The Best Matchups In College Hockey This Coming Weekend

After a week filled with upsets, college hockey is back, and it brings a very stacked weekend with multiple ranked-on-ranked matchups, teams looking to prove themselves, and historic rivalries. So, which are the best matchups to look out for this weekend?

The sixth-ranked Western Michigan takes on the 12th-ranked Colorado College in a weekend series that will say a lot about who and what these teams truly are.

Colorado College is coming off a troubled weekend where they tied Lindenwood and really struggled to find offensive success in that 2-2 tie, and will be met with a very talented and structurally sound Western Michigan. 

Both teams have shown great promise on their own end, while the Broncos have found more firepower and offensive talent with players like Adam Benak, who is a top player in the entire country right now.

This matchup will come down to Colorado College’s offensive production and whether they can break out and add themselves a cushion for their elite defense. 

The fifth-ranked Quinnipiac takes on the 11th-ranked Dartmouth in a big ECAC matchup that can have a large effect on not only the conference standings, but the national rankings. 

Dartmouth has shown great top-end offensive production, while their depth has fallen to the wayside, and in a matchup as fierce as this one, they’ll need a standout performance from the entire lineup. 

Hayden Stavroff will be the player to look out for, as he can take over games himself and has shown flashes of being one of the best players in the nation, and this weekend he can help make that case a lot. 

15th-ranked Merrimack meets the 10th-ranked Providence in what I see as more of a trap game for Providence. Although the teams are very close in ranking, the Friars were looked at as an elite team to start the year, and as they’ve cooled off a bit, this is a matchup they need to look very good in. 

Freshmen Blake Zielinski and Ryder Cali did slow down their hot starts, but they will be very needed in this one to help prove that Providence is still a program on title watch.