NFL
By: Jason Gulden
Welcome back, NCHC hockey fans. What a great first couple of weeks we have had to start the season. Every team in the conference has at least 1 victory. We only have a couple more weeks left before we start conference play on Halloween weekend.
Before we look ahead to this weekend’s games, we need to look back at the Players of the Week for the Oct 6th-Oct 12th weekend. After their 4-0-0 start, Miami (OH) is recognized this week by winning 3 of the 4 awards. The Forward of the Week goes to Ilia Morozov from Miami (OH). On the weekend, he scored 3 goals and 3 assists. He posted a +5 plus/minus and went 16-38 in the faceoff circle.
The Defenseman of the Week goes to Denver University Junior Eric Pohlkamp. Friday night, he assisted on Denver’s only goal at Air Force. Saturday night, he became the 4th defenseman in NCHC history and 12th defenseman in Denver history to record a hat trick. He finished the weekend with 3 goals and 1 assist, had 12 shots on goal, and had a +3 plus/minus. He also anchored the Denver penalty kill that went 4-4 on the weekend.
The Goaltender of the week was Matteo Drobac of Miami (OH). He has led Miami (OH) to a 4-0-0 record this season. During this past weekend, he faced 55 shots and stopped 52 of them, including a 26-save shutout on Saturday night. He also assisted on one of Miami (OH )’s goals on Friday night. Not too shabby for a goalie!!!!
The Rookie of the Week goes to Kocha Delic for Miami (OH). He had 5 points in the sweep of RPI. Friday night, he had a career night with 3 points, including his first multi-goal game. He would score again on Saturday night. He had 3 goals and 2 assists on the weekend. Posted a +6 for the weekend.
What players earn the reward this coming weekend? Check back next week to find out.
Here is the USCHO Division 1 Men’s Hockey Poll for the week of October 13th, courtesy of uscho.com
With their loss to Ferris State on Friday night, Western Michigan would fall a spot in the rankings down to #2 in the nation. Denver would stay put at #5 with their split against Air Force and Bentley. North Dakota would jump up 2 spots to #8 after sweeping St. Thomas in the home-and-home series. Arizona State would stay put at #15 after winning the Ice Breaker Tournament. After the weekend sweep of Bentley and Air Force, Colorado College would debut in the poll for the first time this year at #19.
What will the ranking look like next week?
There really isn’t much going on with the standings so far this year, due to no conference games being played. Feel free to see where your team stands after 2 weekends of play. In the Halloween weekend preview, I will break down how the standings work in the NCHC. It’s a little different compared to the NHL.
Weekend Schedule for October 17th and October 18th
This weekend, we have 2 games featuring former WCHA foes. Colorado College travels to Northern Michigan. These teams have played 56 times. Northern Michigan holds a 31-24-1 record in those games. Northern Michigan hasn’t been a friendly place for the Tigers to play, as they have a 5-22-1 record in Marquette. Colorado College hasn’t played in Marquette since October of ’96, when both teams were still in the WCHA. Is this year going to be different for Colorado College?
The big game of the weekend in the conference puts #8 North Dakota at home against #13 University of Minnesota in the other former WCHA foe game. Friday night’s game between these two teams will be their 296th all-time meeting. Minnesota has had the edge in the matchups with a 143-137-16 advantage. North Dakota has had Minnesota number however over the last 10 meetings by winning 7 of those games. Will that continue for the Fighting Hawks this weekend?
The only home and home series of the weekend is against Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State up in Minnesota. Friday is in Bemidji, and Saturday is in Duluth. The two teams last met on December 31st, 2024, with a Duluth victory. Friday night’s game will be the 52nd time they face off, with Duluth holding a commanding 29-17-5 record and winners of 8 of the last 9 games against Bemidji. Does that continue this weekend?
Well, that’s all for this weekend’s preview. Check back next week for another article on the NCHC Men’s Hockey Conference.
