For the second time this season — and the first since  Nov. 16 at Miami — the Badgers won a game on the road. Wisconsin split the weekend series with Ohio State, and the Buckeyes now are tied for the No. 3 spot in the Big Ten standings with Michigan.

Ohio State’s Ryan Dzingel passed the 100-point mark in the loss to Wisconsin on Saturday. He’s the first Buckeye junior to reach the mark since R.J. Umberger scored his 100th in 2003. Dzingel, a Hobey Baker candidate, is one of the best forwards in the nation (and he’s in my Hobey Hat Trick). He leads Big Ten scoring with 38 points, but his assist on Saturday was his first point since Feb. 7.

The Nittany Lions tied Michigan State on Friday (and then lost in the shootout) and lost on Saturday. Penn State has scored more than three goals just once over its last 15 games. But, the Nittany Lions have been more competitive than the score indicates in some of those games. With four points so far, the Nittany Lions are locked into the sixth seed. (It’s actually mathematically possible for Penn State to move up a spot, but unlikely.)

For the Spartans, the victory snapped a seven-game winless streak. Over that stretch, Michigan State went 0-3-4 and allowed two goals or less in six of those seven games.

The Gophers, seven points ahead of Wisconsin, should have the No. 1 seed. Michigan and Ohio State are tied with 20 points while Michigan State has 19, but seeding doesn’t matter that much outside of the first two.

(After the jump: Where Wisconsin should finish, Big Ten goalkeeping and the state of Minnesota) (more…)

Another week down and two more to go in the regular season. Last weekend, Union grew its lead at the top and the bottom teams had a good weekend. Union now has a four point lead at the top of the standings on Quinnipiac, while the Bobcats have a two point lead on the hard charging Colgate Raiders in third. Cornell has fallen a bit in recent weekends, as it has lost three games in a row and now has no chance at the league regular season title. The Big Red have 20 points, which is three points behind third place Colgate, tied with Clarkson for third and it sits one and two points ahead of sixth and seventh place Yale, RPI respectively. The fight for the last bye is possibly going to be the the most entertaining of the battles in the coming weeks.

Another interesting fight is going to occur for the last home ice spot. Brown picked up an impressive home win against Quinnipiac on Saturday night but its followers followed suit. The Bears hold the eighth position by a point on both Harvard and St. Lawrence. Dartmouth picked up a weekend sweep and now sits three points behind Brown. Harvard and Dartmouth both struggled for long stretches of the season, but have come alive in the last week or so. The two travel partners picked up seven of a possible eight points in the North Country.

Trends are growing within the conference that must be noticed. Harvard, Union, and Colgate seem to be on the rise. QU, Clarkson and Brown seem to be trending down at this point. Those trends are big because of what is happening in the standings, as they are so closely packed. Without further ado here are my thoughts this week. (more…)

Durham, NH – On the night that UNH celebrated its seniors, the Wildcats came out rocking against a BU team that has been struggling in recent weeks.  Dan Correale scored the first of the night for UNH at the two minute, 52 second mark when he found a puck on the doorstep and put it past O’Connor in a scrum. BU, though controlled much of the play in the period. UNH, though, was ever advantageous of BU mistakes, as Eric Knodel scored on the power-play from the point. Matt Willows followed it up seven minutes later to give UNH a 3-0 lead. BU scored a 5 on 3 power-play goal with 8 seconds remaining in the first period, as Evan Rodrigues received a pass and buried it past Desmith to send the game into the first intermission, 3-1. The goal was a turning point in the game.

The teams traded goals in the second, as Boston University again dominated the territorial play against UNH. The Wildcats led Boston University, 4-2, heading into the third period. BU would make it interesting at 9:15 of the third, as Robbie Baillageron netted the Terriers’ second 5 on 4 power-play goal of the night. BU gave a valiant effort in the waning minutes of the game but Casey Desmith had every answer thrown at him, including a late glove save to preserve UNH’s 4-3 win over BU.

The win improved UNH to 17-15-1, 9-8-0 in Hockey East and BU dropped to 8-17-4, 3-9-3. The win moves UNH into a tie for third place with Maine, four points behind UMass-Lowell in second. UNH is one point ahead of Northeastern in fourth, which is the final spot with home ice in the quarterfinals, and two points ahead of sixth place Providence. Positions six  through 11 play first round games, while positions 1-5 have first byes with the top four getting home ice in the quarterfinals. BU sits in tenth place, three points behind home ice in the first round. The win also moves UNH up to 21st in the Pairwise, it would conceivably need to win out to get an at large berth. (more…)

Michigan State (8-13-6, 2-5-5-3 B1G) vs. Penn State (5-18-1, 1-9-0-0 B1G): Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m.

The Nittany Lions picked up their first Big Ten win on Saturday, defeating Michigan 4-0. Four different Nittany Lions picked up a goal, including David Glen. Matthew Skoff was in net for the victory.

In both games against Michigan last weekend, Penn State scored at least three goals. Several Nittany Lions, including Casey Bailey and team scoring leader Eric Scheid, recorded three points in the series.

Even before the win, Penn State had been playing well. The Nittany Lions turned in some competitive performances against Big Ten opponents, including Michigan State. Ultimately the Spartans swept that series, winning 3-0 and 3-2. Michigan State is 3-1-0 in the all-time series.

The Spartans tied Ohio State in both contests last weekend before losing in the shootout.

Michigan State ranks 10th in the nation defensively, allowing 2.33 goals per game. The Spartans have given yo two goals or less 17 times this season.

The Spartans block more shots per game than any other team, helping out goalkeeper Jake Hildebrand.  In eight of his last nine starts, the Pennsylvania native has allowed two goals or less. Hildebrand has also stopped 30-plus pucks in six of his last nine starts, and his .933 save percentage ranks seventh in the nation.

But the Spartans struggle to score. Last weekend Michigan State adjusted the lineups, putting Greg Wolfe, Lee Riemer and Ryan Keller together again for the first time since December. They scored seven of 11 points against Ohio State,

The Spartans have a stingy defense and Penn State’s offense is almost as bad as Michigan State’s. But, I thought Penn State had a chance to beat Michigan State the last time these two teams played, and I still think they came close.

Prediction: Series split.

Ohio State (14-9-3, 4-5-3-2 B1G) vs. Wisconsin (16-8-2, 7-4-1-0 B1G): Feb. 14 at 7 p.m., Feb 15 at 8 p.m.

Wisconsin just handed Minnesota its first two conference losses, as the Badgers swept the Gophers at the Kohl Center last weekend.

At the Kohl Center.

I’m not surprised the Badgers won at least one of those games, because Wisconsin is almost unbeatable at home. The Badgers have lost twice at home, but one of those losses came against the Buckeyes.

And now the Badgers will travel to Columbus for the first time since 1969.

Ohio State hasn’t lost in its last five games, a streak that started with the win over Wisconsin. The Buckeyes have scored two or more goals over that stretch, led by Ryan Dzingel. His 37 points rank first amongst Big Ten skaters.

Christian Frey, who holds a 2.11 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage, has started in the last five games. He was also in net when the Buckeyes took down the Badgers.

Ohio State has a powerful offense, but the Badgers have the best goalkeeper in the Big Ten in Joel Rumpel. His .922 save percentage is tied for first, while is 1.90 goals-against average is the best in the conference.

The Badgers are also 2-14-1 on Valentine’s Day, which irrelevant but interesting.

When I think about some of Wisconsin’s road games, I still question if they can win away from the Kohl Center — no matter how impressive the wins over Minnesota were.

But I was really impressed by those two wins over Minnesota.

Prediction: Series split.

Minnesota (19-4-5, 8-2-2-0 B1G) vs. Michigan (14-7-3, 6-3-1-1 B1G): Feb. 14 at 9 p.m., Feb. 15 at 8 p.m.

Last weekend Wisconsin swept Minnesota, snapping Minnesota’s 14-game unbeaten streak. That’s not really an upset, given how good the Badgers are at home.

The alarming issue for the Gophers is their lack of offense.

Over the past three games, Minnesota — which once had the nation’s second-best offense — hasn’t been able to score more than two goals in a game. In the past three, the Gophers have been limited to one goal.

Sam Warning still leads Minnesota’s offense, but hasn’t registered a point in the last five games.

This is the first conference meeting between Minnesota and Michigan, and the first time these two teams since Nov. 28, 2010. Three Gophers —  Nate Condon, Justin Hall, Tom Serratore — and two Wolverines — Mac Bennett and Luke Moffatt — have played in the series.

Condon, Minnesota’s captain, is the only current player with a goal in the series.

The Wolverines are 3-1-1 in their past four games, defeating Wisconsin and Michigan State.

I know Minnesota is struggling, but there’s nothing about Michigan that stands out to me.

Prediction: Minnesota sweeps.

Another week in the books and more movement, up and down the rankings last week. Union has become the clear favorite to win the regular season crown, while Quinnipiac is lurking three points back. Colgate, Cornell and Clarkson all sit within three games of the lead but someone please tell me why Union shouldn’t be the favorite, because it is. Union enters the top of the rankings this week, taking over the top spot from Colgate who entered the number one position two weeks ago, when I last got to Power Rankings.

The biggest mover in the past two weeks has been St. Lawrence. The Saints picked up a win against Union two weeks ago, at home, and it picked up an even bigger win on the road against Quinnipiac on Saturday. For ECAC fans, the last few weeks have been special, as it seems any team can beat another on any given night. Another team that has come on in recent weeks, has been Rensselaer. Both of those team have been dangerous but the teams, especially 1-10 are about as close as can be. This should make for an interesting playoff and run to the playoffs, as fights will ensue for the byes and home ice. Without further ado these are my rankings for the week.

1. Union (19-6-3, 13-3-0) – Last Time 2

Union has just gotten to the top and run with it. Since a two game losing streak, the Dutchmen have gone out and won three in a row. It has defeated three solid teams in the process, as it defeated Clarkson on the road and Brown and Yale at home. The Dutch have won consistently no matter where they are playing and its 10-2-2 record on the road is good for the second best mark in the nation. Union has become the clear favorite to win the league and its three point lead seems insurmountable for even QU right behind it. (more…)

Another weekend in the books and for one team it was moving weekend, as Union was the only top team to pick up four points over the weekend. The Dutch not only opened up some breathing room on second place but it also opened up space down the standings. It now leads the conference by three points and has a six point lead over the ever important fourth place in the conference standings.  Quinnipiac has a two point lead for second place,while Colgate, Cornell and Clarkson  are all within one point for positions one through five. The fight for the last bye should go down to the last weekend. All these teams legitimately have shots at the regular season title, but at this point the Dutchmen have to be the favorites to hold onto it. It has yet to prove otherwise that it is willing to relinquish it.

Harvard bowed out of the Beanpot last Monday in the semifinals but together a solid performance against BU in the Consolation game on Monday night. The win marked the second in a row for the Crimson and the first time it had won consecutive games all season. St. Lawrence, had a surprising weekend in that it defeated Princeton and Quinnipiac. The former is hardly surprising, as most of the league has defeated the Tigers, but defeating the Bobcats on the road was a surprise, in some senses of the word. The Saints have quietly defeated both top teams in the league in the last two weeks, Union and Quinnipiac, which is quite the impressive two weeks of work.

The Pairwise finds four teams in the top 15 and six in the top 20, which is a testament to how good the league was this season out of conference. Harvard’s win on Monday finished a successful non-conference slate for the conference that saw the league post the third best winning percentage (51-38-16,.562) and garner the second most wins of any, with 51. No conference ran away with the season series with ECAC teams, and the leagues 20-22-8 record against Hockey East is something of a win in itself, although two games back. The conference has proved it can compete with the best teams in the nation. Quite frankly, I would put any ECAC team up against a team from another conference and think it would win. The talent is right there, top to bottom, if not better than in most conferences. (more…)

Minnesota entered the Kohl Center on a nation-high 14-game unbeaten streak, but left with two 2-1 losses against Wisconsin.

Given how strong Wisconsin is at home, I assumed the Badgers would win at least one of the games against Minnesota at home, but I never suspected Wisconsin would win both. The Badgers played pretty well against the Gophers, improving to 15-2-1 at home this season.

There’ll be more on Minnesota later, but Wisconsin is now second in Big Ten with 22 points, four behind the Gophers. But this season, Badgers have been awful on the road.

A couple wins over the Gophers are pretty big for the Badgers, but they’ll be back on the road next week to face Ohio State. It’ll be a good time for Wisconsin to either prove or disprove its status as an elite Big Ten team.

Penn State earned its first Big Ten win — and its fifth overall — after taking down Michigan 4-0. Assistant captain David Glen, who missed a few games after donating bone marrow, had a goal in the win.

Michigan may not be the strongest team in the Big Ten, but this was an important first in Penn State’s program history. The victory also snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Nittany Lions.

On Friday, Penn State allowed seven goals behind Eamon McAdam and P.J. Musico. That left Matthew Skoff available for Saturday, and the sophomore responded with a shutout.

Ohio State and Michigan State tied both games, while the Buckeyes “won” in the shootout. It marked the first time in Big Ten play this season the Spartans lost in the shootout.

Jake Hildebrand and Frey both allowed two goals in each game. It makes the fourth game in a row Hildebrand has allowed two goals or less, and his .933 save percentage now ranks sixth in the nation and tied for first in the Big Ten.

(After the jump: Minnesota’s offense is struggling, Michigan State might be on the rise and Christian Frey brings stability to Ohio State) (more…)

Durham, NH – Last weekend looked so positive for UNH, as it swept Notre Dame but its opponent this weekend had different plans for this weekend. Last night, the Catamounts defeated UNH, 5-2, and tonight was much of the same except for the fact UNH looked a tad better. Vermont, though, looked like the sharper team all weekend.

After a scoreless first period that saw Vermont dominate the central portions of the ice, its play was rewarded in the second period. The Catamounts scored first at three minutes, 45 seconds of the second period, as Pete Massar was left alone in the slot. Vermont  was great with responses last night and tonight was no different, as it responded quickly with a second one less than three minutes later  when super-freshman, Mario Puskarich, scored on a UNH defensive breakdown. Nick Sorkin brought the Wildcats within one at 11:40 of the second and that score held into the third period. (more…)

Durham, NH – It was a typical UNH-UVM hockey game, which saw very few chances. UNH scored first at six minutes, 22 seconds off the stick of Kevin Goumas, who got a pass into the slot from Matt Willows. The lead was shortlived, though, as UVM would score two quick goals 42 seconds apart at 10:11 and 10:53. UVM took the 2-1 lead into the second period. Late in the second stanza, Connor Brickley added to the lead on the power-play. The Catmounts entered the third period, leading UNH 3-1.

UNH turned the momentum early in the third period, as Brett Pesce wristed a shot from the point into the net to bring the game within a goal. But UNH would get no closer, as UVM smothered and scored two goals of its own in the period. Vermont picked up the impressive, 5-2 win over UNH on the road. Vermont improved to 14-3 overall and 6-7-0 in Hockey East. UNH falls to 16-14-1, 8-7-0 and misses its opportunity to move up in the league Standings or gain some distance. Vermont currently sits in seventh place in the standings with 16 points, two points behind second in the league while Vermont sits in seventh with 12 points. The loss will also hurt UNH in the Pairwise, while Vermont gains with games still to be played. (more…)

Wisconsin (14-8-2, 5-4-1-0 B1G) vs. Minnesota (19-2-5, 8-0-2-0 B1G): Feb. 6 at 8:30 p.m., Feb. 7 at 9 p.m.

Minnesota is one of the best teams in the nation, but the Badgers have been nearly unbeatable at home this season. When the teams met earlier this year in November, Minnesota won both games in Minneapolis.

The Gophers are on a 14-game unbeaten streak, which is the longest in the nation. Minnesota is 10-0-4 and has killed off 38 of 41 opponent power plays during that period.

Minnesota’s offense dropped to fourth in the country after being limited to three goals in a tie and win against Michigan State last weekend. The Gophers average 3.65 goals per game. (more…)