I'm ice cold. Weekend snow storm cold. Arctic circle cold. Kurt Russell in the last 10 minutes of The Thing cold. Fade me, I beg you. But because I am committed to this, I will continue to pick my three favorite games of the week. These picks were made with heart more than head this week, hoping that I can get back on track that way. For picks for the entire slate, check out the latest episode of the podcast.
Syracuse vs Hopkins
Doesn’t always jump to the top of mind as a must watch every year unless you are an alum or a long time fan, because these teams have been down a bit the last few years. But Cuse/Hop is the best game of the weekend, these teams want to smoke each other. Cuse comes in as a 1.5 goal favorite off an OT heartbreaker to Duke. That’s their third loss in a row. Cuse still needs a big time win, as their best win really is still UVM. This four-game stretch was one I said before the season would show you a lot about where this group is, and I think it has. Probably a year away, but man do they look promising. The X factor here is that only is this game in the dome, but it’s Mikey Powell day. They’re retiring his jersey. No shot I pick against Cuse when that jersey is heading to the rafters. How in the world can you pick against Cuse on a Saturday in the dome when they are putting Mikey Powell’s jersey up? Joey Spallina does the 22 proud in front of some very famous people who wore it, and Cuse covers the -1.5
Colgate vs Navy
I’m on Colgate +1.5 here, and for reasons that make me quite sad. News from Bill Wagner out of Annapolis is that Pat Skalniak has suffered a back injury and he’ll miss extended time. Without him, the Navy offense is a different animal. Yes, Xavier Arline is there. Yes, Colgate still isn’t a great team. But this will be action without him for the first time in a long time. Navy is winless in their last three, dropping games to Manhattan, High Point, and Lehigh, only covering once in that span. They really haven’t put up massive goal totals, and now one of their primary weapons will be out. This is only Colgate’s 4th game, and they are winless, but they played Hobart and Air Force close. They have been a hook away from covering twice. I’ll take Colgate to stick with Navy in this one following the Skalniak injury.
Notre Dame vs Ohio State
Ohio State is still hanging around the top 10, but their best win is UNC. They got rocked by UVA, and just lost to Cornell. They are a 4.5 goal underdog to Notre Dame, a team receiving 1st place votes. For the Buckeyes, it looks as if they’ll go as Myers goes. They need to find more. About 20 years ago, there was an epic six way tag team match where Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and The Undertaker took on Kane, Kurt Angle, and Rikishi. This is the lacrosse equivalent. Bobby Van Buren and Marcus Hudgins battling the Kavanagh boys. A golden era tag team bout full of signature moves, celebrations, and physical contact. Just battling. I know there’s plenty more to this matchup, but I’ve had these duos going head-to-head circled for a long time. Notre Dame looks like the country’s best hope knocking off UVA right now. They are good everywhere. I think the Notre Dame defense has multiple options to try on Myers if needed, and are better in transition and in the midfield. Give Notre Dame covering.
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