WCHA taking shape, Gophers going to sweep in Mile High City

Serious jockeying for better position in the WCHA begins this weekend with five conference series.

The Gophers are at the top of the standings and obviously control their own destiny. They have four tough away and four seemingly easier home home.

UMD appears to be the most likely team that could catch them. They also have four away and four home games, but their tougher opponents have to play at Amsoil Arena.

Colorado College and Denver also are in the chase but the Pioneers really need to sweep the Gophers to put pressure on them.

Four of the six bottom teams appear set. Wisconsin, Minnesota State and Alaska Anchorage, all with only six games left, are mired in 10th, 11th and 12th and are six points or more behind the logjam in the middle.

Three teams are tied for fifth with 22 points -- Michigan Tech, Nebraska Omaha and North Dakota -- while St. Cloud State, which has played two more games than that trio has 21.

If the first round of the WCHA playoffs was starting today the matchups would be:

Minnesota State at UMD ... Bulldogs are defending NCAA champions

Wisconsin at Colorado College ... the scenery is nice there for Badgers fans

Bemidji State at Denver ... Pioneers have dominated Beavers

St. Cloud State at North Dakota ... they have a heated rivalry

Nebraska Omaha at Michigan Tech ... they play this weekend

Special guest predictor this week is Dane Mizutani of the Minnesota Daily. He covers the Gophers hockey team for his publication the same as I do for mine. He's a sharp young man, but he doesn't stand much chance picking against me. Good luck, Dane. You will need it as the saying goes.

Gophers (19-9-1, 15-5-0) at Denver (15-9-4, 10-6-4)

Dane: This is a huge series for both teams, but it might be a bigger series for Denver. Essentially, the Gophers can eliminate the Pioneers from WCHA contention with a sweep this weekend. I don't think Denver will let that happen. I expect the Pioneers to come out hot on Friday, and for the Gophers to come out slow as they have all year. Seth Ambroz and Taylor Matson talked to me about the effect the high altitude has in the series — fatigue will set in quicker. That, coupled with the near 1000-mile trek to Denver is a recipe for disaster. Still, Minnesota has not been swept all year. I'm predicting … SPLIT

Roman: This might be a bigger series for DU? Look at the standings, dude. Gophers will be doing cartwheels if they get a split, but why think small? Time for the Gophers to get in playoff mode. If the Gophers top line and power play need to produce, Nate Condon can score his fifth short-handed goal and a defenseman scores, the Gophers can win Friday. And then on Saturday, they are 10-0 in conference play -- fatigue? these are finely conditioned athletes -- so ... GOPHERS SWEEP

North Dakota (15-10-2, 11-9-0) at Minnesota Duluth (18-6-4, 12-5-3)

Roman: The 'Dogs have hit a rough patch, going 1-2-1 the past two weekends. But J.T. Brown is on fire; he had five goals last weekend and is an NCAA-best plus-27. Travis Oleksuk is next at plus-23 and needs just one point for 100 in his career. Oleksuk's 15 game-winning goals, six this season, ties the UMD career record in that category.

The Bulldogs will honor their four Hobey Baker winners during the first period intermission on Friday. They are Tom Kurvers, Bill Watson, Chris Marinucci and Junior Lessard. Senior center Jack Connolly is a strong candidate this season with 42 points. ... UMD is 9-3-0 at Amsoil this season.

The Fighting Sioux are 11-3-1 in their last 15 games. In UND's three-game winning streak, the line of Danny Kristo, Brock Nelson and Corban Knight has 17 points. ... Kristo needs five points for 100 in his three-year career. .... BULLDOGS WIN AND TIE

Nebraska Omaha (12-11-5, 9-7-4) at Michigan Tech (13-13-2, 10-8-2)

Dane: Both Michigan Tech and UNO have played a lot better than people thought entering this season — and both are tied for fifth in the WCHA standings. The Huskies are led by Brett Olson and Jordan Baker, but goaltender Josh Robinson has been their backbone this season. UNO only has two wins in its past three series and Michigan Tech is at home. I'll take a … TECH SWEEPS

Colorado College (15-9-2, 12-7-1) at Bemidji State (13-12-3, 7-10-3)

Dane: Colorado College needs this weekend to go in its favor. Currently, the Tigers trail Minnesota by five points in the WCHA standings and seem to be playing well after a three-point weekend against Denver a week ago. Bemidji State earned three points last weekend, as well. Colorado College, however, cannot afford anything other than a sweep this weekend if it wants to contend a month from now. I think the brother tandem of Rylan and Jaden Schwartz will be too much for the Beavers, even with the home-ice advantage … CC SWEEPS

Roman: Both these teams are feeling good after threepoint weekends. CC got theirs against archrival Denver to claim the Gold Pan Trophy. Sophomore Jaden Schwartz has 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 20 games this season. A concern for the Tigers is their power play, which is only 3-for-26 in the past nine games. ...Beavers goalie Dan Bakala is 3-1-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average in his past five games. BSU's penalty kill is 10th nationally at .850. ... SPLIT

Minnesota State (10-19-1, 6-15-1) at Alaska Anchorage (7-17-2, 4-17-1)

Dane: This is the lowlight of the weekend and it's not even close — two cellar-dweller teams in the WCHA playing with absolutely nothing at stake. Plus, the game is in Alaska. I think a saving grace in this series is that both teams have showed fight in recent weeks. Despite the lack of relevance in the grand scheme of the WCHA, this could be an entertaining series. I'm going to punt with this series and just say ... SPLIT