It’s cold and dreary here in Beantown, and the dog days of winter are suddenly here. Yes, it’s early December, but it’s the time of year where the sticks get put into their hockey bags, and the books come out of their backpacks. Things are starting to slow down, and in about a week or so, most of us will be hockeyless until Holiday tournament roll around.

That being said there’s still plenty of intriguing matchups on the docket this week.

First, a really interesting non-conference match between Joe Marsh’s St. Lawrence squad and his alma mater, New Hampshire. SLU is coming off of a devastating loss to arch-rival Clarkson, but has been one of the better squads in the ECACHL. The Saints are very young, and we’ll get a chance to see if they can rebound or will remain crushed by a UNH squad that is playing some of the best hockey in the country. They’re unbeaten in their last eleven and their two losses on the season, both by one goal, both by teams that have been ranked this season.

While not a marquee matchup, we’ll get to see Boston University for the first time since their brutal “own goal” loss to Boston College, and the controversy that ensued later that evening which involved several Terrier players. No team rules appeared to be broken, but their concentration may have been. Will they be able to focus?

Notre Dame takes on Michigan after a big sweep of TAFKAF. Michigan and Notre Dame are both on Miami’s heels, and both need these points. A sweep for either squad would be huge in terms of the CCHA standings. A sweep for Notre Dame would be even bigger in terms of bolstering their reputation on a national level. Why 12-3-1 isn’t doing it for some fans blows my mind.

A matchup that normally would make any hockey fan go into a frenzy out west, suddenly is a side show, with 5-9-2 Wisconsin facing 7-6-1 North Dakota. Both teams NEED a sweep in this series to regain a little swagger heading into the holidays, Wisconsin even more so as they stand 8th in the WCHA.

Michigan Tech takes another shot at trying to prove they can not just hang with the big boys, but win some too when they face Minnesota who is now unbeaten in sixteen games.

Friday, December 8th, 2006 - 6:10 pm | Uncategorized