I hate ties.  Nothing is decided, each team gets a point, and it’s as if you never played the game.  It never existed.  It’s a like a dream, only the bad one, where you keep running but you can never quite get where you’re going.  The Crossover Tournament is my case in point. 

Last week, I called for Valpo to “raid and pillage” Homestead in their final Crossover game, 4-2.  Up until this point, Valpo was undefeated in the tournament and looking good.  However, just like their mascot, the Homestead Spartans stood tall and fought off the Vikings to end the game in a 2-2 tie.  This means that Valpo finished tied with Columbus for second place in the standings, and Homestead finished tied for fourth with Penn and Lake Central White. 

This is madness!  So many questions left unanswered!  So much uncertainty!  Is Valpo really 2nd or are they 3rd?  Is Homestead the true 4th place team or should they be 5th…or 6th?! 

I move that this new rule be instituted:  Any high school hockey game that ends regulation in a tie, and ice curfew does not allow for overtime or a shootout, the game will be decided by an epic game of paper rock scissors (best 3 out of 5) between….the backup goalies.  What?  They do it in Lacrosse.  Seriously.  Boom!  Problem solved.

But alas, since we know this will never happen, and in the spirit of ties, my season of predictions is now 1-2-1, with emphasis on the “and one.” And by the way, congratulations to the rock solid Eagles of Zionsville, who went undefeated in the Crossover Tournament.

Onto the Game of the Week for the week of December 12th.

My friends, this was an easy pick.  The top two teams in the INHockey.net rankings will get the opportunity to square off this weekend when Penn makes its way down from the snowy tundra of South Bend to face the Carmel Gold Icehounds at the Fuel Tank in Fishers.  How could I choose any other game? 

You have to expect good hockey when two solid teams compete and I think that’s what you’ll get this weekend.  If you are anywhere near Fishers on Saturday, December 17th at 1:00 PM, I encourage you to stop by and watch the game. 

In particular, keep an eye out for #66 Danny Popowics from Carmel, who has 14 goals and 9 assists for 23 points on the season.  The kid is an absolute playmaker and borderline magical in the O-zone. 

On the other side of the puck, Penn has a trio of inhuman “X-men” that you’ll want to watch:  #96 Gaku Tokusumi (25 pts), #84 Michael Burnett (21 pts), and #21 Kyle Cocquyt (21 points).  I’m not sure what they do up there in South Bend but I’m guessing it’s some sort of Soviet era, Eastern Bloc training program.  Either way, if you’re a hockey fan, this is a must see game.

The real question is “who’s gonna win?”  For starters, I really like Penn because their offense is spread out.  The Kingsmen get a lot of production across the board with a whopping seven skaters in double digit points for the season, while the Icehounds currently have three.  However, The Kingsmen are on the road this weekend playing a couple of tough games in Indy, with their first game being Friday night against Zionsville over at the Skadium, in Carmel.  As you know, the Eagles are a good team, coming off a big Crossover Tournament showing, and will not be an easy game for Penn.  Taking that into consideration, I have to give the nod to the Icehounds this weekend, 5-3. 

There you have it, the Carmel Gold Icehounds are my team this weekend.  You heard it here first!