By Ryan Stieg
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday and if you had one, a great winter break.
My break was pretty great. Not only did I get some much-needed time off, but I had a great Week 12 with my CCHA predictions. I went 7 for 8 with my picks and my only miss was Ferris State losing in the third place game at the GLI. Ugh, so agonizingly close to the perfect week. Still though, getting seven games right is a quality performance. My reward was some fresh, crispy bacon thanks to Bacon Day, and it tasted delicious.
This week, a lot of teams return to action with typical CCHA series, but there’s also some intriguing nonconference tournaments out west. So, it’s an interesting slate of games. As far as my reward goes, it’s National Whipped Cream Day on Monday. I’m not sure what I’ll do with that, but if I earn it, I’ll come up with something good.
Anyway, let’s get started. Here’s my picks for CCHA Week 13 and I’ll start with a tournament out in southern California. A state that could really use a Division I college hockey program.
Coachella Cactus Cup in Thousand Palms, California
No.14 Minnesota State vs. UMass Lowell (winner faces St. Cloud State or Yale)
The Mavericks are looking good for a potential at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, and winning this tournament will help their case even more. Mankato stumbled into the winter break after getting swept by Augustana, but I think its chances against the Riverhawks. Lowell is struggling this year, and it’s coming into the weekend with back-to-back losses to Union and a bad RPI team. I think the Mavs win 4-2.
Championship: Minnesota State vs. St. Cloud State
A battle between Minnesota foes is an appropriate way to close out a tournament. The Huskies have had an up and down season so far, but they did close out the first half of the season with a win over a good Denver squad. I’ve watched SCSU in person this year and although there’s some talent, I think the Mavs are just too good. Mankato wins the championship 3-1. As far as the third place game goes, Yale is about as mediocre as Lowell, so it’s should be a tight one. I’ll say the Riverhawks win 4-3.
Desert Hockey Classic in Tempe, Arizona
Michigan Tech vs. Air Force (winner to face Arizona State or Alaska Anchorage)
The Huskies should be heading to Arizona confident after a good showing at the GLI. Tech beat Miami in the semifinals and then fought hard against Michigan State before eventually falling to a deep Spartans team. Then there’s Air Force, who is having a solid season. The Falcons split with St. Thomas earlier this year and played well against Denver and Colorado College. This should be a good one, but I think the Huskies prevail 5-3.
Championship: Michigan Tech vs. Arizona State
I like the Huskies’ chances here. The Sun Devils may be hosting this tournament, but they’re not setting the rink on fire this year. ASU is coming in fresh though after splitting with Dartmouth last weekend, so it could put up a fight, but I think Tech wins the tourney 4-3. In the third place game, as much as I like the Seawolves as a program, I think the Falcons win 4-2.
Ferris State at St. Thomas
Now, we’re getting into conference play and the Tommies are hoping to have the same second half surge like they did last year. UST has been off for a while, but it went into the winter break with a sweep of NMU. As far as the Bulldogs go, they struggled at the GLI and cost me a perfect week. I think Ferris is better than its record, but the Tommies sweep the series 5-2 Friday and 5-3 Saturday.
Bowling Green vs. Ohio State (at Columbus Friday, at BG Saturday)
The Falcons sort of flopped into the break after splitting with a previously winless NMU squad, but they started the second half nicely with a blowout home exhibition win over the USNTDP U18 team last weekend. Meanwhile. OSU is underachieving this year and hasn’t played a game for a month. I’m going to roll the dice here and pick BG to get two wins. The Falcons sweep the series, 4-3 Friday and 5-4 Saturday.
Colorado College at Augustana
Augie is having a good year and could possibly get an at-large bid to the NCAAs if it continues to play well. The Vikings split with Omaha before the winter break, but I think they played decent during the loss to the Mavericks. CC, on the other hand, is more a hit or miss team. The Tigers are good, but they’ve yet to find a groove. I’m picking a split here. Augie wins Friday 4-2, but CC wins Saturday 4-3.
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State (Sat-Sun.)
This will either be a competitive series or a snoozefest. The Wildcats are having a godawful season, which is a little sad as they’re better than last year’s worst team in program history. Meanwhile, LSSU just got swept at the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off in Milwaukee and went into the winter break with a blowout loss to the Tommies. I’m tempted to pick a Lakers sweep here, but it is a rivalry series and both teams want to win the Cappo Cup. So, I’m picking a split. The Lakers win Saturday 5-2, but NMU wins Sunday 3-2.