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