standings with a 6-0-3 record and a league leading 15 points. I think we can see where this is going, but who knows, hockey is strange anything can happen any night. Pick: Sweep for UML, Riverhawks continue to pile up points on top of the league.
#6 University of Nebraska-Omaha- The Mavericks are off to St. Cloud State this week, as the Huskies await at home just north of St. Paul, Minn. The Mavs are coming off their most recent results- a sweep of Ohio State in 3-1 and 6-4 decisions. The Huskies are also coming off a sweep of their own over Minnesota in two high scoring games. Pick: Home ice helps the Huskies Friday, Mavericks answer back Saturday.
#7 St. Cloud State- The Huskies are sitting at home waiting for UNO to roll into town for a pair. The Mavs and Huskies are virtually playing the same brand of hockey and consistently putting the puck in the net night in and night out. With both teams coming off sweeps over weaker scheduled opponents, look for both teams to use this weekend as a huge spark to get going in the direction they want before the holiday break. Pick: Huskies Friday, Mavericks Saturday.
#8 Harvard University- The Crimson take to the road- upstate New York is their destination. The Union College Dutchmen await the boys from Cambridge, Mass. on Friday, while Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is the challenge ahead of them Saturday. Last week Harvard took home the Shillelagh Tournament after knocking off the host Notre Dame Friday, then topping this same RPI team Saturday. Pick: Sweep for “Havahd” Harvard.
#9 University of Denver- The Pioneers are off to Grand Forks, ND. to take on the Fighting Hawks at the Ralph. DU is coming off a three point weekend over Wisconsin back on Nov. 20-21. Meanwhile this is a UND team coming off a sweep of Michigan State last week. Pick: Fri. UND, Sat. DU.
#10 University of Yale- The Bulldogs have the luxury of playing two important home conference games this weekend as we close in on the Christmas break. The one problem facing this Yale team is they have to face probably the hottest team in college hockey in Quinnipiac on Friday night. Princeton will not be as tough, but could still pose a challenge for Yale after a tough contest such as they have Friday. Pick: Fri. QU, Sat. Yale.
#11 Boston University- The Terriers welcome the University of Vermont to the other end of Commonwealth Avenue, as the Catamounts get set for two at the Agganis Arena. BU is coming off a tournament win at Red Hot Hockey hosted at Madison Square Garden in New York City. On the other hand you look at this UVM team coming off a 4-0 loss to Penn State in a tournament down in Philadelphia, PA. Pick: Terriers run a muck, sweep for BU.
#12 University of Michigan- Big Blue welcomes the Wisconsin Badgers to Ann Arbor for a weekend series. This is a Wisconsin team ultimately struggling to put the puck in the back of the net on a consistent basis. Meanwhile we look at this Michigan team and wonder how long it will be before their offence finally starts clicking more than it is now. Pick: Still going with a sweep for Michigan, Wisconsin doesn’t score enough and finds it hard to keep the puck out of their own net.
#13 St Lawrence University- The Saints are off to New York as well, Cornell and Colgate are their destinations. The Saints are looking to build off their most recent results- a 5-1 win over Princeton, and a scoreless tie against Quinnipiac. This week a ranked Cornell squad and a tough and pesky Colgate team stand in their way. Pick: St. Lawrence steals a pair. Don’t be surprised if we see overtime Friday.
#14 Bowling Green State University- The Falcons welcome another Mavericks’ team to town this week. No it isn’t Nebraska-Omaha, it’s Minnesota State-Mankato. The Falcons, coming off a sweep of Northern Michigan, look to keep things afloat as this Mavs team rolls into town coming off a sweep of their own against Alaska-Anchorage. Pick: Split, BGSU-Fri., MSU-M -Sat.
#15 Cornell University- The Big Red are at home for a pair of conference games this week, as St Lawrence and Clarkson come to Ithaca. Cornell is fresh off a loss to BU last week at MSG in the Red Hot Hockey Tournament, so look for them to get things back together, be reorganized and get the ball rolling again before break comes. Pick: Cornell takes both, one a nail-bitter, the other I’m not so sure about.
#16 Merrimack College- The Warriors need to make sure all battle armor is set and ready to go to war. Because that is what this weekend against Providence will be. Both teams love to work the boards and grind and battle it out, where it is toughest. I said it earlier I like a split here, home ice helps-especially in Hockey East. Pick: Fri. MC, Sat. PC.
#17 Michigan Tech- The Huskies await the arrival of Alaska-Anchorage for a weekend series. Tech is coming off last weekend’s sweep of the University of Alaska. They look to see if there is something about the state of Alaska and it’s hockey where they can fins some success. Pick: Sweep for Michigan Tech and the Huskies.
#17 University of Minnesota-Duluth- These Bulldogs are waiting for a herd of thundering Broncos to arrive, as Western Michigan is up next for UM-D after their latest results- a sweep, in decisive fashion over Colorado College. With the Bulldogs scoring 11 times in two tilts, and not allowing a single blemish on their end, the boys at UM-D look great right now. Pick: Bulldogs for the sweep, as they tame the Broncos.
#19 Penn State- The newest member to this week’s Top 20, the Nittany Lions welcome Michigan State and the Spartans to Happy Valley for a weekend set. PSU, who is 6-1-3 in their last ten games, looks to pick up the first points of the year in Big Ten play. Pick: Nittany Lions keeping things on track, sweep for PSU.
#20 Notre Dame- The Minutemen are coming! That’s right UMass-Amherst is off to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish. ND is coming off a win in a consolation game in their own Shillelagh Tournament and the Minutemen are coming off being swept by Quinnipiac. Pick: I see a couple close games, Fri.-ND Sat.-Tie.
Enjoy this week’s action folks!