By Ryan Stieg
We’ve now entered February, and things have started to heat up in the CCHA.
Just four points separate first place St. Thomas from second place Augustana and five points between the Tommies and third place Michigan Tech. In the race for home ice in the first round of the playoffs, just one point separates fourth place Minnesota State from fifth place Bowling Green. Even those teams have an outside chance at winning the MacNaughton Cup if they get hot and get a little help. I love this time of year.
Things I don’t love are my recent run of picks. I performed better last week than I’ve done the previous two, but it’s still nothing to crow about. However, I enjoyed my prize of dark chocolate and remembering my childhood days living in Texas. That’s not a great prize, but maybe that’s the prize I deserved.
This week, there’s only three CCHA series, but there’s a lot at stake. There’s also a lot on the line for me as I have four potential prizes to earn: Fettuccine alfredo, ice cream for breakfast, reminiscing about my time living in Iowa and then revisiting it, and finally, remembering my days as an Eagle Scout. Yeah, it’s a crazy prize, but one that I plan on earning.
Here’s my picks for CCHA Week 18 and I’ll start with a big series on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan.
No. 16 Augustana at No. 20 Michigan Tech
This is the series most people will be keeping their eyes on. Like I mentioned earlier, the Vikings are in second place, and the Huskies are in third. If one of these teams were to get swept, it would have a hard time staying in the MacNaughton Cup race. The Vikings are going on the road confident after sweeping Lake Superior State and goaltender Josh Kotai just earned CCHA goalie of the month hoors. The Huskies should also be feeling good. After a surprising stumble against rival NMU two weeks ago, Tech left the Twin Cities last weekend with a split with the first place Tommies to stay in MacNaughton Cup contention. Huskies defenseman Jack Anderson also earned CCHA Monthly honors. With so much at stake, I don’t see a sweep happening. I think it’s be a split. Augie wins Friday 3-2, but Tech wins Saturday 4-3.
No. 15 St. Thomas at Bowling Green
Going into last weekend, the Tommies were the hottest team in the league and arguably the country. Even though the split with the Huskies snapped its winning streak at 11, UST has shown that it’s the team to beat in the league right now. Forwards Lucas Wahlin and Lucas Van Vliet both earned CCHA monthly honors, and the Tommies look good heading into the weekend. However, the Falcons do too. BG has lost only once since the second half began and is coming off two ties against Notre Dame. The hype is on the Augie-Tech series, but there’s stuff on the line here too. Just like that series, I’m picking a split. The Tommies win Friday 3-1, but the Falcons win Saturday 3-2.
Ferris State at Bemidji State
This series may lack the zazz of the previous two, but there’s still stuff at stake in northern Minnesota. The Beavers unleashed weeks of frustration Saturday night in their beatdown of NMU in Marquette, which ended a winless streak that went all the way back to November. Home ice is a bit of a long shot for Bemidji at this point, but a sweep here could keep them in the hunt. There’s more in play for the Bulldogs. Ferris is on a 12-game losing streak and is currently in last place. However, NMU is off this week. So a regulation win over BSU would flip Ferris over the Wildcats and into eighth place. I know I’ve done it twice already, but I’m picking a split here. The Bulldogs win Friday 4-3, but the Beavers win Saturday 4-2.