Top 11 Games of the First Half
Posted by: brettMark your calendars and set your TiVo’s for the most intriguing match ups of the first half of the 2006-2007 season.
October 6th – Maine vs. Minnesota – “Hall of Fame Game”
The first game in the post-Kessel era, Minnesota will face a tough test from Ben Bishop and the sting Maine defense.
October 6th – Denver vs. Miami – “Ice Breaker”
Denver looks to get back into the NCAA tournament, Miami looks to repeat a stellar 2005-2006 season. This game will have repercussions come March.
October 13th – North Dakota @ Wisconsin
In the WCHA opener two powerhouses look to recover from off season departures.
October 13th – Nebraska-Omaha vs. Colorado College – “Nye Frontier Classic”
Colorado is looking to prove that they should remain in the class of WCHA elite. UNO is on the cusp of becoming a power in the CCHA a win here for the Mavericks would go a long way come selection time.
October 20th & 21st – RPI @ Denver
Seth Appert comes home and will see where his RPI team stands against the best of the college hockey world.
October 20th – Bentley @ Air Force
No this is not a joke, Air Force begins it’s Atlantic Hockey season at home against a Bentley team that almost spoiled many teams off season last year.
October 27th – Boston College @ Wisconsin
A rematch of last year’s national championship game. This game has been circled on Chestnut Hill for a long time.
November 17th – Clarkson @ St. Cloud State
Both teams are projected to climb out of recent slumps this season and this match up will provide a good barometer to where each team stands heading into the second half of the season.
November 25th – Michigan @ Minnesota – “College Hockey Showcase”
After the turkey and the football, tune into what could be a preview of the Midwest Regional final, and what always is a great match up.
December 1st – Boston University @ Boston College
Last season these teams met an unprecedented six times, this is the first of three scheduled meetings this year.
December 29th – Michigan State vs. Harvard – “Great Lakes Invitational”
Harvard is looking to reach the NCAA for a sixth straight year, Michigan State is looking to rebound in the CCHA. Another match up which will weigh heavy during selection time.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:16 am
Nice job guys. Some beauties here. Did Denver and RPI know something when scheduling that game or was that only recently scheduled? Ahhh … Michigan State-Harvard — memories of the 1986 NCAA final. If only …
September 7th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Have we reached the point where we have too many Christmas tourneys? Only one game on this list comes from a tournament being held between Christmas and New Year’s. That used to be the time of year everyone looked forward to, there were games all around the country that we were keeping an eye on.
It doesn’t seem that way any more with everyone and his brother hosting a tournament now. Every so often someone floats the idea of a Christmas tourney in Boston, and this is why I don’t like the idea. Who’s going to play in it? Everyone already has their own tournament.
Maybe I’m overstating it. There are some good matchups and potential matchups in some of the other tourneys, like the Ledyard Classic, Florida Classic and GLI, but overall I don’t think too many people will be following the holiday games other than fans of the teams in them.
I have to add Wisconsin-Minnesota (Nov. 18-19) to this list however, and BC actually plays two at the Badgers in October. RIT starts Atlantic Hockey play the same day as Air Force too (Oct. 20), at home against AIC, although like with Air Force, these are mainly commemorative contests. And the day before, Miami at Michigan should be a good one, not to mention the always great Michigan-Michigan State battles (Nov. 3-4) and Maine at North Dakota (Oct. 20-21). It’s no surprise that most of these games take place early on before conference play really gets underway.
September 7th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
FYI:
The RPI at Denver series is actually October 20th and 21st, not Oct 15 as above. It is homecoming/parents weekend at Denver, as well as the Denver Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for George Kirkwood, whose stellar play between the pipes helped DU to NCAA National Championships in 1960 and 1961. Addtionally, Denver’s 1967-68 DU hockey team will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest teams in school history with school-record 22 consecutive wins, culminating with a 4-0 win over North Dakota in the 1968 NCAA National Championship game.
September 7th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
Duly noted good sir! I mis-edited it.
September 19th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Yeah the Governor’s Cup has to be on the list somewhere! Maybe not the best teams in the country but one of the better rivalries. Also, of course the Wolves will rock the Sully and Carlson this year!!!!