By Ryan Stieg
We’ve now entered Week 16 in the CCHA season, and the conference is making some noise on the national level.
Four CCHA teams are ranked in the top 20 and two of them are ranked in the top 16 in the NPI, so as of right now, there’s a very good chance that the league will have more than one team make the NCAA Tournament this season. That would be a great reward for a conference that is often overlooked by fans and experts.
As far as rewards go, I managed to earn mine last week by the skin of my teeth. So, I enjoyed all three parts of my Week 15 prize. I spent a Starbucks gift card for National Spend Your Giftcard Day, I ate some hot honey for Winnie the Pooh Day and then reminisced about my time living in Michigan for National Michigan Day. It really was a full day.
This week’s prize is peanut butter for National Peanut Butter Day and irish coffee for National Irish Coffee Day. I don’t think I can combine those together, but I’ll try to find a way to eat them separately. The question is will I get my prize this week. I barely got it last week and it’s been a while since I had a great week. Also, with the MacNaughton Cup race heating up as well as the race for home ice, each series becomes harder to predict.
Well, let’s get started. Here’s my picks for Week 16 and I’ll start with a series where one game will take place in Canada.
No. 16 St. Thomas at Lake Superior State (Friday at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Saturday at SSM, Michigan)
This weekend is the Superior Ice Showdown where the first place Tommies will battle the Lakers across the border Friday night before playing back at LSSU’s home rink Saturday. It’s an interesting idea and it’s creative how the Lakers are trying to expand their reach into Canada. As far as the matchup goes, UST comes in hot as it has won eight in a row and three straight sweeps including the Tommies’ first ever over Bemidji last weekend. LSSU isn’t as hot, but it’s been playing pretty well recently and split last weekend with BG. The Lakers are also the most recent team to defeat UST. Normally, I don’t pick sweeps this time of year, but UST is just on fire right now, and I don’t see that stopping this week. The Tommies sweep the series, winning 3-2 Friday and 5-2 Saturday.
No. 19 Michigan Tech vs. Northern Michigan (Friday at Marquette, Saturday at Houghton)
It’s rivalry weekend in the Upper Peninsula and that’s always fun. The Huskies are doing great right now and are back in the Top 20. They’ve won five in a row and earned back-to-back sweeps, including last week’s dominant weekend over Mankato. Then there’s the Wildcats, who still have only one victory this year and are just trying to keep from missing the CCHA playoffs again. Normally, I’d pick a split since there’s bad blood between these schools, but I think Tech’s playing too well to get upset. The Huskies sweep the series, winning 4-1 Friday and 4-2 Saturday.
Bowling Green at Bemidji State
This is the only matchup that doesn’t involve a ranked team, but it should still be a good one. The Falcons are also off to a strong start in the second half and despite splitting with Lake State last week, they looked good in both games. Meanwhile, something is going wrong in Bemidji. The Beavers appeared to be in contention for the MacNaughton Cup just a few weeks ago, but they’ve now lost four in a row and haven’t won a game since it swept NMU in late November. However, when Bemidji is desperate, it tends to be the most dangerous. So, I’m picking a split here. The Beavers win Friday 4-3, but BG wins Saturday 3-1.
No. 14 Augustana at No. 20 Minnesota State (Saturday only)
These two only play once this week, which is a shame because this is the big CCHA matchup. The Vikings have won six in a row to start the second half and apart from letting Ferris State rally and force overtime last Saturday, they’ve looked really good. The Mavericks, on the other hand, have been a little off their game. They’ve lost three in a row and the Mavs haven’t won a conference game since Dec. 5. That’s odd for Mankato, which has now tumbled to fifth place in the CCHA standings. However, even though Mavericks fans seem to be panicking on social media, Mankato is still in contention for the MacNaughton Cup and home ice. However, I’m giving the edge to Augie this weekend. The Vikings win 3-2.