Friday, November 4, 2011

Weekend Breakout: Nov. 4-6

Weekend Breakout: Nov. 4-6

Rivalry renewed – Minnesota and North Dakota have one of the sport’s most storied rivalries, as WCHA reporter Jess Myers writes:

Whether your favorite Gophers-Sioux memory is John Mariucci taking his teams to the freezing cold potato barn in Grand Forks in the 1960s, or the 1979 NCAA title game where Herb Brooks won his third title by beating North Dakota, or a few more recent WCHA Final Five title games between the two schools, we have before us one of college hockey’s oldest and best rivalries.

Even without the history, this would be a big matchup this weekend (Friday on Fox Sports North, 8 p.m. ET; Saturday on Big Ten Network, 8:30 p.m. ET). It features more NHL draft picks than any series you’ll see all year – Minnesota, with 17, has the most in the nation, followed closely by North Dakota, 15. Some of the Golden Gopher prospects have been especially strong in the early going, lifting their team to a 7-1-0 record. North Dakota, meanwhile, has started slowly at 3-4-1. A meeting with their archrival may be just what the Sioux need.

Also On TV – Friday: Cornell at Yale (7:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network), Western Michigan at Michigan (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Detroit), Minnesota Duluth at Denver (9:30 p.m. ET, Root Sports).

Fenway preview – Another of the sport’s best rivalries hits the ice Saturday when Maine visits New Hampshire. UNH got untracked with its first two wins of the season last weekend; the Wildcats had a slow start, especially offensively. Maine also won twice last weekend and will head to the Whittemore Center after a stop at BC this weekend. How big is this rivalry? As Inside College Hockey noted in its “Tweets of the Week,” UNH players couldn’t help but take note of the extra effort students made to camp out for tickets. Two months from now these teams will take the ice at Fenway Park as part of Frozen Fenway 2012.

Future watch – Nashville Predators fans know all about the Wisconsin Badgers, as the school produced three staples in the lineup: Ryan Suter, Blake Geoffrion and rookie Craig Smith. This weekend Preds fans will want to watch the Badgers’ foes instead, as St. Cloud State features two Nashville selections from 2009. Sophomore Cam Reid has averaged a point per game in the early going (3g-5a), while freshman Nick Oliver seeks his first point as a collegian.

In the show – It’s a good thing Vermont is out of town this weekend (at Providence), because Catamount fans may want to catch Chicago vs. Tampa Bay Friday night on NHL Network. While Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas square off in alumni showdowns four times a year (and last year in the playoffs), tonight is the rare game with three UVM alums involved. Patrick Sharp and Viktor Stalberg will square off against St. Louis in this one.