NCHC Playoff Predictions

Finally, the NCHC playoffs are here. The first round seedings are set. The toughest league in college hockey is set to battle for a chance to play in the Frozen Faceoff at the Target Center on March 20-21, 2015. This is my picks from an article that we wrote for Inside Hockey.

Zach Hawkins and I will be covering the NCHC’s Frozen Faceoff for Inside Hockey.

My Picks

1 North Dakota (25-7-3) vs. 8 Colorado College (6-24-3)

The University of North Dakota will entertain the Colorado College Tigers in the first round of the NCHC playoffs. This will be the third series between the two teams this season. UND has a 4-0 record against the Tigers and outscored them 17-7.

There’s no debating that the NCHC is a great league. Seriously, there are no bye weeks in this league. But let’s be real. The Tigers aren’t a very good hockey team and they’re having a bad season. The Tigers have won three games in 2015 (3-13-2) and didn’t get their first league win until January 16, 2015. During that same time, UND is (12-3-1). Losing this series isn’t an option for UND. I am going with the safe bet, a series sweep.

Friday: North Dakota 5 – 2 Colorado College
Saturday: North Dakota 4– 1 Colorado College

2 Miami (24-12-1) vs. 7 Western Michigan (13-16-5)

On paper, this game should be a quick series and over in two games. Obviously, hockey is played on the ice and not on paper. In four games between Miami University RedHawks and the Western Michigan Broncos, the RedHawks outscored the Broncos 13-8 and took the season series 3-0-1. During the regular season, the Broncos took a single point against the RedHawks.

The Western Michigan Broncos have hit a bit of a rough patch, since being swept by UND back in February, they have gone 1-2-1. In the New Year, WMU has gone 6-7-3 and 2-5-1 in the last eight games.

Miami, on the other hand, has played pretty well and are 10-6 in 2015. I think that Miami continues the dominance over the Broncos and sweeps the series.

Friday: MU 4 – 2 WMU
Saturday: MU 2 – 1 WMU

3 Nebraska-Omaha (18-10-6) vs. 6 St. Cloud State (16-17-1)

The St. Cloud State Huskies and the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks have played four games against each other. Both teams swept their opponents at home. This should prove to be one of the most exciting series of the weekend.

The Mavericks are already in the playoffs and the Huskies are fighting for their lives. The Huskies have to win this weekend, to have any chance of making the NCAA tourney.

According to Brad Schlossman, Nebraska-Omaha has only won two-of-nine games since Dominic Zombo went down to injury. According to Dean Blais, senior goaltender Ryan Massa is day-to-day and Dominic Zombo is out. With that in mind, I think this is going to be the upset of the weekend.

Friday: SCSU 3 – 2 UNO O.T.
Saturday UNO 4 – 1 SCSU
Sunday: SCSU 3 – 1 UNO

4 Denver (20-12-2) vs. 5 Minnesota-Duluth (20-13-3)

When I look at this series, if you played it 10 different times, I think that you would have each team winning five times.

The two teams split their season series 2-2. I guess we should just flip a coin. Both teams are in the playoffs and don’t need to win to advance. Duluth is trying to make the Frozen Faceoff for the first time in the league two-year history.

UMD is 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and is coming off a series split with the WMU. Denver is 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. I am going with UMD in three games.

Friday: UMD 5 – 4 DU
Saturday: DU 1 – 0 UMD
Sunday: UMD 5 – DU 1

NCHC reveals All-Conference & All-Rookie Teams for 14-15: http://t.co/4zXJ1Gp7q9 Congrats to the winners! #NCHCHockey pic.twitter.com/f6cO8KkFuF

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) March 11, 2015