Race for WCHA Championship Resumes Jan. 9-10 With Five Head-to-Head Series
Ryan Stoa and the Golden Gophers Play at North Dakota Jan. 9-10 |
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Jan. 5, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
MADISON, Wis. - The race for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's regular season championship in 2008-09 resumes in full force during the upcoming weekend of Friday, Jan. 9 and Saturday, Jan. 10 with a full slate of five head-to-head series and 10 games. League-leading and No. 5/7-ranked Denver hosts 10th place Michigan Tech at Magness Arena (6,026), second place and No. 3-ranked Minnesota travels to sixth place North Dakota and Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634), third place, No. 10/12-ranked, and defending MacNaughton Cup champion Colorado College entertains seventh place Minnesota State at Colorado Springs World Arena (7,343), fifth place and No. 20-ranked Minnesota Duluth plays at eighth place St. Cloud State and the National Hockey Center (5,371), and third place and No. 17-ranked Wisconsin ventures to eight place Alaska Anchorage and Sullivan Arena (6,251). Friday's UMD at SCSU game will be televised live on the NHL Network.
The Pioneers (13-6-2, 9-4-1 WCHA) swept the MTU Huskies (5-15-2, 1-11-2 WCHA) in Houghton earlier this season, winning 6-0 and 6-1 on Dec. 5-6. The Golden Gophers (10-3-5, 7-2-3 WCHA) and the Fighting Sioux (11-10-1, 6-5-1 WCHA) will be meeting for the only two times during the 2008-09 regular season. The Tigers (11-6-5, 7-5-2 WCHA) and the Mavericks (9-9-3, 5-7-2 WCHA) split their first series of the season in Mankato back on Nov. 14-15, with Minnesota State winning 2-1 that Friday and Colorado College prevailing 4-3 that Saturday. The Bulldogs (9-5-6, 5-4-5 WCHA) and SCSU Huskies (10-9-1, 5-7-0 WCHA) have played twice so far this season, with Minnesota Duluth posting a 5-1 triumph back on Nov. 1 in a game played at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul as part of the WCHA Minnesota College Hockey Showcase and a similar 5-1 victory in a single game at the DECC on Nov. 29. Wisconsin and Alaska Anchorage, meanwhile, played their first series back on Dec. 5-6 in Madison, with the Badgers skating past the Seawolves by 3-2 and 7-2 counts.
Denver (19 points) currently holds a two-point lead over second place Minnesota (17 points) in the MacNaughton Cup derby, but the Gophers do have two games in hand. Colorado College and Wisconsin are tied for third with 16 points each, one point back of Minnesota. Minnesota Duluth is fifth with 15 points, followed by North Dakota in sixth with 13 points, Minnesota State in seventh with 12 points, Alaska Anchorage and St. Cloud State tied for eighth with 10 points each, and Michigan Tech in 10th with four points. Just three points separate the top four teams and just four points separate the top five. Nine of the league's 10 teams have at least 10 points to date and eight teams are separated by just three losses. Six teams - DU, UM, CC, UW, UMD and UND - have winning records in league play and nine of the 10 have at least four league losses. In conference play this season there have been 10 ties, 20 games have been decided by just one goal, 12 games have been decided by two goals, and 22 have been decided by three goals or more.
Over the Christmas-New Year's holiday break, WCHA-member teams Minnesota and Wisconsin both won their own annual tournaments, with the Golden Gophers claiming the Dodge Holiday Classic and the Badgers the Badger Hockey Showdown. Other highlights over the Dec. 27-Jan. 3 period included non-conference sweeps by North Dakota over Bemidji State, a second place finish by Minnesota Duluth in the Shillelagh College Hockey Tournament held at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and a second place finish by Denver in the Pioneers' Wells Fargo Denver Cup. In all, WCHA-member teams posted a 7-9-3 record in non-conference play over the holiday period and to date this season, the WCHA is now a collective 38-22-10 (.614) against other Div. 1 opponents.
Heading into the second half of the season, seven WCHA teams own winning records overall, nine of the 10 are at least .500 overall, and six have won at least 10 games overall. In order of winning percentage overall, Minnesota is at .694 (10-3-5), Denver is at .667 (13-6-2), Colorado College is at .614 (11-6-5), Minnesota Duluth is at .600 (9-5-6), St. Cloud State is at .525 (10-9-1), Wisconsin (10-9-3) and North Dakota (11-10-1) are both at .523, and Minnesota State (9-9-3) and Alaska Anchorage (7-7-2) are both at .500.
In the most recent (Jan. 5, 2009) USCHO.com/CBS College Sports XXL Div. 1 Men's Poll, there are five WCHA-member teams ranked among the 20 in the nation. Minnesota is at No. 3, Denver is at No. 5, Colorado College is No. 10, Wisconsin is No. 17, and Minnesota Duluth is No. 20. Also receiving votes were North Dakota, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State.
In the most recent (Jan. 5, 2009) USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, Minnesota is No. 3, Denver is No. 7 and Colorado College is No. 12. Also receiving votes were Wisconsin and North Dakota.
Looking ahead to the weekend of Jan. 16-17, there will be four WCHA series on the docket as North Dakota heads to Michigan Tech, Colorado College visits Wisconsin, Minnesota and St. Cloud State engage in a home-and-home set, and Minnesota State hosts Alaska Anchorage. In non-conference play, Minnesota Duluth will entertain College Hockey America-member Bemidji State.
This Week in the WCHA
Games for Friday, Jan. 9: Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 7:07 pm CT (WCHA); Minnesota at North Dakota, 7:37 pm CT (WCHA); Michigan Tech at Denver, 7:37 pm MT (WCHA); Minnesota State at Colorado College, 7:37 pm MT (WCHA); Wisconsin at Alaska Anchorage, 7:07 pm AT (WCHA).
Games for Saturday, Jan. 10: Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 7:07 pm CT (WCHA); Minnesota at North Dakota, 7:07 pm CT (WCHA); Michigan Tech at Denver, 7:07 pm MT (WCHA); Minnesota State at Colorado College, 7:07 pm CT (WCHA); Wisconsin at Alaska Anchorage, 7:07 pm CT (WCHA).
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