By Ryan Stieg
Well, Valentine’s Day weekend is over. I hope that you all were able to spend it with someone special and if you didn’t, I hope that you at least enjoyed your weekend in some form.
I was in the former category, and we had a good day. However, it also was my birthday weekend and that went great. It didn’t go perfectly as I didn’t achieve a perfect week with my predictions, but I did perform well enough to earn my prize for the week. That was a bizarre combination of gumdrops, Ferris Wheels and Wisconsin. I did not go to Wisconsin to partake in those activities, but I did eat gumdrops while reminiscing about going on the Ferris Wheel at Valleyfair, and wondering what life would’ve been like if I had decided to go to college in Wisconsin. My birthday presents were significantly better than my prediction prizes.
This week’s prizes are even weirder than last week’s combination. If I am successful, I will be eating sticky buns with boiled peanuts while pounding a margarita while wearing red socks. There’s only six more weeks of predictions this season and I don’t know if I’ll top this combination.
As far as this week’s slate goes, there’s a lot on the line. There could be a new CCHA team in first place Sunday morning, and some teams could lock up home ice in the first round with sweeps. It should be a fun weekend, so let’s get started with my Week 20 picks and I’ll begin with a showdown in St. Paul.
No. 18 Augustana at No. 15 St. Thomas
Just like last week, the Vikings are in the main event series on my list. Instead of being at home, third-place Augie travels to the second-place Tommies to see who will overtake Michigan Tech and take over first place. The Vikings trail the Huskies by three points, while UST trails only by one, so the standings could look very different on Sunday. Augie split with Bowling Green last weekend with Saturday’s victory ending a three-game skid. Meanwhile, the Tommies were off last week and after Tech split with LSSU, UST fell into second place. The only time these two teams battled this year, the game ended in a 4-4 tie. So, I’m picking a split. The Vikings win Friday 3-2, but the Tommies win Saturday 4-1.
No. 17 Minnesota State at No. 20 Bowling Green
This series is almost as important as Augie-UST as both the Mavericks and the Falcons are trying to stay in MacNaughton Cup contention, while also trying to outduel each other for the fourth seed and the last home ice sport. BG is in fourth place, but only two points ahead of Mankato, so a lot could change. As I mentioned earlier, BG split with Augie last week, while the Mavs split with Bemidji State where both games weirdly ended 1-0. These two teams haven’t faced each other since November, and both games were ties. Yeah, I see another split coming. The Falcons win Friday 3-1, but the Mavericks win Saturday 4-2.
Lake Superior State at Northern Michigan
This series doesn’t have the zazz as the previous two, but it still matters. First, the Cappo Cup is on the line between the two rivals. Second, seeding is still up for grabs, and the Lakers have a chance to close the gap on Bemidji and potentially earn the sixth seed. Finally, the Wildcats are currently ninth and the standings on the outside of the playoff picture. They trail eighth-seeded Ferris State by six points and with the Bulldogs off this week, that gives NMU a chance to gain ground on them. Both teams have a lot of play for, so I’m playing it safe (I know, I know) and picking another split. The Lakers win Friday 5-2, but the Wildcats win Saturday 4-1.