Men’s Hockey will (probably) sweep this weekend

Apr 5, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston College Eagles forward Bill Arnold (24) defends Minnesota Gophers right wing Bill Arnold (24) in the first period during the semifinals of the 2012 Frozen Four at Tampa Bay Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

One of my favorite memes (and one-liners) is from the comedy classic, “Anchorman.” After the epic newscaster street fight, Ron Burgundy and company settle down in the office. The meme is a screenshot of Burgundy recalling the fight. He quotes: “Well that escalated quickly.”

What is the opposite of that?

Perhaps, “Well that was anti-climactic… quickly.” Maybe, “Well that calmed down very fast.”

Anyways, point taken, right? This is exactly how I feel  about the men’s hockey team. All pre-season, hordes of hockey people ranted and raved about how incredible the team was going to be this season. After the mega-stomp opening sweep against Michigan State, all any fan could do was rant and rave about the talent and depth – by God the depth!! – of the team that would surely appear at the Frozen Four. Forget about the naysayers; anyone who dared say otherwise was promptly waved off, “Nope, this is our year!” we all knowingly admonished.

And then they split a series with Michigan Tech. Barely hung on to a win the second time around.

And then they tied the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-18 squad in exhibition. And just managed to squeak out a win against the Canisius Golden Griffins in a non-conference matchup.

After the Canisius win, head coach Don Lucia was quoted saying, “I wasn’t surprised by the score.”

Am I the only one around here who was just a little surprised? I know, I get it, write last weekend off and get amped for upcoming WCHA play.

I am. I’m going to go ahead and predict a sweep this weekend against  in-state rival Minnesota State–Mankato. But this time, my enthusiasm going into the weekend bears an element of cautious optimism. I was one  amongst those hordes of enthusiastic pre-season fans and there’s nothing  I hate more than putting my foot in my mouth.

On the up-side, the Mavericks forgot to show up  to their games last weekend. St. Cloud State pummeled Mankato 5-1 on both Friday and Saturday night in Mankato’s first WCHA matchup this season. However, that doesn’t mean the Mav’s aren’t going to be ready to play.

I’m expecting to see Adam Wilcox in net. He’s been doing well between the pipes thus far and is my pick to be the number one starter. The defense is going to need to step it up this weekend – and every remaining WCHA game for that matter – to get a win.

If all goes well, the Gophers sweep and get amped up for two more weekends of WCHA play against Alaska and Wisconsin. It should happen, although, as we’ve all learned three weeks in: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch