Around the WCHA: What is Left

I've been testing Chuck to see how he'd run the blog and he's done a stand up job, nice work Chuck!

Most teams have 8 games left over the next 5 weekends and the standings are TIGHT!

Here are the WCHA standings. Denver leads by a point over Duluth who has a point edge over St Cloud who has a one advantage over the Badgers and CC.

The WCHA "What If" calculator is awesome all year and w/ the standings so close, spots 2 thru 4 can go anyway. Here is what I think will happen:

1) Denver - 40 pts
2) UW - 38 pts
3) Duluth - 36 pts
4) St Cloud - 35 pts
5) North Dakota - 31 pts
6) CC - 30 pts
7) minnesota - 24 pts
8) UAA - 23 pts
9) Mankato - 16 pts
10) Tech - 7 pts

I think North Dakota is going to make a run, or I just think CC is still overrated.

Here are the "contenders" for home ice's remaining schedules:

Denver: umn, Tech, @Mankato, CC (home & home) {can it get any easier?}
Duluth: @Tech, @UND, umn, @AA (6 road games always tough)
St Cloud: AA, UND, @UW, @Mankato
CC: @umn, UND, DU (home & home)
UW: Mankato, SCSU, @Tech, @umn
UND: @SCSU, UMD, @CC, Tech (possibly favorable to make a run)

I didn't include the gophers for two reasons: 1) they play 4 of the top 5 teams to finish, and (2) they suck.

I think the Badgers can go 6-1-1 the rest of the way, other than St Cloud, they are really hitting the bottom of the conference teams the rest of the way. I don't see a way anyone can catch DU w/ that schedule.

Lastly, check out the Playoff Status website. Really like this one. Based on the statistical analysis they use, Denver controls their own destiny and has a 60% chance of winning the MacNaughton. At this point, the Badgers have less than 2% chance of not getting home ice and will likely fall between 2 and 4, which certainly looks like how it will shake out w/ Duluth and St Cloud. Tech has last wrapped up, but we all knew this in October.

It should be a fun finish to the season, a 2nd or 3rd place finish will look good going into the Final Five to avoid the play-in game as that tourney could decide who gets the #1 seed in St Paul.

Around the WCHA: Halfway Home

Wow been a long time since I've gotten around to blogging consistently.

The second half of the NCAA schedule is underway right now w/ some holiday tourneys around the country. Tomorrow begins the final Badger Hockey Showdown, and its a pretty good field, if you are going I'd recommend getting there for the early game Yale/Ferris should be good.

Right now Denver sits on top the WCHA standings, but only 4 pts separates 1st and 5th place. At this point only Tech is really out of things. Wisconsin sits comfortably in 3rd place.

I took the time the other day to put together the remaining Strength of Schedule for every team for WCHA games remaining. Hardest to weakest (home/away games left):

1) minnesota - .571 (7 at home, 7 on the road)
2) Colorado College - .536 (7 at home, 7 on the road)
3) Michigan Tech - .531 (8 home, 6 away)
4) North Dakota - .515 (8 home, 6 away)
5) Wisconsin - .510 (6 home, 8 away)
5) UAA - . 510 (6 home, 8 away)
7) Mankato - .495 (7 home, 7 away)
8) Denver - .444 (7 home, 7 away)
8) Duluth - .444 (6 home, 8 away)
8) St Cloud - .444 (8 home, 6 away)

The gophers have a rough road the rest of the way, I feel bad for them. The only team w/ a losing conference record they play is UAA. Duluth and St Cloud avoid Denver, and each other, and both look in good position to finish in the top five. UW's disadvantage is all the road games left on the conference schedule including some tough stops still in January at CC and Duluth. As always it will be a very interesting finish.

This is a great website to check out. It gives the statisical chance of all of the WCHA teams to finish 1st thru 10th in the standings. UW has a roughly 88% chance of home ice for the WCHA playoffs, and a 19% chance of winning the MacNaughton. This is fun to watch as the season progresses to see how quickly Tech is eliminated from any chance at the top of the standings.

While its really too early to talk Pairwise Rankings, I'll just mention that 5 WCHA teams are in the top 12. DU (3), CC (6), UW (7), Duluth (9) & NoDak (12). St Cloud is 16th and I think its possible for the WCHA to get 5 or 6 teams in the NCAA tourney.

The Badgers have a lot of players who've filled the box scores and find themselves at or near the top in WCHA conference scoring.

Brendan Smith is tied for the lead in pts, 1st in dman scoring & PP pts, t-3rd in PP goals and 5th in assists.

Blake Geoffrion leads the WCHA in goals and PP goals, and is in the top 10 in pts and PP pts.

Craig Smith leads the WCHA in freshman scoring, and is in the top 10 in pts and assists.

Derek Stepan is t-3rd in assists and in the top 10 in scoring. In case you forgot, he is the Captain of Team USA at the WJC.

Scott Gudmandson leads the WCHA in GAA (1.82) and is 4th in save % (.924). Brett Bennett is third in GAA (2.15).

Wisconsin is 1st in scoring offense (stick it up your ass gopher fans, so much for that boring style of play) and second in scoring defense. They do need to improve their special teams. The PP is starting to click, but the PK has done poorly after starting much stronger.

My mid-season All WCHA Selections

All Rookie Team
G Joe Howe (CC)
D Justin Schultz (UW)
D Steven Seigo (Tech)
F Craig Smith (UW)
F Rylan Schwartz (CC)
F Danny Kristo (UND)

1st Team
G Marc Cheverie (DU)
D Brendan Smith (UW)
D Gabe Guentzel (CC)
F Justin Fontaine (Duluth)
F Rhett Rakhshani (DU)
F Blake Geoffrion (UW)

2nd Team
G Scott Gudmandson (UW)
D Chay Genoway (UND)
D Patrick Wiercioch (DU)
F Jack Connolly (Duluth)
F Bill Sweat (CC)
F Ryan Lasch (St Cloud)

Top Dman - Brendan Smith
League MVP - Marc Cheverie

When Cheverie plays, DU is almost hard to beat, as he makes up for a young blue line. When he was out and freshman Adam Murray was in net, DU was shaky at best. Huge series in Madison 3 weeks from now.

Around the WCHA: The refs suck

Last week’s results:

Denver swept minnesota: 3-0, 3-0
UW split @ Mankato: 6-0, 2-3
St Cloud took 3 pts from Duluth: 3-3, 4-2
North Dakota split w/ UAA: 5-0, 1-2
CC swept Tech: 4-1, 8-5

The gophers have scored three goals this season (sorry to the whiny commentor, 1 or 3, they still suck) and Jordan Schroeder has been non-existent. CC takes the early lead in the WCHA standings.

WCHA Top Performers from last weekend:

G Marc Cheverie (DU): Shut out the gophers both nights.
F Bill Sweat (CC): One goal and six assists on the weekend as Tech forget to play defense.
F Rhett Rakshani (DU): Three goals to lead the Pioneers on the weekend.
D Brendan Smith (UW): A pair of goals and assists, I think he got the message following his benching.

This week’s schedule:

New Hampshire @ UW – 3 pts for the Badgers
UAA @ minnesota – Split
Mankato @ Denver – DU sweeps
Clarkson @ Duluth – I don’t know much about Clarkson, Duluth wins/ties.
St Cloud @ Tech – Tech salvaged a point at home

Expansion Corner:

Bemidji tied and shut out (3-3, 5-0) against N. Michigan. They travel to Alabama to play CHA foe Huntsville this weekend.

Nebraska Omaha had the weekend off and now open CCHA play hosting Bowling Green. They have a really easy schedule to start the season, which isn’t hard in the CCHA.

WCHA Women:

UW split w/ Ohio State: 3-4, 5-3
minnesota swept St Cloud: 4-0, 7-0
Northeastern swept Bemidji: 2-1, 3-2
Duluth Foreign Legion swept North Dakota: 4-1, 3-1

Standings so far.

This weekend…

minnesota @ UW
North Dakota @ St Cloud
DFL @ Mercyhurst
Wayne State @ Bemidji
Mankato @ Ohio State

You wouldn’t think 6 games into the season that the Badger Women are at a must win place, but they are. The lady gophers haven’t lost yet, and have already swept the DFL in a series. UW needs points (a sweep would be best) to stay in the chase for the WCHA regular season, because falling anymore behind the gophers will likely be too much to make up. I know that sounds weird, but last season minnesota won the WCHA w/ a 23-2-3 record, and I don’t expect much change this season as they are beating people down. The Badger Women need to hit their stride ASAP to stay in the race.

Around the WCHA: First Full Docket

Last week’s results

Denver split w/ Ohio State: 2-0, 0-4
UW salvaged 1 pt from CC: 2-3, 1-1
Duluth swept Mankato: 5-2, 3-2
North Dakota took 3 pts from minnesota: 4-0, 3-3
St. Cloud won/tie w/ Union: 3-3, 3-1
UAA beat Rensselaer and lost to Robert Morris: 3-0, 3-5

Denver’s freshman goalie Adam Murray is really struggling, his GAA is 4.72. Gwoz is going to have to wise up and bench him if he can’t pull it together w/ conference play starting, and super soph Joe Colbourne is out indefinitely w/ a broken finger. North Dakota crushed the gophers on Friday and it appears that Alex “Soft Goal” Wangas might be splitting time in net going forward (probably their only hope of winning). Duluth takes an early WCHA lead.

WCHA Top Performers from last weekend

D Chay Genoway (North Dakota): 3 goals and a force on the PP.
F’s Justin Fontaine, Mike and Jack Connolly (Duluth): 8 goals on the weekend, but it appears Duluth doesn’t have much else.
G Scott Gudmandson (UW): Yeah I know its only been one week, but Scott leads the WCHA in GAA (0.93) and save % (.969).

This week’s schedule

UW @ Mankato – I want to say sweep, but Eaves is 1-7-2 at Mankato, so a split
North Dakota @ UAA – Split
Denver @ minnesota – DU splits again, crushing Wangas, but lose if Murray plays
Duluth @ St Cloud – 3 pts for St Cloud if they shut down Duluth’s trio
Tech @ CC – Tech takes 3 pts on the road

Expansion Corner

Bemidji was off last weekend, but has a pair at N. Michigan this weekend.

Nebraska Omaha won the Ice Breaker a few weekends back and won/tied against Colgate last weekend (1-1, 4-1). They have the weekend off before starting CCHA play.

WCHA Women

minnesota swept the Duluth Foreign Legion: 3-1, 3-0
Ohio State took 3 pts from Bemidji State: 5-2, 2-2
Mankato took 3 pts from North Dakota: 4-2, 1-1

This weekend…

Ohio State @ UW
minnesota @ St Cloud
Bemidji State @ Northeastern
North Dakota @ the DFL

The Badger Women open a four weekend home stand, and definitely need to get things going. W/ the lady gophers’ sweep of the DFL they are way ahead in the WCHA standings already.

Around the WCHA: Conference Play Begins

Last week’s results:

St. Cloud was swept by Miami (OH): 2-3 (OT), 0-2
North Dakota swept Merrimack: 5-2, 3-2
CC split w/ Northeastern: 4-2, 3-4
Denver split w/ Vermont: 5-4, 4-6
Mankato swept Bowling Green: 3-2, 4-1
UAA beat Mercyhurst, 5-3, & lost to Michigan 1-6
Duluth beat Lake State, 4-3, & lost to N. Michigan 1-4
Michigan Tech beat N. Michigan, 5-3, & lost to Lake State, 1-3

Overall the WCHA went 4-2 against Hockey East, 1-0 against Atlantic Hockey, but only 4-5 against the CCHA. That is a pretty good start, but the WCHA needs to keep winning non-conference games. Last season, a stronger non-conference record by the WCHA might have put UW and minnesota into the NCAA tourney instead of Ohio State and Miami (OH).

I watched the Denver/Vermont game on Friday night, and Denver’s defense is definitely shaky. Too many young defenseman who are all offensively talented, but overall the team struggled on D. I’m sure that Gwoz will clean that up, because otherwise DU had no shortage of offense. Based on the box score, North Dakota had a lot of different players notching points last weekend; very balanced attack.

WCHA Top Performers from last weekend (something new):

F Brett Olson (Michigan Tech): Hat Trick on Friday and added two assists on Tech’s other two goals (apparently Tech will have “some” offense)
F Justin Fontaine & F Jack Connolly (Duluth): each had two goals and two assists on the weekend
F Joe Colbourne (Denver): two 3rd period goals to win the game on Friday night
G Kevin Murdock (Mankato): only allowed one goal while making 22 saves in his first win

This weekend conference play begins w/ three matchups. Three other teams continue non-conference play while Tech has the weekend off.

Denver @ Ohio State (Thurs/Fri) – DU sweep
Rensselaer & Robert Morris @ UAA (Brice Alaska Goal Rush) – UAA splits, beating RMU
CC @ UW – UW is rusty on Friday, but crush the Tigers on saturday
Mankato @ Duluth – 3 pts for Duluth
Union @ St Cloud – St Cloud sweeps
minnesota @ North Dakota – The Sioux take 3 pts at home, but will there be a handshake line square dance w/ a new Joe Finley and Blake Wheeler?

Turning an eye to the Women’s side of the WCHA, here are last weekend’s results:

Mankato swept Maine: 5-2, 2-1
minnesota swept Ohio State: 6-5, 6-1
Wisconsin split w/ Bemidji: 0-1, 3-1
Duluth Foreign Legion swept St Cloud: 5-3, 2-0
Team USA destroyed North Dakota: 11-1

It’s too early in the season to worry about the standings, but here is this week’s schedule:

DFL @ minnesota
Ohio State @ Bemidji State
Mankato @ North Dakota

The Badgers are off, which is probably a good thing. I think its way too early to panic, but the team needs to score some goals and a weekend off before a nice long 4 weekend home stand will hopefully help. Anyone dismissing the season after four games and blaming Tracey Dekeyser are fools.

Around the WCHA: let the games begin

Finally, another season of College Hockey is upon us and w/ it the return of my weekly review of the WCHA. The Badgers aren't in action this weekend, and they weren't last weekend when all 9 other WCHA teams faced off in exhibitions, and won all of them. Everyone else begins w/ non-conference action except the gophers. Here is the schedule:

Vermont @ Denver
St. Cloud @ Miami (OH)
Northeastern @ CC
Mercyhurst & Michigan @ UAA (Kendall Hockey Classic)
Lake Superior St & N. Michigan vs Michigan Tech & Duluth (Superior Showcase)
Bowling Green @ Mankato
Merrimack @ North Dakota

Expansion corner (let's keep an eye on next season's expansion teams)
Air Force @ Bemidji State
Army & UMASS Lowell/St Lawerence vs Nebraska-Omaha (IceBreaker in Omaha)

No predictions on games this week, but here is a review of my predicted 09/10 WCHA Standings:

1) Denver
2) Wisconsin
3) St Cloud
4) North Dakota
5) minnesota
6) Duluth
7) Alaska Anchorage
8) Mankato
9) Colorado College
10) Michigan Tech

And while I'm doing this I might as well take a stab at the All-WCHA teams for this season.

WCHA POY: Jordan Schroeder, minnesota
WCHA Top Defenseman: Chay Genoway, North Dakota
WCHA Top Goalie: Marc Cheverie, Denver

WCHA All Rookie Team
F Zach Budish, minnesota
F Michael Cichy, North Dakota
F Rylan Schwartz, CC
D Matt Donovan, Denver
D Dylan Olsen, Duluth
G Mike Lee, St Cloud

WCHA 1st Team
F Jordan Schroeder, minnesota
F Chris VandeVelde, North Dakota
F Garrett Roe, St Cloud
D Chay Genoway, North Dakota
D Ryan McDonagh, Wisconsin
G Marc Cheverie, Denver

WCHA 2nd Team
F Derek Stepan, Wisconsin
F Justin Fontaine, Duluth
F Joe Colbourne, Denver
D Patrick Wiercioch, Denver
D Kurt Davis, Mankato
G Mike Lee, St Cloud

Lastly, no good reason to leave the Women out of this post going forward, so here is the schedule this weekend:

Badger Women @ Bemidji State
Mankato @ Maine
minnesota @ Ohio State (a member of the WCHA for Women's Hockey)
St. Cloud @ Duluth Foreign Legion
Team USA @ North Dakota (saturday only)

Around the WCHA: NHL Draft & Expansion

Been awhile since I've done one of these. I was bored so I took a look at the NHL Draft from a WCHA prospective. 25 current or future WCHA players were drafted. Out of 210 that isn't too bad.

minnesota and St. Cloud led the way, each having 6 players drafted. The highlights for minnesota were Nick Leddy who somehow went to the Wild over Jordan Schroeder who was then stolen (figuratively speaking) by Vancouver a few picks later. Nashville also grabbed a steal in the 2nd round w/ Zach Budish. Saw him at the HS Elite League last year; he's a beast. In the short term I wish all three, well anyone wearing the ugly 'm' for that matter, the worst.

St. Cloud had a lot of mid-round picks. MN HS's all-time scoring leader Ben Hanowski was the first Huskie taken in the 3rd round, and he was later joined by Mike Lee who is going to be a good goalie for the Huskies. He might actually be deserving of accolades unlike Bobby Geoffert.

Duluth, North Dakota and Denver all had three picks. Duluth had the highest pick of those schools w/ late 1st rounder Dylan Olsen. He was considering UW before choosing to play at the DUMP. Didn't have room; rather have McD, Goloubef, Smith and Gardiner back then a freshman from Jr A. DU had back to back picks in William Wrenn and Drew Shore in the 2nd round, both products of the US NTDP. Many people had Shore as a late 1st rounder in mock drafts, and he adds to DU's talent ladened forward corp next season. North Dakota had some late round picks.

Unless this is your first day reading the blog or you have been on vacation, UW had two players selected. Troy Hesketh (3rd round to Edmonton) and Craig Smith (4th round to Nashville). Scroll down if you want to learn more.

Not to be missed, Colorado College and Alaska Anchorage each had a recruit drafted. CC might have a problem as 1st rounder John Moore is still undecided on where he will be next season, CC or OHL.

Michigan Tech didn't have any selections...and no players were selected from Mankato since their freshman regularly are well beyond their draft age, and no one respects a Purple Cow.


Lastly, in case you forgot, the WCHA is expanding to 12 teams in 2010/11 w/ the addition of Bemidji State and Nebraska Omaha. Over at Goon's World, Goon has been all over this, and has some good links in case you are interested. One talks about the prestige of the WCHA, and the other is a linkorama.

Around the WCHA: the clock is about to hit midnight, will the Badgers turn into pumpkins?

Last week there was no Around the WCHA, and I apologize for that. There is no reason to rehash the results from the past two weekends, let’s go right to the standings. (Actually, I should give some props to UAA for beating Alaska Fairbanks twice last weekend. It shows the depth of the WCHA, when the WCHA’s 9th place team sweeps the CCHA’s 4th place team.)

1 – North Dakota – 36 pts
2 – Denver – 35 pts
3 – CC – 30 pts
4 – Wisconsin – 29 pts
5 – minnesota – 27 pts
5 – Duluth – 27 pts
5 – St. Cloud – 27 pts
8 – Mankato – 23 pts
9 – UAA – 19 pts
10 – Michigan Tech – 9 pts

This is what is known for sure. Either DU or North Dakota is going to win the MacNaughton, and Mankato, UAA and Tech are all going on the road for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Just like last season, the middle is once again wide open and comes down to the final weekend.

It’s amazing how two weeks ago Badger fans allowed themselves the hope to think that the MacNaughton might actually come to Madison for the first time since 2000. Those hopes were quickly destroyed by the OT loss to Denver. So following the Denver series hopes were still high for a third place finish, Wisconsin definitely had the inside track, and third place wouldn’t be horrible since Wisconsin could avoid the play-in game at the Final Five. Now that ending is also very much hanging in the balance following last weekend in Mankato. Third place is still possible, but so is seventh place if the team doesn’t pull itself together and gain at least two points this weekend. Here is the final WCHA regular season weekend schedule.

North Dakota @ Wisconsin – need a split badly and at minimum
CC @ Denver (one game) – Denver should win at home
minnesota @ Tech – gophers get three points
UAA @ Duluth – only Wisconsin & DU have beaten Duluth at home, one pt for the seawolves
St. Cloud home/home w/ Mankato – split

IF (huge IF) my predictions were to end correctly, North Dakota still raises the MacNaughton on Saturday night, Wisconsin would take third and there would be a three way tie for fourth.

As you can see from the schedule, Wisconsin really does need to get some points. The gophers and bulldogs have the easiest finishes and are only two points back in the standings. Luckily Wisconsin has the tie breaker w/ both teams, so getting to 31 points puts them into some home ice for the first time since 2006. St. Cloud is in the mix too, someone somewhere said UW holds that tie breaker too, but I’m not actually 100% sure what the second tie breaker is. Two weeks ago if you asked me if the team could at minimum split w/ the Sioux at home I would have had some sarcastic answer for you, now I can’t say the same thing. North Dakota has lost only once in 2009.

This looks a lot like last season, Wisconsin could miss home ice by a point or two again, or be on the right side of the line by the slimmest of margins. And it shouldn’t be this way. Wisconsin has blown at least eight league points in the second half of the season losing games they had no business losing. As nubeetle likes to say, snagging defeat from the jaws of victory. The Badgers should be sitting one point ahead of the Sioux in the standings and this should be the series for all the marbles. Disappointment reins supreme for a third consecutive season.

Around the WCHA: 3 weekends left to daylight savings

The standings are no clearer now than they were last week. It’s a three team race for the MacNaughton. Last week the following happened:

North Dakota swept Mankato
UAA snagged a point against minnesota
St. Cloud swept Michigan Tech
Denver and CC ended in a tie in their lone game
CC also lost to the US NTDP (though John Ramage did not crack the score sheet)

So the standings look like this:

1 - Denver - 23 games - 29 pts
1 - North Dakota - 22 games - 29 pts
3 - Wisconsin - 22 games - 28 pts
4 - CC - 23 games - 25 pts
5 - St. Cloud - 24 games - 25 pts
6 - minnesota - 22 games - 24 pts
7 - Duluth - 22 games - 23 pts
8 - Mankato - 24 games - 20 pts
9 - UAA - 24 games - 19 pts
10 - Tech - 24 games - 8 pts

All of the contenders play each weekend from here on out. The biggest matchup this week is the one we’ll all be watching in person or on the NHL Network tonight at the Kohl Center. A sweep by either Wisconsin or Denver puts that team in a great position. A split would mean the Seawolves need to do well at home against North Dakota, which I think it possible. UAA has only been swept twice all season, both by the Badgers.

Denver @ Wisconsin – Hell w/ it, Badgers SWEEP!
North Dakota @ UAA – UAA does their part gaining a split
Duluth @ Tech – Come on Huskies! Tech gains their 2nd WCHA win
minnesota @ CC – Split, CC will play well one night
Mankato @ Nebraska Omaha – Tuesday night game, Mankato needs to win this game

Time to cheer hard for the Seawolves, Huskies and Land Cows.

Around the WCHA: only four weekends left

Well the Badgers are in first place, and they reached first by sweeping the ground squirrels to the west. The other results last week:

Denver split at Duluth
CC took 3 pts during Winter Carnival in Houghton
UAA split at home against St. Cloud and the volcano has still not erupted (that I know of)

That brings us to the standings.

1 - Denver - 22 games - 28 pts
1 - Wisconsin - 22 games - 28 pts
3 - North Dakota - 20 games - 25 pts
4 - CC - 22 games - 24 pts
5 - Duluth - 22 games - 23 pts
6 - minnesota - 20 games - 21 pts
6 - St. Cloud - 22 games - 21 pts
8 - Mankato - 22 games - 20 pts
9 - UAA - 22 games - 18 pts
10 - Tech - 22 games - 8 pts

It sure is fun cutting and pasting that and just changing the number of games played for the gophers w/ no change in points for two consecutive weeks. Its pretty tight, but I think its a three team race and Playoff Status agrees w/ me. They give UW a 38% chance at the MacNaughton, North Dakota 32% and Denver 30%. Wisconsin has about a 96% chance of home ice according to their site.

A big week w/ the Badgers off to see how everyone else does. I'm cheering for the Seawolves, land cows and Tech version of the Huskies.

UAA @ minnesota - split, only one team has swept UAA this season, Wisconsin
Mankato @ North Dakota - split (hoping at least)
Michigan Tech @ St. Cloud - 3 pts for St. Cloud
Denver @ CC (friday only) - CC wins at home
US NTDP U-18 @ CC - John Ramage's miracle blue line hat trick ruins the Tigers fun

Around the WCHA Feb 6 & 7

Last week's results:

Mankato swept minnestoa!
Denver split w/ UAA losing in OT on saturday
North Dakota and St. Cloud split
Wisconsin gave one to Duluth on saturday night

Over at Goon's World, he has been keeping track of what occurred last week during the gopher/land cow series. On friday night, following a checking from behind suffered by a teammate, gopher Brian Schack jumped the Mankato player and in the process broke his leg, and then proceeded to punch him in the back of the head as he lay prone on the ice. Don Lucia did a lot of bitching about it. While I agree the WCHA refs suck (who wouldn't), don't sound like you condone such actions tDon. The goofers apparently are turning into a bunch of goons when things don't go there way, like a bunch of babies who need their diaper changed (and subsequently can color their putrid jerseys). They were the aggressors when the visited North Dakota a few weeks back too. Badgers better watch their backs this weekend, Tony Lucia is setting a fine example for his teammates in starting crap and then going and hiding in the corner (more on this friday).

The standings didn't change much.

1 - Denver - 20 games - 26 pts
2 - North Dakota - 20 games - 25 pts
3 - Wisconsin - 20 games - 24 pts
4 - minnesota - 18 games - 21 pts
4 - CC - 20 games - 21 pts
4 - Duluth - 20 games - 21 pts
7 - Mankato - 22 games - 20 pts
8 - St. Cloud - 20 games - 19 pts
9 - UAA - 20 games - 16 pts
10 - Tech - 20 games - 7 pts

Nothing will be easy down the stretch, St. Cloud and UAA might even have to fight a volcano this weekend. Thanks to LetsGoDU for the link. Every game is huge, will any team actually gain some ground this weekend?

Wisconsin @ minnesota - Hell w/ it, SWEEP for the Badgers!
CC @ Michigan Tech - Winter Carnival will get the Huskies a big win this weekend.
Denver @ Duluth - Split, time for the DUMP to see the home team lose again.
St. Cloud @ UAA - Mount Redoubt wins if it blows, otherwise a split.
Mankato & North Dakota are off

Around the WCHA Jan 30 & 31

WCHA pts are at a premium right now, and its only going to get more intense down the stretch. Denver had a chance to take a big leap forward last weekend in the standings, but barely moved ahead of the field. The Denver/North Dakota series included a funny moment when Gwoz was ejected by Todd Anderson for arguing an obvious call, and then made a little scene on the ice. Bad officiating is the one constant in the WCHA; something even hated rivals can agree on. Last week's results:

Duluth swept Mankato
St. Cloud went to the Springs (CC) and returned w/ 3 pts
Michigan Tech and UAA tied twice
Denver salvaged one point from North Dakota

While Denver remains on top the WCHA, 8th place is only 8 pts behind them right now. A rough breakdown:

1 - Denver - 18 games - 24 pts
2 - North Dakota - 18 games - 23 pts
3 - Wisconsin - 18 games - 22 pts
4 - minnesota - 16 games - 21 pts
4 - CC - 20 games - 21 pts
6 - Duluth - 18 games - 19 pts
7 - St. Cloud - 18 games - 17 pts
8 - Mankato - 20 games - 16 pts
9 - UAA - 18 games - 14 pts
10 - Tech - 20 games - 7 pts

The MacNaughton is still anyone's Cup to win, and home ice is far, far from decided. Mankato and CC are in the worst position w/ 2 extra games played and kinda spiraling down the tubes lately. Thanks to the Western College Hockey Blog for posting this article from playoffstatus.com. They give a breakdown of what every teams chances are at the MacNaughton and home ice. Wisconsin is given a 9% chance at 1st, but 79% chance at home ice.

This week's games will fill in some more pieces of the puzzle. I'm sure there will be a surprise somewhere.

Duluth @ Wisconsin - Badgers SWEEP
North Dakota @ St. Cloud - both teams are playing well, I say split
minnesota home & home w/ Mankato - home teams each win
UAA @ Denver - Denver takes three points

Around the WCHA Jan 23 & 24

The WCHA is getting interesting, and last week was no different. North Dakota has made a quick push to the top half of the standings w/ 7 pts in their last four games. minnesota rebounded and is right in the hunt. Neither Wisconsin nor CC gained any ground on the field.

Last weekend’s results:

Michigan Tech did get their one point against North Dakota
minnesota swept St. Cloud
UAA split in Mankato
Wisconsin split w/ CC
Duluth took both against Bemidji

College Hockey Stats again provides us w/ the standings. Denver was idle and still remains in first place. Right now there appears to be a divide between the top 5 and the bottom 5, but there are still plenty of games left to play. I ran through the “what if” calculator today and I have Wisconsin finishing 4th.

Wisconsin and minnesota are off this weekend, but everyone else matches up:

Michigan Tech @ UAA – I think the Seawolves will get a sweep basically closing the cellar door for Tech
St. Cloud @ CC – Split, I was not impressed w/ CC, UW gave them Saturday’s game
Denver @ North Dakota – Huge series, will there be any fights? Split
Mankato @ Duluth – I hate the Bulldogs, but I think they sweep at home

A side note, Duluth has lost once at home this season, and they can thank the Badgers for that blemish. Its debatable whether the blog’s presence in Duluth made the difference.

Around the WCHA Jan 16 & 17

The first full week of WCHA action for 2009 was not a disappointment last weekend. W/ the Badgers playing late, I caught parts of three other WCHA games on Friday. Out in Grand Forks, the gophers were embarrassed by the Sioux, super sieve Wangas gave up 11 goals on the weekend. While I enjoy a Wisconsin victory above all things, seeing minnesota get rocked by anyone is a remotely close second.

Wisconsin swept UAA
North Dakota swept minnesota
Denver swept Michigan Tech – Friday night went to OT, w/ Tech leading much of the game
CC split w/ Mankato
St. Cloud swept Duluth

Here are the WCHA standings, DU gives themselves a little cushion out ahead, but things are still close 1st through 9th. Should be another great finish. Todd at TCT discusses the Badgers chances at home ice (and finishing higher) based on past WCHA standings. 31 points has been the average amount of pts needed for 5th place over the past 5 or so years. Wisconsin currently has 20 pts w/ 12 games left to play.

Denver and is off this weekend, but everyone else is in action:

CC @ Wisconsin – I’m hoping for a sweep, but would take a split
North Dakota @ Michigan Tech – Tech gets a tie one of the nights
UAA @ Mankato – Split, lets cheer for the Seawolves to become a TUC in the pairwise
St. Cloud/minnesota home and home – Split, each win at home
Bemidji @ Duluth – Split, I’d have no problem allowing Bemidji to join the WCHA

Around the WCHA Jan 9 & 10

Non-conference games are basically over and its time for teams to make the push for the MacNaughton, home ice in the 1st round or respectability, whichever is the case. Here is a look at last week:

Duluth took 2nd at the Shillelagh Tournament, beating UMASS-Lowell and losing to Notre Dame
Denver took 2nd at the Denver Cup, tied Holy Cross (won in shutout) and lost to Boston U
minnesota won the Dodge Holiday Classic beating Brown and Northeastern
North Dakota swept Bemidji State
Wisconsin…well we know what happened there

Here are the standings heading into the 2nd half.

A full WCHA schedule this weekend, let’s get right to it:

Wisconsin @ UAA – The Badgers take 3 pts, Goloubef and McDonagh make the difference
minnesota @ North Dakota – split (though I’m cheering for Sioux)
Michigan Tech @ Denver – Denver sweep, the 1,000 fan march will make all the difference
Mankato @ CC – Split
Duluth @ St. Cloud – another split in the battle of the dogs

Around the WCHA Jan 2 & 3

Still no conference action again this week, but there are some non-conference games and a few holiday tourneys left to be played before the stretch run. First, last week's results:

Badger Hockey Showdown: Wisconsin takes the title
Great Lake Invitational: Michigan Tech beats North Dakota taking 3rd place, handing the Sioux 4th
Florida College Classic: St. Cloud takes 4th (nice work Huskies...)

Mankato went east and lost to both Yale and Princeton earlier in the week

Overall not a good weekend for the WCHA in non-conference. This could bode poorly for the WCHA in the NCAA tourney as the Pairwise Rankings start to take shape. Hopefully teams fair better this weekend.

Dodge Holiday Classic (Brown, minnesota, W. Michigan & Northeastern) - minnesota should take 1st
Denver Cup (Boston U, Rensselear, Holy Cross & Denver) - Denver takes their own tourney
Shillelagh Tournament (Mass-Lowell, Duluth, Union, Notre Dame) - Duluth takes 2nd

Wisconsin hosts N. Michigan - Badgers sweep
North Dakota home & home w/ Bemidji State - Sioux split w/ Beavers
Mankato hosts Nebraska Omaha (saturday only) - the Land Cows continue to suck in a loss

Around the WCHA Dec 27-30

Last weekend:

CC tied and won while hosting Sacred Heart
Michigan Tech swept N. Michigan, go Huskies!

In other news, it appears Tech has decided to go w/ goalie Josh Robinson instead of Rob Nolan. I don't think that will help them get out of the basement this season, but a good decision going forward. Also, Denver forward Tyler Bozak had knee surgery and will be out until the playoffs. Disappointing news for Pioneer fans, Bozak is one of the best in the WCHA.

This weekend there are three holidays tourney and a monday/tuesday series for WCHA teams. The standings haven't changed, so if you are interested in them, take a look here.

Badger Hockey Showdown: You know the teams, Wisconsin finally wins it again.

Florida College Classic: St. Cloud vs Cornell, Colgate vs Maine; I think St. Cloud takes 3rd, they choke in tournament format don't they?

Great Lakes Invitational: Michigan vs Michigan Tech, North Dakota vs Michigan State; North Dakota is riding pretty high right now, so I think they take the tourney, while Tech takes 3rd place.

Mankato travels east and plays Princeton (monday) and Yale (tuesday). I want them to sweep, but I think they split.

Badger fans, there is nothing wrong w/ cheering for our WCHA foes when in non-conference action. It helps Wisconsin when other WCHA schools get those wins. Of course, I would never ask a Wisconsin fan to cheer for minnesota, they are the exception.

Around the WCHA Dec 19 & 20

Last weekend was the last relatively full week in the WCHA until 2009. There are few non-conference games this weekend, and a bunch of holiday tourneys next weekend. Here are last week's results:

Denver swept Mankato
CC split w/ minnesota
North Dakota swept St. CLoud
Duluth took 3 pts from Michigan Tech

Wisconsin went into last weekend in 1st, but as expected they were surpassed by both Denver and minnesota. The Badgers sit in 3rd w/ CC, which isn't a bad spot considering the start. The only teams that beat up on Wisconsin in conference are ahead of them. The standings (lazy edition):

1 - Denver, 19 pts
2 - minnesota, 17 pts
3 - Wisconsin, 16 pts
3 - CC, 16 pts
5 - Duluth, 15 pts
6 - North Dakota, 13 pts
7 - Mankato - 12 pts
8 - St. Cloud - 10 pts
8 - UAA - 1o pts
10 - Michigan Tech - 4 pts

This weekend is pretty quiet.

CC hosts Sacred Heart - CC Sweep
Michigan Tech home & home w/ N. Michigan - Split
North Dakota hosts the US NTDP U18 Team in exhibition

Should mention that Badger recruit John Ramage and the U18's beat Michigan State the other night.

Around the WCHA Dec 12-14

Despite the fact that Wisconsin is not playing this weekend, everyone else besides UAA is. I didn't do very well last week w/ predictions, here are last week's results:

Wisconsin swept UAA
St. Cloud swept Mankato in a home & home
Duluth took 3 pts from CC
DU swept Michigan Tech
North Dakota swept Havard

Though Wisconsin has at least two games in hand, its pretty cool to see them atop the WCHA standings at this point. In points/game, Wisconsin is 4th in the WCHA. Still a great turn around after only netting 1 point in their first five WCHA games. While winning the MacNaughton would be great, right now I just want to see some home ice for the 1st round of the WCHA playoffs.








Here are this week's games:

Michigan Tech @ Duluth - Duluth takes 3 pts
St. Cloud @ North Dakota - both coming off sweeps so the split
DU @ Mankato - Split
CC @ minnesota - 3 pts for the goofers

If you have Charter and get the sports teir, both minnesota games are on one of the Fox Sports channels this weekend. If the Badgers aren't on to cheer for, the next best thing is cheering against the rodents.

Around the WCHA Dec 5 & 6

After a pretty full week of non-conference action for the majority of the WCHA it’s back to four full series of action. First a look back on last week:

UW swept the Showcase!
North Dakota split w/ Cornell at home
minnesota lost to Michigan and tied State (pathetic)
DU beat Colgate and handed Air Force their first loss
CC beat Colgate, but lost to Air Force
Mankato won and tied @ Bowling Green
Tech was swept by Bemijdi State
Duluth beat St. Cloud on Saturday

Overall the WCHA went 7-5-2 in non-conference action last week.

The WCHA standings are starting to come together.














In points/game Wisconsin is tied w/ UAA in 5th. That adds to this series as a Badger sweep could get them above 1 pt/game, which will be needed to land home ice for the WCHA playoffs.

I’m 8-8 on the season, time to make some predictions for this weekend:

UAA @ Wisconsin – Badger sweep, I picked it in the drive for .500, have to stick w/ it
St. Cloud @ Mankato – Split
Duluth @ CC – CC sweeps, they play well at home
Denver @ Tech – Denver takes 3 pts
North Dakota @ Harvard – Split, for the WCHA’s sake we need to cheer for the Sioux