Let’s get down to business.
Friday, Oct. 15
Bowling Green at Clarkson — 7 p.m. Eastern
Clarkson has to be feeling good after kicking St. Cloud State to the curb last Saturday. The North Country is never a fun road trip, and the Falcons are still licking their wounds after taking the broom against Michigan last week. Game 1 at Cheel: 4-1 Knights.
Rensselaer at Northeastern — 7 p.m. Eastern
The Huskies held tight with Providence and top-ranked Boston College last weekend, but each opponent won the third period against NU to send the dogs to 0-2-0. That said, Matthews Arena is a true experience, and a terrifying place to wear anything other than black and red. Hey, wait a minute … cherry is pretty close to red, isn’t it? 3-2 Engineers.
Bentley at Quinnipiac — 7 p.m. Eastern
Last season, the Bobcats feasted on easy prey en route to an epic first half. They can’t afford to do anything less this year, with the team still seeking an identity ahead of the grueling ECAC schedule. 5-2 QU.
St. Lawrence at Ferris State — 7:05 p.m. Eastern
FSU split at independent Alabama-Huntsville last weekend, and will play its first home games of 2010-11 against the Saints. Fortunately for SLU, a similar trip last weekend already has the guys acclimated to the travel and the intensity of Great Lakes hockey. I’m tempted to call another tie, but instead I feel a split coming: Round 1 to the hosts, 3-2 …
Union at Alaska — 8:05 p.m. Alaskan (Brice Alaska Gold Rush)
Not only does the Alaska trip make the North Country haul look like a walk to the mailbox, but the Nanooks were an NCAA team last spring as well. This will not be easy. 4-3 Alaska.
Saturday, Oct. 16
Bentley at Rensselaer — 5 p.m. Eastern
Will the quick turnaround hurt the Engineers? Perhaps a bit, but that should be no excuse for anything short of a victory against Bentley. After all, the Falcons are coming off a night game at Quinnipiac, too. 5-3 ‘Tute.
Bowling Green at Clarkson — 7 p.m. Eastern
Former BGSU great George Roll can’t light it up against his alma mater, but his players sure can. This will be a good early indication of Clarkson’s ability to bear down and win the winnable games. 3-2 Knights.
St. Lawrence at Ferris State — 7:05 p.m. Eastern
… and Round 2 to the visitors. How hospitable of the Bulldogs, no? 4-2 Saints.
Brock at Colgate — 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Exhibition; I’m off the hook.
Union vs. Alaska-Anchorage — 4:05 p.m. Alaskan (Brice Alaska Gold Rush)
The Seawolves stunned North Dakota at the Kendall Hockey Classic last weekend, storming back from a 5-1 deficit to earn a 5-5 draw in front of a freshman goalie and nearly 4,000 buzzing fans. That said, the ‘Wolves looked adequate at best in edging Air Force the following evening. Union should win at least one game in the Great White North(west) to legitimize their national-caliber preseason hype; if they can’t beat UAA, I doubt they’d have beaten Alaska the night before, either. 4-1 Dutchmen.
Sunday, Oct. 17
Quebec-Trois Rivieres at Dartmouth — 2 p.m. Eastern
Exhibition
Wednesday, Oct. 20
Quebec-Trois Rivieres at Princeton — 7 p.m. Eastern
Exhibition
Thursday, Oct. 21
Quebec-Trois Rivieres at Cornell — 7 p.m. Eastern
Exhibition
Let’s make it interesting
Much like my colleague Theresa Spisak has done in her WCHA column, I’ll invite challengers to submit their picks for the weekend in a battle for meaningless bragging rights. First, e-mail me at ecacwriter@uscho.com with 10 good reasons why you should be chosen; the most entertaining respondent(s) will share this space with me next week.
Hopefully this will prove fun and successful enough to be a weekly deal … so don’t let me down!
