Maybe I didn't know what I was doing. But I asked Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press to pick WCHA games against me this week. Obviously, one reason I contacted him was because the Gophers are playing Minnesota State Mankato.

Shane has been covering the Mavericks for 10 years and, by extension, the WCHA. I figured he might be my most formidable foe yet. But no way did I expect him to pick a tie in one of the series. A TIE? What a WCHA mind. If it happens in that series, I will bow to him the next time I see him.

Shane also has a blog called Puckato. Clever mix.

I have a personal conflict this weekend, so I won't be in Mankato but the Strib has a more than capable replacement there from the Strib, Chris Miller, who used to cover the UMD Bulldogs and now has the unenviable task of being my supervisor. (He does other things, too, but that -- supervising me -- is his most important job in my mind.)

All that said, I'm a little worried this week but I will do my best against Shane. I'm not picking ties, though. If you can do that ... maybe you should turn pro.

This week's picks ... it's a full week of WCHA conference games:

Minnesota at Minnesota State

Shane:The Mavericks are back home after a long, long road swing. Despite the four-game losing streak in the middle, they came out of it with a 3-4-1 record. They should be fired up to be back home for the first time since Oct. 23. They have played the Gophers tough the last few years, too. Minnesota appears to be better this year but, like MSU, it still gives up goals. If the Mavericks can score like they did at Lowell, I think we'll see a couple of high-scoring games in Mankato. ... Split

Roman: The Gophers are 4-0 on the road and averaging almost six goals per game. Their penalty kill needs a transfusion and maybe a few organs, but the power play is pretty good. Alex Kangas may have his mojo back in the nets and he has played well in Mankato. As for the Mavs, they don't seem to have a big scorer. D-man Kurt Davis leads team in 11 points. So if the Gophers can stay out of the sin bin it should be a ... Gophers sweep Denver at Minnesota Duluth Shane: This is the series of the weekend. Not only is it the last series at the famed DECC but it pits the best two WCHA teams and two of the hottest teams in the country against each other. Denver has a six-game winning streak, and UMD has a five-game winning streak. Something has to give. I'm predicting that the each end the other's streak in a pair of close games. ... Split
Roman: Shane, I thought the Gophers and Mavs were the series of the weekend. This is series I'd love to watch. 'Dogs are closing down the DECC, their doghouse for 45 years. They are 6-0 there this season. UMD has been resting since Nov. 19-20 when they swept two OT games at Wisconsin. DU has outscored its opponents 25-10 in its six-game winning streak. Drew Shore leads WCHA in scoring with 12 goals, 10 assists for 22 points. Goalie Sam Brittain is 9-3-2 with a 1.95 GAA but Pios are walking into an nostalgic, emotional auld lang syne weekend in the Twin Ports. ... Dogs sweep Wisconsin at Alaska Anchorage Shane: Wisconsin is a funny team. It ranks third in WCHA in scoring and first in defense, yet it is just one game over .500 overall and 3-5-2 in WCHA play. I think the stats start to work themselves out this weekend against the Seawolves, Anchorage is a tough place to sweep for any team, though, so ... Wisconsin gets three points Roman: And Shane is a funny guy, picking a tie. The Seawolves' last win over the Badgers was 2-1 on Nov. 4, 2006. UW is 18-6-6 in Anchorage and 11-0-1 in last 12 games against Seawolves. And who has better scoring D-men than Badgers? Justin Schultz had four goals last weekend for UW, Jake Gardiner, Minnetonka's own, chipped in with 2 goals and four assists. So ... Split Colorado College at Michigan Tech Shane: Remember when Tech was unbeaten through five games? I do. I was there for the last two games of that streak. But the Huskies haven't won since, dropping six straight. CC, though, hasn't swept anyone this year, so here's guessing that Tech gets back in the win column. ... Split Roman: Special teams could decide this series. CC is second in the WCHA on the penalty kill at 85.2 and fifth on the power play at 22.5. So it has pretty good specials. MTech is erratic. It's PP is the best at 30.6, it's PK is 11th at 76.7. Tigers are 17-3-8 in Houghton since 1993-94. ... Split St. Cloud State at North Dakota Shane: Did you read about Chay Genoway putting himself through a bag skate after Saturday's tie with Notre Dame? Sounds like a guy on a mission. The Sioux are still the most talented team, top to bottom, in the league. They'll take out their frustrations on the inconsistent Huskies this weekend. ... North Dakota sweeps
Roman: The Huskies were picked to be one of the top three teams in the WCHA by the media and the coaches. So far they have struggled. SCSU was idle last weekend and is 1-3-1 in last five games. Three went into OT, they lost two. NoDak at the Ralph or anywhere is a handful. These teams have intense rivalry. ... Split Nebraska-Omaha at Bemidji State Shane: It's a historic weekend in Bemidji as the WCHA's two newest teams square off. Many people picked Bemidji to be a surprise team this year but I'm not surprised by their struggles. The jump from the CHA to playing in the WCHA every weekend is a grind. Omaha, a veteran team coming from the CCHA has had a much easier transition. Dean Blais has the red Mavs playing great hockey in all facets of the game. Omaha sweeps Roman: The Beavers are 0-6-0 on Fridays in WCHA games and have been outscored 26-12. Maybe they should switch remaining home series to Sat.-Sun.? Last year BSU split in Omaha with Mavs, winning first game 3-1, losing second 3-2. But overall UNO holds 5-1 lead in all-time series. Mavs (9-2-1) have tied best start ever and have best (6-1-1) conference start ever. Also have seven players with 10 points or more. ... UNO sweeps