We’re entering the fifth full weekend of men’s Division I play and second week with all teams, including the Ivies, active, and we’re seeing less and less upsets.
Of last week’s five games we handicapped, the favorite won four. The only underdog to have success was UMass Lowell, which actually swept Boston University. Still a $100 parlay with all five games correct yielded a nice $1160.92 payout, though a far cry from a week earlier where Western Michigan’s upset of then-No. 1 Michigan paid more than $7,000 on the parlay.
To date, we’ve talked only about the money lines on each game and this week will continue to do so. But in future weeks, I will look at some puck lines and over/unders (and explain exactly what that means for those less degenerate readers.
This week’s slate doesn’t have a heavy favorite (American International is the biggest at -185), but interestingly the USCHO writers have some interesting picks, including a majority selection of the road underdog, RIT, in that game against AIC.
As usual, a disclaimer:
Understand, this is for entertainment purposes only. USCHO.com is not a licensed gambling platform and no money may be wagered through this site or any subsidiary of USCHO.
Enjoy and, if you bet, may you be successful.
* Games marked with asterisks indicates odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
No. 15 Cornell (+120) at No. 13 Harvard (-145)
Harvard opened its season in impressive fashion, scoring 16 goals over two games against Dartmouth and Bentley. It’s difficult to tell how much of that is the Crimson’s potent offense and how much may have been their opponent’s weak defenses.
We’ll likely learn more about Harvard with a top-15 bout against Ivy League rival Cornell at Bright-Landry on Friday. Cornell also earned two wins last weekend, but both required overtime at home against Alaska.
Interestingly, home has not been friendly for Harvard when it comes to facing Cornell. The Crimson has not beat the Big Red at home since November 5, 2016. Still, based on last weekend’s results, Harvard has to be marked as a slight-to-moderate favorite.
No. 7 Providence (-135) at No. 12 Massachusetts (+115)*
Since losing to Minnesota State twice to begin the season, Massachusetts has won four straight, including a 5-4 overtime victory over Merrimack last Saturday that completed a weekend sweep.
Providence has been rolling as well. It lost twice to Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State at the IceBreaker and then dropped a decision late in overtime against New Hampshire last Saturday. But even that game can be ignored when handicapping as it was the third straight against the Wildcats and the Friars handled business a night earlier with a 7-1 victory.
This is a rematch of last year’s Hockey East semifinal won on the Mullins Center ice by UMass, 5-2. And while the last 20 meeting between the two clubs is pretty even, UMass has owned the last 10 games, going 7-1-2, including 5-0-1 on the bigger sheet at home.
DraftKings lists Providence as a slight favorite in this one, but that’s likely more a nod to their higher national ranking than anything else.
No. 11 Denver (+145) at No. 8 North Dakota (-175)*
After falling to Penn State last Saturday in Nashville, North Dakota has now lost three of its last four games, including its last game at home, a 4-3 overtime loss to Bemidji State.
They’ll face a Denver team that is coming off a bye weekend. Previously, though, the Pioneers hit their first bump in the road this season, dropping road contests at Providence and Boston College.
Like PC and UMass, this battle will bring be a rematch of the NCHC Semifinals from a season ago, won 2-1 in overtime by the Fighting Hawks.
North Dakota has had the better of this series of late, winning four in a row and eight of the last 10. The two clubs met seven times last season with North Dakota holding a 5-2-0 record in those games.
No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (-165) at No. 10 Western Michigan (+135)*
Western Michigan is listed as an underdog by DraftKings, but playing on home ice, this red-hot Broncos club might be the best underdog bet of these games this weekend.
The Broncos have just a single loss on their schedule, a 3-2 overtime decision against then-number 1 Michigan. Western twice rallied to victory at Colgate last weekend, including coming from 5-0 down to win 6-5 on Friday.
These two teams last met in the NCHC quarterfinals a season ago, a game won 5-4 in overtime by Minnesota Duluth. But the two clubs split the regular season series a season ago, each team winning twice on home ice.
RIT (+150) at American International (-185) Saturday
For the first time this season, we handicap an Atlantic Hockey game against what many feel are two of the top teams in the league.
RIT is off to a 4-2-2 start, including an OT victory on the road against then-No. 13 Notre Dame. The Tigers lost the rematch a night later, 6-0, to go along with their only other blemish, a 5-2 season opener loss to Colgate.
AIC’s record of 1-5-1 isn’t very impressive, but the Yellow Jackets are considerably battle tested to this point in the season. Five of their seven games came against nationally-ranked opponents, including last weekend’s series against No. 5 Quinnipiac. AIC took the Bobcats to overtime on both occasions, earning a 2-2 tie on Friday before falling, 2-1 in overtime, on Saturday.
Because of Atlantic Hockey’s regionalized schedule due to COVID, RIT and AIC never met a season ago.
