SCSU @ BSU Preview

Mike Lee has now been named SCSU's starting goalie!

The St. Cloud State Huskies will be visiting the brand new Sanford Center to face off against the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday night at 7:37 p.m. and Saturday at 7:07 p.m. This promises to be a good and important series. The Huskies are on a 4-0 streak coming after the Christmas break and the Beavers are 4-1-1 streak since the Christmas break. Both streaking teams are looking to get important wins while chasing the ever-important home-playoff race. During the first series these two teams had in the fall the Huskies took 3 points winning Friday night at the National Hockey Center 6-3 and then lost 3-2 in overtime during Saturday nights game. According to Bemidji State head coach (and former St. Cloud State assistant Coach '93-'99) Tom Serratore:

"St. Cloud State is a dangerous team and they’ve been a dangerous team all year. They were a little inconsistent in the first half of the year but they’ve pulled it together in the second half. They are playing up to their potential and playing up to their preseason ranking."

You can listen to Serratore discuss the series here:

You can read more about the series at the following links:

• Beaver Hockey Gameday: BSU-St. Cloud State series preview, BSU-Mankato women’s series preview, WCHA news and notes
• Bemidji State men's hockey: On a winning run, Beavers meet Huskies in rematch
• Beavers host St. Cloud State in first home series of 2011

The Keys to the Game:

Former Husky Mike Doyle's 3 keys to the game (SCSU Three Keys to the Weekend vs. BSU Jan. 21-22)

1. Thrice Is Nice- BSU is 9-1-2 when they hold opponents to two goals or fewer, SCSU is 9-1-1 when scoring 3 or more.
2. General Lee- Mike Lee has recently been officially named as SCSU's number one goaltender. Time for him to shine. 
3. First Frame- Huskies have been outscored 28-16 in the first period this season. This needs to change. 

The Predictions:

WCHA Blog-

"SCSU is the most disappointing, underachieving team in the league so far this year. They received a first place vote in the coaches poll and were picked to finish no lower than third. It was a very rough first half of the season, then came the FL College Hockey Classic. The Huskies managed their first weekend sweep of the season, then turned around the following weekend and swept Tech at home. Of course, there was plenty of drama in between. That's all over now, though, and it's time for the Huskies to play like the team people thought they were. Mike Lee has been officially named the number one goalie, so the rotation is officially over now. The Huskies are playing well, and they'll need a strong team performance and a big performance between the pipes if they want to beat the Beavers this weekend in Bemidji. I could see an SCSU sweep, but I'm going the safe route again.
Split. BSU wins Friday 4-3, SCSU wins Saturday 4-1"

USCHO.com-

"Theresa- Both teams are riding mini hot streaks right now (BSU two games; SCSU four) and both teams really need this weekend in terms of points. If Bemidji sweeps, they’re right back in the thick of things and would be tied with idle Minnesota. The Huskies, well, they’re only a point behind the Beavers so you can do the math. Needless to say, this series is vital for both teams. The question is, who comes out on top? These two teams split last time they met and I think that’s realistically what’ll happen this time, as well. SCSU Friday, BSU Saturday.

Tyler- The Huskies have made Mike Lee their No. 1 goaltender and he’s won four straight games with a goals against average of 1.73 and a .935 save percentage and BSU is near the bottom of the league offensively with only 37 goals in 16 WCHA games. SCSU also has only 16 goals in league play and Lee can’t win on his own. Split."

Goon's World-

"The Huskies hosted the Beavers earlier this season in St. Cloud and the Huskies took 3-points from them on the weekend. Now the Beavers look to return the favor in Bemidji this weekend. These two are currently separated by one point in the standings with BSU in the lead, but the Huskies have two games in hand. The Huskies need to start some type of second half run, if they want to try and salvage their season. The Beavers are in the midst of a good run going 4-1-1 in their last six and the Huskies are on a 4 game winning streak. SPLIT"

So we have 4 predictions for a "Split" weekend. However, I am going with the 4 game winning streak, the newly dedicated top goalie Mike Lee, and my favorite team---Huskies Sweep! 

The Lines (Forwards):
Reid-Roe-Eddy

Festler-LeBlanc-Dowd

Hanowski-Marvin-Novak

MacMillan-Christian-Volpei

The Lines (Defense):

Lauridsen-Johnson

Barta-Gravel

Zabkowicz-Jensen

The Lines (Goalies):

Mike Lee

Dan Dunn

It looks like David Eddy will make his way back into the line-up. I am a little surprised to see him on the top line right away. I liked Hanowski with Reid and Roe. I look forward to seeing how this line works out tonight and if Coach Motzko will keep this line-up for Saturday. 

I think that is all you need to know about for this weekends match up between the Bemidji State Beavers and the St. Cloud State Huskies. Let's hope I can prove everyone else wrong, and the Huskies get a sweep.

GO HUSKIES!