Three weeks left in the regular season and…. four teams are off this week.
Not sure why it worked out what way because it definitely would have been more exciting to have all 10 teams in action for ever game in the final month of the season.
Oh well… C’est la vie.
Six teams are in action and there’s still plenty on the line. (Maybe not for me; I’m not sure how Shane got so far ahead of me in the picks but it looks like I’ll be owing him at least a beverage or two when the Mavericks are in Bemidji in two weeks).
Enough nonsense. Here’s the picks.
Northern Michigan at Bowling Green
Shane: Everybody wants home ice for the playoffs, and the Falcons are within an eyelash of getting it. Bowling Green may not catch Minnesota State and Michigan Tech, but it’s been consistently good all year. The Wildcats, however, are in a dogfight to get the final spot, and things seem to be trending downward for them. Bowling Green took three of four points when these teams met in Marquette in early December. I think we’ll see something similar this weekend. Falcons 3-1, 3-2
Jack: The Wildcats are one of those teams who started hot and set itself up nicely with wins early in the season. It’s been a struggle for them of late. Meanwhile BG hasn’t had many stumbles. I think they’re going to get another sweep. Falcons 4-1, 4-2
Ferris State at Alabama Huntsville
Shane: Who made this schedule for the Bulldogs? Just brutal over the second half of the season. The Bulldogs return to the road this weekend, going to Huntsville to play a Chargers team that’s on the cusp of making the postseason. When Huntsville split at Ferris in November, everyone was surprised. They won’t be this weekend. Bulldogs 3-1, Chargers 3-1
Jack: I hadn’t even realized that Ferris had been on a seven-game skid until finally beating Bowling Green in the second game of their series last week. It’s going to be tough for them to get out of this rut this weekend – the Chargers are bouncing back after being worked over at Michigan Tech later in January. I’ll call a split. Chargers 3-2, Bulldogs 3-1
Alaska Anchorage at Bemidji State
Shane: Here are two teams going in very different directions. The Beavers have played themselves into home-ice contention with a strong second half, going 7-4-1 since the calendar turned. The Seawolves are reeling and, after suffering their worst loss as a WCHA team last Saturday, are on the verge of sitting out this year’s playoffs. Beavers 5-1, 4-2
Jack: Hard to believe last weekend’s sweep of Northern Michigan was BSU’s first two road wins since the first game of the season, but they couldn’t have come at a better time for the Beavers. The wins pulled them even with NMU for the final home-ice slot. Plus, they have the tiebreaker over NMU. In short: BSU controls its own destiny. I think they’ll be able to keep pace against the Seawolves and get the sweep. Beavers 4-1, 6-2
Last week: Shane 4-5-1, Jack 5-4-1
Overall: Shane 102-64-16, Jack 87-79-16
