February is underway and it’s hard to believe we are just about at that time of the year where conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament are just around the corner.
Conference leaders are trying to maintain their success while those below them in the standings are jockeying for the best position possible before the regular season ends.
No series is bigger than the one between Adrian and Aurora as two nationally ranked teams with title aspirations square off on the ice.
Check out my weekend picks below.
Friday and Saturday
Concordia (9-9-1, 6-4) vs. Augsburg (10-8-1, 6-4)
The Cobbers are one of the hottest teams in the league, winning four consecutive games, and have an opportunity to potentially put themselves in the top three in the MIAC standings with great weekend against the Auggies.
Look for Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe to play a key role for the Cobbers. He had a goal and an assist in each of the Cobbers’ wins over St. Olaf last week.
The Auggies have two of the top goal scorers in the conference in Austin Dollimer and Gavin Holland. They have 10 goals apiece on the year. This should be a fun series to watch. It will be a surprise if either teams sweeps the series.
Concordia, 5-4; Augsburg, 4-3
Bethel (10-10-1, 5-6-1) vs. St. Scholastica (12-5-2, 9-0-1)
The Royals face a huge test against the lone unbeaten team in the MIAC. The Saints have won four in a row and remain atop the conference standings.
Defense will be key for Bethel, which features Austin Ryman, who is one of only 16 goaltenders in the country to have multiple shutouts on the season. Travis Ryan has also seen quality minutes in goal.
The Saints, of course, have two of the best offensive players in hockey, with Arkhip Lendenkov and Filimon Ledekov. Arkhip has scored a team-best 16 goals while Filimon has tallied nine goals to go along with a league-leading 23 assists. Arkhip is second in assists with 18.
St. Scholastica, 5-2 and 4-3
UW-Eau Claire (14-6-1, 7-3-1) at UW-River Falls (7-13-1, 1-9-1)
Momentum is on the side of the Blugolds at the moment as they have won three in a row. The Falcons are trending in the opposite direction, losing their last four games.
The Blugolds have two of the top five goal scorers in the conference with Ryan Green and Quinn Green scoring 11 and 10 goals, respectively. UW-River Falls has its work cut out for it, especially with a young team where close to 40 percent of the scoring has come from its freshman class.
UW-Eau Claire, 4-1 and 5-2
Aurora (15-4-2, 11-1-2) at Adrian (16-3-2, 10-3-1)
The seventh-ranked Spartans are atop the NCHA and are having a special year. They now gear up for a huge test against the reigning national champs who are currently third in the country in the USCHO NCAA Division III poll.
Both teams can score goals at will. The Bulldogs have cranked out 106 goals on the season. The Spartans have scored 87. Adrian and Aurora have also gotten the job done defensively, holding teams to 51 and 57 goals, respectively.
Should be fun to see how things go with Matius Spodniak of Adrian and Jack Jaunich of Aurora on the ice. Spodniak leads the league in points (37) and Jaunich is tied for fourth (27).
Aurora, 6-4; Adrian, 5-4
Trine (13-7-1, 8-6) at Lake Forest (9-8-4, 6-5-3)
Both teams are assured of a spot in the conference tournament. Trine has won two of its last three and riding the high of a big win over nationally ranked St. Norbert last week.
This is a Trine team that has played really well away from home, sporting a 6-1-1 road record. The play of Cristian Wong-Ramos in goal will be key. He owns a 2.14 goals against average on the year. The Foresters come into the series on a roll, having won three in a row. The streak includes a win over nationally ranked Adrian.
Trine, 5-3; Lake Forest, 4-3
MSOE (14-7, 9-5) vs. St. Norbert (12-7-2, 9-4-1)
It’s a big test for the Raiders as they take on the 14th-ranked team in the country. The Green Knights have a balanced offensive attack, anchored in part by by Ben Schmidling, who has dished out 20 assists to go along with 10 goals. MSOE has won two in a row and will need to make this as much of a defensive game as possible to have a shot at an upset.
St. Norbert, 5-3 and 4-1
Friday
UW-Superior (13-7-2, 8-3-1) at UW-Stout (15-6-1, 6-5-1)
The Yellowjackets have already beaten the Blue Devils once this week, winning 3-0 on Wednesday. It is impressive that UW-Superior blanked UW-Stout in the first game of the series considering the Blue Devils lead the conference in goals scored (80).
Then again, UW-Superior has set a school record for shutouts in a season, pushing that total to seven. Both teams have a lot to play for as they get set to battle one more time. Don’t be surprised if the Blue Devils bounce back.
UW-Stout, 3-2
Saturday
Saint John’s (12-8-2, 8-4-1) at Saint Mary’s (9-10-1, 5-6)
The Johnnies opened the series Thursday with a shutout win and hope to complete the sweep to remain within striking distance of first-place St Scholastica. Saint John’s goes into the weekend just one point behind the Saints.
The Cardinals need a good showing in this one to have a chance at moving into MIAC playoff contention. They are currently in seventh, but just three points out of the fifth spot.
Saint John’s has capitalized often on special teams, especially Nick Michel, who has six power-play goals this season, tied for the fifth-most in Division III.
The Cardinals won’t be an easy team to beat, though. Its younger players have shown a lot of promise, with six different players scoring their first career goal this season.
Saint John’s, 3-1
