The playoffs come upon us so fast and seem to fly by. Approaching championship weekend, we’ll take a look at how the teams out west got there and also, I’ll make my picks for this weekend’s games in the three conferences.
MIAC
Gustavus defeats Hamline 5-1
The Gusties are headed to another MIAC title game after easily defeating Hamline this past weekend. The staggering stat in this one was the shot totals, Gustavus led in shots 52-7… You won’t lose many games when you hold a team to so few shots and fire just over 7x more than your opponent. Hamline goaltender Maddie Nickell had a good night despite letting in 5 goals, making 47 saves vs the #1 ranked team via USCHO. Penalties in the game were hard to come by, just a pair for four minutes total committed by Hamline and one minor committed by Gustavus.
Augsburg defeats Saint Benedict 5-2
After falling to St. Scholastica in the quarterfinal round last year of the MIAC, Augsburg finds themselves in the finals after getting the win over Saint Benedict who had an above-average year for themselves. Augsburg led the game in shots 42-27 but fell behind early 2-0 as CSB scored a pair of goals within 30 seconds of each other in the 1st period with the first coming on the powerplay (7:19 & 7:49). The Auggies would then score 5 unanswered goals, one in the 1st period and two in both the 2nd & 3rd periods. The game was heavily penalty ridden, mostly on the CSB side as they committed 9 for 18 minutes (which shouldn’t be a shocker considering they’re ranked 4th nationally in penalty minutes with 269 in 26 games (10.35 per game), while Augsburg only had 4 for 8 minutes.
NCHA
Adrian sweeps Lawrence, winning 10-0 & 5-0.
Adrian had a relatively easy weekend, defeating Lawrence by a combined 15-0 in two games. Adrian outshot Lawrence 65-9 in game one and 69-2 in game two (134-11). Penalties were common, Adrian committing 4 in game-one & 5 in game-two, while Lawrence decided to top them, committing 6 in game-one & 9 in game-two. Dominant weekend overall, we expected nothing less from this matchup.
Lake Forest defeats Concordia (Wis.) after tying 3-3 & winning 6-3
Lake Forest moves on after a close weekend, game-one was a close one with both teams each scoring in all three periods and no one could break the deadlock in 2 overtimes, resulting in a 3-3 tie. In game two, CUW got on the board 4:13 into the 1st period, but the 2nd period was all Foresters, scoring 4 goals to CUW’s 1, and then adding two more in the 3rd period to get the 6-3 victory. Lake Forest had 3 powerplay goals and 1 shorthanded goal in game-two.
Aurora sweeps Trine, winning 7-2 & 5-1
Aurora easily moved on after sweeping Trine. Neither game was ever really in doubt except for when Trine got on the board first in game-one, scoring 2:04 into the 1st, however, Aurora answered by scoring 6 unanswered goals and eventually won 7-2. Aurora led in shots 42-9. In game two Aurora got out to a 4-0 lead, eventually ending 5-1 and securing the victory. They outshot Trine 61-19 and once again, the result of the game was never in doubt.
St. Norbert sweeps Marian, winning 7-1 & 3-2
St. Norbert moved on after handling Marian well in game-one and then keeping it close in the second game, winning a slim 3-2. In game-one Norbert scored 6 unanswered, only once in the 1st period, but 5 in the 2nd and never looked back. Winning the shooting battle 32-6 and handling the game from the opening puck drop. Game-two was closer, no scoring until the 2nd period when Norbert scored a pair of goals and Marian answered to make it 2-1. Norbert then added one more in the 2nd to go into the 3rd up 3-1, which eventually ended 3-2 after Norbert held onto the lead for 18 minutes after Marian scored a quick 1:30 into the final period.
WIAC
UW-River Falls sweeps Northland, winning 7-1 & 9-1
After Northland pulled the upset over UW-Superior, they were met with a bigger test, to which UW-River Falls handled easily, winning both games convincingly. UW-River Falls outshot Northland 63-7 in game-one and 70-7 in game-two, neither was close. UWRF did what we all knew would happen and they moved on easily.
UW-Eau Claire sweeps UW-Stevens Point, winning both games 2-0
UW-Eau Claire got a pair of shutout victories without their starting goaltender this past weekend to move onto the final’s vs UW-River Falls. In these two games the Blugolds struggled to score, but got it done in the end. In game-one, no scoring occurred in the 1st period, but Eau Claire scored a rapid 10 seconds into the 2nd period and added an empty net goal in the 3rd in the last minute of play. In game-two, sort of the same story occurred, Eau Claire scored late in the 2nd period and then late in the 3rd to win 2-0. Game wasn’t real even in the shot totals, Eau Claire winning that battle 40-9 & 49-7, but neither team was able to muster much offense.
This Weekend’s Picks:
MIAC
Gustavus vs Augsburg: March 4, 2023 – 2:00 pm CST
My Pick: Gustavus 4-2
Give me the Gusties winning the MIAC title over Augsburg this weekend. Gustavus has home ice and the higher skill levels all-around. Yes, obvious pick to many I’m aware, but even though Augsburg has challenged Gustavus this season, even beating them once, I think they get it done when it matters as they’ve been there and done that before, unlike Augsburg.
NCHA
Adrian vs Lake Forest: March 3, 2023 – 3:00 pm EST
My Pick: Adrian 5-2
Lake Forest handed Adrian an OT loss earlier this season, but this time give me the Bulldogs to win and advance to the final the following day in their home building. Adrian’s been playing well as of late, cleaning a few things up from the Aurora series, but I’m not sure Lake Forest can upset Adrian again like earlier.
Aurora vs St. Norbert: March 3, 2023 – 7 pm EST
My Pick: Aurora 4-3
The Spartans have looked really good as of late, defeating Adrian handily and then putting it together the past few weekends, I think they’re going to get one back from Norbert who won the season series 2-0 in two very close games. Darci Matson is leading the country in points by a decent margin, she should nab a few in this game. Give me Aurora to go back to the NCHA title game.
*Hypothetical* Adrian vs Aurora: March 4, 2023 – 2 pm EST
My Pick: Adrian 4-3 OT
I think this one’s extremely close, give me Adrian to get revenge vs Aurora after the Spartans defeated Adrian in the semifinals last year and made their way to their first-ever NCAA tournament bid. I think Adrian will have a better gameplan than before vs Aurora, also playing them at home and not on the road after a long bus ride helps too. I’ve liked Adrian all year and I’ll keep rolling with them here to win the NCHA title.
WIAC
UW-River Falls vs UW-Eau Claire: March 4, 2023 – 2:05 pm CST
My Pick: UW-River Falls 5-2
The Blugolds got the best of UWRF just a few weekends ago, but this time I think River Falls wins handily due to the uncertainty in net for Eau Claire as their starting goaltender missed the last two games vs UW-Stevens Point. The backup got two shutouts vs UWSP, but UWRF is another animal and the game being in River Falls with a large crowd, I’m not sure without their starter they can get it done. If the starter can go, then anything can happen, but as of right now, I’ll take the Falcons to win the WIAC.
