Jacob Allen

Denver Pioneers: The Old

After a very interesting week in the NCHC, National Collegiate Hockey Conference, there is now a new Top Dog in Cawlidge Hawkey. The Denver Pioneers were absolutely stunned by Western Michigan, getting swept on the road. On Friday, the Pios were left in shock on the ice after giving up 2 goals in the last minute and 12 seconds, including goals 15 seconds apart from each other.

That in itself is heartbreaking, and cannot happen as the number 1 overall ranked team in the nation. Normally, Head Coach Jim Montgomery has these guys turned around after a brutal loss like that.

Instead, Saturday night rolled around, and the Pios were put down again 7-4.

The Denver Pioneers have the most talent in the game of Cawlidge Hawkey, but losses like these, and the way the team responds, says a lot about where the team will end up when tourney time comes. The Pioneers dropped to 3 in the rankings this week because they were looking towards this weekend, and overlooked a salty Western Michigan team.

Out with the Old, In with the New

The St. Cloud State Huskies now take over the number 1 spot in the rankings after quite the weekend against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Sweeping them over the two game set, and lighting the lamp 5 times in each game.

The Huskies have a very balanced attack on offense, which is hard to match in Cawlidge Hawkey. They literally just come in waves, and the ocean never stops rolling. The Huskies had 5 different players score in both games this weekend, and 9 different Huskies scored their 10 goals.

That is outrageous, and it will be needed this weekend when they travel to the altitude of Denver to face Henrik Borgström, Troy Terry, and the rest of the DU Pioneers for a #1 v. #3 matchup that will be must see T.V. this weekend regardless of what football is on. These are the two best teams in Cawlidge Hawkey, so if you are reading this, you will be watching this weekend.

I see the Pioneers and Huskies splitting the weekend series in Denver. I see DU responding from last weekend’s flat performance with a win at home, and the Huskies take the next one in a one goal game. These games will be close, fast, and full of future NHL players and possibly even stars.

#2 North Dakota v. #7 Wisconsin (New Rankings)

These teams faced off last weekend in the land of Beer and Cheese, and North Dakota came out with an impressive weekend on the road. These two teams are also very good. They are in a tier just below St. Cloud and Denver, in my opinion.

North Dakota won 3-2 on Friday, despite being outshot by the Badgers 38-32. They then tied the next night to complete another great series involving an NCHC team, and two top 10 teams.

The Fighting Hawks, aka the Fighting Sioux, host Miami OH next weekend for a solid matchup within the NCHC.

The Badgers go into East Lansing to face the Spartans of Michigan State. This should be a sweep of the Spartans, but hockey is a lot harder to beat bad teams in consecutive nights than other sports.

Bucci’s Top 10

I might as well update you on Bucci’s Top Ten as well, since he is the most knowledgable on the subject.