Rivalries. When these teams get together, they say you can throw out the records.
Plenty often, a rivalry game does turn into an upset and in this week’s column, we’ll look at two of the oldest and greatest rivalries in college hockey – Boston College-Boston University and Michigan-Michigan State.
Those two battles will have a very fresh look to them as all four teams have first-year head coaches. All four teams have also shown signs of brilliance this season, so the oddsmakers seem to be having a difficult time setting the lines. In both of these games, the home team is the underdog, meaning that should the hosts pull off the “upset”, there is value to be made
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:
No. 6 Michigan (-145) at No. 12 Michigan State (+115) ; o/u 6.5
Michigan State enters the weekend after experiencing its first significant bump in the road of the season, a two-game sweep at the hands of Minnesota.
Their opponent had a stumble of last Friday, losing 6-3 at Wisconsin before rallying on Saturday for a 4-2 victory.
Do these teams have a lot of prove? Heck yeah. But Michigan State might have a little bit more on its mind. The Spartans have been beat up by the Wolverines of late having dropped six straight and 11-of-12 in the rivalry series.
No. 7 Boston University (-165) at Boston College (+135) ; o/u 6
This game, a single game on the weekend, should have Boston University as a heavier favorite. But it’s likely that books are taking into account the rivalry factor more in this game than any on the slate this weekend.
Certainly, BC has played better of late, posting a 2-1-2 record in its last five that included two ties against nationally-ranked Providence last weekend.
What is interesting is the low over/under of six goals. BU ranks fourth nationally in goals per game. BC is 32nd in goals allowed per game. And games between these two are notorious for high-paced offense.
North Dakota (+100) at No. 17 Western Michigan (-130) ; o/u 7
Both North Dakota and Western Michigan are licking their collective wounds coming into this series. The Fighting Hawks have just one win in their last five and just three in the last 10 games. While the Broncs have faired better of last, they got swept last weekend by Omaha on the road.
This game should smell of desperation.
The oddsmakers also think if should smell of offense, setting the over/under at 7, one of the highest we’ve seen this season. It makes sense. Western Michigan has the top offense in the country and North Dakota’s ranks 10th.
But getting to a score like 5-3 to win your wager always feels tricky.
No. 5 Penn State (-105) at No. 19 Notre Dame (-125) ; o/u 5.5
Opposite of North Dakota-Western Michigan, you have the Penn State-Notre Dame series where oddsmakers have placed on over/under of 5.5 on the game — the lowest for any Penn State game this season.
The Nittany Lions offense has cooled a little bit, currently ranked ninth averaging 3.61 goals per game. Notre Dame’s is near the bottom ranked 48th scoring just 2.38 goals per game.
Still 5.5 seems awfully low for a Penn State team that has shown a propensity to explode this season.
As for the game, we have the rare occurrence where the entire USCHO staff backs one opponent, overwhelmingly favoring the Nittany Lions.
No. 1 Denver (-175) at Minnesota Duluth (+140); o/u 5.5
Minnesota Duluth’s ability to earn splits for four straight series is forcing oddsmakers to walk gingerly when setting lines, even if the opponent is the nation’s top team, Denver.
This is a rematch of last year’s NCAA Regional Final in Loveland won by the Pioneers on the way to the national championship, 2-1.
The under looks most tempting here, even at 5.5. Nine of the last 11 times these two teams have met, the teams have combined for five goals or less. That thought was for a Minnesota Duluth team that was allowing significantly less goals than it is this season.
