No. 4 St. Cloud State (14-4-0)
12/09/2022 – No. 4 St. Cloud State 7 at Miami 3
12/10/2022 – No. 4 St. Cloud State 0 at Miami 5
No. 5 Penn State (15-5-0)
12/09/2022 – No. 5 Penn State 5 at No. 19 Notre Dame 2
12/10/2022 – No. 5 Penn State 3 at No. 19 Notre Dame 5
No. 6 Michigan (12-7-1)
12/09/2022 – No. 6 Michigan 1 at No. 12 Michigan State 2
12/10/2022 – No. 12 Michigan State 1 at No. 6 Michigan 2
No. 7 Boston University (11-5-0)
12/09/2022 – No. 7 Boston University 6 at RV Boston College 9
12/11/2022 – No. 7 Boston University 3 at No. 8 Connecticut 2
No. 8 Connecticut (11-5-3)
12/11/2022 – No. 7 Boston University 3 at No. 8 Connecticut 2
No. 16 Minnesota State (10-7-1)
12/09/2022 – No. 16 Minnesota State 2 at RV Bowling Green 1
12/10/2022 – No. 16 Minnesota State 6 at RV Bowling Green 2
No. 17 Western Michigan (10-9-1)
12/09/2022 – RV North Dakota 2 at No. 17 Western Michigan 2 (OT)
12/10/2022 – RV North Dakota 3 at No. 17 Western Michigan 0
No. 18 Michigan Tech (10-4-3)
Did not play.
No. 19 Notre Dame (8-8-2)
12/09/2022 – No. 5 Penn State 5 at No. 19 Notre Dame 2
12/10/2022 – No. 5 Penn State 3 at No. 19 Notre Dame 5
Miami’s Matthew Barbolini and St. Cloud State’s Josh Luedtke jockey for position in the RedHawks’ 5-0 win Saturday night (photo: Bella Sagarese).
Miami scored three times on a five-minute power play in the second period and pulled away for a 5-0 shutout victory over No. 4 St. Cloud State Saturday night at Goggin Ice Center.
Axel Kumlin, Matthew Barbolini and John Waldron each had a goal and an assist for the RedHawks. PJ Fletcher finished with a trio of assists, setting up the final three goals for Miami, while Ludvig Persson stopped all 36 shots he faced for his fifth career shutout and second this season.
Miami earned its first victory over a top-five team since March 10, 2018 at then-No. 1 St. Cloud State.
The RedHawks capitalized on the major penalty and game misconduct to Brendan Bushy at 15:19 of the second period.
Barbolini and Waldron each finished with multi-point nights for the second consecutive game.
In goal for SCSU, Dominic Basse made 24 stops in taking the defeat.
No. 1 Denver 4, Minnesota Duluth 3
Aidan Thompson scored 3:01 into overtime on Saturday night to give the No. 1 Pioneers a 4-3 win and second straight comeback victory over Minnesota Duluth at Amsoil Arena.
Denver, which erased a two-goal deficit in a 3-2 OT win on Friday, is on a season-long five-game winning streak and has won six consecutive road contests — all against NCHC opponents.
Thompson’s tally was his fourth of the campaign and his first career game-winning marker. The Colorado native stole the puck from behind UMD’s Wyatt Kaiser and drove toward the net before releasing a wrist shot that went over goaltender Matthew Thiessen’s shoulder at 3:01 of the extra session.
Casey Dornbach, Carter Mazur and McKade Webster also scored for the Pioneers, and goaltender Magnus Chrona made 23 saves, including a point-blank attempt in overtime.
The victory is David Carle’s 100th of his career, becoming the fifth coach in program history to achieve the milestone. Carle accomplished the feat in only 160 games, the second-fastest among Pioneer coaches to reach the century mark behind only Murray Armstrong (143 games) and five games faster than predecessor Jim Montgomery (165 games).
Just like on Friday night, the Pioneers received a goal early in the third period from Mazur to tie the contest at 2-2, but UMD retook the lead on a tally from Luke Mylymok with 9:07 left in regulation.
The advantage didn’t last for the Bulldogs, as Webster knocked in a loose puck near the crease 4:20 later to knot the outing once again and eventually force overtime.
Both teams tallied their only the power-play goals of the game in the opening stanza, as Dornbach scored at 8:03 before Dominic James buried a man-advantage marker for Minnesota Duluth with 6.6 seconds remaining in the frame.
Thiessen finished the contest in goal for Duluth and made four saves after entering at 5:46 of the third period. Zach Stejskal started in net and made 21 saves on 23 shots before leaving the game.
No. 2 Quinnipiac 8, Union 1
For the second consecutive night, No. 2 Quinnipiac potted eight goals en route to a 10th consecutive ECAC Hockey victory as it closed out the 2022 portion of its league schedule with an 8-1 victory over Union on Saturday night at M&T Bank Arena.
Quinnipiac scored the first seven of the night, continuing its scorching run of form that has seen its offense score 22 goals over the last three games. Both Collin Graf and Sam Lipkin recorded five-point nights, with Graf totaling two goals and three assists against his former team, while Lipkin tallied a goal and four assists.
With the win, QU coach Rand Pecknold becomes the NCAA’s active leader in Division I coaching wins, earning the 595th of his career.
Jacob Quillan, Graf and TJ Friedmann each recorded two-goal nights, but the former had the highlight of the night as CJ McGee sauced a cross-ice pass that was deflected in by Quillan as he crashed into the net.
Lipkin matched his career high with four assists and the most by any player in the nation. It is the seventh such performance and he is the only player to have done it twice.
Five points on the night are a career-high for Graf and it also pushed him past his 2021-22 point total of 22. He has 26 on the season in half of the games played (37 at Union, 18 at Quinnipiac).
The Bobcats put up eight goals in back to back contests for the first time since Oct. 29 and Nov. 3, 2006 when they hit that number twice against Union.
Yaniv Perets made 17 saves in goal for the win, while Noah Altman played 1:50 and Chase Clark 4:04.
Connor Murphy and Kyle Chauvette combined to stop 31 shots for the Dutchmen.
No. 3 Minnesota 6, Wisconsin 4
A scoring barrage during a six-minute stretch was all the No. 3 Golden Gophers needed to finish off a sweep of Wisconsin in a 6-4 victory Saturday evening from 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Six goals by six different skaters in a span of 5:53 across the end of the first and start of the second periods turned the game around as Minnesota erased a two-goal deficit and secured both games of the series against the Badgers in the final regular-season game of 2022.
With this much scoring, you don't think Logan's gonna miss out on the fun do you? pic.twitter.com/7qUn9l7ls4
Facing a rare two-goal deficit late in the first period, Rhett Pitlick got the home side on the scoreboard with 2:23 remaining in the first period and it was all Minnesota from there. Three power-play goals ensued for the Gophers as Wisconsin was given a late five-minute major to turn the tide and two more tallies gave the home team a 6-2 advantage that they clung to down the stretch.
The Gophers held the visitors to just three shots in the second period and now have outscored the Badgers by a 30-6 margin during a five-game winning streak.
Minnesota goalie Justen Close made 16 saves, while Kyle McClellan and Jared Moe combined to stop 20 for the Badgers.
No. 19 Notre Dame 5, No. 5 Penn State 3
Notre Dame bounced back after a heartbreaker Friday night to take game two against Penn State, 5-3 Saturday night at Compton Family Ice Arena.
All four lines contributed goals in the victory for the Irish as Justin Janicke had a goal and an assist and Jackson Pierson, Ryder Rolston, Jack Adams and Landon Slaggert added single goals.
Per 3 | Irish lead the Penn State Nittany Lions 4-1 with 4:41 to go!
Let's take a look back at @JacksonPierson4 first goal as a member of the Fighting Irish!
Nick Leivermann added two assists and goalie Ryan Bischel made 47 saves.
Liam Souliere stopped 17 for Penn State as the Nittany Lions got goals from Connor McMenamin, Christian Sarlo and Kevin Wall, along with two assists from Connor MacEachern.
No. 6 Michigan 2, No. 13 Michigan State 1
A strong 60-minute effort propelled sixth-ranked Michigan past No. 12 Michigan State by a 2-1 score on Saturday night at Yost Ice Arena.
The Wolverines preserved a shutout for 59:55 of playing time before having the clean sheet tarnished by a late MSU tally from Jagger Joshua.
Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo recorded 37 saves on 38 shots faced. The Swede nearly locked up a shutout before ceding the lone goal, a 6×4 goal, with less than five seconds remaining in regulation following a flurry of late penalties.
Dylan Duke and TJ Hughes scored for the Wolverines.
Spartans goaltender Dylan St. Cyr made 25 saves in the loss.
Merrimack 3, No. 10 Providence 2
Merrimack came up with huge win in the Hockey East standings as the Warriors were victorious by a score of 3-2 at the Schneider Arena in Providence on Saturday night.
In the process, they have tied for first place in the Hockey East standings with UConn with two games in-hand.
The Warriors didn’t take long to get on the board in this one as Will Calverley won the faceoff right to Slava Demin who fired it in from the point at 52 seconds of the first period.
In the second, the Warriors were down a man but still found a way to score, taking advantage of a misplay behind the Friars net and Ryan Leibold made Providence pay, burying the puck into the empty cage for a short-handed goal and the lead was extended to two.
The Friars however would match the Warriors goal on a penalty kill of their own at 10:30, Nick Poisson getting the goal, and then tying the game up with a goal seven minutes later from Bennett Schimek.
Heading into the third period tied, the Warriors didn’t waste much time getting the lead back as Jordan Seyfert stormed into the zone and scored on the backhand to regain the lead just under four minutes in.
With the Warriors defending as Providence pushed for the tying goal, Zachary Borgiel made the save of the game. With under 30 seconds to go, Borgiel went across the crease, making an incredible one-timer save, and the Warriors were able to hold on from there, earning a huge win on the road.
Borgiel finished with 24 saves and Philip Svedebäck stopped 12 for the Friars.
College Hockey America on Saturday announced a one-game suspension for Mercyhurst defenseman Sydney Pedersen.
The suspension is a result of Pedersen’s slashing of an opponent at the five-minute mark of overtime in Mercyhurst’s home game Dec. 9 against Princeton. Upon review, the infraction was deemed to warrant a suspension.
Mercyhurst’s next scheduled Division I game is today, Dec. 10 at home against Princeton.
Pedersen would be eligible to return for the Lakers’ Jan. 2 game at Yale.
Tiernan Shoudy nets the game-winning goal Friday night as Michigan State edged Michigan 2-1 (photo: Michigan State Athletics).
Rivalry Week kicked off Friday night in college hockey, with no shortage of stellar action.
No. 13 Michigan State took the first game in the four-game season series against archrival Michigan, scoring a 2-1 victory over the No. 6-ranked Wolverines on Friday night in East Lansing.
Michigan State matches its win total from the 2021-22 season as it improves to 12-6-1 overall and 6-4-1 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines are now 11-7-1, 3-6-0 in conference play.
Michigan opened the scoring midway through the first period on a TJ Hughes goal, but the Spartans tied it up before the end of the period on a goal by Cole Krygier.
Freshman Tiernan Shoudy made his first mark on the rivalry with what would stand as the game-winner in the second period.
The Spartans smothered the Wolverine offense in the third period – MSU allowed Michigan just five shots on goal in the final period and 23 overall in the game.
Dylan St. Cyr made 22 saves, the fewest he’s made in a Big Ten game this season. It snapped a streak of 11 consecutive games of 30-plus saves for the Spartans’ goalie.
Erik Portillo stopped 29 shots for Michigan.
No. 1 Denver 3, Minnesota Duluth 2 (OT)
The Pioneers rallied from a two-goal deficit and won 3-2 in overtime over the Bulldogs on the road.
Tristan Broz scored the game-winner 2:14 into the extra session to complete DU’s first multi-goal comeback of the season. The Pioneers are now on a four-game winning streak, tied for their longest of the campaign, and have won their last five road contests.
Massimo Rizzo and Carter Mazur also scored for the Pioneers, who trailed 2-0 after the Bulldogs tallied a pair of power-play goals in the first 12 minutes of the game from Dominic James and Ben Steeves.
Magnus Chrona finished with 23 saves, including stopping all 14 shots in the final two-plus periods of play. His assist on Rizzo’s goal was the fifth of his collegiate career and his first primary helper.
Rizzo’s eighth goal of the season extended his career-long goal streak to four games, which is also the longest of the season on the team. Mike Benning had two assists, including one on Broz’s overtime tally, to move his point streak to a season-long four games.
Minnesota Duluth goalie Matthew Thiessen made 30 stops in goal.
Boston College 9, No. 6 Boston University 6
In the highest scoring Battle of Comm Ave since 1986, Boston College pulled away from Boston University for a 9-6 victory in front of a sellout crowd on Jerry York Night at Kelley Rink.
Cutter Gauthier registered two goals and two assists for a four-point performance on Friday in the 288th edition of the rivalry.
Boston College extended its home unbeaten streak against the Terriers to five games (4-0-1) at Conte Forum.
Gauthier was joined by six other Eagles with multi-point games, including Trevor Kuntar (1-2-3), Nikita Nesterenko (1-1-2), Lukas Gustafsson (1-1-2) and Connor Joyce (1-1-2). Oskar Jellvik and Eamon Powell each collected a pair of assists.
Friday marked the highest goal total in a Battle of Comm Ave since a 9-6 BC victory at Boston Garden on Dec. 2, 1986. Schiller Family Head Hockey Coach Greg Brown was a freshman defenseman in that game.
Wilmer Skoog posted two goals and an assist and Jeremy Wilmer and Zach Zabaneh each went for a goal and an assist for the Terriers. Drew Commesso and Vinny Duplessis combined to make 28 saves.
Mitch Benson made 15 saves to get the win in goal for the Eagles.
No. 2 Quinnipiac 8, Rensselaer 3
The goals kept on coming as second-ranked Quinnipiac potted a season-high eight, defeating RPI 8-3 on Friday night in Hamden, Conn.
The tallies came from eight different goal scorers as the Bobcats extended their unbeaten streak to 12 with one more game before the holiday break.
Quinnipiac is now 22-1-2 in its last 25 home games and have won six in a row at M&T Bank Arena.
Sam Lipkin, Christopher Fillion, Jake Johnson and Michael Lombardi all had a goal and an assist in the win, while Ethan de Jong registered three assists and Yaniv Perets and Chase Clark combined to stop 19 shots in goal.
For the Engineers, Sutter Muzzatti had a goal and two assists and Ryan Mahshie added two goals plus a helper.
Between the pipes, Carson Cherepak and Jack Watson stopped 34 shots.
No. 3 Minnesota 7, Wisconsin 1
The Gophers scored four in the first period and never looked back in downing the Badgers 7-1 on home ice.
Logan Cooley netted a pair of goals and added an assist for Minnesota, while Matthew Knies chipped in three assists and Bryce Brodzinski went for a goal and an assist.
In goal, Justen Close made 37 stops for the Gophers.
Charlie Stramel scored the Badgers’ lone goal and Jared Moe and Kyle McClellan combined on a 24-save outing.
North Dakota 2, No. 17 Western Michigan 2 (North Dakota wins shootout)
North Dakota skated to a 2-2 tie against Western Michigan on Friday night in Kalamazoo, Mich., and despite the game finishing officially as a tie, UND earned two of three points with a shootout victory to pull within three points of WMU in the league standings.
Making his first start in his home state of Michigan since joining the Fighting Hawks, goaltender Drew DeRidder turned in one of his best performances of the season. The Fenton, Mich., native stopped 26 of 28 shots, including 10 on the WMU power play.
Trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes following a Jamie Rome goal with 0.4 remaining in the first period, North Dakota put together one of its best stanzas of the season in the second. The visitors knotted the game at 1-1 on the power play when Judd Caulfield tapped home a pass to the crease from Owen McLaughlin just over five minutes into the frame.
North Dakota kept the pressure on, eventually taking a 2-1 lead on Louis Jamernik V’s second goal of the season, setup by a great steal-and-pass from Jackson Blake, to put UND on top for the first time. Western Michigan knotted the contest at 2-2 near the midway point of the third period on a Jack Perbix goal, but DeRidder and the defense held strong over the final eight minutes to send the game into overtime.
UND dominated possession and chances in the extra session, but WMU goaltender Cameron Rowe made three sparkling saves to send the game to a shootout with each team nabbing a point.
Augsburg hits the road to take on St. Norbert this weekend. (Photo Credit: Augsburg Athletics)
It’s the final weekend of hockey before Christmas and there is one weekend battle in particular jumps out. That’s the one between Augsburg and St. Norbert. The two top five teams will face off in a two-game series this weekend.
A rivalry game between UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point is also on tap. Both teams are nationally ranked by the way. Also worth noting is Bethel and St. Olaf will square off on an outdoor rink on Saturday night. Should be another entertaining weekend ahead. Check out the game picks below.
Friday and Saturday
Augsburg (6-2-1) at St. Norbert (7-2-1)
It’s not even Christmas yet and hockey fans will be treated to a series worthy of being played in March. Both teams are ranked in the top five in the DCU/USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll, with the Auggies sitting in fourth and the Green Knights in fifth. Augsburg has scored 35 goals on the year while giving up 20. Eleven players have tallied five or more points. The Green Knights have won tow in a row and have punched in 40 goals while giving up just 17. Three players have 15 or more points on the season. Augsburg swept the series. It will be a surprise if either team sweeps this time around. Augsburg, 6-5; St. Norbert, 5-4
UW-Stevens Point (6-1-3, 4-0) vs. UW-Eau Claire (7-3, 3-1)
Another weekend series worthy of being played in the postseason. The Pointers come in ranked 15th in the country while the Blugolds are 14th. These two rivals rarely disappoint when they square off.
The Pointers have won their last four games and have tallied 34 goals on the season behind a balanced attack where no player has more than four goals. They have allowed only 20 goals. The Blugolds have won five of their last six, scoring four goals four times during that stretch. UW-Eau Claire beat UW-Stevens Point to win the conference tourney crown a year ago. Revenge will be on the minds of the Pointers. UW-Stevens Point, 4-2; UW-Eau Claire, 5-3
UW-River Falls (3-7, 0-4) vs. UW-Stout (8-3, 2-2)
The Falcons are struggling to get on track at the moment. They’ve lost their last six games and have scored more than two goals only once during that stretch. Getting their offense going early on is going to be critical if they are going to at least manage a split out of this series. The Blue Devils have won three out of their last four and have already matched their win total from a year ago. Their offense has clicked to the tune of 47 goals on the year. They’ve given up just 23. UW-Stout, 5-2 and 4-3
Friday
Concordia (2-9) at Saint John’s (5-5-1)
The Johnnies are averaging three goals per game and rank third in the NCAA on the power play, connecting on 15 of their 45 opportunities. They face a Falcons team that is putting up two goals per game on average and that has converted on just 10 of its 55 power play opportunities. Concordia is trying to snap a three-game losing streak. Saint John’s has dropped three of four. Saint John’s, 5-2
MSOE (7-4) at St. Olaf (8-2-1)
The Raiders have hit a tough stretch lately, dropping two consecutive games, and they’ll try to bounce back in a big non-conference game against the Oles. MSOE has played good team hockey, with 37 goals of 60 assists. St. Olaf will look to get the weekend started right. The Oles have score 41 goals on the year. St. Olaf, 4-2
Saturday
Bethel (8-3-1) at St. Olaf (8-2-1)
This game won’t count in the conference standings but it will be big one as the two teams are playing on an outdoor rink. Since falling to Bethel 4-2 on Nov. 4, the Oles have lost just one game. They are playing well on both ends of the ice. Bethel has lost just once game since Nov. 11 and playing with a lot of confidence. On a neutral sheet of ice, this is a game that could certainly go either way. St. Olaf, 4-3
The CCC has announced the addition of Johnson and Wales as its newest full conference member.
The announcement was made by the CCC board of directors Thursday morning.
According to a news release, JWU intends to start competing in the league as early as 2024-25.
“On behalf of the Commonwealth Coast Conference board of directors, my fellow CCC presidents and I are thrilled to welcome Johnson and Wales University into the conference,” said CCC board of directors chair and Endicott president Dr. Steven R. DiSalvo in a statement. “The athletic excellence displayed by the university and the school’s commitment to building a strong program that adheres to the NCAA Division III mission of balancing academics and competition made the addition an easy choice.”
The addition of JWU is the latest step in the conference’s plans to establish itself as a strong competitor throughout the region and solidifies the league’s membership at 11 core members.
“We are excited to embark on this new athletic journey in the Commonwealth Coast Conference,” said JWU Providence campus president Marie Bernardo-Sousa. “At JWU, our guiding principles promote a spirit of fair play and inclusion both on and off the playing field. We are so proud of our student-athletes, and we look forward to seeing our teams succeed in the CCC.”
Growth has been an important piece of the CCC’s strategic plan dating back to 2013. In that time, the league has added seven new championship opportunities and welcomed two new members into the conference (Suffolk and Hartford), with JWU being the third addition. These additions have not only grown the CCC but have allowed member institutions to realize greater exposure and widen their already strong appeal to prospective student-athletes.
CCC commissioner Gregg M. Kaye believes that Johnson and Wales will continue the conference’s upward trajectory.
“I am elated that Johnson and Wales University will be joining the Commonwealth Coast Conference,” said Kaye. “While the broad-based athletics program at JWU has long been among the most competitive and successful programs in the New England region, the institutional mission to provide students with an exceptional education that inspires professional success and lifelong personal and intellectual growth is completely compatible with the philosophy embraced by the CCC and our member institutions.”
“Athletics within Division III and the CCC play important roles in enhancing and supporting the academic pursuits, goals and dreams of every student-athlete. JWU’s institutional and athletic leadership, stellar athletic facilities and a committed group of coaches and staff support and embody the mission of the university. The CCC will be stronger with Johnson and Wales University as a member, and JWU will be stronger because of the university’s CCC membership.”
The Wildcats currently field 15 varsity teams including 12 current CCC championship sports (baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, and women’s volleyball). In addition to those CCC sports, they also sponsor men’s wrestling, and equestrian IDA and equestrian IHSA teams.
Since the start of the 2021-22 school year, JWU has captured eight Great Northeast Athletic Conference championships, including two in field hockey, women’s soccer, baseball, and women’s volleyball. The university was the recipient of the 2021-22 GNAC Women’s Commissioners Cup.
JWU director of athletics Dana Garfield also shares her excitement about joining the league.
“We are extremely excited to join the CCC and embark on this new chapter in JWU athletics,” Garfield said. “We believe the CCC is a great fit for JWU and aligns nicely with the goals for our department and the university as a whole. The CCC will offer our student-athletes a well-rounded experience, with opportunities for leadership and growth within a competitive arena. We greatly appreciate the offer extended to us by the CCC Conference and look forward to meeting and forming relationships with this talented group.”
Forward Henry McKinney has Nazareth off to its best start in many seasons and looks to build momentum for a deep playoff run in the second half (Photo by Nazareth Athletics)
A quick look at the current standings in the UCHC at the semester break finds the Nazareth Golden Flyers atop the standings having finished the first half at 6-2-0 including a five-game win streak to open conference play. Coach George Roll is in his tenth season at Nazareth and believes this team has the potential to be a contender in the second half of the season.
“I am extremely happy with the way the first half has gone for us,” said Roll. “I have always tried to build programs around good players, but more importantly, good people. Everyone has bought in and the team all enjoys being together. For sure, we have more talent this year based on two good recruiting classes over the past couple of years which we needed – COVID really set us back as a program with a number of recruits that never came or kids that left school. I feel we now have recovered fully and this may be the best team we have had on the ice in my time here.”
Contrary to their mascot image, Nazareth has built their game on taking care of the defensive end first. The team rarely surrenders more than 30 shots a game to an opponent and really limits the Grade A chances to help their goaltenders and keep games close. Nazareth has only surrendered three or more goals three times so far this season and is very comfortable playing in one-goal games where they are 5-1-0 this season – the only loss being to Geneseo by a score of 2-1.
This is a group that really loves being together and the new freshman class has fit right in with the culture,” stated Roll. “I feel like we are executing well on the ice and have been focused on sweeping at home and splitting on the road as a formula for success. So far that has held true, and I was very pleased that we were able to finish the first half with a split against a very good Stevenson team on the road. We only gave up eight Grade A scoring chances against them the first night but they found the back of the net with six of them so not the way we have been playing. It was great to see the bounce back on Saturday and that win is a big boost heading into the semester break.”
Leading the way for Nazareth has been the 200-foot game of senior Henry McKinney (5-8-13). The forward is currently the team’s leading scorer and has significantly improved his game. McKinney, with his linemates, has been contributing regularly on the scoresheet for the Golden Flyers.
“Henry has taken a big step this year as a leader for our team,” noted Roll. “He has been playing with Blake Frost and Ethan Louisos and they have built a strong connection and movement of the puck where everyone knows they are going to get it back and the line is not relying on a single player to be successful. I think Henry is a really smart player but has in some ways taken advantage of simplifying his game this season and we are seeing the early benefits of that.”
If the first-half has gone so well for the Golden Flyers, what are the expectations for the second half of the season?
I really like how the second half sets up for us,” said Roll. “We only had three home games in the first-half and the majority of our games will be at home in the second half, especially in UCHC play where we play one game at Utica and finish the regular season with two on the road against Chatham. If we can stay true to the first half formula I think this team has a chance to play on home-ice in the playoffs in February. It is our goal.”
The Golden Flyers will return to the ice following the semester break with a pair of non-conference games on January 2 and 3 on the road against NESCAC’s Amherst College.
The NEHC has announced that Albertus Magnus as the league’s newest member effective for the 2024-25 hockey season.
Both the men’s and women’s programs will join the conference.
“The NEHC is excited to welcome Albertus Magnus College as the league’s newest member,” said NEHC commissioner Katie Boldvich in a statement. “We’ve eagerly watched the success and resources committed to the men’s program the last few years and are excited to welcome another strong partner to the conference. Coach (Kyle) Wallack is building a special program and we have no doubt the women will see similar progress under the guidance of Coach (Stephen) Novodor.”
“Albertus Magnus College and its ice hockey programs are thrilled to accept this invitation to join the New England Hockey Conference,” added Albertus athletic director Michael Kobylanski. “The NEHC and its member institutions have long demonstrated the highest level of success on the academic and athletic fronts. We look forward to competing against this prestigious group of institutions and ice hockey programs in the years ahead. In addition, we are extremely pleased to be able to provide our student-athletes and coaches for both our women’s and men’s programs the opportunity to compete for postseason berths against some of the most formidable programs in the nation.”
The Falcons’ men’s program has distinguished themselves as a strong regional contender in only two full seasons as a varsity program. The men finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 16-8-1 overall record.
“We are ecstatic to join one of the strongest hockey conferences in the country,” said Wallack. “From top to bottom, the NEHC is one of the toughest leagues in all of Division III hockey. Acceptance into the NEHC will help us continue to recruit the best student-athletes in North America and will ensure that we are competing in the toughest competition on a nightly basis.”
Albertus Magnus announced the addition of a women’s program this past summer with their inaugural season of competition slated for 2022-23. Novodor has been tabbed the program’s first head coach and brings with him more than 15 years of experience, including coaching at the collegiate, prep school and youth levels.
“I am thrilled that we have been accepted to play in the NEHC starting in the 2024-25 season,” said Novodor. “As we launch our program, this will be a tremendous help to our recruiting efforts as our student-athletes know they will be playing in one of the best Division III conferences in the country and fighting for the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.”
The Falcons play their home contests at the newly renovated Ralph Walker Skating Rink in New Haven, Conn. The facility boasts a new ice sheet and chiller plant (2019) along with dedicated locker room space.
The NEHC last expanded in the 2021-22 season when the league added Elmira men’s and women’s programs along with the William Smith women’s program. The 2018-19 season saw the addition of current members Johnson and Wales (men’s and women’s) and Salem State (women) while the Hobart men began competition in the NEHC in 2017-18.
“I want to thank our league presidents and athletic directors who have always leaned into the strategic growth of our conference, especially as it comes to membership. We look forward to these next steps as a conference as we keep up with the growth of ice hockey at the Division III level,” noted Boldvich.
BC’s Seamus Powell and BU’s Wilmer Skoog lead their teams into the Battle of Comm Ave. this weekend (photo: Brendan Carpenter).
Rivalries. When these teams get together, they say you can throw out the records.
Plenty often, a rivalry game does turn into an upset and in this week’s column, we’ll look at two of the oldest and greatest rivalries in college hockey – Boston College-Boston University and Michigan-Michigan State.
Those two battles will have a very fresh look to them as all four teams have first-year head coaches. All four teams have also shown signs of brilliance this season, so the oddsmakers seem to be having a difficult time setting the lines. In both of these games, the home team is the underdog, meaning that should the hosts pull off the “upset”, there is value to be made
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:
No. 6 Michigan (-145) at No. 12 Michigan State (+115) ; o/u 6.5
Michigan State enters the weekend after experiencing its first significant bump in the road of the season, a two-game sweep at the hands of Minnesota.
Their opponent had a stumble of last Friday, losing 6-3 at Wisconsin before rallying on Saturday for a 4-2 victory.
Do these teams have a lot of prove? Heck yeah. But Michigan State might have a little bit more on its mind. The Spartans have been beat up by the Wolverines of late having dropped six straight and 11-of-12 in the rivalry series.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
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HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
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B1G
No. 7 Boston University (-165) at Boston College (+135) ; o/u 6
This game, a single game on the weekend, should have Boston University as a heavier favorite. But it’s likely that books are taking into account the rivalry factor more in this game than any on the slate this weekend.
Certainly, BC has played better of late, posting a 2-1-2 record in its last five that included two ties against nationally-ranked Providence last weekend.
What is interesting is the low over/under of six goals. BU ranks fourth nationally in goals per game. BC is 32nd in goals allowed per game. And games between these two are notorious for high-paced offense.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
North Dakota (+100) at No. 17 Western Michigan (-130) ; o/u 7
Both North Dakota and Western Michigan are licking their collective wounds coming into this series. The Fighting Hawks have just one win in their last five and just three in the last 10 games. While the Broncs have faired better of last, they got swept last weekend by Omaha on the road.
This game should smell of desperation.
The oddsmakers also think if should smell of offense, setting the over/under at 7, one of the highest we’ve seen this season. It makes sense. Western Michigan has the top offense in the country and North Dakota’s ranks 10th.
But getting to a score like 5-3 to win your wager always feels tricky.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
No. 5 Penn State (-105) at No. 19 Notre Dame (-125) ; o/u 5.5
Opposite of North Dakota-Western Michigan, you have the Penn State-Notre Dame series where oddsmakers have placed on over/under of 5.5 on the game — the lowest for any Penn State game this season.
The Nittany Lions offense has cooled a little bit, currently ranked ninth averaging 3.61 goals per game. Notre Dame’s is near the bottom ranked 48th scoring just 2.38 goals per game.
Still 5.5 seems awfully low for a Penn State team that has shown a propensity to explode this season.
As for the game, we have the rare occurrence where the entire USCHO staff backs one opponent, overwhelmingly favoring the Nittany Lions.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
No. 1 Denver (-175) at Minnesota Duluth (+140); o/u 5.5
Minnesota Duluth’s ability to earn splits for four straight series is forcing oddsmakers to walk gingerly when setting lines, even if the opponent is the nation’s top team, Denver.
This is a rematch of last year’s NCAA Regional Final in Loveland won by the Pioneers on the way to the national championship, 2-1.
The under looks most tempting here, even at 5.5. Nine of the last 11 times these two teams have met, the teams have combined for five goals or less. That thought was for a Minnesota Duluth team that was allowing significantly less goals than it is this season.
USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger analyze five games among top 20 D-I college hockey teams, looking at money lines and over/under as well as giving an in-depth look at the matchups. We also discuss the impact of analytics on betting lines.
Charles Martin ranks second on the team in points so far this season at UW-Superior. (Photo Credit: Holden Law – UW-Superior Athletics)
Charles Martin has had an interesting career as a hockey player.
Now a senior defenseman for the UW-Superior Yellowjackets, Martin has played various positions over the years, and is currently a standout defenseman for a UW-Superior team that is off to a strong start.
The standout from Quebec played goalie when he first started out in the sport and moved to defenseman as an early teen. He wasn’t sure if he would continue to rise up the ranks, but continued to work hard and put in a lot of time in practice. During his 19-year-old year, he played forward most of the season before moving back to defense.
“It’s definitely been a crazy hockey life,” Martin said. “It makes me appreciate a lot more where I am now as a player.”
This is his fourth season at UW-Superior and he ranks second in the team in points this year with a goal and nine assists. That assist total is already a career best just 12 games into the season.
“I feel like I’ve stepped up my game compared to the last few years,” Martin said. “I’m happy so far with my performance. “My skating has improved and has helped me get opportunities I might have not had in the past, and I’m playing a bit more confident.”
Having Artur Terchiyev as a former teammate has helped him become the player he is this season.
“He was a good mentor and taught me a lot about poise with the puck and staying calm and making plays,” Martin said. “I didn’t necessarily replicate what he was doing. I’ve added my own touch, but playing that way has helped me gain a lot more confidence.”
Martin is part of a defensive core that has helped the Yellowjackets record five shutouts, including three in their last four games. That stretch features a 2-0 win over nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire, which is No. 14 in this week’s DCU/USCHO.com NCAA Division III men’s poll.
“It was great to get a win against them early in the year,” Martin said. “If you look at our numbers, we haven’t let in a lot of goals. I feel like our D core is one of the best in the country. We have older players on it and our freshmen have even come in and done well. Our defensive side of the game is very structured this year and it’s given us an opportunity to beat some good teams.”
The always interesting WIAC is never short on competitiveness. The Yellowjackets are 4-2 in league play, good enough for first place, and have one final conference game before Christmas, taking on Northland on Saturday.
“Every game is like a playoff game,” Martin said. “Literally, anyone can win on any given night, and it makes it a lot of fun. Every game means something. This league is so competitive and brings out the best in everyone.”
Martin is looking forward to the rest of the season and is thankful he has had an opportunity to play college hockey. It’s been better than expected.
“I wasn’t sure what D3 hockey was about coming into school, and I was surprised that first day. I realized it’s no joke. It’s really a high level of hockey,” Martin said. “It’s been a great experience and I’ve made friends for life.”
The St. Cloud State women’s hockey team is off to one of the best starts in program history. Under new coach Brian Idalski, the Huskies have started the season 11-8, their best start in 15 years. The team entered the national rankings at #14 this week – just the seventh time in program history they’ve been ranked and the first time since January 2009.
They close out the first half of the season with a home and home series against #6 Minnesota Friday and Saturday.
The last time these two teams met, a month ago in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women’s Face-off Classic in Andover, St. Cloud got their first win over the Gophers in more than 12 years. Minnesota had been on a 61-game unbeaten streak against SCSU and were 101-3-3 all-time against the Huskies.
It was a 4-1 complete win that we may look back at in the future as the signal of tide change for St. Cloud, who seem to be flourishing under Idalski. They are currently fourth in the WCHA, though Minnesota Duluth is just two points back with two games in hand.
A few weeks ago, this series wouldn’t have been one many people would have paid attention to. Instead, it’s become a must-watch set of games to see how Minnesota adjusts and if St. Cloud State can repeat their incredible 200-foot performance.
There are a number of reasons SCSU is off to such a good start, but it helps that the team is getting career performances out of players and putting together big games while dealing with injuries.
In last weekend’s series sweep over St. Thomas, senior forward Klára Hymlárová scored her first career hat-trick while skating in a defensive pairing throughout the game to help cover for a short roster. Hymlárová has scored more goals in the first half (12) than she had in her career total prior to this season (11). She’s tied for 10th in the country in goals scored and second in the country with five power play goals.
Sanni Ahola was named the program’s first-ever WCHA Goaltender of the Month in November after leading the league in wins. She finished November with a 1.80 goals against average and had 91 saves on 98 shots faced for a .929 sv%.
Fifth year senior Jenniina Nylund missed part of last season as she played with Finland in the Olympics, where she became the first active Husky women’s hockey player to win an Olympic medal when she won bronze. Add that to the shortened Covid season and she was raring to get back on the ice for a regular schedule. She has also already surpassed her career high in goals (11) and points (24) and tied her career high in assists (13). She’s tied for 20th in the country in total points.
The turnaround cannot be entirely assigned to Idalski. The players on the roster this season were brought in by previous coaches. But what he brings is the experience of having brought a team that had not been competitive against the top teams in the WCHA to a much higher level.
While he comes off as stern, backup goalie Jojo Chobak told the Rink Live that she thinks Idalski is actually a “big softie.” He is demanding in that he expects a high level of commitment and preparation from his players. But Idalski is also incredibly clear in those expectations and what he believes the players and team will gain from them.
According to a video about Idalski on the team’s webpage, when he interviewed for this job, he spoke about the number of games the team played in that were close, but that they fell short on in the end. The implication is that the team did not need a massive overhaul, but a fine tuning. Coming in at the beginning of the school year, he did not get a chance to influence offseason training, but he was able to instill a higher standard. The dividends have already begun to pay off.
“We want to show people that we’re a top five team — and we know it. We need everyone else to believe it, so we’re going to keep putting in the work in,” said senior Taylor Lind after the win over Minnesota
Former St. Cloud State athletic director and current commissioner of the men’s hockey conference NCHC Heather Weems specifically noted upon Idalski’s hiring that the program needed a consistent player development and recruiting strategy and that’s why he was chosen.
It can’t help but be noted that the three standout players highlighted are all international students – Nyland and Ahola from Finland and Hymlárová from Czechia. At North Dakota, Idalski was one of the first coaches to use aggressive overseas recruiting as a way to compete with programs like Minnesota, Wisconsin and UMD. That strategy is pretty commonplace at this point and Idalski said he was in touch with the Huskies’ previous coach, Steve MacDonald, when MacDonald held the position to help advise him on bringing in international players.
The current St. Cloud roster has five players from non-North American nations and Idalski plans to build on that to help make this program a force in the WCHA.
For women on the team competing for a fifth year, Idalski is the third head coach in their career as a Husky. But senior defender McKenna Wesloh, who played under yet another coach before transferring to St. Cloud, said in the video she’s excited about what Idalski can bring to St. Cloud State.
“We’ve struggled the last few years. All of us, we want more. We strive to be better, she said.
Noah Laba has been a top freshman player this season for Colorado College (photo: Casey B. Gibson).
It’s less and less surprising these days when college coaches peek through the NCAA transfer portal.
There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with just looking, either, as second-year Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte can attest. But he refrained in the last offseason from signing anyone through those means, and that’s helping a Tigers team (6-9-1 overall, 3-4-1 NCHC) that has doubled its win total from this time last year (3-10-3, 1-6-1).
“It’s our vision for how we want to build this, and one of the things it’s done is that when we tell a player in junior about the opportunity that they can come in and we can see them fulfilling, they can trust us,” Mayotte said. “If we tell a Noah Laba (seven goals and four assists, leading all CC freshmen in scoring) we think he can come in and be a top-six center for us, he can trust that that’s actually going to be the case, and that we aren’t going to bring in a fifth-year guy or a 23-year-old from another program to take that opportunity and that development away from him.
“We’re focused on bringing in good people in a good freshman class, work to develop them and not use the quick fix of the transfer portal. We’re focused on investing in the guys we think we can pull out a lot of return on, and who will be here three, four, five years. I think we’re willing to sacrifice a couple of wins, maybe, this year, but we’re putting all our resources and energy into making sure that the guys that are coming in, our freshman class, are getting the attention they need, and that the guys that are here are getting coached the right way.”
That isn’t to say every current CC player began their college hockey career in Colorado Springs. Shortly after Mayotte was hired, now-junior forward Danny Weight came in from Boston College with four remaining years of eligibility, and now-senior forward Noah Prokop had three left when he arrived from Omaha.
“We knew we could invest in those guys, develop them and get them in our culture where they could have an impact,” Mayotte said. “After two or three years, they can show the next guy what it’s about.
“We always check in on (the portal) and see if there’s something that’s going to be the right fit, but for us, the priority is to invest in guys where we believe, in the long term, it’s going to pay off. A grad transfer or a (transfer) senior, something like that, that’s just not our blueprint, and that’s not our value right now.”
CC finishes its first-semester slate this week with a home series against Prokop’s old team, before hosting Princeton on Dec. 30-31. The Tigers are fresh off consecutive splits with Minnesota Duluth and local rival Air Force, and nearing into the holiday break, Mayotte wants to see his squad keep building toward a strong push in the new year.
“We’ve got to evaluate what we are,” Mayotte said. “We’ve got to find ways to be a little more consistent and do it on back-to-back nights. There’s a big discrepancy between our Friday and Saturday nights, and to be a really good second-half team, you have to be able to get sweeps and avoid getting swept.
“You can have splits mixed in there, but we really want to see the growth, and we’ve given our young guys a lot of opportunity, and in the second half, we’ll start to see that pay off.”
Holy Cross players celebrate a win from earlier during the 2022-23 season (photo: Mark Seliger Photography).
There have been some growing pains for Holy Cross in the first half of this season.
A challenging schedule has meant more losses than wins so far, but the consistency that coach Bill Riga has been looking for is starting to emerge.
“We’ve been up and down, especially early in the season,” Riga said. “We’ve played a lot on the road: Rochester, Buffalo, Air Force, and North Dakota. And we’ve been inconsistent, like playing really well against AIC (7-3 win on Oct. 18) and then not playing well the next time against them (4-1 loss on Nov. 26). At Mercyhurst (3-1 and 4-1 losses), we put up 90 shots that weekend, but couldn’t get it to fall.
“We saw the same kind of thing last year and it took almost the whole season to find our identity and some consistency. I think we’re already moving into that phase now, so we’re ahead of where we were last year.”
A big step in that direction was a come-from-behind, overtime win against New Hampshire on Nov. 26. Junior forward Jack Ricketts tied the game with 8:32 to play and senior defenseman Nick Hale won it 33 seconds into the extra frame. Junior goaltender Jason Grande, a transfer from Bentley, made 35 saves for the win.
“That kind of win lifts you up,” said Riga. “We found a way to come back and win in overtime. We feel like we’ve been building towards that for a while.”
The dramatic win gave the Crusaders some momentum heading into a two-game series at Air Force, and Holy Cross swept the Falcons with 4-1 and 2-1 victories.
Grande was sharp in both games, and the Holy Cross penalty kill held Air Force to one goal in 12 attempts on the weekend.
“We blocked a lot of shots,” said Riga. “(Air Force) has some guys that can bomb from the point, so if you’re not getting in front of those, your kill’s not going to work.
“It was a point of emphasis for us against them, but we always want to be blocking shots. And what they say is true, that your goaltender is your No. 1 penalty killer and Jason really responded.”
Grande has the hot hand in net right now after seeing limited action earlier in the season.
“It’s an open competition,” said Riga. “It was (Thomas) Gale for a while, and (against UNH) we came back around to Grande, and he seized it. He’s been a major factor. We’re also scoring more and gaining confidence in that which is a good development.”
The Crusaders are now off until Dec. 30 when they’ll host Quinnipiac. Will the layoff cool off Riga’s team, or help them to take stock and regroup?
“A little bit of both,” he said. “We’d be happy and excited if we were playing this weekend. But we’ve also played a lot of hockey and done a lot of traveling. Part of me says it’ll be good to take a breath.”
The Quinnipiac game will be special for Riga, who spent 13 years there, the last seven as associate head coach.
“There’s obviously still relationships there with many players,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for them.”
Riga says he’s proud of helping to build Quinnipiac into one of the top programs in college hockey, and he hopes to do something similar at Holy Cross.
“It’s an identity that they’ve worked on for 15 years,” he said. “We’re going to have our own identity, too. It takes time.”
Amherst sweeps #3 Middlebury, winning 4-2 in both games (Photo by Clarus Studios Inc.)
We had a wild week of Women’s hockey out east as we had three shocking upsets, two involving the same teams and one involving a team that hadn’t been shutout since 11/24/2018! Weeks like this show us once again how the competition levels have never been better and the amount of dominant teams are decreasing by the year. We also look at another team who seems to be finding their stride as of late.
Amherst shocks #3 Middlebury… Twice
#11 Amherst entered the weekend with a 3-1 record facing #3 Middlebury (4-1) on the road for a pair of huge NESCAC games. Amherst pulled off back-to-back upset wins by the score of 4-2 in both games. On the statsheet, Amherst was dominant, outshooting Middlebury by a combined 69-38 in the two games and seemed to have no trouble at all controlling the game and playing to their desired style. However, the way the goals came were interesting and not what you may expect. In game one, Amherst opened it up first as Maeve Reynolds scored a shorthanded goal at 11:44 of the 1st period to go up 1-0. Middlebury would then score once in the second and first in the 3rd period to take a 2-1 lead. Amherst then scored three-unanswered goals at 6:09, 11:45, and then 18:59 to seal the deal and get the first of the two 4-2 wins. Goaltender Natalie Stott got the victory, recording 10 saves.
In game two, Middlebury came out firing early, scoring goals at the 1:25 and 4:56 mark of the 1st period to go up 2-0 in under 5 minutes of play. Amherst then answered and scored a pair of goals late in the 1st period to tie it 2-2. Carley Daly then scored the game-winner at 14:33 of the 2nd period, the Mammoths then added another one at the 3:14 mark of the 3rd period to make it 4-2. Goaltender Natalie Stott recorded 24 saves in the victory.
Head Coach Jeff Matthews had this to say about his team’s performance over the weekend: “On Friday, we enjoyed a total team effort, and everyone competed hard for a full 60. We played to our standards, and had great energy as a team. After a slow start in the first 5 minutes on Saturday, we returned to playing how we wanted to, and were able to tie things up before the period ended. We built on that momentum in the 2nd period, and seniors Carley Daly and Kate Pohl put us in the lead by connecting on a terrific play on the rush. We were able to sustain our effort the rest of the way, and add one more in the third. Overall, both games were very fast paced and hard fought, and exciting to be a part of. The NESCAC is an extremely competitive league, top to bottom, so to beat anyone in our league two days in a row is always a difficult task, no matter who you play. We were very happy to get the two wins.”
After this weekend, Amherst (5-1) is now ranked #6 on the USCHO poll, Middlebury drops to #9.
Cortland shuts out the #4 Cardinals
The Cortland Red Dragons, coming off a season where they missed the NCAA Tournament by a tenth of a point in the pairwise ranking to Colby, is now back and looking to make another run at a tournament bid this year. This weekend they hosted #4 Plattsburgh and shut them out 1-0, something that hasn’t been done to Plattsburgh since November 24, 2018 vs Adrian in the Panther/Cardinal Classic, Adrian won 1-0.
Cortland shuts out #4 Plattsburgh 1-0, Goaltender Molly Goergan gets the 30 save shutout victory (Photo by Darl Zehr Photography)
In this game, the lone goal of the game came at 10:55 of the 2nd period from Mia Hlasnick, assisted by Beth McArthur & Molly McCabe. Goaltender Molly Goergen recorded the 30 save shutout victory over the Cardinals. Interestingly enough, the game had zero penalties occur by either team, while Plattsburgh outshot Cortland 30-27, but in the end it didn’t matter.
Head Coach Rick Filighera, when asked about his team dropping a few games early to rival Oswego State and then another to Williams, but coming back and getting a victory like this, said: “The Oswego games were no different than any other the last three years. Each game either ended in a Tie or a 1 goal win or loss. Both teams are very similar, and the games will always be competitive. The Williams game was more on our special team’s lack of execution and some puck luck. We attempted 59 shots in that game and Williams finished on many of their grade-A chances. In the Plattsburgh game we needed a 60-minute A+ game effort to have a chance and we were fortunate enough to get that first goal and execute our defensive zone system with great goaltending. The biggest difference moving forward for us will be to not be anxious with the puck as we hit skates, pads, and mishandled passes late. We are young, lots of first year and second year players and we will only get better with experience.”
When asked for comment on being the first team to shutout Plattsburgh since 11/24/2018, Coach Filighera said: “As a team we have a motto Don’t Blink! It would’ve been very easy for us to lose confidence after the previous three games. So, my favorite part was the energy we brought for 60 minutes. It encompassed what we want to be about. We executed our defensive zone system and even after some tough shifts the players didn’t think twice and did not hesitate and were committed to our systems. We played fearlessly and that is what made the coaching staff proud.”
Utica making some noise
#13 Utica University is 8-1-1 and making some noise in the polls and the UCHC after another pair of wins this past weekend. Utica is unbeaten in it’s last nine games, their only loss coming opening night to (at the time) #4 Elmira 2-3. The Pioneers picked up a pair of wins vs Alvernia, winning 3-1 & 4-0. The point leader of the weekend for Utica was Carly Stefanini (1 goal, 2 assists). Goaltender Angela Hawthorne had a 19 save victory and a 15 save shutout victory.
Utica University is now 8-1-1 after sweeping Alvernia 3-1 & 4-0. They’re also now playing games in the new Nexus Center, connected to the Utica Auditorium (Photo by Kayleigh Sturtevant)
Head Coach Dave Clausen was asked about his team’s tough start to the season in terms of playing an opponent like Elmira on opening night and then tying Arcadia, but finding their stride as they’ve won seven in a row and are outscoring their opponents 54-8 on the season. “The opening loss on the road at Elmira was a tough pill to swallow. While we didn’t play our best, we did feel like the final goal not being waived off for a kick was rough. We like our team in the 3v3 OT format and feel that could have gone our way. Arcadia is a solid team this year with some very good players. They played well and showed us what can happen if we are not ready to go on game day. After the Arcadia weekend we made a few changes lineup wise, and seem to have found our stride. Right now we have 4 lines contributing offensively, and that’s a great place to be. It makes calling lines easy when as coaches you have confidence in every group. Our defense has played well, and goaltending has been exceptional. Hopefully we can come back from break and find the same groove.”
Another fun fact about Utica is they now are playing games in the newly built Nexus Center, connected to the Utica Auditorium. Coach Clausen talked about the new rink and the amenities that come with it: “It’s exciting to play in the new Nexus Center. Our players will truly be spoiled in the new facility with their off-ice area, locker room, changing room, training room and lounge. The in-ice experience is quickly developing into one of the best in Women’s College Hockey. The fans are right on top of the ice surface, and with the video board, suites, restaurant, etc it has to be the premier facility in all of Women’s College Hockey. Moving forward we are looking forward to playing the majority of our games at Nexus.”
Other Notable Results
#6 Norwich defeated Salem St. 6-0 & U. Southern Maine 8-1.
#7 Elmira defeated Plymouth State 2-0 & Castleton 4-1.
#8 Colby (6-0-0) swept Bowdoin 3-2 & 2-0, also defeated U. New England 9-1.
#10 Nazareth swept Neumann 5-0 & 12-0, lost to Williams 4-1.
#15 Oswego State defeated Buffalo State 9-2 and lost to #4 Plattsburgh 3-2.
Trinity upset #6 Norwich on Tues. Dec. 6, winning 3-0.
Williams upset #10 Nazareth on Tues. Dec. 6, winning 4-1.
Canton is now 9-1-1, sweeping Anna Maria 2-1 & 6-1, also beating Potsdam 4-1.
Western New England is 7-2-2, sweeping Nichols 6-5 & 5-1.
Augustana coach Garrett Raboin is flanked by director of athletics Josh Morton on his right and president Stephanie Herseth Sandlin during last April’s press conference announcing Raboin’s hiring (photo: Jurgens Photography).
There are some things a head coach at every college program knows he’s going to be doing, no matter if he or she are new to the job or have been there for 20 years: Running practice. Recruiting. Meeting donors and season ticket holders. These are all givens.
But for Garrett Raboin, the list of responsibilities is unique. In fact, many of the Augustana head coach’s responsibilities are things most coaches never get to do–like designing team uniforms from scratch, or giving input on a team’s weight and locker rooms in their brand-new arena.
It’s part of what attracted Raboin, 37, to the job in the first place. The former St. Cloud State captain and Minnesota assistant coach was excited for the opportunity to build a program from the ground up.
“It’s incredibly unique, but it’s fun for me and my staff,” he said. “To do something that not a lot of teams have had the opportunity to do. To learn about Augustana, to learn about what makes Augustana such a special place. To find out who fits Augustana and who Augustana fits, if that makes any sense. It’s kind of two sides of the coin. There’s a lot that goes into it. It’s awesome for me to go into work every day and no one day looks like another.”
When Augustana announced back in October of 2021 that it was starting a Division I hockey program, there was much excitement around the college hockey world, mostly because of how novel it was for a school of Augustana’s size, stature and location.
The private, Lutheran-affiliated school in Sioux Falls, S.D., has been a Division II powerhouse, having won national championships in basketball, softball and baseball in the past decade, and had previously discussed moving its entire athletic department up to Division I. While that was put on hold, the school still moved ahead with its hockey initiative, funded in part by South Dakota billionaire and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. Ground broke on the brand-new, on-campus $40 million Midco Arena the same day the hockey program was officially announced.
That puts Augustana in a somewhat unique position compared to other recent Division I newcomers. It didn’t, like future CCHA rival and fellow private Midwestern religious school St. Thomas, have a successful Division III program to build on, nor did it have even a high-level ACHA club team like Lindenwood. And unlike Arizona State or Penn State, it is not a Power 5 school (and does not have the corresponding Power 5 athletic budget).
But Augustana has one big advantage that the others (save St. Thomas) don’t possess–location. Sioux Falls specifically but the state of South Dakota in general is fertile ground for recruiting, due to junior hockey connections in the state as well as being neighbors with two even bigger hockey markets.
Raboin said the opportunity to help build South Dakota into a “hockey state” was another big reason why he took the job.
“For us, it’s awesome,” he said. “To grow hockey at the youth level in the state of South Dakota. Hockey rinks are going up, youth numbers are growing. There’s junior hockey in the USHL, in the North American league. And, hey, as we’ve seen, hockey does alright in the Dakotas if we can learn anything from our friends to the north.”
Currently, the state has two other Division I athletic programs at South Dakota and South Dakota State, both of whom have had great success in the last decade or so since moving up. Neither have hockey, so it’s not much of a stretch to think Augustana hockey can carve out its own niche both in the state and in the Sioux Falls community.
“The best thing we can do is put together a team that embodies a lot of those same characteristics that the people of South Dakota have, in terms of work ethic and a blue collar mentality,” Raboin said. “If the fans can come to the rink and feel well represented by the team on the ice, and be entertained, word will get out real quick. We have to put a good exciting product on the ice, but they will be watching hockey in an incredible new facility with all the amenities. I think when they’re leaving the rink, they’ll have a smile on their face… Plus, a lot of our students are from hockey country – coming from Minnesota and North Dakota.”
Leading by example, off the ice (for now)
Raboin isn’t alone on campus. In May, he hired Andy Boschetto from Colgate to be one of his assistants. And the two coaches aren’t just out recruiting and doing administrative work. Despite not having a rink of their own, or games to play, the Vikings do have two players who have been on campus all semester.
Ben Troumbly and Will Svenddal enrolled this fall and are taking the most unconventional redshirt season. They are on the ice twice a week and in the weight room three times a week. In the meantime, they are learning about Augustana and becoming a valuable resource for Raboin and Boschetto, as well as other potential recruits.
“They’ve just been a godsend to be quite honest,” Raboin said. “They truly are going to be experienced in what augustana is all about. When we bring 26 new players to town, they already know the lay of the land, they’re going to be a big piece of our foundation, and just having the transition for the rest of our team they are going to be huge.”
As the rest of the roster takes shape, Raboin said he is still trying to figure out exactly what makes Viking hockey work and what sorts of players he wants to bring in. Asked about what sort of style he thinks his teams will play, the former Bob Motzko player and assistant had an answer.
“As a coach, you pick up things along your path. From a player to a coach, a decade under coach Motz, it’s probably going to be, to a spectator’s eyes, very similar,” he said. “An aggressive forechecking team that competes and understands and is willing to play defense without the puck.”
And who will this team be playing? Well, the Vikings were inducted into the CCHA back in May, and for their first two seasons they will play one series against each conference opponent.
“What that allows us to do is build out a nonconference schedule, which I’m very excited about,” Raboin said. “We’re going to be able to go and showcase Augustana all across college hockey… literally from coast to coast, we’re going to be able to play nonconference games.”
Right now, the Vikings have games scheduled for 2023 against Notre Dame, Arizona State, Denver and Colorado College all on the road, but more will be announced in the near future, including home games, Raboin said.
As for competing in the CCHA, Raboin said he’s trying to watch the rest of the conference’s programs closely to figure out just how to be successful in a fairly balanced league.
“You’re trying your best to learn about the league, learn what works, try and find what recipe is working best,” he said. “It’s interesting because it’s always changing. Our league is great because there’s some really really good coaches. There’s some younger up-and-coming coaches and guys who have been competing at a high level for a really really long time, but the great part about it is, as competitive as it is, they’re always a phone call away, they’re willing to help, they’re incredibly selfless and it’s been great for me as a young coach to lean on them and ask questions.”
From left, Natalie Mlýnková, Kelly Golini, Riley Walsh and Pia Dukaric (photos: Vermont Athletics, Saunt Anselm Athletics, Union Athletics, Yale Athletics).
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced the four women’s college hockey award winners for Nov. 2022.
Vermont’s Natalie Mlýnková and Saint Anselm’s Kelly Golini are co-players of the month, while Union’s Riley Walsh is rookie of the month and Yale’s Pia Dukaric is goaltender of the month.
Mlýnková took over the UVM lead in scoring with 7-7-14 in seven games. Her 2.00 points per game was best among all players in Hockey East.
Golini went 8-7-15, helping Saint A’s to an 8-2-0 record. Scored twice against Dartmouth, once in each game, and logged the game-winning goal against the Big Green in a 2-0 win in Hanover.
Walsh was as clutch as can be for Union in the month of November, tallying eight points in five games for the Dutchwomen. Three of her four goals were overtime game-winners as Union went 4-0-1 on the month.
Dukaric was lights-out in November, posting three shutouts in six starts and a perfect 6-0-0 month. She had a 0.99 GAA and a save percentage of .961. Five of her wins came against nationally-ranked opponents Quinnipiac, Princeton, Penn State (twice), and Minnesota.
Joe Bertagna’s long and storied career in hockey will continue over the next few years (photo: AHCA).
The American Hockey Coaches Association has extended its agreement with executive director Joe Bertagna, who has been in the role since the position was created in 1991.
Bertagna will serve in his current position through June of 2024 before assuming the title of media relations director in 2024-25. A search for a new executive director for the 2024-25 season will begin during 2023.
“Joe is a great ambassador for college hockey and has a fantastic working relationship with the NCAA,” said Grant Potulny, AHCA president and head coach at Northern Michigan, in a statement. “His leadership in the role as executive director has given the AHCA and its members stability and confidence for over more than 30 years, none more important than over the past four years. We are looking forward to Joe continuing to guide the AHCA through 2024 and transition his successor into the 2024-2025 season.”
The AHCA has grown during Bertagna’s time as the only administrator it has ever had. The AHCA membership has increased and become more diverse during his tenure and working with the Board and other officers, the AHCA has come back strong since the pandemic challenged the organization a few years back.
“I am very appreciative that the AHCA board is allowing me to continue serving the coaches,” said Bertagna. “I am particularly pleased that I will be able to transition to a different role in 2024 and I look forward to working alongside a successor.”
Bertagna has enjoyed a unique career in hockey as a player, coach, administrator, and journalist. With this extended agreement, Bertagna will celebrate 50 years in college hockey during the 2024-25 season — four as a player, three as a coach and 43 as an administrator.
A 1973 graduate of Harvard where he played goal for coaches Cooney Weiland and Bill Cleary, Bertagna enjoyed a brief professional career before starting work as a coach and administrator. He was the first coach of Harvard women’s hockey and launched a goalie coach career at the same time, peaking with six years with the Boston Bruins from 1985 to 1991. His summer goalie school will celebrate its 50th year next summer.
He has been a conference commissioner for 40 years, serving 38 years in college hockey, between the ECAC and Hockey East, and he is currently in his second year as commissioner of the Eastern Hockey League. A former broadcaster and freelance writer, Bertagna self-published a memoir, “Late in the Third,” in the summer of 2021. He also serves college hockey as the secretary-treasurer of the Hockey Commissioners Association.
Notre Dame celebrates a goal in a 5-2 win over Boston College on Nov. 25 (photo: Notre Dame Athletics).
As the first half of the season begins to wind down, the Fighting Irish aren’t where they’d like to be.
With a record of 7-7-2, Notre Dame is 15 points out of first place in the Big Ten standings and is lowish – for Notre Dame, anyway – in the very early PairWise Rankings.
None of this is ideal, but coach Jeff Jackson is the pragmatic type. Given some of the annual player turnover, adjustments this season were inevitable.
“We lost pretty big pieces from last year,” said Jackson, “mostly I think on the back end with Stastney and Karashik.”
In 2021-22, the Notre Dame defense was anchored by senior Spencer Stastney and grad student transfer Adam Karashik. Gone, too, is goaltender Matthew Galajda, who transferred as a graduate student from Cornell and who had a .933 save percentage with the Irish and a 1.90 GAA.
At the end of last season, Notre Dame had the fifth-best defense the country and the Irish penalty kill led the nation, allowing just seven opponent power-play goals in 136 attempts.
There are big changes in that aspect of Notre Dame’s game this season. Currently the Irish sit at 36th defensively with the 52nd-best PK nationally.
The Irish PK has improved since their opening weekend in the Ice Breaker Tournament, though, when Notre Dame allowed five power-play goals – two in a 5-2 loss to Denver, three in a 5-5 tie against Air Force – which is two opponent power-play goals fewer than the seven total PP goals Notre Dame had given up for the entire 2021-22 season.
“We had a bad weekend,” said Jackson. “We’ve paid the price for that ever since as far as our percentage goes.”
Notre Dame’s challenges don’t end with defense.
“Even though we lost those two difference makers on the back end, the bigger problem is our offense,” said Jackson. “We’re just not scoring the way I thought we would.”
The Irish is averaging 2.38 goals per game, down from the 3.20 they averaged at the end of last season. Gone is Max Ellis, who as a junior led Notre Dame last season with 16 goals. Stastney had seven goals of his own from the blue line. Graham Slaggert had 12 goals last year before graduating. Cam Burke had eight in his senior season and then transferred to Boston College.
Beyond that, said Jackson, returning scorers have yet to find their groove.
“Landon Slaggert just got his first goal against BU,” noted Jackson. “How do you predict that stuff? It’s not like he’s not trying. It’s not like he isn’t getting chances. He’s just not scoring.”
Slaggert had a dozen goals last season.
“The same thing applies to other guys that we thought hopefully were going to take the step offensively for us and it just hasn’t happened yet,” said Jackson. “It doesn’t mean that it can’t still happen. That’s where we’ve gotten ourselves into a little bit of trouble.”
Complicit in all of this, said Jackson, has been Notre Dame’s schedule. After beginning the season against Denver at the Ice Breaker Tournament, the Irish have since dropped two games to Minnesota, have split with Ohio State, Michigan and Western Michigan, have played to a win and a tie against a reborn Michigan State team, and played on the road the last weekend in November against Boston University and Boston College. After losing to the Terriers 5-2, the Irish beat the Eagles by the same score.
“We’ve had a bear of a schedule, to be honest,” said Jackson, “and that plays into it a bit. We haven’t been consistent, but we’ve been playing a lot of teams that are top-10, top-20 in the country on a pretty regular basis, so when we have an off night, it shows up. It shows up bigger. Let’s put it that way.”
An off night like Notre Dame’s 5-2 loss to Ohio State Nov. 18, when the Irish surrendered three third-period goals. Or an off night like that 5-2 loss to Boston University, when the Irish trailed all game and once again allowed three third-period goals.
“I always say that when we don’t play well, we’re not possessing the puck, we’re not managing the puck like we should be,” said Jackson. “If you’re giving it up, you’re chasing, you’re playing defense with a top team. You’re playing defense at a high level.
“We can’t score ourselves out of trouble. We need to get things on track. That’s probably where we’ve been spending the bulk of our time, on generating more offense.”
The Notre Dame power play, which clicked along at nearly 20 percent last season, is just 7 of 56 this year so far (12.5%).
“We have more ability, more talent than what our power play shows,” said Jackson.
Through 16 games, the Irish are led in goal production by grad student defenseman Nick Leivermann, whose five total goals are one shy of the career high he set as a senior last year for Notre Dame. Newcomers Chayse Primeau (Ohama) and Jackson Pierson (New Hampshire), both grad student transfers, are expected to add offense as the season progresses.
Then again, so is everyone else.
“I’ve always been a big believer that it’s not so much the individuals, it’s about the collective,” said Jackson. “It’s about the chemistry in the group. We just haven’t found that chemistry yet.”
To bolster the blue line, Notre Dame brought in Ben Brinkman after he finished his initial four years with Minnesota and junior Drew Bavaro, who transferred after two years with Bentley. Additionally, the Irish have highly touted freshman Mike Mastrodomenico.
“I think the three have played pretty well for us,” said Jackson.
Returning to Big Ten play after a bye week, Notre Dame hosts Penn State. Jackson knows what the Nittany Lions are bringing to South Bend.
“In the second half of last year, they didn’t lose much,” said Jackson. “They’ve got a lot of returning guys, and they made some good pickups in the transfers, some offensive guys.”
Jackson said that he hopes that the difficulty of Notre Dame’s early schedule and the lessons his team can learn from that will prepare the Irish for the remainder of the season, games that are all in conference from now until the end of the season with the exception of a home series against Alaska to ring in the new year.
“There’s no soft ice in the league,” Jackson said. “The Big Ten is hard top to bottom.”
Jackson said that he and his coaching staff can’t think about how some early losses may affect Notre Dame’s fate come March. The Irish have made six consecutive NCAA appearances dating back to 2016 and excluding 2020, when the tournament was cancelled because of the pandemic.
“If you don’t make some hay in nonconference, then you get in trouble,” said Jackson. “We have to just focus on the present. We can’t worry about what happened or what’s going to happen.”
Jackson said that every week, the Irish are working on improving.
“That’s the approach of the coaching staff,” said Jackson. “We’re trying to simplify things, just work on the fundamentals and the details of the game. It’s not about structure. It’s more about execution of that structure.”
Notre Dame is 17-7-3 all-time against Penn State. The Nittany Lions have never won back-to-back games against the Fighting Irish. Last season, the Irish won all four meetings with Penn State, outscoring the Nittany Lions 19-8 in those contests.
No. 1 ranked Hobart looks to complete a perfect first half when Trinity visits the Cooler on Saturday night (Photo by Kevin Colton – Lead Photographer/HWS Athletics)
It is the final weekend of the first half of the season and there are a lot of teams seeking victory to send their players into finals and home for the break feeling very good about where they are at this point of the season. I am seeking the same validation on my weekly picks as I finished at a less than stellar 6-4-2 (.583) last week to move to 41-21-6 (.647) on the season. Nothing like super sizing the list of the picks to finish strong in December and with plenty to look forward to in the second half in January. The schedule has some great non-conference action, battles of east v. west and travel partner games before the break. Lots to choose from so here are this week’s picks to close out December:
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
(7) Endicott v. Wesleyan
A great non-conference battle that should produce a lot of goals with both teams having depth and balance upfront. The Cardinals are off to a great start and won’t let the Gulls diminish a terrific first half of the season that includes an upset over a ranked team – Wesleyan, 6-5
Salve Regina v. Plymouth State
The Seahawks go north to take on a Panther team that is very similar to them in style of play. This one may need extra time or a late power play to decide a winner. Special teams dominate the score sheet – PSU, 5-4
Thursday, December 8, 2022
New England College v. Salem State
The red-hot Pilgrims face a longtime/old time rival on the road and this one should have fans entertained for the full 60 minutes. A fast start helps the visitors hold off a determined Vikings squad that come up a little short – NEC, 4-2
Friday, December 9, 2022
(6) Geneseo v. Brockport
The Knights have had a challenging first half with injuries but need to continue to amass points in a SUNYAC contest before the break. Coach Schultz’s teams know how to rise to the occasion and do so against their travel partner when it counts in the third period – Geneseo, 4-3
Stevenson v. Trine
The Mustangs picked a killer road trip to close out the first half starting with a Trine team that tied Utica at “The Aud.” If a split is in the cards (Mustangs are bigger underdogs playing Adrian on Saturday) then Coach Dawes team really needs to build momentum with a solid 60 minutes on Friday resulting in a “W” – Stevenson, 3-2
Canton v. Potsdam
The Kangaroos genuinely enjoy playing and beating anyone in the SUNYAC and the Bears are a winnable game for the visitors, but home team has some swagger after Plattsburgh win. Third period rally gets it done in dramatic fashion for the Bears – Potsdam, 4-3
Williams v. Amherst
The two teams both wear purple and are rivals in every sport they play against each other in. Throw out the records when they play because there are always surprises. Better goaltending the difference for the visitors who also find the rest of their offensive game – Williams, 3-2
Lebanon Valley v. Chatham
The Cougars better be wary of the Flying Dutchmen who can play a stifling game that frustrates opponents. Do not expect a lot of scoring in this one as the goaltending will be outstanding – Chatham, 2-1
Saturday, December 10, 2022
Post v. Assumption
A NE-10 battle that should be a close contest between two teams that compete hard every time they step on the ice. Christopher Stalmok has shown off his goal-scoring prowess a bit this season and will be a factor in the Greyhounds win – Assumption, 5-4
Trinity v. (1) Hobart
Last year Hobart traveled to Trinity to close out the first half and got stunned by the Bantams. Turn- about is fair play and the Statesmen get to return the favor this year on their home ice. Afterall, it’s not them making the long bus ride this time around– Hobart, 4-2
Morrisville v. (12) Plattsburgh
The Cardinals have demonstrated they are a contender in SUNYAC this season so not beating Morrisville would be a setback for a team that has proven resiliency all season to date and needs a bounce back from back-to-back losses to Potsdam and Norwich. Start fast, finish strong – Plattsburgh, 5-2
Connecticut College v. Bowdoin
This Camels have had their struggles early in the season while Bowdoin has enjoyed some early season success under new coach Ben Guite. Expect the Polar Bears to continue their strong play to close out the first half in NESCAC play with a win – Bowdoin, 4-2
Westfield State v. Worcester State
The Owls are in every game they play with solid defense and the excellent goaltending of Valtteri Valtonen. They will need V2 to play large against a Lancer team that always attacks with five players. Visitors steal one on the road – Westfield State, 3-2
Wentworth v. University of New England
The Nor’easters started out great but have not been on their game the last few weeks until rebounding last weekend. The Leopards may see an opportunity to pounce on the defending CCC champions but home ice, home crowd and lots of pride lead to a win – UNE, 5-3
Anna Maria v. Southern Maine
The AmCats have been interesting to watch as they have won a lot of statistical battles in games but not necessarily the one that counts on the scoreboard. Big win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Tuesday provides some momentum. Check both boxes here as the visitors win a close one over a determined Huskies squad – AMC, 4-3
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Alvernia v. Wilkes
The new kids certainly represented their institution well in the first half and what a way to close it out if they could beat Wilkes on the road. It is not easy. In fact, it may take some extra time beyond sixty minutes – Alvernia, 4-3
What a terrific first half of the season – I expect battles to the final whistle with everyone having lots of time to recover before their teams lace them up again after the holidays – “Drop the Puck!”
