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:
• Boston College (+185) at Boston University (-230); o/u 6.5
• Massachusetts (+145) at UMass Lowell (-165); o/u 5.5
• Penn State (+130) at Michigan (-160); o/u 6.5
• Omaha (+175) at Western Michigan (-215) ; o/u 6.5
• St. Cloud State (-175) at Minnesota Duluth (+140); o/u 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
Elmira is now 14-5-0 and has won their last five games, two vs ranked opponents (Photo by Doug Page – Elmira Athletics)
Can’t believe we’re already at the conclusion of week 12 and about to begin week 13 of the hockey season (weeks in terms of playing weeks, not overall). We’re starting to see some teams catching fire, whilst others fading as of late. It’s not always about how you start, but how you finish, as ultimately the conference tournament can earn you a bid whether you performed well during the regular season or not.
Elmira figuring it out?
Elmira has been a fascinating story this season, starting off a hot 7-0-0, winning all but one via shutout. They then hit the nucleus of their schedule, facing six ranked teams in their next eight games, five of those games being a top-7 ranked opponent. They went 1-5 during that stretch, including a 7-0 loss to Plattsburgh and a 6-0 loss to Norwich (both consolation tournament games). It looked like their season was taking a wrong turn until as of late, they’ve strung some good wins together. The Soaring Eagles have won their last five games, including wins over #7 Norwich (3-2) & #12 Nazareth (3-2 OT) to improve their record to 14-5-0 on the season (#12 in pairwise).
Head Coach Jake Bobrowski talked about some of his team’s struggles in the first half especially versus ranked opponents and how the team has come around as of late: “I think there were a lot of things going on in the first half. Travel schedules, injury & illness, we didn’t say much about it publicly, but we had a ton of adversity to overcome. I think an example is when we lose 7-0 to Plattsburgh and then the next time it’s an overtime game. We had our lineup back healthy and prepared. I think that’s who we are when we’re healthy and locked in; we can play with anyone.”
Coach Bobrowski then added: “I think a continuation of health and hard work and maybe finally some puck luck. We are healthier and hopefully we can peak at the right time. Every game will be a battle, we know that.”
Elmira’s next games are this weekend 1/27-1/28 on the road vs Johnson & Wales on Friday and then UMass-Boston on Saturday.
A fun Tuesday night
#7 Hamilton (12-3-0) visited #13 Utica (14-1-1) on Tuesday, January 24th for a midweek game that preseason may have been circled by each team, especially Utica, but it turned out to have higher implications than originally thought. Hamilton entered the game with a lot of tough tests behind them, most tests they passed with flying colors (ranked opponents), whilst Utica was a mystery to many. I’ve been high on Utica and was in the preseason, I still feel as though #13 for them is too low, we’ll see if they move up at all, but this team is different to me and will show everyone once the UCHC playoffs begin, possibly getting over that final hump of Nazareth that’s been in the way.
Utica’s Angela Hawthorne made 52 saves in the 2-2 tie vs #7 Hamilton College on Tuesday 1/24/23 (Photo by Kayleigh Sturtevant – Utica Athletics)
This game was even on the scoreboard, but by no means even on the stat sheet. Hamilton jumped out to a 2-0 lead after scoring a quick pair of goals in the 2nd period that were 44 seconds apart, 11:09 & 11:53. Utica would answer however with a quick pair of their own similar to Hamilton’s in the 3rd period. The Pioneers scored a powerplay goal at the 3:31 mark and then just 34 seconds later they scored the even strength tying goal to eventually send the game to overtime, which ended with a 2-2 tie.
The statistical landslide was in favor of the Continentals of Hamilton, outshooting Utica 54-11 and only committing three penalties to Utica’s six. The difference was Utica goaltender Angela Hawthorne, who’s having an outstanding year so far, making 52 saves on the 54 shots she faced and kept the game within reach for her team.
Utica is now unbeaten in their last 16 games (14-0-2) after they also swept Manhattanville 4-0 & 3-1 over this past weekend. Their next games are this weekend on the road at Neumann on 1/27-28 and 4pm/2pm.
A look at pairwise
As mentioned before multiple times, this time of year is when pairwise becomes the end all be all especially in women’s hockey. Unlike the men’s side, where the committee seems to take into consideration other factors at times, you might as well call the pairwise ranking the bible of the women’s tournament. Consistently, we’ve seen the difference between the last at-large bid team and the first team left out, to be as little as one tenth, hundredth, or even thousandth of a percentage point.
Looking back at last season, we saw Colby receive the last at-large bid over Cortland, now there’s a fair argument to be made for both teams to get in, but Colby held on to the last spot by around a hundredth of a point or so ahead of Cortland. The way these two teams finished the season is the main sign that nearly proves pairwise is the bible of the women’s selections, Colby was 16-6-1, Cortland was 18-6-1. Colby ended the season 1-3-1 in their last five games and lost in the NESCAC semifinal, granted, to #3 Amherst, but they finished the season below-par. Cortland on the other hand, was 3-2 in their last five games and took Plattsburgh to overtime and lost 4-3 in the NEWHL championship. Obviously, there’s room for debate on either side of the isle, but regardless of your opinion, situations like this have shown more and more that pairwise is the end all be all for women’s D-III hockey whether we like it that way or not.
Other Notable Results
#3 Plattsburgh defeated Canton 1-0 & Williams 2-1.
King’s will be wearing a special jersey on Friday night against Alvernia to support fundraising for Huntington’s disease – a cause spearheaded by sophomore forward Jack Cooper (Photo by King’s College Athletics)
While the hockey world has long been known for its great philanthropy and support of many diverse charitable endeavors, a close connection to a cause always brings a clearer focus and engagement. Sophomore Jack Cooper at King’s College will be front and center when the hockey team hosts their Huntington’s Disease Awareness Night on Friday in a game against Alvernia. As the primary organizer and sponsor for this year’s fundraising event, Cooper is looking to shine light on the incurable disease that took the lives of both his grandfather and, last spring, his mother Carrie. With a 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene that causes the rare brain disease, Cooper wants to raise awareness and needed funds for research that may someday find a cure.
“We are all so immensely proud and supportive of Jack,” noted head coach Tom Seravalli. “This is very personal for him and while he kept a lot of things close last spring when his mother passed, he is trying to make a positive out of this so that monies can go to research for a cure and awareness can open a dialogue on this particular disease. He has persevered through a lot over the past year and has such a positive, glass half-full attitude, that is driving him to make sure this game garners the awareness and response it deserves for the many diagnosed as well as those living with the possibility of having inherited the gene that causes HD.”
Huntington’s disease causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It deteriorates a person’s physical and mental abilities, usually during their prime working years and is ultimately fatal. The symptoms of HD are often described as having ALS, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases. – simultaneously.
“Last year we did a prostate cancer game which was a big motivator for me,” said Cooper. “ We raised about $8K and I saw how even at a small school we can make a significant difference. We want to find a cure for the over 200,000 persons that may be carrying the genes and worried about passing it on to future generations. I don’t want young people to have to worry about their future children. Right now, I don’t really want to know if I have it. I am focused on one day at a time and making the most of the opportunity on Friday night with the great support we have received through donations, auction items and everything around the event. I even got as call from Brad Shaw with the Philadelphia Flyers who donated half a dozen signed sticks, a signed Cart Hart jersey and other items for our auction. I am not really an event planner, but it is coming together great, and I hope we can raise a lot of money for the HD organization.”
While the most important fight is off the ice with HD, the game on Friday is one that Cooper really wants to play in and play well for the cause. Injured in December in a game with Arcadia, Cooper’s rehab has him close to a return to the ice but whether he plays or not, he plans to be everywhere in the rink supporting the fundraising and information sharing with the support of his father and sister on Friday night.
“We are going to present Jack with his MAC Rookie of the Year award before the game and have Jack and his family drop the ceremonial face-off,” said Seravalli. “Jack and teammate Tyler Blanchard designed the jerseys we will wear and later auction off for HD. They are really great looking and really capture the sentiment of the night with the “Join the Hunt” and “Care2Cure” slogans built into the stripes in our red and gold color scheme. I am so impressed with all Jack has done for this game and have no doubt it will be a big success in starting more for the HDSA and all those impacted by the disease.”
“We are grateful for families like Jack’s who are willing to share their story and support the Huntington’s Disease Society of America in the fight against the disease,” said Louise Vetter, President & CEO of the HDSA. “Thank you Jack, Coach Seravalli and the King’s College Athletic Department for coordinating HD Awareness Night to generate much needed funds and awareness to help families affected by this devastating brain disease.”
While Coach Seravalli would very much like to see Cooper’s offense in the game, the Monarchs will be looking to take down the Golden Wolves for their third UCHC win of the campaign and second win on home ice in the opener of the two-game series.
“Of course I will be cheering the guys on if I am not on the ice,” stated Cooper. “There will be plenty to do with the 50/50 raffle, auction and raffle prizes and Chuck-A-Puck sales that I will be engaged with during the night. I wear a bracelet with the Care2Cure slogan on it and my mom’s initials were CC – I am looking for a lot of hope towards a cure to come out of the event as the big winner Friday night – and it would be nice if we won on the ice too.”
The link to support the event on Friday is www.HDSA.org/kingshockey
Thanks to Christopher Cosentino from the HDSA for information on the disease.
Carl Berglund has eight goals and 20 points this season for the River Hawks (photo: UMass Lowell Athletics).
There were plenty of celebratory hoots and hollers coming from the UMass Lowell locker room last Saturday night in the immediate aftermath of its most recent game.
It’s safe to say the River Hawks were happy about more than just a 3-2 overtime win at New Hampshire. With four wins in their last five games, Lowell is back on track after a two-game home sweep at the hands of Alaska Anchorage on New Year’s weekend.
The two losses to the Seawolves dropped Lowell to 10-8-1 and to what coach Norm Bazin said was a “low point” for his River Hawks.
“I wasn’t very happy with our conditioning,” Bazin said. “Since then, I feel that we’re maturing as a team, as a group. I like the way we’re trending.”
Lowell now stands at 14-9-1 overall and is right in the middle of the league standings at No. 6 with an 8-5-1 mark. They now sit at No. 18 in the latest USCHO.com men’s D-I poll.
The River Hawks’ recent good fortune has seen them outscore opponents by an 18-12 margin in five games. Their only loss so far in 2023 was a 5-3 setback at Maine on Jan. 14, part of a weekend split in Orono. The overtime win over UNH on Saturday was part of a 5-point weekend against the Wildcats, having won 6-2 the previous night at the Tsongas Center.
“We’re happy to be able to get those Hockey East points,” said River Hawks senior forward (and alternate captain) Zach Kaiser. “We had a little bit of a lull after Christmas, but to get the sweep (over UNH) is huge.”
It hasn’t hurt the River Hawks to have on hand two of the best goalies in the league. Both Henry Welsch and Gustavs Grigals are in the top five leaguewide in both goals-against average (Welsch 1.57 for No. 1, Grigals 1.96 for fourth) and save percentage (Welsch .939 for No. 2, Grigals right behind at No. 3 with .935). Each have started exactly 12 games — Grigals is 8-5 while Welsch is 6-4.
“I’ve got a luxury of starting either one, and the guys believe in both,” said Bazin, who also noted he’s bullish on both starting goalies’ pro prospects. “So far, it’s been working.”
Helping the River Hawks out defensively has been sophomore Isac Jonsson. The Swede was named Hockey East defender of the week with two goals and two assists against UNH in the weekend sweep. Offensively, senior forward Carl Burglund leads Lowell in scoring with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists).
The River Hawks’ next four opponents are all unranked — UMass, Boston College, UNH and Maine — before a home-and-home against current No. 17 Providence the weekend of Feb. 17. Bazin doesn’t expect things to be easy for his team the rest of the way.
“As everyone knows, every Hockey East weekend is a new battle,” he said. “There’s nobody that’s easy. It’s tough in Hockey East. I don’t care who you’re playing. To have a sweep in Hockey East is extraordinarily hard. That’s why I’m proud of the guys.”
If the winning trend continues, expect to hear a lot more noise coming from the Lowell locker room.
“You heard us coming through here — guys were pumped up, feeling good,” Kaiser said. “There’s a lot of urgency — guys buying in, doing the right thing, having fun with it, having confidence and keep pushing it.”
Union hopes scenes like this will be aplenty this weekend against RPI (photo: Michael Mason).
This weekend marks the return of several historic rivalries throughout the college hockey landscape.
In nearly every league, a major matchup dots the schedule with a rare confluence of games, and it feels as if fans got together and circled a collective date for the weekend series between Boston College and Boston University, Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech, Air Force and Army, or UMass and UMass Lowell. Even newer matchups like those offered in the Connecticut Ice tournament are on the docket, and anyone willing to stay up late can watch Alaska play Alaska Anchorage in the Governor’s Cup.
In ECAC, the Cornell-Harvard game on Saturday night is likely to take center stage from a conference docket that includes the North Country rivalry between Clarkson and St. Lawrence, but they might pale compared to the Mayor’s Cup matchup between Union and Rensselaer, a game so intense, it’s a non-league matchup offering a third game between the two teams situated in New York’s Capital District.
“There are obviously ups and downs to any season, but for us, there have been some real highs and lows,” said Union coach Josh Hauge. “You look at some of the games that maybe got away from us, and I probably could have done a better job managing those situations, but then there are some really nice wins. To be able to push back and get to .500 in out-of-conference play [coming into this weekend] was huge for us with the start we had, so overall it’s been a lot of fun with a lot of different challenges.”
This weekend is Hauge’s first trip into the Mayor’s Cup matchup, but he’s far from a stranger to the matchup between Union and RPI after the teams split their conference matchup in late October. That series shifted between the two programs with the home team winning each side, and Union rallied to post a 6-0 shutout one night after losing 2-1 in nearby Troy.
It was Union’s 44th overall win in the rivalry and came within a goal of tying the program’s largest margin of victory over RPI that was set during the first-ever matchup in 1924 (though the largest win overall still belongs to the Engineers), but it further laid a rubber match foundation for when Saturday’s third game shifts to MVP Arena in Downtown Albany.
The win was his first ECAC conference victory and preceded a win at Clarkson that rocketed Union into the front of the league’s early run, and though the Dutchmen largely avoided a major downturn of results for most of the first half, Saturday’s non-conference game gives them an opportunity to continue last week’s bounce back from a conference winless streak that stretched through much of January.
With a seven-game winless streak in ECAC games in hand, Union broke out by beating St. Lawrence, 3-2, to gain three points and pull within one game’s work of Brown’s two-point advantage for the last home slot in the first round of the postseason.
“Our biggest challenge has just been our consistency,” Hauge said. “For the most part, there have been three first-year defensemen that have played every single night, or we’ve had three first-year defensemen in the lineup every night. Mason Snell didn’t play last year as a transfer, so some guys that hadn’t seen a ton of minutes are now getting a ton [of time] for us.
“It’s hard to win in college hockey, and the level that you have to compete with on every night, our guys are always working hard. That’s never been an issue.”
The performances are within the realm of expectations for a program that finished last year on the rocky road that began with the saga surrounding then-head coach Rick Bennett. The well-documented drama resulted in his resignation following a midweek win over Dartmouth, and three days after he left the program, Union defeated RPI in the Mayor’s Cup with a 2-0 win at MVP Arena in Albany.
The team only won three of its nine final regular season matchups, though it was still enough to finish in seventh and host Princeton in the first round of the postseason. After a two-game split, Union pushed Clarkson, one of the conference’s strongest teams, to two bitterly-fought overtime games before the season ended with a sweep loss to the Golden Knights in the quarterfinals.
Hauge was an assistant coach for Clarkson during that run, but the meeting between the two clubs incidentally drew a bridge for Casey Jones’ longtime lieutenant to join Union as its next head coach. He was hired in April, less than a week after the Frozen Four concluded, and he spent the next months moving himself southeast to the Albany area while simultaneously reconstructing an emotionally-drained program.
“You want to blend the roster as much as you can [as a new coach],” he said. “We brought in a lot of players, but I never wanted it to feel like there were my players and the guys that were returning. Everyone is our player, and they were all part of our family, and we wanted this team to be a place that was a welcome place for anyone putting on the jersey. If they were putting on the Union jersey, they were valued, whether they were in the lineup or not and whether they were ‘my recruit’ or not.”
That level of stabilization was always going to include some bumps, but many of those feelings could easily vanish if the Dutchmen claim another Mayor’s Cup trophy win. The matchup itself won’t count towards the ECAC standings, but the big game feel of playing on neutral ice in Albany can’t be discounted in a series that lays claim to the oldest days of college hockey.
“I knew what the atmosphere was like at Union, and I knew how hard of a place it was to play,” Hauge said. “Other than that, I knew you could win here because they’d done it before, and with all of the excitement around the program, it was the perfect storm to throw everything into [coming here]. Luckily enough, I was given the opportunity with the potential [of the program]. Everything was kind of building, and I thought it was a great opportunity.”
The Mayor’s Cup game between Union and RPI is scheduled for Saturday night at 6 p.m. from the MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.
I spent the last two weeks in Sweden for the 2023 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships. I’ve always had an interest in this tournament, but having the chance to cover the 2022 tournament in Madison really drove home for me how closely tied it is to what I do covering the college game. I was already trying to find a way to make going to Sweden feasible before the 2022 tournament was even finished.
I had been among the people disappointed and loudly upset with poor streams for past iterations of the tournament, but hadn’t really committed to covering the games or the players in a meaningful way before last summer. With the tournament happening 6-9 hours ahead of most North American time zones and the broadcasts in the US only on the NHL Network, the games were broadcast in better quality, but weren’t necessarily more accessible than they had been in the past, making my feel it was even more important to be on site, telling the teams’ stories.
I learned a lot, but there were a couple of things relevant to college hockey that I wanted to make sure to share.
Holding the 2022 tournament at the University of Wisconsin in Madison renewed interest in the NCAA from non-North American players.
For some country’s players, playing in the NCAA has never been more popular. But for others, access to high level women’s leagues at home has given them more options. Add in the pandemic that kept international travel and college visits, European camps and international scouting trips from the universities at a minimum and the NCAA path wasn’t as much of a focus or priority for many players.
Seeing Wisconsin’s facilities and experiencing what it can be like to play in that environment rekindled interest in the American college path for many who played in the 2022 tournament, I was told by one team official. Many of the teenagers weren’t aware of the level of support collegiate students get beyond just coaches and ice time and the tournament encouraged them to do more research into schools across the country. It wasn’t just that they decided they wanted to end up in Madison. They understood that every school has different amenities and facilities and that there are 40 other programs at just the DI level that might be a good fit for them.
For many of the players on teams other than the US and Canada, they are still a year or more out from making a decision, so there weren’t any current commits reported to me by team reps from Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Switzerland, Slovakia and Japan.
Social media impact
Younger European players who hope to play in America already have their favorite and preferred schools and while some of that has to do with national championships won, it also has to do with which players went to that school. It seems to matter less what the programs themselves are putting on instagram and tik tok and more what kind of content, personality and access international players have that allows the younger players to connect with them. The teenagers are attracted to certain schools because the players they know went there. It matters to them that the players are personable and charismatic and that makes the teenagers want to follow in their footsteps, including attending the same school.
Experience matters
This is obvious, but in this case, I don’t mean this in the traditional sense. I feel like one of the big takeaways I have from attending this tournament twice in the last six months is how important it is to have current and former women’s hockey players on the coaching staff who have been in these players’ skates and who can speak with authority on how to handle themselves, particularly in the toughest situations.
I’m not saying those will be the only successful coaches, but I do think there’s no better way to recapture a locker room and demand attention than to be someone those players have watched growing up. The respect has already been earned. And when those coaches talk, their words hold extra weight. These are teenagers, most of whom are playing in their first major international tournament. Coaches have a limited amount of time to really create a team and get them to buy in. The cache former players have puts them a few steps ahead, I think. Not only have those coaches paved the way on the ice, but they’ve stuck around to continue to help push the sport forward.
We need another tier of competition
I’m open to it being U20 or U22 or something else entirely, but watching this tournament made me think about the players I watched six months ago that didn’t head into the NCAA and didn’t make the leap to their senior national team. I was thinking of late blooming players who don’t reach their peak until their 20’s or even after college. There’s this massive gap between U18s and senior national teams and we are losing talented players and the opportunity to add depth to program’s across the world.
There has to be a better way
Folks outside of Sweden may have heard of TV-Pucken, their national tournament for U16 teams representing 24 districts around the country. I learned that TV-Pucken is sometimes the beginning, but more often the end of career aspirations for teenagers across the country. Making your region’s TV-Pucken team (or not) can dictate what club and international opportunities a player gets, as well as which high school they get into (and there are hockey development high schools). That means a player must stand out at 15 or so years old or risk being left out of any chance to play for Sweden or in one of the domestic leagues.
In a country where the head of the Federation has talked about the need for better support and development of girls hockey across Sweden, it is crazy to expect that a girl who has little access to top tier coaching and competition should be able to stand out enough to make their region’s TV-Pucken team (particularly in crowded Stockholm) before they’re in high school and if they don’t, the question of whether they made the TV-Pucken team will follow them on every avenue they try to utilize to keep playing and improving in the future.
More stats
I don’t know why, but official IIHF stats at this tournament do not keep track of blocks and it frustrates me to no end. The way players laid out (particularly Finland and Sweden in the semifinal games) and sold out to keep their team in a game was such an important story line and I wish I had the numbers to back me up. Yes, I could try and track it myself, but I shouldn’t have to. I had a suboptimal gameday experience as working press trying to cover each game and finding time (and space) to do my own stats feels laughable at best.
I just wish folks (federations, programs, governing bodies…) didn’t make it so damn hard to cover women’s hockey.
A son of the great state of Wisconsin, the senior director of sports administration for the Big Ten is of course pleased with what he’s seeing from B1G hockey this season, but his Midwestern sensibilities add a dose of slow-your-roll when discussing any bigger picture.
“While it’s nice that we’re talking in January about having all of these teams in great positions and how the league looks stronger than perhaps it ever has,” said Augustine. “It’s still only January, and everybody here would be open to admitting that the business end of the season is still coming. We certainly hope that having all these high-end teams – what’s the saying? iron sharpening iron? – is really just the beginning for us and that we can sustain this going forward.”
Augustine joined the Big Ten when the Big Ten joined college hockey. In his current position, he oversees the administrative side of rowing and women’s tennis in addition to hockey and other Olympic sports, but Augustine began on the communication side of things, serving as the primary point of contact for hockey for the Big Ten’s first few seasons as associate director for communications. He also ran the inaugural Big Ten hockey tournament.
In 2016, Augustine moved over to Big Ten football, becoming that sport’s primary media contact and coordinating the massive undertaking that is the Big Ten football championship game.
In his current role, he’s no longer a media contact per se, but he’s back in the hockey world, a place where he’s as knowledgeable as he is comfortable. Augustine now runs coaches meetings, helps construct the Big Ten hockey schedule, coordinates with the Big Ten Network, and runs postseason events. And he has the perfect vantage point from which to provide some perspective about how B1G hockey has emerged as the dominant conference this season.
“We’re in year 10 now and it’s interesting to kind of look back at the trajectory of the conference,” said Augustine. “Some of our main programs were in a little bit of flux – at least our historical programs, perhaps, if you look at where Michigan and Wisconsin were – 10 years ago at the outset of all this.”
When the conference formed in 2013, it drew Wisconsin and Minnesota away from the WCHA and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State from the CCHA, adding Penn State, which moved to Division 1 hockey in 2012. In 2017, Notre Dame joined the conference as an associate member.
Since its inception, the conference has seen six teams combine for 18 NCAA tournament appearances, including six Frozen Four appearances by four of those teams and two teams – Minnesota (2014) and Notre Dame (2018) – losing in the national championship game.
Even with the title game losses, what the league has put together in 10 seasons is impressive in light of the flux that Augustine mentioned. There has been little consistency to the conference from the very beginning. Ohio State’s Steve Rohlik and Penn State’s Guy Gadowsky share the distinction of being the only two current head coaches who were behind a Big Ten team bench when the conference began in 2013.
Then when world went sideways in 2020, it did so just three months after the Big Ten brought in new commissioner Kevin Warren. Individually, several programs have gone through massive changes and on an administrative level, the conference has seen reorganization during a time when people couldn’t even share office space because of COVID.
With roughly a month of regular-season play remaining, the Big Ten holds the best inter-conference win percentage (.721) in college hockey, has four teams ranked among the top 10 and six of its seven teams at No. 15 or above in the PairWise Rankings. All three B1G series played last weekend saw splits. There’s no denying it’s a tough league. This season, a word that’s bandied about too freely in sports – parity – is also a genuine part of the equation. While the circumstances differ, Augustine said that there have been two times in B1G hockey history where he’s seen this kind of relative parity within the conference.
“One of them is that 2014-15 season,” said Augustine. “That one to me was true parity. It was more parity in the sense that we were lacking at the top, a little less of a situation where you had top-10 teams but just a bunch of teams in that middle tier.” The only Big Ten team that went to the NCAA tournament that season was Minnesota, the regular-season and playoff B1G champions. “I remember we had three teams playing for the championship that last weekend,” said Augustine, “but ultimately none of them were truly a threat at the national level.”
That changed in 2017-2018 when Notre Dame moved from Hockey East to the Big Ten. The Fighting Irish had gone to the NCAA tournament three of the four seasons they played in Hockey East, culminating in their national semifinal loss to eventual champion Denver in the 2017 Frozen Four.
“That was the year that Notre Dame joins the league coming off the Frozen Four and absolutely rolled through the league in the first half,” said Augustine. “It was really something to watch. The second half was a little tighter and ultimately nobody was able to catch them, but I do think that being forced to try to raise their level of play and match what they saw in Notre Dame, that really started to lift the rest of the league. That ended up leading to the three teams in the Frozen Four. That felt like a little bit more of a surprise, perhaps, at the time.”
Augustine said that it’s also interesting to look at the different paths each Big Ten program has taken since the formation of the league.
“Bob at this point has things very much rolling in Minnesota, living up to some very high standards that that fan base has for that program,” said Augustine.
Bob Motzko became the Minnesota coach in 2018, following Don Lucia’s 19-year tenure and Motzko’s own 13 years as St. Cloud State’s head coach.
“Compare that to, say, Ohio State and Penn State,” Augustine said. “Those are the only two coaches in the league who were here for those first games in 2013.”
“Steve at Ohio State, I think it’s fair to say that he’s probably had the most consistent results of any program over the 10 years, and I think perhaps that sometimes goes underappreciated. They’ve been a model of consistency for 10 years. It’s not the same as what’s happening in Michigan or Minnesota or even Wisconsin in stretches where it’s a whole bunch of first-round draft picks filling up the roster. He just finds a way to be successful with what he has year after year after year.
“Then you look at Penn State and the rise they’ve had over 10 years. The fact that they’d reached the point that by March 2020 they had won the [conference] tournament and they had won our regular-season title. For them to kind of have the floor fall out from underneath them a little bit when the season got canceled [in 2020] and perhaps disrupting what they had going, it’s good to see them back to what they’d built their way to.
“And we haven’t even talked about Michigan or Notre Dame or what Adam is doing at Michigan State.”
“Adam,” of course, is Adam Nightingale, one of two first-year Big Ten head coaches. Nightingale is the third head coach that the Spartans have seen since the start of Big Ten hockey, replacing Danton Cole at the start of this season. Cole came in after the Spartans parted ways with Tom Anastos in 2017.
Michigan is also on its third head coach since the formation of B1G hockey. The Wolverines began with Red Berenson, who retired in 2017. Former Michigan associate head coach Mel Pearson left his head coaching position at Michigan Tech to take over after Berenson, but Pearson was let go last August. Brandon Naurato, an assistant under Pearson, has served as interim head coach since.
And Notre Dame – led by Jeff Jackson since 2005 – has continued to push everyone in the conference. Of those 18 NCAA tournament appearances that Big Ten teams have made, four belong to Notre Dame.
The Irish – with their overall record of 11-12-3 and B1G record of 6-8-2-1 – are sitting at No. 15 in the PWR. Because of the strength of the Big Ten this year, Notre Dame has the ability to play itself into the NCAA tournament in its eight remaining games.
Augustine said he grew up watching WCHA hockey at a time when that conference was a dominant force in college hockey, and he knows what can happen when teams are tempered by playing high-end teams week after week.
“I think what’s special this year is that you’ve got six teams the last time I looked in the top 15 in the PairWise,” said Augustine. “Even Wisconsin that isn’t quite at that same level is still sitting around 30th. It’s a Wisconsin team that’s beaten half the other teams in the league so far and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them doing that for the rest of the year.”
As someone who was hired in B1G hockey’s inaugural season to help shape the overall narrative of that new conference, Augustine knows how a good story should end. Happily ever after comes to mind. But in addition to having that pragmatic Midwestern nature, Augustine is also a hockey person. Hockey people are superstitious.
“I think the real difference is that in a lot of ways, what we’re seeing from Big Ten hockey this year is what many of us expected or hoped for all along,” he said. “Whether or not that proves – I’ll stop that train of thought.”
Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Hockey East supervisor of officials Brian Murphy. The discussion about college hockey rules and officiating includes goalie interference, contact to the head, hitting from behind, video review, and protocol and faceoff violations.
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
St. Cloud State goalie Jaxon Castor has won five of his last seven starts for the Huskies (photo: St. Cloud State Athletics).
When describing on Tuesday the elevator pitch for how he likes his St. Cloud State team to play, coach Brett Larson pointed to a pair of wins from last weekend that helped the Huskies become the new No. 1 human-polled team in the country.
A home sweep of third-ranked Denver saw SCSU jump three spaces to the top of the USCHO Division I Men’s Poll. The Huskies scored six of the last seven goals in a 7-3 win Friday, with Jami Krannila scoring twice and then setting up both goals in a 2-0 win Saturday.
Reaching the top of the USCHO poll for the first time since Nov. 2021 involved the Huskies putting in what Larson called the team’s most consistent weekend this season with regards to sticking to the Huskies’ game plan.
“Denver’s certainly one of the best teams we’ve faced, and they created opportunities, but when they did, we got good goaltending and we probably had our best 120 minutes of playing the way we want to play,” Larson said.
“We just did a good job of managing the puck, and we know Denver’s so good off the transition that we wanted to make them play 200 feet. We wanted to try to make their top forwards defend a little bit, and we didn’t want to turn the series into a chance-for-chance track meet. Getting the ground game going a little bit where we could manage the puck, play below the tops of their circles, our guys committed to that throughout the weekend.”
St. Cloud trailed 2-1 coming up on the midway point of Friday’s second period, before Krannila and Jack Rogers scored consecutive goals in a three-minute span. Krannila then put the Huskies ahead for good at 4-2, scoring off an assist from Grant Cruikshank, who started an odd-man rush by jumping out of the penalty box after SCSU killed off a 5-on-3 Denver power play.
Another big three-minute, second-period push provided both of the Huskies’ goals in Saturday’s rematch. Rogers backhanded a shot home at 7:32, and moments later, during a St. Cloud power play, Zach Okabe banged home the rebound from an initial Krannila shot.
Goaltender Jaxon Castor handled the rest, making 19 saves for his second shutout of the season. The first came on Jan. 7, when the Huskies won 3-0 over Minnesota, the only team currently above St. Cloud in the PairWise Rankings, the biggest tool for deciding who gets what come NCAA tournament time.
The Huskies would be a No. 1 regional seed if the tournament started now instead of March. Their wins last weekend were the team’s fifth and sixth this season against teams ranked in the top three.
“I’ve been pleased with how our guys have stepped up in big moments,” Larson said. “When we’ve been faced with a big challenge playing a top team, so far, that has brought out the best in us.”
Sitting atop the polls, though, isn’t something Larson invests thought in. He relayed that to his players during a team meeting Tuesday.
“We talked about just staying in the moment, in the day-to-day development of trying to get better, and preparing for our next opponent, and right now, that’s Minnesota Duluth,” Larson said, pointing to this week’s trip to the Twin Ports area. “It’s always a battle going into Duluth’s rink, and we just talked about limiting outside distractions, and keeping our focus narrow and short-term on what we can control right now.
“The polls at this time of year don’t matter, and every coach will say that the last poll that matters is the last one. Our biggest job is to not think too much about the past or the future, but just focus on right now.”
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
