Air Force’s Sam Brennan shields the puck from Niagara’s Shane Ott during last weekend’s series in Colorado Springs (photo: Air Force Athletics).
Last weekend’s series between Air Force and Niagara brought some good news and bad news for the Falcons.
The good news was that Frank Serratore’s team was able to snap a nine-game losing streak on Friday when the offense came to life in a 6-3 win over the Purple Eagles. While that outburst included two empty-net goals, the Falcons had scored just six times in their last six games combined.
The bad news was the 2-1 loss to the Purple Eagles on Saturday, with Air Force surrendering the game-winning goal to Niagara’s Oliver Gauthier with just six seconds to play in regulation.
Serratore’s team finds itself in tenth place in the Atlantic Hockey standings, seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with 12 games left.
“We were the better team on Friday, and we deserved to win,” he said. “We almost stole some points on Saturday, and we would have stolen them because we weren’t very good on Saturday.”
In summing up the Falcons’ 7-15-2 record to date, Serratore said, “Our consistency isn’t as it needs to be. We identify one area, tidy one area, and something else is going on. We’re constantly plugging holes.”
Every team copes with injuries throughout the season, but Air Force has been dealing with more than their fair share, especially in net.
Sophomore Guy Blessing, who won the starting role early, suffered a season-ending injury in December. Backup Maiszon Balboa got injured a month later and hasn’t played since Jan. 7. Freshman Aaron Randazzo has left the team.
That leaves senior Austin Park, who had made five relief appearances in his career before getting the start at Holy Cross on Jan. 13. He’s played the past four games, allowing five goals this past weekend in the split with Niagara.
“We had to dress a club goalie as a backup at Holy Cross,” said Serratore. “Fortunately, this past weekend, Park was our best player.”
Also out for an extended time are junior forward Brian Adams, junior defenseman Luke Robinson, and sophomore forward Austin Schwartz. Serratore says he hopes to get some players back as early as this weekend when the Falcons travel to rival Army West Point.
It doesn’t get any easier from there, as Air Force finishes up with series against the top four teams in the standings — Rochester Institute of Technology, Sacred Heart, American International, and Mercyhurst — plus a makeup series with Canisius that will see the Falcons play four games in five days with a flight on the off day.
Top four or bottom four in the conference, Serratore doesn’t see much difference.
“There are no layups,” he said. “Everybody’s pretty good, pretty old, pretty deep. Nobody’s on a down cycle any more thanks to the (transfer) portal.
“We only have three wins in conference, but one was against the first-place team (RIT). Anyone can beat anyone.”
Asked to comment on the upcoming series at Army West Point, Serratore put it in perspective.
“You have the rivalry that’s mentioned a lot to the guys by their instructors and classmates, but unlike football or other standalone games (against the other service academies), these are league games with six huge points on the line,” said Serratore. “So it’s more than just about pride.”
A change this season to the Atlantic Hockey postseason format makes those points even bigger, because the tenth-place Falcons are fighting to stave off elimination. The bottom two teams in the standings at the end of the regular season do not make the AHA tournament.
“We’re already in that mode,” said Serratore. “Since Christmas, our attitude has been that we’re already in the playoffs and every night is a single elimination game. The margin for error is shrinking.
“I’m telling the players that all they can control is their attitude and work ethic. Coaches control who is in the lineup; refs control certain aspects. But for us, it’s attitude and work ethic. As long as ours are good, we’re going to put our best foot forward and be able to look at ourselves in the mirror at the end and make sure we’ve done all we can.”
Trevor LeDonne (25) and Aaron Trotter (31) have been key components to St. Thomas’ success this season (photo: St. Thomas Athletics).
What a whirlwind of a week it was for St. Thomas and its men’s hockey program.
On Jan. 14, the Tommies earned their first-ever victory against a ranked team in the Division I era when they beat Michigan Tech 3-2 in Houghton, Mich., to earn a road split – one of the toughest arenas to play in and win as a road team.
Three days later, the entire team was back in St. Paul to be in attendance for a program-changing announcement. Plans for the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena – which will be St. Thomas’ brand-new, on-campus, multipurpose home ice rink – were unveiled on Jan. 17. The arena, which is estimated to cost around $131 million, has a target opening of fall 2025.
“It was a ‘wow’ moment for everybody,” St. Thomas coach Rico Blasi said during his weekly media session on Monday. He said he managed to keep it a secret until the actual reveal, although a few players did figure it out.
“A couple guys came up and asked me, ‘Is this the big announcement?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” Blasi recounted with a smile. “But I could see them when the announcement was happening, and I think you could tell there was a sense of pride with everybody about what we’re building. They get to build it on the ice as well, which is important. This is going to be an important piece for our program. Some of those guys won’t play in it, but I can tell you they’re just as excited and proud to be part of St. Thomas, and that’s an important piece.”
To cap off all that excitement, the Tommies then hosted league leaders Bowling Green a few days later at their current home rink in suburban Mendota Heights. Buoyed perhaps by both momentum and excitement, St. Thomas took four of six points from the Falcons.
“It was a week we won’t forget,” Blasi said. “It was exciting for our program, exciting for our alums, our community, our fans, athletics at St. Thomas. To have good games following that up was important. I thought we played some pretty good, spirited hockey with good energy against a really good Bowling Green team.”
The Tommies beat the Falcons 4-2 in Thursday’s game before rallying on Friday to earn a 3-3 tie and a hard-fought point in a shootout loss. At three games unbeaten, it’s St. Thomas’ longest unbeaten streak in the Division I era.
That might not seem like much, but consider that the Tommies (7-15-2, 6-10-2 CCHA), with 17 newcomers on the roster, were again predicted to finish last in the CCHA at the start of the season.
For the first two months of the year, it even looked like that prediction would hold up. There was a point in mid-November when the Tommies were 2-12-0 and in the midst of a six-game losing streak, with consecutive sweeps at the hands of Minnesota State, Bowling Green and Michigan Tech. Since then, it’s been quite the turnaround: St. Thomas is 5-3-2 – all against conference opponents – and has taken points from every single series.
“I think it’s been a little bit of everything — the growth of our program, the confidence levels, the fact that we were in a lot of games,” Blasi said when asked what the difference s between how the Tommies played early in the season during that losing streak and how the Tommies are playing now. He pointed out what he called a “stupid stat,” namely that 18 of St. Thomas’ 24 games have been decided by two goals or less.
“We’re not just close, we’re in every game,” he said. “I think it was a matter of learning how to play in those close games and then finishing them off and not get rattled if things happen we weren’t accustomed to.”
It also helps to have those newcomers start to gel as an offensive unit. Northern Michigan transfer Mack Byers (13 goals) and freshman Josh Eernisse (12 goals) are both in the top 10 for goalscoring in the conference while Byers and freshmen Ryan O’Neill and Lucas Wahlin all have 17 points and counting – already a Division I record.
“To get those guys acclimated to how we want to play, to our identity, had taken some time,” Blasi said. “We’ve been really pleased with the effort, the focus and the mindset to this point.
“I don’t compare last year’s team and this year’s team; I like to compare our team from the beginning of the year to where we are today. The mentality, the mindset is way different. We’ve grown a little bit. If you go back to some of the early interviews that we had back in September and October, our goal was to play good hockey come January and February.”
It seems like that goal has been achieved. The Tommies are currently tied with Northern Michigan for sixth in the league standings, although the Wildcats would be ahead of them with the tiebreaker. They will travel to Arizona State this weekend to play their last nonconference series of the season.
“We’ve got to go and play. We have to continue to get better,” Blasi said. “There’s lots of room for improvement on our team, and then when we get back into league play, hopefully we’re playing well.”
Endicott has had a lot to celebrate already this season sitting atop the CCC and undefeated in league play but face a ranked Curry squad this weekend in a home-and-home series (Photo by Endicott Athletics)
Yes, there are still three unbeatens in conference play (Endicott, Plymouth State & Utica) in the east and all face some stiff competition this weekend which should be exciting for fans everywhere looking for the upset bug to continue its presence in all D-III hockey. Last week’s picks improved slightly at 8-3-1 (.708) which brings my season total to 84-40-9 (.665). Starting a day earlier with a Tuesday night pick and making it a Baker’s Dozen to push for the elusive 70% success rate overall. Here are this week’s prognostications with some key conference battles on tap:
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
(15) Wesleyan v. Albertus Magnus
The battles amongst Connecticut-based D-III teams this year have been extremely entertaining and while the Falcons did not like being on the short-end of an 8-2 loss to the Cardinals back in November, home ice only keeps the score closer in a second defeat to the NESCAC team – Wesleyan, 4-3
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Worcester State v. Fitchburg State
The Lancers have situated themselves in second place in MASCAC so far in the season and look to keep their nearest rival still looking up in the standings. This is the time of year when Dean Fuller’s squad picks up their game and they need a bounce back after a shutout loss to Westfield State – FitchburgState, 4-3
Friday, January 27, 2023
(3) Endicott v. (6) Curry
This weekend series between the top two teams in the CCC should be a lot of fun to watch. Both teams have deep rosters and can score in bunches but will be challenged by the strength of this week’s opponent’s defense and goaltending. Series has a playoff feel and the Gulls draw first blood with a big road win on Friday night – Endicott, 2-1
Massachusetts-Boston v. (2) Hobart
The Beacons have shined brightly since winning the Codfish Bowl to close out 2022. They have played everyone in the NEHC tough and took down Babson last weekend. Bigger challenge against the Statesmen with Coach Taylor, Luke Aquaro and Cooper Swift back from the WUG tournament. It’s close with a late goal deciding it for the home team – Hobart, 3-2
Connecticut College v. Middlebury
The Panthers have been playing better hockey and getting some positive results. Don’t think they need a lot of extra motivation this weekend as the school celebrates 100 years of hockey with alumni showing up in force to cheer on this year’s edition of Middlebury hockey. The Camels keep it close, but Jake Horoho makes one more save for the Panthers who kick off the weekend festivities with a win – Middlebury, 3-2
Anna Maria v. Canton
The Kangaroos have made it tough for all who venture to their rink and Anna Maria will be no exception when the two independents face off on Friday night. Look for special teams to figure prominently in the outcome as the home team ekes out a win – Canton, 4-3
St. Michael’s v. Southern New Hampshire
The Purple Knights have won three of their last four games in NE-10 play but face a SNHU team that is really desperate to get a win streak going and move up in the conference standings. St. Michael’s best stay out of the penalty box or the Penmen will make them pay with a deadly power play. A PPG is the difference here – SNHU, 5-4
Cortland v. (10) Oswego
Goaltender Luca Durante almost stole a win for the Red Dragons against Plattsburgh, and nothing would help their cause more in the standings than knocking off the league leaders on the road. Tough ask of any team against Oswego who need to score first and do to put pressure on the visitors – Oswego, 3-2
Nazareth v. (1) Utica
The Golden Flyers do not have to travel much in the second half playing the majority of their UCHC games at home. This weekend is one of the exceptions and they will see how they stack up against the undefeated Pioneers. It’s a close game that may need some extra time to decide with the home team surviving – Utica, 3-2
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Skidmore v. (14) Babson
A re-match of the NEHC championship game, this one figures to be fast, close-checking and with goals at a premium due to excellent goaltending on both sides. The Beavers need to get it going and home ice is worth a goal in the one-goal win over the Thoroughbreds – Babson, 2-1
(13) Plymouth State v. Fitchburg State
If the Falcons want a statement game, this one is it. Beat the first place team at home and show what you can do if the playoffs bring a re-match. The Panthers have been very consistent all season and find a way to take a key road win and remain unbeaten in MASCAC play – PSU, 4-3
Amherst v. Trinity
The top team travels to face the hottest team in NESCAC. Sounds like a recipe for some exciting hockey action with all the makings of a playoff game. If the game were at Amherst I would go with the Mammoths but have to stick with the red-hot Bantams who have been finding ways to win during their eight game win streak – Trinity, 3-2
(11) Plattsburgh v. (10) Geneseo
The two teams played a 2-2 tie earlier this year at Plattsburgh and the Knights need the win if they want to have a chance at catching Oswego. For that matter both teams need the points and there will be no tie this time around. Welcome back Peter Morgan – Geneseo, 4-3
Wow, as if there haven’t been enough startling results, the matchups this weekend and likely for the remainder of the regular season are going to create more chaos in the standings and the polls. Must see hockey on tap – “Drop the Puck!”
Another week of hockey has passed, one week closer to conference tournaments and then the almighty NCAA tournament selection show where the few at-large bids are fought for amongst the non-conference winners (or if you’re in the WIAC). Besides your week 12 recap, we have to discuss something bigger than hockey that unfortunately occurred during a game last weekend involving Gustavus and Saint Benedict.
Gustavus’ Heather Olinger
Last weekend, Gustavus swept Saint Benedict, winning 5-2 & 5-1, however, the bigger story was the disastrous career-ending injury suffered by Gusties Senior Defenseman from Prior Lake, Minn. Heather Olinger. Heather was involved in a hit-from-behind, but the hit, which sent her head-first into the boards, caused a C7 fracture and T4 burst fracture. Her spine had to be fused from T1-T6. Fortunately, to her doctor’s surprise, she was able to move all of her extremities (right after the injury occurred in the hospital) and had zero spinal cord or brain injuries and is now currently at home recovering. She will have to wear a full neck and torso brace for three months, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Heather’s friends set up a GoFundMe to hopefully raise some money to help cover the cost of her medical bills. Well, the power of social media came through and multiple outlets promoted her story on Twitter including @DIIIHockeyNews and @KEYCNewsNow, which helped increase traffic to her story. Before the promotion, she had raised approximately $3,500, after the various promotions, the donations skyrocketed to over $28,000 as of 1/23/23! The power of the hockey community came through once again, with players, coaches, and teams from all across D-III women’s hockey and other sports, donating sums of money to help support Heather’s medical expenses. Donations have come from women’s hockey teams in New York, Maine, Michigan, Atlanta, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Canada, and her home state of Minnesota.
Gustavus’ Senior Defenseman Heather Olinger (Photo by Gustavus Sports Information)
Heather commented on the overwhelming support coming her way: “I was so touched when I saw the amount of different teams donating and showing their support. I have no words to describe how amazing it has been to see how close and caring the hockey community is around the country. I will forever be grateful for all the love, support, and prayers”.
If you would like to donate to Heather’s fund and read more, including updates on her condition, click HERE.
Augsburg’s rollercoaster season
Augsburg has had a wild season, they’ve beaten (ranking at the time of game) #1 Gustavus, #15 St. Norbert, #5 UW-River Falls, and tied #8 UW-Eau Claire, meanwhile, they also lost to Saint Mary’s, which at the time, Saint Mary’s was winless. Sitting at 10-5-2, ranked #15 in the USCHO poll and tied for 16th in the pairwise ranking, the Auggies are right on the cusp of making a MIAC run to possibly challenge Gustavus who remains at the top holding on to a slim three-point conference lead through ten conference games played. Gustavus, seeming unbeatable in the MIAC so far, has only dropped one game (9-1) and now Augsburg is trying to change that come the MIAC tournament.
Chloe Stockinger of Augsburg made 90 saves last week over three games vs #1 Gustavus *twice* & #8 UW-Eau Claire (Photo by Kevin Healy)
Most recently, Augsburg split the weekend series with former #1 Gustavus, winning 3-2 in OT and losing 4-0. Earlier that week on Wednesday 1/18/23, the Auggies tied #8 UW-Eau Claire (UWEC won the shootout 1-0). The point leaders over these three games for Augsburg were Emily Kronkhite (1 goal, 2 assists), Katie Flynn (1 goal, 2 assists), and leading the team in goals was Nora Stepan with a pair of goals vs Gustavus. Goaltender Chloe Stockinger played in all three games, recording 90 saves total, only allowing eight goals against two top-ranked opponents.
Augsburg’s next test is a home/away series with Saint Benedict 1/26 (Thursday) & 1/28 (Saturday).
We have a new #1
UW-River Falls (16-2-0) captured 1st place this week in the 1/23/23 USCHO poll after former #1 Gustavus (14-2-0) lost to Augsburg, dropping to #2. UW-River Falls has shown this season they’re deserving of this ranking, in my opinion, UWRF has been #1 for weeks now with Amherst tailing close behind due to the two’s SOS’s (strength-of-schedule). UWRF has played a gauntlet of a schedule including (rank at time of game): #15 Augsburg, #8 UW-Eau Claire, #3 Plattsburgh, #1 Middlebury, and #1 Gustavus (twice). Most recently they swept UW-Superior, winning easily 12-1 & 9-0.
UW-River Falls sweep UW-Superior, winning 12-1 & 9-0 this past weekend (Photo by Pat Deninger)
River-Falls has three massive games remaining on their schedule, one being a date with #2 Gustavus on 1/31 (Tuesday) at 7:05pm CT at home. Then they have a two-game series with WIAC rival UW-Eau Claire on 2/17 & 2/18 (Friday/Saturday). It’ll be interesting to see how UWRF fares the rest of the way as the game’s with Gustavus and UWEC will have massive pairwise implications on the line.
Other Notable Scores
#5 Adrian (16-1-0) defeated Finlandia (0-19-0) 11-0 & 19-0 and set various program records.
Michigan and Minnesota played to a split last weekend in Minneapolis (photo: Jim Rosvold/USCHO.com).
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Paula: Ed, I hardly know where to begin this week after what feels like a dramatic weekend for the top 10 teams in the USCHO poll, resulting in St. Cloud climbing to No. 1 after spending most of the season polling at third or fourth place.
The Huskies swept Denver decisively with 7-3 and 2-0 wins, trailing for just over four minutes in the entirety of the two-game set – early in the second period Friday when Denver’s Jack Devine briefly gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead. St. Cloud’s Jami Krannila had the equalizer in that game minutes later in a period in which the teams combined for six goals. Four of those went to St. Cloud, including another by Krannila.
The Pioneers and Huskies are tied with 29 points on top of the NCHC standings, and St. Cloud owns this season series now after the teams split an earlier pair of games. After Denver’s dominance over Miami a week ago, watching the Pioneers manage two goals in a weekend against any opponent is a surprise.
Also surprising was Quinnipiac’s first two conference losses of the season, the 4-0 shutout to Cornell and the 3-2 loss to Colgate. We knew that the Bobcats would have to lose in conference at some point. Two losses to two different opponents in a single weekend is something I hadn’t anticipated.
Boston University and Western Michigan were the two other top 10 teams who made pretty impressive statements in their sweeps on the weekend. Six of the seven Big Ten teams played – including all four B1G teams among the top 10 – and every series resulted in a split. And Harvard picked up a win and loss to two ECAC opponents, dropping the Crimson from No. 9 to No. 10.
All of this feels pretty volatile and seems to signal that absolutely nothing is decided pretty much anywhere at this point in the season. What did that weekend say to you?
Ed: Paula, you’re exactly right about absolutely nothing being decided. And I think that’s great for the sport.
I think people have been sleeping on St. Cloud State a bit, but their ascendance to No. 1 in the poll and second in the PairWise shouldn’t be a surprise.
Another team not to be overlooked is Boston University. At 17-6-0, Jay Pandolfo’s Terriers are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season. That campaign ended with a national championship trophy.
In Quinnipiac’s case, maybe a little adversity now will help the Bobcats down the stretch.
Overall, it seems like things are going to solidify a little later in the season than in previous years. We typically have seen the top eight or so teams in the PairWise come mid-January make the NCAA tournament. Nobody has clinched it, but only the top four – Minnesota, St. Cloud, Penn State, and Quinnipiac – are virtually a lock.
The name that stands out for me in that group of four is Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been criticized for putting together a weak non-conference schedule, but they won every game outside the Big Ten. With two-thirds of the conference schedule complete, Penn State is 10 points back of Minnesota in the standings, but thanks to Big Ten play, also has the fourth best strength-of-schedule.
Conference coaches had them sixth in the preseason poll, and I know you had much lower expectations for them, too. Is Penn State the biggest surprise this season?
Paula: Penn State is a huge surprise this season – perhaps not to Guy Gadowsky, but to many of us who follow Big Ten hockey.
I talked to Gadowsky earlier in the season about the start Penn State was having and the progress the Nittany Lions had made since 2020-2021, when they followed up their regular-season 2020 title with a fifth-place finish. Gadowsky was frank about how the restrictions of that COVID year had impeded his and his staff’s ability to do their best work – I’m paraphrasing here – and how they’d been working ever since to get back to what they think of as Penn State hockey, that high-scoring, up-and-down game they’re playing now.
Gadowsky said that he saw a return to what they wanted to do toward the end of the 2021-2022 season, even when the wins and losses didn’t reflect that. They did knock Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament before a close semifinal loss to Minnesota. What Gadowsky saw last year was strong play from goaltender Liam Souliere, who has emerged as one of the league’s top goaltenders and who has given confidence to Penn State’s defense – which, in turn, fuels the Nittany Lions’ high-powered offense. You can only run up and down the ice like that when you know there’s someone solid in net to catch your mistakes.
That early nonconference schedule definitely put the Nittany Lions in a good position, but the entire Big Ten is strong this year and that elevates Penn State in the PWR as well. Four of the top 10 teams in the PWR are B1G teams. One of those teams, the Wolverines, has a losing record in conference play and is next-to-last in the league standings. It’s pretty wild.
I think you’re right about how down-to-the-wire it’s going to come (and how exciting it is for the sport). I don’t see anyone catching Minnesota in the Big Ten precisely because the conference is so good and sweeps will be very difficult to earn in the coming weeks.
Outside of the conference I cover, I’m most intrigued by Hockey East and that only nine points separate first-place Northeastern from sixth-place UMass-Lowell, and yet only Boston University is the only HEA team that looks like a solid to make the NCAA tournament.
What else are you watching in the national picture?
Ed: A few weeks ago, we were talking about five or six teams from Hockey East in the NCAAs. But now Connecticut is at No. 16 in the PairWise, putting the Huskies right on the edge. Merrimack was getting a lot of notice, but the Warriors have gone 1-4-1 in 2023 and have dropped outside the PairWise bubble. Providence is right behind them, and UMass Lowell is digging itself out of a PairWise hole after the sweep at home at the hands of Alaska Anchorage. I still like Northeastern’s chances, even sitting at No. 23 in the PairWise. The Huskies have been a bit of an afterthought for a lot of college hockey fans, mainly because they had to deal with injuries earlier in the season.
Nevertheless, they are all within striking distance of an at-large bid, and the Hockey East tournament seems nearly unpredictable at this point. But I’d expect at least two of those five to be in the NCAA mix at the end of the season.
In the CCHA, the program that everyone should pay attention to is Michigan Tech. The Huskies – have we left any Huskies out this week? – are in a great spot in 12th in the PairWise and one weekend away from first place in conference. Coaches around D-I tell me they think Michigan Tech is a very good team. Minnesota State appears to have gotten over a couple of bumps stringing together six wins in a row and back in the PairWise bubble at No. 14.
ECAC still has a good opportunity to get three or four teams into the NCAAs, with Quinnipiac almost a lock and Harvard and Cornell at 10 and 11 in the PairWise.
I’m also watching Atlantic Hockey, since I broadcast for RIT in that conference. This may be the best Tiger team since their 2010 Frozen Four appearance. Yet even at 17-6-1 – and 4-4 out of conference including a weekend sweep of Arizona State – RIT is hurt by the poor overall non-conference record of the AHA. That makes we wonder about RIT’s at-large chances, since the NCAA has left out a team with 24 wins in recent years, Robert Morris. Should the Tigers keep on their current pace, they would likely enter the conference’s final game with more than 24 in the win column.
What about the NCHC? That conference feels a bit upside down right now, and just three teams are currently in position for an at-large bid.
Paula: Five NCHC teams competed in last year’s NCAA tournament, which culminated with Denver’s national championship – which was the fifth national title captured by an NCHC team in the previous seven seasons. In 2021, Massachusetts brought the title home to Hockey East, and the tournament was canceled in 2020 because of COVID.
When we include Providence in 2015, no team from any conference other than the NCHC or Hockey East has won the NCAA championship since 2014. That we’re talking about possibly two HEA teams and three NCHC teams in the field of 16 in March is a bit of a paradigm shift.
And within the NCHC, as you said, there’s a bit of disconnect. Duluth 13 points out of first place, North Dakota 14 points down – these are not programs that anyone expects to see near the bottom of the NCHC standings.
Denver is 3-3-0 to start the second half, St. Cloud is 4-2-0 and Western Michigan is riding a six-game win streak that dates back to the Great Lakes Invitational tournament. For that Broncos, that unbeaten streak includes an 8-1 over Michigan Tech at the GLI but more important to NCHC conference standings, four straight wins over two teams – North Dakota and Colorado College – beneath them in the NCHC standings.
Until last weekend, any conference loss for Denver would by default have been to someone beneath the Pioneers in the standings, and one of St. Cloud’s two losses since the start of the calendar year was to CC.
The Big Ten (.721), the NCHC (.618) and Hockey East (.594) are the three leagues with win percentages above .500 in nonconference play. It is intriguing to me, though, to see how each of these conferences stacks up against the others. B1G has a winning record against every conference other than HEA (.438) and the ECAC, with whom they’re tied. The NCHC has losing records against B1G (.400) and the ECAC (.450). Hockey East has a losing record (.375) only to the NCHC.
So maybe it’s the emergence of the Big Ten as a strong league this season that’s the variable in this national equation. Maybe the NCHC – which does seem a little off within the conference – and Hockey East appear less dominant because of B1G play.
Ed: I think you’ve made a B1G point there, Paula!
I’m going to close out our discussion picking up on something I discussed last week with our colleague Jim Connelly: new and renovated buildings, and whether there might be an “arms race” of facility upgrades.
Just a few hours after last week’s installment of this column was published, St. Thomas announced a $75 million gift to build the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena as the new home for Tommies hockey and basketball. That’s going to be key to that program’s continued growth in competitiveness in the CCHA and the national scene, as well as for growing a fan base in St. Paul and beyond.
I was also fortunate to visit Arizona State’s beautiful Mullett Arena over the weekend. Everything from the overall design to the small details to the fan experience is outstanding, and it’s exactly what the Sun Devils program Greg Powers has built deserves. I even talked to some Washington Capitals fans at the hotel who had such a great time at the Coyotes game Thursday that they bought tickets on Friday.
A new or updated building is seeming like a necessity. I just hope that it doesn’t price programs without access to big donors out of existence.
Lake Forest pulled off a win over reigning national champion Adrian on Saturday. (Trevor Nielsen)
Matteas Derraugh and David Cohen stepped up in a big way for Lake Forest Saturday night.
Both players scored twice to propel the Foresters to an upset win over Adrian, which came into the night ranked third in the nation in the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll.
A wild first period ended with Derraugh scoring his second goal of the game and lifting the Foresters to a 3-2 lead after one.
Lake Forest never looked back. Cohen scored a first-period goal as well and closed out the game with a goal as the Foresters improved to 7-8-4 overall and 4-5-3 in the NCHA.
More importantly, they collected four conference points in the series in knocking off Adrian, which is 14-3-2 and 8-3-1.
Nick Wiencek made 39 saves in the victory. He stopped the last 26 shots he faced.
The win came on the heels of a 4-4 tie with the reigning national champions on Friday. Lake Forest held a 3-0 in the first after goals by Jared Gerger, Collin Bella and Justin Ross, and were up 4-1 late in the second after a goal by Chase Sencer. But the Bulldogs battled back to forge a tie. Hunter Wendt scored the game-tying goal at the 9:47 mark of the third. Adrian won the shootout for the extra NCHA point.
Shutout win for the Sabres
Marian not only got its second shutout win of the season, but the Sabres did it against one of the nation’s best teams, stunning then No. 9 St. Nobert 1-0 on Saturday.
Marian is 2-1-1 against nationally ranked opponents this season and held a 30-28 advantage in shots.
Daunte Fortner scored the lone goal of the night, punching in his own rebound at the 12:52 mark.
Marian improved to 7-10-2 overall and 4-6-2 in the NCHA. St. Norbert dropped to 11-6-2 and 9-3-1.
The Sabres and Green Knights played to a 4-4 tie on Friday and won the shootout for an extra point.
Marian trailed 3-2 after two periods but battled back in the third to forge the tie. Jaymes Knee scored twice in the win for the Sabres. He also added an assist.
Lions win thriller
Finlandia hasn’t had an easy season, but the Lions came away with a overtime win against Lawrence Saturday in NCHA play.
The Lions prevailed 6-5 after Nate Holm scored less than two minutes into the OT period to lift Finlandia to its first win over Lawrence since January of 2019.
Ahead 4-1 after two periods of play, the Lions were outscored 4-1 in the final period as the game went into OT.
James Eng and Owen Schmidt scored twice for the Lions. Both players added an assist as well as Finlandia improved to 3-14-1 overall and 2-9 in the conference. Lawrence is 3-14-2 and 2-9-1.
Gusties knock off Auggies
The wait is over for Gustavus. The Gusties picked up their first MIAC win of the year on Saturday with a 4-3 win over nationally ranked Augsburg.
Gustavus improved to 3-14-2 overall and is 1-8-1 in the conference. Augsburg fell to 9-7-1 overall and 5-3 in the conference.
Stanislav Daneav scored the game-winning goal for the Gusties, who won despite being outshot 26-15. Jackson Hjelle made 23 saves. The win in MIAC play is the first for the Gusties since the 2019-20 season. That winless streak against conference opponents was at 22 games before Saturday’s win.
Patrick Wyers scored the first goal of his career in the win and Kyle Heffron and Jack Kubitz also scored goals in the win.
Saints take down Oles
St. Scholastica won both of its games against St. Olaf over the weekend, capping the series with a 4-2 victory. The Saints won Friday’s game 7-4 and are now atop the MIAC standings.
In the finale, St. Scholastica scored three times in the second period to set the tone for the win.
Arkhip Ledenkov scored twice as did Carsen Richels while Filimon Ledenkov tallied four assists. Jack Bostedt made 30 saves as the Saints finished off the sweep. They are now 10-5-2 overall and are unbeaten in the MIAC with a 7-0-1 mark. The Oles are 11-7-1 overall and 5-5 in the conference.
Stout stays hot
UW-Stout ran its win streak to five games on Saturday as it completed a sweep of Northland.
The Blue Devils won 4-2 on Saturday after coming through with a 4-0 win on Friday.
In Saturday’s game, the Blue Devils found themselves down 2-1 after two periods after Taylor Ewing scored twice for the Lumberjacks.
Peyton Hart scored twice in the third to lead the rally as UW-Stout came out on top. Dylan Rallis also scored in the third.
UW-Stout improved to 14-4-1 overall and 5-3-1 in the WIAC. Northland is 1-17-1 overall and 1-8 in the conference.
Pointers pull off sweep
Thanks to a pair of goals from Andrew Poulias, UW-Stevens Points was able to finish off a sweep of UW-River Falls with a 5-2 win. The Pointers won the opener on Friday by a 5-4 score.
Nick Gonrowski tallied two assists and Conor Witherspoon dished out his team-leading ninth assist of the year.
The Pointers improved to 12-3-3 overall and are still unbeaten in the WIAC with an 8-0 record. The Falcons are 7-11-1 overall and 1-7-1 in the conference. Dean Buchholz made 43 saves for the Falcons.
In Friday’s game, Tyler German scored with less than a minute to play to propel the Pointers to the thrilling win over a Falcons team that didn’t back down even after trailing 4-2 after two.
Blugolds and Yellowjackets finish with a tie
After UW-Eau Claire won 4-2 over UW-Superior on Friday, the two WIAC rivals played to a 3-3 in the series finale on Saturday.
UW-Eau Claire ended up wining the shootout for the extra point.
The Blugolds trailed 3-2 going into the third and tied the game on a goal by Ryan Green with less than five minutes to play.
Goals by Conor MacLean, C.J. Walker and Zach Bannister had given the Yellowjackets a 3-1 lead late in the second. Leo Bacallao pulled UW-Superior within one with three minutes left in the second.
UW-Eau Claire is 11-6-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the conference. UW-Superior is 10-7-2 overall and 5-3-1 in conference play.
St. Cloud State swept Denver on home ice this past weekend (photo: St. Cloud State Athletics).
With 33 of 50 first-place votes this week, St. Cloud State vaults up three spots to assume the No. 1 ranking in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.
Minnesota remains No. 2 with 13 first-place votes, while Quinnipiac is down two spots to No. 3, picking up two first-place votes. Boston University moves up one to No. 4 with two first-place votes as well.
Denver falls two spots to No. 5 this week, Penn State holds steady at No. 6, Michigan rises one to No. 7, flip-flopping with Ohio State, Western Michigan is up one to No. 9, and Harvard is down one place to sit 10th this week.
All teams in the rest of the top 20 were ranked last week, save for Northeastern, which enters the rankings this week at No. 20.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 10 others received votes this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger look at the games of the past weekend and the news of the week in this D-I college hockey podcast.
This podcast is sponsored by the NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four, April 6th and 8th, 2023 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Secure your seats at NCAA.com/mfrozenfour
Topics include:
• Quinnipiac falls to Cornell and Colgate on the road
• Minnesota and Michigan play two incredible, back-and-forth OT games
• Did St. Cloud State make the biggest statement on the weekend sweeping Denver?
• Northeastern is now the top dog in Hockey East after a sweep of Merrimack
Buy or sell:
• Minnesota is tops in the PairWise. Are they the best team in the country?
• Buy or sell on Quinnipiac and their hopes as national champions.
• Buy or sell on BU as the best team in Hockey East
• RIT just swept Arizona State, Can they earn an at-large bid? Buy or sell?
• Will Bemidji State win the CCHA? Buy or sell?
• Is Denver still the best NCHC team in your mind? Buy or sell?
• Can an independent team make a run at an at-large bid this year? Buy or sell?
Elmira’s Chance Gorman helped make the 50th anniversary of hockey celebration a special night with four goals in an upset win over Hobart (Photo by Elmira Athletics)
Rivalry games, it doesn’t matter if they are in conference or not, the intensity level is always much higher than for a not so familiar opponent and sometimes the results are surprising. Add in incredible performances by a single player like Nolan Moore or Chance Gorman and the recipe for dropping a tough game goes up. Just ask Norwich and Hobart about that as the ranked teams that dropped decisions to Middlebury and Elmira respectively adding to the drama we see week in and week out this season. Lots of other thrillers were played as well as some teams showcasing why they should be ranked where they are or maybe even higher as the upsets continue across the region. Here is the recap from the action last week and over the weekend in the east:
CCC
Endicott continued their CCC domination with another weekend sweep, this time over Salve Regina. On Friday night the game was a defensive battle with goals coming at a premium. Despite holding a 41-34 edge in shots, the Seahawks could only find the net behind Atticus Kelly (40 saves) one time while the Gulls scored first and last to take a 2-1 road win. Connor Amsley opened the scoring for the Gulls in the first period and Conner Beatty scored the game-winner with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Back home on Saturday, Endicott spotted Salve Regina a 1-0 lead in the first period before tying the game at 1-1 in the middle frame. Three unanswered goals from Primo Self, Amsley and John Goldowski provided the offense in a 4-1 win and sweep that moved the Gulls to 13-0-0 in conference play.
Curry kept pace with Endicott by taking two games from Suffolk. On Friday, four different players scored to give the Colonels a 4-0 lead over the Rams who cruised to a 4-1 win. On Saturday, a hat trick from Timmy Kent and two goals from Mark Zhukov helped pace the Colonels to a 6-2 win extending their win streak to 10 games and their CCC record to 11-2-0.
Three goals from Ryan Kuzmich and a pair from Jayden Price jumpstarted the University of New England offense on Friday night against Nichols. Goaltender Joe Stanizzi made 25 saves in his first action of the season to earn the shutout in a road 7-0 win. UNE tried to keep the momentum going on Saturday against the Bison and fell behind 2-0 after one period of play. The second period saw four Nor’easter goals and two more in the third period for a 6-2 win. Logan DiScanio scored a pair for UNE who won back-to-back games on the weekend for the first time since early December.
Independents
Anna Maria rallied back from a two-goal deficit to Franklin Pierce on Tuesday to take a 4-2 road win. Cam Tobey chipped in with three assists for the AmCats who scored four unanswered goals in the comeback victory. On Saturday, the AmCats fell 2-0 to Amherst who received goals by Matt Toporowski and Spencer Kimball in support of goaltender Dan Dachille’s 18-save shutout.
Albertus Magnus took on Neumann from the UCHC in a two-game series and started strong with a 7-4 win on Friday night. Cameron Weitzman. Tim Manning and Alex Gagnon each scored a pair of goals for the Falcons. Gagnon finished the night with four points as he added a pair of assists.
Canton faced Brockport on Friday and took one-goal leads twice only to see the visitors rally to tie the score. Tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, the Kangaroos received the game-winning goal in overtime ff the stick of Sam Martin for the 3-2 win. The Golden Eagles earned a split with the Kangaroos with a 6-2 win on Saturday night.
MASCAC
Plymouth State remains one of the few undefeated teams (Utica and Endicott) in conference play and kept that record intact this week with convincing wins over Worcester State and Framingham State. On Thursday, the Panthers fell behind the Lancers 2-0 after one period of play and then proceeded to score five unanswered goals in route to a 5-2 road win. Cameron Patton scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at 2-2 and Myles Abbate scored two goals to give PSU the lead before closing it out in the final minute with a shorthanded goal. Back home on Saturday, the Panthers quickly moved to a 3-1 lead after two periods before icing the game in the third period with three more goals. The win moved the Panthers to 11-0-0 in MASCAC play and was the 209th for head coach Craig Russell at Plymouth State making him the winningest coach in program history.
After dropping an overtime thriller to Framingham State, 4-3 on Thursday night, Westfield State rode the exceptional goaltending of Valtteri Valtonen in shutting out Fitchburg State 4-0 on Saturday. Valtonen stopped all 43 Falcon shots he faced and Cullen Young paced the offense with a goal and an assist as the Owls moved to 4-7-0 in MASCAC play.
NE-10
The NE-10 saw a weekend of split series that included the top two teams splitting the two-game set between Assumption and St. Anselm with each team winning by a 4-3 score. On Friday it was the Greyhounds night when they reversed a 3-1 deficit in the third period on goals from John Woernle, Christopher Stalmok and William Smith to stun the Hawks 4-3. On Saturday, the Hawks again built a 3-1 lead after two periods but held off the Greyhounds with an unassisted insurance goal from Matt Hayes and superb goaltending from Nick Howard who made 47 saves in the win.
Post and SNHU played a crazy series that included the Eagles 6-5 overtime win over the Penmen on Friday night. Trailing 4-1, SNHU rallied to tie the game at 4-4 early in the third period only to see Lucas Baksay score on the power play to give Post a 5-4 lead. Jackson Aldritch tied the game for SNHU and the game went to overtime where Nick Weber played the hero for the home team in a 6-5 win. On Saturday, SNHU took advantage of a four-goal second period including three power play scores to take a 4-3 win and split of the series.
St. Michael’s and Franklin Pierce also split their weekend series in Vermont. The Purple Knights fell behind the Ravens 3-0 in the first period but quickly rallied with four goals in the second frame. The Ravens tied the game early on a goal from Vito Carlo but Jack Mcdonald would score the deciding goal and Quinn McCarthy would ice the 6-4 win with an empty-net tally. The three-game win streak for the Purple Knights came to an end on Saturday as the Ravens rallied for a 5-1 win behind a hat trick from Devan Rohrich.
NEHC
Massachusetts-Boston earned a weekend sweep with solid wins over Southern Maine and Babson extending their win streak to three games and leveling their NEHC record at 6-6-0. On Friday, the Beacons used goals from Jacob Banks, Corey Clifton and Dakota Concannon along with 18 saves from Sam Best in a 3-2 win over the Huskies. On Saturday against a ranked Babson squad, used strong goaltending from Darius Bell (27 saves) and a pair of goals from Kolye Bankauskas in a 3-1 triumph over the Beavers.
After dropping Tuesday’s rivalry game with Middlebury on Tuesday, Norwich traveled to Skidmore and played a 1-1 overtime tie with the Thoroughbreds. Goal tenders Andrew Albano (30 saves) and Tate Brandon (35 saves) were outstanding for their respective teams in the playoff style action. On Saturday, the Cadets parlayed a hat trick from Philip Elgstam into a 3-1 win over Castleton.
League-leading Hobart played a home-and-home series with rival and travel partner Elmira and dominated Friday night’s game at home in a 7-0 win. Zach Tyson scored two goals and added an assist for the Statesmen while goaltender Damon Beaver made 17 saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season breaking the Hobart single season record. On Saturday, Elmira returned home and played a much more energetic contest on the night the school celebrated 50 years of collegiate hockey, taking a 4-3 lead into the third period. That’s when things got interesting as the Soaring Eagles extended the lead to 6-3 only to see Hobart rally to within a goal at 6-5 with several minutes left in the game. Chance Gorman, the offensive star for Elmira would ice the game with an empty-net goal, his fourth goal of the game, in a 7-5 upset win.
NESCAC
Amherst only played a single NESCAC contest against travel partner Hamilton on Friday night and eked out a 2-1 win on the road. Greg McGunigle gave the Mammoths a 1-0 lead in the first period before Nick Hawkins leveled the game for the Continentals midway through the second period. Bobby Luca would score what proved to be the game-winner in the final minutes of the second period and goaltender Alex Wisco made the score stand up by making 36 saves in the game to keep the Mammoths atop the NESCAC standings.
Trinity has been on a torrid pace having won seven games in a row including back-to-back shutouts this weekend over Tufts and Connecticut College. On Friday, three goals from Gerard Maretta, three assists from Spencer Korona and 21 saves from Devon Bobak was the perfect Bantam combination in a 6-0 win over Tufts. On Saturday, Jacob Borgida and Maretta provided the offense and Bobak stopped all 17 shots he faced in a 2-0 shutout win over Connecticut College.
Wesleyan extended their unbeaten streak to eight games with a pair of one-goal wins over the Camels and Jumbos. Friday night, Liam Donelan’s second period goal stood up as the game-winner in the Cardinals 2-1 win over Connecticut College. On Saturday, the Cardinal offense needed a five spot to down Tufts, 5-4. After Brendan Fennell and Max Resnick scored in the third period to rally the Jumbos to a 4-4 tie, Wriggle Kerbat scored his second goal of the game just over a minute after Resnick’s tally to give Wesleyan a 5-4 win.
Middlebury has had a tough season so far but picked up a huge win against No. 5 Norwich on Tuesday night in Northfield. Nolan Moore provided all the scoring for the Panthers including the game-winner in overtime for a 3-2 win over the Cadets. On Friday, the Panthers lost to Colby 5-0 but rebounded with a 3-2 win at Bowdoin to earn a weekend split with the Maine schools. A three-goal second period gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead over the Polar Bears and goaltender Jake Horoho stopped 14 of 15 shots in the third period as part of his 27 save effort in the 3-2 win.
SUNYAC
Plattsburgh lost the championship game of their winter tournament to Oswego a couple of weeks back and clearly had the Lakers in the crosshairs for the game at home on Friday night looking to gain ground on the SUNYAC leaders. The Cardinals started fast with a 2-0 lead after one period of play and dominated the third period scoring four times on the way to a 6-1 win. Goaltender Eli Shiller made 17 saves in the win. On Saturday, the Cardinals faced-off with a Cortland team that had downed Potsdam on Friday 7-3, but scratched out a 1-0 lead after two periods on a goal from Joshua Belgrave. The Red Dragons tied the game in the third period before Bennett Stockdale scored the decisive goal for the Cardinals in a 2-1 win. Plattsburgh outshot Cortland by a wide margin, but Luca Durante made things tough on the Cardinals stopping 47 of 49 shots.
Oswego had a difficult time against Potsdam on Saturday but rallied for a 4-3 win on a late goal from Connor Sleeth to earn the Lakers a split in SUNYAC action over the weekend. After the Bears took a 2-1 lead early in the second period, Oswego scored twice to re-take the lead at 3-2 to close out the second period. Robert Clerc’s second of the game tied the game at 3-3 before Sleeth gave the Lakers an important road win.
Geneseo also moved closer to the top of the table with a 5-4 win over Morrisville on Friday night. The Knights scored three early goals and extended their lead to 4-1 early in the second period only to see the Mustangs rally for three straight goals, including two on the man advantage, tying the game at 4-4 with nine minutes remaining in the third period. Matthew Doran would break the tie with less than five minutes in regulation and Matt Petizian in goal would make it stand up for the SUNYAC win. On Saturday, the Knights downed Hamilton 3-0, led by two goals from Cooper Fensterstock and a 29-save shutout by Adam Harris.
Buffalo State won their travel partner game on Friday against Fredonia by a 6-2 score. The Bengals were led by Andrew Logar’s hat trick and a four-point game from Joe Glamos who scored twice and assisted on two of Logar’s tallies.
UCHC
Nazareth continued their strong play on home ice with a pair of wins over King’s this weekend. On Friday night, five different goal scorers and 17 saves from Raphael Provencher helped the Golden Flyers to a 5-0 win. On Saturday, Nazareth gave up a first period goal to King’s Denys Arhkypenko and struggled to get anything past goaltender Tyler Sayger who made 27 saves in the first two periods for the visitors. Four goals in the third period, including two from Jeremy Swartz gave the home team the 4-1 win and weekend sweep.
Chatham and Stevenson battled in a weekend series with both teams looking to move up in the UCHC standings. On Friday, Chatham took a one-goal lead three different times only to see Stevenson rally to tie the game, including Frank Vitucci’s unassisted goal in the final minute of regulation that leveled the game at 4-4. No one could score in overtime and Stevenson took the shootout, 2-0. On Saturday,
Utica took a weekend series with Lebanon Valley starting with a 6-1 win on Friday night led by Dante Zapata’s two goals. On Saturday, the Pioneers exceeded the Friday goal total in just the first period on the way to a blowout win over the Flying Dutchmen, 16-1. Remy Parker scored four goals while Regen Cavanaugh added a hat trick and seventeen players recorded a point in the win that keeps Utica undefeated in UCHC play.
Arcadia and Alvernia, the new kids on the block in the UCHC played a weekend series that saw the Knights take a pair of one-goal decisions. On Friday, three power play goals, including two from Brendan Dicker helped the Knights to an early lead that they made stand for a 5-4 win on the road. Back home on Saturday, four unanswered goals including two on the power play and one shorthanded from Kyle Peters helped Arcadia to the 4-3 win and weekend sweep.
Three Biscuits
Nolan Moore – Middlebury – provided all the scoring for the Panthers in an overtime upset win over Norwich on Tuesday. Moore completed his hat trick with the winner in overtime.
Andrew Logar – Buffalo State – scored a hat trick for the Bengals’ 6-2 win over Fredonia on Friday night. Logar’s teammate Joe Glamos assisted on two of his goals while scoring two of his own in the SUNYAC win.
Chance Gorman – Elmira – scored four goals including a late empty-net goal to ice a 7-5 upset win over rival Hobart on Saturday night.
There are just four weeks remaining in the regular season so everything is on the line for conference points, position in the standings and the seeding for conference tournaments which is not so far away in February. It’s a sprint to the finish!
Nine Buckeyes tallied points and six of them had multi-point games as OSU took the opening game of the weekend 6-2. Makenna Webster, Jenn Gardiner and Paetyn Levis had the team up 3-0 early in the second. Emma Gentry lit the lamp for St. Cloud to cut the lead to 3-1. Hadley Hartmetz replied with a power play goal to make it a three-goal lead again. Dayle Ross cut it to 4-2, but that’s as close as it would get as Levis and Kenzie Hauswirth scored in the third to give Ohio State the 6-2 win. On Saturday, OSU outshot SCSU 50-17, but the Buckeyes needed overtime to come out with a win. Sophie Jaques had Ohio State ahead 1-0 after one, but Svenja Voigt’s second-period goal sent the teams to the third tied at 1. Jenna Buglioni put OSU ahead 2-1 in the opening five minutes, but St. Cloud answered immediately as Addi Scribner found the twine less than two minutes later. The Huskies pushed for the game-winner, including a dangerous opportunity to start the overtime frame, but a breakaway for Gardiner ended the team in OT and gave Ohio State the 3-2 win.
(2) Yale at Princeton
Vita Poniatovskaia and Claire Dalton put the Bulldogs up 2-0 before five minutes had elapsed in this game and Princeton could not dig out of that hole as Yale took a 3-1 win on Friday. Katherine Khramtsov scored late in the first to pull the Tigers within one, but the Bulldogs held them off and added an insurance goal in the third from Anna Bargman to secure the win.
(2) Yale at (4) Quinnipiac
The Bulldogs proved their ECAC supremacy on Saturday, easily handling the Bobcats and walking away with a 4-2 win. Yale held Quinnipiac to just 15 shots in the game. Claire Dalton, Emma Seitz and Cara DiAntonio each found the back of the net to put Yale ahead 3-0 at the first intermission. Yale seemed to easily hold the Bobcats off through the second, but in the third, Olivia Mobley and Veronica Bac scored a few minutes apart in the middle of the frame to make it 3-2. Yale scored on the empty net almost immediately after Quinnipiac pulled Logan Angers to put the game out of reach and get the 4-2 win.
(3) Minnesota at Bemidji State
On Friday, Josefin Bouveng, Abbey Murphy, Abigail Boreen and Grace Zumwinkle each scored for the Gophers and Claire Vekich scored for Bemidji State as Minnesota took a 4-1 win. In the second game, Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle each scored their national-leading 20th goals en route to a 7-0 win for Minnesota. It was the Gophers 19th straight win over the Beavers. Zumwinkle’s goal allowed her to pass Natalie Darwitz for sole possession of fifth-place in program history in career goals.
Brown at (4) Quinnipiac
Lexie Adzija, Nina Steingauf and Shay Maloney each scored in the first period to give Quinnipiac a 3-0 lead and Brown could not recover. Jade Iginla’s short-handed goal in the third provided a spark and ruined the shutout, but Brown ran out of time and the Bobcats took a 3-1 win.
(5) Colgate vs. (10) Cornell
Kalty Kaltounková led the Raiders’ with two goals and three assists as Colgate rolled over Cornell in a 9-3 win on Friday. Danielle Serdachny earned her 150th career point and 100th career assists. Kas Betinol and Kaitlyn O’Donohoe each scored two goals in the win. Colgate jumped out to a 3-1 lead after one and doubled up to a 6-2 lead after two. Izzy Daniel, McKenna Van Gelder and Gillis Frechette all scored for Cornell in the loss. Kaltounkova opened the scoring on Saturday, but unlike the day before, Cornell was able to keep the Raiders in check and match them shot for shot. Leah MacSween tied the game on the power play and just :18 later, Cornell got their first lead of the weekend thanks to Gabbie Rud. Elyssa Biederman tied the game early in the third, but Daniel’s goal less than a minute later would prove to be the game winner and Frechette added an empty netter to secure the win and weekend split.
(6) Minnesota Duluth at St. Thomas
Gabbie Hughes had two assists on Saturday to become the seventh player in UMD program history to top 200 career points. Anneke Linser scored twice and Naomi Rogge added a power play goal to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 win. On Sunday, UMD took a three-goal lead in the first half of the opening frame and used that momentum to carry them to a 5-1 win. Rogge scored twice and Linser, Clara Van Wieren and Taylor Anderson each added a goal. Anna Solheim’s late goal ruined the shutout and ended a long streak for UMD goalie Emma Soderberg. Saskia Maurer made 46 saves in the loss.
(7) Northeastern at Merrimack
Chloe Aurard had a goal and an assist and Maureen Murphy added two assists to lead Northeastern to a 3-1 win. Aurard and Katy Knoll put the Huskies up 2-0 less than five minutes after puck drop. Sophie Melsness responded for Merrimack to make it 2-1 before the midpoint of the first, but Warriors couldn’t find an equalizer. Late in the third, Maude Poulin-Labelle scored to secure the win.
(7) Northeastern at (11) Vermont
Peyton Anderson scored on the power play in the first period to give Northeastern a 1-0 lead. Vermont tied the game early in the second and then the two teams played more than thirty minutes of deadlocked hockey. In a massive swing with about seven to play, Northeastern killed the first part of a 5-on-3 penalty and then Katy Knoll took off to score a short-hander to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead. Lily Shannon added an insurance goal late to give NU a 3-1 lead.
Minnesota State at (8) Wisconsin
Britta Curl and Lacey Eden each scored their 15th goal of the season to lead Wisconsin to a 2-1 win over the Mavericks on Saturday. The Badgers went ahead 2-0 early in the third. Kelsey King scored on the power play to make it a one-goal game, but Wisconsin held MSU off for the win. On Sunday, Eden, Claire Enright, Curl, Caroline Harvey, Grace Shirley and Casey O’Brien each scored to propel Wisconsin to a 6-0 win.
(9) Clarkson vs. St. Lawrence
In the first game, Abby Hustler and Kiley Mastel put St. Lawrence up 2-0 with goals within minutes of each other early in the second. But the Golden Knights fought their way back into the game. Anne Cherkowski brought it within one on the power play and then Haley Winn’s goal with the goalie pulled and 24 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. The game ended a 2-2 tie. On Saturday, it was a family affair. First, the McQuigge sisters combined for Clarkson’s first goal, with Kristyn feeding Brooke to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of the second. St. Lawrence’s Julia Gosling tied the game at one late in the second, but her cousin, Clarkson’s Nicole Gosling, gave her team the 2-1 lead with 42 ticks left before the second intermission. Gabrielle David’s power play goal extended it to 3-1 and late penalty troubles kept the Saints from getting an extra attacker. Clarkson won the game and took the season series with a 4-0-1 record.
Holy Cross at (11) Vermont
The Catamounts set a new women’s Hockey East record for a game on a campus site with 2,210 fans in attendance to see them take down Holy Cross 3-1. Goalie Jessie McPherson picked up her 16th win of the season tonight re-setting her own program single season record. Evenlyne Blais-Savoie scored twice and Corinne McCool added a goal. Mary Edmonds scored for the Crusaders in the loss.
(12) Penn State at Mercyhurst
Vanessa Upson’s power play goal put Mercyhurst on the board first, but Julie Gough responded with an extra-attacker goal of her own to make it a 1-1 game at the first period break. Kiara Zanon scored on the power play to make it 2-1 Penn State in the opening seconds of the third and that score held through the rest of the frame. Gough extended the lead to 3-1 early in the third, but Thea Johansson brough the game to 3-2. Olivia Wallin’s goal made it 4-2 and Zanon’s empty-netter secured the 5-3 win.
(14) Connecticut at (13) Providence
Providence outshot the Huskies 43-26, but a winner could not be decided as this game ended in a 2-2 tie. After a scoreless first, Camryn Wong put UConn up 1-0 in the second. Riley Grimey extended the lead to 2-2 early in the third period. However, Providence fought their way back in the game. Sara Hjalmarsson and Reichen Kirchmaier each lit the lamp in the final nine minutes of regulation to force overtime.
(15) Boston College vs. New Hampshire
Ava Boutilier made 30 saves and Brianna Brooks notched an assist in addition to scoring a hat trick to lead New Hampshire to a 5-3 win over Boston College on Friday. Gaby Roy had BC on the board first, but UNH responded with just nine seconds left in the opening frame with the first of Brooks’ goals, a power play tally to make it a 1-1 game. Marina Alvarez put the Wildcats ahead 2-1 midway through the second, but this time it was the Eagles who responded as Kelly Browne made it a 2-2 game. In the third, Kira Juodikis gave UNH a 3-2 lead just seconds into the frame. Alexie Guay tied it up for BC at 3-3, but as the game wound down, New Hampshire was able to pull away thanks to Brooks, who scored twice in less than a minute to put her team ahead for the 5-3 win.
(15) Boston College vs. Maine
The Black Bears eked out a 2-1 overtime win against the Eagles on Saturday thanks to 36 saves from Anna LaRose and two goals from Mira Seregély. Seregély was relentless in front of the BC net. Her first goal came as she picked up a rebound against the boards and brought it in to beat Abigail Levy. Caroline DiFiore tied the game in the second and the teams fought for more than a period to find a winner, but couldn’t close this one out in regulation. In the extra frame, Seregély was once again ready for a loose puck as she picked up the rebound from Emma Lange’s shot to score the game winner.
No. 9 Harvard (13-5-1)
01/20/2023 – No. 9 Harvard 3 at Yale 2 (OT)
01/21/2023 – No. 9 Harvard 2 at Brown 3
No. 10 Western Michigan (16-9-1)
01/20/2023 – No. 10 Western Michigan 4 at RV Colorado College 1
01/21/2023 – No. 10 Western Michigan 4 at RV Colorado College 1
No. 17 Minnesota State (16-9-1)
01/20/2023 – Lake Superior State 2 at No. 17 Minnesota State 3 (OT)
01/21/2023 – Lake Superior State 1 at No. 17 Minnesota State 3
No. 18 Boston College (9-7-5)
01/20/2023 – Vermont 1 at No. 18 Boston College 1 (OT)
01/21/2023 – Vermont 3 at No. 18 Boston College 2
No. 19 UMass Lowell (14-9-1)
01/20/2023 – New Hampshire 2 at No. 19 UMass Lowell 6
01/21/2023 – No. 19 UMass Lowell 3 at New Hampshire 2 (OT)
No. 20 RIT (17-6-1)
01/20/2023 – No. 20 RIT 5 at Arizona State 1
01/21/2023 – No. 20 RIT 5 at Arizona State 3
RIT battled a game Arizona State squad in Tempe over the weekend and came away with a series sweep (photo: Sun Devil Athletics).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. ECAC foes hand losses to No. 1 Quinnipiac
In a highly anticipated matchup of ECAC heavyweights Friday night, No. 16 Cornell handed top-ranked Quinnipiac a 4-0 loss, snapping the Bobcats’ 17-game unbeaten streak
“We had a lot of belief in ourselves,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer, whose team went on to beat Princeton 3-2 the next night. “(Quinnipiac) is the gold standard for the league. You have to come ready to play in all aspects of your game.”
The next night, it was Colgate’s turn, as the Raiders earned their first win over a No. 1 team in 33 seasons, handing a Quinnipiac a 3-2 defeat.
“When I looked around our room after this game there were a lot of exhausted guys sitting there,” said Colgate coach Don Vaughan. “That’s what you are supposed to feel like after a game like that. (We) had a game plan and stuck to it. I’m proud of our guys. It’s a great win for our group.”
2. Michigan, Minnesota split OT contests at Mariucci
On back-to-back nights, 60 minutes of hockey failed to provide a winner when No. 8 Michigan and No. 2 Minnesota met on the Gopher’s home ice.
The Gophers were a 4-3 winner in 3-on-3 overtime on Friday night while the Wolverines returned the favor the next night, with Jacob Truscott scoring the game winner (and his second of the night 49 seconds into OT.
“Great for Truscott,” Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato told the Michigan Daily. “He’s got a lot of offense in him, and he’s starting to show it a lot more. But he’s defense first, so happy for him.”
3. No. 4 St. Cloud State sweeps No 3 Denver
About 90 minutes up the road from the Twin Cities, No. 4 St. Cloud State was taking care of its own business, handing a pair of losses to No. 3 and NCHC rival Denver, by scores of 7-3 and 2-0.
“I thought the team played great,” Huskies coach Brett Larson said. “We had to. Denver’s a great team. That was an NCHC battle.”
St. Cloud is now tied with Denver atop the NCHS standings at 10-4-0. The win was the Huskies’ sixth this season against an opponent in the top 3 of the USCHO.com D-I men’s poll.
4. Northeastern back to winning ways
Picked to finish first in the Hockey East preseason coaches’ poll, Northeastern had been mired in a slump, losing seven of eight between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day and falling out of the USCHO.com D-I men’s top-20 poll completely.
The Huskies now appear to be back on track. After an 8-4 New Year’s loss at then-No. 9 Harvard, Northeastern has allowed just five goals in four straight wins, all against ranked teams.
“To win against good teams, you gotta play 60 minutes,” said Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe following a 1-0 home win over No. 11 Merrimack on Saturday. “Twenty minutes wasn’t our best. Forty minutes wasn’t our best. We had to go out, we had to make a play. We had to lock it down.”
Devon Levi made 37 saves against Merrimack on Saturday.
5. Omaha’s Latkoczy continues to impress
Omaha freshman goalie Simon Latkoczy has won six of his last seven starts with a .952 save percentage during that stretch.
On Saturday, he made 21 saves in his team’s 2-0 win over Miami for his first collegiate shutout.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling, especially to get my first NCAA shutout,” Latkoczy told The Rink Live. “The guys made it way easier for me, so (credit) goes to them. We played great hockey.”
6. Minnesota State keeps things interesting in CCHA
The race for the top seed in the CCHA is in full swing with just five points separating the top three teams — unranked Bowling Green (37), No. 17 Minnesota State (35) and No. 14 Michigan Tech (32).
Minnesota State has won six straight, including a 3-2 (OT), 3-1 home sweep of Lake Superior State over the weekend.
“At this time of the year, garnering points in our league are going to be difficult,” Mavericks coach Mike Hastings said after Saturday’s win. “For us to get five of six from home, it’s not perfect, but tonight I thought (we got) significant contributions from people we needed to be.”
7. RIT sweeps Arizona State
No 20 RIT, sitting atop the Atlantic Hockey standings with a 13-2-1 league record, got a pair of non-conference wins at Arizona State over the weekend, taking wins of 5-1 and 5-3 from the Sun Devils.
Cody Laskosky had a pair of goals for RIT in Saturday’s win.
8. Vermont’s power play comes alive at BC
It’s been a season of struggle for Vermont, but the Catamounts had their program-best regular-season weekend at BC, earning five of six points with a shootout win (1-1 tie, 4-3) on Friday and a 3-2 win Saturday.
Vermont thrice scored on the power play in Saturday’s game and now has 13 power-play goals in its last 12 games.
9. Ohio State snaps skid
Behind 27 saves from Jakub Dobes, No. 7 Ohio State skated to a 2-0 win at Big Ten rival Wisconsin Saturday.
“This was a great win on the road,” Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik said. “Jakub played outstanding. Now we will regroup and get better over the next two weeks and be ready to go.”
The Buckeyes are off next weekend before a two-game home showdown vs. No. 6 Penn State Feb. 3-4.
10. Greene skates ‘One More Shift’ at UND
Former North Dakota captain Matt Greene, who went on to a pro career that included twice winning the Stanley Cup with the Kings, donned the North Dakota green and white Saturday night for a celebratory lap around Ralph Engelstad Arena before the Fighting Hawks’ game against Minnesota Duluth.
“I’m really honored to be here,” Greene told the Grand Forks Herald. “It’s a special place for me. Any time you get to represent the school and the team, it’s a huge honor for me.”
Team USA lined up to receive their silver medals at the World University Games in Lake Placid (Photo by Peter Lynch)
Team USA completed the men’s ice hockey tournament by doing something no other team representing the USA had done in the previous editions of the Winter World University Games, they played in the gold medal game and took home the silver medal finishing 5-2-0 in their seven games. They played a better Canadian team today who dominated from the opening puck drop and won gold with a decisive 7-2 win.
The first period was all Canada as they outshot the US by an 18-3 margin forcing goaltender Ryan Kenny (Stevenson) to make several outstanding saves. Canada broke the ice just over six minutes into the first period and followed that with a power play goal from Brett Davis for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
The US found their skating legs to start the second period and had some early chances that were turned away by Canadian goaltender Kai Ray Edmonds including a stellar blocker save to rob Matt Hanewall (MSOE) on a 2-on-1 early in the period. The Canadians extended their lead with two goals from Kyle Bollers and Zach Lavigne just over a minute apart midway through the second period for a 4-0 lead before Sam Ruffin (Adrian) got Team USA on the board with a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal set-up by Cooper Swift (Hobart) and Emmett Powell (Wesleyan). The momentum was short lived as Canada answered right back with a power play goal by Adam McCormick with just 12 seconds remaining in the period for a 5-1 lead after two periods of play.
There was absolutely no quit in the USA squad that came out in the third period to a raucous home crowd at Herb Brooks Arena. They pressed hard but were unable to get anything past Edmonds at equal strength or on several power plays until captain Brendan Mark (St. Norbert) sent a bomb from the top of the left face-off circle past Edmonds on a 5-on-3 advantage to make the score 5-2 with just under six minutes remaining in regulation.
Canada would close out the scoring with two more goals for the final of 7-2 outshooting the Americans by a 47-19 margin for the game. Ryan Kenny was outstanding with 40 saves for the game.
The silver medal was a first for Team USA in the World University Games and the roster comprised completely of players at the D-III level won Pool B with a 4-1 record; defeated Japan in the semifinals before losing to Canada in the championship game. It was a great tournament for Team USA and hopefully, a stepping stone for more D-III players in the future to have an opportunity to represent their country in an international tournament.
Hobart’s Luke Aquaro led Team USA in scoring and was third overall in the tournament with six goals and five assists for 11 points. Sam Ruffin was close behind with four goals and six assists for ten points.
“It was very special to be able to wear the USA colors and represent our country in this tournament,” said Ruffin. “It was hard playing those games at 9:30 in the morning but I thought we really came together as a team quickly and this is something that none of us will ever forget.”
Special thanks to the Team USA coaching staff and players for their time during the tournament as well as Peter Lynch who provided game pictures used in the recaps.
Northeastern’s Aidan McDonough (25) celebrates the only goal of the game as the Huskies completed a weekend sweep of No. 11 Merrimack, 1-0, to take over first place in Hockey East (Photo: Jim Pierce)
Aidan McDonough scored the game’s only goal with 92 seconds remaining in regulation as Northeastern finished a weekend sweep of No. 11 Merrimack, 1-0. The win gives the Huskies the top spot in the Hockey East standings.
The scene was likely all too familiar for the Warriors, which hasn’t beat Northeastern since 2019, but lost a similar game in the final game of the regular season a year ago, 1-0, on a McDonough goal in the waining seconds.
Saturday’s tally came a little earlier but was just as effective for the Huskies team that has now won four straight Hockey East games to jump to a point in front of Connecticut and Boston University, four clear of Merrimack.
Last year’s Richter Award winner Devon Levi was sharp all night, earning the shutout by making 37 saves.
Host Colgate rallied from two goals down nearly midway through the game and scored the final three goals, capped by Ben Raymond’s tally with 10:10 left in regulation to upset No. 1 Quinnipiac, 3-2.
It was the second straight loss for Quinnipiac, which fell on Friday to Cornell, after having lost just a single game all season.
Quinnipiac jumped to a 2-0 lead on a first period goal by Collin Graf and a second period tally by Christophe Fillion.
Ethan Manderville scored for Colgate at 9:47 of the middle frame to pull the hosts within a goal.
Ryan Maguire found the equalizer with 13:23 remaining, sit-in cup Raymond’s late-game heroics.
No. 4 St. Cloud State 2, No. 3 Denver 0
Host St. Cloud State potted two goals in less then three minutes in the middle frame and got a 19-save shutout from goaltender Jaxon Castor as the Huskies completed a critical weekend sweep of No. 3 Denver, 2-0.
St. Cloud State pulls into a tie with the Pioneers for the top spot in the NCHC, two points ahead of Omaha and four ahead of Western Michigan.
Jack Rogers goal at 7:32 of the second was all the Huskies needed for the victory, but Zack Okabe netted his 15th of the season on the power play just 2:54 later.
The Huskies remanned disciplined the entire night, allowing the potent Denver offense just a single power play in the first period.
No. 8 Michigan 5, No. 2 Minnesota 4 (OT)
Jacob Truscott scored the game-winning goal as Michigan exacted revenge for a similar overtime defeat on Friday, knocking off host Minnesota, 5-4 in overtime, to split a weekend series with the Gophers.
Minnesota won a similar thriller a night earlier, 4-3 in overtime.
Michigan held leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3, but for the second straight night, Minnesota found the late equalizer late in regulation.
Thanks to results around the Big Ten, Minnesota remains 10 points ahead of both Ohio State and Penn State, which Michigan’s three-point weekend leaves the Wolverines in sixth place, though easily in striking distance of a home-ice spot in the Big Ten playoffs.
Atlantic Hockey announced Saturday two one-game suspensions for two players after Friday night games.
AIC forward Aaron Grounds has been suspended for his major penalty and game misconduct for hitting from behind, which occurred at the 17:28 mark of the first period at Mercyhurst. Upon review, the infraction was deemed to warrant a suspension.
AIC’s next scheduled game is Jan. 21 at Mercyhurst. Grounds is eligible to return for the Yellow Jackets’ Feb. 2 home game with Sacred Heart.
Air Force forward Mason McCormick’s suspension is a result of McCormick’s penalty for cross checking, which occurred at the 18:41 mark of the third period in Air Force’s home game against Niagara. Upon review, the infraction was deemed to warrant a suspension.
Air Force’s next scheduled game is Jan. 21 against Niagara. McCormick is eligible to return for the Falcons’ Jan. 27 game at Army West Point.
Hockey East announced Saturday a pair of one-game suspensions from the Boston College-Vermont game played Friday night.
Boston College junior forward Trevor Kuntar has been suspended for one game stemming from a minor cross checking penalty at 19:42 of the third period.
Kuntar will miss the game on Saturday against the Catamounts and will be eligible to return to the Eagles’ lineup on Jan. 27 at Boston University.
In addition, Vermont graduate student defenseman Robbie Stucker has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 5:45 of the first period. On the play, Stucker was given a five-minute major for cross checking and a game misconduct.
Stucker will miss the game on Saturday night at Boston College and will be eligible to return to the Catamounts’ lineup on Jan. 27 against Merrimack.
Team USA celebrate Sam Ruffin’s overtime goal that defeated Japan, 4-3 in the World University Games semifinals – earning the US a spot in the gold medal game for the first time (Photo by Peter Lynch)
Playing for the first time in Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid during these World University Games, Team USA defeated Japan, 4-3 on an overtime goal from Sam Ruffin (Adrian) to send the US to the gold medal game against either Canada or Kazakhstan on Sunday.
The first period saw both teams playing aggressively with the USA taking an early two goal lead on tallies from Austin Master (Stevenson) and a shorthanded goal by Luke Aquaro (Hobart). Japan would answer back on the power play as the USA got into a 5-on-3 situation and the Japan team’s crisp movement of the puck netted a pair of extra-man goals to tie the game at 2-2. Just before the end of the period, the USA had some sustained pressure in the Japan end and defenseman Brendan Marks fired a rising wrist shot from the point that eluded a screened goaltender Eiki Sato, high on the blocker side for a goal with just 13 seconds remaining in the period and a 3-2 Team USA lead.
Both teams tightened up defensively in the second period and despite some good chances on both ends Sato and Team USA’s Ryan Kenny (Stevenson) kept the score at 3-2 after forty minutes of play.
In the third period, the US team carried the play and extended their shot advantage but could not take advantage of their power play opportunities leaving an opening for Japan which they cashed in on a power play with a goal from Riosuke Miura that deflected off a USA player past Kenny tie the game at 3-3 with just over ten minutes remaining in regulation time. Neither team could score in the remaining time left in the third period as both goaltenders came up with some key saves. Team USA would finish with a commanding 49-23 shot advantage, but the game would extend to a 10-minute, 3-on-3 overtime period to decide a winner.
In the extra session, Team USA was dominant in puck possession and created a couple of early chances before Jack Jaunich (Aurora) tapped a loose puck from the top of the crease back to Sam Ruffin (Adrian) in the slot where he toe-dragged to his left and fired a rising shot past Sato’s glove at the far post for the overtime winner.
Team USA will be playing in the gold medal game for the first time in tournament history and looking for their first medal since 1972 when they took home a bronze medal in the tournament that only fielded three-teams. They await the winner of today’s Canada v. Kazakhstan (January 21 at 1 PM EST) game to play in the gold medal game at 5 PM EST on Sunday, January 22. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Cornell players celebrate one of their four goals Friday night in blanking No. 1 Quinnipiac (photo: Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics).
Top-ranked Quinnipiac saw its eight-game winning streak and 17-game unbeaten stretch come to an end on Friday night, falling to No. 16 Cornell 4-0 at Lynah Rink. It was also the Bobcats’ first ECAC Hockey loss of the season.
Ben Berard, Dalton Bancroft, Jack O’Leary and Ondrej Psenicka scored for the Big Red with Ian Shane stopping all 21 shots he faced. Sam Malinski chipped in two assists.
“We had a lot of belief in ourselves,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer. “[Quinnipiac] is the gold standard for the league. You have to come ready to play in all aspects of your game. I thought our guys took a step from BU to tonight. They were detail-oriented, followed through in the third period, didn’t have many breakdowns. I thought we followed the game plan offensively.”
Yaniv Perets played the first 46:50 for the Bobcats and made 18 saves on 21 shots before Chase Clark came in for the final 13:10 and stopped two of three shots.
The Big Red penalty kill, which entered the night ranked 10th nationally, killed off three Quinnipiac power plays in the first 20-plus minutes, yielding just one shot on goal while down one player.
“They did a good job of blocking shots, getting good clears, and good ‘PK’ forechecks,” Schafer said.
— St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (@SCSUHuskies_MH) January 21, 2023
Jack Rogers and Veeti Miettinen also potted goals for SCSU and Josh Luedtke and Dylan Anhorn each tacked on two assists.
For DU, Magnus Chrona stopped 24 of 30 shots in 51:56 before giving way to Matt Davis, who turned aside both shots he faced in 6:02.
“It was a tough game,” DU coach David Carle said. “Obviously, it went a little sideways on us, and I think that is the lesson. Against really good hockey teams, you have to play a full 60 minutes. That’s the great part about playing teams like this in our league — you get pushed in different ways and you get challenged and this will make us better.
“That’s the reality, and we’ll get another opportunity tomorrow night.”
Carter King, Jack Devine and Brett Edwards registered Denver’s goals.
Notre Dame 2, No. 6 Penn State 1
Ryder Rolston’s power-play goal 2:12 into the third period proved to be the game winner as the Irish edged Penn State 2-1 at Pegula Ice Arena.
Per 3 | 4:09 to play. Irish still up 2-1 thanks to this goal from @Ryder__11.
Chayse Primeau also scored for Notre Dame, Justin Janicke assisted on both, and Ryan Bischel made 52 saves in the Irish cage.
Danny Dzhaniyev netted the Nittany Lions’ lone goal and Liam Souliere kicked out 22 shots in goal in suffering the defeat.
Wisconsin 4, No. 7 Ohio State 0
Wisconsin shut out the seventh-ranked Buckeyes 4-0 at the Kohl Center Friday night.
After Luke LaMaster gave Wisconsin a 1-0 lead in the second period, the Badgers capitalized on their momentum in the final stretch, netting three goals in the third period for a 4-0 victory.
🚨 Luke LaMaster finds his first career goal off the face off!
Jack Gorniak, Tyson Jugnauth and Cruz Lucius scored the last three goals for the Badgers while Jared Moe made 22 saves for the win in net.
For Ohio State, Jakub Dobeš finished with 30 saves in getting the loss between the pipes.
No. 5 Boston University 5, Maine 1
Five different Terriers lit the lamp and Drew Commesso stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced as BU defeated Maine 5-1 Friday night at Agganis Arena.
Boston University scored twice within the first 4:05 and never looked back, eventually taking a 4-0 lead midway through the second period and adding a fifth goal in the final frame.
Matt Brown became the first Terrier to reach double digits in goals, with his 10th goal of the season proving to be the game winner. He also added an assist to join Lane Hutson (two assists) as Terriers with multiple points.
Luke Tuch, Nick Zabaneh, Jay O’Brien and Devin Kaplan also scored for BU.
The Terriers’ 16-6-0 record is their highest win total through 22 games since they began the 2008-09 campaign at 16-5-1.
Cole Hanson netted the Black Bears’ goal and Victor Ostman collected 28 saves for Maine.
No. 14 Michigan Tech 1, Ferris State 0
Michigan Tech shut out Ferris State 1-0 Friday night on the road at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
Blake Pietila extended his nation-leading shutout mark to six and his school-record career shutout mark to 16 while winning his 50th career game making 21 saves.
“I liked our game from the goaltender on out,” MTU coach Joe Shawhan said. “This isn’t an easy place to win in. Everybody played well and we transitioned the puck well and played fast. We didn’t score on the power play but we got quality chances. Their goaltender (Noah Giesbrecht) was outstanding.”
Kyle Kukkonen scored the game’s only goal at 19:48 of the opening period.
Giesbrecht made 33 saves for the Bulldogs.
No. 20 RIT 5, Arizona State 1
Carter Wilkie had a goal and two assists and Caleb Moretz a goal and a helper to guide RIT to a 5-1 win over the Sun Devils at Mullett Arena Friday night.
Spencer Berry posted two assists and Tyler Mahan, Tanner Andrew and Simon Isabelle also scored for the Tigers.
In goal, Tommy Scarfone finished with 24 stops for the win.
Teddy Lagerback ruined Scarfone’s shutout bid with a power-play goal at 18:45 of the third period.
TJ Semptimphelter made nine saves on 12 shots before being pulled at 6:07 of the second period and Ben Kraws went the rest of the way in goal for ASU, stopping 17 of 19 shots.
Northeastern 5, No. 11 Merrimack 1
Five different players scored for Northeastern in the Huskies’ 5-1 win over Merrimack Friday night at Lawler Arena.
Sam Colangelo, Matt Choupani, Aidan McDonough, Justin Hryckowian and Liam Walsh found the back of the net. McDonough, Hryckowian and Colangelo had assists for multi-point games, and Jayden Struble and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine each tallied two helper.
Devon Levi collected 33 saves in the Northeastern net while Hugo Ollas stopped 23 for the Warriors.
Merrimack got back into the win column last Saturday night at Lawler Rink with a 3-0 victory Providence, powered by a Hugo Ollas 35-save shutout (photo: Merrimack Athletics).
As the season wears on, each year you see more and more short lines – game where the books are cautious to even pick a favorite and neither team in a matchup is a heavy favorite or underdog. That makes finding value in and of your wagers near impossible.
Each week, though, it seems like there is one upset that is primed to hit. Last week it was Ohio State (+135) over Michigan on Friday, a game that was never close, a 7-2 final.
This week, it could be Michigan (+130) or Colorado College (+165). If you think it would be possible both teams could win, a two-team parlay would be worth it. A $100 bet parlaying both of these games would pay $509.50 should both teams win. A risk, yes. But the best value you can earn.
Maybe you feel strongly about one of these games and can find another to parlay with it. Even if you grab, say, St. Cloud State at home (-125) with Colorado College, a successful parlay would net $377 (on a $100 bet).
That’s the value you need to look for this time of year.
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:
No. 12 Connecticut (+105) at Massachusetts (-135); o/u 5.5
Here are two teams looking to get back on track. UConn has lost its last two and 4-of-6. UMass has lost three in a row and 5-of-7. Something has to break.
UMass seems to be drawing the favorite status based almost solely on home ice. But that shouldn’t preclude UConn from having a shot. UMass has five home losses this season, while UConn has a 5-3-1 record on the road.
Goaltending is likely the most important factor in this game especially for UMass which is averaging near four goals against in its last four losses, but has allowed just a goal per game in its last four wins.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
Northeastern (+100) at No. 11 Merrimack (-130); o/u 5.5
This series has similarities to UMass and UConn as both teams have had difficult moments since returning from break. the exception is Northeastern’s two victories over UConn over the last two weekends.
Merrimack, itself, did earn a 3-0 win over Providence last Saturday after getting thumped by the same Friars team, 8-3, a night earlier.
The Warriors get the benefit of home ice on the money line, a slight favorite, which is appropriate looking at long-term results (Merrimack is 18-10-2 at home over the last two seasons), though short terms not been as strong (Merrimack is 1-3-1 in its last 5 at home).
One of the best matchups of the weekend, Minnesota seems like a little too heavy of a favorite against a Michigan team that a week ago was a -160 favorite against Ohio State. But the bookmakers are showing their strong preference for the Gophers right now, who are 8-1-1 in their last 10.
There is also recent history as Minnesota earned two road wins (5-2 and 6-3) at Michigan back in November. But both teams at that time were fighting both illness and injury so the results may not have been completely indicative of the ability of each team.
Still, the USCHO staff picks heavily favor the host Gophers.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
No. 3 Denver (-105) at No. 4 St. Cloud State (-125); o/u 6
This weekend’s heavyweight series in the NCHC gives us another rematch. On the first weekend of November, St. Cloud State rallied on back-to-back nights in Denver, winning in overtime on Friday before falling in the second game, 3-2.
This is probably the slimmest of margins two teams can produce when facing one another and the line makers agree, giving each team a minus money line. Even the over/under here seems perfectly set at 6. The teams scored 7 and 5 goals, respectfully, in November.
The best bet on this series may be staying away. There’s so little value and it’s difficult to find an edge between these teams.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
No. 10 Western Michigan (-205) at Colorado College (+165); o/u 6.5
The Broncos offense has become an absolute juggernaut, averaging 6.75 goals per game since returning from break. But the Broncos aren’t immune to be stifled.
In the three games before break, that same offense scored just three goals in three games earning two losses and a tie against Omaha and North Dakota. But we set lines and bet on recent trends. Hence the -205 favorite.
Colorado College has been more consistent in goals allowed. Over the last 28 days, both goaltenders – Kaiden Mbereko and Jake Begley – have goals against averages between 2 and 2.5 for the last month. And lest we forget CC’s upset of St. Cloud State on the road last Friday.
USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly, Dan Rubin, and Ed Trefzger pick out five games among top 20 D-I college hockey teams, looking at money lines and over/under as well as a further analysis of the matchups.
This week’s games:
• UConn (+105) at Massachusetts (-135); o/u 5.5
• Northeastern (+100) at Merrimack (-130); o/u 5.5
• Michigan (+130) at Minnesota (-160); o/u 6.5
• Denver (-105) at St. Cloud State (-125); o/u 6
• Western Michigan (-205) at Colorado College (+165); o/u 6.5
This college hockey podcast is sponsored by the NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four, April 6th and 8th, 2023 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Secure your seats at NCAA.com/mfrozenfour
