Top Games of the Weekend:
#11 Cornell vs #6 Ohio State:
- Cornell beat Hobart on Tuesday 15-12 but will face their toughest test of the season against the #6 team in the nation. CJ Kirst has been the Quarterback of the offense this year leading the team with 9 goals and 6 assists through 3 games.
- Ohio State is one of the biggest surprises of the early season after a commanding upset of North Carolina 20-8. Cornell will be another tough test to see if the UNC win was a fluke. Ohio State’s offense has been on fire with at least 17 goals in every game this year.
- Key Matchup: Top cover man for Cornell Gavin Adler may only be 5’8, but he makes up for his lack of size with an aggressive mindset and well-timed checks. He will most likely draw the matchup with Ohio State’s star attackman Jack Meyers who is listed at 6’4 and has already eclipsed 30 points through 4 games.
#3 Georgetown vs #18 Princeton
- The Tigers fought hard against Maryland and were able to keep it a 5-goal game, despite losing 70% of faceoffs (Starting FOGO Tyler Sandoval DNP). Junior Sam English was a bright spot in the losing effort with 4 goals on the day, as well as Erik Peters who had 19 saves against one of the deadliest offenses in nation
- Georgetown is the real deal this year and has their sights set on championship weekend already. James Reilly is playing like an All American right now facing off at 65% with two goals and an assist through 4 games. The defense has lived up to the hype as well as the offense which is flowing well at the moment coming off a 21-goal effort against Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday.
- Key Matchup: Erik Peters and (Blitzer) Owen McElroy are both experienced netminders who have played in big games in their careers. The spotlight will not be too big for either of them, but a game like this could come down to goalie play, and if either goalie can make 20+ saves, their team should be in a good position to win.
#1 Maryland vs #7 Notre Dame:
- Maryland has been rolling as the # 1 team in the nation with 4 wins against strong opponents (maybe not Loyola). The defense will be tested this game against the Kavanaugh brothers and will look to hand the Fighting Irish their second straight loss on the year.
- Notre Dame fell behind early against Georgetown and ultimately could not dig themselves out of that hole, losing the game 15-11. This next game look for Notre Dame to play angry and load goals up on the board in what should be a high scoring affair.
- Key Matchup: Logan Wisnauskaus vs Arden Cohen. Both of these guys were preseason All Americans and are the unquestioned leaders of their teams. Both players stand over 6’2 and use their strength to overpower opponents. Look for both players to try to dominate the matchup and provide the energy for their teams in a loaded top 10 matchup.
#9 North Carolina vs #19 Denver
- Chris Gray is on a tear to start the year and despite a disappointing loss to Ohio State earlier in the year, the Tar Heels are clicking after strong wins against Brown and Johns Hopkins.
- Denver has shown struggles throughout the early season with a loss to a good Duke team and a surprising loss to Jacksonville. They will need to figure it out soon or this trip to Chapel Hill could go south real quick.
- Key Matchup: Alex Stathakis & Zac Tucci. Everyone knows about how dangerous Chris Gray is but if Stathakis can win the battle at the faceoff X with Tucci, the Pioneers will look to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible.
Mortal Week 4 Betting Locks:
Towson vs UMBC: Pick Towson -1.5
Towson is coming off a huge rivalry win against Loyola on Wednesday and the tigers will look to keep that momentum going against UMBC who is 1-1 on the year so far. I think Towson benefited a lot from those early losses to Johns Hopkins and Virginia. They have played the better opponents and now will beat a UMBC team that has only played 2 games this year. I think this spread should be closer to 2.5 or 3, but either way lay the points on Towson and watch them win big.
Yale vs. UMASS: Pick Yale -4.5
This spread is way too low for a Yale team that ranked #7 in the preseason polls. Yale ran into a hot goalie against Penn State and I think they will come out to prove a point against UMASS. The Minutemen were dominated in their last game against BU and I can’t see them keeping this one close against Yale. Take Yale with the points
Underdog Pick of the Weekend: Notre Dame ML +200 over Maryland
The fighting Irish have way too much talent to be this much of a dog against Maryland. I know Maryland has looked untouchable, but it just feels like we are due for a Pat Kavanagh breakout game like we saw so many times last year. This trip to South Bend could go bad for Maryland if the Notre Dame offense can bury some early and get hot. Too much Value on Notre Dame here, throw on their ML and enjoy what should be the best game of the day.