The unofficial second half of college hockey began last weekend after roughly a three-week layoff for the holidays. For many of the Michigan teams, a lot of them participated in holiday tournaments, including a quartet of them in downtown Detroit for the latest installment of the Great Lakes Invitational.
That was a tournament that fell in favor of the Western Michigan Broncos. They are on a mini roll again now, while teams like Michigan State and Northern Michigan are free-falling at a rapid rate.
Let’s dive into the Week 15 slate. A reminder that this week, the Michigan Wolverines and the aforementioned Broncos are off and will be omitted from this week’s segment.
FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS
Ferris State (7-12-2, 6-7-1 WCHA, 20 pts) participated in the annual Three Rivers Classic out in Pittsburgh last weekend. However, they were only able to muster one goal in their two games, going 0-1-1 in the tournament.
No sense of panic from the Bulldogs, though. There’s still plenty of hockey to go and for a program that has had a taste of being elite in recent years, they are as capable as anyone of making a run. It’s a log jam of a WCHA though, just ten points separate teams 3rd through 8th in the standings, with FSU sandwiched right in there at 6th.
It’s all league foes from here on out for Ferris. It starts out with two straight weekends against the Alaska-based schools, who happen to be the cellar dwellers of the WCHA. This Friday and Saturday, the Dogs play at AK-Anchorage (4-14-2, 3-9-2 WCHA, 12 pts). Both games can be heard on Sunny 97.3 FM at 11 p.m. ET.
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE LAKERS vs NORTHERN MICHIGAN WILDCATS
 What’s going on in the Mitten? Not a whole lot of winning going on from almost everybody.
We mentioned a little bit about Northern Michigan (4-16-2, 2-11-1 WCHA, 7 pts) earlier. They struggled mightily again last weekend, getting outscored 9-4 in their two losses down in the Florida College Classic. That’s now just one win in their last 13 games overall. They’ve already matched their loss total from a year ago and we still have 14 games to go in the regular season, plus the conference tournament.
Lake Superior (8-11-1, 5-8-1 WCHA, 16 pts) meanwhile are in a bit of a rut as well. A sweep at the hands of Omaha last weekend puts their string of winless games at five straight, scoring two goals or fewer in four of them. It’s very reasonable for any young and inexperienced college team in any sport to go through lulls, the Lakers are no exception. A strong finish would be huge for third-year head coach Damon Whitten, who saw improved win totals from year one to year two.
These two long-time in-state rivals will share the ice together for four consecutive games over the next two weeks. Friday’s tilt is at 7:37 p.m. ET at LSSU, then the scene will shift to Marquette on Saturday for a 7 p.m. puck drop. The games can be heard on 99.5 Yes FM in the Sault Ste. Marie area and 100.3 WUPT Marquette.
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
Michigan State (4-11-1, 0-2 Big Ten) is also on a ride of five straight games without a victory and they would like to get off in a hurry. And they’re not just losing, they are getting waxed in these games.
During this recent stretch, MSU is getting outscored 23-11. And quite frankly, the margin could be bigger if not for a ferocious comeback late against Michigan in the consolation game of the GLI, a game that the Wolverines eventually won in overtime. A once strong and successful program has really had a rough go of things, and this year epitomizes that best. The seat of head coach Tom Anastos, who has amassed a 75-109-21 season in his six seasons, has to be hotter than ever.
Now comes the interesting part of finding a game on the schedule where the Spartans can stop the bleeding and get back in the win column. This weekend, they are on the road against Wisconsin (8-7-1, 1-1 Big Ten, 3 pts) who split with the Wolverines in Ann Arbor last weekend in their Big Ten opener. Both games on Friday (9:07 p.m. ET) and Saturday (8:07 p.m. ET) can be seen on Big Ten Network and heard WJIM 1240 AM in the Lansing market.
MICHIGAN TECH HUSKIES
We promise there is some good to be found in this week’s breakdown! And it comes courtesy of Michigan Tech (13-8-3, 11-3-2 WCHA, 36 pts). At the GLI, the Huskies blanked Michigan and set up a date with Western Michigan in the championship game, before getting blanked themselves in a hard-fought 1-0 game in overtime.
We mentioned earlier of the messy WCHA picture, particularly all the teams bunched in the middle. Michigan Tech is not part of that, they sit in 2nd place in the league. They are however a whole ten points behind leader Bemidji State, but very much in striking distance to make a run and perhaps clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
This week’s match-up is against a nationally-ranked Notre Dame (11-6-2, 5-3-1 Hockey East, 11 pts) club in South Bend, games that can be seen on Friday (7:35 p.m. ET) and Saturday (7:05 p.m. ET) on NBC Sports Network and heard on 93.5 FM WKMJ in the Houghton market. The Irish have won four straight and six of eight overall. Last weekend, they boat-raced Alaska 9-0 in two games. Nationally, Notre Dame is relatively new to the big stage. All eight of their all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, and two Frozen Fours, have come in the past 15 years.
2016 DSN MICHIGAN HOCKEY POWER RANKINGS
- Western Michigan (10-5-3, 4-5-1 NCHC, 14 pts)
- Michigan Tech (13-8-3, 11-3-2 WCHA, 36 pts)
- Michigan (8-9-1, 1-3 Big Ten, 3 pts)
- Lake Superior St. (8-11-1, 5-8-1 WCHA, 16 pts)
- Ferris State (7-12-2, 6-7-1 WCHA, 20 pts)
- Michigan State (4-11-1, 0-2 Big Ten)
- No. Michigan (4-16-2, 2-11-1 WCHA, 7 pts)
