Weekly Preview Big Showdown in New Hampshire

This weekend the Maine Black Bears will look for revenge against their inter-state rival the New Hampshire Wildcats.

UNH is coming in as the number one team in the country. Last month the Wildcats only had one loss (against Massachusetts). How dominant have the Wildcats been. Since the month of November began UNH is 17-2-1 with their only losses coming against UMASS and Cornell. With players like Trevor Smith and Matt Fornataro who came out of nowhere, the Wildcats have had a lethal one two punch.

But if you had to tell me one Wildcat player who had the best month, it would be goaltender Kevin Regan. In the month of January, Regan allowed just six goals in five games, with UNH winning in all five games that he started in net. Also worth mentioning that he stopped a total of 113 shots out of the 119 shots that he faced giving him a .950 save percentage for the month.

On the other side, the Maine Black Bears will look to avenge an 8-2 loss against New Hampshire which was Maine's first loss of the year. Ever since their 8-0-1 start the Black Bears have been inconsistent going 8-7-1 in their lasd 16 games. In the month of January the Black Bears barely got a .500 after their last game which they defeated Northeastern in overtime.

The top three scorers for Maine (Teddy Purcell, Josh Soares, and Michel Leveille) have a combined 40 goals and 56 assists accounting for 96 points. The goal totals are just 10 less than the rest of the team's goals combined (50). If Maine is to win at least one game against New Hampshire this weekend, then the team has to find another playmaker.

This is not going to be an easy next six games for Maine. After this series against New Hampshire, the Black Bears will face Vermont for two games (at Maine), then they go right back on the road for a showdown with Boston College. Will Maine survive this stretch? Or will UNH start Maine off on the wrong note?

In other college hockey games this weekend:

Cornell will face two of the top teams in the ECACHL, Clarkson and St. Lawrence at Lynah Rink.

Boston College will face Massachusetts before their first round Beanpot game against Harvard (Beanpot preview coming soon).

Wisconsin will travel to Colorado College for two.

And in the other first round Beanpot game, Boston University will take on Northeastern.

Like I said the Beanpot preview is coming up witbin the next few days, so keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Bracketology Wednesday 2007 Week 4

New teams and new placements are set for this weeks bracketology so lets get right to it.

First lets breakdown the conference bids.

WCHA: 5
CCHA: 4
Hockey East: 4
ECACHL: 1
CHA: 1
Atlantic Hockey: 1

Now here are the conference (or projected) leaders up to this point. These teams will have the automatic bid into the tournament. New Leaders are in bold

Atlantic Hockey: RIT
CCHA: Notre Dame
CHA: Niagara
ECACHL: Clarkson
Hockey East: New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota

Those are the conference leaders, now its time to give out the at-large bids. New teams are in bold

CCHA: Miami, Michigan, Michigan State
Hockey East: Boston College, Maine, Vermont
WCHA: Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota, St. Cloud State

Out from last week are Boston University and Bemidji State

Last two in: Colorado College, Vermont

So now that you know the teams that are in lets put them in the hockeynuts rankings.

#1 New Hampshire (19-4-1) +
#2 Minnesota (21-5-3) -
#3 St. Cloud State (17-5-4) =
#4 Notre Dame (21-5-2) =
#5 Denver (19-9-2) =
#6 Clarkson (16-6-4) =
#7 Michigan State (16-8-1) +
#8 Maine (16-7-2) -
#9 Michigan (19-9-0) +
#10 North Dakota (15-11-2) +
#11 Miami (18-9-3) +
#12 Boston College (14-9-1) +
#13 Colorado College (14-10-2) -
#14 Vermont (14-8-4) -
#15 Niagara (17-8-3) +
#16 RIT (16-8-2) =

So the teams are ranked, therefore it is time to place them in their regions.

Northeast (Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH, UNH host):

#1 New Hampshire vs. #16 RIT
#8 Maine vs. #9 Michigan

Midwest (Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI, Western Michigan University host):

#2 Minnesota vs. #15 Niagara
#7 Michigan State vs. #10 North Dakota

East (Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY, ECACHL host):

#3 St. Cloud State vs. #14 Vermont
#6 Clarkson vs. #11 Miami

West (Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, University of Denver host):

#4 Notre Dame vs. #13 Colorado College
#5 Denver vs. #12 Boston College

Teams on the bubble this week:

Boston University
Quinnipiac
St. Lawrence

The Frozen Four bracket will look as follows:

Northeast Regional Champ vs. West Regional Champ
Midwest Regional Champ vs. East Regional Champ

That's all for this week. Tommorrow the weekly preview, Friday hockeynuts will name its players of the month for January, and this weekend there will be an exclusive preview on the upcoming Beanpot tournament. Keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Hobey Watch Jan 30

Finally, there is some movement in the top of the Hobey Baker Watch, so lets get right to the top spot.

Nathan Davis who held the top spot has dropped for the first time since November. Who has the top spot in hockeynuts' Hobey Watch? Let's take a look.

Scott Parse F Nebraska-Omaha (SR): Where did this guy come from? Parse who found his game after an early season slump is now in the top spot. In his last ten games, Parse has moved up in the NCAA scoring race scoring eight goals while tallying six assists during that span. This weekend the Mavericks have a huge series against Michigan State.

Season Stats: 19 g, 25 a, 44 p

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): One point in the weekend series against Notre Dame made Davis' stock go down a little bit. Davis has struggled in his last ten games scoring two goals and assisting on only five. Still plenty of time for Davis to gain some ground, including this weekend when the Redhawks travel to Alaska to face the Nanooks.

Season Stats: 16 g, 26 a, 42 p

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): True he is tied for the top spot in the nation in scoring, but lately Henisick and the Wolverines have been playing the bottom teams in the CCHA for the last few weeks. This past weekend Hensick had two goals and three assists for five points. This weekend Michigan faces another cellar dweller in the CCHA as they have a home and home series with Western Michigan.

Season Stats: 12 g, 34 a, 46 p

The rest of the top five:

Joe Fallon G Vermont (JR): This weekend Fallon tied Merrimack. He could have been in the Hobey Hat Trick had that did not happen. Fallon leads the nation for the fewest goals against average and has the most shutouts than any goalie in the country.

Season Stats: 13-7-3, 1.59 gaa, .931 save pct, 5 shutouts

Kevin Porter F Michigan (JR): With a big game against Ferris State on Friday night (a five point night), Porter finds himself right back in the hockeynuts Hobey Watch. In the Wolverines last ten games, Porter has five goals and nine assists. With linemate T.J. Hensick, Porter has been getting many opportunities to do some damage.

Season Stats: 18 g, 26 a, 44 p

This weeks darkhorse:

Andrew Gordon F St. Cloud State (JR): One of the hottest teams in the nation are the St. Cloud State Huskies and Gordon is one of the main reasons why the team has been playing well. Gordon once had a stretch of seven goals in six games. The current co-leading scorer in the WCHA (along with teammate Andreas Nodl), Gordon could be a prospect to leave early after the season. This weekend Gordon and the Huskies have an off week before the stretch run.

Season Stats: 17 g, 19 a, 36 p

A reminder that Bracketology Wednesday will be featured for the fourth week. Also of note the players of the month will be announced on Friday, and the weekly preview will happen on Thursday. Keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Weekly Wrap-Up North Dakota on the way up after sweep of Minnesota

The North Dakota Fighting Sioux are on their way up as they will rise in the rankings after a sweep of Minnesota in Mariucci Arena.

On Friday night it seemed like Minnesota was going to cruise to another victory as they were up 2-0 with 5:40 to go in the first. North Dakota however answered the call as Robbie Bina scored a shorthanded goal to cut the lead in half at 2-1 after the first period.

In the second period, North Dakota dominated. Three more goals were scored by the Sioux as Erik Fabian, Jonatahan Toews, and Ryan Duncan all scored to make it 4-2. Ryan Duncan would add another goal in the third as North Dakota won 5-3 to take the game on Friday night.

Saturday night was the same story, another Sioux victory. After the first period, one would think that this would be a shootout as Minnesota and North Dakota were tied at the end of one at 3-3. But once again it was another meltdown by Minnesota. Ryan Duncan would add a goal in the second to make it 4-3. :24 later Erik Fabian would make it 5-3 North Dakota. From there it was all Fighting Sioux as T.J. Oshie would add two more in the third and North Dakota took the 7-3 victory, and the series sweep over the Golden Gophers.

In other college hockey action from this weekend:

Boston College and Boston University split as both teams won on the road. BC took the series 2-1. Beanpot final possibility? Find out this weekend in the hockeynuts Beanpot preview.

Maine bounced back after a 6-1 beatdown on Friday night on their home ice, as the Black Bears won a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory the next night.

Notre Dame took three out of a possible four points against Miami in CCHA play.

And Denver and St. Cloud State split in an important WCHA series.

This weeks slate of games include:

New Hampshire and Maine for two (one at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH)

Michigan State will travel to Omaha as they face Scott Parse and the Mavericks.

St. Lawrence will face Cornell and Colgate on the road.

And not to forget the two Beanpot games on Monday Feb 5th as BU will face Northeastern and BC will face Harvard in the first round.

We are getting closer to the end of the season. And hockeynuts is here for the stretch run on the road to St. Louis. Keep it here.

Weekly Preview BU goes for sweep against rivals

On Wednseday night at Conte Fourm the Boston University Terriers got a road victory over their rivals the Boston College Eagles. Peter MacArthur scored a pair of goals while goaltender John Curry was spectacular stopping 32 of 33 BC shots on goal.

Tonight the Terriers will go for the sweep in this two game series against the struggling BC Eagles who have lost their last three games.

Something to watch out for tonight is BC's desperation. The Eagles have only scored five goals in their last three, and the offense does not seem to be improving. BC has had oppurtunity after oppurtunity to make some noise and they have not done so. Their power play is one of the worst in the country and the penalty killing has been out on the ice longer than expected because of penalties. In other words what I am trying to say is BC can't catch a break.

On the other end of the ice, the Boston University Terriers have started 2007 with a bang going 7-0-1 in their eight games played in the new year. With the return of Brandon Yip, the Terriers have found their offensive strive that they had needed in the start of the year when Yip went down with an injury. And let's not forget the play of goaltender John Curry. The BU netminder has been playing great hockey only allowing eight goals in the new year that include the stat of three shutouts.

It will be a team of desperation in BC versus the hottest team in the country in BU. This should be an interesting game to watch.

Other games this weekend include:

St. Cloud State traveling to Denver for a key standings game in the WCHA.

Miami will travel to South Bend to face Notre Dame as the two top CCHA teams face off against each other.

North Dakota and Minnesota for two at Marrucci Arena.

And an improved Northeastern team will travel to Maine for two in Alfond Arena.

All of this and much more coming up in the weekly wrap-up in the beginning of the week. Keep it here on hockeynuts.

Bracketology Wednesday 2007 Week 3

There is some moving around in the rankings, so lets get right to this weeks bracket.

First off let me point out that there are no new teams but like I said there are some seeding changes.

Before we get to the teams lets breakdown the conference bids.

Hockey East: 5
CCHA: 4
WCHA: 4
ECACHL: 1
Atlantic Hockey: 1
CHA: 1

Now here are the conference leaders (or for some the projected conference winner at the end of the year)

Atlantic Hockey: RIT
CCHA: Notre Dame
CHA: Bemidji State
ECACHL: Clarkson
Hockey East: New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota

So your team is not a conference leader, but did they get an at-large bid? Here are the 10 at-large teams

CCHA: Miami, Michigan, Michigan State
Hockey East: Boston College, Boston University, Maine, Vermont
WCHA: Colorado College, Denver, St. Cloud State

Now its finally time to rank the teams. Like I said there are some changes but there are no new teams. Some rankings have remained the same, but 10 of the teams are either moving up and down in the "hockeynuts rankings." Anyway let's take a look.

#1 Minnesota (21-3-3) =
#2 New Hampshire (18-4-1) =
#3 St. Cloud State (16-4-4) +
#4 Notre Dame (20-5-1) -
#5 Denver (18-8-2) =
#6 Clarkson (15-6-3) =
#7 Maine (15-6-2) +
#8 Michigan State (16-8-1) +
#9 Vermont (14-8-2) +
#10 Michigan (17-9-0) +
#11 Colorado College (14-9-1) -
#12 Miami (18-8-2) -
#13 Boston College (12-8-1) -
#14 Boston University (12-4-6) -
#15 Bemidji State (12-9-3) =
#16 RIT (14-8-2) =

The rankings are all set, now lets place them in their regional sites.

Midwest: #1 Minnesota vs #16 RIT
#8 Michigan State vs #9 Vermont

Northeast: #2 New Hampshire vs #15 Bemidji State
#7 Maine vs #10 Michigan

East: #3 St. Cloud State vs #14 Boston University
#6 Clarkson vs #11 Colorado College

West: #4 Notre Dame vs #13 Boston College
#5 Denver vs #12 Miami

The Frozen Four Bracket will look like this:

Midwest vs West
Northeast vs East

On the bubble this week:

North Dakota
Quinnipiac
St. Lawrence

Thats all for this weeks bracketology, be sure to take a look at next weeks bracket, and do not forget about the weekly preview for this weeks games exclusively here on hockeynuts.

Hobey Watch Jan 23

Once again the top spot remains the same in the Hobey Watch, but there is some moving around within the top five so lets get right to it.

Another week down and another week for Nathan Davis being the top spot in the hockeynuts Hobey Watch.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Davis had three assists this past weekend against Ohio State and is tied for second in the country in scoring. This weekend Davis and the Redhawks got three points against the Buckeyes. Big weekend for Miami as they travel to South Bend to face the top team in the CCHA the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Season Stats: 16 g, 25 a, 41 p

Joe Fallon G Vermont (JR): What a difference a week makes. Fallon went from out of the Hobey Race last week to being back in the Hat Trick this week. Why? His stellar performance this past weekend against Boston College helped his cause. Not to forget, Fallon also leads the country in goals against average and shutouts.

Season Stats: 13-7-2, 1.62 gaa, .930 save pct, 5 shutouts

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): A hat trick against Alaska on Friday night put Hensick in double digits for goals. Hensick is tied for second in the country in scoring with Nathan Davis. Michigan has been playing well lately winning four out of their last five, and the Wolverines are now only five points in back of first place Notre Dame in the CCHA. This weekend the Wolverines have Ferris State. Heniscks numbers should go up against a weak defense.

Season Stats: 10 g, 31 a, 41 p

The Rest of the Top five:

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): Smith had a two point night against UMASS-Amherst on Friday. The next game UNH was shutout for their second loss in the conference both to the Minutemen. This weekend Smith and the Wildcats have a warmup game against Providence before the Wildcats host Maine next weekend.

Season Stats: 15 g, 17 a, 32 p

Scott Parse F Nebraska-Omaha (SR): Although he did not have a point against Ferris State, Parse has improved since the begginning of the year. With six goals in his last six, Parse has proved that he is the biggest threat on the Mavericks. This weekend UNO will host Northern Michigan.

Season Stats: 17 g, 21 a, 38 p

This weeks darkhorse:

Andreas Nodl F St. Cloud State (FR): Nodl has made an immediate impact for the Huskies. A five point weekend against Minnesota-Duluth has put Nodl in this spot. Huge two games for Nodl and the Huskies as the Huskies will face Denver for two in the Rocky Mountains.

Season Sstats: 12 g, 21 a, 33 p

Tommorrow week three of Bracketology Wednesday will be featured here exclusively on hockeynuts.