Without looking at the standings, guess which of the nation’s five first-place teams has the largest lead over their nearest competitor heading into the weekend. If you picked Minnesota, you’re right—the Gophers own a five-point edge over second-place Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA. That’ll likely change this weekend; the Gophers are idle while the Bulldogs are at Alaska Anchorage. With tight races in every league as we head down the stretch, we’ve hardly seen the last of the jockeying for position … especially given some of the horses lined up to run this weekend.
Denver's Drew Shore is tied for fourth in the country with 39 points in 25 games.
Colorado College vs. Denver (Friday at Denver, Saturday at Colorado Springs)
These two teams are separated by one point in the WCHA standings (warning: these tight quarters become a theme) but are trending in opposite directions. The Tigers are 3-4-1 since Christmas and all eight games have been decided by one goal or less, including two matches in which empty netters with less than 10 seconds in regulation provided the final margin of victory. The Pioneers have won seven of eight since Christmas—outscoring their opponents during that span, 36-17—and they’re getting healthier. The latest DU player discharged from the sick bay was goaltender Sam Brittain, who stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced in a 6-3 win at Alaska Anchorage Saturday. The Pios won’t have Ty Loney in uniform this weekend; George Gwozdecky on Thursday indefinitely suspended the freshman forward, who has seven goals and 12 points in his last seven games, for violating team rules.
Miami at Michigan (Fri.-Sat.)
The CCHA standing are so tightly packed—the RedHawks are one of three(!) teams tied for second, while the Wolverines are four points behind in seventh—that every game impacts the league race. Even so, these teams have developed a healthy rivalry over the last few years, one that’s swung in Miami’s favor. The RedHawks are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games against the Wolverines including a sweep in their last trip to Yost Arena in two seasons ago, pretty heady stuff for a team that had won just three times in its previous 47 visits to Ann Arbor. Michigan forward David Wohlberg, who was dinged in practice late last week, and didn’t skate Monday or Tuesday as a precaution, should be in the lineup this weekend.
Colgate at Union, Cornell at Rensselaer (Friday)
Colgate at Rensselaer, Cornell at Union (Saturday)
If you were to gauge this weekend based on the preseason polls, Colgate would appear to be the outlier, but that’s not the case as we enter the February schedule. The Colgate Raider, along with Cornell and Union, are vying for top-four berths in ECAC Hockey. After struggling through the first half of the season, RPI is back in the mix and is playing well with four wins in its last six games. The Engineers are also poised for their biggest weekend of the year, starting with Spirit Day on Friday against Cornell and the annual Big Red Freakout! on Saturday against Colgate. Meanwhile, over in Schenectady, Cornell and Union will meet in what has become one of the must-circle dates on the league calendar each year.
RIT at Air Force (Fri.-Sat.)
It wasn’t that long ago that neither Air Force nor RIT were Atlantic Hockey members. Now, it’s the league’s marquee series. The Tigers moved into first place after taking three of four points from Mercyhurst last weekend, but there’s no time to rest on those laurels; the Falcons are tied for third in the league, just two points behind RIT. Not unlike last weekend’s RIT-Mercyhurst series, these games match Air Force’s offensive prowess—the Falcons are second in the league in scoring—against the Tigers’ stingy defense, currently ranked tied for second in the country. Apropos of nothing, this statistic: through 26 games, RIT has been shorthanded 144 times whereas, in its 25 games, Air Force has been shorthanded 94 times.
Also: Sticking in Atlantic Hockey, the league’s second-place team, Niagara, faces Mercyhurst, the team tied for third with Air Force, in a home-and-home series. Friday’s game is at Niagara, with the two teams heading to Erie for Saturday’s rematch. … In this week’s First Shift, we noted the importance of Ferris State gaining a home-ice berth for the CCHA playoffs due to their mediocre road record. If the Bulldogs are going to get that prize, they’ll have to win a few games on the road starting at Northern Michigan this weekend. … In its first season as a WCHA member, Nebraska-Omaha managed to beat every team in the league except Bemidji State. In fact, the Mavericks were winless in their first seven tries (0-5-2) against the Beavers before beating them in Bemidji in mid-November. The two teams meet in Omaha this weekend. … Merrimack hosts Boston University Friday, then travels to Massachusetts Saturday. The Warriors can take over sole possession of first place in Hockey East with a win against the Terriers and a win or tie at UMass. … Speaking of the Terriers, the Beanpot opens Monday with BU facing Harvard and Boston College taking on Northeastern. The Beanpot is pretty much inconsequential to anyone outside of the greater Boston area. Unless the Patriots win the Super Bowl, in which case it becomes inconsequential to everyone.
