Last week:
Dan: 4-5-1
Chris: 6-3-1
On the season:
Dan: 96-85-25 (.527)
Chris: 106-75-25 (.575)
This Week’s Picks
Friday, March 2 – Sunday, March 4
Atlantic Hockey First Round
Best Of Three Series
No. 11 Sacred Heart at No. 6 Rochester Institute of Technology
Chris: The teams split two weeks ago and I think they’ll do the same here. But who wins on Sunday? Despite RIT’s dismal home record in the second half of the season (1-7), I think the Tigers find a way to win a high-scoring game. RIT in three.
Dan: Nearly a third of RIT’s games this year were decided by three or more goals, reinforcing my theory of them as boom-or-bust. The Tigers’ series with Sacred Heart is indicative of that theory since they won the first game 5-0 but lost, 5-3, the next night. There’s something about this series that is speaking to me, and for some reason, I want to pick the upset. So why not? Let’s ride the lightning. Sacred Heart wins in three.
No. 10 Bentley at No. 7 Robert Morris
Chris: Neither team is clicking right now: both are 1-3 in their last four games. Which one rebounds? I’m going with the home team. Robert Morris in three.
Dan: RMU struggled to the finish, going 2-5-1 in the last month of the season. But it came on the heels of a stretch of hockey where the Colonials went 5-1-1, which itself was a portion of an 8-2-1 run. Bentley, meanwhile, took a point from RMU this year and three points last year in Pittsburgh. So expect this series to be a slobberknocker to the very end. Robert Morris wins in three.
No. 9 Niagara at No. 8 American International
Chris: It might be ironic that Niagara, which showed strong improvement over last season despite a rough second half, would exit the postseason faster than it did last year. But I think it will happen. AIC in three.
Dan: AIC is hosting for the first time ever, but because they share a home with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, these games are being played at 1:05 p.m, including the if-necessary third game. I’ve been all in with AIC for a while, and there’s no turning back now. AIC sweeps in two.
