Pittsburgh Penguins coach and BU alum Mike Sullivan, left, and former BU coach Jack Parker share a smile at the 71st annual Beanpot media luncheon on Monday in Boston (photo: John Doyle).
For Mike Sullivan, the men’s Beanpot is about more than just personal memories of past glory.
Not that he doesn’t have plenty of them. The former Boston University forward played in the annual tournament four times, reaching the championship round each time and winning it twice between 1987-90. Before that, the Marshfield, Mass., native made numerous trips to the old Boston Garden with his father and brothers to watch BU, Boston College, Northeastern and Harvard battle it out on the first and second Mondays in February.
Sullivan, who went on to an 11-year career at the top level of pro hockey and is now in his ninth season as head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, said he hopes the Beanpot will serve as a source of inspiration to the younger generation of players, just like it did for him growing up in the 1970s and 80s.
“I think, maybe, the biggest significance is how inspirational it is to the hockey community,” Sullivan said. “And to the young players who are going to watch growing up in this area. And I was one of them.”
Sullivan spoke with USCHO.com on Monday at the Beanpot’s annual press event, where it was announced he will be this year’s inductee into the Beanpot Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on Feb. 12 before the championship game.
A veteran of four teams during his NHL career, including one season (1997-98) with his hometown Bruins, Sullivan made the jump from college hockey to the NHL when such a move was more rare than it is today. Sullivan said college hockey has taken “giant steps” from that standpoint since his playing days.
“Hockey East, in particular, has been one of the better leagues in college hockey,” he said. “There have been a lot of players who have come through Hockey East that have obviously gone on to have a ton of success at the NHL level. So as a proud alum of Hockey East, that’s certainly something we take pride in.”
In all, 74 former Hockey East players adorned NHL rosters at the start of the season. Currently, forward Matt Nieto is the only BU alumnus on the Penguins’ roster, but he’s one of five former Hockey East players — forwards Ryan Shea of Northeastern, Bryan Rust of Notre Dame (part of Hockey East when Rust played, now B1G) and Noel Acciari of Providence and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel of UMass-Lowell are the others — who started the season on Pittsburgh’s roster.
With a shorter season and mid-season tournaments such as the Beanpot, Sullivan, who had 61 goals and 77 assists in four years with the Terriers, said college hockey brings a certain emotional intensity that’s hard to duplicate at the NHL level.
“By nature of that, the games take on more significance in the standings and otherwise” in college hockey, Sullivan said. “Guys are excited to play. I do think there’s a certain intensity that college players are able to sustain throughout the course of their season because they have the ability to recover. At the NHL level, you’re playing three nights a week, sometimes four nights a week.”
With his alma mater smarting after three straight losses (a sweep at the hands of archrival BC and an overtime loss at Northeastern on Tuesday), Sullivan said the best advice he would give to the Terriers on the precipice of the 71st Beanpot would be to stay focused on the moment at hand.
“They went through a tough experience, BU did, when they got swept by BC,” said Sullivan, who has twice won the Stanley Cup as the Penguins coach. “They have to figure out what they can take from that. How do they get better? How does that experience make them a wiser version of themselves? And then they have to be prepared to move by it and get ready for the one in front of them.”
Defending champ Northeastern will face Harvard (ECAC Hockey) in the Beanpot opener on Monday at TD Garden, followed by BC vs. BU. The consolation game and championship will be the following Monday. All games will air on NESN and ESPN+.
Harrison Scott scored four goals, including a hat trick, and added an assist for five points in helping the Maine to a two-win weekend over UMass Lowell Jan. 20-21 (photo: Anthony DelMonaco).
Let me begin with an error correction, one of which was careless on my part:
North Dakota is not the host team this year in the Sioux Falls, S.D. regional. The host is actually Omaha, which means the Fighting Hawks do not technically need to be placed in Sioux Falls (though it will be difficult to keep them out of that region, let’s be honest).
So let’s begin this week with a look at the 16 teams (Prior to Tuesday’s games):
1. Boston College*
2. North Dakota*
3. Boston University
4. Maine
5. Wisconsin
6. Denver
7. Michigan State*
8. Quinnipiac*
9. Minnesota
10. Providence
11. Massachusetts
12. Michigan
13. St. Cloud State
14. Western Michigan
15. RIT*
16. Minnesota State*
(Asterisks * represents conference champions. RIT and Minnesota State are considered the AHA and CCHA representatives based on current winning percentages; St. Thomas is not eligible in the CCHA for a tournament berth.)
If we simply put the brackets together based on 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc., here is the bracket we arrive at:
1. Boston College
8. Quinnipiac
9. Minnesota
16. Minnesota State
2. North Dakota
7. Michigan State
10. Providence
15. RIT
3. Boston University
6. Denver
11. Massachusetts
14. Western Michigan
4. Maine
5. Wisconsin
12. Michigan
13. St. Cloud State
Now let’s assign regionals, making sure the highest seed is as close to home as possible, and remembering that the host team (UMass) must be placed in its regional (Springfield, Mass.).
Believe it or not, this works out decently well.
Hockey East has three teams in the top four, so one much be placed west, and that team ideally is the lowest of the four No. 1 seeds, Maine.
Providence, R.I.
1. Boston College
8. Quinnipiac
9. Minnesota
16. Minnesota State
Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. North Dakota
7. Michigan State
10. Providence
15. RIT
Springfield, Mass.
3. Boston University
6. Denver
11. Massachusetts (host)
14. Western Michigan
Maryland Heights, Mo.
4. Maine
5. Wisconsin
12. Michigan
13. St. Cloud State
As we look at these brackets, there is one massive issue – the Wisconsin-Michigan matchup in the opening round. This can’t happen.
So we need a switch. you could move a team from the No. 3 seed band, but that would have to be moving Providence to Missouri. If you move someone from the No. 2 seed band, a quick swap of No. 6 Denver and No. 5 Wisconsin is more equitable. Thus we end up with:
Providence, R.I.
1. Boston College
8. Quinnipiac
9. Minnesota
16. Minnesota State
Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. North Dakota
7. Michigan State
10. Providence
15. RIT
Springfield, Mass.
3. Boston University
5. Wisconsin
11. Massachusetts (host)
14. Western Michigan
Maryland Heights, Mo.
4. Maine
6. Denver
12. Michigan
13. St. Cloud State
Let’s consider some of the NCAA’s requirements in terms of attendance. Providence, even without nearby (non-host) Providence, they should have a decent crowd with BC and Quinnipiac. Springfield has both host UMass and Boston University. Sioux Falls has nearby favorite North Dakota. Which leaves Maryland Heights. The reality is I don’t see a ton of teams that will help fill this region BUT the building also holds 2,500, so it shouldn’t feel too empty.
At this point, I like this bracket and can call it final (for now).
No teams moved in or out of the top 16 this week.
Teams by conference:
Hockey East – 5
Big Ten – 4
NCHC – 4
ECAC – 1
AHA – 1
CCHA – 1
NESN play-by-play broadcaster Tyler Murray joins hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger to talk about last weekend’s home-and-home series between Boston College and Boston University, their Beanpot rematch, Hockey East this season, and that conference’s playoff race.
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
Kaidan Mbereko is growing his game in his second season with Colorado College (photo: Ashley Huss).
Colorado College’s Kaidan Mbereko was named Monday as the NCHC goaltender of the week, and it’s never a surprise when the Tigers sophomore receives that recognition.
Sixty-one saves over two 2-1 overtime wins last weekend at then-No. 12 Western Michigan gave Mbereko the conference’s weekly goalie award for the fourth time this season. Also last weekend, the Aspen, Colo., native bumped his current winning streak to a career-long-tying five games.
And 14th-ranked CC’s wins last weekend were signature ones for several reasons. They came against higher-flying competition than what the Tigers had in the previous two weeks at Minnesota Duluth and home to Miami, and WMU’s Lawson Ice Arena is famously hard to play in, especially on account of its boisterous student section.
“It’s not easy in that environment, and their team is really well coached and they’re really good, but the two games went well, and I think that’s the closest thing we’re going to get, as of now, to playoff hockey,” Mbereko said. “It was good for our group to go through that, and I’m proud of our guys for coming out on top.”
Last weekend’s victories in Kalamazoo bumped Mbereko’s record on the season to 15-8-1, with a NCHC-best .915 save percentage. He also further proved that he relishes playing at Lawson. A three-time NCHC goaltender of the week last season who made the conference’s all-rookie team, he backstopped CC to a conference first-round playoff win there last season, then led the Tigers to a semifinal upset over archrival Denver.
Speaking of the Pioneers, Mbereko credits one of DU’s former standouts for his own development. Peter Mannino, a national champion on the Pioneers’ 2004-05 team, is CC’s associate head coach in his third year with the program.
“I’m fortunate to have Peter, because we go through every team we play, with their offensive tendencies, their line rushes, their offensive zone pressure and just some things you don’t usually pay attention to when it’s a team video,” Mbereko said. “Western’s a fast-transition team, too, and they get guys involved in the rush, so throughout the week, we prepared for that and had that in the back of our minds while drills were going on.
“Coach Mannino is great that way, helping to have a game plan going into the weekend. He’s honestly the best, and he makes everything so fun. I enjoy coming to the rink to go work with him, and he had a great career and knows what he’s talking about. He’s a mentor, but he also helps me become a better goalie and a better person.”
And much else has gone into that for someone who was already a formidable goaltender with United States national program and World Junior Championship experience.
“My mental side of the game, just how I approach games in general, is different,” Mbereko said. “Last year, I was a freshman and wasn’t expecting to play a lot, but as I got more games in, I learned to play back-to-backs and playing really tough teams on consecutive weekends.
“Having gone through that, my approach to each day is to not take anything for granted and take everything as an opportunity to grow. There’s always an opportunity to get better.”
In a game that may mean more for national considerations, Norwich travels to Plattsburgh in a pivotal non-conference game (Photo by Nathaneal LePage)
Moving into February and for most conferences that means three weeks left in league action with the NEHC only having two weeks before the conference tournament begins. There is still a lot at stake in battles for playoff position and home-ice advantage so wins, points and tiebreakers are all part of the equation this time of year. I am still chasing the elusive 70% success rate and last week’s picks at 10-5-0 (.667) did not move the needle very much in that direction. Overall, I am 102-49-9 (.666) which is pretty good but not playoff-caliber ready, yet. Lots to play for even in the non-conference games where the ranked are looking to pad their resumes for national tournament consideration. Here are my picks this week in the East:
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
(12) Norwich v. (4) Plattsburgh
Is this a re-match of last year’s first round NCAA tournament game or the LayerEight Championship game where each team won a one-goal game. Last time around the Cardinals got it done and do so once again in a game that means a lot for national consideration – Plattsburgh, 2-1
Buffalo State v. Morrisville
The Mustangs took a big win from Cortland last week in a mid-week game but will face a determined opponent in the Bengals this week. Fast start for the visitors helps to earn a needed SUNYAC win and points – Buffalo State, 4-2
Thursday, February 1, 2024
(15) Plymouth State v. Westfield State
The Panthers are focused and driven and will not be looking past an Owls team that can surprise any team, especially on home ice. Hard to stop Redick, Tait & Company who have the firepower to score early and often – PSU, 5-3
Worcester State v. Framingham State
The Rams came out firing on all cylinders last week in a win over Fitchburg State and look to repeat their strong play on home ice against the Lancers. This one needs some bonus hockey to decide a winner.– Framingham State, 4-3
Friday, February 2, 2024
Curry v. Salve Regina
The Colonels have been on a roll and moved from fourth to first. They like the view from the top and will need to battle a strong Seahawk team for 60 minutes or more to earn the win, points and maintain their position in the standings – Curry, 3-1
Babson v. (11) Skidmore
The Thoroughbreds enter the second to last week of the NEHC regular season battling for second place and face a Babson team looking for consistency and results to close out the regular season amongst the top four places. Home ice and goaltending of Tate Brandon aids the home team – Skidmore, 3-1
Amherst v. Bowdoin
The young Polar Bears have been maturing at a rapid rate under coach Ben Guite. The Mammoth will not be an easy out and this contest probably sees special teams’ goals as decisive even in overtime – Bowdoin, 4-3
Post v. Fredonia
The Eagles travel to face the Blue Devils and Logan Dyck & Co. are not very hospitable hosts. Weird timing for a non-conference game but important for playing winning hockey where Fredonia wants to repeat high performance against SUNYAC teams down the stretch – Fredonia, 4-3
Canton v. Anna Maria
This two-game series between current independents should be a lot of fun to watch as both teams love to play fast and hard. Nic Herringer has seen a lot of time on recent scoresheets and is a difference maker here for the Kangaroos – Canton, 4-3
(6) Geneseo v. Cortland
The Knights have often struggled in the Red Dragon barn but need the win and the points in the very tight battle at the top of the SUNYAC standings. Goals will be few and not of the pretty variety but they all count, right? – Geneseo, 3-2
Saturday, February 3, 2024
(3) Utica v. King’s
The Pioneers are extremely focused on closing out the regular season while remaining unbeaten in UCHC play. Playing on the road helps the visitors keep their focus and continue their success with a comfortable win – Utica, 5-1
Neumann v. Stevenson
The newly crowned MAC champions definitely have their sights on more in the UCHC and with Liam McCanney upfront and Ty Outen in goal the Mustangs have little trouble at home against the Black Knights – Stevenson, 5-2
(1) Hobart v. Massachusetts-Boston
The Statesmen routed Elmira twice last weekend and seem to be hitting their stride in preparation for upcoming conference playoffs that are not far down the road. No distractions and no loss of focus as the winning continues – Hobart, 4-1
St. Anselm v. St. Michael’s
Both the Hawks and the Purple Knights are looking for some consistency in their game that can lead them to a few wins in a row in advance of the NE-10 tournament. Long-time rivals that bring out the best in each other help to showcase a lot of scoring with the visitors eking it out in the third period – St. Anselm, 5-4
Endicott v. Western New England
The Gulls are in the hunt for the top seed in the CCC tournament but cannot take any team remaining lightly. The Golden Bears would love to knock off Endicott and show that anything can happen in the balance of the regular season and beyond – Endicott, 4-2
It is February and this groundhog can guarantee at least six more weeks of great action on the ice. No shadows involved nor needed – “Drop the Puck!”
St. Thomas’ Jake Ratzlaff and Minnesota State’s Sam Morton battle for the puck during the teams’ two-game series Dec. 8-9 (photo: SPX Sports).
Treat anyone who presumes to say they know who will win the MacNaughton Cup this season with immediate suspicion.
Considering how the standings look right now — five teams are within four points of first place — it would be a fool’s errand to try and predict with any certainty who is going to take home the CCHA title.
Having said that, one series this weekend could be a big turning point in the league title race. St. Thomas and Minnesota State are currently tied at the top of the standings with 30 points apiece. As luck would have it, the Tommies and the Mavericks will be facing off in a home-and-home series.
St. Thomas coach Rico Blasi said although his team knows the situation, it’s not something they are addressing internally.
“It’s not something we actually really talk about,” he said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “Part of our culture is to focus on the process. But yes, of course, everybody knows where the standings are, right? So credit to the guys in the locker room for believing in each other and having faith in each other and having faith in something bigger than ourselves, and the love that we have for each other in the locker room. That really is an important piece in what we do. When you have those two things, everybody’s in the same boat and on the same page. That’s what we look at. Obviously, some of the results have been there for us to be in this spot, so now we have to continue to focus on what we do.”
The Tommies (12-11-1, 10-6-0 CCHA) have been atop the league standings since late November, but the Mavericks (13-9-4, 9-5-2 CCHA) finally caught up to them last weekend thanks to a four-point weekend against Northern Michigan while the Tommies were idle.
For MSU coach Luke Strand, this matchup as one with implications for the MacNaughton Cup isn’t surprising.
“I think they’ve got an ability to break a game open with some of their skill. They’ve had very good goaltending and I don’t think they beat themselves,” the Mavericks’ first-year head coach said of the Tommies. “So head to head, we know it’s going to be tough. The metrics will say we’re pretty close in a lot of aspects. And now I think we’re both more familiar with each other this time around. That would maybe be the difference, we’ve kind of maybe cracked the egg now that we’ve both played each other already.”
Strand was right about the metrics being even. The Tommies and the Mavericks are both playing sound defense — each team has given up 35 goals in 16 league games. Offensively, the Mavericks have scored slightly more (55 goals to UST’s 44 in the league); but both have prolific scorers on their top lines. The Mavericks’ Sam Morton leads the CCHA with 19 goals and 29 points overall, but St. Thomas’ Lucas Whalin is not far behind with 10 goals and 23 points.
So, there’s not much separating the two squads at the moment. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the teams’ first meeting back in December, just before the holiday break, was a series split. The Mavericks beat the Tommies 3-1 in Friday’s game in Mankato before St. Thomas won the return trip to Mendota Heights, Minn., 2-1.
“They’re still the defending champions, so you’re going to have to go through them, whether it’s us or anybody else,” Blasi said of having to play the Mavericks with the possibility of the league title on the line. “They’ve got arguably the best line in the conference in terms of production in Morton and [Lucas Sowder], and [Mason Wheeler is] a tough-nosed defenseman, you better have your head up when you’re going against him. They have talent up and down the lineup.”
Morton especially has been a big-time player for the Mavericks. He’s recorded at least a point in eight of MSU’s last nine games. Considering the fact that the Colorado native missed almost the entirety of last season due to injury, his bounceback year is all the more impressive.
“He’s got lots of individual attributes, but he’s a team-first guy and a lot of success has ridden on the idea that he stays within our team structure and our team plan, and I think that’s given him as much success as anything,” Strand said. “It would be easy for him to go rogue and he hasn’t. The nice part for me as a coach is he’s not chasing points he’s, chasing playing the right way. That’s given him points. And I think a lot of his points really are very timely. They’re not extra at the end of the game, they’re the ones that can separate the game.”
Case in point: In last Friday’s game against Northern Michigan, with MSU down 2-1 in the third period, Morton’s hard work on the forecheck helped him dislodge a puck from back behind the Wildcat goal. Sowder pounced on the loose puck in the slot and buried the game-tying goal. The Mavericks lost the game in a shootout but the fact that they salvaged a point helped them pull even with the Tommies after beating the Wildcats the next night.
When MSU played against the Tommies in December, Morton scored in the win but was held off the scoresheet in the loss. While that’s a small sample size–and while the Mavericks certainly have the ability to win when he doesn’t score, such is their team depth–making sure Morton is involved in the offense certainly helps their chances.
Whatever happens, however, both coaches know the season is far from over. CCHA teams play a 24-game schedule, so both will have six more games to go once this weekend is over. Minnesota State’s remaining schedule includes series against all of the other four teams within striking distance of the MacNaughton Cup — after their series with St. Thomas, they are at fifth-place Michigan Tech, then return to Mankato to host third-place Lake Superior State before traveling to face fourth-place Bemidji State in the season finale.
Strand said he knows what’s ahead, but the focus this week has to be on the task at hand.
“We’re just trying to stay focused,” he said. “If you get ahead of yourself, you’re gonna find yourself behind, and if you don’t stay in the moment, you’re gonna have to try to make up ground somewhere else. And we just want to try to keep our head down and collect our points.”
Kyler Grundy has been one of the key players for the Blugolds this season. (Shane Opatz, UWEC Photo)
Kyler Grundy battled through injuries last season, preventing him from maximizing his potential.
Its a different story this year for the UW-Eau Claire standout as he has played an instrumental role in the nationally ranked Blugolds’ success.
After tallying two goals and four assists a season ago, Grundy is the points leader for the Blugolds, racking up eight goals and 15 assists.
“I’m having a strong year and coach has given me a lot of opportunities to be set up for success,” Grundy said. “And my linemates have been great. They’ve put me in a good spot to go out and perform.”
Grundy is in his second season with UW-Eau Claire, the nation’s 14th-ranked team in the USCHO.com poll after transferring in from Division I St. Thomas.
He points out how nice it is that the travel isn’t has challenging as at St. Thomas, and he chose UW-Eau Claire because of its track record for success.
“We have a good coach here who has a a winning resume. It was an easy decision to come to a school where the culture is good and the team is winning,” Grundy said.
The Blugolds are certainly winning, rattling off five consecutive victories. They are 14-6-1 overall and 8-3 in the WIAC.
And the best part is that he gets to be a part of it, working hard in the offseason to be ready for the grind of a full season.
“I worked with trainers to stay healthy and keep my body right and intact for all 30 games,” Grundy said. “It feels great to have a good year. I trained all summer for this. I love seeing the hard work pay off.”
Grundy started playing hockey when he was 4 or 5 years old, and it’s always been his favorite sport. He was drawn to it while at daycare.
“I was dropped off at a daycare at a rec plex type place and I’d walk by the rink and go up the glass and watch,” Grundy said. “My dad took me out there on the ice one day and I wanted to stay. It took off from there.”
As much as he loves playing the game, he also loves everything that comes with being part of hockey.
“The friends and teammates you meet over the years are all great,” Grundy said. “To be part of a culture of a hockey team, it’s a lot of fun. I’ve always enjoyed it.”
And there is a lot of reason to enjoy this season as well as the Blugolds are contending for a WIAC title and more.
Grundy is one of six players on the team with a double-digit point total, and four of those players have 10 or more assists.
Leo Bacallao has tallied seven goals and 10 assists while Quinn Green has come through with five goals and 12 assists. Trenten Heyde has racked up two goals and 14 assists. Connor Szmul (6 goals, 5 assists) and Sammy Martel (5 goals, 6 assists) have also been key contributors.
“We have a lot of great players on this team, and we are all on the same page,” Grundy said.
And the Blugolds hope to keep turning the page to the next successful chapter. “We just have to keep competing hard, stay healthy and give ourselves a chance to win (the WIAC),” Grundy said.
Nicole Haase (@NicoleHaase) and Todd Milewski (@ToddMilewski) are joined this week by Wisconsin leading scorer Kirsten Simms. Plus a look back at the final weekend of January, discussion of how to consider goalies who are part of a rotation for awards and a mention of the PairWise Rankings.
Read more on last season’s changes to the PairWise here.
Brown’s Margot Norehad scores “the Michigan” last weekend against Quinnipiac (photo: Brown Athletics).
Just under 11 minutes remained in the third period of Saturday’s women’s hockey game between Brown and eighth-ranked Quinnipiac when Bears freshman forward Margot Norehad made a move destined to break the Internet.
Her line was on the back end of a stingy forecheck against a Bobcats defense that couldn’t break through center ice, and an interception led to some creative movement between blueliners Miranda Calderone and Cameron Sikich. They switched ice to move from right to left, to which Norehad found a seam as the puck left Sikich’s stick.
The duo connected in stride, and as the Bears started a line change, Norehad remembered a conversation with head coach Mel Ruzzi in the days leading up to the weekend. They’d spoken specifically about attempting a “Michigan,” and when the Quinnipiac back line failed to chase her behind goalie Logan Angers, she saw the opening she needed to lift the puck on her backhand while skating at top speed.
She cradled the puck into the top corner and instantly transformed a 1-1 hockey game between two ECAC opponents into a headline-stealing, spotlight-grabbing performance that took the top spot away from everyone. A weekend that led off with heightened anticipation over rivalry matchups throughout men’s college hockey found itself ushered off center stage by Sunday morning, and in the days since her goal broke a stalemate en route to a 4-1 victory, the Chicago-born freshman crashed the boys’ club of highlight-reel goals normally reserved for NHL superstars and international champions.
“Honestly, it was just a surreal moment,” said Norehad of her goal. “All of my teammates were so happy because it was a 1-1 that we’d flipped around, and we just knew that we had to win it from there and not let Quinnipiac score again. But there was also a piece where this is such a great group of girls that’s really supportive of everything, and with an unbelievable coaching staff that pushes us, I couldn’t have tried it without them supporting my back.”
“The Michigan” refers to a top shelf goal scored by Michigan forward Mike Legg during the Wolverines’ 1996 NCAA tournament matchup against Minnesota. Standing behind the Gopher net, he scooped the puck onto his forehand tape and tucked it inside the top corner for a lacrosse-style goal that helped move the team into the Frozen Four. Michigan subsequently won the national championship by defeating Colorado College in Cincinnati with the byproduct coming after the difference-maker goal for the then-CCHA champion’s win over its WCHA rivals.
It never really left hockey’s subconscious, but the advent of the Internet allowed Legg’s goal to gain more notoriety – and more creativity. As it became more well-known in the aftermath of Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov’s two Michigans in one season, Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras pushed it through a glass ceiling by scoring a lacrosse-style goal against the Montreal Canadiens before attempting a lacrosse assist against the Buffalo Sabres.
As more players found more ways to incorporate and practice stickwork, social media helped push it to a readily-reachable audience and a number of players who believed in their own ability to attempt the unique shot. In women’s hockey, the first known example of a Michigan at an elite level occurred last year when 14-year-old Slovakian skater Nela Lopusanova lifted a puck past Sweden goalie Felicia Frank in the first period of last year’s IIHF World Women’s U-18 Championship quarterfinal round matchup.
“I know she’d been thinking about it because we joked about it,” Ruzzi explained. “The night before, I sent her an Instagram highlight from a Sacred Heart player, and her mom actually texted me and said that her grandfather had been begging for her to try it. So I think it was something that popped into her head in that moment, but I think the most courageous part is that it wasn’t in a game where we were winning by five or losing by five. It was a big moment, and we had just scored where her line had actually scored the goal two shifts before that. It had been that kind of back-and-forth grind, and it took some courage to say that she was willing to make it happen in a 1-1 game.”
The goal springboarded Brown to a three-point performance by beating the No. 8 team in the nation and eventually won the weekend after the Bears’ come-from-behind, 1-1 tie against Princeton on Friday. They pulled within six points of the Tigers after a 1-1 tie against Yale on Saturday and simultaneously added space to a five-point cushion over Union in the race for home ice.
The Michigan was simultaneously Norehad’s seventh goal of the season and moved her into a tie for second on the team with sophomore India McDadi. Both sit five goals behind sophomore Jade Iginla – the daughter of Hockey Hall of Fame member Jarome Iginla – and each are members of a 10-point scoring club led by players in either their first or second year.
“This team in particular, we always have each other’s backs,” Norehad emphasized. “We’re always cheering each other on and always want to be successful. I had a few talks with Coach Mel about trying the Michigan game, and she said that if I had the chance, she wanted me to try it and not be afraid to try new things. To me, that’s just what a great coach says because there are other coaches who wouldn’t want me to try something and wouldn’t want me to make a mistake. But that’s how you learn, and I just think it’s really great that the coaches give us the opportunity to try new things and help us reach new levels of growth.”
“We talk about swagger,” Ruzzi added. “And you can’t have swagger without confidence. You can’t have confidence if you’re not prepared. I think this team’s at a place where it can have some swagger because they don’t just work hard. They get it right. This past weekend, they played with swagger and an edge against Princeton and that helped them pull some things off. We’re not 100 percent there yet, but we’re developing [the confidence] for the entire group. That’s the most exciting part because making that extra play, even with our seniors and juniors, they’re kids who work incredibly hard and can make plays.
“That’s the fun part of hockey.”
After her viral goal against No. 8 Quinnipiac that was named @sportscenter top play, get to know first-year Margot Norehad‼️
Margot speaks about the goal, being a student-athlete at Brown, and her skills beyond the ice. And yes, that is her playing the violin at the end 🐻🏒🎻… pic.twitter.com/572x7hRUoF
That courage and confidence is a core tenet of Ruzzi’s philosophy as the young and emerging Brown team continues its growth, and it’s an indication of the growing depth and talent within a women’s game now exploding with overall talent.
The equality is still at a premium opposite training facilities and an overall investment in the game, but as National Girls and Women in Sports Day crests on next week’s calendar, young women everywhere are growing up in a world where women’s hockey is a popular piece of the winter sports landscape. The emergence of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the overall availability of watching Olympic-level hockey is increasingly part of their experience as hockey players which both Ruzzi and Norehad are quick to point out on their own.
“These kids are doing things where they’re opening their hips and making sauce passes,” Ruzzi said. “The sky’s the limit. There are so many great, great young talents coming into the game at a national level. If you went to any women’s team in ECAC, you’ll see women pulling things off and tinkering and doing some really cool things, and that talent is growing all the time. The PWHL helps a lot with being seen on the national stage and with a fabulous broadcast, but you can watch women’s games all day, every day. For young players, being able to watch women play, it’s kind of a cliche, but if you can see it, you can be it.
“I can’t tell you how many families come to our games and then have parents say that their kid wants to play hockey. They want to be like Jade. They want to be like India. They want to be like Margot, and it’s just going to get better and better.”
“My freshman year of high school, I switched teams to the Chicago Mission after originally playing at the Double-A Northshore Warhawks,” Norehad added. “I tried out and played there for Courtney O’Connell and Erin Rourke, and ever since I was in middle school, I wanted to go to the ECAC and play for an Ivy League school. I was really fortunate that Coach Mel picked up and gave me a chance.
“The women’s game is growing every single day. There are so many mentors and athletes that are like Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne, and they’re pushing to make girls’ hockey and women’s hockey more noticeable. What they’re doing with the PWHL is an enormous step towards building a future for young girls. I think it’s great, and it’s just a great feeling that we’re getting recognition that we feel like we should be getting.”
Gustavus goaltender Katie McCoy sets the all-time shutouts record for women’s D-III hockey (32). (Photo by Jordan Modjeski)
As we creep closer and closer to the NCAA Tournament, we begin to see some enticing matchups that seem to mean more during this time of year. This past weekend we didn’t experience any upsets out west as we typically have seen on a weekly basis, but we saw one individual make history. Here’s your week 14 west recap, showing the featured highlights of the weekend!
MIAC
Gustavus’ Katie McCoy makes history!
Before we begin the recap of these close games, Gustavus goaltender Katie McCoy made history once again on Saturday, this time it was bigger than just her program. McCoy earned the 32nd-shutout victory of her illustrious career, passing Plattsburgh’s Sydney Aveson (‘14) on the all-time shutouts list to become the all-time leader in Women’s Division III hockey.
During her career, she’s racked up 1,372 saves, a 0.939 save-percentage, 0.998 goals-against-average, & a career record of 74-12-3 (stats via Gustavus Athletics). Obviously, she has a great team in front of her with stellar defense, but she’s a lock for one of the best to ever tend the net in Women’s D-III hockey!
#2 Gustavus vs St. Kates (Gustavus 2-1 & 1-0)
Both games were extremely close, St. Kates gave the Gusties everything they had until the very end. In game one, Gustavus scored a quick goal a mere 37 seconds into the opening frame (Hailey Holland, 00:37). They then added the eventual game-winner in the middle of the 2nd period (Margot Bettman, 11:04). The lone Wildcats goal would come late in the 2nd period, in the final minute (19:26.3), it was Abby Pirki getting St. Kates on the board, but it wouldn’t be enough in the end.
Goaltending was good for both sides, Katie McCoy with 14 saves and Anna Friendshuh with 30.
Game two featured the same style of game, tight and anyone’s game right until the 60-minute buzzer. It was scoreless through two periods, something I’m sure not many thought would be the case, but here we were, entering the final period deadlocked at 0.
Eventually, nearing the midway mark of the final period (07:22), Brooke Power finished the game-winner, assisted by Lily Mortenson, sending the Gusties home with a weekend-sweep of St. Kates.
Despite the loss, Wildcats goaltender Abby Severson made 39 saves, Gusties McCoy had her record-setting shutout victory.
#13 Saint Mary’s vs Bethel (Saint Mary’s 2-0 & 4-3)
Saint Mary’s picked up the weekend-sweep of the Royals, but it didn’t come easy, especially in game two. We’ll focus on game two, but in game one, SMU got the 2-0 win.
In game two, the Cardinals got off to a quick start, Allie Urlaub scoring at 2:29 of the opening period, which held up until the 2nd period when we saw a flurry of goals.
#13 Saint Mary’s vs Bethel (Photo by Chris Ebert – SMU Athletics)
In the 2nd, Bethel went to work, scoring a quick pair of goals, one being on the powerplay. Brynn Swenson netted the pair of Royals goals, with the first coming at 6:41, and the second on the powerplay at 8:49, giving Bethel the 2-1 lead.
SMU’s Celia Midtbo would add a pair of her own, hers spanning from the 2nd to the 3rd period, scoring at 15:21 of the middle frame, tying it up as we went into the 3rd. In the 3rd, she’d score her second a rapid 1:03 into the period, giving the Cardinals the 3-2 lead, which held up for a brief two minutes and eleven seconds when Bethel’s Megan Johnson tied it up.
We would head to overtime, Saint Mary’s looking to win their eighth-straight game, it was Sophia Paduano just before the halfway mark at 2:16, giving Saint Mary’s the huge overtime MIAC victory.
Bethel goaltender Anna Hanson, despite the loss, made 41 saves in the game.
NCHA
The top-two teams get sweeps, setting themselves up for a 1v2 matchup next weekend in Adrian, MI
This is a look ahead to next weekend as the results from the fun NCHA came as expected no surprises here. #5 Adrian swept the inaugural Dubuque team, winning 14-1 & 9-1, while St. Norbert swept Lawrence 7-1 & 5-0. Let’s look ahead to next weekend:
Seeing these two team’s matchup it’s always fun, despite Adrian holding an all-time record of 27-5-2, which includes a currently active 22-game win streak, it’s up in the air who takes these games.
Now, if you made me pick, I’d go with an Adrian sweep, just because I think Adrian’s currently the 2nd best team in the country behind the powerhouse UW-River Falls, despite what the polls and pairwise tells you. The only difference here is that this is arguably the best St. Norbert team Adrian will have faced in years, if not ever. A.J. Aitken has turned this program around and gotten them places we haven’t seen in many years.
The intriguing stats of this matchup are the top-5 offenses these two teams boast, Adrian being 2nd & Norbert 5th, both teams have impressive defensive numbers including the penalty kill, Norbert rolling at just over 95%, while the Bulldogs are just over 91%.
This will be a fun weekend, a rematch of the Slaats Cup finals last season when we witnessed the power outages in the Arrington Ice Arena, causing a day-delay, but eventually the two teams got to play, which resulted in an Adrian victory.
WIAC
The WIAC had a quiet weekend, #1 UW-River Falls moved to a perfect 21-0-0 with a predictable sweep of Northland, winning 8-1 in both contests.
#10 UW-Eau Claire shutout UW-Stevens Point 1-0, which would’ve been 2-0 if a Blugold didn’t miss a wide-open empty-net from the slot, but nevertheless, the Blugolds add a W to the column.
The main news for these two, since there’s no auto-bid in this conference, non-conference games mean the world. #1 UW-River Falls visits #2 Gustavus tonight (Tuesday – January 30th), the Falcons are currently 2-0 vs the Gusties this season, two of the best games we’ve seen all year and this one will be right up there with them.
For Eau Claire, they visit Augsburg, facing an Auggie team that’s currently playing their best hockey all season, including a 5-4 overtime-win vs #2 Gustavus. Eau Claire can’t afford to lose a game the rest of the way if they want an at-large bid via pairwise, maybe a single-loss to River Falls, but there’s essentially no room for error after their earlier losses this season.
North Dakota players get together to celebrate their weekend sweep at home over Denver (photo: Russell Hons).
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Paula: Jimmy, the only place to start this week is with Boston College’s sweep of Boston University.
In beating the Terriers 4-1 at home in the Conte Forum and 4-3 in Agganis Arena, the Eagles extended their win streak to four games, halted BU’s eight-game, two-month unbeaten streak and caught up with Boston University at the top of the Hockey East standings.
That impressive performance garnered Boston College 47 first-place votes in this week’s poll – well-earned recognition of an absolute statement of a weekend. The Eagles never trailed in the series, BC’s two dynamic top lines dominated the scoring and Jacob Fowler had a .935 save percentage in the two games.
Very impressive weekend.
Boston College isn’t the only team at the top of a conference standing making. No. 2 North Dakota swept Denver a weekend after taking four points on the road from St. Cloud State, and now the Fighting Hawks are alone in first place in the NCHC.
RIT swept Bentley, extending the Tigers’ win streak to four games and creating a small bit of distance at the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings.
There’s still quite a bit of hockey to be played, but it feels to me like there are a few teams positioning themselves to take care of what business they can. How does it look to you?
Jim: I will attack the simple here. Boston College’s sweep of Boston University, the Eagles crosstown rival and then-No. 1 team, was a major statement. Granted it only lasts for about nine days until these two clash on a bigger stage – the Beanpot semifinals at TD Garden – but the high that last weekend created for the Eagles should be savored.
BC looked like the deeper team. There were more scoring among top players (BU’s Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hutson combined for just two total points). The Eagles didn’t have to dominate either game, they found wins being opportunistic.
Maybe BU has a response in the Beanpot, certainly a game that means the most to these teams. But BC has positioned itself to be in the Hockey East regular season race, maybe win it. And sitting atop the PairWise might mean the most.
The other team that stood out this weekend was North Dakota with a home sweep of Denver. We joked on our Monday podcast that North Dakota never doesn’t anything quietly, but I think on the national picture people began forgetting about the Fighting Hawks.
Right now, NoDak sits atop the NCHC and is second in the PairWise. Sure, maybe we all forgot North Dakota, but they are absolutely a top-three team in any book right now.
Paula: Isn’t it strange how a program as good as North Dakota can nearly fly under the national radar? They’re definitely a top three team, and yet they’re not at all who I think of first when looking at teams to make the Frozen Four.
Let me make it clear: that’s on me, not the Fighting Hawks.
North Dakota’s offense is fifth-best nationally (3.65), with a top-10 power play (.270) and 13 skaters who have played the entire season or nearly all season with at least two goals to their name. The Fighting Hawks’ overall defense is tied for 10th (2.42) nationally, but the penalty kill is good but not spectacular (.826).
And while Ludvig Persson’s save percentage and goals-against average aren’t among the top 10 netminders nationally, his win percentage (.696) is. Persson was solid in net against Denver, and the Fighting Hawks’ defense in front of him was even tidier – in fact, tidier than usual – allowing just 43 shots on the weekend.
One of the reasons that a team as good as North Dakota seems to have been a bit of a sleeper is that the Fighting Hawks have been steadily improving their team defense through January. There have been more than a few times this season when North Dakota has had to rely on scoring to overcome defensive lapses, and I think such teams tend to get overlooked until they appear to have more than just muscle up front.
Speaking of teams with muscle up front, it seems insane to me that so many teams this season are averaging well above 3.50 goals per game. North Dakota’s sweep of Denver is even more impressive given that the Fighting Hawks held the Pioneers to four goals in the series when Denver was averaging more than five goals per game coming into the weekend. Just a week ago, the Pioneers scored six goals in each game in their sweep of Omaha.
But look at the scores for the weekend and the national stats and tell me if I’m seeing something that isn’t really there. Teams scored five or more goals 25 times this past weekend, and in three overtime games, both teams netted five or more goals: Omaha’s 7-6 win over St. Cloud, Wisconsin’s 6-5 win over Michigan and Lindenwood’s 6-5 win over Stonehill.
Jimmy, does the adage that defense wins games need to be revised?
Jim: I think that we have watched regular season offense increase incrementally over the last few seasons and this year is no exception. That said, where we get to the most important games of the year, defense is still the most crucial factor.
Last year’s opening round of the NCAA tournament presented some of the highest scoring regional games in years. But once we were past that round, games returned to normal.
In fact, the average goals per game in regional finals (national quarterfinal round) was four. The Frozen Four gave us eight and seven goals in the two semifinals, but the winning team in each allowed only two goals. And the national title game was a 3-2 overtime game.
So yes, the scores at times can show explosive offense, but when the most important games are played defense matters.
What strikes me right now is the youth movement in college hockey, particularly among scorers. Thirteen of the top 21 scoring leaders in the nation are underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores). We’ve heard so much about the graduate transfer in the era of the five-year players. But it still seems like the youngest players in college hockey still lead the way, maybe more than ever.
Understanding that many of these players will leave before they become juniors and seniors, it’s still pretty impressive to see this level of early-career talent.
Paula: I think the World Juniors underscored that for me, Jimmy. I was astounded at the young talent from around the world but blown away completely by the amount of talent on the U.S. team. No one paying attention should be surprised at Boston College’s success this year, given what we saw of their young players in that tournament.
Weirdly, that talent hasn’t yet translated into more conference success this season for two Big Ten teams that each had four players on this year’s gold medal squad, Michigan and Minnesota.
You and I have talked before in this space about how advances in technology – from equipment to availability of information has positively impacted the game, as well as how an emphasis on player development in recent years has led to better younger players. What’s interesting to me is that the youth movement in hockey isn’t limited to what we’re seeing in the NCAA.
There are two teenagers playing in the NHL – Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli – with goal totals in the double digits, two 20-year-olds with 10 or more goals and seven 21-year-old players with 10 or more goals. The fact that there are 133 NHL players younger than 23 years old is something to ponder.
In the AHL, five players who haven’t yet seen their 20th birthdays have 10 or more goals. Given that the AHL is as much a developmental league for the NHL as it is a place for many older players to end their careers, this isn’t too surprising, but the face of the game does seem to be trending younger and younger.
Jim: I will offer an opinion that will be unpopular among my friends in Hockey East. I actually really like the fact that North Dakota is a little bit older than some of the younger teams near the top of the PairWise.
We’ve seen in year in and year out that the extreme talent – loads of NHL draft picks, many first rounders – doesn’t always hold up against some of the more veteran teams.
North Dakota’s top five scorers are all 20 years or older, with topping that last list at 24 years of age. That’s significant given that many of the recent national champions were built on experienced, older rosters.
I’m not betting against teams like Boston College or Boston University, but I know that once you reach the single elimination NCAA tournament, experience and age matters.
Boston College players celebrate their win at Boston University last Friday night (photo: Meg Kelly).
With 47 first-place votes this week, Boston College is the new top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll.
The Eagles move up one spot from last week.
North Dakota earned two first-place votes and moves up three spots to No. 2, BU is down two to three, Wisconsin drops one spot to No. 4, and Denver falls one spot to No. 5.
Maine is again sixth, picking up a first-place vote, while Quinnipiac stays seventh, Michigan State eighth, Minnesota ninth, and Providence tenth.
Western Michigan falls from No. 12 to No. 15, while Omaha is back in the rankings at No. 20.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 10 other teams received votes in this week’s rankings.
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.
Boyd Stahlbaum and UW-Stout upset UW-Stevens Point on Friday, handing the Pointers their first home loss. (Photo Credit: Jeremy Cwan/UW-Stout Athletics)
On the road against one of the nation’s best teams Friday, UW-Stout was unfazed by facing No. 6 UW-Stevens Point.
Winning wasn’t easy, but the Blue Devils found a way to get the job done, grinding out a 3-2 win thanks to a game-winning goal from Boyd Stahlbaum and 30 saves out of Dawson Green.
With under eight minutes to play, Stahlbaum scored to help UW-Stout hand the Pointers their first home loss of the year.
Stahlbaum not only scored a goal, but he also dished out two assists, helping the Blue Devils win their third consecutive game and avenge a 7-6 loss to the Pointers back in November.
The Blue Devils (8-11-2, 6-5) hoped to make it two in a row on Saturday but gave up four unanswered goals, including three in the third to force OT.
It was there that Harrison Stewart scored the game winner at the 1:29 mark and lift the Pointers to their ninth home win of the year while also ending a two-game losing streak. UW-Stevens Point had dropped back-to-back one-goal losses before getting Saturday’s win.
The Pointers remain in first place in the WIAC, improving to 15-5-1 overall and 9-2 in the conference. The Blue Devils are in third with a 6-5 WIAC record. They are 8-11-2 overall.
Falcons finish strong
There would be no settling for a tie Saturday night for UW-River Falls as the Falcons dominated UW-Superior in a 5-1 win.
Dylan Smith nearly recorded a hat trick, scoring a pair of goals, including one off a power play, as the Falcons improved to 12-8-1 overall and 4-6-1 in WIAC play.
Smith is the leading goal scorer for UW-River Falls this season, tallying 12, and he helped his team end a three-game winless streak. It’s the second time this year that the Falcons have scored five goals in a game.
Friday’s game was much tighter and a goal by Jonny Meiers off a rebound in the third helped the Falcons force OT.
Neither team scored in the extra session but the Yellowjackets won the shootout by a 2-1 score. Daniel Rozsival scored the lone goal for UW-Superior, which is now 10-10-1 overall and 5-5-1 in the conference.
A sweep for the Saints
An overtime win over Hamline Saturday night punctuated St. Scholastica’s sweep of Hamline.
It’s the first time since the calendar flipped to 2024 that the Saints have swept an opponent, and the series success keeps them in second place in the MIAC.
Arkhip Ledenkov scored the game-winning goal, Nathan Adrian dished out three assists and Jack Bostedt racked up 37 saves as No. 11 St. Scholastica won 4-3.
Ledenkov needed less than a minute of OT to find the back of the net, and the goal was set up by his brother, Filimon. Kieran Chung also earned credit for an assist on the play as the Saints improved to 14-4-3 overall and 7-2-1 in the conference. They are 7-0-1 at home.
Bethel is up next for St. Scholastica. The Royals are currently two points ahead of the Saints in the standings.
Down 2-1 on Friday, the Saints scored three times in the second period to take control. Adrian struck for two goals to lead the way.
Auggies get revenge
After dropping a 4-3 decision to Saint John’s Thursday, Augsburg bounced back with a 2-1 win Friday.
Erik Palmqvist provided the game-winning goal, punching the puck in with under 10 minutes to play in the game.
Though the Auggies were outshot 36-25, Samuel Vyletelka stepped up, making 35 saves. The Auggies also played well as a whole defensively, holding down a 22-6 edge in blocked shots.
Dylan Schneider had the other goal for Augsburg, which sits in third place in the MIAC with a 7-3 record. The Auggies are 10-8-1 overall and have won three of their last four games.
Saint John’s held a 36-25 edge in shots but fell to 8-9-4 overall and 5-6-1 in the conference, good enough for fourth. Mason Campbell scored the lone goal for the Johnnies, had their eight-game unbeaten streak come to an end.
Royals and Cardinals split
Saint Mary’s has played its best hockey at home this season, picking up another win there on Friday with a 2-1 overtime win against first-place Bethel. The Cardinals are 5-2 at home but have struggled on the road, going just 1-9, and fell 3-2 to the Royals in the series finale Saturday.
Callahan Nauss scored the game winner in the opener, collecting the puck off a rebound in the first minute of OT.
The win came after an 11-day layoff for the Cardinals, who are now 6-10-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the MIAC.
A.J. Ruskowski stopped 32 shots as Saint Mary’s won for the third time in four games. But the script flipped Saturday for a senior night win thanks to a pair of goals from Jack Brown. Travis Allen was clutch in goal, stopping 26 shots, as the Royals improved to 13-5-3 overall and 7-3-2 in the MIAC to stay in first place.
Shields records hat trick
The second-ranked Bulldogs scored 14 goals in two games against first-year program Dubuque to earn a NCHA weekend sweep.
Adrian won 8-1 and 6-0, stretching its win streak to seven games. The Bulldogs are 16-4-1 overall and 13-1 in the conference. Adrian has scored five or more goals in four consecutive games.
Jaden Shields came through with his first career hat trick in Friday’s game. He also tallied an assist.
Zachary Heintz, Mathew Rehding and Jacob Suede all had a goal and assist on Saturday.
Green Knights win two
St. Norbert won its opener against Lawrence 4-2 on Friday. The Green Knights then closed out the NCHA series in thrilling fashion, rallying for a 3-2 win Saturday.
Will Stromp scored the winner with 36.9 seconds to play to complete a rally for St. Norbert, which trailed 2-0 after two periods.
Adam Stacho scored the first goal, his 12th of the year, and T.J. Koufis tied the game with his eighth goal of the season. He also had an assist in the win for the Green Knights (15-5, 12-2), who have won five in a row.
Spartans sweep Sabres
Aurora has won four of its last five, including two in a row, after sweeping Marian 6-0 and 3-1.
Six different players scored in Friday’s win and Jacob Mucitelli made 21 saves. Jake Code tallied a goal and assist in Saturday’s game as the Spartans improved to 11-9-1 overall and 10-4 in the NCHA.
Three in a row for Trine
The Thunder stretched their win streak to three games after back-to-back 5-1 wins over Concordia this weekend. On Friday, Kyle Kozma made 28 saves and Trine held Concordia to three shots on goal in the third period. Trine (17-4, 12-2) had five different players score goals on both nights.
Cayla Barnes scored in the first minute of the game on Friday and Sloane Matthews and Jenna Buglioni each found the back of the net in the frame to give Ohio State a 3-0 lead after the first, leaving St. Cloud with a tough hill to climb. The Huskies began to push back and held the Buckeyes off in the 2nd. Then Emma Gentry scored 22 seconds into the third to make it 3-1. But OSU pushed back and Makenna Webster gave the Buckeyes their three-goal lead back a few minutes later. Gentry responded with a power play goal not long after that, but Ohio State was able to lock it down on defense and take the 4-2 win. The Huskies came out flying on Saturday and took a 1-0 lead midway through the first as Gentry continued her torrid pace. She forced a turnover in the OSU zone and lit the lamp to make it 1-0 St. Cloud. But Ohio State forced a turnover of their own in the final minutes of the frame as Kiara Zanon won the puck and then was there to tip in the pass from Jenna Buglioni. Webster scored her second of the weekend just a minute into the second by redirecting a shot from distance by Hadley Hartmetz to put the Buckeyes up 2-1. The teams worked to find an advantage for more than thirty minutes after and it wasn’t until Joy Dunne scored as a penalty expired in the final seven minutes that OSU put a little distance on the board. St. Cloud pulled Ahola with nearly four minutes left on the clock and a late power play gave them the opportunity to close the gap as Taylor Lind made it 3-2 with 55.5 seconds on the clock. The Huskies had a flurry of chances in the final minute of the game, but Amanda Thiele stood strong and Ohio State held off SCSU to earn the win and weekend sweep.
(2) Wisconsin at (7) Minnesota Duluth
The two teams took some time to find their rhythm and feel each other out on Friday and the first goal didn’t come until early in the second when Casey O’Brien put back a rebound on Vivian Jungels’ shot to give Wisconsin a 1-0 lead. Danielle Burgen drove the net and beat Jane Gervais a few minutes later to tie the game 1-1. In a battle of two of the top special teams units in the country, the Badgers got the advantage on Friday when Lacey Eden scored on the power play a minute into the third to give Wisconsin a 2-1 lead that they’d carry to the final whistle. On Saturday, the Bulldogs had the Badgers on the ropes as they pushed them off their game and Wisconsin struggled to find a rhythm. UMD took a 1-o lead midway through the first thanks to a goal from Reece Hunt. Minnesota Duluth’s confidence continued to grow in the second as Nina Jobst-Smith’s shot from the point lit the lamp and then a puck deflected off Burgen to make it 3-0 Bulldogs a few minutes into the second. Casey O’Brien got Wisconsin on the board a few minutes later, but Clara Van Wieren’s power play goal later in the second sent the teams to the locker room with UMD up 4-1. The Badgers seemed to shake out of it in the third and pushed back, pouring on 21 of their 46 shots. Eden scored her second power play goal of the weekend when she put the puck across the front of the net and it deflected into the net to make it 4-2. Just 30 seconds later Cassie Hall dove to poke in a puck and it was suddenly a one-goal game. Eden scored Wisconsin’s third goal in 2:27, putting in a rebound to make it 4-4. With 90 seconds to play, Kirsten Simms had a bit of a breakaway into the zone as she dashed up the boards. O’Brien was with her, but Simms kept the puck and scored low at the far post to put Wisconsin ahead 5-4. It was a massive comeback for the Badgers, who have won several dramatic games in Duluth in the past few years. It was Simms who scored the Badgers’ long goal to earn the National Championship last season in Duluth.
(3) Clarkson vs. (9) St. Lawrence (home and home) This rivalry series brought the drama. On Friday, the teams were scoreless until well into the third period when Abby Hustler cleaned up a rebound from a Julia Gosling shot on the power play to give St. Lawrence a 1-0 lead. Despite ramped up pressure from Clarkson, they could not find the equalizer and the Saints took the victory. Michelle Pasiechnyk made 22 saves while Emma-Sofie Nordström had 30 for SLU. Each team also tallied 16 blocks. In the second game, the teams set a record for the series with 10 combined goals. Clarkson outshot the Saints 49-26. Nordström made a career-high 43 saves, but the Golden Knights took a 6-4 win to split the Hwy. 11 series. Brooke McQuigge scored first and put Clarkson up 1-0 after one. The second period was jam packed, starting with Nicole Gosling scoring on the power play to extend the lead to 2-0. Then Sena Catrerall scored just before the midpoint to give the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead. But St. Lawrence scored twice in 37 seconds just after that to cut it to a 3-2 lead. However, Clarkson responded with two quick goals of their own from Catterall and Jaden Bogden toward the end of the second to go ahead 5-2. Bogden also scored to open the third to make it 6-2. St. Lawrence pushed back with goals from Aly MacLeod and Hustler, but could not complete a comeback as Clarkson took the win.
Harvard at (4) Colgate
Danielle Serdachny had two goals and four assists while Dara Greig added two goals and three assists to lead Colgate in their 10-1 win over Harvard. It took the Raiders some time to find their groove. The Crimson scored first as Brooke Manning lit the lamp in the opening minute to make it 1-0. Kas Betinol evened the score later in the period as Colgate started to pour on the shots, but the teams went to intermission tied. The game fell apart for Harvard early in the second as Colgate scored four goals in 1:25. Tessa Holk, Serdachny, Greig and national leading scorer Kalty Kaltounková were relentless and made it a 5-1 game before the Crimson knew what happened. Ally Simpson scored later in the period and then Colgate added four more in the third to make it 10 unanswered and a big win for the Raiders.
Dartmouth at (4) Colgate
Neena Brick, Emma Pais, Jaimee Spring, Elyssa Biederman and Kalty Kaltounková each scored on Saturday to lead Colgate to a 5-0 win. It was Spring’s first career goal and the Raiders’ seventh straight victory.
Minnesota State at (5) Minnesota
The Gophers staked a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame on Friday thanks to a first period power play rebound goal from Ella Huber and second period goals from Peyton Hemp and Abbey Murphy. But the Mavericks pushed back in the third, scoring three goals in seven minutes to tie the game with about 11 to play. MSU blocked 20 shots in the game and outshot the Gophers 10-6 in the third, but Murphy proved why she’s one of the best in the country as she scored the go-ahead goal to give Minnesota the 4-3 win. In the second game, the Maverick defense was once again massive, blocking 21 shots. The only Gopher goal in regulation came from Josephin Bouveng on the power play late in the first. The Mavericks pushed back, keeping the score tight and looking for their opportunity, Kennedy Bobyck found it midway through the third to tie the game and eventually force overtime. It was Hemp less than a minute into overtime crashing the net to give Minnesota the win.
Dartmouth at (6) Cornell
The Big Red showed out on Friday as Karel Prefontaine and Kaitlin Jockims each netted a hat trick and Annelies Bergmann recorded her first career shutout to lead Cornell to a 14-0 win over Dartmouth. Jockims also had two assists and Izzy Daniel had a goal and four assists to lead the team with five points. Bergmann also earned an assist. Cornell had a 5-0 lead, including two shorthanded goals, before nine minutes had elapsed.
Harvard at (6) Cornell
Cornell got out to a fast start again, going up 3-0 after one thanks to goals from Izzy Daniel, Avi Adam and Grace Dwyer. Ashley Messier pushed it to 4-0 early in the second. Harvard scored two quick goals near the midpoint of the game thanks to Kaley MacDonald and Sophie Ensley to make it 4-2, but Georgia Schiff replied before the intermission to stretch the lead to 5-2. In the final frame, Dwyer and Adam each scored again to ensure the 7-2 victory.
(8) Quinnipiac at (15) Yale
The Bulldogs snapped a three game losing streak and earned their first top-10 victory of the season thanks to an overtime goal from Carina DiAntonio that gave Yale the 2-1 win. The teams fought back and forth for nearly two full periods before Veronica Bac put Quinnipiac up 1-0. Elle Hartje’s slapshot tied the game in the third. In OT, Hartje fed DiAntonio as she crashed the net and won the game just 25 seconds in.
(8) Quinnipiac at Brown
The Brown Bears put together what coach Mel Ruzzi said was their most complete game of the season to beat the Bobcats on Saturday. Zoe Uns had Quinnipiac up 1-0 heading into the final frame, but Brown, who outshot the Bobcats 29-23, were confident in controlling the puck and playing their game and it began to come together in the third period. Gabi Levy tied the game two minutes into the frame to make it 1-1. Margot Norehad scored the eventual game-winner with a seamless lacrosse-style goal, lifting the puck and wrapping it around the post to make it 2-1. Sam Broz and Jade Iginla each scored empty netters to secure the 4-1 win.
Vermont at (11) Connecticut
The Huskies earned their sixth-straight win on Friday thanks to two goals from Jada Habisch and one from Ava Rinker to give UConn the 3-0 win. On Saturday, the teams skated to a scoreless tie as neither one could find an advantage. It was a quick, clean game with just 33 combined shots and three total penalties. In the shootout, Ashley Allard lit the lamp to give Connecticut the extra point in the standings.
(12) Princeton at Brown
Princeton outshot Brown 44-18 on goal, but Bears goalie Kaley Doyle made 43 saves to keep the Tigers in check. Emerson O’Leary scored midway through the first, putting away a rebound. Princeton held their lead until Jade Iginla scored on the power play after a major penalty to Stefanie Wallace for contact to the head and the teams skated to a 1-1 draw.
(12) Princeton at (15) Yale
A tough-fought but frustrating weekend for Princeton wrapped up with a second-straight 1-1 tie on Saturday. Katherine Khramtsov scored off a rush and an odd bounce to put the Tigers up 1-0 after the midpoint of the game. Yale quickly responded when Suzy Higuchi put back a rebound. The teams couldn’t break through in the third and the game ended in a stalemate.
Providence vs. (13) Boston College (home and home)
It was a tense game one on Friday as the teams were scoreless through the first and much of the second. Molly Jordan was able to put Boston College on the board late in the second, but Providence responded in the final minute of the frame with Audrey Knapp’s power play goal to make it 1-1. Providence had a goal called back in the third due to offsides and overtime was not enough to find a winner. It was the sixth time Boston College had advanced to the shootout this year and they had not been kind to the Eagles. But sophomore Kara Goulding scored her first career goal – even though it won’t show in the record book since SO goals aren’t official goals and Grace Campbell stopped all the Providence shooters to give BC the extra point and win. In the second game, Lindsay Bochna put the Friars up 1-0 late in the first and then Kiara Kraft scored her first career goal to double the Providence lead. Molly Jordan’s power play goal have BC hope to make it 2-1, but Bochna scored again to give the Friars a 3-1 win and weekend split.
Merrimack vs. (14) Northeastern (home and home)
Junior Paige Taborski made her first career start in net on Friday and earned a 4-0 shutout against Merrimack. Jules Constantinople, Ella Blackmore, Katy Knoll and Peyton Anderson each lit the lamp in the win. On Saturday, it was a busy, back and forth first frame. Emily Oosterveld put the Warriors up 1-0 in the opening minute. It took the teams a bit of time to settle down after that, but just past the midway point, Molly Griffin tied the game at one. Merrimack retook the lead less than a minute later with a goal from Solveig Gisler, but that lasted even less time as Taze Thompson’s goal tied it at 2-2 and that’s how the teams went into the intermission. Blackmore gave Northeastern their first lead with a goal in the second and Katy Knoll extended it to 4-2 with under 10 to play. Natalie Nemes pulled the Warriors to within one, but Merrimack couldn’t complete a comeback and the Huskies took a 4-3 win and weekend sweep.
Curry’s Eelis Laaksonen has the Colonels right in the thick of the CC race following a weekend sweep of UNE (Photo by Matt Johnson)
There are statement wins of which we saw a few this weekend from Plattsburgh, Norwich, and Plymouth State and then there are the bigger statement sweeps as executed by Hobart, Curry, Utica, and Trinity. The upset bug continued with a big win from Nichols and a milestone win for coach Dean Fuller at Fitchburg State who earned win #600. Hard to believe there are just a few weeks remaining in the regular season but the action on the ice is showing how teams are gearing up to play their best hockey when it means the most this time of year. Here is the recap for the action in the East:
CCC
Curry has demonstrated they are certainly among the contenders in the CCC with their recent 7-game win streak that included this weekend’s sweep of a two-game series with the University of New England. On the road Friday, the Colonels started fast with a pair of first period goals from Grady Friedman and Gage Dill for a 2-0 lead. The teams swapped goals in the second period and UNE’s power play goal from Juraj Elias in the third period cut the deficit to one goal but that is all Curry netminder Shane Soderwall would surrender in a 3-2 win for the visitors. Back home on Saturday afternoon, both teams took the first period to get their legs going and the visitors from UNE took advantage of two power play goals to take a 2-0 lead before Eelis Laaksonen made the score 2-1 at the end of the second period. The Colonels did all the scoring in the third period with three unanswered goals for a 4-2 win. Laaksonen assisted on two of the three markers in the final period while Soderwall stopped 27 of 29 shots to earn the win and sweep of the Nor’easters that pushed Curry to the top of the league standings.
Tied with Curry for first place, Endicott also took advantage of a weekend sweep over Suffolk to stay atop the CCC standings with Curry. On Friday night, goals from Cam Speck, Jackson Sterrett and Ben Jenkinson backed by 24 saves from goaltender Atticus Keely who earned the shutout in a 3-0 win over the Rams. On the road Saturday, the Gulls jumped to a 3-0 first period lead with power play goals by Michael Casey and Andrew Kurapov along with an even-strength goal by Ryan Willett and cruised to a 4-1 win. Suffolk’s Devin Lowe broke up Ryan Wilson’s bid for a shutout as he stopped 30 of 31 shots in the win.
Salve Regina and Nichols played a thrilling series where both games needed bonus hockey to determine a winner. On Friday night, the Bison trailed 2-1 after forty minutes of play but tied the score on Kaiden Scott’s power play goal in the third period. Neither team could score before the end of regulation and in overtime, Nathan Carl sent the home fans home happy with a goal for a 3-2 upset win over the Seahawks. On Saturday, the script was flipped as the visiting Bison held a 2-1 lead after two periods of play only to see Jonathan Hammel tie the score in the third period for Salve Regina. In overtime, Johnny Mulera wasted no time in scoring at the 29 second mark to give the Seahawks a 3-2 win and split of the weekend series that leaves them just one point behind Curry and Endicott in the standings.
Wentworth took advantage of a four-goal second period to erase a 1-0 deficit on the way to a 6-2 win over Western new England on Friday. Nikolas Sombrowski scored a pair of goals and Mitch McGinn scored a goal and added three assists for the Leopards. On Saturday, Wentworth took the sweep with a 2-1 overtime win over the Golden Bears. George Weiner scored the decisive goal to help the Leopards pick up their fourth win in CCC action.
Independents
Following a 2-1 overtime loss to Wesleyan on Tuesday night, Albertus Magnus played Rivier on Saturday and skated off with a 6-3 win over the Raiders. Five unanswered goals by the Falcons erased a 3-1 deficit with six different players scoring goals to support Logan Bateman who made 28 saves to earn the win.
Following a 5-3 loss to Oswego on Friday night where three power play goals were the difference for the Lakers, Anna Maria closed out their tour of SUNYAC opponents with a game at Cortland on Saturday. After the Red Dragons took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, their power play quickly struck in the second period for two goals as part of a four-goal period that helped the home team ease past the AmCats, 7-2.
MASCAC
After dropping a 5-1 decision to Framingham State at home on Thursday night, Fitchburg State earned their coach, Dean Fuller his 600th career win (all at FSU) with a 5-2 decision over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Goals by Cade Herrera gave the Trailblazers a 2-0 lead early in the second period before the Falcons got their offense going with five straight tallies. Samuel Rennick, Oliver Cookson, and Toivo Kramer all scored within thirty seconds, midway through the period for a 3-2 lead that the Falcons extended with Trenton Skagg’s goal and Kristopher Zapata’s empty-net goal in the third period to seal the win.
Plymouth State remained unbeaten in MASCAC play with a pair of wins over Salem State and Worcester State. On Thursday, Patrick O’Connell and Ethan Stuckless broke a 1-1 tie and the Panthers fought off a scrappy Vikings’ squad with a 4-3 win. Things were far more comfortable on the road against the Lancers on Saturday where Stuckless, Will Redick and Cam Patton each scored a pair of goals in a 7-0 rout. Goaltender Brandon Shantz stopped all 24 shots he faced to earn the shutout win for PSU.
Massachusetts-Dartmouth took advantage of two MASCAC wins to move into second place in the standings. On Thursday, the Corsairs won a seesaw affair with Westfield State, 3-2. Tyler Stewarts third period goal proved to be the game-winner in a tight contest. On Saturday, the offense was in high gear as UMD used a hat trick from Michael Mania and two goals each from Collin Patterson and Alex Walker to cruise to a 9-2 win over Framingham State.
NE-10
First place Assumption took a commanding lead in the standings with three wins for the week. On Wednesday in a make-up game with Post, the Greyhounds used three power play goals to hold off the Eagles in a 5-4 win. The Greyhounds hosted Franklin Pierce in a weekend series and needed a third period comeback on Friday to down the Ravens 4-3. Trailing 3-1 entering the third, Ronny Paragallo, William Roberts and Jonathan Surrette scored to rally the Greyhounds to the victory. Paragallo finished the night with a pair of goals and an assist. On Saturday, more third period magic was needed to break a 2-2 tie with FPU. Jake Lavoie, Shane Sullivan, and William Roberts all scored in the final period to help Assumption toa 5-2 win and weekend sweep of the Ravens.
Post and St. Anselm split a pair of games over the weekend. On Friday, Post rallied from a 2-1 deficit with Nathan McDevitt scoring early in the third period to tie the score at 2-2 before Jack Engdahl scored in the final five seconds of overtime for a 3-2 win. On Saturday, the Hawks rebounded to earn the split with a 5-3 win that saw the visitors rally from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. Luke Mix and Hunter Brackett each scored a goal and added an assist for St. Anselm.
NEHC
Hobart and Elmira played a home-and-home series in what was expected to be a dynamic matchup between two of the top teams in D-III. The Statesmen put all that aside in a pair of dominating wins over the Soaring Eagles by 7-2 and 5-0 scores. On Friday, the visitors scored early for a 2-1 lead after the first period and then blew the game open with a five-goal second period. Seven different players scored for Hobart and Chris Duclair picked up three assists in the runaway win. Back home in The Cooler on Saturday, the Statesmen continued to display their depth and balance with five different goal scorers and forward Shane Shell recording a goal and two assists in a 5-0 win. Goaltender Mavrick Goyer earned his sixth shutout of the season stopping 15 shots.
Norwich picked up a pair of much needed wins to move into a tie with Skidmore for second place in the NEHC standings. After ceding Vermont State-Castleton a 1-0 lead on Matteo Turrin’s first period goal, the Cadets scored the next seven, including a pair of goals from Patrick Delvecchio. On Saturday, in what was expected to be a defensive battle, the Cadets made Owen Sclisizzi’s second period goal stand up as the game-winner in a 1-0 victory. Goaltenders Sami Malu and Bryce Walcarius combined for 26 saves to post the shutout over the Thoroughbreds.
Babson picked up a pair of wins over Massachusetts-Boston ns Johnson & Wales to stay tied with Elmira in fourth place in the conference. On Friday, after Thomas Kramer and Conor Foley traded goals in the opening period, Colby Bailey’s power play tally proved to be decisive in a 2-1 win over the Beacons. Mason Rosado stopped 30 of 31 shots in the win. On Saturday, in another close contest, the Beavers jumped to a 2-0m lead on goals from Cam Joslin and Ian Driscoll but needed a last second empty-net tally from Wyatt George to hold off the Wildcats, 3-1.
NESCAC
Trinity went on the road and claimed a pair of comfortable victories over Hamilton and Amherst to pad their lead in the NESCAC standings. On Friday, a goal, and a pair of assists from Connor Sedlak helped the Bantams to a 6-1 win over the Continentals. On Saturday, a goal and an assist from Richard Boysen and a pair of assists by Spencer Korona helped pace the Bantams to a 5-1 win over the Mammoth.
Bowdoin moved into second place in the standings with a decisive win over long-time rival Colby on Saturday, 5-1. Two goals from Gabe Shipper and three assists by Luke Wheeler paced the Polar Bear attack while goaltender Alex Kozic stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn the win.
After being shutout by Williams on Friday, 2-0, Tufts faced a recently resurgent Middlebury team that was on a4-game unbeaten streak. The Panthers struck first on a goal by Jin Lee to lead 1-0 after two periods of play but the Jumbos found some third period scoring from Harrison Bazianos and Clark Bolin just 39 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead. Goaltender Peyton Durand stopped 24 shots to help the Jumbos stay among the conference leaders.
Hamilton stayed in the fourth-place spot as the Continentals rebounded from their loss to Trinity with a 5-2 win over Wesleyan on Saturday. Wesleyan’s Owen Sweet scored with one-tenth of a second remaining in the second period to make the game 3-2 for Hamilton entering the final period of play. Devon deVries gave the Continentals some breathing room with his goal early in the period and Noah Leibl iced the contest with an empty-net goal. Jack Grant made 33 saves in the Continental goal for the win.
SUNYAC
The battle for the top spot was on the line Friday night as Plattsburgh visited Geneseo. Bennet Stockdale scored twice to give the Cardinals an early lead, but the Knights answered with goals from Cooper Fensterstock and Alex Dameski to send the game to the final period tied at 2-2. In the third period, Ty D’Addario, Paul Bryer, Trey Thomas, and Ryan Butler (ENG) helped PSU to a big 6-2 road win over Geneseo. On Saturday, Plattsburgh outshot Brockport by a 43-28 margin but could only get Bryer’s first period shot past netminder Dylan Wiemer. Josh Grund scored late in the third period to tie score at 1-1 and the teams settled for the overtime tie.
Geneseo rebounded from their loss to Plattsburgh with a 6-1 win over Potsdam on Saturday. The Knights scored three power play goals and scored three goals in each of the first and third periods to capture the important SUNYAC win. Zach Purcell scored a pair of goals while Luke Panchisin added three assists.
Oswego downed Anna Maria College on Friday night, 5-3, before resuming SUNYAC play with a 4-1 win over Morrisville on Saturday. Goals by Connor Gatto and Brock Kulicki in the third period broke open a close contest with the Mustangs and helped Oswego move into a tie with Geneseo for the conference lead with Plattsburgh just one point in arrears and a game in hand.
UCHC
Utica continued to cruise atop the UCHC standings following their weekend sweep of Nazareth. On Friday, a hat trick and an assist from forward Shane Murphy helped pace the offense to a 7-0 win over the Golden Flyers. Bryan Landsberger picked up the shutout making 26 saves for Utica. On Saturday, Murphy was again found all over the ice and the scoresheet as he helped the Pioneers build an early 4-0 lead and cruise to a 4-2 win. Murphy scored a goal and added two assists to keep the Pioneers unbeaten in UCHC play.
Stevenson had dual opportunity in their weekend series with Arcadia as a weekend sweep would keep them in second place in the UCHC standings while also securing their second consecutive MAC championship. On Friday night, the Mustangs scored the first seven goals of the contest, including two from Blake Benson on the way to a 7-2 road win over the Knights. On home ice on Saturday, Stevenson won the MAC title with a 5-1 win over Arcadia that featured a Liam McCanney hat trick. Goaltender Ty Outen picked up his 15th win of the season for Stevenson making 23 saves.
After dropping a pair of non-conference games last weekend to Canton, Wilkes was looking to rebound in conference play against a spirited Lebanon Valley squad. On Friday night, the Colonels took a 2-0 lead only to see the Flying Dutchman answer with three goals in the second period for a one-goal advantage heading into the final period of play. Cam Lowe and Jimmy O’Kane scored in the third period to help Wilkes escape with a 4-3 win. On Saturday, O’Kane and Danny Nau gave Wilkes a 2-0 lead but LVC again rallied to tie the score at 2-2 with both goals coming from Dylan Miller. Billy Berry and O’Kane’s second of the game gave the visitors a two-goal lead before Blake Testo’s goal with just one second left would prove to be too little too late in a second game divided by one-goal, 4-3.
Three Biscuits
DJ Dixon – Wesleyan – opened the scoring and closed the scoring with the overtime winning goal in the Cardinals’ 2-1 win over Albertus Magnus on Tuesday night.
Garrett Bovonoski – Morrisville – stopped 41 of 42 shots in the Mustangs 2-1 come-from-behind upset win over Cortland on Wednesday night.
Michael Mania – Massachusetts-Dartmouth – scored a hat trick to lead the Corsairs to a 9-2 win over Framingham State on Saturday.
Bonus Biscuits
Shane Murphy – Utica – scored a hat trick in Friday’s 7-0 win over Nazareth on Friday and finished the weekend with four goals and three assists.
Mavrick Goyer – Hobart – recorded his sixth shutout of the season making 15 saves in Hobart’s 5-0 win over Elmira on Saturday.
Jack Engdahl – Post – scored the overtime winning goal with less than five seconds remaining in the extra session to give Post a 3-2 win over St. Anselm on Friday.
There are teams that are displaying their high-level game on the big stage as Hobart, Utica, Norwich, Plymouth State, Stevenson, Endicott, Trinity, and Curry did this weekend while other teams are trying to build momentum in the few remaining weeks of the regular season. The calendar is already turning to February so now is the time to be consistently good to make a run for a conference title and who knows what else down the road.
Tommy Scarfone goes to block a potential shot from Bentley with the help of his teammates against Bentley last Friday at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, N.Y. (photo: Mikaela Engstrom/RIT Sports Network).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. No. 2 BC sweeps No. 1 BU
I mean, where else were we going to start?
Boston College is certain to be the new top team in the country this week, after sweeping incumbent No. 1 Boston University last weekend in a home-and-home series.
Second-period goals from Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault were enough in BC’s 4-1 home win Friday at a sold-out Conte Forum, and after BU dug out of an early 2-0 hole Saturday at Agganis Arena, BC’s Cutter Gauthier scored the eventual game-winner late in the second period of a 4-2 Eagles victory.
BC’s six-point weekend means that the Eagles and BU sit tied atop the Hockey East standings. Even better if maroon’s more your color, BC sits first in the PairWise Rankings, with BU third.
2. North Dakota claims sole possession of first place in NCHC
No. 5 North Dakota entered last weekend tied on points with St. Cloud State at the top of the NCHC standings, but the Fighting Hawks are now all alone there after a home sweep of No. 4 Denver.
Two-point performances from both Jackson Blake and Cameron Berg helped North Dakota to a 5-2 win Friday. Ben Strinden, Dylan James and Griffin Ness also scored a goal apiece, and Blake extended his recent point streak to seven games.
Blake then picked up two assists in UND’s 4-2 win Saturday. Power-play goals 45 seconds apart from Owen McLaughlin and Riese Gaber in the third period put the Hawks over the top, after Denver’s Sean Behrens was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for a high hit on Strinden.
UND now sits four points ahead of St. Cloud in the NCHC standings. More on the Huskies later.
3. Quinnipiac defends CT Ice title
Seventh-ranked Quinnipiac won its third-consecutive CT Ice tournament title last weekend, beating local rival Yale as well as Connecticut at the XL Center in Hartford.
Mason Marcellus’s first-period goal was the difference Friday as Quinnipiac beat Yale 1-0, with Vinny Duplessis pitching a 14-save shutout. On Saturday, the Bobcats erased a 3-1 deficit to beat UConn 4-3. Second-period goals 54 seconds apart from Victor Czerneckianair and Travis Treloar tied the game, before Zach Tupker buried the eventual game-winner 28 seconds into the third.
Quinnipiac has won the CT Ice championship in three of the four years that the event has taken place. The Bobcats won in 2022 in Bridgeport and again last season on their home ice in Hamden. UConn has been the first runner-up each of the last three years.
4. Wisconsin, Michigan share spoils
Third-ranked Wisconsin was made to claw back for a road split against No. 14 Michigan, after the host Wolverines posted a 5-1 win Friday.
Two Frank Nazar goals and one apiece from three Michigan teammates saw the Wolverines win comfortably Friday. Winnipeg Jets draft pick Rutger McGroarty’s two assists gave him a fifth-consecutive multi-point game, and Dylan Duke’s two points extended his active point streak to 11.
Duke would make it 12 with two goals in Saturday’s rematch, but Wisconsin won 6-5 in overtime on Christian Fitzgerald’s goal 57 seconds into the extra period. The Badgers had trailed four times in that game, which had included a seven-goal first period.
5. Michigan State, Minnesota split, too
There was another weekend split last weekend between ranked Big Ten teams, as No. 8 Michigan State and ninth-ranked Minnesota both picked up a win at MSU’s Munn Ice Arena.
Daniel Russell’s goal with four seconds left saw Michigan State cap a comeback from two goals down Friday at the second intermission. The Spartans’ victory that night saw them end a 16-game winless streak against Minnesota.
But they might be in danger of starting another slide now against the Golden Gophers. Oliver Moore’s two goals and three points, plus 24 saves from Justen Close, helped Minnesota to a 5-1 win Saturday. Moore is now on a seven-game point streak.
6. CC sweeps Western Michigan
Sixteenth-ranked Colorado College did itself some favors last weekend, picking up a pair of 2-1 overtime wins at No. 12 Western Michigan.
Continuing on the theme, Noah Laba scored the winners both nights, and now has four overtime game-winners this season. He bagged Friday’s winner just 16 seconds into the extra period, then scored Saturday’s winner with 2:03 left. This secured CC’s sixth sweep of the season, the Tigers’ most in a single campaign since 2007-08.
CC has now won five straight, while Western Michigan has lost three of its last four games.
7. Providence takes 2 against Lowell
Tenth-ranked Providence has now won four of its last five games, after the Friars took two last weekend in a home-and-home set with unranked UMass Lowell.
Providence sophomore Bennett Schimek’s two goals and career-high four points Friday helped the Friars cruise to a 7-2 road win. Four goals over the last 11:38 of the first period saw the Friars lead 4-0 after 20 minutes. Schimek’s goals came 3:04 apart to open the scoring.
The Friars then erased a 3-1 deficit Saturday on their home ice to win 4-3 in overtime. Austen May scored in the extra period, giving Providence its 1,100th win all-time.
8. St. Cloud struggles with unranked Omaha
No. 15 St. Cloud State couldn’t quite get over the hump either night at home to unranked Omaha, falling 7-6 in overtime Friday before skating to a 1-1 tie Saturday.
Two Jack Randl goals helped get UNO to overtime Friday before Griffin Ludtke set up his brother Tanner for the overtime winner. On Saturday, Matt Miller erased the Mavericks’ first-period deficit before UNO’s Ty Mueller scored the only goal in a three-round shootout.
Seth Eisele’s 31 saves saw the UNO goaltender improve to 4-1 on the season. St. Cloud finished its January slate without a single regulation win.
9. Minnesota State climbs into first-place tie in CCHA
A win and a tie last weekend at home to Northern Michigan saw Minnesota State draw level on points with idle St. Thomas at the top of the CCHA standings.
Lucas Sowder’s goal 8:56 into Friday’s third period saw Minnesota State erase a 2-1 second-intermission deficit, but Northern would go on to take an overtime shootout. Saturday’s rematch was a different story, as 10 different players recorded a point and Alex Tracy made 18 saves in the MSU sophomore’s third career shutout, a 4-0 win.
The Mavericks and St. Thomas, both with 30 points in the league standings, meet this week in a home-and-home series.
10. RIT moves 3 points clear in Atlantic Hockey standings
No. 19 RIT used two home wins last weekend against Bentley to bump the Tigers’ winning streak to four games, while also putting them three points clear of Sacred Heart at the top of Atlantic Hockey with a game in hand.
Tommy Scarfone’s 19 saves Friday gave RIT a 3-0 win. It was his 44th victory with the Tigers, setting a new record for wins during RIT’s Division I era.
RIT graduate student forward Elijah Gonsalves then scored the game-winning goal 1:15 into overtime in Saturday’s 2-1 victory. Gonsalves had set up Aiden Hansen-Bukata’s game-tying goal with 41.6 left in regulation.
The Tigers are now 2-3-1 in overtime this season, after earning their first overtime win since Oct. 27 against Holy Cross.
Quinnipiac players celebrate their third straight CT Ice title (photo: Rob Rasmussen/P8Photos.com).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll of Jan. 22 fared in games over the weekend of Jan. 26-27.
No. 1 Boston University (16-6-1)
01/26/2024 – No. 1 Boston University 1 at No. 2 Boston College 4
01/27/2024 – No. 2 Boston College 4 at No. 1 Boston University 3
No. 2 Boston College (18-4-1)
01/26/2024 – No. 1 Boston University 1 at No. 2 Boston College 4
01/27/2024 – No. 2 Boston College 4 at No. 1 Boston University 3
No. 12 Western Michigan (15-8-1)
01/26/2024 – No. 16 Colorado College 2 at No. 12 Western Michigan 1 (OT)
01/27/2024 – No. 16 Colorado College 2 at No. 12 Western Michigan 1 (OT)
No. 15 St. Cloud State (11-8-5)
01/26/2024 – RV Omaha 7 at No. 15 St. Cloud State 6 (OT)
01/27/2024 – RV Omaha 1 at No. 15 St. Cloud State 1 (OT)
No. 16 Colorado College (15-8-1)
01/26/2024 – No. 16 Colorado College 2 at No. 12 Western Michigan 1 (OT)
01/27/2024 – No. 16 Colorado College 2 at No. 12 Western Michigan 1 (OT)
No. 17 New Hampshire (13-8-1)
01/26/2024 – No. 17 New Hampshire 1 at Vermont 2
01/27/2024 – No. 17 New Hampshire 6 at Vermont 3
No. 18 Arizona State (17-6-5)
Did not play.
No. 19 RIT (17-8-1)
01/26/2024 – Bentley 0 at No. 19 RIT 3
01/27/2024 – Bentley 1 at No. 19 RIT 2 (OT)
No. 2 Boston College ascends to the top of the PairWise on Saturday after a 4-3 win at No. 1 Boston University, completing the weekend sweep of its crosstown rivals (Photo: Brody Hannon/BC Athletics)
No. 2 Boston College entered this weekend against rival and No. 1 Boston University understandings that two losses could take the Eagles out of the Hockey East regular season race.
Instead, though, BC added to last night’s 4-1 victory with a 4-3 win at a sold out Agganis Arena to complete the two-game sweep of the Terriers. The two teams now sit atop Hockey East, tied with 34 points apiece and Boston College ascends to the top team in the USCHO PairWise Rankings.
The Eagles never trailed for a single minute the entire weekend, jumping to a 2-0 lead on Saturday on a power play goal by Gabe Perrault and another marker as a penalty expired by Lukas Gustafson.
It was a similar 2-0 hole that BU found itself in on Friday, but on Saturday, the Terriers clawed their way back.
A late power play tally in the first by Shane Lachance pulled BU within a goal and Sam Stevens knotted the game early in the second.
Despite a territorial advantage in the middle frame for BU, Boston College reclaimed the lead when Cutter Gauthier found space, scoring with 5:48 remaining.
BC extended the lead on a Will Smith goal at 13:45 of the third. And despite Macklin Celebrini scoring with the goaltender pulled late, the Eagles withstood the late pressure to walk away with six league points.
Fowler makes the save on one end and Smith finishes on the other.
The Fighting Hawks overcame deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, scoring the game’s final three goals – two in a span of 45 seconds in the third period – to complete a two-game sweep of Denver, 4-2.
North Dakota now holds a four-point lead in the NCHC standings over St. Cloud State and a nine-point advantage over both Colorado College and Denver.
Jared Wright scored early for the Pioneers, just 1:48 into regulation. Cameron Berg tied things for host North Dakota at 13:20 of the first.
After Sam Harris help Denver retake the lead at 7:17 of the second, Jackson Kunz had the equalizer at 13:25 to send the game to the third deadlocked at 2.
But an explosive minutes for the hosts in the third sealed the victory. Owen McLaughlin scored at 12:01 and Riese Gaber just 45 second later.
Quinnipiac overcame a 3-1 deficit scoring the game’s final three goals, including Zach Tucker’s game-winner 28 seconds into the third period as the Bobcats defender their title at the CT Ice tournament, 4-3 over Connecticut.
The game featured just two penalties, one per side, which meant 5-on-5 play had to be strong. UConn jumped to a two-goal lead on goals by Harrison Rees, Chase Bradley and Matthew Wood. But Quinnipiac had a response past the midway point of the game.
Victor Czerneckianair’s goal at 13:03 brought the Bobcats within one before Travis Treloar tied things just 54 seconds later.
Quinnipiac goaltender Vinny Duplessis earned the victory making 28 saves on the night.
No. 3 Wisconsin 6, No. 14 Michigan 5 (F/OT)
The third-ranked Badgers avoided a lost weekend on Saturday, scoring the three of the game’s final four goals, including Christian Fitzgerald’s overtime game-winner 57 seconds into the extra frame to give Wisconsin a 6-5 win and weekend split with Michigan.
Minnesota Duluth’s Forrest Karr will become just the second executive director of the AHCA later this year (photo: Minnesota Duluth Athletics).
Minnesota Duluth athletic director Forrest Karr is set to become the next executive director of the American Hockey Coaches Association.
Karr has been chosen to succeed Joe Bertagna, the AHCA’s first and only executive director, who ends his 32-year tenure on June 30. Karr, who is in his 19th year overall as a director of athletics at an NCAA member school, will retain his position at UMD. The hiring was approved by the AHCA active membership.
“Forrest is uniquely qualified for this position,” said AHCA president Grant Potulny, also the head coach at Northern Michigan, in a statement. “As a former college hockey player and former Division I coach, he has intimate knowledge of our sport. Forrest has been an athletic director at hockey playing universities for nearly 20 years and in the interview process, he impressed our committee with his passion for our sport. Over the next year, Forrest will work directly with Joe Bertagna to learn the executive director position and will be in a fantastic position to lead our body in the future.
“We could not be more excited with the process of Forrest becoming our next executive director.”
Bertagna will stay on in a new role as AHCA media relations director and assist Karr in the transition. In this capacity, Bertagna will serve as AHCA historian and continue to edit the AHCA newsletter “Stops & Starts.”
“I am honored to have been selected to serve as AHCA executive director and look forward to working alongside the AHCA board of governors, staff, and the entire AHCA membership to pay tribute to the past and help shape the future of American hockey,” said Karr. “As the landscape of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve, it will be very important for coaches to have a unified voice in promoting and protecting the sport. I would like to thank Chancellor McMillan for encouraging me to pursue this passion, the AHCA board of governors and secretary-treasurer Brett Petersen for leading the search process, and Joe Bertagna for helping with this transition and decades of service on behalf of coaches and athletes throughout the country.”
In addition to his work as an AD, Karr has also served in a variety of conference leadership positions. From 2020-22, he chaired the CCHA Management Council and led writing the CCHA Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. From 2016 to 2018, he co-chaired a WCHA men’s league and women’s league joint committee that developed a new governance structure for the association and rewrote the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. From 2013 to 2017, Karr served on the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. As committee chair from 2015 to 2017, Karr led some of the most important health care initiatives in the association’s history, including successful efforts to develop, propose and advocate for the adoption of Independent Medical Care legislation, which was passed by Division I in 2016 and Divisions II and III in 2017, and established the Athletics Health Care Administrator designation. In addition, Karr chaired the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee from 2008 to 2010 after serving on the committee from 2006 to 2008.
Since 2008, Karr has been teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses, including Business Law, Cyber Law, Managing Employment Relations, and the Intersection of Sports, Antitrust, and Labor and Employment Law, among others. He has also taught as a visiting faculty member for the prestigious Sports Management Institute executive education program.
Prior to taking the helm at UMD in Aug. 2022, Karr previously served as director of athletics at Northern Michigan. During his tenure, 272 student-athlete earned All-America and honorary All-America honors and five individual NCAA championships. Prior to NMU, Karr served as director of athletics for the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Nanook student-athletes won three team NCAA championships and three individual NCAA championships.
Karr previously clerked for the NCAA Office of Legal Affairs under current senior vice president and general counsel Scott Bearby, and also clerked at Garvey & Stoddard, S.C. under former National Football League Players Association executive director Ed Garvey.
“I have known Forrest Karr since his playing days at Notre Dame and I am so happy to be able to pass the AHCA torch over to him,” said Bertagna. “The board did a great job in landing Forrest, and I look forward to helping him as he adds this position to his impressive resume. And, I have to add, it’s great that the job is remaining in the hands of a former goaltender.”
Karr is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the American Bar Association and the Sports Lawyers Association. He is also a graduate of the Sports Management Institute’s executive education program.
Karr played hockey at Notre Dame and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Business Economics from the Mendoza College of Business along with a concentration in Peace Studies from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He earned the team’s most valuable player honor as a senior and was named a member of the Academic All-America second team.
After his collegiate career, Karr played one year of minor league professional hockey in the ECHL and then coached with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and Wisconsin women’s hockey team. Karr is a certified Level 5 coach through USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program and previously served as a youth coach in Marquette, Mich.
Karr will start his new role with the AHCA on July 1, 2024.
