Picking a Duluth sweep got me another game up on Matthew in our weekly picks contest, simply because they won on a night Matthew picked Western to win. Last week, I went 5-3 (.625) while Matthew went 4-4 (.500). On the year, I am 34-24-7 (.576) while Matthew is 29-29-7 (.500).
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 18-19
Miami at No. 1 Denver
Candace: Miami has been very up and down. I don’t think it’ll be easy, but I see Denver getting a sweep. Denver 3-2, 3-2
Matthew: Top-ranked teams don’t tend to stay top-ranked for long so far this season, but I like the Pioneers in this series at home. No change at the top next week. Denver 4-2, 4-2
No. 8 North Dakota at No. 12 St. Cloud State
Candace: North Dakota can’t go winless four straight weekends, can it? St. Cloud State 3-2, North Dakota 3-2
Matthew: UND and SCSU have split each of their past four series in St. Cloud, and it’s tough to see this one ending differently. St. Cloud State 4-2, North Dakota 3-1
No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth at Omaha
Candace: Duluth came very close to sweeping Western Michigan last week, and I think they will get a sweep this weekend. Plus, I feel obligated to pick one series differently than Matthew. Minnesota-Duluth 3-2, 3-1
Matthew: Omaha has to start turning consistent play at home into more wins, but it’s tough to see them getting two this weekend. UMD would obviously gladly take a sweep but I don’t know if that happens, either. Omaha 4-2, Minnesota-Duluth 3-2
Air Force at No. 18 Western Michigan
Candace: Air Force impressed me on opening weekend at the IceBreaker, but I really like what I’ve seen of the Broncos, so I’m going with the league homer pick. Western Michigan 4-2, 3-1
Matthew: Air Force has started the season well with wins over some good teams, but I like Western to take care of business at home. Western Michigan 4-2. 3-2