By Ryan Stieg
We’re in late November during the 2024-25 and overall, I’m feeling okay. I haven’t had a perfect week yet, but I feel like I’ve gotten back on track during the last couple weeks with my picks.
Last week, I got two of the three CCHA series right. Lake Superior State split with Ferris State (I even got the days correct and Northern Michigan split with Minnesota State. I know I picked the Mavericks to sweep, but technically, it was a Mankato win and a tie. As you all should know by now, all ties work in my favor. So, all in all, it was a successful week.
This week offers a unique set of games including a series with two ranked teams, a series in Alaska and me making my first St. Thomas prediction of the season, which I’m sure will be the highlight for you when you read my predictions. You’ll have to wait till the end though as I’ll start off with a big series up in Houghton.
No. 17 Minnesota State at No. 20 Michigan Tech
Finally, two ranked CCHA teams will go at it and it should be a good one. The Mavericks should’ve easily swept NMU last week, but couldn’t get the job done Saturday and ended up losing in a shootout to a bad Wildcats squad. Kudos to Northern for continuing its trend of surprising the Mavs in Mankato, which started during the Grant Potulny era. Then there’s the Huskies, who were off last week, but are currently on a four-game winning streak. Tech will be coming in fresh, while the Mavericks will be determined to put Saturday’s disappointing tie behind them. I think the series is a toss-up, so I’m picking a split. Mankato wins Friday 3-1, but the Huskies win Saturday 4-3.
Augustana at Ferris State
Out of the four series on this list, this is probably the least enticing, but it’s still relatively interesting. Ferris is just Ferris at this point. A not particularly good team, but it’ll surprise you sometimes just like what NMU did at Mankato last week. Augie, on the other hand, are a different story as it’s been much more successful during its two years in Division I than most people thought it’d be. The Vikings won two exhibition games in Plymouth against the USNTDP Under-18 team last week, so they’re going to be eager to try to get some CCHA points. The odds are with the Vikings this weekend, but I think the Bulldogs catch them napping one night and force a split. Ferris wins Friday 4-3, but Augie wins Saturday 3-1.
Lake Superior State at Alaska Anchorage (Sat-Sun)
After splitting with Ferris, with the loss coming Saturday down in Traverse City, the Lakers head off on a much longer trip to the Last Frontier. Trips to Alaska can be brutal for teams, but the good thing for LSSU is it’s getting the weaker of the two Alaska squads. However, the Seawolves shouldn’t be overlooked. They may only have two wins, but they’ve hung tough with a very good Colorado College squad a few weeks ago and forced a split against Alaska Fairbanks last week, winning Saturday 6-1. Lake State is the better team, but it’s still taking a trip to Alaska where even great teams can struggle. So, I’m picking a split. The Lakers win Friday 4-2, but Anchorage wins Saturday 5-3.
St. Thomas at Bemidji State
Well, you’ve made it to the end, so now you get to see my prediction for the Tommies. So far, UST has had an up and down season. The Tommies have lost some games they should’ve won thanks to some poor puck management in the third period and some bad penalties, so their record (3-5-3) is a little deceiving. The good thing is that they seemed to put a lot of those bad decisions behind them Saturday as they notched a win over Bowling Green at home and four of the six league points. Meanwhile, the Beavers have to be smiling right now after taking down now-No. 4 Minnesota at home in a series split. Bemidji has arguably the best goalie in the conference in Mattias Sholl and it’s probably full of confidence knowing that it swept the Tommies at home last year. I’m sure you’re going to roll your eyes at me and say “Really? Another split?” but it’s honestly what I see happening as I think UST wants to build on last Saturday’s win and it surprises Bemidji in the opener. The Tommies win Friday 3-2, but the Beavers bounce back Saturday 4-3.