Men’s D-III West weekend wrap Jan. 7: Top teams roll, Concordia ties Salve Regina

Kalib Ford of Northland (Northland Sports Information)
Kalib Ford had three points in Northland’s sweep of St. Scholastica. (Northland Sports Information)

Concordia can’t complain about how things went at the PathFinder Bank Hockey Classic. The Falcons tied ninth-ranked Salve Regina, 4-4, after regulation and overtime before winning the shootout against the Seahawks 2-0. Stefen Seel and Nick Guerra both scored goals in the shootout, while Bo Didur, who is only a freshman, stopped two shots in the shootout and 30 shots in all in the game.

Guerra also scored a goal in regulation. Josh Adkins, Brandon MacKinnon, and Nick Guiney all scored for the Falcons as well. Adkins, Guiney, and Guerra all scored power-play goals in regulation, the third-most in program history.

Concordia actually led 2-0 at one point and went into the third period with a 4-2 lead.

The Falcons recovered nicely from Friday’s 5-2 loss to SUNY Canton. They ended up finishing third in the tourney and are 3-10-2 on the year.

Lumberjacks make a statement
It’s safe to say Northland made a statement over the weekend. The Lumberjacks battled No. 10 St. Scholastica and swept the series, winning 4-3 in overtime Friday before skating to a 4-2 win in the series finale Saturday.

In Saturday’s finale, Kalib Ford, Lucas DeBenedet, Daniel Chartrand, and Joshua Racek all scored goals for Northland, which improved to 6-6-2 overall and 4-2-2 in the NCHA.

David Krejcik played well in goal, stopping 48 shots.

Northland won a thriller Friday thanks to a clutch goal by Zackary Fisher, who delivered the game-winner in OT. It was his second goal of the game. Ford assisted on the goal. It was his second assist of the game.

Fisher also tallied an assist in the win, while DeBenedet came through with a pair of goals.

Krejcik came up with 31 saves to help Northland open the weekend on a high note.

Northland has won its last two games and is no stranger to playing nationally ranked teams tough. Earlier this season, the Lumberjacks played Adrian to a 1-1 tie. The Lumberjacks won just nine games last season and are in position to top that total.

Pointers win showdown
In a game that was as tight as expected, Wisconsin-Stevens Point edged Concordia, 3-2, Friday night in a nonconference showdown.

The top-ranked Pointers used a game-winning goal by Stephan Beauvais in the third period to pull out the victory. The goal was the first of the year for Beauvais.

Beauvais wasn’t the only player to score his first goal of the year in the game. Jordan Fader did as well, punching the puck in during the first period. Drew McLean also scored for the Pointers, while Connor Ryckman came through with 13 saves for his 14th win of the season.

The Cobbers got 27 saves out of Jacob Stephan. Kyle Siemers and Matt Donnelly both scored for the Cobbers, who led 2-1 less than two minutes into the second period.

The Pointers finished off the weekend with an 8-2 victory over the Oles as they improved to 15-0-2 on the season. Their win streak now stands at nine games. Colin Raver and Austin Kelly scored two goals apiece to pace the Pointers.

Blugolds sweep weekend
Wisconsin-Eau Claire did not give up a goal in either of its games over the weekend, slipping past Gustavus Adolphus, 1-0, Friday and rolling past Concordia, 8-2, Saturday.

Jon Richards scored the only goal against the Oles, coming through with the game-winner in the third period. Zach Dyment stopped all 21 shots he faced in the Blugolds’ first game of 2019.

Against the Cobbers Saturday, fourth-ranked Wis.-Eau Claire used a four-goal second period to put the game out of reach, They led 6-1 heading into the final frame. They are now 13-3-2 on the year.

Eight different players scored, including Braden Mitchell, who punched in the first goal of his career. Tyler Tomberlin came through with his fourth goal of the year. He also dished out an assist, one of four players with multipoint games.

Dyment made 15 saves and won his 12th game of the year and the 20th of his career with the Blugolds, an impressive accomplishment when you consider he’s just a sophomore.

Austin Redders also scored a goal and an assist. Lucas Kohls and Simon Sagissor both tallied two assists apiece.

Tommies’ nonconference dominance continues
A night after knocking off Wisconsin-River Falls, 4-2, St. Thomas was back at it Saturday against Wisconsin-Superior and cruised to a 6-2 win. The Tommies stretched their win streak to three games and now sit at 7-4-2 on the season.

Johnny Panvica was on top of his game, scoring one goal and adding three assists. Andrew Rohkohl came up big in goal, stopping 33 shots.

Frankie Spellman and Derek Olmschenk scored their first goals of the season in the win.

The Tommies have quite a bit of success against nonconference foes this season, outscoring them 28-0. They are 7-1-1 against unranked teams.

In Friday’s win over the Falcons, Alex Trapp and Brett Gravelle each scored a goal and tallied an assist. Trapp scored his first goal of the year in the victory and the third of his career.

Auggies sweep MIAC series
Augsburg had little trouble taking care of business against Hamline over the weekend. The Auggies dominated offensively, winning 6-3 Friday and 7-2 Saturday to move within a point of first place in the MIAC standings. The Auggies are 10-1-2 overall and 5-0-1 in the league.

The fifth-ranked team in the nation closed out the series in impressive fashion Saturday behind a balanced attack. Luke Dietsch recorded a hat trick, while Lukas Gillett and Tommy Carey were in a zone as playmakers, dishing out four assists apiece.

Austin Martinsen added two goals in the win as he fashioned his first multi-goal game at the college level.

Dietsch now has nine goals on the season, helping this Augsburg defense hum right along to the tune of outscoring the opposition, 63-34. Eighteen players have tallied points this season for the Auggies; 15 of those players have scored goals.