College Hockey Games of the Week

Story posted January 15, 2016 in CommRadio, Sports by Tom Shively

Conference play is in full swing this weekend as we have five Top 20 showdowns scheduled.  We are coming up on some critical games as teams start to make their push towards the postseason.

No. 10 Boston University vs. No. 4 Boston College

Friday: 6 p.m. (at BC), Saturday: 7 p.m. (at BU)

While there may be no Hanifin v. Eichel clash to drool over this year, the Battle of Comm. Ave appears to be as even as ever.  In the past, one team had always been clearly dominant leading up to and during the series, but this season we see both teams sitting in the Top 10 with a chance to stake their claim as Boston’s best team -- though, the boys over in Cambridge may disagree with me.  Freshman forward Colin White has been the heartbeat of the BC offense so far this season, scoring 11 goals and tallying 16 assists for a team-best 1.50 points per game.  Thatcher Demko has been solid in goal for the Eagles as well, averaging only 1.72 goals allowed in 18 games played.  BU counters with seniors Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Matt Lane, who are tied for the team lead with 10 goals apiece.  Goals allowed have been an issue for the Terriers to this point as neither goaltender has allowed less than 2.7 goals per game.

No. 5 St. Cloud State vs. No. 17 Minnesota-Duluth

Friday and Saturday: 7 p.m. CT

It’ll be all about the goaltenders when these two teams face off for the first time this year.  St. Cloud State goalie Charlie Lindgren has stopped 501 shots to go along with a 0.93 save percentage in 21 games played while Minnesota-Duluth counters with Kasimir Kaskisuo, who has allowed only a stifling 1.21 goals per game in nine starts, good for top 10 nationally.  Both teams will attempt to bombard the goaltenders with enough shots to possibly break through a couple of times, a strategy that has had mixed results so far.  Centers Tony Camarenesi and Dominic Toninato each rank in the top five in the NCHC and top 20 nationally in shots attempted per game. 

No. 9 Nebraska-Omaha vs. No. 1 North Dakota

Friday: 7:30 CT, Saturday: 7 CT

North Dakota faces its toughest test of the season as they welcome NCHC foe Nebraska-Omaha to Grand Forks for two pivotal games.  Offense is the theme in this series as both teams bring lethal lines to the table.  For North Dakota, Drake Caggiula, Nick Schmaltz, and Brock Boeser have all put together stellar years with Caggiula ranking sixth nationally in points, Schmaltz sitting second in the nation with 23 assists, and Boeser ranking second among freshmen in goals nationally.  Nebraska-Omaha counters with Jake Guentzel and Austin Ortega.  Guentzel paces the team with 27 points while Ortega has already scored six game-winning goals this season.

Other Notable Games:

No. 18 St. Lawrence vs. No. 7 Harvard (Friday: 7 p.m. ET)

No. 8 Cornell vs. No. 20 Rennselaer (Friday: 7 p.m. ET)

Tom Shively is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism.  You can contact him at shivelyt97@gmail.com.