Adrian is the regular-season champion of the NCHA once again.
The Bulldogs, ranked third in the USCHO.com poll, clinched their fifth consecutive title Friday night and the 15th conference title overall with a 6-2 win over Trine in a battle of nationally ranked teams.
A balanced attack paved the way for the Bulldogs to get the job done and lock down the top seed for the conference tournament.
Four players tallied multiple points, including Mathew Rehding, who scored a goal and dished out two assists. Bradley Somers finished with a goal and an assist while Riley Murphy recorded a goal and assist. Matt Couto dished out two assists and Dershawn Stewart came through with 28 saves.
Adrian was just as dominant on Saturday, rolling to a 7-3 win to close out the regular season on a high note.
The Bulldogs (19-5-1, 16-2) scored three goals in the third period to finish out the game. Connor May and Riley Murphy fueled the offensive attack with two goals apiece. Ryan Pitoscia and Rehding both tallied a goal and assist.
Adrian heads into the NCHA tournament having won 10 of its last 11 games, scoring five or more goals seven times during that stretch.
Vikings win rivalry series
Lawrence prevailed in the Battle of Highway 41 Saturday after ending the game against Marian in a 4-4 tie, though the Vikings did lose the shootout 1-0. Lawrence won Friday’s game 3-1.
Not only did Lawrence win the rivalry trophy, it also secure a spot in the NCHA tournament as the sixth seed.
Miles McCue scored a goal and tallied an assist while Cory Checco dished out two assists. Jack Michels came through with a goal and assist in Friday’s 3-1 win over the Sabres.
Lawrence is 8-15-2 overall and 6-10-2 in the NCHA. Marian will be the seventh seed in the tourney and is 9-15-1 overall and 5-12-1 in the conference.
MIAC
Auggies in first place
Augsburg surged to the top of the MIAC standings by sweeping Hamline. The Auggies won the opener 4-3 and then cruised past the Pipers 3-0 on Saturday.
By winning both games, Augsburg secured a ninth consecutive trip to the MIAC tournament and is hoping to repeat as conference tourney champs this year.
Samuel Vyletelka notched the 10th shutout of his career, recording 26 saves, and he leads the league in saves with 720.
Nick Catalano, Cade Stibbe and Daniel Chladek all scored for the Auggies, who outshot their opponent 29-26 after getting beat in that category the previous seven games.
Eight different players factored into the scoring on Friday, with Parker Landon and Stibbe tallying two assists apiece.
Augsburg is 13-8-2 overall and 10-3-1 in the MIAC.
Gusties sweep Cobbers
Gustavus finished off its weekend with a 5-4 overtime win against Concordia to complete a sweep of the Cobbers.
Wilmer Svensson scored the game winner with less than a minute to play as the Gusties won their third consecutive game. They are now 10-11-2 overall and 5-8-1 in the MIAC.
Jackson Hjelle tallied 21 saves.
Gustavus has scored five or more goals in its last three games, including seven in a 7-2 victory on Friday. It’s the first time Gustavus has scored seven goals in a conference game since January of 2020. The Gusties scored four of those goals in the final period.
Cardinals split with Saints
Saint Mary’s managed a split against St. Scholastica but remains just outside the top five in the MIAC standings.
The Cardinals, one point behind St. Olaf, won 4-2 on Friday but dropped a 4-1 decision to the Saints Saturday.
Four different players scored and A.J. Ruskowski made 48 saves, the most in his career. Laudon Poellinger scored the game winner with less than five minutes to play in regulation. The Cardinals scored three goals in the third period of that game.
Gabe Potyk scored the lone goal for the Cardinals in Saturday’s game. They are 8-13-2 overall and 6-7-1 in the conference.
Carsen Richels tallied a goal and an assist for the Saints, who are 15-7-1 overall and 8-5-1 in the MIAC, good enough for third place in the standings.
WIAC
Pointers clinch regular-season title
Facing a 2-1 deficit after one period of play, UW-Stevens Point rallied for a 4-2 win over UW-Superior Saturday to wrap up the season on a five-game winning streak.
Alex Proctor racked up a season-best 43 saves while Connor Witherspoon scored a goal and dished out two assists as the Pointers (19-5-1, 13-2) won kept momentum on their side.
No. 7 UW-Stevens Point opened the weekend with a 2-1 win to clinch the regular-season WIAC title for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
Cody Moline scored the game-winning goal and Nico Chmelevski tallied two assists.
War on 94 ends in split
UW-Stout secured third place in the WIAC standings with a 2-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Friday in the opening game of the War on 94 series.
Maksis Brimanis and Dylan Rallis both scored goals for the Blue Devils. Tyler Masternak stopped 37 shots.
But the Blugolds bounced back in the rivalry series Saturday to secure the No. 2 seed for the WIAC tournament.
Max Gutjahr stopped 27 shots for his 15th win of the season. Sammy Martel. Kyler Grundy and Willy Stauber all scored for the Blugolds. Grundy and Martel also racked up assists.
UW-Eau Claire is 16-7-2 overall and 10-4-1 in the WIAC. UW-Stout finishes 10-13-2 overall in the regular season and 8-7 in the WIAC.
