It's senior weekend for the Mavericks, who host Alabama Huntsville in their final regular-season series of the weekend. Minnesota State's senior class has made a major impact on the program — Marc Michaelis (who, it appears, will be be back in the lineup after missing seven games with a lower-body injury), Parker Tuomie, Nick Rivera, Josh French, Charlie Gerard, Ian Scheid and Edwin Hookenson — being part of 109 wins and counting.
Minnesota State can clinch a third straight WCHA championship this weekend, but with a five-point lead over Bemidji State, would need help from Alaska Anchorage, BSU's opponent this weekend. Also, the Mavericks would need to take care of business against the Chargers, who have earned WCHA points in each of the last four weekends.
Read about the UAH matchup and more in today's College Hockey Gameday.
Going around the rest of the WCHA ...
Bemidji State at Alaska Anchorage: The Beavers are setting up a showdown with MSU for the MacNaughton Cup next weekend with the way they've been playing. Like the Mavericks, they're 10-1-1 so far in 2020. While MSU is No. 2 in the Pairwise Rankings and has been one of the top teams there most of the season, BSU has risen 22 spots to No. 12 with their recent play. As for the Seawolves, they're still in position to make the WCHA tournament for the first time since 2014, which would be a nice finish considering all the program's been through recently.
Ferris State at Bowling Green: It's been a tough season for the Bulldogs, who have won just once in their last 14 games but could still make the WCHA playoffs with a late-season turnaround. The Falcons, meanwhile, are trying to get back into the top four and host a first-round series. They're currently in sixth but have taken nine points in their last four games after dropping four in a row.
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State: Like Bowling Green, Northern Michigan has lost four in a row to MSU and BSU. The Wildcats are trying to right the ship but also hold firm to a home-ice spot in the standings. "We will be at home," coach Grant Potulny said this week. The Wildcats and the Lakers are also playing for a trophy, the Cappo Cup, which goes to the series winner each year. Lake State has gotten at least two points in each of its last six league series.
This week marked the announcement of the name of the new conference with Minnesota State, Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State, which will be the CCHA. A lot has been written about it, including commentary from College Hockey News. The Anchorage Daily News looked at things from the Alaska perspective and those teams' hopes of keeping the WCHA going after the breakup.
No comments:
Post a Comment