Ryan Ouellette has stepped up as of late in the NMU crease (photo: Northern Michigan Athletics).
Don’t count out Northern Michigan just yet.
Sure, the Wildcats struggled mightily to start the 2024-25 season, but that was to be expected. The coaching change at the end of the spring — Grant Potulny left to coach in the AHL and Dave Shyiak was hired to take his place in June — also caused a massive roster turnover.
Just four players returned from seasons past. Twenty-four Wildcats were new, and most of them didn’t set foot on campus in Marquette until enrolling for school in the fall.
It led to some predictable results. NMU went 1-18-1 in the 2024 portion of the season. Their lone win came Oct. 18 against Alaska Anchorage, while their only conference points were Nov. 16, when they managed to tie Minnesota State and win a shootout.
But it seems that the start of 2025 has given the Wildcats a new outlook, as NMU is 3-1-0 in its last four games. This included an upset win over Minnesota State followed by a series sweep (their first of the season) at Bemidji State.
“I actually think we’ve been playing real well for a while now, but the wins just haven’t been adding up for us,” said NMU freshman forward Ryan Duguay. “It’s nice to finally get those wins now.
“Obviously, at the start of the year, it was a big change for a lot of us. We’re a brand-new group here. So, it took a little while to maybe get used to each other. But for the last probably two, three months, I think we’ve been in every game. We’re competing with every team, from the ones on top all the way down to maybe some not as good teams. And I think we’re putting together some good efforts and just needed to get those wins. They have been adding up lately, so it’s been great.”
Duguay has had a big part in these past few Wildcat wins. The Edmonton native scored all three goals against Minnesota State on Jan. 10, helping the Wildcats earn a 3-2 victory over the nationally-ranked Mavericks. He added another the next night (a 6-1 MSU win) then got yet another this past Saturday–the first goal in a 3-1 win against Bemidji State. In all, Duguay currently leads the Wildcats with six goals on the season.
“I think it was a bit of an adjustment for me,” Duguay said of finding his scoring touch. “You know, it’s a tough level. It took me a little while, but I feel like my conference has finally got up. I usually consider myself a goal scorer, so it was a little hard not being getting a lot of chances at the start of the year, but I’m getting opportunities now, and finally finding my game again. And the wins make it feel a whole lot better.”
It’s been a struggle for the Wildcats to score in general this season–netting just 36 goals in 24 games (1.50 goals per game). However, they’ve been able to keep games close for the most part thanks to the stellar goaltending of Ryan Ouellette. The transfer from Niagara has faced more shots than any other goaltender in the CCHA, and his save percentage is at .922.
“Yeah, he’s been amazing. He’s been the backbone of our team all year long,” Duguay said of his goaltender. “He’s kept us in a lot of games, probably a bit too many at times, because at times we’re not the best in front of him, so it’s always good to trust the goalie back there. He has good games every night.”
So now that the Wildcats are playing their best hockey of the season, it seems like they are finally ready to make a push for a playoff spot. For a long time, it’s looked like they weren’t going to be able to make up any ground on the teams in front of them, but all of a sudden, it looks like there’s an opportunity. Ferris State is just seven points in front of them.
“We dug ourselves a bit of a hole at the start of the year with a lot of the games that we dropped, but we’re finally finding ourselves as a team,” Duguay said. “But we obviously want to make a playoff push. We’re going to keep pushing, keep getting those points back and stringing those wins together.”
Alex DiPaolo recorded a hat trick in a four-point performance, helping Colgate to a 6-4 victory at Princeton last Saturday night (photo: Craig Houtz).
The 2023 NCAA tournament returned ECAC Hockey to one of its highest watermarks in college hockey’s storied history.
Alongside the Big Ten, the conference claimed four of the tournament’s 16 spots and represented a full quarter of the teams entered into the competition for the national championship. Two teams – Quinnipiac and Cornell – advanced out of the first round before the Bobcats advanced to the Frozen Four and national championship games with wins over Ohio State and Michigan.
A third win over the Big Ten cemented their first-ever national championship with a 3-2 overtime victory, but the final four field that included Boston University was a 2-1 loss away from pairing the Big Ten against the Big Red and a second team from the ECAC’s 12-team conference.
Two years later, things are drastically different for the only league untouched by the realignment periods over the last decade. One month remains in college hockey’s regular season, but likelihood and probabilities are increasing that ECAC will become a one-bid league for the first time since 2004. One team sits inside the bubble as of this weekend, but the numbers forcing Quinnipiac closer to the No. 16 slot makes it tougher to predict which league team would earn its way to the national tournament.
With that in mind, this week seemed like a good time to reset the league’s current situation while looking ahead to the last remaining major matchups involving teams in and around the bubble:
The current situation
-No. 14 Quinnipiac is the highest-ranked ECAC team in the Pairwise Rankings. While not an official indicator of the national tournament, the Bobcats are No. 15 in the USCHO.com poll.
-Cornell and Dartmouth are next-best in a tied spot at No. 20, while Clarkson and Colgate share the No. 26 spot in the Pairwise Rankings. No other ECAC team is inside the top 40.
The schedule
For purposes related to mathematics, all rankings moving forward are a team’s current seating in the Pairwise Rankings.
-Quinnipiac plays No. 9 Connecticut in this weekend’s CT Ice Tournament before facing either No. 30 Sacred Heart or No. 53 Yale in Saturday’s consolation/championship round. The Pioneers are the tournament’s host team, so playing UConn and Yale count as neutral site matchups.
-Dartmouth is at Colgate and Cornell, which means the Raiders and Big Red draw No. 42 Harvard on the other end of their weekend matchups with the Big Green.
-Clarkson has a home-and-home with travel partner St. Lawrence, which is tied with Canisius and Northern Michigan for the fourth-lowest spot in the Pairwise Rankings.
Immediate Implications
-Per PlayoffStatus.com, Quinnipiac currently holds a 51% chance of making the national tournament. The Bobcats are the top-ranked team in the league but have the most to gain this weekend because the matchup against ninth-ranked Connecticut is one of the last opportunities to gain a foothold against a better-ranked team. That said, a loss to UConn won’t necessarily damage their Pairwise hopes because the two teams behind Quinnipiac – Minnesota State and New Hampshire – are playing weekend series against No. 56 Ferris State and No. 32 Vermont. They likely won’t gain spots by winning, though No. 17 Wisconsin beating No. 10 Michigan wouldn’t hellp, either.
-A bigger issue for Quinnipiac is based on whichever team advances to play the Bobcats on Saturday. If Quinnipiac beats Connecticut, that’s obviously a good thing, but a game against No. 30 Sacred Heart carries significantly less risk than a game against Yale, a fellow ECAC team that lost 4-1 in a league game at Ingalls Rink earlier this year. They’ll play again in late February as part of the league schedule, but a win/loss situation against UConn/Sacred Heart likely leaves the Bobcats in the exact same situation as the weekend began. A win/win is obviously most preferable, and a loss/loss, it goes without saying, isn’t helpful at all. A loss to Yale at any point is the equivalent of UMass Lowell’s loss to Stonehill, which the Bobcats simply can’t absorb.
-While that’s happening, Dartmouth and Cornell very obviously face a pair of critical games towards their own Pairwise comparisons, with Friday’s rivalry game against Harvard looming largest. A loss to the Crimson, who played Boston College aggressively before splitting with RPI and Union, would drop the Big Red well out of the race before the Dartmouth game on Saturday. The Big Green, meanwhile, would also likely drop to the mid-20s with a loss to Colgate on Friday.
-The strangest scenario occurs if Harvard sweeps the weekend and Dartmouth beats Cornell after losing to Colgate. Under that scenario, the Big Red emerge as a bubble contender around the No. 20 spot while Dartmouth and Colgate fall to around the No. 25 spot ahead of other, undocumented results.
Future implications
I could sit here all night and write about the different implications of a future schedule, but it’s simply too difficult to predict at the current moment. Quinnipiac very clearly has the best chance of earning an at-large bid but plays six of its last nine games against teams ranked 40th or lower in the Pairwise Rankings. Dartmouth plays four games against Quinnipiac, Clarkson, Colgate and Colgate, which means the Big Green have plenty of games left to tread water while other teams around the No. 14 spot lose ground. Cornell plays Clarkson twice and Dartmouth once but was a preseason prediction for the national tournament.
-Clarkson still has that road game against Quinnipiac, along with a second home matchup against the Bobcats, before the postseason gets underway.
-All four teams are part of a tournament push for the top four spots and a possible first round bye, but Union and Harvard adding themselves into the mix complicates the idea around possibly gaining a first round bye or potentially playing more games with more games against higher-ranked opponents – a mathematical oddity that nobody wants to face except for maybe me, who enjoys chaos and can’t explain that properly.
-Like those oddities, it’s important to remember that Cornell and Colgate held the No. 15 and No. 16 spots in 2004 until Harvard won the league tournament. Both the Big Red and the Raiders were bounced from the tournament by league championships by Niagara and Holy Cross, but it ranked as the inverse of last year when St. Lawrence advanced to the league championship despite falling to No. 43 in the Pairwise Rankings. Had the Saints won, another three-bid league for ECAC would have matched Hockey East and eliminated UMass from the bubble.
Alex Bump has provided timely scoring up front this season for Western Michigan (photo: Ashley Huss).
Welcome to Week 2 of Bracketology.
Each week from now until Selection Sunday, March 23, I will outline the current 16 teams in the Men’s NCAA Division I tournament and attempt to seed a bracket based on the current field.
This past weekend was a little volatile for the PairWise Rankings. The top two teams, Michigan State and Boston College, swapped spot with the Eagles jumping to the top. At the bottom, New Hampshire dropped two games to Boston University and fell out of the field of 16, while Arizona State, with a sweep of St. Cloud State, moved into the field.
Here are the 16 teams for the tournament if the season ended today:
1. Boston College
2. Michigan State*
3. Minnesota
4. Denver
5. Western Michigan*
6. Maine
7. Providence
8. Boston University*
9. Connecticut
10. Ohio State
11. Michigan
12. Arizona State
13. UMass Lowell
14. Quinnipiac*
15. Minnesota State*
16. Sacred Heart*
* – Indicates team that currently has the top conference winning percentage in their respective conference. While each conference is awarded an autobid for its tournament champion, for the purposes of this exercise we will use the first-place team (based on winning %) to receive the autobid.
With the field of 16 in place, we can now seed the four regions using basic bracket integrity (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, etc.).
1. Boston College
8. Boston University
9. Connecticut
16. Sacred Heart
2. Michigan State
7. Providence
10. Ohio State
15. Minnesota State
3. Minnesota
6. Maine
11. Michigan
14. Quinnipiac
4. Denver
5. Western Michigan
12. Arizona State
13. UMass Lowell
As a reminder and also for those who aren’t regular readers of Bracketology, there is one thing that the committee seems to avoid at all costs and that is first-round matchups between teams from the same conference. In the above bracket, we have two: 8 Boston University vs. 9 Connecticut and 5 Western Michigan against 12 Arizona State.
The good news is that these are both 2-seed vs. 3-seed matchups, thus swapping teams out of each matchup erases the conflict. In these situations, I typically like to move the lower seeds, in this case Connecticut and Arizona State as opposed to moving the higher seeds (BU and Western Michigan).
Making that swap we have the following four regional brackets:
1. Boston College
8. Boston University
12. Arizona State
16. Sacred Heart
2. Michigan State
7. Providence
10. Ohio State
15. Minnesota State
3. Minnesota
6. Maine
11. Michigan
14. Quinnipiac
4. Denver
5. Western Michigan
9. Connecticut
13. UMass Lowell
It may not seem fair that Western Michigan is now playing the ninth seed in the tournament as opposed to the 12th seed. But this is the only viable swap we can make while maintaining each team’s seeding band within the region (i.e. No. 2 seeds remaining No. 2 seeds and can’t move up to a No. 1 seed or down to a No. 3 seed).
So with this bracket in place, Let’s assign regions to each four-team group. When considering this, we must place host schools in the region they are hosting. Right now, none of the four hosts are in the field (New Hampshire, Bowling Green, North Dakota and Penn State). So that’s not an issue this week.
Boston College is the top seed and should play closest to home in Manchester, N.H. Michigan State is the second seed and the closest region is Toledo, Ohio, less than two hours from Lansing. Minnesota is the third overall seed and would head to Fargo, N.D., which leaves Denver to play in Allentown, Pa.
That gives us the following:
Manchester Region
1. Boston College
2. Boston University
3. Arizona State
4. Sacred Heart
Toledo Region
1. Michigan State
2. Providence
3. Ohio State
4. Minnesota State
Fargo Region
1. Minnesota
2. Maine
3. Michigan
4. Quinnipiac
Allentown Region
1. Denver
2. Western Michigan
3. Connecticut
4. UMass Lowell
Let’s look at how attendance should be in each region. Manchester is fine with BC, BU and Sacred Heart (and Arizona State has a sprawling alumni base nationally). Toledo should be okay with both Michigan State and Ohio State. Fargo is a concern, though Minnesota is one of the closest teams to Fargo not named North Dakota. Hopefully Michigan’s faithful will travel a little too.
The concerning region is Allentown, but in reality as long as Penn State doesn’t make the field, drawing in Allentown will be a struggle. UConn is about four hours away by car and Lowell is about five. You can’t expect Denver or Western Michigan fans to travel far, so that would likely be friends and family bolstering the crowd.
All that said, this is about as good as we can do for this week.
Here is the final bracket:
Manchester Region
1. Boston College
2. Boston University
3. Arizona State
4. Sacred Heart
Toledo Region
1. Michigan State
2. Providence
3. Ohio State
4. Minnesota State
Fargo Region
1. Minnesota
2. Maine
3. Michigan
4. Quinnipiac
Allentown Region
1. Denver
2. Western Michigan
3. Connecticut
4. UMass Lowell
Last in: UMass Lowell, Arizona State
First out: New Hampshire, Massachusetts**
** – Wisconsin, Northeastern both ranked higher in PairWise but not tournament eligible right now as current record is below .500
Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com look ahead to Tuesday’s Beanpot championship game between Boston University and Northeastern, who won semifinals last week but then dropped games over the weekend.
A look back to last week’s results includes overtime wins by Brown and a pair of losses by Clarkson in ECAC Hockey and an Ohio State sweep at Minnesota Duluth.
The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for our mailbag? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email [email protected].
Stonehill players celebrate the Skyhawks’ OT win over UMass Lowell last Saturday night, the team’s first-ever win against a ranked opponent since moving to Division I (photo: John Grainda).
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: Well, Dan, there’s a new No. 1 this week and understandably so. After holding the top spot since Dec. 16, Michigan State drops to No. 2 and Boston College ascends to No. 1 for the first time this season.
The Eagles held the top poll spot from Jan. 29, 2024 to Mar. 25, 2024, a run of nine weeks at No. 1. In their last six weeks in that spot, the Eagles were a unanimous No. 1 pick.
Last weekend, Boston College asserted its dominance with a home-and-home sweep against No. 7 Providence while Michigan State split a home-and-home series with No. 10 Michigan.
There’s so little movement in the top 10 that it looks to me as though voters are unified in the opinion that Hockey East, the Big Ten and the NCHC are solid from top to bottom.
That also explains to me why No. 16 North Dakota and No. 19 Colorado College are still polling. There’s a better argument for voting for the Fighting Hawks than the Tigers – and no offense intended to either program. North Dakota, swept at home by No. 3 Western Michigan, is above .500 in conference play. Colorado College split with Minnesota Duluth, is 1-5-0 since the start of 2025, is below .500 in NCHC games and is 33rd in the PairWise Rankings.
I look at Sacred Heart – 30th in the PWR and playing in a league where it’s nearly impossible to improve that position – leading the Atlantic Hockey standings by seven points and 4-1-1 in their last six games, including a win and tie against Cornell two weeks ago.
Then I look at Arizona State moving from No. 13 to No. 11 after sweeping at St. Cloud and I’m wondering what the Sun Devils have to do to be trusted. They’re 10-2-0 since mid-November with eight of those wins coming in conference play and a sweep of Denver to their credit. They’ve moved into the 12th spot in the PWR and are a point ahead of Western at the top of the NCHC standings.
What stories do this poll and this last weekend of hockey tell you, Dan?
Dan: Normally, I’d take this opportunity to rail against the college hockey elitism surrounding Hockey East and the traditional powers, but the truth is that those teams are simply playing better hockey. Even for a long-term contrarian like me, it’s impossible to ignore the strength of those teams and what they’ve accomplished.
The last week proved as much, at least. I started the week by giving Providence its No. 1 vote in the national poll. I mentioned this several times, but my theory behind my vote was similar to when I voted Connecticut into the top spot a few years ago. I didn’t necessarily think PC was the best team in the country or the best team for the long haul, but the losses surrounding my poll and where I initially held the Friars forced me to move them one spot over each team until I was simply left with them in the No. 1 spot. Michigan State’s tie against Penn State aside, I didn’t have a second team to push PC down a spot.
This week, BC did everything except take that team’s lunch money. I don’t think PC played badly per se, but the results favored the Eagles so heavily that it’s impossible to ignore how they’d be anything other than No. 1. Considering the rest of Hockey East’s placement in the Pairwise, it all lined out in kind.
The one story that I really noticed, though, was the willingness to drop UMass Lowell from No. 9 to No. 12 after the River Hawks lost to Stonehill. It’s obvious that enough people noticed the loss on more than just paperwork, and it’s all the credit in the world to how the Skyhawks scored late in the third and won in overtime. The loss was shocking enough that Lowell dropped in the poll alongside the Pairwise.
I called Stonehill a lynchpin for realignment a number of years ago because I saw a path forward for the team to invest in college hockey. Getting the right coach in David Berard moved the Skyhawks to 8-19 this year, which is more than a modest improvement over last year’s record. For what you might’ve seen from other erstwhile independents, I love that college hockey is still a home for results like that to happen.
Paula: Yes. I also love that college hockey still has room for “little” programs – newcomers and/or schools not widely known in DI sports – to make some occasional or even significant noise.
You bring up Stonehill and I concur with everything you say about the Skyhawks while reserving the right to lament the fate of independent teams. As a member of the Big 12 and an R1 school – R1 being academic talk for institutions that engage in a lot of research – Arizona State had an advantage over other independents from the start, and the program there did everything right to catch the attention of a conference. Frankly, the NCHC is richer in many ways for taking in the Sun Devils.
Back to Stonehill. I don’t think that Lowell’s loss to Stonehill was shocking. A loss like that, though, does give voters a way to differentiate between teams they perceive to be close in parity – just like it did at the top of the standings when BC took care of business this week and Michigan State did not.
I think, too, that at this point in the season, many poll voters look at the PWR as a guide – and perhaps too much. I see the poll as a snapshot of current hockey and the PairWise as a sort of long-term indicator.
It is interesting to see the current breakdown of teams by league in the top 16 in the PWR right now. Hockey East is dominant with seven followed by the Big Ten’s four, NCHC’s three and one each for the CCHA and ECAC. And while the talent I see displayed in HEA games from top to bottom is impressive, a look at numbers throughout DI shows talent to be distributed across conferences. There are so many collegiate players that should be household names, guys from unlikely places that I can see transitioning into high-level professional hockey.
Do people outside of the Big Ten and NCHC know Ryan Kirwan, a transfer from Penn State to Arizona State, and his 14 goals this season including the three he scored against St. Cloud this past weekend? How about Bowling Green sophomore Brody Waters and his 14 goals, three from last weekend against Ferris State? I look at Augustana’s Joshua Kotai and his nation-leading .945 save percentage and his third-best 1.68 GAA and I guarantee that no one wants to face the Vikings should they get into the tourney by way of a playoff conference championship, which is a possibility.
Hockey East, the Big Ten and the NCHC are tough from top to bottom, but there is talent everywhere. Who are your unsung heroes or under-the-radar players so far this season, Dan?
Dan: I’m actually going to take it off the board and say that the most underappreciated folks in college hockey are actually the assistant coaches.
Head coaches love them, and every head coach in every interview from my ECAC coverage pointedly discusses their power play or penalty kill specialist whenever they talk about utilizing their depth charts. Some of those assistants are now head coaches – Ben Syer went from Cornell to Princeton this year and Bill Riga is in his fourth year at Holy Cross after spending a dozen years with Quinnipiac, for example – but I think the best teams in college hockey all have very good assistants who take their team to another level. Speaking strictly for the east, Greg Brown’s Boston College team has a truly great assistant coach in Mike Ayers, and he’s been with the program since its days under Jerry York. Mike Cavanaugh is another name that comes to mind, and he’s the architect of Connecticut’s ability to build a powerhouse in Hockey East, as well.
Every single one of those teams understands how to utilize players who aren’t top scorers. They’re the second and third pairing defensemen who kill the right shift and soften the right matchup, and I’m sure Michigan and Minnesota and Michigan State all have those players on their team. I don’t want to keep coming back to BC, but I admittedly see more of the Eagles as someone who works with the team and watches Massachusetts hockey. So players like Brady Berard and Oskar Jellvik and Aidan Hreschuk are more readily available at the front of my brain.
They won’t gain Hobey Baker consideration, at least, but I’d love to find an award that’s some type of “puttin’ on the foil” honors for the college game.
I know that’s super succinct, but I’m curious what names come to mind for you as someone. Who were some of the truly great assistant coaches or underrated players that we’ve long forgotten or not given the right attention over the years?
Paula: Trips down memory lane like this usually detour into places that aren’t quite so attaboy – anecdotes about coaches who really stood out for all the wrong reasons.
In nearly three decades of covering men’s D-I hockey, I’ve encountered a lot of guys who have gone on to do some pretty amazing things. Having Adam Nightingale return to Michigan State as a head coach the year that Brandon Naurato was named head coach at Michigan was a surreal – and kind of lovely – moment. Living in southeast Michigan, I’d heard every good thing about each of those gents before they came back to their alma maters. Each is widely respected for work in player development as well as coaching, and it’s no surprise to anyone around these parts that Nightingale is rebuilding a strong program in East Lansing and that Naurato did some heavy lifting in Michigan.
With the addition of Will Horcoff to Michigan’s roster at midseason, it’s impossible not to think of his dad, Shawn, who played at Michigan State (1996-2000). After playing in the NHL for 15 seasons, Shawn Horcoff was named the director of player development for the Detroit Red Wings and is now the assistant general manager for the Wings and the GM for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Not bad for a kid from a small town in British Columbia.
When I think assistant coaches, I think of someone like Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko, who is exactly the same great guy he was when he was an assistant at Miami back in the 1990s, or Denver assistant Tavis MacMillan, who played for years for Alaska, coached there for 10, and is now a part of the coaching staff for the machine that is Denver hockey.
Motzko certainly gets recognition. I don’t think people outside of college hockey circles know MacMillan and I think that Shawn Horcoff’s profile will be a little more sparkly because his son is going to be fantastic – and I think the elder Horcoff is okay with that.
A lot of the assistants and players I remember for being unsung at their time eventually got the recognition they deserved, and most of them are from the days of the old CCHA. I still see current Ohio State assistant coach J.B. Bittner sliding across the ice after scoring the overtime game winner against Miami in the semifinal game of the 2004 CCHA championship tourney.
In the current CCHA, though, it’s impossible not to recognize what former St. Cloud and Minnesota assistant Garrett Raboin has been building at Augustana since 2022. After going 12-18-4 last year, the Vikings are 13-7-2 this season, and Raboin just helped Team USA win a gold medal in the 2025 IIHF World Juniors.
I know I may not have gone where you asked, Dan, but at least I managed to avoid telling a Frank Anzalone story or veer into talking about some of the gooniest guys I’ve covered.
Dan: I was on the verge of including a Joe Marsh story and veering over to those St. Lawrence teams of yore, so I’ll take it. One of the only people who spanned my brother Michael’s undergrad days at Brown and the start of my own broadcasting and media journey.
As the saying goes, nobody was in college hockey until they got a Joe Marsh story.
Boston College won both games over the weekend against Providence (photo: Meg Kelly).
With 36 first-place votes, Boston College takes over as the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll, moving up one spot in the rankings.
Michigan State falls one spot to No. 2, earning 13 first-place votes, while Western Michigan is up one to No. 3, Minnesota is down one to No. 4, getting the last first-place vote, and Denver is up two to sit fifth this week.
Maine is down one to No. 6, Providence drops one to No. 7, Boston University is up three spots to No. 8, Ohio State falls one to No. 9, and Michigan stays No. 10.
UMass Lowell drops out of the top 10, going from No. 9 to No. 12 in this week’s poll.
No new teams enter the poll this week.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 14 other teams received votes this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey 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.
Hockey East announced Monday that Maine graduate forward Ross Mitton has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 16:59 of the third period on Jan. 18 against UConn.
On the play, Mitton was assessed a major penalty for indirect contact to the head and a game misconduct.
Mitton is ineligible to play Jan. 31 against Northeastern and is able to return to the Black Bears lineup on Feb. 2 against UMass.
Michigan State players celebrate a goal in the Spartans’ 4-1 win over Michigan last Saturday night (photo: Michigan State Athletics).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. Michigan and Michigan State split home-and-home series
Fans went home happy as the top-ranked Spartans and No. 10 Wolverines each won in front of their home crowds.
In Friday’s 3-2 overtime win, Michigan was able to erase two Michigan State leads, eventually forcing extra time and winning the game on Garrett Schifsky’s eighth goal of the season exactly one minute into overtime.
Michigan State earned the split with a 4-1 win on Saturday at Munn Arena. Charlie Stramel had two goals and an assist, and Isaac Howard, who leads the nation in scoring, picked up three assists.
Saturday’s game was the 350th meeting between the two schools with Michigan holding a 182-144-24 advantage all-time.
2. Boston College sweeps Providence
We may have a new No. 1 team on Monday. While Michigan State lost on Saturday, Boston College completed a 3-0, 4-1 sweep over sixth-ranked Providence.
On Friday, Eagles goaltender Jacob Fowler stopped all 24 shots he faced for his fifth shutout of the season, tied with Bentley’s Connor Hasley for the most so far.
Boston College never trailed on Saturday. Ryan Leonard scored in both games, and his tally on Friday was his sixth game-winning goal of the season.
3. Western Michigan sweeps North Dakota
The Broncos took five of six points in Grand Forks, defeating the Fighting Hawks 3-2 in overtime on Friday, followed by a convincing 5-1 victory on Saturday.
Alex Bump scored twice on Friday for Western Michigan, including the game-winner just 14 seconds into OT.
Saturday’s game featured two more goals from Bump, who now leads the team with 11. Goalies Cameron Rowe (29 saves) and Hampton Slukynsky (24 saves) picked up wins.
The third-ranked Gophers cruised past the Irish in Friday’s 5-1 win, but Notre Dame picked up a pair of points on Saturday after a 3-2 overtime victory.
The Irish scored first on Friday, but then it was all Gophers behind Jimmy Snuggerud’s pair of goals, his team-leading 13th and 14th of the season.
Snuggerud would score again on Saturday, but the hero of the game was Notre Dame’s Blake Biondi, who got the game-winner 3:46 into overtime.
Black Knights coach Brian Riley, in his final season behind the Army bench, picked up his 250th career win in Friday’s 3-2 win over arch-rival Air Force.
The Black Knights, who scored 22 goals last weekend against Mercyhurst, picked up where they left off, scoring the game’s first three goals, and then held off a comeback attempt by the Falcons.
Saturday’s game saw Air Force leading 3-1 after two periods, but the Black Knights scored the final three goals, including Jack Ivey’s overtime tally.
It was the first Army sweep over Air Force at Tate Rink since 2008.
6. Michigan Tech and Minnesota State split
The No. 12 Mavericks won the opener, 5-2 behind 16 saves from Alex Tracy and five different goal scorers.
On Saturday, Michigan Tech picked up two points with a 1-0 overtime win.
After a scoreless 60 minutes, Isaac Gordon got the game-winner with a power-play goal 1:45 into OT. Rookie goaltender Ryan Manzella stopped all 31 shots he faced for his fourth win without a loss this season. It was the second Saturday in a row he posted a 1-0 shutout win.
This was just the second loss for Minnesota State since Nov. 1.
7. Arizona State moves into first place with a sweep of St. Cloud State
The Sun Devils’ first season in the NCHA is going well. Thirteenth-ranked Arizona State finds itself in sole possession of first place after a 6-3, 5-3 road sweep of Saint Cloud State.
The No. 15 Huskies led 3-1 on Friday before ASU scored five consecutive goals to seal the win.
On Saturday, a major penalty proved costly for the Huskies as Arizona State scored three goals on the ensuing power play.
Lukas Sillinger had a goal and an assist in each game, and is now three helpers away from the school record for career assists. He has scored multiple points in five straight games.
8. Sacred Heart solidifies first place in Atlantic Hockey
The Pioneers, which have never won an Atlantic Hockey regular season title, picked up six points in a convincing 5-2, 6-3 home sweep over American International.
Sophomore goaltender Cullen DeYoung was in net for both games for Sacred Heart, making a combined 49 saves, while nine different scorers lit the lamp for SHU with Felix Trudeau and Tyler Ghirardosi scoring twice.
With Bentley’s two losses this past weekend, Sacred Heart now leads Atlantic Hockey by seven points over the Falcons, who have two games in hand.
9. Stonehill upsets UMass Lowell
Junior defenseman Evan Orr scored the game-winner in overtime to lead the Skyhawks to a 3-2 win over ninth-ranked UMass Lowell.
It was the first victory for Stonehill over a ranked opponent in program history. The Skyhawks (8-19-0) are now 3-3 against Hockey East Schools this season.
Lowell held a 3-2 lead in the final minute before Teddy Lagerbeck tied the game with 38 seconds to go.
10. Nothing settled between Cornell, Quinnipiac
In the final of two meetings between ECAC contenders, Quinnipiac and Cornell skated to a 2-2 tie, followed by a Big Red shootout win.
The Bobcats held a 2-1 lead over two periods but Nick DeSantis’ goal midway through the third knotted things up, leading to a scoreless overtime and eventual shootout win for the visiting Big Red.
Quinnipac, which defeated Cornell at Lynah Rink back on Nov. 22, took four of six points in the season series.
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger review games of the weekend and news of the week.
They look at Boston College’s impressive three-win week leading up to challenging games ahead, Western Michigan’s excellent form, and BU’s return to form are examined in depth. The analysis extends to the disappointing weekend for Providence and the need for a quick recovery. They also touch on Minnesota State’s prospects, Arizona State’s climb, and the Cinderella story of Stonehill’s upset win. The episode concludes with a buy-or-sell segment on potential NCAA rule changes, including a fifth-year eligibility discussion and whether a Major Junior player could win next year’s Hobey Baker Award.
Times are approximate:
00:15 Introduction
01:12 Boston College’s impressive week
03:11 Providence’s tough weekend
05:19 Western Michigan’s winning streak
11:31 Arizona State’s surprising success
18:01 UConn’s rise in Hockey East
20:51 Stonehill’s upset victory
24:35 Historic Weekend for Army hockey
26:38 Celebrating the Army/Air Force rivalry
28:35 Buy or Sell: NCAA tournament predictions
32:19 Debating conference strengths
35:31 Perennial powers in the NCAA tournament
38:37 CHL Players and the Hobey Baker Award
41:29 Fifth Year eligibility?
47:24 Conclusion and wrap-up
Austin Mourar and Hobart established a new NCAA unbeaten streak over the weekend as they moved to 15-0-0 with wins over Buffalo State and Fredonia (Photo by Adam Farid – Hobart and William Smith Colleges)
It was quite the weekend in the east as a new NCAA win streak record was established by Hobart, teams like Norwich, Trinity and Anna Maria displayed their game as they try to move towards the top of their conference standings and, of course, there were the requisite number of overtime and come-from-behind thrillers across the region. The end of January is upon us and teams look like they know that now is the time to ramp up the performance on the ice. Here is the wrap-up for a lot of exciting action in the east:
CNE
The league leading Curry Colonels played only once over the weekend and recorded a resounding 6-0 shutout win over Nichols to maintain their position at the top of the standings. Six different players scored goals in support of goaltender Shane Soderwall who stopped all 31 Bison attempts on goal for the shutout win.
Following a one-goal road loss in a non-conference game against Wesleyan on Tuesday, Endicott rebounded with a strong offensive showing in a 7-3 road win over Wentworth on Friday night. Primo Self led the attack with a goal and two assists while Jackson Sterrett, AJ Martinelli, Jack Costanzo, and Dominic Garozzo all chipped I with a goal and an assist each for the Gulls.
UNE kept pace with the league leaders by capturing a 4-2 win over Suffolk on Friday night at home. The Nor’easters and Rams were tied at 1-1 entering the third period before the home team broke out with three unanswered goals, including two on the power play, to ease to the win. Ryan Kuzmich paced the offense with one goal and two assists as the Nor’easters scored three times with the man advantage.
Johnson & Wales picked up an important conference win as the Wildcats erupted for five goals in the second period on Friday to capture a 5-2 road win over Western New England. Cam Martin, Sam Band and Bret Beale each scored a goal and added an assist in the win while goaltender Jake Inzirillo made 39 saves for J&W.
With just five weeks remaining in the regular season the CNE standings find Curry, Endicott, and UNE separated by just three points while teams four through six (Suffolk, J&W and Wentworth) are just two points apart heading down the stretch.
Independent
Keene State lost their first three contests coming out of the break to fierce competition in Plattsburgh, Amherst, and Curry before getting back on the winning side of hockey with a 3-0 decision over Nichols. On Saturday, the Owls extended the win streak to two with a hard-fought 2-1 win over WNEU. Peter Unger scored what proved to be the game-winner on the power play in the final minute of the second period and netminder Ben Skelton stopped 33 of 34 shots including twelve in the final period to preserve the one-goal win.
MAC
Stevenson and King’s played a two-game series where goals were very hard to come by for both teams. On Friday, Blake Benson gave the Mustangs a 2-1 lead midway through the third period, but Teodor Benno Vaage scored to tie the score at 2-2 with just 75 seconds remaining in regulation. No goals for either team in overtime led to a shootout where the Mustangs prevailed. If goals were few and far between on Friday night, then Saturday saw the drought deepen as neither team could find the back of the net until Graeme McCrory netted the game’s only marker with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation for a 1-0 win over the Monarchs. Goaltender Ford Deloss made 20 saves to earn the shutout win for Stevenson.
League leading Wilkes traveled to face Neuman in a two-game series and each team came away with important points and a win apiece. Friday night saw the Colonels jump out to a 4-0 lead with a pair of goals in each of the first two periods before the Knights fought back late in the second period and early third period. Three goals for the home team closed the gap but netminder Jack Perna held off the Knights making 29 saves in the win. On Saturday, Miles Harrington scored twice to help the Colonels rally for a 2-2 at the end of two periods of play but PJ Demitrio’s late goal and Tyler Inlow’s empty-net goal helped seal a 4-2 win for the Knights and split of the weekend series.
Arcadia returned to MAC play hosting a two-game series with Alvernia and swept the Golden Wolves for some key conference points. First period goals from Michael Hertzberg and Donnie Feldman would be all that goaltender Ryan Burgess would need in a 2-0 win. Burgess made 31 saves including 15 in the third period to pick up the shutout. On Saturday, neither team scored in the opening period before the Knights tallied three times in the second period with Connor Dennis, Drew Iannucci, and Feldman building a comfortable lead. Jude Cole sealed the 4-1 win and weekend sweep with an ENG in the third period.
Wilkes remains comfortably on top of the MAC standings with an eight-point lead over second place Stevenson. The Mustangs, Arcadia and Neumann are just three points apart while Lebanon Valley and Alvernia are tied just three points behind the Black Knights entering the final five weeks of league play.
MASCAC
Plymouth State extended their win streak and remained unbeaten in league play with wins over Worcester State and MCLA. On Thursday, the Panthers scored four times in the second period including two from Cameron Patton to ease to a 5-2 road win over the Lancers. Donte’ Diponio also scored a pair of goals while Will Redick chipped in with three assists for the Panthers. Returning home on Saturday, David Matousek, Brendan Doyle, and Colin Tracy provided all the offense senior goaltender Jameson Bourque would need in a 3-1 win over the Trailblazers. Bourque picked up the win in his first career start for PSU making 16 saves.
Anna Maria picked up two important league wins including a very exciting a dramatic 7-6 win over Fitchburg State on Thursday before ending Salem State’s six-game win streak on Saturday. Against the Falcons, the AmCats built a 6-3 lead by the end of the second period led by a pair of goals each from Matthew Gilbert and Matthew Byrne. In the third period, the Falcons fought back with three goals to tie the score at 6-6 with less than three minutes remaining. Gilbert saved the day completing his hat trick in the final minute of regulation for the dramatic 7-6 road win. On Saturday, two goals from Guillaume Coulombe and one from Derek Raposo helped the AmCats to a 3-0 lead on the way to a 5-1 win over the Vikings. Cole Johnston outdueled Will Nepveu in goal stopping 31 of 32 attempts by the home team.
After dropping a 5-3 decision against MCLA on Thursday where Eaton Moore scored one goal and added two assists for the Trailblazers in the upset win, the Corsairs rebounded with a 5-2 win over Rivier on Saturday. Three third period goals in just a six-minute span broke open a 2-2 game as Alex Walker, Brennen Pecararo, and Tyler Stewart put the Corsairs comfortably in front to seal the win.
While PSU remains atop the MASCAC standings by a wide margin, the gap between second place Anna Maria and sixth-place, Westfield State is just six points with a lot of key matchups yet to play over the next five weeks.
NE-10
St. Anselm returned to NE-10 play following an 8-2 loss against Cortland on Tuesday and the Hawks found their scoring touch totaling seventeen goals in a pair of wins over Franklin Pierce. On Friday, Hunter Brackett scored two goals and added one assist in a 7-3 win over the Ravens. Brackett was far from done as he added a hat trick on Saturday in the Hawks’ 10-2 rout over FPU. Mark Blaney added three assists while Max Burum and Conor Kelly each scored a goal and added two assists to help St. Anselm extend their lead in the standings.
Southern New Hampshire also lost a mid-week non-conference game to Cortland but rebounded with a weekend sweep of Assumption to help their position in the NE-10 standings. On Friday, Bryan McLachlan’s second period power play goal and Tyler Murray’s ENG in the third period was enough for goaltender Collin Berke who made 32 saves in a 2-0 shutout win over the Greyhounds. There was a lot more drama on Saturday as Jonathan Surrette scored his second goal of the game for Assumption with just seven seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime with a 2-2 tie. The visitors’ excitement was short lived as Ryan Kayser scored just 44 seconds into the extra session to give the Penmen a 3-2 win and weekend sweep.
Following a 4-3 win over FPU on Tuesday, Post and St. Michael’s split a weekend series in Vermont. On Friday, the Eagles surrendered Jack MacDonald’s shorthanded goal in the first period before scoring three goals in a row and holding a 3-1 lead after two periods of play. The Purple Knights scored once more as the Eagles held on for a 3-2 win with goaltender Benjamin Cunneen making 28 saves for the visitors. On Saturday, the Purple Knights rebounded with a 3-0 win as Evan Plunkett stopped 30 shots to earn the shutout.
While St. Anselm holds a five-point advantage over second place, Southern New Hampshire, Assumption and St. Michael’s, are only separated by one point with Post just four more points behind fourth place.
NEHC
Hobart established a new NCAA record win streak as the Statesmen downed Buffalo State and Fredonia over the weekend to move to 15-0-0 on the season. Ironically, the win streak started against Buffalo State back in November of 2023 and was broken in Friday’s game against the Bengals where the visitors started fast with two first period goals and cruised to a 3-0 win. Damon Beaver earned the shutout in goal, his third of the season for Hobart. On Saturday, Hobart downed Fredonia 5-0 with Bauer Morrissey and Austin Mourar each scoring a goal and adding an assist in support of Mavrick Goyer in goal who made 18 saves to help Hobart earn back-to-back shutout wins.
Norwich has picked up their game moving up to second place behind Hobart in the NEHC by extending their win streak to four games with a second sweep in a row downing VSU-Castleton, 8-3 and 3-2. On Friday, the Cadets took advantage of four unanswered goals to break a 2-2 tie with the Spartans. Cooper Bertrand scored two goals to pace the Cadet attack. On Saturday, the game was much more low scoring as goals from Johnny Johnson, Matt Harvey and Nick Cordeiro were just enough to hold off the Spartans in a 3-2 win.
Albertus Magnus took on a red-hot Babson squad in a weekend series that saw the teams playing each other for the first time. On Friday, Robert Barrasso’s late third period power play goal broke a 2-2 tie and Kyle Dann iced the contest with an unassisted ENG in a 4-2 win for the Falcons that ended the Beavers five-game win streak. On Saturday, the Falcons completed the sweep with a thrilling 5-4 overtime win. Barrasso scored the game-tying goal with less than forty seconds remaining in regulation time before Zane Kindrachuk netted his second goal of the game just two minutes into the extra session for the 5-4 win extending their win streak to a season high five games.
Southern Maine took a pair of 3-2 overtime wins over Salve Regina to earn their first conference wins of the season. On Friday night, the Huskies took advantage of a power play in overtime as Matt Sullivan netted the game-winner just over a minute after puck drop for a sudden victory. On Saturday, the script was similar with the regulation score tied at 2-2 and again it was Sullivan, this time in the final minute of overtime, providing the game winner for the Huskies.
While Hobart has a comfortable seven-point lead in the standings, Norwich (in second place) and Albertus Magnus (in sixth place) are separated by just six points with some interesting matchups on tap including the Cadets facing Hobart this weekend.
NESCAC
Hamilton continued their torrid play on the road as the Continentals downed Tufts and Connecticut College to remain five points clear of Trinity in the NESCAC standings. On Friday, six different goal scorers helped Hamilton to race to an early lead in a 6-1 rout of the Jumbos. Jackson Krock finished with a goal and two assists for the Continentals in the win. Against the Camels on Saturday, the scoring was less prolific as Liam Varmecky, Jacob Ierfino and Nick Kent provided all the goals in a 3-1 victory. Aksel Reid stopped 24 shots to pick up the win.
Trinity continued their torrid play with a pair of home-ice wins over Bowdoin and Colby to extend their win streak to four games. On Friday, three third period goals helped break open a tight 2-1 advantage for the Bantams with Spencer Korona scoring one goal and adding an assist in the win over the Polar Bears. In a key matchup with Colby, Richard Boysen scored a pair of unassisted goals in the third period to help the Bantams to a 5-3 win over the Mules. Chase McInnis also added a goal and an assist for the Bantams who moved into second place, five points behind the Continentals.
Middlebury split a pair of non-conference games with long-time rivals. On Tuesday, five-points from Jackson Morehouse helped the Panthers to a 7-0 rout of in-state rival St. Michael’s. On Friday, the scoring was limited to a single goal as Dmitiri Tzaferis tied the game late in the third period at 1-1 before Aaron Catron won the game for the Cardinals in overtime.
Williams took a pair of non-conference wins with decisions over MCLA and Plattsburgh. After downing the Trailblazers, 3-1 in the battle of Western Massachusetts on Wednesday, the Ephs raced to a 4-2 first period lead before seeing the Cardinals rally to reduce the deficit to a single goal on three different occasions before falling short in a 5-4 Williams win. Cal Sandquist earned the win in goal making 26 saves.
While Hamilton and Trinity have some separation at the top of the NESCAC standings, third place Colby is only five points ahead on ninth-place, Tufts.
SUNYAC
Oswego returned to SUNYAC action with a mid-week game against Canton and skated away with a 10-2 win over the Kangaroos. Travis Baker scored a hat trick for the Lakers while Matt McQuade added a pair of goals in the runaway win. On Saturday, a non-conference charity game with Cortland saw the offense continue to click as Oswego broke open a 4-3 contest with four goals in the third period for an 8-3 win over the Red Dragons. Ryan Burke led the attack scoring two goals and adding four assists in the win.
In a more unique game, Potsdam and Canton skated to a 0-0 overtime tie on Saturday. Canton’s Nate Hopkins (29 saves) and Potsdam’s John Werber (32 saves) were outstanding in goal for their respective teams as neither team could score at even-strength or on their two power play chances each.
The SUNYAC may have the most competitive race to watch as the separation between first place Buffalo State and seventh-place Potsdam is just six points.
UCHC
Geneseo played a home-and-home series with Nazareth and Friday night’s contest was a thriller. The Knights built an early 3-1 lead only to see the Golden Flyers rally to tie the score at 3-3 on a pair of goals from Logan Tobias in the second period. Neither team could score in the third period but Dakota Zarudny with an assist from Peter Morgan found the back of the net in the opening minute of overtime for a 4-3 Knights win. Back on home ice on Saturday, Geneseo found their scoring touch as Zach Purcell led the charge with two goals and an assist in a 7-2 win and weekend sweep.
Utica faced long-time rival Manhattanville in a weekend series and on Friday, the Pioneers raced to a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win over the Valiants with Anthony Cafarelli, Johnny Mulera and Eric Vitale providing the goals. On Saturday, newcomer Ryan Piros made Mulera’s second period power play goal stand up as the game-winner in a 1-0 shutout win for Utica. Piros stopped all 31 shots he faced in earning his first shutout with the Pioneers.
Geneseo and Utica remain just one point apart in the standings while just one point separates third place Chatham from fifth place Manhattanville.
Three Biscuits
Jackson Morehouse – Middlebury – scored a natural hat trick and added a pair of assists for a five-point game in the Panthers’ 7-0 win over St. Michael’s on Tuesday.
Matthew Gilbert – Anna Maria – scored his third goal of the contest in the final minute of regulation to give the AmCats a 7-6 win over Fitchburg State on Thursday in a game where the Falcons rallied from a four-goal deficit to tie the score at 6-6 in the third period.
Matt Sullivan – Southern Maine – scored overtime winning goals for the Huskies in back-to-back 3-2 overtime wins over Salve Regina this past weekend.
The final weekend in January is upon us and with just five weeks remaining on the schedule, the games just mean more coming down the stretch. Last week showed how both a good and bad weekend can move you in the standings so the races should be fun to watch over the next few weeks.
Lake Forest stunned Adrian over the weekend in an NCHA series. (Photo Credit: Daniel Zbarzh/Lake Forest Athletics)
Lake Forest came to play in Friday’s NCHA series opener against No. 6 Adrian, stunning the Bulldogs 5-2 on Friday night for its first win over a ranked team this season.
Dylan Kruss played a key role in the win, stopping 38 shots against the Bulldogs, who came into the night on an nine-game winning streak. He made 17 of his saves in the final period. It’s the first time since Nov. 16 that a team has held Adrian to two goals or less.
Trevor Faucher scored his eighth goal of the year in the win while Chase Freiermuth recorded a goal and two assists Hardy Wagner and Logan Kittleson each tallied a goal and assist..
The win was the second of the year at home for the Foresters.
Adrian battled back on Saturday and came away with a 6-3 win as the Bulldogs improved to 13-4 overall and 7-3 in the NCHA. The Bulldogs were coming off their first loss in two months and outscored Lake Forest 5-1 in the first two periods.
Ian Amsbaugh finished with three assists and Dershahn Stewart made 27 saves. Lake Forest dropped to 7-9-1 overall and 3-6-1 in league play.
Falcons knock off Green Knights
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Concordia Falcons defeated a ranked opponent, knocking off No. 4 St. Norbert.
The Falcons won the game 2-1, reaching a double-digit win total for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Concordia improved to 10-6 overall and 5-4 in the NCHA.
Noah Roitman scored the game winner at the 8:42 mark of the third period. Ben Pizzimenti tied the game at 1-1 four minutes earlier.
The win over the Green Knight was the seventh in a row for the Falcons, who notched their fourth one-goal win of the win streak.
St. Norbert bounced back in a big way Saturday, scoring all three of its goals in the final period for a 3-0 win.
Vaughn Maker made his first career start for St. Norbert and tallied 22 saves, with 16 of those coming in the final two periods.
Blake Ulve scored twice while Dayton Deics came through with a pair of assists.
Spartans sweep Sabres
Fifth-ranked Aurora finished off a sweep of Marian with a 4-3 win. Landr Schmuck came through with a goal in the final two minutes of play to lift the Spartans to their fourth consecutive win. Aurora is now 13-3 overall and 7-2 in the NCHA.
Schmuck scored a total of two times in the win and JaCob Mucitelli made 22 saves
In Friday’s game Hassan Akl came through with a goal and assist while Mucitelli made 24 saves. Aurora did not give up a goal in the final two periods.
Thunder roll
Seventh-ranked Trine won both of its games against Lawrence, winning 4-2 and 4-1 over the Vikings. Trine is 14-2-1 overall and 8-1-1 in conference play. Trine also remains perfect at home with a 7-0 mark.
Noah Marino racked up two goals in Saturday’s finale while Kyle Kozma recorded 20 saves.
Logan Ferstenau and Jack Cooper each tallied a goal and assist.
It’s a tie
MSOE and Dubuque battled to a 2-2 tie in the opening game of their NCHA series Saturday.
Zach Burfoot dished out two assists for the Spartans, who got a goal from Nikita Borodayenko at the 8:20 mark of the third to forge a 2-2 tie.
The Raiders won the finale 4-3 on Saturday, scoring twice in the third to secure the win and killing off the Spartans’ bid for their first win of the year.
Burfoot scored twice for Dubuque, giving the Spartans an early 2-0 lead. Burfoot also had an assist in the game.
Carson Jones and Ethan Mann both scored in the third to put the Raiders up 4-2.
MSOE improved to 8-7-2 overall and 3-6-1 in the NCHA. Dubuque is 0-14-3 overall and 0-8-2 in the league.
Cobbers with a big sweep
Concordia has won two in a row, sweeping St. Scholastica in a MIAC series. The Cobbers opened with a 4-0 win and won the finale 3-2 in overtime.
Tal Halliday scored the game winner in Saturday’s game, finding the back of the net with 33 seconds to play in OT as the Cobbers notched a big win and moved within a point of a tie for fifth.
The Cobbers never trailed and improved to 7-9-1 overall and 3-4-1 in the MIAC.
In Friday’s game, the second period was dominated by the Cobbers, who scored all four of their goals in the frame to snap a two-game losing streak.
Dane Couture stopped 29 shots to earn his first shutout win in conference play and the second of his career overall.
Caden Triggs, Tucker Skime and Blake Johnson all tallied a goal and an assist.
Good weekend for the Royals
Bethel won a shootout for an extra point in the MIAC standings in Saturday’s 3-3 tie with Augsburg after edging the Auggies 4-3 in overtime on Friday.
Bethel was up 3-1 going into the final period on Saturday but gave up two goals as Augsburg forced the extra session.
Bethel got the shootout win, however, and comes out of the weekend tied for second in the league standings.The Royals are 8-5-2 overall and 4-1-1 in the league.
Spence Kring was the hero in Friday’s win, scoring in OT. It was one of two goals for Kring in the win. Tyler Braccini finished with two assists. Austin Ryman came through with 32 saves.
Oles play well in MIAC-WIAC crossover series
St. Olaf went unbeaten in two games against WIAC opponents.
The Oles rallied from a two-goal deficit to force overtime against UW-Stout on Saturday, though the Blue Devils did win the shootout.
Tyler Cooper came through with a goal and assist to lead St. Olaf, which improved to 7-6-2 and it’s last four games have all been decided by a goal or less. The Oles are 5-0-2 in their last seven non-conference games.
Connor Kalthoff played in his 100th collegiate game in the win over Stout. He tallied an assist while Matthew Milan finished with 19 saves.
Kalthoff came through with a goal in Friday’s 3-2 win over UW-River Falls. Matthew Pointer and Jonathan Young also scored in the win.
Pointers still unbeaten in 2025
No. 12 UW-Stevens Point wrapped up non-league play with two wins, beating Hamline 8-3 on Friday and edging Saint John’s 6-5.
Matthew Falls helped lead the way in the win over the Johnnies, scoring twice for the first multi-goal game of his career.
Alex Proctor racked up 38 saves for the Pointers, who have won six in a row and and sport a 12-4-1 record.
Goals weren’t in short supply in Friday’s win over the Pipers as Stevens Point jumped in front 4-0 after one period and rolled to a win.
Peyton Hart finished with two goals and Chris Englebert tallied three assists. The Pointers have not lost since Dec. 14 and have scored four or more goals in each game of their games during the win streak.
Hat Trick Time
Eli Reimer had a big game against St. John’s, recording his first hat trick as UW-Eau Claire topped the Johnnies 6-4 on Friday. Reimer has four goals on the year.
Seven different players came through with an assist in the win while Matt Gutjahr made 29 saves as the Blugolds snapped a three-game losing streak. Eau Claire improved to 6-10-1 with the win.
Pipers end weekend with a win
Hamline capped its weekend with a 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire. The Pipers improved to 6-11 and have won three of their last four.
Thomas Carls, Nikolai Dulak and AJ Carls all scored for the Pipers, who bounced back after losing 8-3 to UW-Stevens Point on Friday.
Falcons rally
Dylan Smith came through in crunch time, scoring less than two minutes into overtime as UW-River Falls beat Saint Mary’s 4-3 on Saturday.
Alex Atwill’s goal forced the extra session as the Falcons improved to 10-7. Smith’s game-winning marked his ninth goal of the season, the most on the team.
Smith and Burke Simpson each tallied two assists and Brennan Boynton made 24 saves.
Knight Time
Ryan Knight was on top of his game for UW-Stout in its 2-0 win over Gustavus Friday, recording his first career shutout along the way.
Knight stopped 21 shots and the Blue Devils stretched their win streak to three games.
Tristan Therrien and Kullan Daikawa provided all the offense the Blue Devils would need in the victory.
Casey O’Brien’s power play goal not quite seven minutes in had UW up 1-0. Lauren Stenslie replied with an extra attacker goal of her own to tie the game 1-1, but the lead lasted just 23 seconds as O’Brien lit the lamp again off a feed from Kirsten Simms. Cassie Hall and Ava Murphy each scored in the opening five minutes of the second period, making it a 4-1 game for Wisconsin. Hall added a second with a nice feint on the breakaway to make it 5-1 and Laila Edwards’ shot from a near angle closed out the scoring to make it a 6-1 win. O’Brien’s first goal was her 50th point of the season, making her the first player this season to reach that threshold. In the second game, Laila Edwards opened things with a natural hat trick and went on to score four goals on four shots to lead the Badgers to an 11-1 win. Sarah Wozniewicz scored twice in the second, while O’Brien and KK Harvey each lit the lamp once. In the third, Hall scored her third and fourth of the weekend, Claire Enright found the twine and Edwards closed out the scoring. Maddy Clough ruined the shutout, scoring for St. Thomas in the loss.
(2) Ohio State at (4) Minnesota Duluth
Defense was on display in Duluth over the weekend as Ohio State peppered 107 shots on net. Ève Gascon made 102 saves over the course of the weekend for a Minnesota Duluth team that was down to just 13 players on Saturday due to illness. On Friday, Jocelyn Amos scored in the opening minutes on the power play to put Ohio State up 1-0. Riley Brengman’s one-timer extended the lead to 2-0 by the midpoint of the first. Caitlin Kraemer replied with a power play goal for UMD less than two minutes later to make it 2-1 and that score would hold for 48 minutes until Kiara Zanon added an empty-netter to secure the win. The Buckeyes were relentless, putting 34 shots on goal in the second and 61 overall in the game. On Saturday, Joy Dunne scored in the opening minutes, carrying it in from her own blue line to make it a 1-0 game. Olivia Wallin’s power play goal midway through the first tied the game 1-1. In the second, Makenna Webster caught the Bulldogs on the change and scored what would prove to be the game winner late in the second to give OSU the 2-1 win and weekend sweep – just the fourth in program history in Duluth for the Buckeyes.
Minnesota State vs. (3) Minnesota (home and home)
Friday’s game started close. Josefin Bouveng scored 61 seconds into the game to put the Gophers up 1-0. The Mavericks replied at the midpoint of the first with a goal from Bella Shipley, but Emma Kreisz scored in the final minute of the frame to take a 2-1 lead. Minnesota struck early again, this time 20 seconds into the second as Abbey Murphy made it 3-1. Midway through the second, Kianna Roeske cut into the lead for Mankato to make it 3-2, but that’s as close as it would get. Ella Huber and Chloe Primerano each scored to make it 5-2 before the next intermission. Gracie Graham’s back-to-back goals in the third made it 7-2. Alexis Paddington scored on the power play to add one more for Minnesota State, but Peyton Hemp replied with a short-hander to secure the 8-3 Gopher win. On Saturday, Bouveng once again scored in the opening minutes, this time on the power play. It was the first of her three goals on the day – her second career hat trick. Allie Franco also scored later in the first to make it 2-0 after 20 minutes. Murphy and Bouveng’s second-period goals extended the Gopher lead to 4-0 before Paddington found twine on the power play to get Mankato on the board. JuliAnnaGazdik’s goal midway through the third made it 4-2, but the Mavericks couldn’t get it any closer and Bouveng’s empty-netter capped off the day and gave Minnesota a 5-2 win and weekend sweep.
(10) Quinnipiac at (5) Colgate
Hannah Murphy stopped a career-high 48 shots for Colgate and Madeline Palumbo and Kaia Malachino combined for two goals – one each – in 11 seconds late in the third to secure the 4-2 win for Colgate on Friday. After a back and forth opening period, Tessa Holk put Quinnipiac on the board first just 95 seconds into the second. But the lead lasted less than a minute thanks to some nifty skating and puck handling by Kalty Kaltounková to tie it for Colgate. Bryn Pier pushed the Bobcats ahead later in the frame, but Alexis Petford’s one-timer tied the game 2-2 before the second intermission. In the final frame, Murphy made 19 saves to keep the game tied and eventually first Malachino, then Palumbo scored on a feed from the other to put the game out of reach for Quinnipiac and give Colgate the win.
(13) Princeton at (5) Colgate
The game was scoreless after one, but the Raiders found their groove early in the second. Alexis Petford deflected the puck in at 3:03, then Kalty Kaltounková went between her legs 19 seconds later and Elyssa Biederman added a goal of her own a few minutes later. Kaltounková finished off a four point day with a goal in the third to give Colgate the 4-0 win.
(13) Princeton at (6) Cornell
Lindzi Avar scored twice while Claudia Yu, Katie Chan, Lily Delianedis and Gabbie Rud each lit the lamp once to lead Cornell to a 6-1 win on Friday. Lucia DiGirolamo scored for Princeton in the loss.
(10) Quinnipiac at (6) Cornell
Karel Prefontaine fed Lily Delianedis just 24 seconds into the game to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead. Quinnipiac responded with a goal from Jenna Donohue a few minutes later to tie the game 1-1. Grace Dwyer’s goal from the blue line had Cornell up 2-1 at the intermission. The second period was back and forth, but neither team found the back of the net. In the third, Cornell got an insurance goal from Katie Chan before Avi Adam added an empty-netter to secure the 4-1 win.
Yale at (7) Clarkson
After a cautious, scoreless first frame, Yale took the lead when Gracie Gilkyson wristed in a gorgeous pass from Mariya Rauf to make it 1-0 with under three to play in the second. Anna Bargman doubled the lead just more than a minute later, putting back a rebound to make it 2-0. Haley Winn’s power play goal with 70 seconds left in regulation got Clarkson on the board but they couldn’t complete the comeback and Yale took the 2-1 win.
Brown at (7) Clarkson
After a scoreless first, Olivia Fantino took a Margot Norehead pass right in front of the net and tapped it in to give Brown the 1-0 lead. Haley Winn tied the game for Clarkson a few minutes later. Anne Cherkowski’s power play goal early in the third gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the game. Unfortunately for them, it lasted less than a minute as Norehead scored a top shelf beauty in transition to make it 2-2 and eventually force overtime. In the extra frame, Cameron Sikich threw a backhander on net and in the chaos and traffic, India McDadi tipped it and it found the back of the net to give Brown the 3-2 win.
Brown at (8) St. Lawrence
After feeling each other out to start the game, the Saints took a 1-0 lead in the final two minutes on a breakaway goal from Abby Hustler. Kennedy Wilson doubled the lead early in the second putting a feed from behind the net by Hillary Sterling through the five hole to make it 2-0. Monique Lyons put Brown on the board midway through the second with a power play goal on a snipe from the far faceoff dot. SLU responded with an extra attacker goal of their own as Sarah Marchand ripped a one timer down low to make it 3-1 Saints. But the third period belonged to the Bears. Lyons scored her second of the game going down on one knee to rip a shot in the slot to make it 3-2. St. Lawrence pulled their goalie with about three left and it paid off about a minute later when Cameron Sikich’s shot from the blue line deflected through traffic and into the net to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra frame, Lyons capped off her hat trick when her attempt to center the puck went off a defender and into the net to give Brown the 4-3 win.
Yale at (8) St. Lawrence
Yale outshot the Saints 27-19, but Abby Hustler’s power play goal 6:35 into the second proved to be all St. Lawrence needed to take the win on Saturday. Hustler tipped the puck over the line on a shot from Kristina Bahl. Emma-Sofie Nordström earned the 27-save shutout, her sixth clean sheet of the season.
(9) Penn State at Syracuse
Friday’s game was a scoreless tie well into the extra frame thanks in large part to Syracuse goalie Allie Kelley making 41 saves, which helped her set a new record and become the NCAA all-time career saves leader. Penn State took the game in overtime as Katelyn Roberts ripped a shot from the bottom of the right circle to give the Nittany Lions the win. Saturday’s game featured a Penn State record as Tessa Janecke’s goal was her 138th career point, which set a new program record. Janecke is a junior. Grace Outwater scored twice and Nicole Hall added a goal to lead Penn State to a 4-0 win and weekend sweep.
Bemidji State at (11) St. Cloud State
On Friday, Alice Sauriol had three assists and Siiri Yrjölä scored her first career goal to lead SCSU to a 3-0 win. The Huskies scored twice on the power play to take the win. Emma Gentry and Sofianna Sundelin joined Yrjölä in lighting the lamp. On Saturday, Bemidji State jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Izy Fairchild put the Beavers on the board in the first and Isa Goettl doubled the lead early in the second. But St. Cloud seemed to find themselves in the second, outshooting BSU 14-3 as they pushed back. Yrjölä scored her second in as many games with a wrister on the power play to cut the lead to 2-1. With less than two minutes to go and on the power play again, St. Cloud tied it up as Grace Wolfe dashed up the right side and fed Laura Zimmerman, who deftly deflected the puck into the net. The game seemed destined for overtime, but Sundelin called game, scoring after some deft stickwork with 69 seconds left on a breakaway thanks to a stretch pass from Sauriol to give St. Cloud the 3-2 win and weekend sweep.
Vermont at (12) Boston College
Olivia Maffeo tipped in a Jade Arnone pass on the power play in the first to give BC a 1-0 lead that held until the opening minutes of the third when Alanna Devlin stepped up to pick off a puck and let loose with a bar down shot to make it 2-0. Julia Pellerin added an empty-netter to secure the 3-0 win for the Eagles.
(14) Boston University at New Hampshire
UNH goalie Sedona Blair was stellar in the third, withstanding a long extra-attacker stint when BU pulled their goalie to complete a 26-save shutout on Saturday. A loose puck in front of the net gave the Wildcats several chances and it was Shea Verrier that found the back of the net midway through the first to give New Hampshire the 1-0 lead. Sara Boucher doubled the lead early in the third with a backhander that rattled around and into the net to give UNH the 2-0 lead and eventual win.
Maine at (15) Connecticut
Claire Murdoch scored in the final minute of the first to give UConn the 1-0 lead. Maine took over in the second as Mira Seregely tied the game early and Mikayla Boarder’s power play goal late in the frame gave the Black Bears the 2-1 lead. Jada Habisch scored a power play goal of her own midway through the third to tie the game and an extra period did not find a winner as this game ended a 2-2 tie. On Saturday, Tia Chan earned her third shutout of the season, making 33 saves. Riley Grimley, Megan Woodworth and Livvy Dewar each scored for the Huskies to give them the 3-0 win.
(15) Northeastern vs. Providence (home and home)
The Friars used a three-goal first period to power themselves to a 5-1 on Friday. Mégane Quirion put away a rebound about eight minutes into the game and just a minute later, Kiara Kraft’s backhander made it 2-0. Hannah Johnson cleaned up a rebound with about six left in the first to extend the lead to 3-0. Northeastern outshot Providence in the second, but could not light the lamp and the score head into the final frame. Reichen Kirchmair scored just after a power play ended a few minutes into the third to make it 4-0. Northeastern got on the board during a major penalty power play as Taze Thompson made it 4-1. The Huskies pulled their goalie for an extra attacker during that extended power play and Lily Martinson’s empty-netter secured the win for the Friars. On Saturday, Kraft scored late in the first to second Providence to the lower room up 1-0. Some great puck movement from Providence ended in an odd-player rush. Ashley Clark laid the puck off to Kraft, who did not miss. Allie Lalonde responded for Northeastern just 28 seconds into the second with a power play goal to tie the game 1-1. Martinson’s wrister put Providence ahead 2-1 with six to go in the second and then Kirchmair’s deflection with her back to the net made it a 3-1 lead. Jules Constantinople cut into the lead early in the third to make it 3-2, but Providence’s defense shut down any further chances and the Friars had their first regular season series sweep of Northeastern since 2017-18.
Arizona State is now in sole possession of first place in the NCHC after sweeping St. Cloud State over the weekend (photo: Sun Devil Athletics).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of Jan. 13 fared in games over the weekend of Jan. 17-18.
No. 1 Michigan State (19-3-2)
01/17/2025 – No. 1 Michigan State 2 at No. 10 Michigan 3 (OT)
01/18/2025 – No. 10 Michigan 1 at No. 1 Michigan State 4
No. 2 Boston College (16-4-1)
01/14/2025 – Harvard 1 at No. 2 Boston College 3
01/17/2025 – No. 6 Providence 0 at No. 2 Boston College 3
01/18/2025 – No. 2 Boston College 4 at No. 6 Providence 1
No. 4 Western Michigan (15-4-1)
01/17/2025 – No. 4 Western Michigan 3 at No. 14 North Dakota 2 (OT)
01/18/2025 – No. 4 Western Michigan 5 at No. 14 North Dakota 1
No. 5 Maine (15-5-3)
01/17/2025 – No. 17 Connecticut 4 at No. 5 Maine 2
01/18/2025 – No. 17 Connecticut 2 at No. 5 Maine 2 (OT)
No. 6 Providence (15-5-2)
01/17/2025 – No. 6 Providence 0 at No. 2 Boston College 3
01/18/2025 – No. 2 Boston College 4 at No. 6 Providence 1
No. 10 Michigan (14-9-1)
01/17/2025 – No. 1 Michigan State 2 at No. 10 Michigan 3 (OT)
01/18/2025 – No. 10 Michigan 1 at No. 1 Michigan State 4
No. 11 Boston University (13-7-1)
01/17/2025 – No. 11 Boston University 6 at No. 19 New Hampshire 3
01/18/2025 – No. 19 New Hampshire 1 at No. 11 Boston University 2 (OT)
No. 12 Minnesota State (16-6-2)
01/17/2025 – RV Michigan Tech 2 at No. 12 Minnesota State 5
01/18/2025 – RV Michigan Tech 1 at No. 12 Minnesota State 0 (OT)
No. 13 Arizona State (13-8-1)
01/17/2025 – No. 13 Arizona State 6 at No. 15 St. Cloud State 3
01/18/2025 – No. 13 Arizona State 5 at No. 15 St. Cloud State 3
No. 14 North Dakota (12-10-1)
01/17/2025 – No. 4 Western Michigan 3 at No. 14 North Dakota 2 (OT)
01/18/2025 – No. 4 Western Michigan 5 at No. 14 North Dakota 1
No. 15 St. Cloud State (11-11-0)
01/17/2025 – No. 13 Arizona State 6 at No. 15 St. Cloud State 3
01/18/2025 – No. 13 Arizona State 5 at No. 15 St. Cloud State 3
No. 17 Connecticut (12-8-2)
01/17/2025 – No. 17 Connecticut 4 at No. 5 Maine 2
01/18/2025 – No. 17 Connecticut 2 at No. 5 Maine 2 (OT)
No. 18 Colorado College (11-10-1)
01/17/2025 – Minnesota Duluth 2 at No. 18 Colorado College 7
01/18/2025 – Minnesota Duluth 4 at No. 18 Colorado College 1
No. 19 New Hampshire (10-8-3)
01/17/2025 – No. 11 Boston University 6 at No. 19 New Hampshire 3
01/18/2025 – No. 19 New Hampshire 1 at No. 11 Boston University 2 (OT)
No. 20 Clarkson (13-7-2)
01/17/2025 – No. 20 Clarkson 7 at Yale 4
01/18/2025 – No. 20 Clarkson 2 at Brown 4
Blake Biondi give Notre Dame the win in overtime against Minnesota (Photo: Jim Rosvold).
Blake Biondi’s first game-winning goal of the season lifted Notre Dame over Minnesota in overtime, earning the Fighting Irish a tough road split with the No. 3 Golden Gophers.
From the left slot, Biondi took a cross-crease feed from Cole Knuble and one-timed it past Liam Souliere at 3:46 in OT to win the game.
After Ian Murphy opened the scoring for the Irish at 7:43 in the first, the Gophers played catch-up for the remainder of the game. The score was tied 1-1 after one when Jimmy Snuggerud answered for Minnesota at 12:33, but the second period ended with a 3-2 Irish lead.
Landon Slaggert scored early in the second to put Notre Dame ahead by one again, with Luke Mittelstadt evening things up three minutes later. Knuble scored late in the second. Matthew Wood’s goal early in the third tied it again for the Gophers.
Each team went 0-for-2 on the power play. Owen Say made 30 saves in his sixth win of the season. Souliere had 27 stops in the game.
Gabe Perreault, James Hagens and Teddy Stiga combined for two goals and Jake Sondreal earned his third game winner of the season as the Eagles beat Providence on the road 4-1, sweeping the home-and-home series.
Jacob Fowler had 30 saves in the win, including this nimble move to preserve a one-goal lead with about a minute left in the second.
Fowler makes a huge save to keep the Eagles in front!
Perreault put the Eagles up 1-0 after one with assists by Hagens and Stiga. It was 2-1 after two on Sondreal’s goal at 2:06 and Will Elger’s goal on the Friars’ power play at 13:51.
The Eagles added two more in the third, Ryan Leonard’s power-play goal at 8:02 and Stiga’s goal from Perreault and Hagens at 14:03. Stiga also had the second assist on Leonard’s tally.
Philip Svedebäck finished the night with 20 saves for the Friars as Providence outshot Boston College 31-24.
No. 1 Michigan State 4, No. 10 Michigan 1
Charlie Stramel had two goals and an assist and Isaac Howard had three helpers as Michigan State beat Michigan 4-1 in Munn Ice Arena, earning a split in the home-and-home series.
With the Spartans leading 1-0 on Matt Basgall’s early power-play goal, Stramel’s first goal of the night at 18:03 in the first held up as the game winner.
Stramel slams this one home for a 2-0 Spartan lead! West and Howard with the helpers. pic.twitter.com/F71UAsHQMu
Michigan State added two more in the second, Shane Vansaghi’s power-play goal at 5:43 and Stramel’s second of the night at 8:12, shorthanded. T.J. Hughes had Michigan’s only score on the power play at 18:50 in the third.
It was a spicy game, with the teams combining for 72 penalty minutes, 48 of which belonged to Michigan. The only goal of the night that didn’t involve special teams play was Stramel’s game winner.
Trey Augustine stopped 34-of-35. Logan Stein made 28 saves in the Michigan net. The Wolverines outshot the Spartans 35-32.
With the win and Minnesota’s loss, the Spartans reclaim the top spot in the Big Ten standings, one point ahead of the Golden Gophers.
No. 4 Western Michigan 5, No. 14 North Dakota 1
After scoring twice in Western Michigan’s Friday overtime win — including the game winner — Alex Bump led Western with two goals and an assist as the Broncos completed a road sweep of North Dakota, beating the Fighting Hawks 5-1.
The Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead after after the first period on Ty Henricks’ early goal and this game-winning snipe by Owen Michaels two minutes before the period ended.
Liam Valente gave Western a 3-0 lead at 6:31 in the second. Cameron Berg brought the Fighting Hawks to within two again at 14:24, but Bump’s first of the night with 16 seconds left in the second gave the Broncos a three-goal lead once more. Bump added his second goal on the power play in the third period.
Hampton Slukynsky had the win with 24 saves on 25 shots. T.J. Semptimphelter stopped 37 as the Broncos outshot the Fighting Hawks 42-25.
No. 17 Connecticut 2, No. 5 Maine 2
Down 2-1 and with netminder Callum Tung pulled for the extra skater, Connecticut’s Jake Percival scored from Kai Janviriya with 37 seconds remaining in regulation to tie Maine 2-2 in Alfond Arena and send the game into overtime.
It was 1-1 after the first on goals late in the period from Connecticut’s Ryan Tattle and Maine’s Oskar Komarov. After a scoreless second period, Taylor Makar gave the Black Bears the lead at 6:12 in the third.
Through 65 minutes, Maine outshot Connecticut 32-24. Tung had 30 saves for the Huskies and Albin Boija made 22 stops for the Black Bears.
Maine earned the extra shootout point. With the tie and Friday’s 4-2 win, Connecticut took four of a possible six points from Maine on the road.
No. 11 Boston University 2, No. 19 New Hampshire 1 (OT)
New Hampshire threw all it had at Boston University, outshooting the Terriers 35-21, but BU captain Ryan Greene ended the game a minute into overtime on a beauty of an end-to-end play, breaking in with Jack Harvey and giving the Terriers a home-and-home sweep of the Wildcats.
Nick Ring’s goal at 8:27 of the first period gave New Hampshire the early lead. At 7:45 in the second, Cole Eiserman tied the game on the power play. Harvey had the second assist on that goal, making him the only player of the night with a multipoint game.
Mathieu Caron made 34 saves on 35 shots for the win. Jared Whale stopped 19-of-21 for New Hampshire.
Cornell 2, No. 16 Quinnipiac 2 (OT)
Nick DeSantis and Tim Rego each had two points for Cornell as the Big Red came from behind to tie Quinnipiac in M&T Bank Arena, 2-2. DeSantis had the game-tying goal from Rego midway through the third period.
Cornell pushed hard in OT, outshooting the Bobcats 6-0 in the extra stanza. With less than a minute remaining, Dylan Silverstein saved the game for Quinnipiac on a scrambled play in front of the Bobcats’ net.
George Fegaras gave Cornell the lead from Rego early in the first period, but Tyler Borgula and Chris Pelosi scored in the second for Quinnipiac.
Ian Shane finished the night with 16 saves for Cornell and Silverstein had 17. The Big Red took the extra point in the shootout.
Brown 4, No. 20 Clarkson 2
Max Scott’s first career hat trick — including two scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation – propelled Brown to a 4-2 win over visiting Clarkson, giving the Bears their first season sweep of the Golden Knights in program history.
Scott’s first goal of the night at 8:12 in the second period gave Brown its second lead in the game.
Clarkson’s two goals in the game came on the power play, the first by Ellis Rickwood early in the second to tie the game 1-1 and the second by Ayrton Martino at 17:52 in the second, making it a 2-2 game after two.
Scott’s game-winning marker came at 18:35 in the third, followed by an empty-net goal at 19:33.
Lawton Zacher stopped 25-of-27 in the win. In net for the Golden Knights, Ethan Langenegger made 37 saves on 41 shots.
Michigan Tech 1, No. 12 Minnesota State 0 (OT)
After 61 minutes and 45 seconds of scoreless hockey, Michigan Tech’s Isaac Gordon scored on the power play to give the Huskies a 1-0 win over Minnesota State and a split on the weekend at home.
The Mavericks outshot the Huskies 31-25 and went 0-for-4 on the power play.
Ryan Manzella had 31 saves in his second shutout of the season. For Minnesota State, Alex Tracy stopped 24-of-25.
No. 13 Arizona State 5, No. 15 St. Cloud State 3
With the game tied 1-1 after two periods, Arizona State scored three times during a single five-minute power play early in the third on their way to a 5-3 win over St. Cloud State.
This is Ryan Kirwin’s game-winning goal, the third of that man advantage.
All told, the Sun Devils went 4-for-8 on the power play, starting with Lukas Sillinger’s goal at 7:38 in the first to give Arizona State the early 1-0 lead. The game was tied 1-1 heading into the third on Tyson Gross’s second-period goal for St. Cloud.
It was Gross in the box for five minutes for hitting from behind when the Sun Devils took the 4-1 lead. First Noah Beck scored at 2:33, followed by Ty Jackson at 3:18 with Kirwin scoring at 5:35.
St. Cloud answered with goals from Gavyn Thoreson and Daimon Gardner to make it 4-3 late in the third, but Artem Shlaine hit the empty net at 19:14 for the final score. Shlaine led all scorers with his goal plus three assists.
Gibson Homer made 31 saves in the win, and Gavin Enright stopped 20-of-25 for St. Cloud State.
The win gives the Sun Devils a road sweep of the Huskies and sweetens their record to 10-1-0 in their last 11 games. Eight of those 10 wins are in conference play, and the Sun Devils sit at the top of the NCHC standings, a point ahead of Western Michigan.
Ferris State 4, Bowling Green 3
Trailing 2-0 at the end of the first in Ewigleben Arena, the Bulldogs scored four straight goals as Ferris State bested Bowling Green 4-3, halting the Falcons’ unbeaten streak at eight games.
Quinn Emerson and Brody Waters gave the Falcons the 2-0 lead after one, but the Bulldogs tied it up 2-2 after two with goals by Kade Turner and Gavin Best. Turner and Best bookended the period, with Turner scoring his first collegiate goal at 3:21 and Best, who had the second assist on Turner’s goal, scoring with nine seconds left in the period.
Nick Nardecchia’s goal at 3:18 in the third gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the weekend series.
Nick Nardecchia gives @FerrisHockey its first lead of the night!
Tyler Schleppe’s goal at 5:06 was the game winner after Waters added a power-play goal for Bowling Green at 12:19. Waters leads the CCHA in power-play goals with nine.
Noah West made 38 saves for the Bulldogs. In net for the Falcons, Cole Moore stopped 34 as Bowling Green outshot Ferris State 41-38.
Bowling Green’s streak (7-0-1) dated back to a 3-2 overtime loss to Minnesota State Dec. 7. The win was the first for Ferris State since Dec. 7, ending a five-game losing streak.
Sacred Heart 6, American International 3
The Pioneers extend their unbeaten streak to four games and pad their lead at the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings with their 6-3 home win over American International.
Tyler Ghirardosi had two goals and two assists in the game. Matthew Guerra also had a four-point effort with a goal and three assists. Ghirardosi’s game-winning goal came on the power play at 13:08 in the second.
The third period began with the game tied 2-2 before Sacred Heart scored three unanswered, beginning with Cole Galata’s at 6:50. Following Ghirardosi’s game winner, Hunter Sansbury gave the Pioneers a 5-2 lead on the power play at 13:48.
With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, Danny Weight cut the Pioneers’ lead to two goals again, but Guerra hit the empty net from Ghirardosi at 18:28 to cap the scoring.
Cullen DeYoung had 27 saves for the Pioneers. For the Yellow Jackets, Peyton Grainer left the game after the 2:43 mark, stopping all four shots he faced. Chase Clark played the rest of the game for AIC, allowing five goals on 18 shots.
Michigan’s Garrett Schifsky nets the overtime winner Friday night against Michigan State (photo: Michigan Photography).
Garrett Schifsky scored one minute into overtime to give No. 10 Michigan a 3-2 win over No. 1 Michigan State Friday night at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TJ Hughes forced overtime for the Wolverines with his goal at 14:25 of the third period.
Will Horcoff also scored for Michigan and goaltender Logan Stein made 35 saves.
It’s also two consecutive contests in which UM took No. 1 MSU to overtime, following the “Cold War” going into the books as a 3-3 draw on Oct. 6, 2001.
Karsen Dorwart and Joey Larson scored for MSU and Trey Augustine stopped 29 shots between the pipes.
The rivalry continues Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.
Cal Thomas, John Mittelstadt and Mason Nevers added goals for the Gophers and Nathan Airey finished with 13 saves between the pipes.
Paul Fischer and Jimmy Jurcev scored for Notre Dame and goalies Nicholas Kempf and Owen Say combined on a 41-save outing.
No. 4 Western Michigan 3, No. 14 North Dakota 2 (OT)
Alex Bump scored the game-tying goal at 2:46 of the third period and then won it 14 seconds into overtime on a Western Michigan power play as the Broncos downed North Dakota 3-2 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Maine’s Charlie Russell and Nolan Renwick scored and Albin Boija finished with 21 saves in goal.
No. 11 Boston University 6, No. 19 New Hampshire 3
Ryan Greene netted two goals and Cole Hutson and Quinn Hutson each scored as Boston University doubled up New Hampshire 6-3 at Agganis Arena in Boston.
Luke Ashton, Rhett Pitlick, Adam Eisele, Jakob Stender and Kaden Bohlsen found the back of the net for the Mavericks and goalie Alex Tracy made 16 saves.
For MTU, Stiven Sardarian and Nick Williams scored and Derek Mullahy and Ryan Manzella combined to make 29 stops in net.
No. 13 Arizona State 6, No. 15 St. Cloud State 3
Down 3-1 early in the second period, Arizona State rallied for five unanswered goals and defeated St. Cloud State 6-3 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.
Ryan Kirwan scored twice for the Sun Devils, while Cullen Potter, Lukas Sillinger, Benji Eckerle and Kyle Smolen added one each to back Gibson Homer’s 30 saves in goal.
Adam Ingram, Gavyn Thoreson and Mason Salquist scored for SCSU and goalie Gavin Enright finished with 22 saves.
No. 16 Quinnipiac 6, Colgate 3
Andon Cerbone registered the hat trick as Quinnipiac doubled up Colgate 6-3 from the M&T Bank Arena in Hamden, Conn.
Travis Treloar, Jack Ricketts and Aaron Schwartz added goals for the Bobcats and Matej Marinov and Dylan Silverstein teamed up to make 19 saves between the pipes.
Robby Newton, Max Nagel and Reid Irwin recorded goals for the Raiders and netminder Andrew Takacs made 31 saves.
No. 18 Colorado College 6, Minnesota Duluth 1 (in progress)
At the end of the second period from Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo., Colorado College holds a commanding 6-1 lead over Minnesota Duluth.
The Aurora Spartans take on Marian this weekend. (Photo by Steve Woltmann, Aurora Athletics)
It’s the middle of January and the action on the ice isn’t slowing down. We’ve got a handful of MIAC-WIAC crossover games and a full slate of NCHA games, with all three ranked conference opponents in action. Here’s a look at this week’s picks.
Concordia (5-9-1, 1-4-1) at St. Scholastica (8-6-1, 3-3)
Both teams come in looking to gain ground in the MIAC standings.
The Saints will lean on Hunter Hanson, who is tied for the league lead in goals scored (10). The Saints have come through with 51 goals as a team.
Dane Coutre has played well in goal for the Cobbers, sporting a 2.62 goals against average, and he’ll have to be on top of his game against the Saints,who have three players ranked among the top goal scorers in the league.
Concordia aims to end a two-game losing streak. The Saints are hoping to do the same. St. Scholastica, 4-2; Concordia, 5-3
Augsburg (5-10, 1-5) vs. Bethel (7-5-1, 3-1)
Tyler Braccini ranks in the top five in goals scored in the MIAC, tallying nine on the season, while goalie Austin Ryman has been impressive in goal, racking up 270 saves. It’s also worth noting the Royals have won their last four games.
The Auggies are at the bottom of the conference and have lost their last two games. Things will need to change offensively for Augsburg, which has scored a goal or less in six of its last eight games. Bethel, 3-1 and 4-2
Saint John’s (6-7) at UW-Stevens Point (10-4-1)
A big opportunity awaits the Johnnies as they hit the road to take on the nationally ranked Pointers on Saturday. Jon Howe will have to be at his best against a team that is averaging four goals per game.
Dawson Sciarrino leads the way with 12 goals. The Pointers have won four in a row. The Johnnies had lost seven in a row against the Pointers before winning 3-1 in January of 2023. Stevens Point comes in with a 7-0-1 record at home this season. Stevens Point, 5-2
UW-River Falls (9-6) at St. Olaf (6-6-1)
Jonathan Panisa leads the Oles into action against the Falcons, who are playing their next six games on the road. River Falls has one of the top goalies in the game in Brennan Boynton, who has a 91.5 save percentage, the best in the WIAC.
The Oles are hoping to end a two-game losing streak. The good news is they have played well at home, going 4-1 this season. River Falls, 4-3
UW-River Falls (9-6) at Saint Mary’s (7-5-1)
The Falcons cap the weekend on Saturday with a game against the Cardinals. Dylan Smith will be looked upon to play a key role as he leads River Falls with 15 points. He’s scored eight goals on the season.
The Cardinals have dropped two in a row and are 0-2 against WIAC opponents this season. Colin Tushie, Nathan Solis and Gabe Potyk have been key players for Saint Mary’s, scoring seven goals apiece. Saint Mary’s, 5-4
Lawrence (3-9-2, 2-5-1) vs. Trine (12-2-1, 6-1-1)
The first place Thunder, who are ranked seventh nationally in the USCHO.com poll, look to keep their place atop the standings when they take on the Vikings.
Trine has great depth at the goalie position, with Cristian Wong-Ramos and Kyle Kozma both having the ability to rise to the occasion. Both sport goals against averages under two.
The Vikings come in having lost three in a row and are facing their third ranked opponent of the season. Trine, 4-1 and 5-2
Adrian (12-3, 6-2) vs. Lake Forest (6-8-1, 2-5-1)
Sixth-ranked Adrian is as hot as ever, winning nine in a row, and it won’t be easy for the Foresters to slow that momentum. Ian Amsbaugh is among the top threats for the Bulldogs, scoring eight goals, and Dershahn Stewart has been solid between the pipes with a 2.49 goals against average.
The Foresters begin a stretch of back to back weekends against ranked opponents. Justin Ross, Trevor Faucher and Colin Bella have tallied seven goals apiece for Lake Forest. Adrian, 5-2 and 6-3
Marian (6-9, 3-5) vs.Aurora (12-3, 6-2)
The No. 5 Spartans have won two in a row and look to keep pace in a highly competitive battle for the conference title. Aurora has cranked out 73 goals, the most of any team in the NCHA, and Landry Schmuck has helped fuel that attack, coming through with 11 goals.
Daunte Fortner has helped lead the way for the Sabres, tallying seven goals. Marian has lost three of its last four. Aurora, 5-1 and 4-1
Concordia (9-6, 4-4) vs. St. Norbert (12-3, 7-1)
The fourth-ranked Green Knights feature two of the top five scoring threats in the NCHA in Liam Fraser and Logan Dombrowsky. They’ll look to get St. Norbert back on track after three straight losses. Fraser has tallied 14 goals while Dombrowsky has come through with nine goals.
Derek Humphreys leads the way for the Falcons, recording 11 goals. Two of the better goalies will be on the ice as well in Hunter Garvey for St. Norbert and Gabe Rosek for Concordia, which has won six in a row. St. Norbert, 5-3; Concordia, 4-3
Geneseo’s Dakota Zarudny is a big part of Geneseo’s balanced attack as the Knights prepare for the stretch run in the UCHC race (Photo by Geneseo Athletics)
After suffering their first loss of the season last weekend to a familiar antagonist in Elmira, the Geneseo Knights rebounded in a big way with a decisive win over Fredonia and now face their final twelve games of the season in their new UCHC affiliation looking for a conference title and more.
“Candidly, I was a bit surprised by our start,” stated head coach Chris Schultz. “We don’t load up a single line and have a pretty balanced top three groups in the lineup. Our goaltending has been really good with both Adam [Harris] and Jacob [Torgner] right around the .940 save percentage level. That kind of consistency will keep you in a lot of hockey games and definitely helps out on the penalty kill. Knowing if they can consistently keep at that level of play means I am still not sure how good we are or can be.”
Following their closing of the first half with a win and overtime tie with Utica, the Knights were off for a month before returning to game action last weekend for the first time in 2025. A Friday night loss at Elmira got the rust off before the offense broke out in a big way against Fredonia with eight different players scoring goals in a 9-2 rout of the Blue Devils.
“The break was like thirty-two days,” said Schultz. “Then we cam back to literally play our “kryptonite” in Elmira who we do not have a very successful history against. Next year they come into our league so maybe having the incentive of points to the winner may be a different motivator for our team but putting that one aside I liked how we rebounded the next night and got back to our game.”
The Knights do not have a 10-gaol scorer and only one player (Cooper Fensterstock) has double-digit assists on the roster. The balance goes up and down the lineup and largely with even-strength goals as the usually deadly power play is clicking only at 16% so far this season.
“We have become a very gritty team,” noted Schultz. “In the past we would send some flyers for the perfect play or individual zone entry where now the group is much more a “chip and chase” approach. We made this change a couple of seasons ago and have had good success with the players buying into the style. If we can get the power play going our fifth-ranked offense should only get better and we will need that to close out the regular season and heading to the playoffs in March.”
One of the players looking to breakout on the man-advantage unit is defenseman Dakota Zarudny. The junior has eight points on the season with a +10 rating and has the high reward skills his coach is looking to take advantage of in the attack.
“Dak grew up playing forward,” said Schultz. “I am not sure when he made the shift back to the blueline, but I have always recruited and liked the smaller, skilled defensive players especially that play that high risk-high/reward style of play. He is a great influence on the team and in the room because he is always yapping and having fun. I can call him out in front of the group, and he just laughs and gets energized by it all.
The Knights will be looking for their first UCHC title this season but have a difficult path forward including four games with Nazareth and two each with Chatham, Brockport, Manhattanville and Utica to close out the second half of the season. Nazareth bookends the remaining schedule starting with a home-and-home series this weekend that Coach Schultz wants to see his team ready to go.
“Any team coach by George Roll is going to be ready to play and very disciplined and true to their systems,” said Schultz. “They have been playing very well of late including wins over Hamilton and Cortland before a tough loss to Oswego. We need to keep our gritty style going and make some improvements in getting more pucks to the net and not looking for the perfect play particularly on the power play. It is going to be a tough road to the finish line playing some really strong teams and I hope we find out how very good we are before we have to play in March.”
The Knights travel to face Nazareth on Friday night before taking the ice at “The Ira” on Saturday in the back end of the two-game series against the Golden Flyers.
Ben Ivey posted two goals in Army West Point’s 9-1 win over Mercyhurst last Friday night (photo: Army West Point Athletics).
Scoring goals has been a challenge for Army West Point this season.
Before last weekend, the Black Knights (7-15-0) were averaging 1.65 goals a game, and hadn’t scored more than two in a contest since a 5-3 loss to Holy Cross on Nov. 22.
Brian Riley’s team came into last weekend’s series with Mercyhurst having scored seven goals in their previous eight games, losing all of them.
That all changed last weekend.
On Friday, The Black Knights defeated the Lakers 9-1 and then put up a baker’s dozen in Saturday’s 13-1 win.
Saturday’s game set an Atlantic Hockey America record for goals in a game and tied the record goals in a period (seven in the second period on Saturday). Every Army forward had at least a point in each game, led by Nik Hong and Nils Forselius with seven points each in the series.
“It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever been a part of,” said Riley. “Everything went in for us, all the goals that didn’t in our previous games. It was kind of a perfect storm. Nobody is that many goals better than the other team. Pucks just went in for us that hadn’t gone in for nine games. Mercyhurst had just played the (Minnesota) Gophers the week before and they were competitive games.”
Riley said that an impromptu team meeting held after an 8-2 loss to American International on Jan. 7 helped galvanize his team.
“For us, the weekend started after AIC beat us 8-2 on Tuesday,” said Riley. “I talked to the team and it turned into a team meeting. I asked the players to speak up. Everybody got to talk.
“We were so consumed with winning and scoring, that we forgot about the habits and details, which is the process.”
The offensive outburst came at the perfect time with the Black Knights welcoming rival Air Force to Tate Rink this weekend.
“We needed a confidence boost,” said Riley. “I think that this past weekend gave some guys that were struggling some confidence. It couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
Army-Air Force is a special rivalry unlike any other in college hockey, made extra special this year, Riley’s final one at Army West Point. He’s retiring after 21 seasons.
“I’ve been thinking about how much I’m going to miss being a part of the rivalry,” said Riley. “There are lots of great rivalries in college hockey, but this one is special because the of the players on both teams what they are willing to do for their country.
“After the game, we line up shoulder to shoulder for the alma maters. It’s unique.”
“How ironic is that?” said Riley. “We wanted ‘Langer,’ we wanted Brendan to be here for our final regular-season game. And now it’s the (second) last regular-season game in their history (the Yellow Jackets recently rescheduled their postponed game with Holy Cross as their last game of the regular season).
Riley says he’s starting to look back as the time nears.
“It’s winding down,” he said. “It’s coming fast for some strange reason. This season is flying by.
“Looking back, the best part isn’t the wins, it’s the relationships that were special. I’ve been very lucky, but it’s time.”
Buffalo State’s Joe Glamos hopes to keep the Bengals’ Cellys going as they face the nation’s No. 1 team this weekend when Hobart comes to visit on Friday night (Photo by Performance Sport Photography – Jennifer Meure)
Other than some mid-week games and the odd non-conference matchup to be found sporadically for the balance of the schedule, the action now turns to conference play and all-important wins and points. It is mid-January so if your team is going to make a run it would be best to bring maximum effort and execution to the ice for the sprint to the finish of the regular season.
My weekly picks finished last week at 8-5-0 (.615) on my “Baker’s Dozen” picks where, unfortunately, absolutely none of my upset picks came through – so unlike the first half of the season. Overall, my season numbers are now 70-37-6 (.646) which is basically hovering in about the same area as the past month or so. If I am going to reach my goal of a 70% success rate, now is the time for me to ramp up the accuracy and pick some winners. Here is this week’s prognostications for the east:
Thursday, January 16, 2024
Anna Maria v. Fitchburg State
The AmCats are certainly amongst the contending teams in the MASCAC this season but currently sit in a log jam of teams including Fitchburg State just three points apart and looking up at Plymouth State. The Falcons know the importance of playoff seeding and these points could be the difference next month. It is an overtime thriller for the home team – FSU, 5-4
Salem State v. Westfield State
The Vikings have been getting better every time out since their tournament win at the Boston Landing Invitational and a solid road win over the Owls will only build on the confidence for coach McInnis’ squad. Late flurry of goals including an empty-netter create some cushion for the visitors – SSU, 4-1
Friday, January 17, 2024
Wilkes v. Neumann
The MAC schedule finds these two teams licking their wounds after a tough week of losses looking to rebound and gain some important conference points. This one looks and feels like a playoff game because, well, both teams are going to play like it is one! No one wants to extend a losing streak and advantage goes to the home team only because it probably matters – Neumann, 3-2
(10) Endicott v. Wentworth
UPSET ALERT – The Gulls best not be looking past a very persistent Leopards squad who are coming off a big overtime win over Wilkes last weekend. Home ice fuels the fire for Wentworth who will come close but fall just a bit short in another upset bid in the CNE – Endicott, 3-2
Babson v. Albertus Magnus
The Beavers have been on a nice run over the past several games and look to extend their win streak against an explosive Falcon team fresh off a sweep of Southern Maine. Nate Mueller has been steady in goal and scoring is also balanced for the visitors who eke out another “W” on the road – Babson, 5-4
(9) Hamilton v. Tufts
The Continentals are perched atop the NESCAC standings with a handful of teams looking to take advantage of any stumble. The Jumbos are looking to get their game headed in the right direction and while special teams help keep this close, there is too much firepower for the visitors who use an ENG for added margin – Hamilton, 5-3
(1) Hobart v. Buffalo State
UPSET ALERT NUMBER TWO – When you are undefeated and the defending national champion you are going to get everyone’s best game when you face any opponent. Buffalo State has quietly taken the top spot in the SUNYAC standings and are very dynamic offensively. The Statesmen will need to play shutdown defense with some great goaltending. Thin k I have seen that formula before and it works in a close one here on the road – Hobart, 3-2
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Nazareth v. (3) Geneseo
The Golden Flyers will work hard for sixty minutes under coach George Roll and the Knights certainly like to feast on non-conference foes at home. Can’t get complacent with this opponent who keeps things close in a very entertaining contest at “The Ira” – Geneseo, 5-4
Franklin Pierce v. St. Anselm
The Ravens have struggled all season and have yet to pick up a win in NE-10 play so far. The Hawks will be wary and look to start fast to put the visitors on their back foot and playing catchup with the co-leaders in the league. Balanced scoring leads to a comfortable win – St. Anselm, 6-2
Williams v. Plattsburgh
The Cardinals play this back-end of a NESCAC double header looking to build some confidence before returning to SUNYAC play. Ephs have been up and down all season and this one finds them down as the visitors play it fast and physical for a nice home win – Plattsburgh, 3-1
(14) Cortland v. Oswego
These two teams expect to contend for the SUNYAC title and will be looking for a big win here for momentum in this non-conference affair. Game is at a neutral site in Skaneateles, New York with the Griffin’s Guardians charity being showcased. Hope the locals get out to watch a great hockey game that produces an overtime goal to win it – Cortland, 4-3
Elmira v. Massachusetts-Boston
The Soaring Eagles have started out strong in 2025 and will look to extend their strong results in NEHC play against the Beacons. Visitors have a veteran squad and find a way to down the expected challenge from the home team – Elmira, 4-1
Now we are getting to the games that really begin to matter on the schedule. No time like the present to get the results and points needed to contend – “Drop the Puck!”
Hockey East announced Monday that Maine graduate forward Ross Mitton has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 16:59 of the third period on Jan. 18 against UConn.
