Well, last week finally saw a pretty good slate of picks for both Arlan and I. Unfortunately for me, because I picked Quinnipiac over Harvard and Minnesota State over Mercyhurst, I didn’t gain any ground on Arlan in the race for a six-pack. In fact, I lost another game. Last week I went 17-4-3 (.770), moving to 37-28-6 (.563), while Arlan went Arlan 18-3-3 (.812) to move to 41-24-6 (.619) We’re going for a big slate of games again this weekend.
Friday, November 2
Princeton at Cornell
Candace: Cornell looked vulnerable last weekend, but Princeton isn’t the team to take advantage. Cornell 5-1
Arlan: Cornell was uninspiring last weekend, while Princeton was borderline lousy. Cornell 5-1
Friday-Saturday, November 2-3
Northeastern vs. Connecticut
Candace: Connecticut still has a ways to go to get back to the upper realm in Hockey East. Northeastern 3-1, 4-1
Arlan: St. Cloud State should have hung around the East so it could have truly been, “Huskies, Huskies, Huskies!” Northeastern 4-0, 5-2
Providence at Maine
Candace: Home ice is probably good for one win, but which night. Decisions, decisions. Providence 3-1, 3-2
Arlan: A rematch of a Hockey East quarterfinal from a year ago. Maine 2-1, Providence 4-2
Ohio State at St. Cloud
Candace: St. Cloud has shown some moderate improvement this year, but Ohio State has shown great improvement. Ohio State 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: The Buckeyes could manage only a split in St. Cloud last season. Ohio State 2-0, 3-2
Minnesota at Minnesota-Duluth
Candace: Last year, my picks mantra was “Always pick Wisconsin.” This year, it’s “Always pick Minnesota.” The scary thing is the Gophers look better this year than they did last season, when they won all the marbles. Minnesota 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: Expect the unexpected, although paradoxically, once you expect it then it’s no longer unexpected. Minnesota 2-1, 4-2
Minnesota State at Wisconsin
Candace: The Mavericks caught the Badgers off guard in week one. My bet is it doesn’t happen this time. Wisconsin 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: The Mavericks often tend to have one good month, and I’m thinking that month may be over. Wisconsin 2-0, 4-1
Clarkson at North Dakota
Candace: The marquee series of the weekend. I’ll probably get the split dates wrong, but maybe I can gain some ground on Arlan if I pick against him. Clarkson 2-1, North Dakota 3-2
Arlan: The last time these two programs played, each was an independent. North Dakota 3-1, Clarkson 4-3
St. Lawrence at New Hampshire
Candace: This should be a really close series. St. Lawrence is off to a rough start, and New Hampshire has played better than expected. New Hampshire 3-2, St. Lawrence 3-2
Arlan: St. Lawrence skates well, so I’m not sure the Whittemore ice works to the Wildcats’ advantage. St. Lawrence 2-1, 4-3
Saturday, November 3
Quinnipiac at Cornell
Candace: I got burned picking Quinnipiac to beat Harvard last week. Not making that mistake this week. Cornell 3-2
Arlan: So far this season, Quinnipiac’s better efforts have come at home. Cornell 4-2
Boston University at Boston College
Candace: Last week, in picking Wednesday’s game between the two, I said, “I keep picking BC against the Terriers, and they keep losing. Now that I pick the Terriers, watch the Eagles come out on top.” They did, with a vengeance, winning 7-1. Something tells me the Terriers will be really angry about that. Boston University 4-2
Arlan: Do these teams play every week? Anyway, the road team has won 13 of the last 16 conference meetings between the two. Boston University 3-2
Tuesday, November 6
New Hampshire at Dartmouth
Candace: In-state rival games are such a bitch to pick correctly. Dartmouth 2-1
Arlan: Both teams are at the end of Friday-Saturday-Tuesday stretches, but UNH had the Sandy-induced travel complications as well. Dartmouth 3-1
Wednesday, November 7
Providence at Boston College
Candace: If BC loses on Saturday, expect this to be the bounce-back game. Boston College 4-2
Arlan: Long week for the Friars with road trips to both Orono and Boston. Boston College 5-4
