College Hockey's Most Stacked Slate So Far This Season:

Another weekend of college hockey means another week of previewing the country’s top matchups this weekend. So let’s take a look at the top games this weekend, because it’s a stacked one. 

These two college hockey heavyweights meet in Austin, Texas, for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. The eighth-ranked North Dakota and the fourth-ranked Michigan State face off in what could be a preview of a national tournament game in the spring. Both teams have shown promise in terms of being a true title contender, and a win this weekend would only build that resume up. 

A player to look out for in this game is North Dakota’s Carson Carels, who will be tasked with very tough matchups and will need to bring the physicality to match the size that the Spartans have. 

Colorado College is one of the hottest teams right now and will create a very tough matchup for the Bulldogs with their fast transition and suffocating defensive zone structure. 

Colorado’s goaltender Jackson Unger has been amazing so far this season, posting a 5-1 record, a 1.16 goals-against average, and a .962 save percentage. If he’s able to shut the door, this will be a very tough weekend for Duluth as they look to climb the college hockey ladder. 

This will be a physical and fast-paced matchup with both of these teams putting a priority on size, strength, motor, and the 200-foot game. Providence comes in as the country's fifth-ranked team, with the Bobcats sitting in 10th. The offensive driver for Quinnipiac will be Ethan Wyttenbach, who can do anything in the offensive zone, and if Providence isn’t careful, he can steal a game. 

For Providence, I look at freshman forward Ryder Cali, who has four goals in five games and has been a huge pace-setter for them this season. He works his tail off and will be someone Bobcats head coach Rand Pecknold may want to line match against.