I know, I know.  I'm a schmuck.  A loser.  A cotton-headed ninny muggins.  It's been over a month since the last Game of the Week! was published.  In that time, we've missed exceptional games between Carmel Gold and Central Indiana, a brilliant mid-December match up between Penn and St. Joe, and a Leo/Carroll game that I'm glad I didn't cover because I would have gotten it wrong.  But not to worry, Hoosier Hockey Faithful!  I'm back at it this week, bringing you all the glorious Game of the Week! goodness that you have come to know and love.

I left you about a month ago with my prediction for the Bloomington / Carroll game in the South Bend crossover weekend (not to mention I was nursing a personal prediction record of 3-5 on the season).  If you remember, I chose the Blades to win that game, 2-1.  The Blades did in fact win that game but it wasn't the 2-1 slugfest I thought it would be.  After dropping games to St. Joe and Lake Central Blue, the Blades had had about enough and were ready to unleash the fury against Carroll.  They cruised to a 7-0 win over the shell-shocked Chargers and finished the tournament with a 2-2 record.  

The Chargers went on to a 3-1 tournament record, finishing off the Columbus Icemen in their final game, 4-3.

And THAT, Hoosier Hockey Faithful, is good enough to bring me ever closer to that elusive .500 mark, with a 4-5 record  on the prediction season.

Let us return to the present, where we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of the January Grind.  I hope you are all keeping your heads above water and you're able to view those long travel weekends as mini-vacations with some hockey sprinkled in.  Even so, I imagine you could use a little pick-me-up.  Lucky for you, Doctor Hockey is in and he knows exactly what you need - a strong dose of Game of the Week!

Looking at the schedule for the upcoming weekend, it just happens to be one of those breaks in the schedule where a lot of teams are playing non-league games.  Still, one game jumped out at me as a must watch - Adams versus Munster.  Along with being ranked 9 (Adams) and 10 (Munster) on the INHockey.net rankings, Jeff Lafferty, in his Tournament Outlook article, is predicting both teams to land in the same division for the state tournament in March.  What more could you want from the Game of the week!?  Both teams have similar records, are back to back in the rankings, and will likely meet in the first or second round of the state tournament - Boom!  I told you Doctor Hockey was in.

So let's have a look at the teams...  

This isn't the Mustangs first appearance in the Game of the Week!  I picked them all the way back on November 19th to win their game against Crown Point.  And win they did, getting solid efforts from Cole Bocock, Shane Dotto, and Team Captain Jack Sarzynski.  This season, those three players, the "Triple Threat," have combined for a whopping 139 points.  

Up to this point, the Mustangs have struggled with teams from Michiana, going 0-3 in two games against Riley and one against Penn and their RPI ranking is hovering around 16.  Nonetheless, they have a solid 19-13-0 record as of last Thursday's rankings and they've been feisty with some of the better teams in the league, including a 4-5 loss this weekend to Zionsville and a big 6-5 win over Central Indiana.  Those are the kind of games they need to pull out in order to increase that RPI and add some clout to their record. 

Still, the Mustangs have consistently beaten teams they should beat and as you know, consistency is the hallmark of a good team.  Don't be surprised if the Mustangs continue to steal a few games from higher ranked opponents and make some noise in the tournament.

Choosing a winner this week is going to be tough.  Both teams look to be peaking at just the right time, both teams have recently pulled off some convincing wins, and both teams have solid playmakers that should be up to the task this weekend.  If you're around South Bend on Sunday and have an opportunity to watch the game, I think you're going to see these teams shoot the lights out.  In fact I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one of the goalies (if not both) see 35-45 shots by the time the third period is up and perhaps nine total goals scored in this game.  If you're a goalie parent, you might see if your family doctor can prescribe something for anxiety. 

That being said, I do believe this game will come down to the goal tender that has enough in their tank to weather the storm.  So, in my infinite, all seeing wisdom - as I turn back the folds of space and time to peer into the future, I can clearly see....

Oh yeah, drum roll, please...

I can clearly see...

The Adams Eagles emerging as the victor, with a 6-5 win.  I think Adams goaltenders are going to help them win not only this game, but should be strong enough to see them deep into the year end tournament.

There you have it, Hoosier Hockey Faithful.  The Adams Eagles are my team this week.  You heard it here first!