Whelp, I concede. After winning the picks race the last two years, Arlan spanked me this year, and as such wins the six-pack wager we place at the start of every year. Last week, I went 16-7 (.695) to move to 255-84-40 (.725) on the year, while Arlan went 17-6 (.739) to move to 263-76-40 (.746) on the year.
Congrats to Arlan on his win. Come back next week, as I start anew and pick the playoff races. Arlan doesn’t usually join me in those prognostications, though he is welcome to.
Friday, Feb. 21
Dartmouth at Brown
Candace: Brown wants to play spoiler, but the Big Green are shooting for the playoffs. Dartmouth 3-2
Arlan: Brown is improving but dug too deep of a hole in going winless in its first 10 ECAC games. Dartmouth 2-1
Rensselaer at Clarkson
Candace: RPI has troubled top teams this year, but won’t be able to make a dent on the Golden Knights. Clarkson 3-1
Arlan: Ultimately, it will be a case of one tie too many for the Golden Knights. Clarkson 4-0
Princeton at Colgate
Candace: Princeton has been a very uneven squad, and could be ripe for an upset. How many games behind can I finish? Nah, I’ll go with the Tigers. Princeton 3-2
Arlan: I’ll pick the favorite, even though I get the sense that Colgate is playing better and could surprise. Princeton 3-2
Quinnipiac at Cornell
Candace: This will be a close contest, but I’ll go with home ice. Cornell 4-2
Arlan: I have doubts about Cornell’s goaltending and Quinnipiac’s ability to exploit it. Cornell 3-2
Union at St. Lawrence
Candace: Union has really fallen off, and the Saints are playing for home ice in the first round. St. Lawrence 3-1
Arlan: A Union win at SLU doesn’t appear imminent, but then it didn’t look poised to win at Yale either. St. Lawrence 3-0
Harvard at Yale
Candace: Harvard won’t come out with anything but its best, which should be enough for the win. Harvard 3-1
Arlan: I don’t expect Harvard to allow the Bulldogs to sweep the season series. Harvard 2-0
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 21-22
Syracuse home-and-home with RIT
Candace: RIT has been one of my trouble teams this year, but I can’t pick an Orange sweep. Actually, sure I can. Syracuse 3-2, 3-2
Arlan: The Tigers have but one win in this series, but each held serve on home ice this year, so I’ll go with that. RIT 3-2, Syracuse 1-0
Providence at Vermont
Candace: Providence just never quite got it going this season. Vermont 3-2, 3-1
Arlan: The Friars have had a tough schedule in February, and they struggled with it. Vermont 3-2, 4-2
Wisconsin at Minnesota State
Candace: I don’t expect the Mavericks to be able to pull off a second straight major upset. Wisconsin 3-1, 3-1
Arlan: This series will likely be reprised in Madison in a week. Wisconsin 3-0, 3-1
North Dakota at Ohio State
Candace: North Dakota has been in disarray. This is likely a split. Ohio State 3-2, North Dakota 3-2
Arlan: These games carry more weight for UND than for its opponent, but that was true last week as well. North Dakota 2-1, 4-3
Bemidji State at St. Cloud State
Candace: St. Cloud hasn’t won since early January. Coincidentally, that win was against Bemidji. Bemidji State 3-1, St. Cloud 3-2
Arlan: The series has playoff implications only for the Beavers, but many teams seem to play better with nothing at stake. Bemidji State 1-0, 2-1
Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota
Candace: The Gophers won’t take one of their major rivals lightly, even if the Bulldogs are having a down year. Minnesota 4-1, 4-1
Arlan: If these teams have ever met with less on the line, I don’t remember when it happened. Minnesota 3-1, 3-2
Saturday, Feb. 22
Quinnipiac at Colgate
Candace: Quinnipiac should be able to close the season on a good note. Quinnipiac 3-1
Arlan: The Bobcats are playing at a 4-3-4 pace in 2014, but for some reason, it feels like they’ve stumbled even more. Quinnipiac 3-2
Princeton at Cornell
Candace: I don’t expect as wild as contest as back in November, when Princeton scored four goals after falling behind 5-0, but you never know. Cornell 5-3
Arlan: The Big Red look to lock down their fifth-straight ECAC crown. Cornell 5-3
Rensselaer at St. Lawrence
Candace: Does this game end the Engineers’ season? Possibly. St. Lawrence 3-2
Arlan: SLU fights for home ice; RPI battles to continue playing. St. Lawrence 3-1
Dartmouth at Yale
Candace: Dartmouth looks to qualify for the playoffs. Dartmouth 3-2
Arlan: The season just never quite clicked for the Big Green. Yale 3-2
Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 22-23
Boston University home-and-home with Boston College
Candace: I don’t know if either team has ever swept the season series, but it might happen after this weekend. Boston College 3-2, 4-2
Arlan: The Terriers lack the depth to stay with the best teams. Boston College 5-2, 3-1
New Hampshire home-and-home with Northeastern
Candace: New Hampshire has never quite recovered after the blowup in December. Northeastern 3-1, 3-2
Arlan: Do the Wildcats have a last hurrah in them? Don’t know, I’m just happy to be done picking Hockey East for another year. Northeastern 4-1, 2-1
