By Ryan Stieg
We’re in the last part of January, which is theoretically the last chance for a team to turn things around before the pressure increases even more in February to get home ice, to win the conference or even just get a playoff spot.
Heading into last week, it looked as if the top three spots in the CCHA were starting to get locked in, while the remaining teams would be fighting for fourth place. Now, Bowling Green has jumped into third place, while Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State and St. Thomas are all in contention for the final home ice spot.
As far as my performance last week goes, it went okay. I picked three of the five series correctly, but I picked Augustana to sweep Lindenwood and the Vikings ended up with a win and a tie. The biggest mistake for me was continuing to doubt Northern Michigan, who seems to be on the verge of getting out of the ditch. The Wildcats swept Bemidji State on the road and although they’re still in last place, they might end up getting that last CCHA playoff spot if they can pass Ferris State for eighth place.
It’s going to be an interesting weekend with the most anticipated series being the one I’m not predicting as I’ll be at the St. Thomas-Bemidji State matchup in Mendota Heights. However, the rest of the slate should still be fun. So, let’s begin with a big rivalry in the Upper Peninsula.
Northern Michigan vs. Michigan Tech (Friday at Houghton, Saturday at Marquette)
A couple of weeks ago, this would’ve been an easy series to predict as the Huskies were playing well and the Wildcats were not. Now, the former is still the same, but the latter has woken up after upsetting Mankato at home and then sweeping Bemidji. You have two heated rivals here that both want to get a boost going into the final stretch, so I’m picking a split with both teams winning on the road. NMU wins Friday 3-2, but Tech wins Saturday 4-2.
No. 14 Minnesota State at Ferris State
The Mavericks split with Tech last weekend and were upset by NMU the weekend before, so they’re a little shaky right now. They’ll still get home ice, but first place isn’t quite as secure as it was in December. Then there’s Ferris, who was on a big slide until it got a close win over BG Saturday. The Bulldogs are better than their record, but I think after getting shocked by Northern, Mankato isn’t going to overlook anybody at this point. The Mavericks sweep the series, winning Friday 3-1 and Saturday 5-2.
Augustana at Bowling Green
This one intrigues me because Augie only has a few conference games left, so if it wants to hold on to second place or even home ice, it needs to win whatever games it has remaining. It won’t be easy though as BG is the hottest team in the conference. You can make a case for the Tommies being the hottest, but until last Saturday, the Falcons hadn’t lost since an overtime defeat to Mankato on Dec. 7. Both teams are in need of points this week, so I’m picking a split. BG wins Friday 4-2, but Augie wins Saturday 3-2.