It was a good week for the CCHA, with three nonconference wins and a bunch of exhibition victories (and one notable exception — congratulations, Ontario IT) but this week really kicks off the regular season.
Last week: 3-0
Season to date: 3-0
Hey, that was easy!
Click on any team’s name to see its season preview — well, any team but Alabama-Huntsville. Everyone plays except for Lake Superior State.
This Week
There are two tournaments this week.
IceBreaker Tournament
North Dakota hosts this year’s Ice Breaker in Grand Forks Oct. 7-8.
Michigan State vs. Boston College Friday, 4:05 p.m. CT.
The Spartans beat Western Ontario 6-1 in exhibition play Tuesday night, a game in which sophomore Greg Wolfe netted two goals and Drew Palmisano stopped 22 shots. This is BC’s first action of the season. The warm-up will help the Spartans, but I’m going with how the CCHA traditionally performs against Hockey East — and Boston College in particular. BC 3-2
Air Force/NoDak vs. Michigan State Saturday, 4:05/7:05 p.m.
The Falcons took two exhibition games from Canadian teams last weekend, outscoring opponents by the collective score of 13-7. The Sioux beat Regina in one exhibition game, 8-1, a game in which seven different UND players scored and three NoDak goalies saw action. MSU over Air Force, 2-1; UND over MSU 4-2
Kendall Hockey Classic
Alaska-Anchorage hosts the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, but the Seawolves and Nanooks won’t meet until the end of the season, when they play for the Governor’s Cup.
St. Cloud vs. Alaska Friday, 5:05 p.m. AT
Sophomore Colton Beck and junior Chad Gehon each had two goals when the Nanooks blanked Northern Alberta IT last Saturday. Senior Scott Greenham, junior Steve Thompson and freshman Sean Cahill each played a period, in that order. This is the first game of the season for St. Cloud, who finished ninth in the WCHA last season. Alaska 3-2
Clarkson vs. Alaska Saturday, 4:05 AT
The Golden Knights beat Ottawa in exhibition play Sunday. Paul Karpowich made 25 stops in the game and four different Clarkson players scored. Clarkson finished seventh in the ECAC last season. Alaska 4-2
Everyone Else
All games are Friday-Saturday at 7:05 p.m., with the exception of the Michigan series and Friday’s Miami game.
Alabama-Huntsville at Western Michigan The Chargers lost two one-goal games at home to Lake Superior State last weekend, while WMU beat Toronto, 7-2, Saturday. Seven different Broncos scored in that contest and Nick Pisellini made 19 saves. WMU 3-2, 5-3
Bemidji State at Miami Each of these teams won in exhibition play last Sunday. BSU shut out Regina, 7-0, with seven different Bemidji players scoring and three tending goal. In Miami’s 4-1 win over Windsor, Alden Hirschfeld had two goals; Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard split time in net, with Reichard allowing the only goal. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t call the RedHawks to win two. Miami 3-2, 3-1
Bentley at Michigan Bentley, who finished 10th in the AHA last season, begins the new campaign with two in Yost Arena. The Wolverines recovered from their Saturday exhibition loss with a Monday exhibition win over the U.S. Under-18 Team and a real win — a 5-0 win — over Niagara Tuesday night. Shawn Hunwick and Adam Janecyk shared the shutout, while Chris Brown and Lindsay Sparks each had two goals. UM 4-2, 3-2
Connecticut at Bowling Green UConn warmed up with a 7-4 exhibition win over Ryerson Saturday, a game in which Marcello Ranallo and Ryan Tyson each had two goals. Garrett Bartus and Tom Communale each played for the Huskies in net; Communale allowed three of the four goals. Sunday, BG beat Ontario IT — the team that had gotten by Michigan the night before — by a score of 7-4. James McIntosh, Mike Fink, and Jake Sloat each potted two for the Falcons; Andrew Hammond, Scott Zacharias and Wyatt Galley each played a period in net. The Huskies finished sixth in Atlantic Hockey last year. BGSU 3-2, UConn 4-2
Ferris State at St. Lawrence FSU beat Toronto, 5-0, Sunday, and what you’re about to read is going to seem familiar: five different Bulldogs scored, and three goalies — Taylor Nelson, C.J. Motte, Rob Granett — each played a period. Who knew? SLU lost to Carleton last Sunday, 5-2, and the Saints had three goalies in net for that one, too. I’m thinking that the original Defender of the Realm defend what’s left of the realm. FSU 4-3, 3-2
Notre Dame at Minnesota-Duluth Notre Dame beat Western Ontario, 4-0, Sunday, a game in which Billy Maday registered two and Mike Johnson and Steven Summerhays shared the net. Minnesota-Duluth beat Lakehead 5-1 last Sunday. Travis Oleksuk had two goals and Kenny Reiter and Aaron Crandall shared the net. This weekend, the Bulldogs get to raise their national championship banner with one of the teams they beat in the Frozen Four in the building. The Irish ended their 2010-11 season with a 4-3 loss UMD, giving up three power-play goals in the game, something that rankles them almost as much as the loss itself. Again, given where I voted the Irish in the preseason poll, I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t call a sweep — even against the defending national champions. ND 3-2, 3-2
Northern Michigan at Wisconsin This is the first action of the season for both the Wildcats and the Badgers. I got nothin’. UW 4-2, NMU 3-2
Quinnipiac at Ohio State Last Sunday, Quinnipiac warmed up with a 5-2 win over Acadia. Connor Jones had two goals and Dan Clarke and Jake Whiting each saw time in net. (Apparently, the preseason was scripted this year all across the country. Who knew?) OSU beat Windsor, 6-5, last Saturday. Chris Crane had two goals for the Buckeyes and — are you ready for it? — Cal Heeter and Brady Hjelle each played goal for OSU. QU 3-2, OSU 3-2
