I'm happy to have Peter Simons back this week as my guest picker. It should get easier as the season rolls along, but every week there are surprises in the WCHA. Last weekend for instance Michigan Tech broke a 26-game winless streak with a 3-2 win at then-No. 4 Denver on two short-handed goals. Tell me you saw that coming? You are not being honest. Peter has his own Minnesota Sports blog, it's minnesotasportsbypete's blog. A little wordy isn't it Peter? Boy, maybe I should rile him up to much. He already claims he is beating me soundly this season. By his count his record is 100-36-15, mine is 96-39-16. Those totals are so close, I think a recount is mandatory. I haven't kept a season-long tally. But plan to go back and do one sometime. Without further ado, here's how this week shapes up in our minds: Michigan Tech (4-24-4) at Gophers (13-12-5) Peter: MTU is coming off a great weekend for them with a big win against Denver. Denver must have been hung over or something because MTU is really a bad team right now. Minnesota on the other hand is 4-4-2 in the last 5 series which is a good mark considering they were playing at UND, Wisconsin and UMD. Sandwiched in there were home games against Denver and UAA. I love the desperation they have been playing with and the effort has shown in the standings. They really cannot have any let downs if the want to get into the NCAA's. They MUST sweep MTU and BSU next weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed they don't crap themselves against a weaker team. ... Minnesota sweep Roman: The Gophers have sometimes played down to the level of their opponents, especially if they are physical teams. Tech isn't. A lot of the Huskies best players are freshmen. This could be the last home weekend for the U seniors. They will be energized. ... Gophers' sweep

#6 Denver (19-8-5) at #12 Nebraska Omaha (19-11-2)

Peter: DU should be ashamed of themselves for losing to MTU last weekend. I think if you lose to them you should not be ranked in the top #10. Pathetic. Anyways they are not great on the road 6-5-3 and do not seem to be playing well right now. UNO is very good at home with a 12-2-2 record. I think Denver will get back on track but not sweep a tough Blais coached team. ... Split

Roman: After losing 6-3, 7-5 to UNO in the red Mavs first season in 1997-98, DU has won seven in a row. The last three wins were in tournaments. The Pios routed Nebraska Omaha 7-0 in the Denver Cup on New Year's Day in 2010. DU is only 6-5-3 on the road. UNO, coming off a 3-2 loss and 4-1 win at Alaska Anchorage, needs one more victory for back-to-back 20-win seasons for the second time in program history. Mavs had won four in a row at home and five of last six. ... Split

#7 UMD (19-7-5) at Colorado College 17-15-2 Peter: I have been in love with UMD for over a year now and it's great to see them having so much success this year. The Bulldogs have been road warriors this year with a very good 10-3-3 record in enemy territory. CC on the other hand has been a pretty up and down team this year, they have been pretty good at home 9-8-1 and are on the bubble of NCAA consideration. I want to say UMD sweep but my gut says split. Got to listen to the gut. ,,, Split Roman: The Bulldogs are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games with CC. And center Jack Connolly is hot with three goals and 10 assists in a nine-game scoring streak. He is a junior, part of a class with 127 points -- the second most for a junior class on any team. CC, which is one point behind the Gophers, is only 2-4-1 in its last seven games. But after going five games with a power play goal, the Tigers had one in each game at Bemidji State last weekend. And the best news for CC, Jaden Schwartz is back after missing 15 games with a broken ankle. The freshman had a goal and two assists against the Beavers. ... UMD sweep

#13 Wisconsin (19-11-4) at SCSU (12-15-5)

Peter: Wisconsin has been taking some lumps lately 0-3-1 in their last 4 games. They are a very average team on the road 5-6-1. SCSU is another head scratcher, they have burned me a lot this year. They stink at home 4-8-4 but have been playing tough the last 2 series against UMD and UND going 1-1-2. I being a SCSU grad and not liking most everything about our eastern neighbors am going to -- even though I think Wisconsin is the better squad -- go with a ... Split Roman: The Badgers, only a couple weeks ago, seemed to be cruising toward a home ice spot and an NCAA tournament at-large bit. Now both seem to be slipping away. UW has thrived on beating unranked teams with losing records. SCSU fits that description but the Huskies took three points from UMD two weekends ago and last weekend had a tie with North Dakota. Sophomore David Eddy, ineligible the first semester, has been a spark the past 12 games with six goals and six assists. ... Huskies sweep

Bemidji St. (12-14-4) at #1 UND (22-8-3) on Sat., Sun.

Peter: Not a lot to say here except I think UND will smoke BSU at home. UND I thought has been one of the best 2-3 teams in the country all year and I actually have been disappointed they have not been better then they are. I have watched a number of BSU games on channel 22 and have not been impressed with the high school-style camera quality or the team. UND Sweep Roman: The Sioux are 14-0-1 vs. Bemidji State since the Beavers moved up to Division I hockey. NoDak is also closing in on its 15th WCHA regular-season title, leading DU by two pts. and UMDby three. UND is pushing Matt Frattin for the Hobey; he has 24 goals. But expect one of these games at least to be close. Bemidji State is 3-0-2 in its last five games and, in its last nine games, has played six overtimes.These are Sat. and Sun. afternoon games and BSU is 3-1-0 in matinees this season. Still hard to predict anything but a ... Sioux sweep UAA (11-16-3) vs. Alaska (Fairbanks) 13-14-5, a home and home series, Fairbanks first night, Anchorage second Peter: These teams are almost identical. Both have been very tough teams with bad road records and decent home records. I think that will be the story of the weekend. Both teams win at home. ... Split Roman: Have to feel for Seawolves. They can't pick up any points in WCHA race this weekend and don't have the Alaska advantage playing a team from the 48 states which has to travel. UAA penalty kill is at 91 percent in last 14 games. Governor's Cup at stake this week. Because of WCHA bias ,,, UAA sweep