Andy’s College Hockey Extravaganza Week #7

For the first time this season, a WCHA team is the number one team in the land. It’s UMD in a squeaker (26 points separate UMD and #2 Boston University). Other WCHA teams in the polls include UNO at #4, UND is 7th, Denver checks in at #14, while Wisconsin ranks 15th. And finally, from all of us at College Hockey Weekend, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving and remind you that the CHE will return for the weekend of December 3^rd and 4^th.

#7 North Dakota (7-4-1, 6-2-0 WCHA) at #4 Nebraska-Omaha (8-1-1, 5-0-1 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:37 PM CST Friday, 7:07 PM CST Saturday, no TV

Players to watch: Corban Knight (UND), Matt White (UNO). Knight leads the Sioux in points with 13 points so far while White is second in goals with 7 for the potent Maverick offense.

Analysis: A rivalry will be born at the Qwest in Omaha this weekend; the Sioux head down to face their old coach in Dean Blais. Both teams are coming off winning weekends; UND swept UW at the Kohl while the Mavs picked up three points up in St. Cloud. To continue their momentum, the Sioux need to at least split after their rise from 10^th last weekend. The last team UNO played that was ranked this high was Michigan, where they split against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor last month.

Prediction: Split.

#1 UMD (6-1-1, 9-1-2 WCHA) at #15 Wisconsin (6-4-2, 3-3-2 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM CST Friday and Saturday; TV: FS Wisconsin Friday, regional coverage Saturday

Players to Watch: Jack Connolly (UMD), Michael Mersch (UW). Connolly took home WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors last week with a five point weekend over Michigan Tech last weekend. Mersch has been a steady contributor for the Badgers with eight points so far.

Analysis: The Badgers took two steps back last weekend after being swept by UND. While they were close results (4-2 and 1-0), the Badgers need more offensive depth; only four players have five or more goals at this point. The Bulldogs on the other hand, have five players with ten or more points. If the Badgers want to keep pace with this fast paced and talented Bulldog offense they need to score and score often.

Prediction: Split.

St. Cloud State (4-6-2, 2-3-1 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (2-6-2, 1-4-1 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM AST Friday and Saturday TV: None

Players to Watch: Drew LeBlanc (SCSU), Matt Bailey (UAA). LeBlanc has registered 11 assists on the season while Bailey is tied for the leading scorer for the Seawolves with 4.

Analysis: Once again, a rather uneventful series involving the Seawolves and an outstate Minnesota series should be playing out. The Huskies are coming off a point weekend against UNO while the Seawolves got a split against Bemijdi State. Unless you’re a fan of either team, it isn’t worth staying up late to watch this series.

Prediction: Split.

Minnesota (5-4-1, 3-4-1 WCHA) at Michigan Tech (3-2-2, 1-2-1 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM EST Friday and Saturday TV: None

Players to Watch: Kent Patterson (MIN), Kevin Genoe (MTU). The goalies will be the stars of the show this weekend in Houghton. The junior from Plymouth, MN and Colorado Avalanche prospect has taken the starting job from former starter Alex Kangas and has impressed with his numbers: a record of 4-0-1, and a 2.45 GAA. Genoe is another talented goalie as he has put up similar numbers to Patterson in save percentage.

Analysis: While the adage may be “Defense wins championships”, neither team seems to have it as their defenses have not looked strong at all. However, what does give the Gophers the edge this weekend is their strong offensive efforts as they rank tied for second with UNO in goals scored in conference games this season.

Prediction: Minnesota sweep.

Bemidji State (2-5-1) at #14 Denver (6-4-2, 5-2-1 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:37 PM CST Friday, 7:07 PM CST Saturday, TV: FS Rocky Mountain (Fri)

Players to Watch: Matthieu Dugas (BSU), Nick Shore (DU). Dugas picked up the Beaver win Saturday night against Alaska-Anchorage, while Nick Shore has been named as a “player to watch” by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the NHL Entry Draft in June.

Analysis: Sometimes you have to give a team credit for stepping into the building and attempting to give it a fair shake. That’s the boat the Beavers are in this weekend at Magness.

Prediction: Denver sweep.

CHW Blogger

Andy Sorensen

Andy’s College Hockey Extravaganza Week #5

It’s a typical weekend for the WCHA, conference matchups across the board except for the #19 Gophers who have the weekend off, while Colorado College travels to crosstown rival Air Force Friday night then hosts #3 Yale Saturday at the World. The big series this weekend is a traditional 

WCHA rivalry as the #13 Sioux travel to Madison to take on the #10 Badgers.

As for CHW’s coverage this weekend, be sure to double check your local listings. Our Minnesota viewers get both games of UNO/St. Cloud State. If you’re east of the Mississippi, that’s where it gets a tad tricky. Everyone gets UNO/St. Cloud Friday night, and then it’s regional coverage for Saturday’s action. Northern Wisconsin (Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Wausau) receives the encore of UND/UW-Madison, while the South (La Crosse, Madison, and Janesville) will see Game #2 of UNO/St. Cloud. If you want to check out the series, it’s on the Wisconsin Channel for both games while FS Wisconsin carries Friday night’s contest. With that, it’s onto the games:

#10 North Dakota (5-4-1, 4-2-0 WCHA) at #13 Wisconsin (6-2-2, 3-1-2 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM CST both Friday and Saturday; TV: WI Channel (Both games), CHW (N WI Sat), FS Wisconsin (Friday)

Players to Watch: Evan Trupp (UND), Mark Zengerle (UW). Both players are coming off huge weekends for their teams. Trupp recorded 3 points last weekend in the split against UMD, while Zengerle put up 6 points in a Badger three point weekend against Minnesota.

Analysis: This is by far the biggest and most intriguing series of the weekend. Both teams were oh so close to sweeps last weekend, but Saturday night overtimes did them in. The Sioux lost on a Justin Fontaine bullet 58 seconds in, while the Badgers tied 3-3 against Minnesota. I wouldn’t say this is a “make or break” series this early in the season, but a strong performance by either team will put them up with the leaders of the WCHA in UMD and UNO with a little over a month of the season over.

Prediction: Series split. These are two very strong and talented teams that will play each other well.

Minnesota State-Mankato (2-4-4, 2-4-2 WCHA) at #15 Denver (4-4-2, 3-2-1 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:37 PM MST Friday, 7:07 PM MST Saturday, no TV

Players to watch: Eriah Hayes and Chase Grant (MSU), Jason Zucker (DU). Hayes and Grant share the team lead with three goals apiece through 10 games. Zucker, a Wild prospect, is tied for the team lead with 7.

Analysis: On paper, this seems to been an even matchup. However, the Mavs need offense in a bad way. While Kurt Davis is racking up the assists, they need to find a “go to guy” on offense if they want to stay in the conversation to host a WCHA Playoff series. While UNO is a juggernaut, there are no excuses why, in the words of Channing Boe before the road trip, that the “boys become men.” The Mavs are tied for tenth in both goal scored and goals given up. Phil Cook can only do so much in net, and while he does have okay numbers in light of this, the rest of the team needs to step up in a bad way as the Mavs face their second straight ranked opponent in a row.

Denver on the other hand, needs to get rid of the shock they faced last weekend when they hosted Colorado College and lost 9-2 on Saturday night. Yes, they did pick up the split, but they need to stick with their bread and butter in goal with Brittain. I totally understand pulling Brittain out when Gwozdecky did, but Murray fared no better, giving up 4 goals on 7 shots.

Prediction: Denver sweep. MSU needs to prove that they can step up in the big situations, which is what they have in Denver. Regardless, the bye week next weekend for the Mavs is much needed.

#6 Nebraska-Omaha (7-1-0, 4-0-0 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (4-5-1, 2-2-0 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM CST both Friday and Saturday; TV: CHW

Players to Watch: Johnnie Searfoss (UNO), Aaron Marvin (SCSU). Searfoss racked up 3 goals last weekend, including a 2 goal effort Friday night against MSU. Marvin put together a three point weekend against Bemidji State last weekend.

Analysis: To comprehend UNO’s surprising rise to 2^nd place in the WCHA, let’s look at their lineup: They have five 10 point scorers and thus rank second in the country in scoring offense to Yale. Their defense is also inside the Top 20. To say that anyone expected this out of the Mavs is right, I sure didn’t. As for St. Cloud, they’re trying to put out the fire before it gets too out of control. To say that the Huskie season to this point is a disappointment isn’t far off. To me, it seems that Garret Roe is trying to do too much with his 5.71 shot percentage. Yes, he does have seven assists, but Roe and Ben Hanowski were supposed to be the cornerstones of the Husky offense this season.

Prediction: UNO sweep.

Michigan Tech (3-2-2, 1-2-1 WCHA) at #2 Minnesota-Duluth (7-1-2, 4-1-1 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM CST Friday and Saturday; TV: My 9 Duluth

Players to Watch: Bennett Royer (MTU), J.T. Brown (UMD). Royer has 7 points on the season (4 G, 3 A), while Brown brings more depth to the Bulldog attack beyond the Connollys and Fontaine.

Analysis: UMD had a good weekend on the road grabbing up a split on the road at UND. They get a much easier weekend with an inconsistent Husky team at home. The Huskies have only played four WCHA games, against MSU and Wisconsin. They played MSU close and got blown out of the building by Wisconsin. I expect the latter outcome at the DECC this weekend.

Prediction: UMD sweep.

Alaska-Anchorage (1-5-2, 0-3-1 WCHA) at Bemidji State (1-4-1)

Game Times: 7:37 PM CST Friday, 7:07 PM CST Saturday, TV: Lakeshore Public TV; MN Channel

Players to Watch: Jordan Kwas (UAA), Shea Walters (BSU) Kwas, a freshman, has 7 assists for the Seawolves so far. As for Walters, he leads the Beavers with 17 PIM.

Analysis: Unless you’re a fan of the teams involved or interested in the WCHA cellar there’s not much to see here. Both teams are ranked last and second to last in offense and defense so it’ll be a see-saw series between the teams.

Prediction: Split.

Andy’s College Hockey Extravaganza Week #5

First off, I wanted to address the Brad Malone hit, for which he was suspended one game for by the WCHA. As you may know, Denver captain Jesse Martin broke his neck last weekend on that hit in Grand Forks. Legal hit? Yes. There’s nothing there to suggest intended malice against Martin. In fact, the Denver Post earlier this week reported that Malone and Martin talked on the phone earlier in the week. Neck surgery on Martin to stabilize the fractures is expected Friday in Minneapolis.  CHW’s prayers are with Jesse Martin during his recovery and a hopeful return to the game of hockey.

As for the punishment fitting the crime, as clean as it did look, hits to the head and neck are quickly rising to the top of hockey’s (and football’s) concerns, at every level. The WCHA had to send a message to Malone and the rest of the league as a whole that hits to the head and neck are unacceptable, and that’s why the suspension came down.

While some may balk at the briefness a one game suspension sends, it seems to me that Brad has suffered enough; he’s shown remorse for his actions, it was a clean play by all accounts, and he’s very, very lucky as a hockey player and a human being that Jesse’s regained movement in all of his limbs. Besides, if the WCHA were to throw the book unnecessarily at Brad Malone, there may have been two careers put into jeopardy because of the hit. Good judgment call by the WCHA.

Also, for this week’s public service announcement, remember to fall back an hour to Standard Time Saturday night. Now, onto the matchups:

Bemidji State (0-3-1) at #20 St. Cloud State (3-4-1, 1-1-0 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM CDT both Friday and Saturday TV: CHW (Check local listings)

Players to Watch: Jared Festler (SCSU), Jordan George (BSU). If you guessed Garrett Roe or Ben Hanowski were the Huskies’ leading scorer so far, you’re wrong. Festler leads the team with 3 goals so far. As for George, he hasn’t hit his “sophomore slump” yet. He’s also tallied three goals so far, including a power play goal.

Analysis: What’s been hurting the Husky cause so far this season is that they have yet to win a series. Their series against a struggling Beaver team this weekend should help that. Honestly though, I don’t think the slow start is all BSU’s fault; after all, they did begin the season hosting the aforementioned Fighting Sioux and Bulldogs but did manage to get a point out of this grueling stretch. The key for the Beavers this weekend is to keep showing they can play with the leaders; both of their games with UMD last weekend went into overtime.

Prediction: St. Cloud sweep.

Minnesota State-Mankato (2-2-4, 2-2-2 WCHA) at #8 Nebraska-Omaha (5-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:37 PM CDT Friday, 7:07 PM CDT Saturday

Players to watch: Corey Leivermann (MSU), Matt White (UNO). These are two freshmen who have made major impacts for their teams so far. Leivermann, who is a Mankato native, leads the MSU Mavs in plus/minus with a +3 and is second to Ben Youds’ 24 PIM with 18 of his own. As for White, he’s tied for the team lead for goals with Matt Ambroz with five goals.

Analysis: I’ve said this before (and will probably say this again for the upcoming Denver and North Dakota series), but this is a big series for MSU to prove they can hang around the top of the WCHA. They proved two weeks ago that they’re as good as anyone can get defensively by splitting with then-ranked Colorado College, but how will they handle such a diversified offensive attack in UNO? As for UNO, MSU is certainly not the tests they’ve seen in such squads as Minnesota and Michigan so far, but anything less than a split will cost the Mavs dearly in the polls.

Prediction: Split. MSU has a knack for playing with their competition this year, but can they play with a Top 10 team?

#15 Wisconsin (5-2-1, 2-1-1 WCHA) at #17 Minnesota (5-3-0, 3-3-0 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:07 PM CDT Friday and Saturday TV: FS North Friday, Big Ten Saturday

Players to Watch: Craig Smith (UW), Jay Barriball (MINN). Smith has been an all-around package for the Badgers as a sophomore so far leading the team in points and penalty minutes. If you haven’t been watching Gopher hockey this year, Jay Barriball has rebounded strongly from his injury-riddled season last year. The St. Louis Blues prospect has 8 goals on the year, including two game winners.

Analysis: Both the Gophers and Badgers are coming off of weekend sweeps of Colorado College and Michigan Tech respectively. Don Lucia has done a great job resurrecting this Gopher team after the UNO sweep as they’ve gone 3-1-0 in the two series since then. If you throw out Saturday’s 9-4 goal fest in Colorado Springs, the defense is looking a lot better. As for the Badgers, they’ve looked pretty impressive with their two losses coming against now nationally ranked teams in #3 Boston University and #13 Denver. Look for both teams to come out fighting in what should be a very competitive series in Minneapolis.

Prediction: Split.

#2 Minnesota-Duluth (6-0-2, 3-0-1 WCHA) at #9 North Dakota (4-3-1, 3-1-0 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:37 PM CDT Friday, 7:07 PM CDT Saturday, TV: FSSN; Fox College Sports

Players to Watch: Aaron Crandall (UMD), Derek Forbort (UND). Crandall has been performing beyond expectations for the Bulldogs between the pipes as a freshman so far. He holds a 3-0-0 record, a shutout to his credit, and a 0.98 GAA. Forbort was a first round draft pick by the LA Kings this past June, and he has been a contributor so far for the Sioux. Although Forbort has yet to score a goal, he leads the Sioux in assists with 5.

Analysis: One of the “series to watch” not only in the conference but in the country is up at the Ralph this weekend. UMD faces its first real test of the year in the Sioux, who have been struggling of late, being swept by now #7 Maine and splitting against #13 Denver. This is a series that both teams need at least a split to keep the momentum going. Yes, it’s early November, but resumes for the NCAA Tournament are already being written and wins in October and November are a lot easier to grab up than those from mid-February on.

Prediction: I’ve been getting a lot of flack from my Duluth readers this season, but I’m a “Bulldog Believer”, at least this weekend. While I would be crazy to project a sweep in the Ralph, with Denver and how close they got to the sweep in that same building last weekend, I will predict a UMD sweep.

Colorado College (3-4-1, 1-3-0 WCHA) at #13 Denver (3-3-2, 2-1-1 WCHA)

Game Times: 7:37 PM MDT Friday, 7:07 PM MDT Saturday TV: FS Rocky Mountain (Fri)

Players to Watch: William Rapuzzi (CC), Sam Brittain (DU). When you play on the same line as the dynamic Schwartz brothers, your numbers certainly get a boost. That’s the case with Rapuzzi. He’s tied for second on the team with three assists. Brittain is much like what Aaron Crandall is but in a Pioneer uniform, but he gets more playing time than Crandall does. The NHL is also following Sam as he is a prospect for the Florida Panthers, an organization known for having good goaltenders, most notably Roberto Louongo and John Vanbiesbrouck.

Analysis: It will certainly be an emotional series for the Pioneers as their minds are on their captain who is recovering in Minneapolis, along with playing their in-state rivals. If anything, last weekend against UND was a confidence boost for the Pioneers. They went into one of the toughest places to play in college hockey and split while being oh so close to the sweep. As for the Tigers, the time to right the ship has to be now as they’ve lost four of their last five, all conference matchups.

Prediction: Denver sweep.

Andy Sorensen, CHW Blogger