West wrap: Jan. 7

Adrian prevailed in a battle of top 10 teams Saturday night as the Bulldogs continued an impressive stretch of hockey. The eighth-ranked Bulldogs knocked off the No. 10 Utica Pioneers, 2-1, for their second win over a nationally ranked opponent in the last three games. They have won three in a row overall.

Matt Thompson scored the game-winner, punching in a power-play goal with 11:43 to play in regulation. Kevin Entmaa was sensational in goal as he stopped 33 saves and pushed his season record to 6-2. Entmaa has recorded 30 or more saves in back-to-back games.

Thompson has scored four game-winning goals this year and is among the best in the country in that category. He has tallied 10 goals in all this year and has also dished out four assists.

Cory Dunn dished out an assist in the win and now has 17 on the year. He leads the nation among blueliners in assists and is sixth overall in the country for assists.

Auggies break out of funk
Augsburg started off the season as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning their first eight games, but the Auggies had been struggling as of late, dropping five consecutive games. This past weekend, they finally got back on track, sweeping a MIAC series against Hamline.

The No. 15 Auggies won the opener, 6-3, on Friday before capping the weekend with an impressive 3-0 win over the Pipers to push their record to 10-5 on the season.

Nick Schmit recorded his first shutout of the year, stopping 20 shots. Schmit has stopped 91.8 percent of the shots he has faced this season and ranks sixth in the league in that category. Schmit owns a 10-5 record this season.

Nate Flynn continued his stellar season as he scored twice to push his goal total to 11. He leads the MIAC in goals scored. He also leads the league in points with 19. With those two goals, Fynn now has 50 in his career.

Karty keeps Pointers rolling along
Slowing down Tanner Karty has been next to impossible. He was at it again Friday night in Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s 3-2 win over Concordia in a WIAC-MIAC crossover game.

Karty scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season to help the fifth-ranked Pointers skate to their 11th win of the season. His goal gave the Pointers the lead for good at 2-1. Wis.-Stevens Point scored all of its goals in the second period after falling behind 1-0.

Couple that win with the 7-1 victory over St. Olaf Saturday and the Pointers have a five-game win streak. Karty has been instrumental to the team’s success as he leads the team in points with 26. He has scored five game-winning goals this season.

Evan Robert made 24 saves for the Pipers, who are mired in a seven-game winless streak.

Tommies turn up the heat on offense
For the first time in four years, St. Thomas put eight goals on the board as it dominated Connecticut College in a shutout win at the Nichols College Tournament. The Tommies have won five of their last six games.

Johnny Panvica paved the way for the Tommies as he recorded a hat trick. He also dished out two assists as he helped St. Thomas close out the tourney with a victory. The Tommies scored eight goals in a game for the first time since a shutout win over Hamline in January of 2014.

Tanner Barnes helped fuel the offensive attack as he scored two goals while, Benjamin Myers came up with 17 saves to earn his second shutout of the year.

Vikings stun Raiders
Josh Koepplinger had quite a night for Lawrence in its NCHA showdown with natonally ranked Milwaukee School of Engineering Friday night. The Vikings star scored twice in a 3-1 victory over the 13th-ranked team in the nation.

Evan Cline stepped up as well, stopping 39 shots to help the Vikings earn their sixth win.

Kloeppinger now has 12 goals on the season and has 21 points in all as he has also dished out nine assists. Cline has won all six games in goal for the Vikings and owns a 2.98 goals-against average.

Yellow Jackets sting the Cardinals
Two goals apiece from Bruno Brizitis and Andrew Durham helped catapult Wisconsin-Superior to a 6-3 win over Saint Mary’s night.

It was alos a big night for Kyle Miller, who notched his first win of the season. Miller racked up 23 saves. Miller has played in five games this season and has a 3.94 GAA.

Durham and Birzitis are the third and fourth-leading scorers on the team. Durham has tallied three goals and also has eight assists. Birzitis ranks fourth on the team with four goals and six assists. The Yellow Jackets have tallied 37 goals as a team.