All the preseason hype is over, the exhibition games played, and this weekend it finally counts. Every WCHA team is in action except Bemidji State, but a vast majority of teams aren’t playing in traditional series. Nebraska-Omaha hosts a tournament with RIT, #6 St. Cloud State, and Clarkson. #2 North Dakota heads to the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage to face Air Force, Alaska, and Alaska-Anchorage. #9 UMD and Michigan Tech go to the Superior Showcase to play Northern Michigan and Lake Superior, while #13 Wisconsin goes to St. Louis to play in the IceBreaker with #14 Boston University, Norte Dame, and Holy Cross.
In the traditional series this weekend, Denver visits Vermont, Minnesota hosts Massachusetts, RPI goes to Colorado College, and the Mavs host St. Lawrence. For the brevity of space and numerous possible tournament matchups this week I’ll only analyze the series.
St. Lawrence vs. MSU-Mankato
Game Times: 7:37 PM CT Friday, 7:07 PM CT Saturday; TV: CHW, check local listings for channel. Coverage starts at 7 PM CT both nights.
Players to Watch: G Phil Cook (MSU), F Kyle Flanagan (STL). Both sophomores made great strides last season as they either led or were close to the lead in many positional categories and will be crucial to their team’s successes.
Analysis: This series will be a tale of two programs. The Saints are coming off a 20-15-6 campaign with a fourth place finish in the ECAC Tournament. The Mavericks however are coming off a disappointing 16-20-3 mark while losing to St. Cloud State in the first round of the WCHA Tournament. Look for the strong MSU defensive corps lead by seniors Ben Youds, Kurt Davis, and Channing Boe to help control the tempo of this series for the Mavericks. However, the bigger story line may be the lack of offensive play by both teams. The Saints finished last year with 2.77 GPG, 10th in the 12 team ECAC, while the Mavericks did not fare much better with a 2.82 GPG which ranked 7th in the then 10 team WCHA.
Prediction: Split series, these are two very evenly matched teams statistically.
Massachusetts vs. #15 Minnesota
Game Times: 7:07 PM CT both Friday and Saturday; TV: FS North
Players to Watch: F Mike Hoeffel (MIN), F T.J. Syner (MASS). Hoeffel and Syner are the leading returning scorers for their respective programs.
Analysis: Once again, offense will be at a premium for both teams. While the Gophers do return a majority of their starters, their offense was towards the bottom of the WCHA while suffering their first losing season in over a decade. UMass on the other hand lost a lot of their offense from last year and will be required to pick up the pieces from an already struggling Minutemen team from last year.
Prediction: Gopher sweep. In my opinion, Alex Kangas will be the difference maker in this series as the Gophers try to remove the bad memories of last season.
#11 Denver vs. Vermont
Game Times: 7:05 PM ET both Friday and Saturday; Internet video: CatamounTV ($4.99 per game)
Players to Watch: F Jason Zucker (DEN), D Kyle Medvec (VER). Although the preseason stats don’t count, both Zucker and Medvec had memorable preseasons. Zucker scored a hat trick in his first ever collegiate hockey game in an 8-1 defeat of the US Under 18 team, while Medvec picked up two assists in a 3-2 loss to New Brunswick.
Analysis: As I said in my WCHA season preview, Denver may be one of the more intriguing teams in the conference. The Pioneers lost a lot of talent from last year’s squad but their recruiting class looks very promising with such names such as the aforementioned Zucker, 1st round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Beau Bennett, and Nick Shore. Vermont is a very interesting squad as well. In the preseason Hockey East coaches’ poll the Catamounts got 6th place, a point behind Northeastern. They’re coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance but lost their three biggest offensive playmakers to graduation. While the Catamounts have the core returning to threaten another NCAA appearance, they have to step up in a challenging Hockey East conference to make an impact.
Prediction: Denver sweep. At this point the Catamounts have more questions than the Pioneers do, although a split isn’t out of the question.
RPI vs. Colorado College
Game Times: 7:37 PM MT Friday, 7:07 PM MT Saturday; Internet video: B2 Networks
Players to Watch: Rylan and Jaden Schwartz (CC), Allen York (RPI). The Schwartz brothers are once again reunited after a year hiatus, but its younger brother Jaden, a first round selection by the St. Louis Blues and an incoming freshman who steals the spotlight from Rylan, a sophomore. Jaden is much more of a polished playmaker than his brother, but Rylan is known to make the big play as well. Jaden can also score buckets of goals; in midget hockey he broke team records previously held by NHL scoring machines in Vincent Lecavlier and Brad Richards. The Engineers send out junior Allen York between the pipes, and York has stepped up to the challenge. This Blue Jackets prospect shaved almost half a goal off his goals against average from his freshman year to his sophomore year while also boosting his save percentage by nine tenths of a percent. He could very well be a household name in his own right by the end of the season.
Analysis: RPI has many returning players for an Engineer squad that suffered a first round exit in the ECAC playoffs. Barring injuries, I see them making a deeper run into the conference tournament as along as York stays healthy. As for Colorado College, if they want to stay relevant in the McNaughton Cup conversation, they must rise to the challenge and avoid a collapse much like last season in Colorado Springs.
Prediction: Split. These teams match up quite well. Look for a fun series in the Rockies this weekend.
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