WCHA Weekly Preview: Feb 29-Mar 2

Denver Pioneers @ Michigan Tech Huskies

Summary: The Pioneers appeared to get back on track a bit last weekend, sweeping UAA, while the Huskies had a rough series, getting swept by SCSU. Both of these teams have plenty to fight for still, as DU could still win the MacNaughton (and could still get a #1 seed in the PWR), and MTU could still finish 4th despite their current 9th place standing.

WWN Says: What happened to the Huskies? Two wins in their last 12 games? This one is a tough call -- the Pios fans are putting on some fun activities during the F4 weekend, but it would also be nice if MeanEgirl could witness a win or two for MTU in her last regular season series at home. Word on the street is that she used up all her eligibility...and the last thing we want is more whining from her. :)

Minnesota Gophers @ Alaska Anchorage Seawolves

Summary: Has this Gopher team found a pulse? They took 3 points from UW last weekend, but will still need some help if they want to finish with home ice or a spot in the NCAA's. How many more OT games can they play? They have a tough opponent this weekend with the Seawolves, who are the best last-placed team in college hockey. Easily.

WWN Says: I really don't know how much more of an emotional roller coaster the Gopher fans can go through this season. The latest PWR has them back in the tourney. I think that UMN still has a few more bumps and turns left in their roller coaster ride, so I'll have to go for a split here. Can the Seawolves pull it off? Well, they do have Suze on their side.

Wisconsin Badgers @ St. Cloud State Huskies

Summary: The Badgers can finish no better than their current 4th place in the standings, but they can certainly fall with 3 teams right on their heels. They play the Huskies, winners of their last 5 games, and only one point behind UW in the standings (with 2 games in hand). This should be a good series, and an important one for both WCHA and NCAA rankings.

WWN Says: The Badgers are on the bubble (along with 3 other WCHA teams) for making the tourney right now. A bad showing against the Huskies could make it an uphill battle for the playoffs. On the other side, the Huskies are currently okay in 9th, but they could also move into the bubble with a subpar performance. This should be playoff hockey here. But who to root for? More whining would probably occur from the UW side if they missed the tourney, being that they are hosting a regional...so I say "Go Huskies!".

Minnesota State Mavericks @ Colorado College Tigers

Summary: The Mavericks had their 7-game winning streak snapped in their last WCHA game against UW, but that streak enabled them to climb the standings and now they are firmly in the fight for home ice. The Tigers, meanwhile, are fighting to keep their #1 seed in the PWR and trying to hold off UND for the MacNaughton.

WWN Says: One loss to UNO, and MSUM moved from a 2nd seed all the way down to the cusp of missing the NCAA's. I wonder what a couple losses to CC would do to them? CC is quite dominant on their home ice, which will be scary for other teams come tourney time, but part of me wants to see the Mavericks back in the NCAA's. It's not like they could do any worse than SCSU!

North Dakota Fighting Sioux @ Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

Summary: The Sioux are trying to catch CC in the WCHA and trying to stay above Miami in the PWR rankings. A victory or two against the Bulldogs would help both causes. The Bulldogs, after being held scoreless all weekend against CC, needs some points if they want to stay in the race for home ice.

WWN Says: How long will the shutout streak go on for UMD? A win or two for the Bulldogs would do wonders for their PWR, but they might need to score some goals for that to happen. Grandma's vs. El Roco. DHG vs. Dirty. Duluth vs. Grand Forks. Duluth has to win, because of this. But I'm not sure even the Irvin can hold up to the force that is The Oshie.

Whiner of the Week - Feb 27th

Well that didn't take long. Here it is, only the second iteration of the WOTW award, and I've already been forced to go outside the WCHA conference. Not that there weren't some good candidates for the award from within the WCHA, it's just that a certain fanbase appealed more to me than others.
There were some good nominees, such as:

• All the whining back and forth between Michigan and Michigan State this past weekend. They're big rivals, so it was bound to happen.
• Donald's classic rant where he whines about Goon's whining. I don't know how I would have divided up the award with that scenario...
• redwing77's nonstop whining about the officiating. I seriously think he has a post template that already includes the necessary complaining about whatever official is reffing that weekend's UND games. He didn't win it this week, but rest assured, he will win one in the future...I guarantee it.
• Etc, etc. There's always good stuff when the playoffs are near. :)

Which leads me to this week's selection. This team is having a stellar year, having already wrapped up the HEA conference with a hefty 9 point lead over BU and Vermont. They are the "team to beat" from the East (which hasn't meant much in the past few years, has it?). But it seems after their recent sweep of BC that their fans still feel the need to demand R-E-S-P-E-C-T from others. How much more respect to they need? They've already got a conference title, a virtual lock on a #1 seed in the PWR (barring a spectacular collapse), they're ranked top 3 in every poll, etc. I'm pretty sure that opposing fans know that you have a good team with that resume. Bragging that you're 9-0 against BC, BU, and Maine this year isn't saying much when Maine has a lowly 6 conference wins on the entire season and sits in 9th place. And the JVR for Hobey stuff? That's just hilarious. He's not even the best player on his team, let alone his league, or the nation. And Jon- your thread on USCHO had no bearing on the outcome of this week's award. :)

Congratulations to the Whiner of the Week:

University of New Hampshire Wildcats

WOTW: Under Review

In keeping with the recent tradition of WCHA officials, WWN has reviewed the results from last week's WOTW award and have concluded that UND was equally whiny and therefore deserves placement alongside Denver.

For future reference, DU will still be declared the "winner" of the award, and UND will only receive .5 points in the newly-formed WOTW Team Standings. So, in true WCHA fashion, the review will be confusing and leave both teams feeling like they got screwed.

--------------------

WWN would like to thank dggoddard of LetsGoDU fame for helping promote WWN on both his blog and the USCHO Fan Forum.

--------------------

Youngblood was on Versus earlier today. What a movie. There is no other movie that combines pure hockey goodness, the goonery of a Canadian junior hockey league, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, and a *topless Cynthia Gibb.

*toplessness not shown in Versus version

WCHA Weekly Preview

UAA Seawolves @ DU Pioneers

Summary: The Seawolves, who haven't won in their last 5 games, head down to Colorado to take on the Pioneers, fresh off getting swept by UND. Conventional wisdom says that the 3rd place team should sweep the 10th place team. But UAA is far from a conventional 10th place team.
WWN Says: Have to root for the Pios here. Having met quite a few of their fans, they're a cool group to hang with. On the other side, it is really funny to watch Donald predict a top 5 finish for UAA, year after year after year. Plus, LetsGoDU >>> UAA Fan Blog.

Michigan Tech Huskies @ St. Cloud State Huskies

Summary: The battle of the Huskies. Tech has cooled off, having only won once in their last 6 games, while SCSU is on a mini-roll, winning their last three. Let the battle for 7th place commence!
WWN Says: Another series that isn't even close, as Tech easily beats SCSU. The average MTU fan: cute, short (mean) girls and tDarkness, who threatens collegiate players. The average SCSU fan: the oft-banned Rabib and DL, who might see a female breast someday.

Colorado College Tigers @ Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

Summary: Neither of these teams have been that consistent lately, but the Tigers are in first place for a reason. I see them getting at worst a split, probably better. (Although a small part of me hopes for CC to tank and let UND take the MacNaughton...mainly to watch the whining that would transpire on the 'net should that happen)
WWN Says: Another easy one. The Bulldogs in a landslide. What are there, like 5 CC fans on the internet these days? And 3 of them are trolls. So UMD wins, despite the best efforts of RWD and her weird "points system".

Wisconsin Badgers @ Minnesota Gophers

Summary: The Badgers aren't exactly lighting the league on fire right now, but the Gophers haven't won in their last 6 games. Nevertheless, this is a rivalry series...and the Badgers want to solidify home ice while the Gophers want to get out of 9th place.
WWN Says: Seriously, who do I pick in this one? Maybe we should just hope for two ties. The makings of a good postseason: UW narrowly misses the NCAA tourney while hosting a regional and UMN misses both the F5 and the NCAA's. Ahh, much whining would follow... :)

Non-Conference:
Bemidji State Beavers @ North Dakota Fighting Sioux
WWN Says: The Beavers might actually keep one of these games close, but the Sioux will probably sweep. The big question: How many brawls are we going to see? And who's fault will it be? Probably the refs.

Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks @ Minnesota State Mavericks
WWN Says: I don't know any UNO fans. Which means that they automatically win due to the annoying efforts of LetsGoMavs. :)

Whiner of the Week

Here it is, the Inaugural WOTW.

Looking back through this past week's WCHA series, it really wasn't hard to find the event that would result in the WOTW. I am speaking, of course, of the now infamous DU/UND scuffle that produced the Vossberg/Radke fight.

After this event, I sat back and waited for the whining to begin. And it certainly didn't take long. You had DU fans talking about the UND thugs...and soon after every other WCHA team shared that sentiment. And then, naturally, you had the Sioux fans denying that Radke (and the rest of the UND participants) were goons, and that it was just hard-nosed hockey.

(Truthfully, on Friday night I was a bit worried that I would have to give the first WCHA WOTW to Miami fans...after their loss to FSU they were still demanding respect and claiming that they were not overrated. Thankfully, the DU/UND scrum occurred to save me from doing that). :)

So, who do I pick to be WOTW? I knew it would be between DU fans or UND fans. I was personally leaning toward the UND fanbase when...Gwoz came out with his good old "code" rant:

"And the thing that really surprised me was, there was no evidence of the code of hockey, if you will, that when you get the guy down, it's over," Gwozdecky said. "These guys have grown up playing competitive hockey, and there is an honor system where, when you've got the guy down, it's done."

Now that's all well and good, but it seems to contradict this video from last year between Testwuide and Gordon from UMN. And then, this Vossberg interview came out where he made it sound like he was just an innocent bystander, even though the video shows him drop the gloves while Radke is still pushing him around. So that clinched it. Congratulations are in order, the Inaugural WOTW goes to:

George Gwozdecky, the DU Pioneers, and the DU fanbase

Welcome

Welcome everyone, to the first installment of "WCHA Hockey: Who's Whining Now?".

This blog will be devoted mainly to the fans/players/teams/coaching staffs of the 10 WCHA teams. After perusing through many a message board, blog, and newspaper article, I have decided that the constant whining that comes from the WCHA is quite humorous, and a record of the fun needed to be kept. So here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

Although the blog title suggests that this blog will be limited to just the WCHA...that will not always be the case. Sometimes, a special case outside of the WCHA will arise and warrant a nomination for the "Whiner of the Week". Those will be documented here as well.

So sit back, pop in a Journey album, and enjoy.