By Ryan Stieg
When I announced last week’s picks, I was feeling confident going into the weekend. I had a great Week 4 and even though it was a tougher slate of games to predict, I figured I could repeat my strong performance.
I ended up not getting remotely close to the previous weekend’s success. In fact, I only picked one of the six series correctly. A quick thank you to Ohio State for sweeping Bowling Green. If it wasn’t for that, I might’ve had my first ever winless week. Looking back on it, I’m still scratching my head about it as I played it safe by mostly picking splits, which usually works in my favor. Maybe I need to gamble more this week to turn things around.
This week’s games are a little easier to predict, so I’m starting to get my confidence back and I think I’ll drive out of the ditch this week. Let’s get my predictions started with a battle in northern Minnesota.
No. 16 Minnesota State at Bemidji State
Right now, Mankato is the team to beat in the CCHA. The Mavericks are the only ranked team in the league and they’re coming off a big home sweep of Omaha, one week after splitting with a good North Dakota team. Now, they enter the conference season and face the defending MacNaughton Cup champs. The Beavers, on the other hand, have had an up and down opening month, and are looking for a spark to start off their November slate. Bemidji has arguably the best goalie in the league in Mattias Sholl and I think he helps it force a split with the Purple Cows. Mankato wins Friday 3-2, but the Beavers win Saturday 4-2.
Lake Superior State at No. 15 Ohio State
The Lakers were off last week and that was probably a good thing after they only managed a split against a weak Stonehill team. However, if they’re hoping to start off the month with a sweep, it won’t be easy against what is clearly an underrated Buckeyes squad. OSU swept BG last week and I think it’ll get another one against LSSU. The Buckeyes win Friday 4-1 and Saturday 5-2.
Michigan Tech vs. Northern Michigan (Friday at Marquette, Saturday at Houghton)
It’s time for round one of the U.P.’s biggest rivalry (apologies to LSSU) and as always, it’s an intriguing matchup. NMU is coming off a sweep at the hands of Arizona State, while Tech was just swept by Clarkson, so both teams are in need of victories this weekend. I covered this rivalry live for seven years and I know both schools get excited for it when it shows up on the schedule. As a result, I’m picking a split and I’ll go with the home teams winning both. The Wildcats win Friday 2-1, while the Huskies win Saturday 3-2.
Ferris State at Bowling Green
The Bulldogs are a bit of a mystery right now and they’re usually the easiest team to predict thanks to their struggles the last few seasons. After getting blown out by St. Lawrence 8-0 two Saturdays ago, they forced a split with Bemidji last week. So, I’m not sure what to think about them right now. Then there’s the Falcons, who I think are better than their record and just need to get their offense going. It’s a tough call, so I’m going with a split here. Ferris wins Friday 4-3, but BG wins Saturday 3-1.