West Weekend Preview

CHA Series
Syracuse @ Wayne State
FRI, 7:00 PM ~ SAT, 2:00 PM
Live Stats
Audio ~ Webstream

The teeter tottering Orange take to the road again this week as they venture west to Detroit looking to boost their conference standings against struggling Wayne State. The Warriors who were dispatched 3-0 and 5-3 when they came east earlier in the year have not played solid for quite some time. The once hopeful Orange are much in the same boat as they have seen a bright outlook turn into muted results against their higher ranked opposition. For each of these teams keeping their top line on the ice and the play out of their defensive end is paramount to seeing success. While each sports a solid net-minder, the consistent pressure they have seen in their defeats far outweighs what happens in the other end. Look for Syracuse to execute from its playbook far more often in this series as they know far too well that the Warriors are beatable, especially once they are down by more that a few. If WSU can keep this game close and apply pressure on the Orange net, then their chances of winning grow better as the game progresses.

#5 Mercyhurst @ Niagara
SAT, 7:00 PM ~ SUN, 2:00 PM
Live Stats
Audio ~ Webstream

The Lakers and the Purple Eagles are all too familiar with one another to say that either will come into this showdown unprepared. With the better record and higher rated talent some may be inclined to look past NU. However the Eagles boast a 5-2-1 record dating back to December and have held their opposition to just five goals in their last seven games. While they still lag behind the Lakers in many categories, anytime Jenni Bauer is in net the margin defeat drops dramatically. When these two foes met in November in Niagara Falls the Purple Eagles dealt the Lakers an overtime defeat on the strength of two power play goals. If the boxes get filled for either side this weekend look for the other to pounce and take advantage in a hurry. The biggest edge offensively that Niagara can have is to keep the hammer down offensively and when the play shifts to keep up with the speedy force that we have seen so many times from the Mercyhurst offensive.

WCHA Series
Ohio State @ St. Cloud State
FRI, 2:07 PM ~ SAT, 1:07 PM
Live Stats
Audio ~ Webstream

Two teams that have seen less than desirable outcomes this season square off this weekend looking for any sign of improvement. The Buckeyes who started the season with optimism that has dwindled down as the losses have mounted have a chance to pad their .500 record. For the Huskies who have gone four two straight weeks without a goal a season that began with a hill to climb has saw the rest of the pack move up while the Huskies rest at the bottom with their only bright spot being Ashley Nixon who often is the only reason each huskies defeat doesn't become a double digit embarrassment. Unfortunately unless the Huskies catch a huge break then I doubt they will be able to stand in the way of the fast paced offense that OSU can field.

Minnesota State @ #8 North Dakota
FRI, 7:07 PM ~ SAT, 7:07 PM
Live Stats
Audio ~ Webstream

Staying on the road this week the Eric Mean's Mavs look to get back on track as they head north to Grand Forks to take on the rested Fighting Sioux. North Dakota brushed aside St. Cloud with duplicate 5-0 wins last weekend in what allotted to little more than a UND Skills exhibition. When these teams met in October the Mavs Kathleen Rogan recorded her first career hat trick as the Sioux defense was exposed for four goals in a 4-2 loss. The next day however, Brian Idalski's squad tightened up defensively allowing Stephanie Ney to excel in net and Jocelyne Lamoureux to record a hat trick of her own in a game that saw the Sioux take advantage of the aggressive Mavs. With the losses mounting for MSU and the Sioux looking to position themselves in the top of the pack look for this series to feature aggressive play throughout and at the very least a solid weekend of Hockey.

Bemidji State @ #7 Minnesota Duluth
FRI, 7:07 PM ~ SAT, 7:07 PM
Live Stats
Audio ~ Webstream
BSU Live Blog

Oh the heels of a disappointing opening weekend for Amsoil Arena, the UMD Bulldogs look to move up in the standings as they welcome the team in their way of home ice in the WCHA Playoffs, Bemidji State. The Beavers who swept swept Minnesota State last weekend and split with the Bulldogs back in November are 4-2 since the break and are looking to secure home ice for the WCHA First Round Playoffs for the first time in team history. The Beavers who are remarkably better at home will be looking for just their second road sweep of the year. The Bulldogs who are out to show the world they are better than their 12- 7- 3 indicates will be looking for their first win since December 10th a 4-1 win over North Dakota (The Bulldogs fell 4-3 the next day in the final game at the DECC). While on paper the Bulldogs have a much deeper lineup and two goaltenders that should be able to match Bemidji's Zuzana Tomcikova, Shannon Millers troops are still young and have not clicked on many occasions this season either blowing away their struggling opposition or just doing enough to get the win. In this series look for Haley Irwin of UMD and Erin Cody of Bemidji to spur their teams attack. Unfortunately it appears that Irwin will not be in the lineup again Friday, so the better aggressor will likely walk away with fouth place at worse and possibly third place depending on the results in Grand Forks.

#4 Minnesota @ #1 Wisconsin
FRI, 7:07 PM ~ SAT, 7:07 PM
Live Stats FRI ~ SAT
Audio ~ Webstream (Friday Only - Saturday's Game Live on TV - Big Ten Network)
Minnesota Live Blog

After taking five of six points in Duluth last weekend number one Wisconsin's attention turned squarely toward the streaking #4 Minnesota Golden Gophers. The 23-2-1 Badgers have not lost since the Thanksgiving weekend at home to Duluth. The Gophers meanwhile are have not lost since December 3rd and during their impressive 8-0-1 stretch have three shutouts, three one goal games, and three two goal games. The defensive minded Gophers will need to be stalwart this weekend as the Badgers average 5+ goals a game and have one of the most potent offenses in the country. The Badger O is centered around its Olympic Forward Meghan Duggan and Hilary Knight. Duggan and Knight are tied for second nationally statistically and account for 108 of the Badgers 331 points on the season while their combines line-mates account for 136 total points. The Gophers in the same token center their attack on a fast but young offensive featuring a trio of freshman (Kessel, Terry, and Davis) and junior standout Sarah Erickson. When these teams split in Minneapolis to being November, the Gophers got to Alex Rigsby in her first collegiate start resulting in Mark Johnson turning to Becca Ruegsegger to finish out the Badgers hard fought but damaging 7-5 loss. In the second game of the series it was the Gophers turn to feel the agony of defeat as the Badgers potted two first period and three second period goals en route to a 5-0 shutout win and redemption for Alex Rigsby. While the Badgers have more experience to draw on, the Gophers can hang with the best so the team that has a good start and solid goaltending throughout will likely be the victor in each of these two games.

*Mel Webster is the CHA/WCHA correspondent to Beyond the Dashers