Boston College, Wisconsin to meet NCAA men's ice hockey final

Chockey Betting Lines

04/08/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Smith notched a pair of goals and one assist, as Boston College dominated Miami-Ohio, 7-1, in a Frozen Four matchup from Ford Field.

Joe Whitney added a goal and two helpers for the Eagles (28-10-3), who downed Alaska-Fairbanks and Yale to reach the semifinals for the ninth time in 12 years. BC will take on Wisconsin for the national championship on Saturday.

John Muse made 17 stops for Boston College, which advances to the NCAA title contest for the fourth time in five seasons. Saturday's contest will be a rematch of the 2006 championship contest, which the Badgers won by a 2-1 score.

Joe Hartman picked up the lone score for the RedHawks (29-8-7), who topped Alabama-Huntsville and Michigan to gain the semis.

Connor Knapp was pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots over 23-plus minutes in defeat for Miami-Ohio, which was bidding to reach the title game for the second consecutive campaign. Cody Reichard finished the game allowing four scores on 21 shots.

Smith gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead on the advantage with 1:28 to play in the first period, when he redirected Whitney's slap-pass in the slot.

BC doubled its advantage at 2:06 of the second period when Jimmy Hayes was left alone in the slot to one-time a feed from Pat Mullane to convert a power- play chance.

Whitney roofed a shot from the slot at 3:08, and the Eagles led by three after two periods.

Hartman's seeing-eye shot got the RedHawks on the board at 5:19 of the third, but BC struck back for three tallies in a span of 1:35 to wrap up the game.

First, Cam Atkinson's backhander made it 4-1 at 10:10, then Patch Alber provided a four-goal bulge with 9:12 remaining, wristing his first career tally inside the left post 34 seconds later. Paul Carey finished the burst at 11:45.

Smith finished off the scoring with 3:39 remaining.

In the earlier semifinal matchup, Derek Stepan posted two goals and two assists as Wisconsin routed RIT, 8-1.

Justin Schultz and Hobey Baker Award finalist Blake Geoffrion posted a goal and one assist each for the Badgers (28-10-4), who are looking for their seventh national crown.

Tyler Brenner provided the lone goal for the Tigers (28-12-1), the Atlantic Hockey champions who knocked off perennial powers Denver and New Hampshire to reach the semifinals for the first time in school history.

Wwwdailydirt Chockey Betting News

<< Modano plays hero amidst fan adulation as Stars clip Ducks in SO
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If this was Mike Modano's final home game in a Stars uniform, it sure was a storybook ending. Modano scored the tying goal with 1:47 left in regulation and netted the winner in the shootout as Dallas o

<< Crosby powers Pens over Isles to tie for division lead
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby posted a goal and three assists, as Pittsburgh recorded a spirited 7-3 victory over the New York Islanders in the final regular-season game at Mellon Arena. Crosby, the 22-year-ol

<< Bulls beat LeBron-less Cavs to help playoff chances
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joakim Noah's tip-in with 1:21 left ended up being the game-winner after a wild final minute of misses and miscues, as Chicago inched past Cleveland, 109-108, at the United Center. With LeBron James sit

<< Orioles hold off Rays to avoid sweep
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in, and the Baltimore Orioles hung on for a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to salvage a game in this season-opening three-game set. Nolan Reim

<< Bolts nip playoff-bound Sens in shootout
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teddy Purcell scored the lone goal in the shootout, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Purcell was Tampa Bay's third shooter and used a forehand-to-backhand mov

Clippers-Kings, Box >>
L.A. CLIPPERS (94)Butler 3-10 0-0 6, Gooden 8-13 1-1 17, Kaman 10-16 3-3 23, Davis 4-12 1-2 11, Gordon 7-14 3-4 21, Collins 2-5 0-0 4, Jordan 3-4 0-0 6, Blake 1-5 0-0 3, Skinner 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 1-2 1-1 3, Novak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-82 9-11 94.SA

Canucks-Sharks Sum >>
Vancouver 0 0 2-2San Jose 1 3 0-4First Period-1, San Jose, Pavelski 25 (Clowe, Setoguchi), 18:35.Second Period-2, San Jose, Couture 5 (Vlasic, T.Mitchell), 1:57. 3, San Jose, Thornton 20 (Heatley, Marleau), 5:16. 4, San Jose, Malhotra 14 (T.M

Cabrera drives Indians past White Sox in 11 innings >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the game-winning run with two outs in the 11th, and the Cleveland Indians notched a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox in the rubber match of a season-opening three-game set.

Gonzo, Hewitt win, but Isner ousted in Houston >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seed Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt moved into the quarterfinals at the $500,000 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship, but second-seeded American John Isner was upset on Thur

Wild take SO win at Calgary >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brent Burns had the deciding goal in the shootout as Wade Dubielewicz was perfect in place of an injured Niklas Backstrom, as the Minnesota Wild took a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Backstrom

How to bet pro football

There is little doubt that the NFL is where the sportsbooks see the most action and also make the most loot. The NFL possesses betting friendly attributes that are unlike any of the other major sports. First off, there are relatively few teams to keep track of in comparison to college football betting or college basketball. And second, these teams play only once a week which makes staying on top of the results much easier than it is in the daily leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB.

These dynamics, along with the sheer excitement of watching and wagering on football, brings more square action to the table than any of the other sports. Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry in America is an NFL expert in their own mind and that is precisely what the oddsmakers prey upon.

Understanding who bets the games is just as important as understanding which teams are playing the games. The market at times will dictate price, which in the betting world means the oddsmakers cater to the public rather than reality.

Knowing the market inside and out is the basis of our NFL handicapping model. That is, our approach to NFL handicapping is of the contrarian or value seeking variety. We will at times place a higher premium on public sentiment than on the fundamentals. This strategy dictates playing dogs and/or lesser competent teams, or teams the public wants nothing to do with. Or better yet, fading the teams the oddsmakers want you to bet on.

Along these same lines, we carry a similar notion that the first week of the NFL season presents one of the ripest opportunities for the astute gambler. This conflicts with conventional wisdom and/or handicapping lore, as most would say it is better to watch a few games and assess each team before jumping in with both feet. That’s all fine and dandy, but there are some interesting trends to exploit in Week 1 and we’d be remiss to ignore them. Let us quickly explain.

Gone are the days of dynasties, where the same core players stay intact and dominate the league year after year. Free agency and player movements can completely transform teams from one season to the next. In today’s parity-driven NFL, poor teams typically don’t stay poor for all that long and excellent teams must constantly reinvent themselves to stay on top.

The temptation might be to assume prior year results are the best indicator of who is going to cover in Week 1. To Joe Public, playoff teams from the prior season, home teams, favorites, and so one, look even more enticing than usual since there is no current season performance to judge them against. But the question begs: are the oddsmakers setting a trap?

To find the answer, we culled five years worth of Week 1 NFL data. As always, all of our analysis is done from an ATS perspective. The purpose here is to share the most important angles we unearthed and try to explain the logic behind them. So strap on your helmet, throw on your shoulder pads, and follow our lead as we expose some rare holes in the oddsmakers’ line of defense.

Home vs. Away Teams

Over the past five seasons, NFL home teams in Week 1 are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). This of course implies that roadies are a 58 percent winning proposition during this time. The public at large has a tendency to overvalue home teams and this is especially true in Week 1 when there is no current season data to make predictions from. Consequently, the oddsmakers almost surely shade the home teams, by and large making road teams the choice for the value player.

Conclusion: Look long and hard at road teams first when handicapping the opening week.

Price ranges

Favorites are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent) in the opening week over the past five NFL seasons (Coincidentally, home teams hold the same ATS record as noted above). This means that underdogs bark at a 58 percent clip. Mid-range favorites performed the worst among our specified price ranges. In particular, favorites priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 are only 8-15 ATS (35 percent) during this time.

The same basic pattern holds true when looking at home favorites (road favorites gravitate towards a 50 percent mean). Home favorites indeed are just 21-32-3 ATS (40 percent) in the first week of NFL action since 1999. Again, mid-range favorites are similarly the poorest performers when we look at home teams. Consider that home teams priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 have stumbled to a 6-13 ATS (32 percent) mark in Week 1 games the past five seasons.

Conclusion: Like home teams, favorites and particularly mid-range favorites are generally overvalued in Week 1.

Playoff teams

It might surprise you to learn that playoff teams from the prior year versus non-playoff teams from the prior year are a mere 16-23-3 (41 percent) ATS in NFL Week 1 games over the past five seasons. Home teams which made the playoffs versus teams which did not make the playoffs from the prior season drop to a meager 7-14-1 ATS (33 percent) during this time.

Why are playoff teams, and in particular those at home, such bad bets the past five openers? Just as the case with home teams and with favorites, oddsmakers intentionally overprice playoff teams in the opening week to compensate for the public’s propensity to over bet them.

This theory holds true just looking at straight-up records from the past season as well. That is, home teams with winning records from the prior season vs. road teams with losing records from the prior season are just 8-13 ATS in Week 1 NFL games since 1999.

Conclusion: Playoff teams from the prior year and in particular, home playoff teams, are overvalued in Week 1 NFL games.

Scoring defense and scoring offense

Do good defenses and for that matter good offenses from the prior season fare better against the number the following year in Week 1 games? Well, sort of. Generally speaking, teams with a solid offense or defense from the prior season tend to do well in the opening week so long as they are on the road. As a host, however, the best offenses and best defenses from the prior year tend to be overvalued in Week 1.

Consider that the top five scoring defenses (i.e. points allowed) from the prior season are a nice 8-4 ATS (66 percent) on the road in NFL openers the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the top five scoring defenses from the prior season are just 3-8-2 ATS (27 percent) as a host in Week 1 during the same time period.

There is no discernable advantage or disadvantage for teams with a top five scoring offense (i.e. points scored) in Week 1 games. However, when we look at scoring offenses from the bottom up (isolating the five worst offenses from the prior season), the results are rather interesting. In particular, teams ranked in the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are 9-4-1 ATS (69 percent) when on the road in Week 1.

The logic is simply that the public perception is a poor scoring offensive unit from the year prior will have little chance of winning on the road in Week 1. In turn, the oddsmakers compensate for this perception and these poor offensive teams from the year prior carry extra line value on the Week 1 trail.

Conclusion: Teams with top-ranked defenses from the previous season are good bets when playing on the road, but poor bets when playing at home. Also, teams ranked among the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are generally a good value in their Week 1 openers, provided they are playing on the road.

Scoring margin

An exceedingly straightforward way of measuring scoring offense and scoring defense together as a whole is to look at a team's “margin." Margin is simply scoring offense minus scoring defense, which is a fairly clear-cut measure of how a team does on both sides of the ball. Typically, the higher the margin, the better the team.

In this regard, it might seem counterintuitive that teams carrying the higher margin from the prior season in week one matchups are merely 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). Furthermore, road teams with the higher margin are 14-20-6 ATS (41 percent), while home teams with the higher margin are 17-22-1 ATS (44 percent). Once again, these results line up with the theory that better teams from the prior year are overvalued come opening day of the following season.

Conclusion: “Better” teams, which often boast a higher margin than their opponent, are overvalued the following season in NFL openers.

In sum

Oddsmakers cater NFL betting lines to match public perception and also to bait the public into poor bets. The temptation to use the prior year’s success as a buy sign for how a team will perform against the spread in Week 1 of the following season is an enormous trap.

The fact is, isolating road teams, road dogs, non-playoff teams vs. playoff teams, teams with a losing record or low margin vs. playoff teams or ones with a high margin from the previous year is where the line value resides. Quite simply, taking the road less traveled is your surest path to NFL betting profits.

To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

MySportsbook.com is a must-have for the smart veteran sports investor who enjoys following the odds almost as much as betting them. Simply put, no one offers more betting options and offers them faster than MySportsbook. This football sportsbook is known for its ability to set the early market odds on events without having to worry about weak lines. Professional players are well aware that getting a crack at the early betting line is worth as much as, and sometimes more than, huge bonuses or reduced prices. MySportsbook's fearless, yet smart bookmaking style is what keeps everyone watching, including most other sportsbooks.

This is also a great choice for those who just want to have a worry free, fun experience. The ownership’s motto is “Sweat the game, not the payout”. These are not just decorative words used to fill space on the homepage. MySportsbook aims to give their customers the fastest withdrawals in the industry. Payouts are processed within 24 hours by an online sportsbook that carries our A+ financial rating.

Those who enjoy proposition and future wagers consider MySportsbook.com a top choice. Smaller players who seek large bonuses would do better at their sister book, Sportsbooks.com.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.