Nicole Haase (@NicoleHaase) and Todd Milewski (@ToddMilewski) recap a weekend heavy in overtime games around NCAA women’s hockey. St. Lawrence forward Julia Gosling joins Nicole to talk about a big weekend for the Saints. And we look at the semifinalists for the Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award and take a glance at a big series ahead in Minnesota.
Some top seeds are already determined as the final weeks of the regular season play out, but in many other conferences, the battles from top to bottom are still on the line to determine the top seed, home-ice berths and even qualification for the post-season. There is plenty to be motivated about with the remaining games on the schedule. Speaking of motivation, I was marginally better with last week’s picks going 9-3-3 (.669). That pushed the overall numbers up a couple of percentage points to 111-52-12 (.669) which is still directionally correct for a strong playoff run. First things first with the remaining couple of weeks and starting with this week’s dynamic conference matchups. Here are the picks this week in the East:
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Arcadia v. Neumann
This mid-week special should be very entertaining with one Knights monikered team sure to come away with a win. In this case it is the host Black Knights who find a way to rally for the one-goal victory – Neumann, 4-3
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Fitchburg State v. Plymouth State
The Panthers and Falcons always play a spirited and physical game. The home team is clearly focused on finishing the season strong in preparation for the playoffs that will run through their building and do so with a number of power play goals to take the win – PSU, 6-3
Massachusetts-Dartmouth v. Worcester State
The Corsairs are in a tight battle with Fitchburg State for second place and a win over the Lancers on the road would be a welcome added point total in the standings. It’s a close contest that gets decided late with a power play goal – UMD, 4-3
Friday, February 9, 2024
Endicott v. University of New England
The Gulls have picked up their game in the second half with Andrew Kurapov and Jackson Sterrett being prominent on scoresheets recently. They factor in here as well in a big one-goal road win over the recently struggling Nor’easters – Endicott, 3-2
(13) Skidmore v. (5) Elmira
The Soaring Eagles are looking to finish strong on home ice as they entertain a top tier team in the final week of the regular season. Nothing sends a message that your playoff ready like a win over a key contender. Empty-net goal provides the final margin in a close game – Elmira, 4-2
Colby v. (7) Trinity
The Bantams have been consistent and very solid in their play backed by the great goaltending of Devon Bobak and timely scoring from a host of players like Kyle Tomaso. Same formula picks up another win at home against the Mules – Trinity, 5-3
Post v. Franklin Pierce
The Ravens should not take the Eagles lightly as they have battled every NE-10 team this year for the full 60 minutes or more as needed. Drew Blodgett has given Post a chance to win in goal but the Ravens get it done late for the much needed win – FPU, 4-3
Morrisville v. Canton
This Kangaroos love the SUNYAC matchups and especially on home ice. Lots of entertainment value here in a seesaw affair that comes down to a third period goal by the home team that delivers the “W” – Canton, 4-3
(4) Plattsburgh v. Cortland
The Cardinals very much want the top spot in the SUNYAC standings but can’t look past a Red Dragon team that clearly has aspirations to move up the standings. Expect this one to be low-scoring and maybe require some overtime and a Bennett Stockdale game-winner – Plattsburgh, 3-2
Saturday, February 3, 2024
(4) Plattsburgh v. Oswego
The Lakers will want to send a message about their contending for the SUNYAC title and nothing better than beating the defending champs to send the message. Shane Bull and Tyler Flack have been big-game players and show up for this one – Oswego, 3-2
Anna Maria v. Rivier
The teams will be part of MASCAC next year but the last battles as Independents this year mean some bragging rights. This one should see some physical play and a lot of Grade A scoring opportunities that the visitors take advantage of for the win – Anna Maria, 5-4
(13) Skidmore v. (1) Hobart
The Statesmen have been dominant on home ice as a portent of what teams can expect in the upcoming playoffs. Don’t be surprised if the scoreboard has a crooked number early, it’s how the home team has been rolling in the second half against everyone – Hobart, 4-1
Western New England v. (11) Curry
The Colonels are in a logjam in the CCC standings so every win keeps them up with Endicott in the battle for the top seed. Gage Dill and his line have been super-productive and carry the offense in a tidy win at home with Shane Soderwall keeping the Golden Bears at bay – Curry, 4-1
Wilkes v. (13) Stevenson
Both teams are battling for second place in the UCHC standings and home ice here makes all the difference in a game that features great special teams and goals to delight the fans. Liam McCanney is the difference for the Mustangs – Stevenson, 5-3
Alvernia v. (2) Utica
The Pioneers have been cruising in the conference but best not take the Golden Wolves lightly. A fast start on home ice is exactly the recipe for a comfortable win playing with the lead. Even-strength goals create quick momentum for the Pioneers – Utica, 5-2
It is the final week of play in the NEHC and all others have a couple more games to impact their post-season dreams – “Drop the Puck!”
Big Ten coordinator of ice hockey officials Steve Piotrowski joins hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger to discuss rules and officiating, including video replay, points of emphasis, and possible rule changes for next season.
This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Division I Men’s Frozen Four, April 11 and 13 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit ncaa.com/mfrozenfour
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Northern Michigan’s series against Lake Superior State early in January was a wake-up call for the Wildcats.
Playing their first series back from the holiday break, the Wildcats had maybe expected to come back to play one of their Upper Peninsula rivals tough after a refreshing vacation. Instead, the Lakers swept the Wildcats 5-1 and 5-2, taking the Cappo Cup trophy away from NMU while simultaneously giving their rivals a bit of a gut punch.
“We were 29 days between games, and I felt like we were in a really good place when we left for the break,” NMU coach Grant Potulny said in a phone interview on Tuesday, reflecting on the past month since the break. “And we came back and we were just disjointed.”
If this past weekend’s results are any indication, all of NMU’s joints seem to be well-oiled and back to their full range of motion. The Wildcats took five of six points from their other (main) UP rivals, winning 4-1 Friday before battling back to tie and earn a shootout win on Saturday. It’s the third-straight weekend in which the Wildcats (9-13-4) have managed to earn at least two points.
“That weekend (against Lake State) was humbling, there’s no doubt about that. And now we’ve kind of been building, trying to get us back where we were before the break. Hopefully this (past) weekend is a side of things to come,” Potulny said. “And we’ve been pushing them pretty hard, so to get some evidence that what we’re doing works was important.”
The Wildcats have slowly clawed their way back into the conversion for home-ice advantage in the standings, too. After the debacle in Sault Ste. Marie, NMU was in sixth place–eight points behind fourth-place Michigan Tech. Now the Wildcats have closed the gap. They are still in sixth place but are just two points (25) behind both Bemidji State and Michigan Tech, who are tied for fourth. Lake Superior State is in third, just a point ahead of BSU and Tech.
So it wasn’t lost on Potulny how big it was to earn those points against the Huskies.
“One for the points but two, just because it was our biggest rival, I think that that hopefully gives us a shot in the arm here for the stretch run,” he said. “And just look at our league. I mean, it’s just so tight that all of a sudden, somebody puts four games together, and you get more than three points a couple of weekends in a row, you could really move up the standings.”
It doesn’t take an engineer to figure out that home ice advantage is important in the playoffs–especially in the CCHA, where the entire Mason Cup tournament is played at home sites. But it’s especially vital for the Wildcats this year, who have found themselves playing significantly better at home (8-3-1) than on the road (1-10-3). NMU’s lone road win came way back in October against Bowling Green. So for them to earn two points in Houghton in Saturday’s game was huge–a tie and a shootout win isn’t quite the same as a regulation win, but two points are two points.
“Honestly, I think in the games that we’ve lost, we will lose the game in probably like a three to five-minute segment where we ended up giving up two to three goals, bang, bang, bang. It’s happened to us in the past on the road a lot this year, Potulny said. “On Saturday, we probably couldn’t have played a better second period, we got the game tied, and then they get a power play goal. And I think that sequence in the past would have derailed us and probably compounded it, but it’s an area that we’ve been really focusing on: making the next right play.
“Mistakes are gonna happen, just make the next right play.”
The “next right play” came 15 minutes into the third period. Kevin Marx Noren took a shot from the deep slot that dinged off the post and Michael Colella scooped up the rebound and beat Tech goalie Blake Pietila to tie the game at 3-3. Colella ended up scoring the deciding goal in the shootout to give NMU the extra point.
Marx Noren, for his part, was named the CCHA’s rookie of the week after recording two assists in each game this weekend. The Swedish forward has upped his game in the second half of the season, with six points in eight games in 2024. He had gone through a dry spell in the months of November and December, so Potulny is glad to see him back producing again. He currently leads NMU freshmen with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists).
“He’s kind of doing what you hope all your freshmen can do when they come back after that break,” Potulny said. “I tell the freshmen that they’re really not freshmen anymore, because you know what college is like, you’re comfortable in the locker room, you know what the league’s like. So when you come back the hope is that you can kind of take that next step. And Kevin is most certainly doing that.
“And I think to be honest, all the freshmen have kind of seen a bump in the second half and it just changes your depth when those guys can do that and you’re not worried about who they’re playing against.”
The Wildcats have three more series to play before the playoffs begin. Up first is a head-to-head matchup against Bemidji State. It’s the first time the teams have met this season; the Beavers are just two points ahead of NMU in the standings.
“You can have a hiccup early in the year and kind of survive it because there’s enough time left,” Potulny said. “But I think any miscues at this point, I think it’s gonna affect whether you’re at home or you’re on the road and, most certainly everybody would like to be at home for the first round.”
This past weekend out west was a fun one as we wrap things up in the regular season. We had a huge series out on Adrian to essentially determine the NCHA regular-season champion, determining home-ice for the playoffs. We also saw Gustavus and Hamline go at it in the MIAC, another pair of teams looking to make the NCAA push. We also look ahead to the biggest WIAC matchup of the year thus far.
Here’s your week 15 recap, showcasing some notable events!
#5 Adrian vs St. Norbert (Adrian 2-1 & 7-1)
These two have battled back-and-forth the past few years, Adrian winning the last 24 games between the two, which doesn’t always show the whole story in terms of St. Norbert’s recent breakthrough as a true NCHA contender, but for now, the NCHA remains through Adrian.
Game two was a blowout, featuring six 2nd period goals (one from Norbert and five from Adrian). Adrian went up 2-0 after the 1st, 7-1 after the 2nd, and scored a trio of powerplay goals.
Game one was a close matchup, 2-1 was the final in favor of the Bulldogs, but this is more what we came to expect in the series. Funny enough, all goals in this game were scored on the powerplay, considering the game had nine penalties on SNC and six on Adrian, not a shocker we saw a special teams showing.
Adrian outshot Norbert 43-23, SNC goaltender Brynn Waisman despite the loss, made 41 saves, while Adrian goalie Michaela O’Brien made 22. The winning goal in this one came from Maya Roy in the last minute of regulation (19:13.5), giving her Bulldogs the win and nearing them closer to the eventual regular-season title.
Adrian with the sweep, had won the NCHA regular-season title once again. The playoffs will run through Adrian assuming Adrian gets out of round one which is a near-lock based on how things have gone so far. Hopefully this year the weather doesn’t take out the power at Arrington ice Arena and the games can be played on the originally intended date.
#2 Gustavus vs Hamline (Gustavus 3-1 & 2-1)
Gustavus, the defending MIAC & NCAA champions, have been in a battle as of late, not showing the dominance of last season, but still of course are a tournament contender. Hamline on the other hand, is looking to get back to their glory seasons featuring numerous NCAA tournaments and a finals appearance in 2018 where they fell to Norwich in the semifinals.
Both games were close, like our last one in Adrian, a game-winner was scored in the final minute of the game (19:47.2).
Game one: This one featured a pair of goals by each team in the 1st & 3rd period of the game, both teams taking the 2nd period off from scoring. Gustavus’ Sophia Coltvet scored midway through at 11:11 and her teammate Hannah Gray netted a powerplay goal at 17:42, making it 2-0 Gusties after a full 20.
Hamline would then come back as mentioned, Elizabeth Valley at 12:19 and Sydney Lemke at 17:31, both scoring at near the same times as Gustavus in the opening frame. It was then the hero for Gustavus, Emily Olson, scoring in the final 13 seconds of the game to get the Gusties closer to another MIAC regular-season title with home-ice for the playoffs.
Game two: Like the first game, it was close, but the Gusties got the better of it in the end, scoring three unanswered and essentially locking up the MIAC regular-season title unless some shocking events occur in back-to-back weekends for them.
Hannah Gray opened it up 9:29 into the opening period which ended 1-0. Gustavus added a pair in the 2nd, Hailey Holland (7:44) & Macy Janssen (8:42), making it 3-0. Morgan Wohlers would tally one late in the 3rd at 15:29, but it wasn’t enough at that point. Gusties take it 3-1 and complete the MIAC sweep.
Game Preview: #1 UW-River Falls vs #6 UW-Eau Claire
Tonight February 7, 2023, at 7:05pm CST in River Falls, the year-in and year-out top duo in the WIAC will face for the second time this season, River Falls winning the first game early in the season 5-2 in Eau Claire. These teams will also face off for the final game of the regular season on Saturday February 17 in Eau Claire.
Eau Claire (17-4-0) and River Falls (23-0-0) have had their battles of course, RF sitting with a two-game win streak, while the Blugolds have been known to take a few games from the Falcons each year.
The WIAC is the least of the issues in this game for both teams, more importantly the Blugolds, who sit in 7th currently in Pairwise (as of 2/7/24) and cannot receive an auto bid due to the six-team league minimum for an auto bid. The Falcons look to be a lock unless the world ends and they lose their remaining games.
Story of this game would seem to be special teams and goaltending, River Falls entering at the top, or near the top of most statistical categories, with Laura Hurd frontrunner Maddie McCollins leading the country in points (all stats via USCHO) at 54 (28G, 26A) and her teammates Megan Goodreau in 3rd with 42 (14G, 28A) and Alex Hantge T-5 with 35 (12G, 23A). Sophie Rausch for Eau Claire sits in 4th, she’s got 36 points through 21 games (20G, 16A).
Goaltending has been a strength of River Falls, however, with a team like that in front of you, it’ll certainly help their stats, but nevertheless, starter Jordan O’Connor is 15-0-0 with a .948 save%.
Meanwhile for the Blugolds, we’ve got Josie Mathison & Alexa Backmann splitting time. Beckman with a 9-2-0 record, Mathison with 8-2-0. We’ve seen some shaky play at times, against River Falls, that cannot happen or they’ll end it quite briskly.
Eau Claire needs to play their most complete game of the season tonight and then in the regular season finale and take at least one of them if they want to keep their NCAA at-large hopes alive with all the upsets happening out east. Anything can happen, it should be fun.
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its monthly men’s awards for January.
Michigan sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty is the player of the month, Boston College freshman forward Will Smith is rookie of the month, and RIT junior Tommy Scarfone is goaltender of the month.
McGroarty, who served as the United States World Junior team captain that won gold in Sweden, scored in all six games as Michigan went 4-2-0 on the month and he had multiple points in five of the games. His complete line for January: 3-13-16. He had eight assists in four games against nationally ranked Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Fresh off his stint with Team USA’s gold medal-winning World Junior team, Smith returned to go 6-6-12 in six games for the Eagles, including a pair of big wins against previous No. 1 Boston University.
Scarfone went 4-2-1 in January with a 1.55 GAA and a save percentage of .950. His 209 saves were near the top of the nominated netminders.
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its monthly women’s awards for January.
St. Lawrence junior forward Abby Hustler is the player of the month, Colgate freshman forward Emma Pais is rookie of the month, and netminders Raygan Kirk, a senior from Ohio State, and Hannah Murphy, a junior from Colgate, are co-goaltenders of the month.
Hustler led a resurgence for SLU Hockey as the Saints won six in a row in a 6-3 month. Hustler led the nation with 6-13-19. SLU has kept it going with wins over highly ranked Cornell and Colgate to start February.
Pais put together 6-5-11 in a great 8-1-0 month for nationally ranked Colgate. Her goals: three when even, two on the power play, one short-handed.
Kirk played just four games but all against WCHA iron: 4-0-0, 0.75 and .957 – vs. Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. She only allowed one goal in a sweep at Minnesota.
Murphy enjoyed a 5-0-0 month in which she had a 0.64 GAA and a save percentage of .970. She had three shutouts, two against nationally ranked opponents.
This past week we saw more upsets (shocker), some close games, and we look ahead to a notable birthday this weekend at the Playland Ice Casino. Here’s your week 15 east recap highlighting a few notable events!
Wesleyan’s sweeps #6
Wesleyan (11-6-3) have clearly found their stride as of late. In their last six games, they’ve faced #3 Amherst (lost/won), #7 Hamilton (tie/win), and #6 Middlebury (win/win). Seeing this shows us the excitement of the NESCAC conference as well as the rest of women’s D3.
How it Happened
Both games were very close, both games were tied with less than two minutes remaining in each. Game one featured a Wesleyan game-winner in overtime at 2:44 by Brigitte Goeler-Slough. The two previous goals in this one came in the middle frame, Christina Tournas for Wesleyan (7:28) & Cat Appleyard for Middlebury (17:19).
In game two, the Cardinals jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st which held until a quarter of the way through the 2nd. Brigitte Goeler-Slough scored again in this one (11:50) and her teammate Dylan Green scored a brisk 2:50 later. Middlebury tied it up, scoring a pair in three minutes, it was Kate Flynn and Raia Schluter.
Caroline Mezias would then score the winner late in the 3rd at 18:42 to give the Cardinals the massive series sweep to go along with the tough stretch of games they’ve faced as of late.
#3 Plattsburgh vs Canton
Plattsburgh, who’s run the NEWHL/SUNYAC conference for the past five years, entered to face Canton, a team who’s been on the come up.
To recap the two very close games of 2-1 apiece, we turn to the Plattsburgh junior from Minnesota, Bridget Orr, she had a trio of goals on the weekend, a pair coming in game two, which included the game-winner.
Briefly reviewing these games, in game one, there was a goal scored in each period, Orr at 16:59 of the 1st, Victoria McGarrity at 9:34 of the 2nd, tying it up for the Roos of Canton, then the Cardinals’ Ciara Wall found the winning goal on the powerplay at 7:36.
Game two was similar, but this time the 1st period was scoreless. Then, Bridget Orr took over for about three minutes. She scored late in the 2nd at 18:47, then quickly out of the locker room she found a goal a mere 28 seconds into the final frame. Anna Pavalasova found the back of the net for the Roos a brief four minutes later at 4:06, but it wasn’t enough, like game one. Goaltender Lila Nease made 13-saves in the 2-1 victory for Plattsburgh.
Williams upsets #9 Trinity
Another NESCAC “upset”, this time it’s the Eps of Williams picking up the huge win over #9 Trinity. Williams will have faced once the regular season is over, a ranked opponent in their final 13 games. Versus Trinity, they split, but that broke a streak of losses in their last eight games, winning only two.
In this one the scoring came later in the game, no goals in the opening period, but Williams scored near the midway mark of the 2nd. Cloe Noxon gave the Eps the lead 7:21 into the 2nd period. We entered the final period with a 1-0 Eps lead.
In the 3rd, Trinity got one back with some time left on the clock at the (14:00) mark, Paige Kehoe.
The NESCAC is falling as it usually does, no pun intended, but every team can win that conference and it’s a good brand of hockey.
A birthday party at Playland
This Friday, February 9, Stevenson visits Manhattanville for a pair of featured games, but some could argue there’s a bigger storyline at hand here.
We take this time to wish Head Coach Jennifer MacAskill an early Happy Birthday who will be celebrating her youthful career as she matures another year at the Playland Ice Casino.
I asked Coach MacAskill a few questions regarding the celebration of her birth, beginning with what she wishes for her team this late in the season: “My wish is to stay injury free as we enter the final weeks of the regular season and to stay out of the penalty box… and a championship would be the icing on the cake.”
I asked: What’s a gift that your team would give you for your birthday based on things they see from you daily?
“A new pair of game day shoes, a pack of sweet mint gum, some practice pucks and a new laptop charger….”
And finally, I had to include a question about Playland, in which Coach MacAskill revealed something potentially in the works, this is what she said when I asked if she’d rather be anywhere else than Playland on her birthday, she said: “No better place exists! The disco ball would be a nice touch.”
Will we see a disco ball goal celebration? While introducing the lineups? Stay tuned as the Valiants look to hold on to 3rd place in the UCHC league standings heading into the playoffs!
First-year Colgate coach Mike Harder knew something was amiss with his team when he sent the players home for the Christmas holiday.
The Raiders that started the year by raising a 2023 postseason championship banner hadn’t won a game at home in the Class of 1965 Arena before Thanksgiving, and while they’d beaten Cornell to go into break with a win at Lynah Rink, they’d also lost the last home game of the semester by never leading their travel partner from nearby Ithaca, N.Y.
Harder felt like he needed to remind his team of something bigger than wins or losses, so he instructed the players to ask their families for pictures of when they played 8U youth hockey. Each player combed through old photo albums with their parents and dutifully sent pictures back to Liam Conway, an assistant coach and the team’s director of hockey operations.
When the players returned home from break, they walked into the locker room and found those pictures posted on their lockers as a reminder that things shouldn’t always be taken so seriously.
“Some of the pictures were locker room shots with sweaty faces, and other guys had street hockey shots,” Harder explained. “So when the boys got back to campus, we framed them all and blew them up to put them all on top of their stalls. It was pretty cool because on one side, they had their Division I Colgate [placard], but the other had a picture of them at seven years old with smiles and crooked teeth or teeth missing. And that made a difference because it reminded the guys that hockey is fun. We wanted to remember how it was when we were seven or eight years old.
“It doesn’t always have to be pressure packed, and from that, we started making plays that started making the little bit of difference [in our performance].”
The changeover in mentality helped Colgate find its groove, and after slowly improving through overtime games against both Maine and LIU, the Raiders exploded back into the ECAC’s fight by sweeping Quinnipiac and Princeton. An overtime win over Dartmouth gave them an additional two points on the road, and after this past weekend’s sweep of Clarkson and St. Lawrence, the defending champions are finally finding the secret stuff that once lifted them to a dogpile celebration at Lake Placid’s Herb Brooks Arena.
“Historically we’ve been a team that can be a little up and down sometimes in trying to find that consistency,” Harder admitted. “But this is a good group. Don Vaughan had a great group last year that won it all, and they figured out how to [achieve consistent greatness]. They knew how to do it in the room for whatever reason, but we didn’t quite have that confidence [this year] to finish games. If we’re being honest, the goaltending that we’ve had has been great, but we’re starting to win the special teams battles and the game within the game. And if you get one power play goal and kill every penalty, you’re probably going to win that game.”
Never was that clearer than this past weekend when the Raiders swept the North Country teams because of the power play’s ability to keep the team one step ahead of an opponent. On Friday night, a Golden Knights goal early in the third period halved Colgate’s 2-0 lead that had been built through even strength goals in the second, but an Alex DiPaolo power-play goal less than two minutes after Ryan Richardson broke through for Clarkson reestablished a two-goal lead into the latter stages of the game.
The Golden Knights would eventually add a second goal with under 10 minutes remaining, but a fourth goal ensured three points stayed home in Hamilton, N.Y., before Saturday night, where another power play goal served the difference between a three-point win and a possible overtime outcome. In both games, Colgate dutifully stayed out of the box and killed whatever penalties were assessed, meaning the three power-play goals scored essentially created the difference in six points and any number less than that.
“It’s been a confidence thing,” Harder said. “[Assistant coach] Zack Badalamenti runs our power play, and he’s been doubling down on how much we’re manufacturing goals. We’re running our routes and giving guys different options. We’re crushing it on video to where the guys are bought in and want more or are hungry for more. So when we start putting pressure on them when we give up a goal, they know who and what the difference makers are in that room. We really lean on our best players, and it sounds cliche, but our best players have been our best players lately.”
The run has sent players like Ryan McGuire and Alex DiPaolo shooting back to the top of the team’s goal sheet, while Ross Mitton, a 27-point scorer from a year ago, crashed through the 20-point plateau with a goal and three assists over last weekend. Brett Chorske likewise posted a goal and an assist against Clarkson and St. Lawrence to push his point streak to four games, and both Tommy Bergsland and Daniel Panetta scored goals at various times over both wins.
Their performances – along with the rest of the team’s defense in front of goalie Carter Gylander’s 48 saves last weekend – sent the Raiders shooting to the top tier of ECAC in a year defined by weekly rises and falls. The win over Clarkson in particular moved them into third place with a one-point differential to Cornell, and both teams remain within striking distance of first place Quinnipiac thanks to the Raiders’ earlier win that sent the Bobcats tumbling into the Pairwise Rankings’ second-seeded tier.
“It’s even more complicated within a three-point system,” Harder laughed, “because you want to win cleanly. It’s exciting if you’re a fan, but last weekend, I think two wins separated second place from 12th place. It was insane, and I think there’s a little bit more separation now, but it’s not much. So we tried to break things down, shift-by-shift, to find just the habits and details to do those things while knowing results will come. It’s such a quick turnaround in our league, and it’s so unique because you have to play a different opponent every night. The other leagues don’t do that, so it can be difficult because you have to be super prepared for both nights.
“Sweeps have been nice, but they’re not the norm in this league, and it’s going to be really tough to gain that advantage.”
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.
Ed: Jim, since our deadline for this column is before Monday night’s Beanpot semifinals, we’ll encourage college hockey fans to look elsewhere here on USCHO.com for coverage of the games.
Let’s turn to the race for the NCAA tournament. As is typical for early February, the top eight teams in the PairWise are nearly locks, with all having a 99% or better chance of making it in, either by winning their conference or as an at-large. Among those teams, there will be some jockeying for position – especially for the coveted regional No. 1 seed – but near the cutoff line of no lower than No. 14, there’s some volatility.
It’s all but certain that the automatic qualifiers from Atlantic Hockey and the CCHA will take two spots and there will not be an at-large from either conference. And we had been pretty certain in this space and on our USCHO Weekend Review podcast about ECAC Hockey having only one bid unless Quinnipiac is beaten in the league championship in Lake Placid.
Cornell, however, has something to say about that. The Big Red sit at No. 14 in the PairWise Rankings (prior to Monday’s games) and would be an at-large qualifier as the last team in.
Cornell has quietly put together a 10-game unbeaten streak, the eighth in coach Mike Schafer’s tenure. No games are a gimme, but the rest of the ECAC schedule for the Big Red is against teams they should be favored to beat.
Before we look at other teams on the edge of qualifying, how about Cornell’s rise in the rankings?
Jim: I feel like this year’s Cornell team is so much better than even its current PairWise position indicates. The Big Red began the year hot, had a minor slip up, but now are playing incredibly solid hockey.
I feel like Mike Schafer’s teams of late have peaked around the right time. Last year’s team got to a regional final and if the Big Red can get into the field of 16, they could make a run from a low seed.
Another team, despite some recent bumps in the road that I like, is Western Michigan. The Broncos stopped a three-game skid on Saturday by dominating Denver on the road on Saturday. I watched a good portion of that game and was impressed with this team’s speed.
The bubble right now for the NCAA tournament seems precarious. My concern is how high the bubble goes. Right now at 14, could we have a couple of postseason tournament upsets to move the cut line to 12? That would be the highest in recent memory?
Ed: That’s a great question. You’d need two of the four conferences with multiple bids (as of today) to have at least mild upsets. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility, or even probability.
I guess I’d look for teams with some current momentum who might cause an upset and teams that are unlikely to get bumped. I’ll start with the Big Ten and NCHC and leave Hockey East and ECAC Hockey to you. Then we can compare notes.
The Big Ten has four teams inside the bubble. Michigan is sitting the lowest at No. 12. The first round of the Big Ten playoffs is a best-of-three at the higher seed with the first-place team getting a bye to the semifinals.
The 5 vs. 4 and 6 vs. 3 matchups could see an upset. As things stand today based on percentages in the standings, you could see Notre Dame at Michigan for a series. I can conceive of Notre Dame pulling off an upset. They split in South Bend earlier in the season and have two coming up at Yost later this month.
In the NCHC, the teams just outside the bubble have had some impressive wins this season. I’m speaking of St. Cloud, Omaha, and Colorado College. Any of those three could put together some playoff victories to get in.
What about in the ECAC and Hockey East? The latter conference right now has five teams above the line. Could we see six? Will the ECAC manage two or more?
Jim: Maybe everything you just said combined with my rationale for both the ECAC and Hockey East make my rationale almost obsolete.
In Hockey East, I do believe that almost any team can beat any other on a given night. But the thought of doing it three or four times against the likes of BC, BU, Maine and likely Providence doesn’t seem likely. So scratch that off.
As for the ECAC, this could very well be the best chance to get a rogue team in if Cornell plays well down the stretch, moved into the top 12 in the PairWise and then neither the Big Red or Quinnipiac win the ECAC. This league always seems to deliver an unexpected champion, so why stop now?
I think it is now safe to say that we won’t see an independent team reach the tournament. And I can’t tell if that is good or bad. Arizona State could have a record number of wins for a school to not make the field. But looking back, the amount of home games the Sun Devils played this year makes me start to believe more and more in the PairWise.
I have consistently railed against the PairWise and its proportional divisions for a number of years (not to mention the criteria that were eliminated). But right now, I feel the PairWise is getting it right. Thoughts?
Ed: I will grudgingly admit that I think the PairWise is getting it right, though I’m disappointed in the hurdle Arizona State faces.
Over the past few months I’ve made arguments both in favor and against the current criteria. The thing that I’ve criticized most is that the formula gets massaged every so often, but that’s also probably why the PairWise is getting it right.
I guess my biggest gripe is about the RPI, the ratings percentage index. It’s good that it has been modified to give weight to road games and to apply bonuses to games against the top 20 in the RPI. It’s designed to provide context to your record by including the record of your opponents and your opponents’ opponents.
But that also means that 75% of it is outside of your control.
If you’re a good team with some conference opponents lowering your league’s overall non-conference winning percentage, then you’re pretty much stuck. I think that’s particularly the case when teams use travel money for trips against tough opponents to bolster their budgets while standing a poor chance of victory – and thus dragging their league down with them.
Still, the men’s NCAA D-I ice hockey championships committee is looking to improve. From their May 2023 minutes, it’s noted that they are looking at the NPI (NCAA percentage index) which is used by women’s hockey as a replacement for the RPI, as well as considering the impact of overtime and shootouts on head-to-head and common opponents comparisons.
So yes, the PairWise is working though it’s not yet optimal. But at least the PairWise is transparent, unlike the smoke-filled room of college hoops.
Jim: I won’t complain about the transparency of the process. And maybe this next argument sounds like a broken record for me as I have used it before.
Personally, besides being flawed as you mentioned, I also feel the RPI is too heavily weighted in the current criteria. There are only three criterion: RPI, head-to-head and common opponents. Because of the lack of criteria, the odds are you’ll have more ties (particularly when teams don’t play head to head). And the tie breaker is, well, the RPI. Thus, one criterion is often scored twice in the same comparisons.
Translation: a weaker or lowered RPI creates a difficult hurdle for teams that aren’t in the most powerful conferences.
Enough complaining, as I think we could be in for an exciting race towards Selection Sunday.
BOSTON – For decades the first two Mondays in February have had a familiar feel.
Sure, the tournament is called The Beanpot, and Monday began the 71st edition of the famous event, but in the last four or so decades, those familiar with the event began to rename it the BU Invitational.
BU, of course, stands for Boston University, a team that has won the tournament 31 times. The dominance of the Terriers, particularly between the years 1973 and 2013 when one Jack Parker served as head coach, was marked.
But since Parker retired, Beanpot dominance hasn’t been as easy for BU. The Terries have won just twice in nine attempts. And despite entering Monday’s semifinal as the third-ranked team in the USCHO.com poll, they were facing the best – No. 1 Boston College – an Eagles team that swept the Terries just 10 days earlier.
At puck drop, you felt like some sort of tide at TD Garden had changed. The massive Boston University crowds of the past existed but felt diminutive to the Boston College contingent of which the student all seemed to travel down the street to the Harvard ticket office and purchase each and every available seat in the Crimson sections.
What always seemed to be a building dominated by the Scarlet and White of Boston University was suddenly overrun by the Maroon and Gold of Boston College.
Cliches in sports exist, though, for writers like myself. So I’ll say it.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Monday, Boston University found a way to beat BU after losing twice less than two weeks ago. The final score was 4-3.
But for Terriers Nation, the score might as well have been 20-3. Sure, the Eagles made a furious comeback that fell short despite what felt like a peppering of the net late. But other than the finish that forced BU fans to up the dose on blood pressure medicines, many moments felt like days of old for BU.
Boston University will play in the finals next Monday for the 56th time in 71 tournaments.
After an initial onslaught by the Eagles that BU survived, thanks in no small part to goaltender Mathieu Caron, it was youth that gave the Terriers an advantage they’d never relinquish.
That seems appropriate if you want to harken back to that Golden Era of the Beanpot under Parker. It was the legendary bench boss who always said that the rookies in a Beanpot often had success on the big stage because they were almost too naïve to feel the pressure.
Okay, so Monday maybe it wasn’t the same situation. Yes, it was the youngest player on the ice who staked BU a 2-0 lead – Macklin Celebrini scoring 2:10 apart in the opening period. But Celebrini is also one of the most recognizable names in the game, the consensus favorite to be the number one overall selection in this summer’s NHL Draft.
“A lot of [young players] thrive in these situation,” said BC coach Jay Pandolfo, who played his college hockey for Parker back in the mid 90s. “Some of them perform better under pressure. They look for those opportunities to strive in those situations and you saw that tonight with Macklin [Celebrini] scoring twice.”
“Those were two good shots by Celebrini right there,” admitted BC coach Greg Brown.
The Terriers found ways to take advantage of Boston College mistakes with Luke Tuch in the second and Ryan Greene in the third turning BC turnovers into BU goals. Those upped the BU advantage to 4-1 as the precious seconds of regulation ticked away.
Yes, BC had a great late push. Gentry Shamburger cut the lead to 4-2 at 8:07 of the third and Gabe Perreault scored his second of the night at 11:24.
But BU found a way to close it out, as they have done so many times in the past on the Garden ice on the first Monday of February.
“Getting swept by BC two weeks ago was tough,” said Pandolfo. “Tonight was a good response by our team.”
Northeastern 3, Harvard 2 (F/OT)
Defending champion Northeastern needed everything it had in hopes of defending its title, scoring midway through the third to force overtime where Gunnarwolfe Fontaine notched the game-winning goal 33 seconds into the 3-on-3 frame to send the Huskies to next Monday’s title game.
Northeastern took an early lead on Alex Campbell’s goal at 7:08 of the first.
But Harvard responded in the second with two goals of its own. Ben MacDonald, whose father Lane was MVP of the 1989 tournament for the Crimson, evened the score at 2:53 of the middle frame. Then Matthew Morden gave the Crimson the lead less than two minutes later.
The game stayed that way until Northeastern captain Justin Hryckowian picked up a loose rebound with 9:17 left in regulation to tie things and force overtime.
The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has announced the 26 NCAA Division I players that are semifinalists for the 72nd Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born Division I college hockey player in New England.
The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team ever to win the World Championship Tournament. Brown coached the Rangers to the title in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where the team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.
“This is a superb field of semifinalists, with a bit more emphasis on forwards – 19 this year versus 16 a year ago. As always, we’re looking forward to following them closely down the stretch run toward the playoffs,” noted committee chairman Tim Costello in a statement. “We will announce the winner in the final week of March.”
Fourteen teams are represented in the slate of candidates that includes 19 forwards, four defensemen, and three goaltenders. Sixteen semifinalist nominees are from teams in Hockey East. five nominees are from ECAC Hockey, and five are from Atlantic Hockey. Boston College leads the way with five semifinalists, American International, Boston University, Holy Cross, Massachusetts, Merrimack, New Hampshire, Northeastern, and Quinnipiac each have two. Brown, Connecticut, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Sacred Heart have one each.
American International: Sophomore forward John Lundy, graduate forward Dustin Manz
Boston College: Sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier, freshman forward Gabe Perreault, freshman forward Will Smith, freshman forward Ryan Leonard, freshman goalie Jacob Fowler
Boston University: Sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson (2023 winner), senior forward Luke Tuch
Brown: Sophomore forward Ryan St. Louis
Connecticut: Junior forward Chase Bradley
Dartmouth: Sophomore goalie Cooper Black
Harvard: Sophomore forward Joe Miller
Holy Cross: Senior goalie Jason Grande, junior forward Liam McLinskey
Massachusetts: Junior defenseman Scott Morrow, junior defenseman Ryan Ufko
Merrimack: Sophomore defenseman Zach Bookman, junior forward Matt Copponi
New Hampshire: Freshman forward Ryan Conmy, sophomore forward Cy LeClerc
Northeastern: Sophomore forward Jack Williams, senior forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine
Quinnipiac: Junior forward Collin Graf, sophomore forward Sam Lipkin
Sacred Heart: Graduate forward T.J. Walsh
With 48 first-place votes this week, Boston College is again the No. 1-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll.
North Dakota is again No. 2, getting two first-place votes.
USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll – Feb. 5, 2024
Boston University holds steady at No. 3, Wisconsin stays No. 4, and Quinnipiac is up two to No. 5 this week.
Denver falls one to No. 6, Maine drops one spot to No. 7, Minnesota moves up one to No. 8, Michigan State is down one to No. 9, and Providence remains No. 10 in this week’s poll.
No new teams enter the poll this week and nine other teams received votes.
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.
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger review the games of the weekend and news of the week in this February 5, 2024 edition.
In this episode:
This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Division I Men’s Frozen Four, April 11 and 13 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit: ncaa.com/mfrozenfour
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Bemidji State (1) Ohio State
The Buckeyes tied a program record for goals in a game on Friday as they took down the Beavers 11-1. Just one OSU skater – Joy Dunne – scored more than one goal. A total of sixteen Buckeyes tallied points, led by Hannah Bilka, with a goal and three assists. Calli Forsberg ruined the shutout and got Bemidji on the board. On Saturday, they set a new program record with three short-handed goals as they cruised to a 9-1 win and weekend sweep. Jenna Buglioni opened the scoring and then put the first shorthander in. She also ended the scoring with a shorthander. Joceyln Amos also had a shorthander as well as an even strength goal. Kayla Santl was the goal scorer for Bemidji.
(9) St. Cloud State at (2) Wisconsin
See full Game 1 recap here. St. Cloud State got out to an early lead thanks to a deflection credited to Taylor Lind. Wisconsin replied with a goal from Maddi Wheeler in the second and then KK Harvey won the game in overtime. On Sunday, the Huskies once again took the early lead, this time on Alice Sauriol’s follow up of her own shot. The Badgers were quicker to respond this time as Kelly Gorbatenko poked in a rebound from Laila Edwards’ shot. Harvey scored her second of the weekend on a power play in the second to give UW a 2-1 lead. Laney Potter scored her second and third goals of the season midway through the final frame to extend the lead to 4-1. Emma Gentry continued her hot streak by lighting the lamp to make it 4-2, but Lacey Eden’s empty netter secured a 5-2 Badger win and weekend sweep.
(3) Colgate at (4) Clarkson
The Golden Knights came out flying and carried the force of the first frame to a 3-1 win. Clarkson outshot the Raiders 20-6 in the first, absolutely controlling play. Colgate held them off for the first part of the frame, but Jenna Goodwin, Haley Winn and Jaden Bogden all scored in the final eight minutes of the frame to put Clarkson up 3-0. Colgate was never able to find their footing and while they pushed back a bit in the second and got a goal from Danielle Serdachny, the Golden Knights did not back down and did not allow another goal.
(3) Colgate at (8) St. Lawrence
The Saints closed out an emphatic statement weekend with an overtime win over Colgate. Anna Segedi opened the scoring when she converted a turnover into a breakaway midway through the first to five St. Lawrence a 1-0 lead. Colgate tried to take control of the game back in the second, keeping SLU off the board and holding possession. They eventually tied the game with a goal from Danielle Serdachny in transition. On the power play to end the frame, Ally Simpson’s shot from the point ran into a bunch of traffic and ended up in the back of the net to put the Raiders up 2-1 at the second intermission. The teams were closely matched through the third, but St. Lawrence found the equalizer on their fourth power play of the game when Abby Hustler put back a rebound to tie it 2-2. In the extra frame, the Saints killed a penalty and took that momentum to end it as Mae Batherson had the puck in the slot and hit Segedi at the back post to give St. Lawrence the 3-2 win.
(6) Cornell at (4) Clarkson
The Golden Knights dominated in shots on net, 43-16, but Annelies Bergmann earned her second career shutout and set a new career record for saves as she stonewalled Clarkson while the defense racked up 32 blocks to help Cornell team to a 3-0 win. Kaitlin Jockims put the Big Red up 1-0 in the first on an off-balanced shot from distance. NCAA points leader Izzy Daniel took advantage of a turnover early in the second to double the lead. In the third, a Grace Dwyer block led to a Karel Prefontaine breakaway that made it 3-0 and then the Cornell defense settled in even more to close out the game.
St. Thomas at (5) Minnesota
St. Thomas’ Nicole Vallario looked to have the Tommies going to the locker room up 1-0 but Abbey Murphy struck on the power play in the final 40 seconds of the frame to tie the game 1-1 at the first break. After a scoreless second, Josefin Bouveng scored from distance to make it 2-1. Madison Kaiser had a goal overturned, but eventually got on the board with an empty-netter to secure a 3-1 win for the Gophers. In the second game, Bouveng scored on the power play but St. Thomas replied exactly a minute later as Lauren Stenslie tied the game 1-1. Abbey Murphy scored early in the second, but once again the Tommies quickly replied, this time as Ella Boerger showed off a bit on her own to make it 2-2. Emma Kreisz scored on the power play to put Minnesota up 3-2 and then Murphy lit the lamp again to make it 4-2. She received a game misconduct for boarding at the end of the second and would miss the rest of the game. Peyton Hemp added a goal in the third and the Gophers held off the Tommies to take a 5-2 win and weekend sweep.
(6) Cornell at (8) St. Lawrence
Aly McLeod scored 16 seconds into the game on Friday, setting the tone for a frenetic close game as St. Lawrence took a 1-0 lead. Cornell pushed back in the second, holding possession and looking for an opportunity to even things up. Avi Adam found herself with the puck and wide open in the slot midway through the game and she did not miss to tie the game 1-1. The game-winner was full of controversy as Cornell goalie Annelies Bergmann was knocked down during chaos for a loose puck in front of the net. Melissa Jeffries’ shot sailed into the net and after a long review, the goal was called good. The Big Red could not find the equalizer and the Saints took the win.
Minnesota State at (7) Minnesota Duluth
Danielle Burgen continued a hot streak with her third and fourth goals over the last three games to lead UMD to a 3-0 win. Her first was a highlight reel goal as she was falling with her back to the goal and whacked the puck out of the air with her backhand to make it 1-0. Mannon McMahon streaked up the ice to beat her defender and then cleaned up her own rebound to make it 2-0. In the second, Bergen tapped in another to make it 3-0. Hailey MacLeod earned the shutout in the win. On Saturday, Olivia Wallin and Clara Van Wieren each scored on the power play and the Bulldogs held the Mavericks off the board until the final two minutes of the weekend before Sydney Langseth broke up the shutout to make it a 2-1 Minnesota Duluth win.
(12) Princeton at (9) Quinnipiac
The Bobcats snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Princeton. Sophie Turner put Quinnipiac on the board at the end of the 1st on a one-timer from Kate Reilly. Reilly lit the lamp herself at the end of a major penalty power play to start the second to make it 2-0. Kendall Cooper extended the lead at the end of the second to make it 3-0. Princeton pulled one back near the end of the game as Sarah Paul broke up the shutout, but Quinnipiac took the win.
Providence vs. (11) Connecticut (home and home)
UConn skated to yet another time, their sixth of the season, Friday night. This one they earned in come-from-behind fashion. Providence had a 2-0 lead with less than five minutes to play thanks to goals from Reichen Kirchmair and Lindsay Bochna. But the Huskies came out firing in the final frame, holding the Friars to just two shots. They finally broke through on the power play in the final three minutes when Riley Grimley lit the lamp. Less than a minute later, Kathryn Stockdale tied the game. Overtime did not find a winner and this one ended 2-2. Not happy to end in another deadlock, Connecticut took an overtime win Saturday to push their Hockey East unbeaten streak to 18 games. Stockdale scored her second of the weekend at the midpoint of the game, putting away a rebound to make it 1-0 Huskies. This time it was the Friars who came from behind to force overtime as Audrey Knapp scored to make it 1-1. With 74 seconds left in the extra frame, Ashley Allard hopped on a loose puck to end the game and give UConn the win.
New Hampshire vs. (13) Northeastern (home and home)
Over the course of two very close games, these teams tied in shots on goals, 28-28 in the first game and 31-31 in the second. On Thursday New Hampshire jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Nicole Kelly and Kira Juodikis and it looked like that’s how the first would end, but Peyton Anderson found Katy Knoll all alone in the slot with 8.1 seconds left in the period to cut the lead to 2-1. The teams were well matched and went back and forth. Anderson scored a minute into the third to tie the game and force overtime. Jules Constantinople won it for the Huskies on what looked to be a broken play as she and Taze Thompson weren’t in sync in front of the net. But Constantinople’s backhand beat Sedona Blair to give NU the 3-2 OT win. In the second game, Peyton Compton put away a rebound 2:41 into the first and that would be the only scoring for the ensuing 39:51 as the teams fought to gain an edge. UNH looked to have that in hand in the third, as they scored three unanswered. Kelly and Jada Christian scored in the first few minutes and then Nicole added a shorthander to put the Wildcats up 3-1. But Northeastern pulled their goalie and Taze Thompson pulled the Huskies within one. Again with the extra attacker, Lily Shannon put away a rebound in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. Then it took just 26 seconds of overtime for Katy Knoll to see and take the open space in front of the net and give Northeastern the win.
(14) Yale at RPI
Amanda Rampado made 41 saves and surpassed 3,000 for her career, making her the second in program history to reach the mark. Maddy Papineau scored late in the first on a 2-on-1 rush to put the Engineers on the board first and then Ellie Kaiser scored in the final minute of the frame to make it 2-0 at the break. Anna Bargman put away a rebound in the second to cut the lead to 2-1 for Yale. Nyah Philip extended RPI’s lead midway through the second and Kaiser added an empty-netter to give Rensselaer the 4-1 win.
(14) Yale at Union
Junior Pia Dukarich set a new program record with 17 shutouts with the Bulldogs’ 4-0 win over Union. Emma Harvey, Carina DiAntonio, Jordan Ray and Claire Sedgewick were the goal-scorers for Yale in the win.
Mercyhurst at (15) Penn State
On Friday, Kendall Butze had two assists and Lyndie Lobdell, Maddy Christian, Brianna Brooks and Tessa Janecke each scored to lead the Nittany Lions to a 4-0 win. In the second game, Mercyhurst took a 2-0 lead into the second thanks to goals from Vanessa Upson and Thea Johansson 11 seconds apart. Leah Stecker pulled one back for Penn State midway through the third and then Brooks added a power play goal in the final two minutes to force overtime. Maggie MacEachern ended the game 19 seconds into the extra frame to earn the sweep for Penn State.
(15) Boston College vs. Boston University (home and home)
Julia Pellerin scored late in the second period to put Boston College ahead. Sammy Taber added an empty netter to make it a 2-0 lead and Sammy Smigliani’s goal in the final minutes pushed it to a 3-0 win for the Eagles. In the second game, Liv Haag chased down a clear during a BC power play, stole the puck from the goalie and neatly put BU up 1-0 just before the end of the 1st. The Terriers controlled the play through the middle, outshooting Boston University 18-5 in the second. Christina Vote came out of the penalty box to score a beauty of a backhander to make it 2-0. Lacey Martin’s power play goal ensured the 3-0 win for Boston University.
The final weeks of the regular season are in full swing, and the action continues to be full of surprises with teams playing for much that is still on the line in most conferences. Hobart has clinched the regular season title in the NEHC and Plymouth State, despite their first loss in almost two full seasons, has done the same in MASCAC. Elsewhere the battles will likely continue right to the final whistle in two weeks but until then positions and seeding are very much on the line each time out and there is also some scoreboard watching that comes with what the standings look like after each slate of games. Here is this week’s recap for some thrilling action across the East:
CCC
The battle at the top of the conference finds Curry and Endicott tied in first place after this weekend’s action with Salve Regina in third and the University of New England now in fourth place.
Curry extended their win streak to nine games with a convincing sweep of Salve Regina over the weekend. On the road Friday night, both teams were finding their game in the opening 20 minutes with neither able to score. Early in the second period Matt Connor scored his first of two goals in the period and four for the Colonels who raced to a 4-1 lead after two periods of action. Goals just 19 seconds apart from George Vonakis and Killian Rowlee (second of the game) in the third period helped seal a 6-1 win. Back home on Saturday, Curry scored once in the first period, once in the second period and twice in the third in route to a 4-0 win backstopped by thirty saves from goaltender Shane Soderwall. Gage Dill scored one goal and added an assist for the Colonels.
Endicott’s Ryan Willett scored a pair of goals and added an assist in pacing the Gull offense to an 8-2 rout of Western New England on Friday night on home ice. On Saturday, the goals were harder to come by as The Golden Bears stunned the Gulls with a pair of shorthanded goals in a 3-3 overtime tie. Jackson Sterrett scored the only goal in the shootout to help the Gulls to the extra point which keeps them tied with Curry atop the CCC.
After dropping both games last weekend, UNE faced a Wentworth team poised for an upset and ran into the hot goaltending of Jack McGovern in a 3-2 loss to the Leopards. McGovern stopped 48 of 50 shots and goals from Mitch McGinn, Nicholas Sombrowski (final second of first period) and Gary Claps were enough to extend the Nor’easter losing streak to three games. On Saturday, four unanswered goals in the opening 40 minutes were more than enough to pace UNE to a 5-1 bounce back win over Wentworth.
Independents
Anna Maria and Canton played a two-game series with the AmCats skating away with a pair of wins on home ice this weekend. On Friday, three special team goals helped the AmCats to a comfortable 6-2 win over the Kangaroos. Matthew Gilbert scored two goals and Braeden McKinnon chipped in with a shorthanded goal and an assist to support goaltender Cole Johnston who stopped 40 of 42 shots to earn the win. On Saturday, Cam Tobey sparked an Anna Maria comeback with a pair of goals and Samson Mouland’s empty-net tally helped ice a 5-3 win and sweep over Canton. Johnston stopped thirty-eight shots in the win for AMC and the netminder added an assist on the game’s final goal.
Following Tuesday’s 5-3 win over Rivier to sweep the two-game series with the Raiders in their final home game, the Falcons closed out their season with a one-goal win against Alvernia on Friday night. Logan Bateman picked up the win making thirty-three saves in goal while William Lavigne, Gustav Muller, and Robert Barrasso provided all the scoring to help AMC close the season with a road win and a 16-9-0 record for the 2023-24 campaign.
MASCAC
Thursday night was the land of upsets as the top three teams in the standings all dropped decisions in MASCAC action including Plymouth State losing their first conference game in almost two full seasons.
Westfield State played host to the Panthers on Thursday and raced to a 3-0 first period lead in the opening five minutes of play on goals from Nicolas Coppola, Brett Williams, and Ryan O’Halloran. The Panthers rallied back with two power play goals in the second period but that is all the Owls and goaltender Valtteri Valtonen would surrender in a 3-2 upset win. Valtonen stopped 38 of 40 shots to pick up the first MASCAC win over PSU since the 2021-22 season. On Saturday, the Panthers rebounded with a 7-4 decision over MCLA while the Owls dropped a 6-2 decision to Worcester State.
The Trailblazers enjoyed their biggest win of the season on Thursday when they rallied for a 3-2 overtime win against Massachusetts-Dartmouth on the road. After falling behind 2-0 in the second period, Cody White cut the lead in half before Cade Herrera tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. Sean Schifferl with an assist from Charlie Addesa just over a minute into overtime gave MCLA a thrilling win over the Corsairs, 3-2. Goaltender Matthew Gover stopped 46 of 48 shots to earn the win.
Fitchburg State was also a victim of the upset bug on Thursday as the Falcons dropped a 6-4 game against Salem State. The Vikings were led by a goal and an assist from Erik Larsson and two goals and an assist from Zach Dill as Salem State never trailed in the contest. On Saturday, against a Massachusetts-Dartmouth team also looking to rebound after a loss, the Falcons used goals from four different players and thirty saves form Frederick Soderberg to earn a hard fought 4-2 win at home against the Corsairs.
NE-10
Assumption has a commanding lead in the NE-10 standings but picked up their 20th win of the season on Tuesday night in a non-conference win over Conn College, 3-2. Jonathan Surrette’s shorthanded goal midway through the third period broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Greyhounds a big win over the Camels. Continuing in non-conference play on Saturday, Assumption dropped Rivier 3-0 with forward Ronny Paragallo figuring in all the scoring with a goal and two assists while netminder Thomas McLarnon made twenty-two saves to earn the shutout.
Southern New Hampshire swept a weekend series with Franklin Pierce with a pair of one-goal wins. On Friday, Kurt Watson scored two goals as the Penmen raced out to a 3-0 lead but had to hold off the Ravens and Declan House who scored twice in a 3-2 loss at SNHU. On Saturday, Nick Fish tied the score at 2-2 for FPU just 20 seconds into the third period but neither team could break the tie in regulation. SNHU’s Matt Amante did not waste much time scoring the overtime winner just over a minute into the extra period for a 3-2 win and weekend sweep that improved their NE-10 record to 8-7-1.
St. Michael’s completed a sweep of the season series with St. Anselm with 5-0 and 3-2 wins over the Hawks on home ice. On Friday night, Brennan McFarland assisted on three Purple Knight goals as SMC expanded on a 2-0 lead with three third period goals in a comfortable win over the Hawks. On Saturday, Max Burum and Liam Lyons gave the visitors a 2-0 lead, but Case Kantgias and Ty Bloom leveled the game at 2-2 after two periods of play. Kantgias provided the game winning goal late in the third period as goaltender Marshall Murphy made twenty of his twenty-eight saves in the final two periods for a 3-2 win that moved the Purple Knights record to 9-6-0 in NE-10 play.
NEHC
Hobart clinched the regular season title in the penultimate weekend with a pair of road wins over Johnson & Wales and Massachusetts-Boston. On Friday, two goals and an assist from Ignov Belat and one goal and two assists from Tanner Hartman helped pace the Statesmen to a 5-2 win over the Wildcats. On Saturday, six different goal scorers helped pace a comfortable 6-1 win over the Beacons. Kahlil Fontana led the offense with a goal and two assists.
After rallying from a two-goal deficit on Tuesday for a 4-4 overtime tie against Plattsburgh, the Cadets returned to NEHC play with a game against travel partner New England College on Saturday. Goals by Paul Schmid and Cooper Bertrand just 11 seconds apart in the third period helped break open a 2-2 tie on the way to a 5-2 win. Schmid finished the game with a goal and an assist while Bertrand added two assists to his goal in the win.
After posting a 5-1 win over Babson on Friday night, Skidmore looked for a weekend sweep of NEHC games, but Southern Maine had other ideas. Jakub Suran tied the score at 2-2 in the second period before Ethan MacDuff gave the visitors a 3-2 lead at the second intermission. Matt Sullivan’s power play goal in the third period was the only marker in the final 20 minutes as goaltender Mason Palmer made forty-one saves to hold off the Thoroughbreds.
Elmira returned to their winning ways with a weekend sweep of UMB and J&W by scores of 6-2 and 5-2. On Friday, Janis Vizbelis recorded a hat trick as the Soaring Eagles expanded a 1-0 lead with three goals in the second period on the way to a four-goal win over the Beacons. On Saturday, Vizbelis opened the scoring as Elmira scored the first four goals of the game in a 5-2 win over the Wildcats.
NESCAC
Trinity stayed comfortably atop in the NESCAC standings with a pair of 3-2 wins over Williams and Middlebury. On Friday night, the Bantams rallied from a 2-0 deficit on a pair of goals from Christian Hayes before Kyle Tomaso netted the game-winner on the power play in the third period. Saturday afternoon saw the Bantams surrender tying goals to Middlebury twice including Andrej Hromic’s goal with just 13 seconds remaining in regulation time for a 2-2 tie after 60 minutes of play. Tomaso again proved to be the hero for the Bantams as his goal after an end-to-end rush just 32 seconds into overtime sealed the 3-2 win over the Panthers.
After tying through overtime with Amherst, 2-2 on Friday night, Bowdoin picked up a big win over Hamilton on Saturday, 3-2. Patrick Callahan scored a pair of power play goals and Bryce Bollman scored what proved to be the game winner in the final minute of the second period. Alex Kozic stopped 37 of 39 shots as the Continentals outshot the Polar Bears by a 39-22 margin.
Tufts played a pair of games with travel partner Connecticut College and split the series with the Camels. On Friday, Conn College rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the score in the final half minute of regulation on a goal by Owen Cleary. Quinn Kennedy provided the game-winning goal midway through overtime in the Camels’ dramatic 4-3 win. On Saturday, the Jumbos eliminated all drama with Tyler Sedlak and Harrison Bazianos scoring two goals each while goaltender Peyton Durand stopped twenty-two shots to earn the shutout in a 4-0 win.
SUNYAC
The contenders have emerged in recent weeks with Plattsburgh, Geneseo and Oswego battling for the top spot while Cortland continues to look to challenge the Big 3 down the stretch.
Geneseo had games with two contenders this weekend and emerged victorious with a close road win at Cortland followed by a rout of long-time rival Oswego on Saturday at home. At Cortland, the Knights found the Red Dragons to be a persistent challenge as the home team twice responded to goals by Zach Purcell to tie the game with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation. In the last minute, Stefan Miklakos stunned the home crowd with the winning goal that helped Geneseo escape with a huge 3-2 road win. On Saturday, Geneseo hosted the Lakers and Tyson Gilmour had himself a night for the Knights scoring three goals and assisting on two more as the home team ran away with a 7-1 win and weekend sweep of two pivotal SUNYAC contests.
Plattsburgh returned to SUNYAC action after a non-conference tie with Norwich on Tuesday and faced a stern test against Potsdam. Mason Hoehn tied the game for the Bears in the third period at 2-2 but the Cardinals found late game magic off the stick of Luk Jirousek for a 3-2 lead and iced the win with a shorthanded, empty-net goal from Joshua Belgrave, his second of the night, and skated off with a 4-2 win.
Cortland rebounded from Friday’s loss to Geneseo with a 5-1 win against Brockport on Saturday. With a 1-0 lead starting the second period, Sutter Donegan, Cameron Knowlton, and Anthony Bernardo all scored in the first six minutes of the second period to stretch the lead and cruise to an important road win.
Buffalo State tied Morrisville 1-1 on Wednesday night before facing off against Post in a non-conference game on Saturday. The Bengals needed a Vadim Kiriakov goal in the third period to tie the game at 2-2 and a Nick Stuckless goal assisted by Kiriakov in the final minute of overtime to skate off with a 3-2 win.
UCHC
Utica continued to cruise atop the UCHC standings following their two-game sweep of King’s over the weekend. A hat trick from Eric Vitale and two goals from Matt Wood paced a runaway 9-0 win on Friday night and the Pioneers continued the offensive fireworks with a 7-0 win on Saturday. John Gutt scored a pair of goals while Wood added a goal and two assists while Utica extended their win streak to ten games.
Stevenson swept a pair of games from Neumann to extend their current win streak to eight games. Liam McCanney scored a first period natural hat trick on Friday in a 5-2 win over the Black Knights. On Saturday, McCanney broke a 3-3 tie in the final minute of the second period and the Mustangs tacked on two more third period goals by Graeme McCrory and Jack Meloff to complete a 6-3 win.
Wilkes also won their two-game series with Nazareth by scores of 7-1 and 3-2. On Friday, five power play goals and a five-goal third period broke open a 2-1 game as the Colonels cruised to a lopsided 7-1 victory. Matt Carlson scored a pair of goals while Cam Lowe chipped in with four assists for the Colonels. On Saturday, the Golden Flyers took an early 2-0 lead only to see Wilkes chip away with a goal in each period for a come-from-behind, 3-2 win. Luke Dobles scored the game-winning goal and goaltender Jack Perna made thirty saves to earn the win.
Three Biscuits
Sean Schifferl – Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts – completed the scoring in overtime in the Trailblazers’ 3-2 comeback win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Thursday night.
Tyson Gilmour – Geneseo – recorded a hat trick and added two assists in the Knights’ runaway win over Oswego on Saturday, 7-1.
Janis Vizbelis – Elmira – scored a hat trick to lead the Soaring Eagles to a 6-2 win over Massachusetts-Boston on Friday night.
Bonus Biscuits
Liam McCanney – Stevenson – scored a natural hat trick in the opening period in a 5-2 win over Neumann on Friday night.
Kyle Tomaso – Trinity – scored the game-winning goals in a pair of Trinity wins over Williams and Middlebury over the weekend.
Ronny Paragallo – Assumption – figured in all the scoring in the Greyhounds’ 3-0 non-conference win over Rivier on Saturday.
There are just one or two weeks remaining on the schedule across the conferences to earn or improve one’s playoff position or build momentum into the all-important conference tournaments upcoming. Tiebreakers are on the line and there are still several critical matchups where head-to-head games will carry a lot of weight in needed points. There continue to be spoilers out there so look for some surprises yet to happen in upcoming action in February.
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. No. 9 Minnesota, No. 4 Wisconsin split Big Ten points on weekend
Both contests at the Kohl Center this weekend went to overtime, with the visiting Gophers taking the Friday contest in overtime, 2-1, and the Badgers winning the shootout for the extra point in Big Ten standings after a 1-1 tie.
Saturday’s sellout crowd of 15,359 was the biggest of the season for Wisconsin.
“This place, because the fans are here, is special. It’s a beautiful building with an awful lot of seats but it’s a different place when it’s full,” said Badgers coach Mike Hastings. “For anyone to think they didn’t have an impact on these games is crazy. They make it a special place, and I’m glad they can walk out with a smile on their faces because we appreciate them being here.”
Here's the full shootout!
Two great saves from McClellan (@KyleMcClellan1) and goals from Finley (@QuinnFinley2) and Whitelaw (@Williammnbrick) 🤩 pic.twitter.com/GCZ6pOpuuw
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 4, 2024
2. No. 2 North Dakota comes back for OT win Friday, sweeps Miami
Trailing 4-2 at Miami to start the third period on Friday, North Dakota’s Logan Britt and Riese Gaber each tallied in the final stanza to force overtime. Jackson Blake potted the overtime winner for the 5-4 win for the Fighting Hawks.
Saturday’s 4-1 victory for North Dakota was Brad Berry’s 200th as a head coach.
Congratulations to Head Coach Brad Berry on becoming the fourth coach in program history to record 200 wins at North Dakota!#UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/bSDu5VcY3P
— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) February 4, 2024
3. No. 20 Omaha gets its first sweep of the season
Omaha’s 5-1 and 4-3 wins at home over Minnesota Duluth gave the Mavericks their first weekend sweep of the season.
On Saturday, coach Mike Gabinet complimented his team on getting production from all four lines. “That’s what it takes for us to be successful,” Gabinet said. “Everyone’s got to be contributing.”
The six points on the weekend moved Omaha ahead of Minnesota Duluth into sixth place, and just five points behind fourth-place Denver.
4. Western Michigan keeps pace
A weekend split at Denver, including a 7-2 shellacking of the host Pioneers on Saturday, keeps the Broncos within one point of first-round home ice in the NCHC. Denver won Friday’s opener, 3-2.
Six different players scored for Western Michigan on Saturday, including a pair from Sam Colangelo.
Some nice passing and Colangelo does what he does best! #BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/0lh7Vr1uED
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) February 4, 2024
5. Michigan gets sweep of Ohio State
The No. 12 Wolverines picked up six Big Ten conference points with a pair of wins over Ohio State, 4-2 and 4-1.
Goalie Jacob Barczewski started in net both nights, turning aside 37 shots on Friday and making 29 saves on Saturday.
Six beeps for six points! #GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/mLPuXO0Iv6
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) February 4, 2024
Michigan still trails first-place Michigan State by 15 points, though that gap was trimmed by three by the Spartans’ split at Notre Dame.
6. Cornell’s weekend wins keep Big Red in hunt
No. 13 Cornell picked up a pair of home wins on the weekend over North Country rivals St. Lawrence and Clarkson by lopsided 5-1 and 7-2 margins respectively.
The Big Red trails first-place Quinnipiac in the ECAC Hockey standings by 11 points with eight games remaining and a game in hand with the Bobcats.
Cornell now sports an unbeaten streak of 10 games, the longest since a 10-0 start of the 2019-20 season, and the eighth such streak in the Mike Schafer era.
The wins also keep Cornell in the at-large hunt right on the edge of the PairWise Bubble at No. 14.
7. Northeastern catches fire heading into Beanpot
Northeastern has won four straight heading into tonight’s Beanpot semifinal against Harvard. After a weekend home-and-home sweep of Merrimack last weekend, the Huskies upset No. 3 Boston University, 4-3, in overtime on Tuesday and then downed No. 6 Maine Friday night, 6-3.
In Friday’s win, Northeastern capitalized with three power-play goals on a major penalty to Maine.
THE HUSKIES WITH BACK-TO-BACK UPSETS
Northeastern downs No. 6 Maine, 6-3! #NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPN+ / @GoNUmhockey
pic.twitter.com/9I8JnMaaMX— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) February 3, 2024
8. No. 1 Boston College, No. 3 Boston University tally victories ahead of Monday’s Beanpot showdown
No. 1 Boston College trounced UMass Lowell 6-1 on Friday led by a pair of Cutter Gauthier goals. Meanwhile, No. 3 Boston University took down No. 18 New Hampshire 6-3 as Jack Hughes and Nick Zabaneh each scored twice in the road win.
Sheeeeeeeeeesh, Zabs!!
Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/39Y7AfJKSb@hockey_east | @espn pic.twitter.com/b0jjT1BhzD
— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) February 3, 2024
The two rivals play their third contest of the season on Monday in the Beanpot semifinal. BC swept a home-and-home series in January.
9. St. Thomas moves atop CCHA
A weekend split in a home-and-home series was enough to keep St. Thomas in the lead of the CCHA. The Tommies picked up a point on Friday in a home overtime loss, 4-3, to Minnesota State and a 4-2 win in Mankato on Saturday.
St. Thomas is not eligible for the NCAA tournament while it completes its transition to D-I from D-III.
First-year Minnesota State coach Luke Strand expressed in a postgame press conference some frustration over inconsistency in calling games.
“I don’t know what a boarding is. I don’t know what a check from behind is. I don’t know what a goal for is. I don’t know what a reviewable play is,” he said after Saturday’s game.
10. Holy Cross, Robert Morris get sweeps in Atlantic Hockey play, tightening standings
Holy Cross swept Air Force 6-3 and 5-2 over the weekend to move into third place in the Atlantic Hockey standings, just one point behind second-place Sacred Heart and three behind first-place No. 19 RIT, though the Tigers have three games and the Pioneers two games in hand.
Holy Cross has next weekend off, then just three games to end the regular season.
“Going into the playoffs … we’re going to have to have some ability to stay sharp,” Holy Cross coach Bill Riga said about the time off.
Reborn Robert Morris swept a home-and-home series with Mercyhurst to move into a tie for ninth place in the conference with the Lakers. The Colonials hold the tie-breaker with Mercyhurst in their three-game season series.
Robert Morris is just four points behind Niagara in the race for first-round home ice.
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll of Jan. 29 fared in games over the weekend of Feb. 2-3.
No. 1 Boston College (19-4-1)
02/02/2024 – No. 1 Boston College 6 at UMass Lowell 1
No. 2 North Dakota (20-6-2)
02/02/2024 – No. 2 North Dakota 5 at Miami 4 (OT)
02/03/2024 – No. 2 North Dakota 4 at Miami 1
No. 3 Boston University (17-7-1)
01/30/2024 – No. 3 Boston University 3 at Northeastern 4 (OT)
02/02/2024 – No. 3 Boston University 6 at No. 18 New Hampshire 3
No. 4 Wisconsin (20-6-2)
02/02/2024 – No. 9 Minnesota 2 at No. 4 Wisconsin 1 (OT)
02/03/2024 – No. 9 Minnesota 1 at No. 4 Wisconsin 1 (OT)
No. 5 Denver (18-8-2)
02/02/2024 – No. 15 Western Michigan 2 at No. 5 Denver 3
02/03/2024 – No. 15 Western Michigan 7 at No. 5 Denver 2
No. 6 Maine (17-5-2)
02/02/2024 – No. 6 Maine 3 at Northeastern 6
02/03/2024 – No. 6 Maine 1 at No. 11 Massachusetts 0
No. 7 Quinnipiac (19-6-2)
02/02/2024 – Harvard 1 at No. 7 Quinnipiac 2
02/03/2024 – Dartmouth 1 at No. 7 Quinnipiac 5
No. 8 Michigan State (18-7-3)
02/02/2024 – No. 8 Michigan State 1 at RV Notre Dame 4
02/03/2024 – No. 8 Michigan State 4 at RV Notre Dame 0
No. 9 Minnesota (16-7-5)
02/02/2024 – No. 9 Minnesota 2 at No. 4 Wisconsin 1 (OT)
02/03/2024 – No. 9 Minnesota 1 at No. 4 Wisconsin 1 (OT)
No. 10 Providence (15-8-2)
02/02/2024 – No. 10 Providence 5 at Connecticut 0
02/03/2024 – Connecticut 2 at No. 10 Providence 1
No. 11 Massachusetts (14-7-3)
02/02/2024 – No. 11 Massachusetts 3 at Merrimack 2
02/03/2024 – No. 6 Maine 1 at No. 11 Massachusetts 0
No. 12 Michigan (14-9-3)
02/02/2024 – No. 12 Michigan 4 at Ohio State 2
02/03/2024 – No. 12 Michigan 4 at Ohio State 1
No. 13 Cornell (13-4-4)
02/02/2024 – St. Lawrence 1 at No. 13 Cornell 5
02/03/2024 – RV Clarkson 2 at No. 13 Cornell 7
No. 14 Colorado College (16-9-1)
02/02/2024 – No. 16 St. Cloud State 2 at No. 14 Colorado College 1 (OT)
02/03/2024 – No. 16 St. Cloud State 3 at No. 14 Colorado College 5
No. 15 Western Michigan (16-9-1)
02/02/2024 – No. 15 Western Michigan 2 at No. 5 Denver 3
02/03/2024 – No. 15 Western Michigan 7 at No. 5 Denver 2
No. 16 St. Cloud State (12-9-5)
02/02/2024 – No. 16 St. Cloud State 2 at No. 14 Colorado College 1 (OT)
02/03/2024 – No. 16 St. Cloud State 3 at No. 14 Colorado College 5
No. 17 Arizona State (18-6-6)
02/02/2024 – Lindenwood 4 at No. 17 Arizona State 4 (OT)
02/03/2024 – Lindenwood 1 at No. 17 Arizona State 5
No. 18 New Hampshire (14-9-1)
02/02/2024 – No. 3 Boston University 6 at No. 18 New Hampshire 3
02/03/2024 – Merrimack 1 at No. 18 New Hampshire 3
No. 19 RIT (18-8-2)
02/01/2024 – No. 19 RIT 4 at Niagara 4 (OT)
02/03/2024 – Niagara 2 at No. 19 RIT 4
No. 20 Omaha (14-9-3)
02/02/2024 – Minnesota Duluth 1 at No. 20 Omaha 5
02/03/2024 – Minnesota Duluth 3 at No. 20 Omaha 4
RV = Received votes
Don’t look now but Dubuque has made program history in college hockey.
The first-year Spartans came through with their first series sweep, beating Lake Forest 3-2 and 3-1.
In Saturday’s game, Max Messier gave the Spartans the lead with his fourth goal of the year at the 15:37 mark of the second period. A few minutes earlier, James Eng had tied the game at 1-1.
Ethan Lang finished off the scoring for Dubuque, which took 23 shots while Chris Curr made 28 saves for his third win of the year. He stopped 10 of those shots in the third period.
Friday’s win was the first for the Spartans (3-17-2, 3-13) since Jan. 13 when it beat Concordia 3-0. They had lost five in a row before Josh King struck for a pair of goals to help Dubuque end the losing streak. It’s the first time all year King has scored two goals in a game.
All three of Dubuque’s wins this season have come on the road.
Green Knights still in title hunt
St. Norbert kept itself in contention for at least a share of the regular season NCHA championship by rolling past No. 2 Adrian 6-2 Saturday.
The Green Knights dropped the opener 4-1 but jumped ahead 3-0 in the finale and rolled from there. They are five points behind the Bulldogs in the standings (41-36) and can clinch a share of the crown if it sweeps Dubuque next week and Trine takes five points from Adrian next weekend.
Liam Fraser continued his impressive season by scoring a pair of goals and dishing out two assists. He now has 14 goals and 14 assists on the year. Baker Brock added a goal and two assists.
St. Norbert led 4-0 before the Bulldogs finally scored off goals from Jacob Suede and Zachary Heintz.
The Green Knights have won six of of their last seven, scoring four or more goals four times, and are 16-6 overall and 13-3 in conference play.
Adrian won the opener while handing St. Norbert its first home loss of the season. Matt Rehding helped lead the way, scoring twice off power play goals.
Dershawn Stewart made 33 stops for the Bulldogs (17-5-1, 14-2), who face Trine next weekend with a chance to clinch the NCHA title outright.
Vikings split with nationally ranked Trine
Kyle Gierman and Jayden Jensen each tallied a goal and an assist to help Lawrence notch its first win over a ranked team since December of 2021.
The Vikings topped No. 9 Trine 4-2, scoring three goals in the third period to knock off the Thunder. Nolan Mahaffey, only a freshman, made 36 saves against Trine. Gierman’s goal at the 10:36 mark of the third gave Lawrence the lead for good at 3-2.
Lawrence nearly pulled off a sweep Saturday but lost 3-2 in overtime as Trine’s Sam Antenucci scored off the power play a little over two minutes into overtime.
Jack Michels gave Lawrence (7-15-1, 3-10-1) an early lead but a pair of power play goals by Matteo Ybarra put the Thunder (18-5, 13-3) in front 2-1. Robby Pustulka tie the game at 2-2.
More NCHA News
Concordia (8-15, 5-9) snapped a four-game losing streak Friday with a 6-5 overtime win against Marian. Collin Kerchoff punched in the game winner while Mi-Kwan Tallman, who scored twice for the first multi-goal game of his career. Marian (9-14, 3-11) won Saturday’s game 4-0 to salvage a split.
Cole Beilke dished out three assists and Gramm McCormack scored twice as MSOE (12-9-2, 6-9-1) topped Aurora 5-1. The Spartans (12-10-1, 11-5) bounced back with a 5-3 win Saturday thanks to two goals from Riley Dekowny.
MIAC
Big weekend for Bethel
The Royals remain atop the MIAC standings after sweeping No. 10 St. Scholastica. Bethel won Saturday’s finale by a 2-1 score in overtime thanks to a game-winning goal from Tyler Kostelecky, who scored with just over a minute left in OT.
Bethel has won three in a row, all by one goal, and is now 15-5-3 overall and 9-3-2 in the MIAC. The Royals have five more wins than they had a season ago when they ended the 2022-23 campaign with a five-game losing streak.
Bethel prevailed 4-3 in Friday’s game, with four different players scoring goals. Austin Ryman made 22 saves.
St. Scholastica has just two wins in its last seven games and is 14-6-1 overall and 7-4-1 in the conference. In Friday’s game, the Saints trailed 4-0 before scoring three goals during a comeback attempt.
Good weekend for the Auggies
Augsburg topped Concordia 4-0 on Friday and then won a shootout after playing the Cobbers to a 2-2 tie on Saturday, running its unbeaten streak to three games.
Though the Auggies were outshot 37-35 on Saturday, the sixth game in a row where that’s happened, they managed to get another strong effort from Samuel Vyletelka, who stopped 35 shots, the 15th game of the season where he’s recorded 30 or more saves.
Peyton Hanson tallied Augsburg’s shootout goal. Vyletelka made two saves in the shootout as Augsburg improved to 11-8-2 overall and 8-3-1 in the MIAC. Concordia dropped to 10-8-3 overall an 5-5-2 in the conference.
Vyletelka was even better on Friday night, making 40 saves, the second time he’s tallied at least 40 in a game this season while recording his second shutout of the year as well. Michael Ferrandino scored a goal and dished out an assist.
More MIAC News
Gustavus capped its weekend with a 5-2 win over Hamline after the Pipers prevailed 3-1 on Friday. The Gusties snapped a seven-game losing streak that included three one-goal losses
Jackson Hjelle made 36 saves and Marc Fletemeyer scored twice for Gustavus (8-11-2, 3-8-1). Connor Mahony also scored, pushing his total to seven, tying him for the team lead.
Hamline (7-12-2, 3-8-1) ended a four-game winless streak with Friday’s win, scoring three unanswered goals over the final two periods while Maximillian Haselbacher stopped 35 shots.
Saint John’s (9-10-4, 6-7-1) scored two first-period goals and went on to top Saint Mary’s (7-12-2, 5-6-1) 4-2 Saturday. Jon Howe made 26 saves for his sixth win. Conner Couet score his first collegiate goal.
WIAC
No. 8 UW-Stevens rallied both nights against a relentless Northland team to earn a sweep and remain in first place in the WIAC standings.
The Pointers (17-5-1, 11-2) won 4-3 Saturday thanks to a third period goal from Nicholas Aromatario at the 7:29 mark of the period. Ryan Maguire tallied 23 saves while Northland goaltender Viktor Wennberg was tough as nails as he racked up 54 saves.
The two teams were tied at 1-1 after one and 3-3 after two before the Pointers took control for their third win in a row.
Fletcher Anderson scored the game winner Friday in a 2-1 win. All three games against Northland have been decided by a goal.
Falcons tie Blugolds
UW-River Falls finished out its weekend strong, tying No. 14 UW-Eau Claire at 2-2 before winning the shootout.
All four goals in the game were scored in the second period. Owen Belisle and Gibb Coady both scored for the Falcons in regulation and Arsenii Smekhnov and Sam Anzai tallied shootout goals for UW-River Falls (12-9-2, 4-7-2), who also got a 30-save effort from Dysen Skinner.
The Blugolds (15-6-2, 9-3-1) dominated the opener on Friday 6-0 as Max Gutjahr notched his third straight shutout win while Tyler Herzberg led the offense with a pair of goals.
More WIAC News
UW-Stout bounced back on Saturday with a 1-0 win over UW-Superior, which had won the series opener 4-1.
Tyler Masternak racked up 32 saves and Peyton Hart scored the lone goal as the Blue Devils (9-12-2, 7-6) salvaged a split in the series.
Boyd Stahlbaum and Jake McAlpine assisted on Hart’s goal. Stahlbaum leads the league in points (29) and his assist total (16) ranks third in the conference.
The Yellowjackets (11-11-1, 6-6-1) put an end to five-game winless streak Friday, recording its highest goal total since a 5-2 win over Gustavus on Jan. 12.
Tristan Therrien tallied a goal and assist while Collin Perderson scored his first goal in 31 games as the Yellowjackets won their fourth consecutive against UW-Stout. UW-Superior also forced UW-Stout to go 0-for-5 on the power play.
Friday night, No. 8 Michigan State allowed three third-period goals on the road to Notre Dame as the Irish broke open a game that was tied after 40 minutes.
Saturday, the Spartans had a simple answer: Don’t allow any goals.
Netminder Trey Augustine stopped all 30 shots he faced to earn the shutout and four different players scored for Michigan State as the Spartans earned a road split on the weekend with a 4-0 victory over the Fighting Irish.
Starts with the stretch pass by Basgall, set up by Lebster, and the wraparound backhander by Davidson. That's a 2-0 MSU lead here in the second. pic.twitter.com/yDvrjGvIRr
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) February 4, 2024
Karsen Dorwart scored the only goal Michigan State needed at 17:33 of the first. Jeremy Davidson and Artyom Letshunov tripled the lead in the second before Red Savage capped the scoring with 8:01 remaining.
No. 4 Wisconsin 1, No. 9 Minnesota 1 (F/OT; Wisconsin wins shootout, 2-0)
William Whitelaw and Quinn Finlay each scored in a shootout as Wisconsin earned a critical extra league point after the two teams skated to a 1-1 tie with visiting Minnesota.
Badgers netminder Kyle McClellan stopped both Gophers shooters in the shootout after he finished regulation and 3-on-3 overtime with 27 saves.
The full shootout!
Two great saves from McClellan and goals from Finley and Whitelaw 🙌 pic.twitter.com/M9OtTLtHFT
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 4, 2024
Jack Horbach scored the lone Badgers goal at 5:54 of the first. Jaxon Nelson evened the score at 14:33 of the second, shortly after a Minnesota goal was disallowed on a coaches’ challenge.
The shootout loss for the Gophers was the fifth on the season, all occurring without Minnesota able to score a single goal. The Gophers are now 0-for-13 in shootout attempts this season.
Connecticut 2, No. 10 Providence 1
A night after Providence dominated with a 5-0 road victory over Connecticut, the visiting Huskies enacted revenge, holding off the Friars, 2-1, to split the weekend series.
Jake Richard and Chase Bradley scored the two UConn goals, giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead heading to the third.
Schandor ➡️ Bradley
What a connection… What a finish🔥
Watch:https://t.co/5C4gO0PjL1 pic.twitter.com/SZNXAWtjLP
— UConn Men's Hockey (@UConnMHOC) February 4, 2024
After Matthew Wood was ejected from the game on a major penalty for boarding with 32 seconds left in the second, Providence pulled within a goal early in the five-minute power play as Chase Yoder scored 1:13 into the third.
But UConn killed the remainder of the major power play and closed out the game with goaltender Ethan Haider finishing the game with 42 saves in a game where Providence outshot UConn, 43-19.
No. 2 North Dakota 4, Miami 1
North Dakota earned a 4-1 victory over Miami and, in doing so, ran the team’s regulation unbeaten streak to 21 games, tying a program record.
The victory also gave coach Brad Berry win No. 200, all coming behind the North Dakota bench.
Congratulations to Head Coach Brad Berry on becoming the fourth coach in program history to record 200 wins at North Dakota!#UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/bSDu5VcY3P
— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) February 4, 2024
The Fighting Hawks scored twice in the first with Logan Britt and Cameron Berg finding the back of the net.
After Miami pulled within a goal on an Albin Nilsson tally at 4:04 of the second, Britt responded later in the frame with his second goal of the night.
Dylan James put the game out of reach with an empty-net tally with 2:20 left.
It took Berry less than nine seasons to reach the 200-win plateau. As head coach at North Dakota, his record now stands at 200-98-33, with four regular season NCHC titles, a postseason crown, four Frozen Four appearances and the national title in 2016.
No. 15 Western Michigan 7, No. 5 Denver 2
Visiting Western Michigan exploded for seven goals, including five straight after host Denver jumped to an early 1-0 lead as the Broncos earned an NCHC weekend split with the Pioneers, 7-2.
Offensively Sam Colangelo lead the way for the Broncos, scoring twice and adding an assist. Goaltender Cameron Rowe made 25 saves to earn the win.
Some nice passing and Colangelo does what he does best! #BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/0lh7Vr1uED
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) February 4, 2024
These two teams split the season series, each taking two wins. The victory brings Western Michigan within a single point of Denver for the fourth and final home ice playoff spot in the NCHC playoffs with five full weekends remaining.
