Just four weeks remaining in the regular season, all teams are making their last-minute adjustments as conference tournaments draw near. It’s looking like it will be a long shot for the majority of our Michigan-made teams, but you never know.
This week, everyone with the exception of Michigan Tech will be in action this week. The Huskies are coming off a split at home against in-state conference rival Ferris State. They still sit in 2nd place of the WCHA, but a whole ten points behind first-place Bemidji State. So they’re all but locked into a runner-up regular season finish.
As for the others, here is how Week 21 shakes out.
**All team information provided by either USCHO or CollegeHockeyNews
**All team broadcast information can be viewed at the end of the article
FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS (10-17-4, 9-12-3 WCHA)
As we reiterated moments ago, Ferris earned a split on the road up in Houghton against Tech last weekend, a 3-2 victory and a 5-2 defeat. They got five goals from four different players. Jared VanWormer was responsible for multiple goals, his 7th and 8th on the year.
Ferris makes a trip back home down into the lower peninsula for their final home series of the regular season, where they will host the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage (7-17-6, 6-12-6 WCHA). No doubt it is a lost season for Anchorage this year, but they did earn four out of a possible six points last weekend on the road against Lake Superior State.
These two met previous back in the first weekend of January. The Seawolves claimed five out of a possible six points that weekend at home, so Ferris will definitely be looking to even the score.
- Fri, February 17 – 7:07 p.m. ET
- Sat, February 18 – 7:07 p.m. ET
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE LAKERS (11-14-5, 8-11-5 WCHA)
Again as we just mentioned, it was not the most productive week for the Lakers last weekend against Anchorage, only gaining two points at home.
Now they have to make the trip up to Alaska for their final road games of the regular season and play the other Alaska team. The Nanooks (9-18-3, 8-13-3 WCHA) are the superior of the two in The Last Frontier, albeit not that much more. They are one of five teams in the league where just two points separate the five in the standings; LSSU being one of them. The Nanooks were shut out last week in both games by a scorching hot Northern Michigan club.
These two played to a series split way back in the final weekend of October, and that took place in Sault Ste. Marie. How will things fare this weekend up in Fairbanks?
- Fri, February 17 – 11:07 p.m. ET
- Sat, February 18 – 11:07 p.m. ET
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (9-14-3, 2-8-2 Big Ten)
The Wolverines played to a 4-4 stalemate thriller for the ‘Duel in the D’ event at Joe Louis Arena last Friday, a game where Michigan went on to pick up the extra point via the shootout. They however dropped the second game 4-1 at home.
Now comes a gauntlet of a schedule to close out the regular season. It starts with a road series in Madison against No. 20 Wisconsin (15-10-1, 8-4 Big Ten). The Badgers will likely be an angry bunch after getting swept at home last weekend vs. Penn State and getting more than doubled up in the goal department (11-6).
These two played to a split in Ann Arbor back in early December, ’twas the conference opener for both teams. Wisconsin is just 6-7-1 at home, but Michigan has only won two of its nine road games this year.
- Fri, February 17 – 9:07 p.m. ET (can also be seen on Big Ten Network)
- Sat, February 18 – 8:07 p.m. ET
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (6-17-3, 2-8-2 Big Ten)
A relatively solid performance from Michigan State last weekend against rival Michigan. After the ‘Duel in the D’ JLA finale, the Spartans topped the Wolverines 4-1 at Yost. It marked the first time since 1989 that they swept the series in Ann Arbor in a single season.
They are 2-2-2 since ending their nine-game slide… still not good, but much improved. But like Michigan, they face death row to finish the season, starting this weekend hosting No. 14 Ohio State (14-8-6, 5-6-1 Big Ten). The Buckeyes split with Minnesota last week, hoping to gain some sort of momentum heading into the league tournament.
This is the first meeting between the two schools this season. They will meet back up in Columbus two weeks later. The Buckeyes are 9-2-3 away from home this year, while MSU is just 2-9-1 at Munn. OSU is 3-0-1 in their last four against Sparty, three of which went into overtime.
- Fri, February 17 – 7:05 p.m. ET
- Sat, February 18 – 7:07 p.m. ET
NORTHERN MICHIGAN WILDCATS (11-17-4, 9-12-3 WCHA)
How about them Wildcats, Nation? Not only are the unquestioned hottest team in the state of Michigan, they very well could be playing the best hockey in the entire country.
Two more victories in shutout fashion last week pushes their winning streak to six games, where they outscored their opponents 20-1 during that span. It’s also nine straight games without a loss in regulation or overtime. This recent stretch has immensely improved their slot in the conference standings, as they now sit tied with Lake Superior with 31 points.
Now comes a gut-check series this weekend for the Wildcats, when they travel to Minnesota State (16-10-4, 12-8-4 WCHA). The Mavericks last played two weeks ago, splitting with AK-Anchorage. Is NMU peaking too early, or at the right time?
- Fri, February 17 – 8:07 p.m. ET
- Sat, February 18 – 8:07 p.m. ET
WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS (16-8-4, 9-8-1 NCHC)
Another adequate showing from the No. 8 Broncos last weekend, albeit a high-scoring affair on the road in Omaha. They survived another test, earning a split, and they stand pat in the national rankings.
Now comes another big test for Western, but perhaps in a favorable situation. They return home to host the defending champion Fighting Hawks of North Dakota (15-11-3, 8-9-1 NCHC). We last saw UND back in early December, when Western traveled to Grand Forks. The two played to a split and the Hawks were the higher-ranked team at the time.
Now the tables have turned a bit. Western is a comfortable 9-2-3 in Kalamazoo this season. North Dakota meanwhile is 2-4 in their last six games, but are 6-4-1 away from home this year.
- Fri, February 17 – 7:05 p.m. ET (Can also be seen on CBS Sports Network)
- Sat, February 18 – 7:05 p.m. ET
2016-16 DSN MICHIGAN COLLEGE HOCKEY POWER RANKINGS
[Last week’s ranking]
- Western Michigan [1]
- Michigan Tech [2]
- Northern Michigan [5]
- Ferris State [3]
- Lake Superior [4]
- Michigan State [7]
- Michigan [6]
TEAM BROADCAST INFORMATION
| RADIO | INTERNET | |
| FERRIS STATE | 97.3 FM WDEE | WCHA.tv |
| LAKE SUPERIOR STATE | 99.5 FM WYSS | WCHA.tv |
| MICHIGAN | 1050 AM WTKA | MGoBlueTV |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 1240 AM WJIM | Spartan Sports Network |
| MICHIGAN TECH | 93.5 FM WKMJ | WCHA.tv |
| NORTHERN MICHIGAN | 1003. FM WUPT | WCHA.tv |
| WESTERN MICHIGAN | 96.5 FM WKZO | NCHC.tv |
