The second half of the WCHA season begins tonight with all 12 league teams in action against each other. Here in Mankato, Minnesota State will host Wisconsin in a matchup of teams that haven't won a conference game since Nov. 11.
The Mavericks are hoping to get out of the WCHA cellar, and senior defenseman Cameron Cooper is putting almost all of his focus on that (he can afford to, since he has just one class this semester before graduating in May).
Minnesota State's line chart will have some changes today. Coach Troy Jutting said on Thursday that Eli Zuck will be sitting this one out due to a team rules violation. Zuck will be available for Saturday's game, though. Defenseman Brett Stern will be back after missing a good chunk of the season with an injury. J.P. Burkemper and Mike Louwerse remain out (as do Danny Heath and Chase Grant, of course).
Speaking of Grant, he's back in town, said surgery was successful and is now working to rehab his hip for next year.
Lines will be official later today, but the top three lines should be as they've been, and Austin Lee will get the start in goal for the Mavericks. See more on the Freep's gameday preview here.
As for the Badgers, they, too, are too deep in the WCHA standings for their liking and are not only going on the road, where they have yet to win this year, but are going to the "hostile environment" of the Verizon Wireless Center, a place that hasn't been overly kind to them. Also, like MSU, Wisconsin has had its share of injuries, but it will be getting junior wing Ryan Little back this weekend from a broken hand.
Going around the rest of the WCHA ...
Minnesota at North Dakota: The Gophers are tied atop the conference but after a 9-1 start to the season they are 6-6-1 and looking for some consistency. ... In Grand Forks, meanwhile, they are noting that this will be Minnesota's final trip there for a WCHA series. The rivalry, like many in the league, is ending after the 2012-13 season with the conference breakup.
Minnesota Duluth at Nebraska Omaha: More than 14,000 people are expected to fill Omaha's CenturyLink Center (formerly Qwest Center ... are people going to make fun of this name change confusion like they do Mankato's arena?) tonight as the No. 1 Bulldogs, the nation's top-scoring team, is there for another matchup of future NCHC teams. Duluth also remains the hottest team in the country, riding a 16-game unbeaten streak. ... Meanwhile Omaha coach Dean Blais isn't sounding like someone who's only a couple of years from retirement; he has big plans.
Bemidji State at Denver: The Beavers are in the midst of a five-game winning streak, on that started with a victory over Denver on Dec. 10. ... The Pioneers, meanwhile, are lauding the way freshman forward Ty Loney (son of former NHLer Troy Loney) stepped up while Jason Zucker was playing in the world junior tournament.
St. Cloud State at Colorado College: In another matchup of future NCHC rivals, the Huskies will head to Colorado Springs. For St. Cloud, Travis Novak is having his best — and most pain-free — season of college hockey. ... For the Tigers, star forward and Team Canada junior captain Jaden Schwartz was back at practice this week and raring to go.
Alaska Anchorage at Michigan Tech: Despite the departure of leading scorer Mickey Spencer this week, the Seawolves feel like the schedule sets up for a second-half run. ... As for the Huskies, they have added a couple of players for the second half of the season and now appear to have a lot of depth at all of their positions.
Other stuff to check out: I was asked to participate in Wisconsin blogger Chuck Schwartz's weekly Take Five post regarding this week's series. ... Read the USCHO weekly conference preview here. ... Inside College Hockey looks at some second-half storylines in the WCHA.
Be sure to check my Twitter later for tonight's official lines and any other college hockey happenings, and jump on the live blog right here during the MSU-UW game.
No comments:
Post a Comment