From the WCHA ….

Thanksgiving Weekend to Feature Three WCHA Series; Subway Holiday Classic at UND; UM and UW at Michigan, Michigan State in College Hockey Showcase
League Matchups Have CC Hosting UAA, DU Entertaining SCSU, MSU Hosting MTU; WCHA Standings Show Two Points Separating Top Five Teams; WCHA-Member Teams Now 19-10-1 (.650) in Non-Conference Play; Latest USCHO.com Div. 1 Poll Has DU No. 2, UND No. 4, CC No. 5, UMD No. 14, UW No. 15 … SCSU Receives Votes; Tickets for 2010 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul March 18-20 On Sale

MADISON, Wis. – Nine of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s 10 member men’s team will be engaged in on-ice action over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend of Nov. 27-28, with six of those playing conference series. On Friday and Saturday, No. 5-ranked Colorado College will host Alaska Anchorage at Colorado Springs World Arena (7,343), No. 2-ranked Denver will go up against visiting St. Cloud State at Magness Arena (6,026) and Minnesota State, Mankato will entertain Michigan Tech at Verizon Wireless Center (4,832).
    The Tigers will face-off against the Seawolves in the first two of four meetings this season, the Pioneers and Huskies will duel for the only two times in 2009-10, and the Mavericks and Huskies will hook up in the first two of their four head-to-head meetings.
    The holiday weekend will also feature some great non-conference matchups, as defending WCHA champion and No. 4-ranked North Dakota hosts the two-day, four-game Subway Holiday Classic at Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634) that will feature foes Bemidji State of College Hockey America and Miami and Ohio State of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Minnesota and No. 15-ranked Wisconsin, meanwhile, go up against CCHA-members and hosts Michigan and Michigan State in the 17th annual College Hockey Showcase. The Sioux will take on the Buckeyes in the second game on Friday evening after an afternoon matchup between the Beavers and the Red Hawks. On Saturday, BSU will take on OSU in the afternoon game while Miami and UND clash in the evening contest. In the College Hockey Showcase, the Golden Gophers will face the host Wolverines on Friday and the host Spartans on Saturday while the Badgers will face-off against Michigan State on Friday and Michigan on Saturday. So far this season, WCHA-member teams are an impressive19-10-1 in non-conference competition for a .650 winning percentage.
    No. 14-ranked Minnesota Duluth, coming off a 4-3 ot, 3-2 WCHA sweep at Minnesota on Nov. 20-21, is idle this week.
    In other conference series matchups last weekend, host Denver also gained four points with 1-0 and 3-2 victories over North Dakota, host Alaska Anchorage and Minnesota State split (MSU 8-2; UAA 4-1), and St. Cloud State split with visiting Wisconsin (SCSU 4-1; UW 4-1). In non-conference play, host Colorado College won a pair of games against CHA-member Robert Morris, 4-3 and 4-1.
    Heading into the seventh week of the 140-game WCHA slate (28 games per team) and roughly one-third of the way through the campaign, the conference race is as close as ever as just two points stand between the current top five clubs and four points separate the top six. Colorado College (9-2-1, 6-1-1 WCHA), pre-season favorite Denver (8-3-1, 6-1-1 WCHA) and Minnesota Duluth (9-4-1, 6-3-1 WCHA) are tied for first place with 13 points each and defending MacNaughton Cup champion North Dakota (7-4-1, 5-4-1 WCHA) and Wisconsin (7-4-1, 5-4-1 WCHA) are tied for fourth with 11 points each. Both the Tigers and Pioneers, however, have two games in hand. In sixth place with nine points is St. Cloud State (5-5-2, 4-3-1 WCHA), with the Huskies having also played just eight games. Minnesota (4-7-1, 3-7-1 WCHA) is seventh with seven points, Alaska Anchorage (5-9-0, 3-7-0 WCHA) is eighth with six points, Minnesota State (4-7-1, 2-7-1 WCHA) is ninth with five points, and Michigan Tech (3-7-0, 2-6-0 WCHA) is 10th with four points in eight games played.
    Five head-to-head WCHA matchups for the 2009-10 season – all two-game series – have already concluded. Alaska Anchorage and North Dakota split, 1-1; Wisconsin won over UAA, 2-0; Colorado College won over both Michigan Tech and Minnesota State, 2-0; and St. Cloud State took their two-game set vs Minnesota Duluth, 1-0-1.
    Looking ahead to the first weekend of December (Dec. 4-5), there will be a full slate of five head-to-head WCHA series matchups. Alaska Anchorage will host St. Cloud State, Colorado College and Denver will play a home-and-home set, North Dakota travels to Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Tech will visit Wisconsin, and Minnesota and Minnesota State engage in a home-and-home series.
    In this week’s (Nov. 23, 2009) USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Div. 1 Men’s College Hockey Poll, Denver is No. 2, North Dakota is No. 4, Colorado College is No. 5, Minnesota Duluth is No. 14 and Wisconsin is No. 15. Also receiving votes in the poll this week was St. Cloud State.
    In this week’s (Nov. 23, 2009) USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, Denver is No. 2, North Dakota is No. 4, Colorado College is No. 5 and Minnesota Duluth is No. 13. Also receiving votes were Wisconsin and St. Cloud State.
    This 2009-10 campaign marks the 58th in the storied history of the WCHA, with the league owning a record 36 national championships. It will also mark the final season with a membership consisting of 10 teams, as both Bemidji State University and the University of Nebraska-Omaha come on board as the 11th and 12th members in 2010-11.

This Week in the WCHA

Games for Friday, November 27: Michigan Tech at Minnesota State (WCHA), 7:37 pm CT; Alaska Anchorage at Colorado College (WCHA), 7:37 pm MT; St. Cloud State at Denver (WCHA), 7:37 pm MT; *Wisconsin at Michigan State (nc), 7:05 pm ET; *Minnesota at Michigan (nc), 7:35 pm ET;#Ohio State at North Dakota (nc), 7:37 pm CT. *College Hockey Showcase. # Subway Holiday Classic (Grand Forks, ND).
Games for Saturday, November 28: Michigan Tech at Minnesota State (WCHA), 7:07 pm CT; Alaska Anchorage at Colorado College (WCHA), 7:07 pm MT; St. Cloud State at Denver (WCHA), 7:07 pm MT; *Minnesota at Michigan State (nc), 7:05 pm ET; *Wisconsin at Michigan (nc), 7:35 pm ET; #Miami at North Dakota (nc), 7:37 pm CT. *College Hockey Showcase; #Subway Holiday Classic (Grand Forks, ND)

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