Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Dan: Happy short work week everyone, and an early Happy Thanksgiving. I’m sure everyone, like me, is venturing into a supermarket this week to load up on things that you don’t usually carry in your house, so I’m hopeful that this is providing you with reading material as you wait for the supermarket’s beep-beep to finally beckon you to the register.
A Happy early Thanksgiving to you and yours, of course, Paula, and I’m finally glad that we can finally get our own brand of TMQ back into production. This being our first go-round of the year, I’m thrilled that we can maybe break some new ground on the hockey season.
That means breaking ground with a new No. 1. Wisconsin’s losses this weekend rightfully opened the door for a new team, and as much as I wasn’t surprised, I’m very excited to unveil it as North Dakota. It feels like it’s been a minute, but putting NoDak atop the rankings feels like a restoration of an older age.
In fact, it actually is. I saw on Twitter or X or whatever it’s called nowadays that the top-4 referenced the 2016 Frozen Four, and after I did a little sleuthing, North Dakota’s 2016 national championship involved a Frozen Four that had Boston College, Quinnipiac, and Denver – or, in other words, the teams ranked No. 2, 3, and 4 in this week’s poll.
We have a long way to go, but it feels like the national perception is turning back towards some forgotten names. Given the parity we’ve touted for the past few years, can we get excited about the (temporary) restoration (Quinnipiac and Denver aside) of nationally-touted and recognized hockey brands?
Paula: Dan, it is delightful to talk hockey with you again. It’s fun to mix up these weekly TMQ takes – “mix up” being the operative term here, given the pattern we’ve seen in college hockey this season.
I wish I could answer your question directly, Dan, but I can’t. Sure, it’s fun to see North Dakota and Boston College back in the discussion of the nation’s best teams – especially for fans of those specific programs – but how long will they be at the top of the poll?
I think voters are happy to put deserving, familiar teams at the top of the poll when they’re playing consistent hockey, and consistency is the one thing that the top teams in college hockey are lacking this season. If the first two months are any indication, no one is running away with anything this year. It’s impossible to speculate who is most likely to be in St. Paul in April.
North Dakota was my pick last week and this week for the No. 1 spot because the Fighting Hawks had most recently been playing, in my opinion, the most consistently good hockey in the country. I feel pretty good about that pick, too. In their current five-game win streak, the Fighting Hawks have scored fewer than four goals per game just once, and that was in a 2-0 shutout win.
What I find really interesting is that Wisconsin received 32 first-place votes in last week’s poll following a bye week and zero votes this week after getting swept by an excellent Michigan State team. To me, that’s nuts – especially since the Spartans move up to No. 7 in the poll for their efforts. Did all those voters last week have buyer’s remorse?
It’s too soon for me to say that some of the traditional powerhouses are reemerging after a few off years, Dan. I think the landscape in college hockey is too mutable right now to make that call.
I do think, though, that the genuine parity that we’re seeing across the nation is good for the game and allows for some programs that have been working hard in recent years to get noticed, like Maine.
In fact, I see Hockey East as a really strong conference this season and can’t wait to find out whether I’m right about that come March. After the hockey that’s been played so far this season, Dan, what is catching your eye?
Dan: I’ve asked more than a few coaches about this, but I feel like attendance is blowing up at several different levels. I don’t know if it’s the numbers, per se, but the atmospheres at games have been electric for several of these arenas.
I can only speak to the Northeast for my personal experiences, but the student involvement has been deeper and more intense than I remember. Boston College routinely fills its arena with a great student presence, and crowds at Merrimack, Princeton, BU, Bentley and others have all been great. There’s a sense of spirit that’s made these games fun.
I’m sure a lively non-conference schedule has helped develop these feelings, though in some cases it’s been great to see teams match up with ancient enemies.
From a league standpoint, that’s always been interesting to me. Rivalry games, is there an ideal timing for them? Air Force-Army on Veterans Day weekend seemed perfect with all it encompassed.
Paula: I like the idea of an Armed Forces weekend or even a tournament hosted by one of the two for Veterans Day, but I’m in favor of all kinds of tournaments. In fact, last year Jimmy Connelly and I lamented quite a bit about the demise of the many old midseason holiday tournaments that have gone by the wayside for a variety of reasons. It was always such great nonconference play and usually after a significant little break in the action, too, so fans were really thirsting for it.
Maybe I’m just being old, but there doesn’t seem to be much downtown at midseason – and perhaps that’s a welcome thing by many programs – and there are fewer holiday tourneys. I get that the cost of tournaments and logistics of schedules can create difficulties for many programs.
Here in the Midwest, fans still get really excited for old CCHA rivalry matchups. I like seeing both Ferris State and Alaska included in the Great Lakes Invitational this year, for example, with hosts Michigan State and Michigan Tech.
I remember, too, how some coaches (and I’m not naming names) would gripe about some of the midseason tournament opponents and the potential for losses in those tourneys hitting them in the PairWise. My response was always, “Well, win your games.”
There’s a slate of really good nonconference hockey happening this weekend with the Thanksgiving holiday, starting with Wednesday’s game between No. 3 Quinnipiac and No. 5 Boston University. Friday, we get No. 2 Boston College at No. 18 Notre Dame, a game that will reveal a lot about the Fighting Irish.
No. 20 RIT hosts No. 12 New Hampshire in a series that I suspect will tell us a lot about the nature of this parity that we’re experiencing this season.
To answer your question, Dan, maybe Thanksgiving weekend is the ideal time for nonconference play. Do you have your eye on any specific matches this weekend?
Dan: I think it really has to start and end with Quinnipiac’s trip to BU. Both teams are top-5 in whatever we want to call the early season Pairwise, and both have claims to the top slot in the land, which is to say that BU was No. 1 to start the year and Quinnipiac is in full rev after battling through the first couple of weeks.
I separately think Michigan really needs a good showing at St. Cloud because it’s allowed 22 goals over the last six games, a number that’s just shy of 4.00 goals per game and that’s tilted the team down to 35th in the country in scoring defense despite having the second-highest goal scoring average in the nation.
A third series that could come back later in the year is also Western’s two-game swing against St. Lawrence. The Broncos are hanging right around the bubble of the early Pairwise, which (again) doesn’t matter for much right now, but losses could be fatal for later in the season. I’m thinking similar to when North Dakota’s losses to Canisius kept that team out of the tournament.
But let’s be honest, the top non-conference matchup is getting my kids to eat dinner at my brother’s house. We’ve had a hot-and-cold performance as of late, but I’m guessing a little extra gravy on a couple of passes will set up some juicy scoring opportunities and some chance to watch them stuffing one home. The biscuit will truly be in the basket as we handle hot potatoes through the neutral zone…
… OK, I’m done. I think. Probably not.
Tell me, what’s on the agenda for this weekend for you?
Paula: There’s a lot of hockey to watch. I’m so grateful for the availability of so many games through streaming platforms. A bonus is how good the hockey is this season. The “product,” as it’s called increasingly, is good.
The only Big Ten hockey this weekend is a Friday-Sunday series pitting No. 7 Michigan State against No. 8 Minnesota. This is a great test for both teams. With 16 points, the Spartans are in first place in the B1G standings and are riding a six-game (5-0-1) unbeaten streak into Minneapolis, all against conference opponents. The Golden Gophers are 3-3-2 in their last eight with a 2-3-1 B1G record in that stretch. Minnesota’s also nine points behind the Spartans in the standings and one place out of last in the league, so there’s a lot on the line in this early series.
As for the Thanksgiving holiday itself, I’ll watch the delightfully surprising Detroit Lions play because it’s a Michigan thing – and I’ll count my many blessings, of which college hockey is one.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Dan, and to everyone in our extended college hockey family. And Happy Thanksgiving, my dear college hockey fans.
