Boston University is up one to No. 4 and Quinnipiac is down two to sit fifth this week.
Wisconsin remains sixth, Minnesota rises one to No. 7, flip-flopping with Michigan State, while Providence stays at No. 9, and UMass is up one to No. 10 in this week’s poll.
Maine falls out of the top 10, sitting 11th this week.
Previously unranked Omaha enters 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 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.
Brockport downed No. 10 Salve Regina and then defeated host Skidmore in a shootout to capture the Skidmore Invitational tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Photo by Brockport Athletics)
What a difference one week can make for a team – just look at the Soaring Eagles from Elmira who took down No. 5 Geneseo on Tuesday and then No. 7 Oswego on Friday and No. 3 Utica on Saturday to capture the Utica Thanksgiving tournament and knock the Pioneers from the ranks of the unbeaten. Another group of Eagles from Brockport also knocked off a pair of nationally ranked teams in route to a tournament championship at Skidmore. Lots of other great action and tournament champions crowned over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Here is a recap of the great action in the East:
Utica Thanksgiving Showcase
The tournament featured the host Pioneers along with Elmira, Oswego, and St. John’s from the West. In the first round, the Johnnies battled the host Pioneers to a 1-1 overtime tie behind 52 saves from goaltender Bailey Huber. The outcome now hinged on a shootout where three Utica players found the back of the net and Ethan Roberts stopped to final attempt by the Johnnies to advance the Pioneers to the title game.
In the other first round matchup, the Elmira and Oswego game produced a lot more scoring with the Soaring Eagles putting up seven goals in the comfortable 7-1 win. Chance Gorman scored a hat trick that featured a power play goal, a shorthanded goal, and an even-strength goal.
In the title game on Saturday, neither Utica nor Elmira could score in the opening period, but the second period produced five goals. After Dante Spagnuolo gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead, Kerfalla Toure and Janis Vizbelis scored just 30 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead. After Brian Scoville tied the score at 2-2, Shawn Kennedy scored what proved to be the game winner in the final second of play in the second period for a 3-2 Elmira lead. Bailey Krawczyk and Gorman extended the lead in the third period for a 5-2 win and the tournament title. Kennedy earned MVP honors for the Soaring Eagles.
Skidmore Invitational
The Thoroughbreds hosted Tufts, Salve Regina and Brockport in their annual Thanksgiving tournament and punched their ticket to the championship game with a 3-1 win over the Jumbos on Saturday. Cooper Rice, Jaden York, and Jack Strauss provided all the scoring and Tate Brandon made 20 saves in the win.
In the other first round matchup, the Golden Eagles knocked off No. 10 Salve Regina, 3-2 to advance to the championship game. After falling behind 2-0, Brockport scored three unanswered goals, including Scott Ramaekers game-winner early in the third period. Goaltender David Filak stopped 33 shots in the win.
On Sunday, it was Brockport that jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the unbeaten Thoroughbreds. Skidmore rallied to tie the game on goals from Jaden York and Kaeden Patrick and neither team could find the game-winner in overtime setting up a shootout for the title. The Golden Eagles would score once in the shootout and that was all Filak needed as he stopped all three Skidmore attempts to earn the shootout win and tournament title. Filak stopped 37 of 39 shots as Brockport was outshot by a 39-16 margin for the game but saw their goaltender help steal a pair of wins over ranked teams.
LayerEight Tournament hosted by Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh played host to their usual Thanksgiving weekend opponents in Middlebury and Norwich with St. Olaf joining as the fourth team in the newly sponsored LayerEight Tournament. On Friday, two goals from Bennett Stockdale and 19 saves from Eli Shiller carried the Cardinals to a 2-1 win over the Oles.
Familiar foes Norwich and Middlebury squared off in the other opening round contest with the Cadets routing the Panthers, 7-1. Seven different players scored for Norwich with Devon Thibodeau chipping in with one goal and an assist for the Cadets.
In Saturday’s championship game, Kevin Weaver-Vitale and Tio D’Addario scored for Plattsburgh less than 30 seconds apart to help the Cardinals eke out a 2-1 win over Norwich. Jacob Hearne made 34 saves in the victory that kept Plattsburgh undefeated at 8-0-0 on the season. Forward Bennett Stockdale who setup the game-winner from D’Addario, was named the tournament MVP.
Terry Moran Invitational
Vermont State – Castleton played host to Rivier, Morrisville and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in their annual holiday tournament and took advantage of a first period goal by Anthony Persi and 22 saves from Simon Brenter to capture a 1-0 win over the Trailblazers.
In the other first round matchup, Rivier used a four-goal third period to erase a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 5-2 win over the Mustangs. Tyler Sitnikov scored a pair of goals for the Raiders who advanced to the championship game.
In Saturday’s championship game, the Raiders started fast and dominated the host team scoring seven goals on the way to a 7-1 victory. Liam Hennessy opened the scoring for Rivier and finished the game with two goals and two assists. Damon Kiyawasew, who also had a four-point game earned tournament MVP honors in the first ever tournament win for Rivier.
Bowdoin/Colby Face-off
Bowdoin and Colby played hosts to Suffolk and New England College in their annual Face-off Tournament. On opening night, NEC upset Colby, 2-0 on the strength of two power play goals from Wyatt Andres. Goaltender Kai Tomita made 25 saves to earn the shutout win.
Bowdoin netted three goals and Kevin Clark made 12 saves in the Polar Bear’s 3-0 win over Suffolk that set up Sunday’s game against NEC to decide the tournament championship.
The Polar Bears used goals from Jack Gilligan and Jack Studley along with 20 saves from goaltender Alex Kozic to eke out a 2-1 win over the Pilgrims to earn the tournament title.
North Country Tournament
The tournament was hosted by Canton and featured Hamilton, Potsdam, and Trine from the West. In the opening round, Trine downed the host Kangaroos 6-4 while Hamilton skated past Potsdam, 3-1 to setup the title game on Sunday.
Goaltender Jack Grant made 37 saves while four different Continentals scored to help Hamilton to a 4-0 win over the nationally ranked Thunder. Noah Leibl, Jackson Krock, Ryan Brown, and Luke Tchor provided all the scoring for the Continentals who have opened the season with four consecutive victories. Grant earned tournament MVP honors for Hamilton with the shutout win.
Non-Conference
Curry faced a pair of NESCAC schools and came away with a pair of wins over Wesleyan and Trinity. Against the Cardinals, Jacob Crespo, Ryan Prewitt, and Austan Bellefeuille scored all the goals goaltender Shande Soderwall needed in a 3-0 win for the Colonels. Soderwall stopped all 33 shots he faced to earn the shutout win. On Sunday, the Colonels rallied from one-goal deficits twice and Nicolas Lariviere delivered the overtime winning goal to help Curry skate past Trinity, 3-2.
Geneseo rallied back from its Tuesday loss against Elmira with a pair of weekend victories over Amherst and Williams. On Saturday, the Knights scored three unanswered goals to erase a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 4-2 win over the Mammoths. Cooper Fensterstock scored two goals for the Knights in the win. On Sunday, a four-goal third period broke open a high-scoring affair against the Ephs in an 8-3 win. Tyson Gilmour and Peter Morgan each scored a goal and added two assists to move Geneseo to 9-2 on the season.
Albertus Magnus moved to 5-3-0 on the season with a pair of wins during the week. On Tuesday, the Falcons needed Paden Hicks’ goal in the final minute of regulation to earn a 3-2 win over Manhattanville. Zane Kindrachuk and Caden Pattison each scored one goal and one assist as the Falcons raced to an early 4-0 lead before downing Connecticut College, 4-2.
Saturday saw a matchup between instate rivals Southern Maine and the University of New England. Jayden Price’s shorthanded goal setup by Jack Murphy late in the third period added some cushion in the Nor’easters 3-1 win over the Huskies.
Wilkes took a pair of games from King’s during the week to improve their record to 6-3-0 on the season. On Wednesday, Nick Swain’s hat trick paced the Colonels to a 6-2 win over the Monarchs. On Sunday, Swain added two more goals and Michael Paterson-Jones made 29 saves in a 5-0 win on home ice.
Three Biscuits
Chance Gorman – Elmira – scored a hat trick featuring even-strength, power play and shorthanded goals to pace the Soaring Eagles to a 7-1 win over Oswego in the opening round of the Utica Thanksgiving tournament.
Jack Grant – Hamilton – stopped all 37 shots in backstopping the Continentals to the championship in the North Country Tournament. Hamilton downed Trine 4-0 to earn the title.
Liam Hennessy – Rivier – scored a pair of goals and added a pair of assists in Rivier’s 7-1 win over Castleton to earn the title in the Terry Moran Invitational tournament. The championship was Rivier’s first ever as a D-III program.
December is looming ahead and that means there are just a couple more weekends of action in the first half of the season. Just a couple of unbeatens remain in the east but still more challenges before the semester break for teams to set the tone for the second half.
Parker Gnos and the Johnnies knocked off nationally ranked Oswego over the weekend.
Parker Gnos is only a freshman. But that didn’t matter Saturday at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica.
Gnos came through the biggest goal of his collegiate career so far, scoring with a little over 11 minutes remaining to put the Johnnies up for good in their battle with No. 8 Oswego.
Matt DeRosa added an empty-netter with 43 seconds to go to seal the deal on a 4-2 win over the Lakers. That goal by DeRosa was his third of the season and the 10th of his career.
Gnos was one of three rookies to find the back of the net. Jackson Bisson and Jack Wandmacher also punched in goals as the Johnnies won their third game of the year and improved to 3-5-1.
Jon Howe started in goal and made 29 saves for his second win of the year and helped the Johnnies end a three-game winless streak.
One night earlier, Saint John’s was on the brink of opening the weekend with a win, giving third-ranked Utica all it could handle in a 1-1 tie.
Bailey Huber was the hero of the night in that one, stopping a career-best 52 shots. The Johnnies managed only 21 shots in the game but were 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Max Borst scored the lone goal for the Johnnies.
Here’s a look at some of the other games from Thanksgiving weekend.
Oles fare well out East
St. Olaf didn’t come away with a win in its trip out East this weekend but the Oles did compete hard.
It nearly upset the No. 1 team in the nation on Friday, losing 2-1 to Plattsburgh, and then came away with a 2-2 tie against Middlebury on Saturday.
St. Olaf and Middlebury were playing for the first time ever and the Oles held a 37-24 advantage in shots. Michael Webster and Ben Luscko both scored.
The Oles trailed 2-0 after two periods against Plattsburgh before Tyler Cooper scored with under two minutes to play in regulation. They nearly tied the game in the final seconds as Jonathan Young took a shot attempt that would have force overtime.
St. Olaf was up against a No. 1 team for the fifth time since 2008 and was playing its first against a top-ranked team since 2019 when they lost 8-2 to UW-Stevens Point. Lukas Haugen made 29 saves.
Royals hold off Aurora
Bethel struck for two short-handed goals to carry itself to a 4-2 win over Aurora Sunday on the road.
Tyler Kostelecky scored the first short-handed goal at the 14:02 mark of the third and Luke Posner scored in similar fashion 27 seconds later to help the Royals pull in front 4-2.
Travis Allen took care of the rest in goal as Bethel bounced back from Saturday’s loss to MSOE and improved to 6-2-2 on the season. The Royals are now 2-2 on the road this season after snapping a two-game losing streak
Raiders roll
It was a pretty good weekend for MSOE. The Raiders edged Buffalo State 4-3 in overtime on Friday and then beat Bethel 4-1 on Saturday.
In the win over the Bengals, four different players scored, with Jackson Yee tying the game at 3-3 late in the third to force overtime. Carson Jones then came through with the game winner to lift MSOE to its fifth win of the season.
The Raiders didn’t have as much trouble on Saturday as Jones got things rolling with a goal in the opening two minutes of action.
It was tied at 1-1 after one before MSOE took control. Preston Park put the Raiders on top for good. Austin Schwab performed well in goal, stopping 26 shots as the Raiders improved to 6-3-1 on the season and close out their November schedule on a four-game winning streak.
Green Knights earn split with Blugolds
St. Norbert is playing well right now. The Green Knights had won five of their last six heading into a weekend series with UW-Eau Claire, the No. 7 team in the nation, and they opened the series with a 2-0 win.
Part of their success is attributed to special teams play as the Green Knights killed off six power-play attempts by the Blugolds.
Dayton Deics and Liam Fraser both scored goals for St. Norbert, which improved to 7-3 win with the win. Logan Dombrowsky assisted on both goals.
Hunter Garvey was impressive between the pipes, stopping 28 shots for his second shutout of the year and helping St. Norbert improve to 4-0 at home.
Max Gutjahr stopped 26 shots for UW-Eau Claire.
Saturday’s game on the road ended with a 5-3 loss to the Blugolds.
UW-Eau Claire led 4-2 after two periods and held St. Norbert to an 0-for-7 showing on the power play. The Blugolds converted on one of their five opportunities but were outshot 29-24 overall.
Garvey made 19 saves for UW-Eau Claire. Gutjahr came through with 26 saves.
Tyler Herzberg and Trenten Heyde each tallied two goals to lead the Blugolds.
A hat trick for Welsch
Trine’s Drew Welsch came through with the seventh hat trick in program history Friday as Trine defeated SUNY Canton 6-4 Saturday in the opening round of the North County Tournament.
Welsch also added an assist to his stat line. He came through with the game-winning goal at the 18:21 mark of the third and added an empty-netter 30 seconds later to help seal the deal.
Chase McCardle, Jackson Clark and Jack Cooper also scored for the Thunder while Trey Miller made 31 saes.
Trine lost 4-0 in the finale of the tournament on Sunday. Kyle Kozma made 14 saves but only allowed two of the goals as the other two were scored in empty net situations.
Thrilling finish for Bulldogs
Adrian scored twice in the third period against Stevenson Saturday, with Bradley Somer scoring the game winner with four seconds to play as the Bulldogs held on for a 3-2 win.
Ryan Pitocia finished with two goals to pace the offense and Dershahn Stewart tallied 14 saves.
Fourth-ranked Adrian improves to 6-2-1 on the year.
Big day for Boschert
UW-Superior won its fourth in a row Saturday with a 4-1 win over Northland in WIAC play. Goaltender Jack Boschert allowed an early goal as the Yellowjackets fell behind 1-0 but he went on to make 24 saves for his fourth win of the year. He stopped a total of 49 shots in the two games against Northland.
UW-Superior is now 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the WIAC. It won by a 4-1 score on Friday against Northland as well.
The Ohio State Buckeyes made another statement this weekend as they absolutely shut down the number two team in the ECAC. The Saints were completely unable to get anything going as OSU outshot them 41-15 and 41-9 in the two games. On Friday, Makenna Webster and Jocelyn Amos each had two goals and an assist, Kelsey King had two goals and Stephanie Markowski, Kenzie Hauswirth and Hadley Hartmetz each had three assists to lead Ohio State to an 11-0 win. Sixteen of OSU’s 18 skaters showed up on the scoresheet and the team set a new program record for goals in a game. Saturday’s game was closer in score, but the Buckeyes held SLU to just two power play shots in the first period. Joy Dunne’s goal late in the frame made it 1-0 Ohio State. Abby Hustler scored an equalizer on the power play in the second to make it 1-1. But OSU pulled away in the third. Amos scored a shorthander in the first minute of the period. Jenn Gardiner added a power play goal a few minutes later and Webster and Jenna Buglioni each scored to make it a 5-1 win.
(2) Colgate at (9) Minnesota Duluth
Sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod made 29 saves for UMD and earned her first shutout against a ranked opponent on Friday to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 win. After a back and forth first period, Clara Van Wieren put Minnesota Duluth up 1-0 in the opening minutes of the second. Danielle Burgen got a feed from Olivia Wallin to double the lead later in the period. Reece Hunt gathered a puck off the boards to score in the third and secure the win. MacLeod got the nod in net for Saturday and delivered another standout performance, making 37 saves and falling just shy of a shut out weekend – Colgate scored in the final minute of regulation. The Raiders outshot UMD 38-21 as they tried to push back in the second game. The Bulldogs got on the board early in the second when a Jenna Lawry shot hit the crossbar and popped out to Grace Sadura, who did not miss the second-chance opportunity. UMD looked to be on their way to the weekend sweep, but Colgate pulled their goalie on a penalty kill, put on the pressure and Ally Simpson found the tying goal with 42 seconds left on the clock. Overtime could not decide a winner and it ended 1-1.
(4) Minnesota vs. Harvard
The Gophers outshot Harvard 44-12 in Washington DC on Friday and skated away with a 3-1 win. Ella Huber’s goal in the first put Minnesota up 1-0. Gwynn Lapp scored on the power play at the midpoint of the second to tie the game 1-1. Ava Lindsay scored an extra-attacker goal of her own late in the middle frame to put the Gophers back on top 2-1. Redshirt junior Abbey Murphy continued her scoring tear, netting her 50th goal in just her 71st game played to close out the 3-1 win.
(4) Minnesota vs. (8) Cornell
Minnesota showed they aren’t a team to overlook with a convincing win over Cornell on Saturday. The Gophers outshot the Big Red 32-13. Abbey Murphy is now tied for the national lead with 15 goals thanks to the two she netted in this game. The Wethington sisters had Minnesota up 2-0 after one – Madeline opened the scoring and Audrey added a shorthander. Murphy scored in the second before Cornell ended the shutout bid with a goal from Katie Chan. But Murphy struck again in the opening minute of the third to push the lead to 4-1 and Madison Kaiser scored a few minutes later to secure the 5-1 win.
(5) Clarkson vs. Syracuse (home and home)
These two upstate New York colleges played a split series, with one game on Tuesday and another on Saturday. Syracuse hosted first and took advantage of being at home to hit the ice with momentum. The Orange took a 1-0 lead into the first break thanks to a power play goal from Tatum White. Clarkson seemed to shake out of it in the second, holding Syracuse to just one shot on goal. It took half the frame, but the Golden Knights broke through with a power play goal from Anne Cherkowski at the game’s midpoint. Alexie Guay and Jenna Goodwin scored just more than a minute apart in the final minutes of the second to help Clarkson pull away and make it 3-1. Brooke McQuigge’s goal in the opening minute of the third put the end to any comeback vibes and the Golden Knights took a 4-1 win. On Saturday, Clarkson hosted and used four third-period goals to earn themselves a 5-0 win and sweep. Cherkowski had two extra-attacker goals, McQuigge added a power play tally and Rebecca Morissette and Laurence Frenette each lit the lamp in the win.
Northeastern vs. (14) Boston College
These two Boston schools traveled out to Gloucester, MA for a special game on Saturday. Peyton Anderson scored the lone goal in the first to give Northeastern a 1-0 lead. Sidney Fess’ power play goal evened the score midway through the game. In the final frame, Taze Thompson scored what would prove to be the game-winner and Skylar Irving added an empty-net goal to give the Huskies a 3-1 win.
Northeastern at (15) Vermont
Natálie Mlýnková put the Catamounts up 1-0 early, taking advantage of a Northeastern turnover and scoring on the breakaway 68 seconds into the game on a fake shot and backhander. Northeastern responded in the second with a backhanded goal of their own as Allie Lalonde made it 1-1. Brooke George set up Alaina Tanski on a breakaway and she scored five hole to make it 2-1 Vermont. Just before the second intermission, a power play gave Peyton Anderson the opportunity to go bar down to tie the game 2-2. The Catamounts put the pressure on in the second and found the game winner from Rose-Marie Brochu to life Vermont to a 3-2 win.
Nutmeg Classic
(7) Quinnipiac vs. (11) Connecticut
Julia Nearis’ wicked wrister had the Bobcats up 1-0 after the first. Midway through the second, UConn scored twice in a minute to go up 2-1. Claire Peterson and Camryn Wong each lit the lamp for the Huskies. However, Quinnipiac quickly countered when Kendall Cooper’s shot deflected into the net off a UConn stick. Nearis broke out her wrister again in the third to make it 3-2 and Nina Steigauf scored a few minutes later to put the game out of reach of Connecticut as Quinnipiac took a 4-2 win.
(7) Quinnipiac vs. (13) Yale
In the final of this battle for Connecticut state supremacy, Yale outshot Quinnipiac 36-28, but Logan Angers was perfect in net and the Bobcats earned their fourth straight Nutmeg Classic trophy. Kate Reilly, Kendall Cooper and Nina Steigauf each scored in the 3-0 win.
Sacred Heart vs. (11) Connecticut
Jillian Petruno made a career-high 53 saves, but the Huskies overwhelmed Sacred Heart, outshooting them 56-5 to take a 3-1 win in the consolation game of the Nutmeg Classic. Jada Habisch’s shot late in the first trickled past Petruno to put UConn up 1-0. In the second, Paige McNeil’s wrister tied the game 1-1 early, but Habisch struck on the power play to make it 2-1 and a minute later Brooke Campbell made it 3-1. Sacred Heart could not push back in the third and Connecticut took the 3-1 win.
Sacred Heart vs. (13) Yale
Gracie Gilkyson had a goal and five assists, Stephanie Stainton had two goals and three assists and Cara DiAntonio had two goals and an assist to lead Yale in an 11-0 win.
Michigan Tech players celebrate a goal during the Huskies’ sweep at Minnesota State over the weekend (photo: Michigan Tech Athletics).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. No. 1 North Dakota holds serve
Five teams have been No. 1 in the USCHO men’s Division I ice hockey poll this season. North Dakota joined Boston College as the only programs this campaign to get a weekend sweep after rising to the top spot.
The Fighting Hawks needed overtime to get it done on Friday, downing visiting Bemidji 3-2 at home on a goal by Jackson Blake. North Dakota took down the Beavers in emphatic fashion Saturday, blowing open what was a 2-0 lead with three goals in a 4:23 span of the third period.
Friday’s OT win caused a bit of controversy on social media as a still frame capture of the Midco broadcast appeared to show that North Dakota’s Garrett Pyke entered the zone early, an opinion shared by the North Dakota television commentators. A video review would have required a coach’s challenge, but Bemidji did not contest the play.
2. Well-traveled Boston College takes two
Boston College won both road games over the holiday weekend — with 1,600 round-trip air miles between them.
Friday saw the No. 2 Eagles trounce No. 18 Notre Dame, 6-1, in South Bend. BC reeled off six goals before Landon Slaggart spoiled Jacob Fowler’s bid for a shutout with 1:35 left in the game.
Harvard hosted Boston College on Sunday with the visitors reeling off three goals in the third period for the 4-1 win.
Ryan Leonard scored twice in each contest, giving the freshman a total of nine goals and seven assists on the season. Fowler, who turned 19 on Friday, had a 0.963 save percentage and 1.00 goals against average on the weekend.
3. No. 4 Denver blows out Yale
Denver goaltender Freddie Halyk recorded a pair of shutouts on the weekend, bringing his season total to three, as DU stomped on visiting Yale 5-0 Friday and 9-0 on Saturday.
Four different Pioneers tallied three or more points in Saturday’s game.
“I think it was a good weekend from everyone throughout the whole lineup,” said junior forward Massimo Rizzo. “Good for a lot of guys to get on the scoresheet and build confidence and do the right things heading into next weekend.”
That opponent next weekend? No. 1 North Dakota visits Magness Arena for a pair of NCHC contests.
4. Cornell keeps the Kelley-Harkness cup for another two years
Junior goaltender Ian Shane made a season-high 35 saves for No. 16 Cornell in the Big Red’s 2-1 win over No. 5 Boston University in front of 15,289 at Madison Square Garden. It was Cornell’s fourth consecutive victory in the biennial Red Hot Hockey game.
Junior Ondrej Psenicka scored the game-winning goal for Cornell. Boston University’s top scorers, freshman forward Macklin Celebrini and sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson, were both held scoreless for only the second time this season.
The victory snapped a four-game winless streak for the Big Red.
5. No. 8 Minnesota splits Big Ten points with No. 7 Michigan State
Minnesota’s Jimmy Clark got the game-winning goal with 1:02 left Sunday as the Golden Gophers ended Michigan State’s seven-game unbeaten streak. 6-5. The two teams combined for 42 penalty minutes and 87 shots.
Gopher goalie Justen Close made a career-high 41 saves in the contest.
Michigan State’s Joey Larson sent the game to overtime with an extra-attacker goal with about 18 seconds remaining.
Friday saw the two teams skate to a 3-3 tie with the Spartans taking the extra Big Ten point in the shootout. That game marked a career-best 44 saves for Spartans netminder Trey Augustine.
Each team picked up three conference points on the weekend.
Michigan State remains in first place in the Big Ten with 19 points. Wisconsin and Notre Dame trail with 12 points each, but have two games in hand.
6. First-ever sweep for Michigan Tech at Mankato
Michigan Tech beat Minnesota State on the road Friday and Saturday by identical 3-2 scores for the Huskies’ first-ever sweep of the Mavericks on the road.
Michigan Tech improved to 6-6-3 overall and 4-2-0 in CCHA play.
“It was a great job by the guys grinding that one out,” Michigan Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. “Mankato gave a couple of good pushes, and we actually pushed back. We’ve taken points in five of six in league play. I really like this group, and we’re going to keep growing and getting better.”
The Huskies are tied for third in points in the CCHA standings with 12 and trail first-place St. Thomas by three points, but with two games in hand.
7. A great Friday and still a good weekend out of conference for Atlantic Hockey
Atlantic Hockey went 6-1 on Friday in out-of-conference games and ended the weekend 7-5 in non-league play.
Friday saw No. 20 Rochester Institute of Technology down No. 12 New Hampshire, 5-4, and Holy Cross beat up on visting Brown, 6-3. Niagara upended host Colgate 5-2, and Mercyhurst got an overtime victory at Miami, 4-3.
Perhaps the most significant of the wins was Bentley’s 4-1 win over UMass Lowell in the Turkey Leg Classic. Former Lowell assistant Andy Jones took over the Bentley program last June and has the Falcons at 7-8-0 after an 11-21-2 campaign last season.
Army downed Lowell 4-2 on Saturday in their Turkey Leg matchup. The Black Knights are 3-1 in their last four after opening the season 0-8.
RIT, Niagara, and Mercyhurst all dropped the second half of their two-game series.
At .366 out of conference — inlcuding 6-6-0 vs. Hockey East — Atlantic Hockey, as well as CCHA (.368), and ECAC (.364) are below the around .400 mark that has been a benchmark for conferences to get at-large bids. But it’s also on pace to be the best showing for Atlantic Hockey in non-conference play.
8. Last-second heartbreak. Twice.
After the win over No. 12 New Hampshire on Friday, No. 20 RIT was seconds away from a weekend sweep on Saturday.
The Tigers jumped out to a two-goal lead for a second night, but a five-minute major in the first period opened the door for the Wildcats to tie it at 2-2. RIT retook the lead midway through the third after an UNH penalty as freshman Matthew Wilde tipped a shot from Gianfranco Cassaro past Wildcats goalie Jakob Hellsten.
New Hampshire pulled Hellsten with just over two minutes remaining and tied the game with 5.3 seconds left. Stiven Sardinian sent a pass to Ryan Conmy in the slot who one-timed it past RIT goalie Tommy Scarfone.
Both teams had opportunities in overtime, but Conmy’s blocked shot in front of the UNH net allowed him to spring Cy LeClerc on a breakaway for the winning goal with 6.2 seconds left in overtime.
“I loved our heart tonight,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said in his postgame radio interview. “This is a highly-ranked team and you learn some tough lessons. A one-goal lead with under 20 seconds left, under 15, under 10, you’ve got to find a way to finish it off.”
9. Wisconsin drops third straight but turns it around in Gramme’s debut
No. 1 has not been kind to teams this season as we noted already. Wisconsin dropped a pair of games at Michigan State last weekend to drop to No. 6 in the USCHO poll.
Alaska Anchorage made it three straight losses for the Badgers with a 1-0 win on Friday, backstopped by Jared Whale’s 41 saves.
Saturday was a different story as Wisconsin downed the Seawolves 5-0. Freshman William Gramme got the shutout in his debut in the Badgers’ net.
“I wanna make sure to tip my cap to Gramme,” said Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings. “Seeing our guys’ reaction in the locker room for him because I’m not gonna say he works harder than anybody else, but I will say I don’t believe anybody works harder than he does.”
Gramme was elated.
“It was a dream come true; I had some tears in my eyes before I went out. It was just so fun, and I’m so happy; I had my debut going, and I’m so proud of the team and so happy.”
10. Friars and Sun Devils split in the desert
Dylan Jackson’s overtime game-winner gave No. 13 Arizona State a 4-3 win on Friday over visiting No. 9 Providence. Goalie TJ Semptimphelter had 38 saves for the Sun Devils, including three in overtime.
Arizona State is 7-0 at Mullett Arena in overtime games and was 10-1 at home coming into Sunday’s game two.
“It’s a tough place for teams to come in and play,” said ASU coach Greg Powers after Friday’s win. “We wanted to create an incredible home ice advantage and atmosphere and make this a hockey school and we’re well on our way to it. With nights like tonight, we’re getting there.”
Providence got the split on the weekend on Sunday afternoon, 2-1, snapping a three-game losing streak. The Friars have next weekend off before a single game at Boston College on Dec. 9 and the Mayor’s Cup game at Brown on Dec. 30, the only two on the Providence schedule until home-and-home with BC on Jan. 12 and 13.
No. 5 Boston University (9-4-1)
11/22/2023 – No. 3 Quinnipiac 2 at No. 5 Boston University 3
11/25/2023 – No. 16 Cornell 2 vs No. 5 Boston University 1 (Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden)
No. 12 New Hampshire (7-3-1)
11/24/2023 – No. 12 New Hampshire 4 at No. 20 RIT 5
11/25/2023 – No. 12 New Hampshire 4 at No. 20 RIT 3 (OT)
No. 13 Arizona State (10-3-1)
11/24/2023 – No. 9 Providence 3 at No. 13 Arizona State 4 (OT)
11/26/2023 – No. 9 Providence 2 at No. 13 Arizona State 1
No. 14 Michigan (7-6-3)
11/24/2023 – No. 14 Michigan 2 at No. 17 St. Cloud State 0
11/25/2023 – No. 14 Michigan 3 at No. 17 St. Cloud State 3 (OT)
No. 15 Western Michigan (8-3-1)
11/24/2023 – St. Lawrence 1 at No. 15 Western Michigan 5
11/25/2023 – St. Lawrence 0 at No. 15 Western Michigan 4
No. 16 Cornell (5-3-1)
11/25/2023 – No. 16 Cornell 2 vs No. 5 Boston University 1 (Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden)
No. 17 St. Cloud State (8-5-1)
11/24/2023 – No. 14 Michigan 2 at No. 17 St. Cloud State 0
11/25/2023 – No. 14 Michigan 3 at No. 17 St. Cloud State 3 (OT)
No. 18 Notre Dame (7-5-2)
11/24/2023 – No. 2 Boston College 6 at No. 18 Notre Dame 1
No. 19 Penn State (8-4-3)
11/24/2023 – Lindenwood 3 at No. 19 Penn State 9
11/25/2023 – Lindenwood 1 at No. 19 Penn State 7
No. 20 RIT (8-4-0)
11/24/2023 – No. 12 New Hampshire 4 at No. 20 RIT 5
11/25/2023 – No. 12 New Hampshire 4 at No. 20 RIT 3 (OT)
BU’s Macklin Celebrini attempts to skate past Cornell’s Gabriel Seger Saturday night at Madison Square Garden (photo: Matt Woolverton).
Ondrej Psenicka’s goal at 8:24 of the third period stood as the game winner and No. 16 Cornell held on to defeat No. 5 Boston University 2-1 in the Red Hot Hockey game Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Ryan Walsh had tied the game for Cornell at 3:58 of the third period on a Big Red power play.
The Fighting Hawks took the weekend sweep with a 5-0 win over Bemidji State in front of 11,690 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Five different players scored for North Dakota as Jackson Blake went for a goal and an assist, and Dane Montgomery, Garrett Pyke, Ben Strinden and Jackson Kunz added single tallies to back Ludvig Persson’s 29 goals. Persson also recorded an assist in the game.
Bemidji State goalie Gavin Enright finished with 26 saves.
No. 4 Denver 9, Yale 0
Seven players had multi-point games as Denver finished the sweep over Yale with a 9-0 win Saturday night at Magness Arena in Denver.
Massimo Rizzo had a goal and three assists, Zeen Buium four assists, and McKade Webster two goals and an assist for DU to back Freddie Halyk’s 28 stops between the pipes.
Jack Devine added a goal and two assists, Tristan Broz and Aidan Thompson a goal plus a helper each, and Lucas Olvestad notched two assists.
Sam Harris, Rieger Lorenz and Carter King also scored in the lopsided victory.
Denver’s nine goals are its most in a game since winning 10-2 at home versus Minnesota State on Oct. 22, 2011, and it marks the squad’s first back-to-back shutout of a team since posting identical 7-0 scores last season on Jan. 13-14, 2023, against Miami. DU won 5-0 in Friday’s series opener.
For Yale, Nathan Reid and Jack Stark combined to make 26 saves in net.
No. 6 Wisconsin 5, Alaska Anchorage 0
Wisconsin ended its three-game losing streak on Saturday night with a 5-0 shutout win against Alaska Anchorage at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Freshman goaltender William Gramme made his first career NCAA start, posting a 25-save shutout to lead Wisconsin.
The Badgers put up two goals in the first period from William Whitelaw and Ben Dexheimer and three in the second from Whitelaw, Jack Horbach and Charlie Stramel.
For the Seawolves, Joey Lamoreaux registered 31 saves in goal.
No. 14 Michigan 3, No. 17 St. Cloud State 3 (St. Cloud State wins shootout)
Michigan skated to a 3-3 tie with St. Cloud State on Saturday evening from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.
The Wolverines scored the game’s first three goals before the Huskies rallied back to tie the game on Kyler Kupka’s second goal of the game with just nine seconds left in regulation.
ALL TIED UP!! 🚨@SCSUHuskies_MH forces OT in the final seconds
Tyler Duke, Jacob Truscott and Dylan Duke scored for Michigan and Veeti Miettinen posted the other goal for SCSU.
In goal, Dominic Basse made 27 saves for the Huskies, while Jake Barczewski compiled a 36-save effort for Michigan.
No. 12 New Hampshire 4, No. 20 RIT 3 (OT)
Cy LeClerc scored the game winner with just 6.2 seconds left in overtime as New Hampshire defeated Rochester Institute of Technology 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, N.Y.
Ryan Conmy tied the game at 3-3 for UNH with just 5.3 seconds left in regulation.
After the Tigers scored two goals from Elijah Gonsalves and Grady Hobbs to take a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Wildcats responded with two power-play goals from Nick Cafarelli and LeClerc late in the period on a five-minute major.
Matthew Wilde then gave RIT a 3-2 lead at 9:49 of the third period before Conmy tallied the tying goal and LeClerc the winner.
Alaska Anchorage’s Carson Kosobud skates against Wisconsin’s Owen Mehlenbacher in Friday night’s game at the Kohl Center (photo: Jenna Statz).
Alaska Anchorage was outshot 41-21 but scored the only goal of the game to pull off the 1-0 upset at No. 6 Wisconsin Friday night in front of 8,496 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Jared Whale finished with 41 saves for the shutout in the Seawolves net.
“Amazing performance by Jared Whale,” said Anchorage coach Matt Shasby. “Our guys found a way to get a lead going into the third period, and we committed to playing well on the defensive side of the puck to close it out.”
“We can’t change tonight,” added Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings. “We can change what’s going forward and we’ve gotta own what we do on a daily.”
ALASKA ANCHORAGE UPSETS #6 WISCONSIN!!
Jared Whale finishes with 41 saves, and Gunnar VanDamme scores the game-winner. pic.twitter.com/drt555R7Ld
Gunnar VanDamme couldn’t have picked a better time to score his first career goal than the game winner as he beat Wisconsin goalie Kyle McClellan five-hole at 18:26 of the second period.
Alaska Anchorage was scoreless on their two power-play opportunities and held Wisconsin 0 for 6.
McClellan made 20 stops in goal for the Badgers.
The win was the first for Alaska Anchorage over a ranked opponent since it defeated No. 14 Penn State 6-5 on Oct. 27. The Seawolves are 2-1 against the Big Ten this season.
Jackson Blake scored just 50 seconds into overtime to help top-ranked North Dakota battle back from a two-goal deficit and defeat Bemidji State 3-2 in overtime on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND had to rally from an early 2-0 deficit, something it has not needed to do all season, but Cameron Berg struck for a pair of goals in regulation and Blake finished it off with his second OT winner of the season to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to six games.
Ludvig Persson made with 19 saves and the Fighting Hawks held the Beavers to just five shots over the final 20:50 of the game.
For only the second time all season, North Dakota found itself in a 1-0 hole. Kasper Magnussen pounced on a loose puck in the crease just 1:19 into the contest to give the visitors the early advantage before increasing the lead to 2-0 late in the first period on Jackson Jutting’s goal.
Berg then scored just 35 seconds after the Jutting goal to cut the lead to 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Despite a strong second period from the home side, the score remained 2-1 in favor of Bemidji State entering the third, but Berg brought the game level at 2-2 when he sniped a shot over the glove of Gavin Enright at the 5:18 mark of the frame.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock in the regulation period, but Jake Livanavage feathered a pass to Blake on the doorstep to win the game just 50 seconds into overtime to cap the comeback.
Enright finished with 29 saves.
Side note: North Dakota was not called for a penalty in a game for the first time since Feb. 22, 1997 vs. Alaska Anchorage.
No. 2 Boston College 6, No. 18 Notre Dame 1
Ryan Leonard scored twice in the first period and Boston College never looked back, earning a dominant 6-1 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Ind.
Leonard and his rookie linemates Gabe Perreault (goal, two assists) and Will Smith (three assists) combined for eight points on the night. Perreault extended his point streak to 11 games, while Smith and Leonard pushed their streaks to seven games.
Oskar Jellvik posted a multi-point game with a goal and an assist, while Cutter Gauthier and Eamon Powell each registered two assists to give BC six players with multiple points. Andre Gasseau and Drew Fortescue also scored for the Eagles.
Celebrating his 19th birthday on Friday, Jacob Fowler was 1:35 away from securing his second straight shutout. He stopped 29 of the 30 Irish shots he faced, allowing just a late goal to Landon Slaggert.
Notre Dame goalie Ryan Bischel made 33 saves in the loss.
No. 4 Denver 5, Yale 0
Freddie Halyk needed to stop just 13 shots for the win as Denver blanked Yale 5-0 from Magness Arena in Denver.
Jack Devine had two goals and an assist, McKade Webster a goal and two assists, and Mike Matikka and Zeeb Buium each tallied one goal apiece to pace the Pioneers’ attack.
For Yale, Jack Stark turned aside 29 shots between the pipes.
Michigan State three times battled back from one-goal deficits and got 44 saves from goalie Trey Augustine as the Spartans skated to a 3-3 tie at Minnesota on Friday night in front of 10,392 at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.
The Spartans then picked up the extra point in the Big Ten standings with a victory in the shootout.
SHOUDY! The sophomore picks an excellent time for his first goal of the season, knotting this one up at 3-3 in the third. pic.twitter.com/j3bINxfdHW
Connor Kurth opened the scoring for the Gophers just 1:41 into the game before Joey Larson answered for the Spartans at 10:04 of the second period. Bryce Brodzonski made it 2-1 Minnesota 8:01 into the third before Nash Nienhuis replied 1:22 later. Rhett Pitlick restored the Minnesota lead at 14:14 only to have Tiernan Shoudy tie the game at 16:33.
Justen Close fashioned a 25-save performance for the Gophers in the blue paint.
No. 13 Arizona State 4, No. 9 Providence 3 (OT)
Dylan Jackson’s goal 3:17 into the extra session propelled Arizona State past Providence 4-3 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz.
The Sun Devils’ Tyler Gratton had tied the game 3-all at 7:33 of the third period.
Alex Young scored the other two goals for Arizona State, who got 38 saves from goaltender TJ Semptimphelter.
For the Friars, Austen May, Hudson Malinoski, and Graham Gamache scored, with Philip Svedebäck making 22 saves in goal.
No. 20 RIT 5, No. 12 New Hampshire 4
Gianfranco Cassaro scored two goals for RIT, including what proved to be the game winner 59 seconds into the third period, as the Tigers held on for a 5-4 win over UNH at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, N.Y.
Tanner Andrew, Tyler Fukakusa, and Elijah Gonsalves also scored for RIT, and Tommy Scarfone made 27 saves in the Tigers net.
Trent Burnham shut out LIU last Saturday for Lindenwood’s first NCAA D-I goose egg (photo: Don Adams, Jr.).
If you’ve had your fill of turkey and woken up from a long slumber, it’s now time to turn your attention to college hockey. Friday presents 25 college hockey games, 19 of which are non-conference matchups.
Because of that, you’ll see some lopsided lines (Penn State, a -475 favorite over Lindenwood +325, is the largest spread of a line we remember this season), as well as a couple of very compelling games.
If you’re able to correctly predict an upset this weekend, there’s money to be made. Here is a list of the underdogs of +150 or higher:
Lindenwood (+325) at Penn State*
Bemidji State (+240) at North Dakota*
Michigan Tech (+170) at Minnesota State
Michigan State (+154) at Minnesota
* Indicates non-conference game – All lines provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Here are some of the bets we like – and ones we advise to avoid – on Black Friday:
Bemidji State (+240) at North Dakota
North Dakota has inherited the title of “number one” in the USCHO.com poll this week, which carries with it the target on the collective backs of the Fighting Hawks. Every number one team this season has lost one of its first three games after reaching the top. Add in the fact that the Beavers are 1-1-1 against North Dakota in the last three meetings, and +240 seems like excellent value. Certainly, there’s a reason that North Dakota is a -330 favorite – they’re playing at home which is one of the best advantages in the nation, but this feels like the perfect time to throw some pizza money on Bemidji State.
Arizona State (+120) vs. Providence
The Sun Devils are a near perfect 9-1-0 at home this season and have a top-five win over Denver on its resume. Providence is coming off a tough weekend against UMass, losing twice to the Minutemen in a home-and-home. We pick Arizona State here as there likely are few times this year that you’ll get plus-money odds on the Sun Devils while they play at home this season.
Penn State/Lindenwood – Over 7 goals
Penn State is averaging 3.46 goals per game and Lindenwood is posting an average of 2.41 GPG. But for Penn State, they’ve combined with opponents to score eight or more total goals over the last three contests. They’ve also played some high-scoring contests in nonconference play when heavy favorite – a 6-4 loss vs. AIC and a 6-5 loss to Alaska Anchorage come to mind. Lindenwood also has surrendered some pretty high totals to another B1G team – Michigan – losing 9-1 and 10-1. Maybe it won’t be that lopsided against the Nittany Lions, but we think there will be plenty of goals scored in this game.
Game to avoid: Michigan (-115) at St. Cloud State (-115)
Best bet of the week: Penn State/Lindenwood – Over 7 goals
UW-Eau Claire faces a big test against St. Norbert this weekend (Photo Credit: Zach Jacobson/UW-Eau Claire Athletics)
The Thanksgiving food has been eaten. And now it’s time for hockey.
Several games are on tap this holiday weekend, including a two-game series between nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire and St. Norbert. Can’t beat a matchup like that this early in the season. And two MIAC teams will square off against top five teams in the country.
Friday
St. Olaf (4-3-1) at No. 1 Plattsburgh State (6-0)
Talk about a huge test. The Oles get a shot at the No. 1 team in the nation.
St. Olaf has won two in a row and is playing its second ranked team in the last two weeks. It’s going to take quite the effort for the Oles to pull off this upset, but they are capable of getting it done if they can play a complete game from start to finish. There is little room for error in this one, especially on the road.
The Cardinals have rattled off six consecutive wins to start the season, scoring five or more goals five times. It will be Lukas Haugen of the Oles to the test in goal. Plattsburgh, 5-4
Saint John’s (2-5) at No. 3 Utica (6-0-2)
Another MIAC team with another big game in front of it. The Johnnies haven’t had the best start to a season but are never an easy out for anyone.
Playing on the road is going to be a challenge. The Johnnies have Huber Bailey in goal and he will need to have maybe the best game of his career for Saint John’s to pull of the upset.
Utica is on a five-game win streak and its offense is clicking, scoring five or more goals during that streak. The Johnnies will need to find a way to match that output against a team that has allowed only eight goals during its streak. Utica, 5-2
Friday and Saturday
No. 7 UW-Eau Claire (5-1-1) vs. St. Norbert (6-3)
This series begins at St. Norbert, where the Green Knights always make it tough for an opponent. UW-Eau Claire has won its last two. St. Norbert has won three in a row.
The Blugolds have a lot of options on offense, including Kyler Grundy, who has three goals and nine assists. And Max Gutjahr owns a 2.31 goals against average to help lead the defense.
Adam Stacho leads the Green Knights with seven goals and seven assists. High scoring games are possible, though, it’s likely defense decides this series. St. Norbert, 5-2; UW-Eau Claire, 4-2
Saturday
No. 4 Adrian (5-2-1) vs. Stevenson (5-2-1)
The Bulldogs have been balanced this season, with six players tallying two or more goals. Mathew Rehding leads the team with four goals on the season.
The Mustangs have won three in a row and this will be the second time this yer they have faced a top five team nationally. Earlier this season they came out of a series with Utia with a tie and a loss. A good road test for the Bulldogs for sure, but they seem to find a way to prevail more often than not. Adrian, 5-3
UW-Superior (3-5, 1-1) at Northland (1-7, 0-2)
The Yellowjackets have been playing better as of late and come in on a two-game winning streak. The Lumberjacks are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Northland needs to have its offense clicking on all cylinders as it has managed only 17 goals all season. Jackson Breton has accounted for four of those goals.
Blake Holmes leads the UW-Superior offense with four goals. I’m expecting both games to be close. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a split. UW-Superior, 4-2; Northland, 3-2
Sunday
Bethel (5-1-2) at Aurora (4-3-1)
Could be quite an entertaining non-conference battle to close out the weekend.
The Royals and Spartans are both off to good starts. Bethel hasn’t had the best luck on the road, going just 1-1-2 and have given up more than two goals only once. Its ability to step up defensively will be a key to success. Travis Allen has started five games in goal, allowing only eight goals on the season.
Aurora is riding high after an upset win over Adrian last week. The Spartans have won four of their last five. Akl Hassan leads the team with three goals and eight assists. This one could go either way. Give the Spartans the edge being at home. Aurora, 4-3
Terry Leahy, left, calls an Omaha hockey game with Dave Ahlers, former UNO SID and play-by-play broadcaster (photo: Omaha Athletics).
Omaha hockey radio color analyst Terry Leahy never thought he would reach 1,000 broadcasts covering the same team.
On Friday night, when the Mavericks host Augustana, he’ll be there. Quite literally, in fact, in much the same capacity he has held since UNO’s hockey program first hit the ice in 1997.
There have only ever been four Maverick hockey games that Leahy, a self-described Omaha lifer, hasn’t played a role in presenting. And his history with the sport goes back much further.
Leahy grew up watching the Omaha Knights, a former minor league professional team. An early public address announcer for the USHL’s Omaha Lancers, Leahy joined Omaha talk radio station KFAB as a news and sports reporter, a job he still holds.
When UNO announced in 1996 that it would be creating a hockey program, KFAB had not long ago lost broadcasting rights for Nebraska football, for which Leahy had been a sideline reporter.
“That’s how this kind of all started,” Leahy said. “KFAB knew that I was into hockey, and suddenly it was, ‘Alright, you’re on the broadcasts, here you go,’ and nobody else was into it.
“We got in on the ground floor with the beginning of a program, and it was totally right place, right time. Pro hockey and Lancers hockey had been broadcast here before the Mavs, but I was able to develop this color position.”
Leahy was no stranger to UNO athletics. He had previously covered Maverick football, baseball and basketball for Cox Cable’s local access channel, giving him connections with former UNO sports information director Gary Anderson and the late athletic director Don Leahy (no relation). The latter played an integral part in the creation of UNO’s hockey program, and his signature is permanently displayed on the Baxter Arena ice.
Terry Leahy missed two road games, a series at Miami in the mid-2000s, while hospitalized with a stomach illness. The only other UNO games he missed, when the Mavericks won two 2015 regional tournament games at Notre Dame to make what remains the team’s only Frozen Four appearance, came while his wife of 24 years, Sheila, was in the end stages of a cancer battle. Terry stayed in Omaha, as a studio host, for the Mavericks’ national semifinal defeat to Providence.
Sheila would hang on for another month, and throughout that time, the Leahys leaned on their UNO family, from university administrators down to hockey season-ticket holders.
“That all literally became a family when Sheila got sick,” Terry said. “It became a real-life concept, because that was a huge support system that was in my corner. The program, the athletic department, even the university at large, (original UNO hockey coach) Mike Kemp, (former UNO athletic director) Trev Alberts, Chancellor (John) Christensen, they spearheaded a fundraiser with Holy Cross Catholic Church, my faith community, and then I’ve got an incredibly large and fantastic family that I’m blessed with. I had it easy in some ways with that sad situation.
“Steve Rohlik is coaching at Ohio State now, and he was an assistant with Omaha, but he called when Sheila was in trouble with this cancer, and Joe Grimaldi, a former UNO defenseman called. Word had gotten around, and I remembered seeing a bunch of guys at the funeral. It was unbelievable in that regard.”
And Leahy’s emotional attachment to UNO’s hockey program has only grown, surprising as that might’ve been to him.
“I’m 64, will be 65 in January and I’ve often said that over the last 12, maybe 15 years of this or not more, I’ve thought, ‘There’s probably going to become a real gap between me and these student-athletes chronologically, and I’m probably not going to get to know these guys as much as the original group,’ but I’ve been wrong on that,” he said.
“Every year, a new group comes in and you become friends for life with them. There’s a certain friendship that will be there forever.”
And that extends to current UNO coach Mike Gabinet, himself a former Mavericks defenseman who graduated in 2004. Half his life later, Gabinet’s relationship with Leahy now is similar to what it was like back then.
Leahy has interviewed hundreds of Mavericks hockey players over the years (photo: Omaha Athletics).
“Terry’s just a tremendous person, and that’s my first thought when I think of him,” Gabinet said. “You can’t help but smile thinking about him. He’s a real supporter of our program, and the genuine people who really care, they’re consistent in their approach, and he’s just that. He cares about the players, the staff, the program, the people around the program and he always does things with class and respect.
“He’s tremendously enjoyable to be around, and he has one of the quietest senses of humor to be around. He’s a funny dude, and he’s a pleasure to have with us on the road. Lots of families and fans get to enjoy the game through his voice, and it’s awesome to have him.”
Leahy sees Gabinet as much the same person he was in his early 20s. That carried over even into UNO’s three-day, two-game set last weekend at Denver. The second game began Saturday night but would finish on Sunday afternoon thanks to bad ice conditions after the first period.
“Mike always took a very positive, studious approach as a player, and has continued that as a coach,” Leahy said. “I think that reflects the fact his dad is a professional educator and football coach in Canada, and his grandfather (Clare Drake) is a coach in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Nothing has changed with Mike. That smile, the fist bumps, it’s just awesome. We had to split up to get out of Denver because of the snafu with the ice, and I remember Mike coming up to me with a fist bump and, ‘Hey, Terry, you’re gonna be with me on the way back, just follow me.’ He was leading one group of us on a Southwest flight, and UNO’s director (of hockey operations) was leading a group on a United flight where we all met up again in Omaha. That stuff is typical Gabby.”
The Maverick hockey family got back to Omaha in one piece, and they’ll be together again Friday for what will be an evening to savor.
“With the transitory nature of life in general, and not to be too esoteric there, but especially in broadcasting, I didn’t think we’d get here,” Leahy said of his 1,000th broadcast with the team.
“When this all began, I thought, ‘If I can do this for a little bit, it’d be great, what an experience,’ but then you want to keep going and it has gotten to this point. I still can’t believe it.”
Arnaud Vachon is emerging as a leader this season for Augustana (photo: Dave Eggen).
On his team’s weekend off, Augustana coach Garrett Raboin was able to do something he’s not usually able to do during the hockey season: Take in a football game.
On Saturday, the Augustana football team hosted Minnesota State in a first-round NCAA Division II football playoff game at Augie’s Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D. The 11-1 Vikings demolished the Mavericks 51-24 to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Raboin was actually able to take it in with the rest of his Vikings’ hockey team. It’s something he and his players aren’t always able to do because of the rigors of the hockey season, but the first-year head coach at the first-year program says it’s important that the hockey team makes itself a part of the greater Augustana community right away.
“That’s the great part about being at a school our size,” Raboin said of Augustana, which has an enrollment of about 2,500. “Our guys didn’t come here just to know their teammates. They came here to get to know their classmates, too, and celebrate everyone. And they get a chance to do that.”
As Raboin watched the football team take on a rival school in a sold-out, on-campus game, he said he couldn’t stop thinking about what it will be like when the Augustana hockey team is able to do that, too.
“We’re really fortunate because even though we don’t have a hockey history here, we have a football team that does have history. And for us to be able to watch how they handle themselves, how they’re finding success, has been great,” Raboin said. “It’s a different sport, but it ties into our group. It’s something we want to do. You know, we want to enjoy moments like that hosting playoff games like they did. Just being in close games and finding a way to get a result, to get a win.”
The Vikings (4-5-1 overall) have bucked expectations in their first season of existence, playing in some close games with some of the traditional college hockey powers and even winning a few games against said powers. Obviously, the weekend in Colorado when the Vikings rallied to tie Denver 5-5 and then beat Colorado College 4-2 the next night stands out, but the Vikings also played tough against both Wisconsin and Michigan Tech on the road despite losing all four games.
Considering the fact that few expected Augustana to even be able to skate with these teams, much less beat them, makes their season so far all the more impressive.
“That’s something our guys have earned,” Raboin said. “There are some expectations that have come with having success in moments like that, and good programs that are headed in a great direction are earning expectations and our challenge is now, now that we’ve learned from expectations, can we continue to grow those and use it as a strength or help to motivate us.”
Perhaps those expectations are also helping to motivate players up and down the lineup. The Vikings don’t have one specific scoring line but rather seem to have been getting contributions from many different players in every game. Although nobody on the team has reached double-digit scoring yet, 18 different players have registered at least a point and 15 have at least a goal.
“We’ve had different guys emerge each weekend,” Raboin said. “And if you look over our last three games, there’s a different leading scorer on our team each night. And that’s just guys finding their game. When you have 15 transfers there’s a bit of work to be done for some of these players to find their happy place and find their game and we feel like there’s more guys each week and hopping on board. And our challenge is to try to get everyone going.”
If there’s one player who has been most valuable to Augustana’s early success, however, it’s been Arnaud Vachon. The fifth-year senior who transferred in from Colgate has six points in 10 games but most important for Raboin has been his leadership and experience. Vachon has played in 136 career collegiate games and helped lead Colgate to an ECAC tournament title last year.
“He’s been our heartbeat,” Raboin said. “He leads by example, and he knows he is one of those leaders that’s able to bring people together, and he’s been so valuable, what a gift to have him join us as a fifth year and really lead the way. As you build a foundation and try to set your culture, to have someone like him that knows what it looks like. He’s just been so valuable for us on and off the ice.”
The Vikings return to the ice this weekend for a home-and-home series with Omaha. It’s a series that has the potential to evolve into a rivalry. Omaha and Sioux Falls are just two and a half hours apart on I-29, and the Vikings and Mavericks were conference rivals in other sports in UNO’s Division II days.
“We want to make a great first impression to whoever we’re playing against,” Raboin said. “We want to make a great first impression for the CCHA. I know our fans and Omaha’s fans are hoping that this can become a real competitive rivalry, but for any rivalry, both teams need to win.”
UW-Stevens Point upset #15 St. Norbert 5-2. (Photo via UWSP Athletics).
This past week on the western front of women’s D-III hockey we saw the state of Wisconsin offer us a solid week! It started with an upset in De Pere, then a top-10 matchup in Eau Claire between the top-two WIAC rivals. We also look at Minnesota, as a surprising team is brewing! Finally, if that wasn’t enough, over in Michigan, we saw Adrian sweep their NCHA rival. Here’s your weekly west recap from this past week & a brief Thanksgiving tournament preview!
The Pointers of Stevens Point pull off the upset in Norbert
Going all the way back to last Tuesday (11/14/23), UW-Stevens Point entered the game with a record of 2-4-0, while #15 St. Norbert entered at 6-1-0. UWSP hasn’t exactly lit the WIAC up as of late, nor has it had a lot of success in non-conference against ranked opponents, but on Tuesday they pulled it off.
The surprising part of this game, besides the scoreboard, was that UWSP held Norbert to a mere 18 shots, while firing 29 of their own. The penalties in this game were even, both sides had four each for eight minutes. The scoring began early in the opening frame, Natalie Hogan gave Norbert the early 1-0 lead a quick 1:20 into the contest, assisted by her sister Courtnie Hogan. The Pointers would answer exactly seven minutes later (8:20), Courtney Leising tied it up.
Both teams added a goal in the 2nd period, Sara Aadalen for UWSP & Courtnie Hogan (pp) for Norbert. The 3rd period arrived and it was all Stevens Point, scoring a trio of goals to seal the upset victory. Lauren Wincentsen scored on the powerplay at the 12:00 mark, Sara Aadalen scored another a rapid 42 seconds later to put the Pointers up 4-2 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game. Courtney Leising then added her 2nd goal of the game, sealing it at the 19:43 mark of the 3rd to finalize the 5-2 upset victory for the Pointers on a Tuesday night in De Pere, WI.
In their first meeting this season, #4 UW-River Falls entered the game a perfect 6-0-0, while UW-Eau Claire held a slightly blemished record of 6-1-0. The Blugolds have been the team to give the Falcons the most problems as of the past few years, granted, they play them 3-4 times per season (three regular-season + WIAC playoffs), so it’s expected, but this weekend, River Falls got it done.
#4 UW-River Falls defeated rival #8 UW-Eau Claire 5-2, #16 Maddie McCollins had a hat-trick. (Photo via Zach Jacobson, UWEC)
UWRF star forward Maddie McCollins got things started with a goal at the 5:51 mark of the 1st period to put the Falcons up 1-0, this would be the first of her three goals. The star for Eau Claire answered a quick two minutes later, Sophie Rausch tied it up at 1. Then McCollins would add one at the 12:07 mark to send UWRF to the locker room up 2-1 at the end of the 1st.
In the 2nd, River Falls took over the game, Madison Lavergne at 11:39, Megan Goodreau (pp) at 12:54, then McCollins secured her hat trick exactly two minutes later at 14:24 to give River Falls a commanding 5-1 lead after 2.
Sam Bandholz would score midway through the 3rd for Eau Claire on the powerplay, but that was all, ending the game with a score of 5-2 and a huge victory for UWRF. Maddie McCollins led the way with four points (3G & 1A).
The shots in the game were 33-29 in favor of UWRF, penalties were common, UWRF with 7 for 14 minutes, UWEC with 7 for 14 as well. Jordan O’Connor was credited with the 27-save victory for the Falcons.
Games like this in the WIAC are huge due to the no auto-bid (min. 6 teams req.) in the WIAC, so UWRF getting this win helps them get a jump in pairwise, while UWEC will need to take a game or two from them the rest of the way, while also performing well at Middlebury this weekend in the Panther/Cardinal Classic.
Saint Mary’s is… back?
We discussed this a few weeks back after Saint Mary’s was off to a hot start including a victory over a ranked UW-Eau Claire, but the streak seems to be continuing. The Cardinals are 7-2-0, most recently sweeping MIAC opponent Augsburg & defeating UW-Stevens Point, winning 3-2, 2-1, & 5-2. Seeing the sweep of Augsburg raises a lot of positive questions, such as, how far can this team go? It’ll be fun on 12/1 (Fri.) & 12/2 (Sat.) when we get #1 Gustavus vs Saint Mary’s in a home/away series beginning in Winona, Minn. (SMU).
Saint Mary’s sweeps Augsburg this past weekend. (Photo via Chris Ebert)
Chad Davis, former Adrian College head coach from 2011-2018, took over a program that hadn’t had loads of success, but has turned things around quickly. He’s already one win away from tying last year’s win total (8-15-2) & has won more games this season than SMU won in numerous seasons prior.
I asked Coach Davis how’s he been able to turnaround a program in a way where they’re already competing/beating high caliber-ranked opponents, he said this:
“In terms of the team’s current results, we’re seeing some of our freshmen class adapting to the tough competition quickly. The staff is really pushing the development side of the game, and they’ve been putting in the work. We believe this will help players with confidence and self-belief. We’ve implemented a system we feel our team has embraced. On the ice, our performance is characterized by a team first approach, which we feel gives us the best opportunity on a daily basis. We’re playing very tight games and have been focusing on being opportunistic when we’re able to generate scoring chances and emphasizing defensive zone play. Being in a highly competitive conference, we focus on being consistent with our overall competing level.”
I was also curious how the team vibes were with the program and some of the standout players thus far, Davis said: “The team’s general vibe has been grounded, humble, and positive energy. We’re aware of the sample size we’ve played and are just looking at the season one day at a time. Our notable performers have been Allie Urlaub (F – 4G & 7A), Reese Heitzman (F – 10G & 4A), Celia Midtbo (D – 2G & 3A), Celeste Rimstad (G – 7-2 record, .952 save %, 1.23 gaa)”.
Keep an eye on the Cardinals as the season goes on, lots to be intrigued about with this team going forward.
Adrian sweeps NCHA rival Aurora
#10 Adrian entered the weekend with a record of 3-1-0, while Aurora came in with 5-2-0. Adrian won game one 4-1 & game two 5-0.
Adrian sweeps Aurora, winning 4-1 & 5-0. (Photo by Mike Dickie Photography)
In game one, shots were near even, 34-33 Adrian, penalties were high, 4 for 8 minutes from Adrian, 6 for 12 for Aurora. AU’s lone goal was scored by Stephanie Schmunk late in the 1st at 18:17. AC then scored a trio in the 2nd, a two-minute flurry, Courtney Ben (4:09), Hunter Reardon (5:29), & Aileena Dopheide (5:58) to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead after 2.
Nichole Pietrucha added on an empty-net shorthanded goal at 19:53.5 to seal it 4-1 for Adrian.
In game two, Adrian dominated, outshooting Aurora 43-25, penalties high once again, AC with 8 for 16 & AU with 4 for 8 minutes. Tia Liscelle scored a pair, (10:19 of the 1st & 19:42.4 of the 2nd). Her teammate Sydnie Crockett also scored a pair, (10:33 of the 1st & 5:31 of the 2nd). Jocelin Hundanish added a powerplay goal early in the 3rd to cap it off at a 5-0 victory.
Adrian goaltender Annie Gilbert was credited with the 25-save shutout victory in game two. She also had 32 saves in the game one victory on Friday.
Thanksgiving East/West Tournament Preview!
Here’s the brief news regarding the holiday tournament this weekend in Middlebury, VT. It’s the Panther/Cardinal Classic, which always has arguably the best tournament field in the country year after year. Last year, UW-River Falls headed East to Plattsburgh, taking home the title back to the west.
UW-River Falls wins the Cardinal/Panther Classic, defeating Plattsburgh 3-2 and then Middlebury 3-2 in OT (Photo by Nathanael LePage)
This year, UW-Eau Claire looks to do the same. The Blugolds will face #4 Plattsburgh at 6pm EST this Saturday and will face either #5 Middlebury or Endicott depending on the results of both games. Should be a good one and it’s worth tuning in this weekend!
Jacob Seitz and the Saints are unbeaten through seven games. (Photo Credit: Cyndi’s Clicks Photography/St. Schlolastica Athletics)
On this Thanksgiving day be thankful for NCAA Division III hockey in the west region.
It was three years ago that there was no hockey at this time of the year, the grip of the pandemic still very much an issue.
But here we are, about a month into the season and it’s been entertaining to say the least so far. So be thankful for the hockey we have been able to watch so far and the hockey we will continue to watch over the next few months.
All three conferences out west have been competitive up to this point and I don’t expect that to change moving forward.
St. Scholastica hasn’t missed a beat, picking up where it left off, and is talented as ever as it takes aim at the MIAC tournament title this season that eluded it a year ago after winning the regular season championship.
The Saints are the lone unbeaten in the MIAC, and actually, the only remaining undefeated team in the west region. They are 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference, The Saints are thankful for that success but know there is still work to do.
Yet, while St. Scholastica appears to be the team to beat at the moment and could very well contend for a national title as well, the MIAC is always tough to navigate.
Four other teams have overall winning records (St. Olaf, Bethel, Augsburg and Concordia), and in the conference standings, there are just five points separating the second place team from the last. But it’s still early. No team has played more than four MIAC games. A lot can still happen.
Out in the NCHA, Adrian is the favorite but winning a championship in one of the tougher conferences in hockey will not be an easy thing to do.
The Bulldogs are tied with St. Norbert and Trine for first place in the standings. Aurora is only a game back and coming off a split in its series with Adrian last weekend. That’s something the Spartans are thankful for.
MSOE, Lawrence, Concordia, Marian and Lake Forest will not make anything easy on anyone in the conference. They’ll come ready to play like everyone else in the NCHA.
And for Dubuque, the first year program that is still searching for its first win, it will come at some point. But for now, the program and its fans can be thankful there is hockey to play at the school. It beats no hockey at all.
In the WIAC, UW-Stevens Point has established itself as the frontrunner for the time being. The Pointers have lost only twice all season and are unbeaten in league play.
But UW-Eau Claire, whose only loss came at the hands of the Pointers earlier this month, is going to be a tough team to play all season, and the Blugolds will be in the discussion for the conference title late in the year.
And you can never count out UW-River Falls, UW-Superior and UW-Stout. Northland has yet to win a conference game but the Lumberjacks have shown they won’t go down without a fight.
It’s going to be fun to see what’s ahead in the west region of D-III hockey. Be thankful for that.
And be thankful for the upsets and hard-fought games we have seen so far, and for the opportunity to see more games like it.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Feast on delicious food today and great hockey this weekend and the rest of the season.
Quinnipiac players celebrate winning the 2023 national title April 8 in Tampa (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Last year presented me with an opportunity to reintroduce a slightly different format to our weekly column.
It was a take on former colleague Dave Hendrickson’s list of 20 things that made him thankful for covering Hockey East, and it gave me a real chance to sit back and talk about the things that made me grateful for covering college hockey.
Writing about those things gave me an opportunity to take a step back from covering the on-ice stories, and in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, I’d like to resurrect the idea for another year. We’ll return to more traditional stories next week, but in the meantime, here’s a list of 10 things for which I’m thankful.
10. The Walk into the Arena
I’ve been broadcasting college hockey for the better part of 15 years, but the ride and walk to an arena still gets me every time. Getting to step outside of my normal life and transform into a media member is a privilege for which I’m truly grateful, and there’s nothing quite like getting into the car for those first couple of streets on the drive.
It’s one of the few times I get to decompress from the world, and hitting a playlist or podcast on the ride to an arena somehow expels all of the negative energy built up from battling the real world. Drinking a coffee in the car and seeing the building for the first time in the distance puts the icing on the proverbial cake, as if the hockey world that’s been dormant for the past week is coming alive with its own promise of adrenaline and excitement.
9. Covering National Champions
Returning to a conference beat last year was a huge step for me, and specifically writing about ECAC brought me home to the league that introduced me to college hockey. That my first year coincided with a national championship team at Quinnipiac allowed me to enjoy the ride from the literal beginning-to-end storyline of a college hockey season, and I am grateful over congratulatory for riding the wave through to the raising of a banner.
Last year was exceptionally special for me because ECAC had four teams in the national tournament. I’d never experienced that level of success before, and it challenged me to find stories beyond the surface level. I hope I’ve been able to do that, and I also hope that we’re able to watch another ECAC team earn a championship in Minneapolis this coming spring.
8. Working With Students
I’ve been pretty blessed to run with a great group of student workers at various schools, but the new crop is infusing the sport with a passion that’s reinvigorated my juice for the game. I feel like I’ve moved into a new era in understanding social media and the different content machines because the younger journalists are more savvy when it comes to TikTok or Instagram, and it’s been a pleasure to teach them about professionalism while watching them fuse it to the modern mediums.
My student broadcast partner at Bentley is a prime example. His name is Matt Krefting, and I’ve watched him grow from a kid who wanted the microphone to a trusted confidant when it comes to color commentary. He’s caught things on the ice that he’s then gathered into his questions for postgame press conferences, but he’s also capable of putting together a TikTok about the day in the life of a student broadcaster. I didn’t even know that last part was possible because I couldn’t do a TikTok dance routine.
7. Young Kids Playing Hockey
My brother-in-law is a firefighter, so his wife – my wife’s sister – asked me to help her out with getting equipment for her son for his first hockey practice. She’d never put equipment on a kiddo before, so she needed me to help get the arm and shoulder pads over his head while getting his skates laced.
He was far from the only kid in that locker room that day, but the moms and dads who watched their kids take the ice started an investment that quickly developed a passion for throwing the skates and helmets on their children. I watched kids step on the ice for the first time that day, and it grabbed my attention because kids were helping each other. They were forming partnerships that helped them later learn how to skate with sticks and pucks, and I see everything forming for the next kid who buries a breakaway in front of a student section during an intermission.
6. TMQ and Podcasts
Writing for USCHO extended my family by an unknown factor, but sitting down and doing our weekly collaborations is a way to renew those vows, so to speak. Writing TMQ this past week with Paula Weston was exceptionally enjoyable for me to reconnect with one of my most beloved colleagues, and my weekly USCHO Edge podcast with Ed Trefzger and Jimmy Connelly is some of the most fun I’ve had since joining this site.
I have always been lucky that Chris Lerch took the chance on me to write for USCHO, and I’m looking forward to taking my girls on the road to witness how we meet, connect and build our stories.
5. Early Mornings and Late Nights
My body clock was blown to smithereens by having kids, but it’s not like I’ve ever been one to complain about waking up early or going to bed after everyone in my house is completely asleep. In fact, last year was a time when I was up around 4 a.m. with my younger daughter, but I’ve become much more of a night owl when it comes to getting work done on the computer since she developed more of a regular sleep routine.
Being able to function on little to no sleep is a parent’s best skill in general, but I love that it’s helped me structure my week a little bit better when it comes to interviews and articles. I’ve been a little bit more diligent about hitting deadlines (a big thing that I struggled with last year), and I hope I’ve rewarded the patience of our administrative and editorial staff for sticking with me over the past 365 days.
4. Medical Personnel
I had a nightmare scenario this year when a player was stretchered off the ice in a game where I was broadcasting. He was okay and returned to skating a couple of weeks later, but it made me genuinely realize the delicate balance between players fighting hard for pucks along the wall or in open ice scenarios.
One wrong step is a recipe for a catastrophe, and having medical personnel on site and at the ready is the quickest way to avoid experiencing bigger issues. There’s a calmness to what they do, and the stories about their heroism in times when they’re needed reminds me how I never had their nerve or temperament. The trainers, doctors, EMTs, and anyone else involved are probably the biggest heroes and most underrated personnel at a building.
3. The Staffs
It still takes a village to make these weekly columns happen, and I’m eternally grateful to the players and coaches who take time out of their week to sit and talk about themselves and their programs. I know it’s difficult to sacrifice that time when weeks are stuffed with classes, homework, practice, film sessions, recoveries, meals, and literally anything else, but I’ve never had a negative experience in this league.
A special shoutout to the sports information directors who also serve as the conduits to make all of this happen. Their jobs never stop during the season, and I’m sure the thought of an off day on a Sunday is juicier than dealing with the pesky reporter who sends the email to ask for availability during the week.
2. The Fans
Look, it’s a fairly obvious thing to say, but without readers, a site is just words on a page.
The fans are the ones that keep this going. They react to what we write, and they care about their teams. I hope I generate enough conversation to get you through your weeks, and I especially appreciate the people who respond through the message board, through Twitter or X or whatever it’s called these days, and through the different and various social media outlets.
We’re all the more accessible these days, but I’m happy that I’ve found a bunch of crazy lunatics who love this sport as much as I do. I can’t wait to see what we have in store for one another for the second half of the season, and to the kind sports fan who once put me on a meme, keep them coming. You’ve given me good humor for those text messages to friends.
1. The Family
Becoming a dad was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Becoming a #girldad changed my outlook on life and the world, and I have no idea what I would do without coming home to my two kids. They’re chaotic and crazy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Everyone in my family is supportive of this endeavor. My wife totally understands the sacrifices involved, and she’s here for me every step of the way. We are, in many ways, a sports family, but she’s embraced the idea of bringing our kids to visit me at work when I’m on the air or in a press box. She knows how our older daughter lights up the press box when she walks into the room, and our younger daughter is about as cute as they come.
My family is the reason I’m here, and I love them with every fiber of my being. I live for our anarchy, and without them, I’d never find the internal monologue for a hockey column. For that, I’m truly grateful.
So here’s to a great holiday and wishing the best for you and yours. May your table, however it forms, be full of joy and love and warmth and every other emotion that gets us to bed at night. Everyone deserves happiness, and I hope this week provides you with the optimal version of whatever you define.
Bob Motzko skates during a Minnesota practice at Amalie Arena during the 2023 Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla. (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Minnesota and men’s hockey head coach Bob Motzko have agreed to a two-year contract extension.
The deal keeps Motzko with the Golden Gophers through the 2027-28 season.
“I am grateful to (director of athletics) Mark Coyle and the rest of the athletics administration for believing in me and our staff and our leadership of Gopher hockey,” Motzko said in a statement. “It has been exciting to be a part of our success and I am so appreciative of the incredible support we receive from our alumni, our students and all our fans.
“We have a tremendous staff and group of young men on this team, and I look forward to continuing to compete for championships with them.”
The Gophers have enjoyed a resurgence to national prominence since Motzko took over leading the program prior to the 2018-19 season. The 2023 Spencer Penrose national coach of the year award winner currently owns a 119-64-14 record after leading the Gophers to back-to-back trips to the NCAA Frozen Four and three straight 24-plus win campaigns. He also has earned the title of Big Ten conference coach of the year three times in the last four seasons thanks to consecutive B1G regular-season championships and a tournament title in 2021.
“Bob has been a tremendous leader of our men’s hockey program,” Coyle said. “His ability to build a culture of success with our staff and student-athletes has led to achievements on the ice and for our team academically and socially. I am thrilled to have Bob continue to lead our men’s hockey program into the future.”
The rising success of Minnesota men’s hockey has been showcased by holding a 6-3 record at the national tournament, increasing their all-time NCAA win total to 61, the most of any college hockey program. In five of the six seasons with Motzko at the helm, the Gophers have been ranked in the top five of the national polls for at least one week.
In the classroom, the program continues to thrive under Motzko’s leadership where 29 student-athletes have earned a college degree since 2018. Minnesota also has boasted nine of the program’s top 10 cumulative semester grade point averages during his tenure, including the highest spring semester ever (excluding the COVID-19 semester) in 2023 behind a 3.22 term GPA.
We look back at Ohio State’s sweep of Wisconsin in last week’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 series and talk about the seven ECAC teams in the top 15. Nicole has an interview with NCAA national coordinator of women’s ice hockey officiating Krissy Langley about what’s behind the rise in the number of major penalties called early this season. And Nicole and Todd look ahead to the Thanksgiving weekend slate that includes tournaments in untraditional locations.
For more information on Team Caribbean women’s ice hockey mentioned in the episode, visit https://www.reachingourgoal.com/donation/fhJAl1dHxgn2.
Make sure you like and subscribe to The PodKaz on your favorite streaming network to get access to new episodes as soon as they post.
Trey Augustine celebrates Michigan State’s weekend home sweep over Wisconsin (photo: Michigan State Athletics).
What a difference a week makes.
Last week, Wisconsin was the No. 1 team in the country, garnering 32 first-place votes in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. The Badgers, then 9-1-0 overall with a 4-0-0 record in conference play, had just come off a bye week and by virtue of the ever-changing landscape among the top teams nationwide, they traveled to East Lansing as the team a lot of folks in college hockey thought was best in the land.
After earning that rank, coach Mike Hastings told his players to “appreciate it, but understand what it is. It’s a moment.”
As it turns out, it was a moment that lasted a single week. Michigan State swept Wisconsin 4-2 and 3-2, snapping the Badgers’ six-game win streak and extending the Spartans’ own undefeated streak to six games (5-0-1).
So, do the Spartans top the poll this week? Nope.
This week, Wisconsin drops to No. 6 and Michigan State moves up from No. 11 to No. 7 – and neither team earned any first-place votes in this week’s poll.
It’s difficult to explain, but as Dan Rubin and I discussed in this week’s TMQ, the poll is likely a response to two things: the perception of voters regarding the strength of conferences as much as (or maybe even more so than) the perceived strength of individual teams, and the real parity we’re seeing among the teams shaping up to be the top 15 or so nationally.
If it were a matter of consistency, No. 3 Quinnipiac would be No. 1. The Bobcats are 6-0-1 in their last eight games, the longest unbeaten streak among top 10 teams, better by one game than Michigan State’s current run. Quinnipiac earned eight first place votes this week.
And not one bit of that likely matters to Spartans coach Adam Nightingale.
Following Michigan State’s 3-2 win Saturday, Nightingale said, “Obviously, a really good weekend for our program.”
Not just the team, but the program.
In addition to sweeping “a really quality opponent” at home in conference play, Nightingale said that the series showed how far the Spartans have come since dropping two games on the road to Boston College Oct. 26-27.
“We obviously had a lot to work on,” said Nightingale.
He added that the Saturday win was notable, too, for how well the Spartans played after losing a lead and how well they responded when the game was tied. Leading 1-0 after the first period, Michigan State took a number of second-period penalties resulting in a 13-3 Wisconsin shot advantage and Owen Lindmark’s tying goal late in the second. Joey Larson’s goal at 1:55 in the third, though, put the Spartans ahead for good.
“A lot of times a team struggles when that happens,” said Nightingale, “after you give up a lead, and I just think for our guys to stay with it and then again for [it] to be a tie game going into the third [and] to finish it off, I think there’s a lot we can learn from it.”
Nightingale singled out goaltender Trey Augustine (2.99 GAA, .913 SV%) as a big reason for Michigan State’s success in the series, especially during the second period of Saturday’s game.
“I think he’s gotten better and better as the season’s went on,” said Nightingale. “If you look at true freshmen goaltenders, there’s not a ton of them and it’s an adjustment, right? I thought each game he’s gotten better and better, but for sure that was one when he was our best player.”
Nightingale credits Augustine’s development in part to the goalie’s relationship with associate head coach Jared DeMichiel, a goaltender for RIT (2006-10) who backstopped the Tigers to their Frozen Four appearance in 2010. From 2016 to 2022, DeMichiel coached at Massachusetts, first as an assistant and then an associate head coach. DeMichiel is widely recognized for his recruiting and player development skills.
“Jared does a great job of connecting with our players,” said Nightingale. “I think he treats them as a person first and when we went through the recruiting process with Trey, I think that was really important to him. There’s a connection there and when you look at Jared’s track record with goalies, it’s really good.
“I think there’s a mutual respect there. Obviously, we respect Trey and I think Trey respects DeMichiel and kind of his track record as a coach.”
The Spartans now top the Big Ten with 16 points, four ahead of second-place Wisconsin. For their part, the Badgers know they have some work to do.
“Do we need a reset? Yeah, after coming up empty, but again, every weekend’s a learning opportunity for us and we learned quite a bit last weekend,” said Hastings. “I want to give credit to State. I think they’re a good hockey team. We learned a little bit on the compete side of things. It’s one thing to get an opportunity. It’s another thing to finish it.”
The Spartans have the opportunity to increase their lead at the top of the B1G standings this weekend when they travel to face No. 8 Minnesota in a Friday-Sunday series, the only conference play on this week’s schedule for Big Ten teams.
Heading into Thanksgiving weekend a year ago, the Golden Gophers were at the top of the Big Ten standings with 18 points and just one point ahead of the Spartans, but the Gophers were poised to run away with the conference. Minnesota took the 2022-23 regular-season title with 57 points. Michigan finished second last season a full 19 points behind the Gophers.
What a difference a year makes.
With two wins in the Big Ten and a 6-4-2 overall record, Minnesota is five points ahead of last-place Ohio State. Last weekend, the Gophers split a pair of home games against Notre Dame.
“Twelve games, and we’ve been awful good in six of them,” said Minnesota coach Bob Motzko after the Gophers’ 4-1 win Saturday.
Motzko said that the early season is “reminding the older guys and the new guys how hard it is to create offense, how hard to hang in a game.”
He added, “And buckle up. We’ve got six to go ‘til break and every one’s going to be the same.”
Anna Maria has had a lot to celebrate in the early part of the season including a recent four game win streak and upsets of Plymouth State and Stonehill (Photo by Anna Maria Athletics)
After opening the season with a 1-2-0 record, the Anna Maria College AmCats have won four games in their last five, including a 4-1 win over previously unbeaten and nationally ranked Plymouth State from D-III and Saturday’s 4-2 win over D-I Stonehill. Two more wins over Lebanon Valley had AMC at 5-2-0 prior to Tuesday’s one-goal loss to D-II Assumption Despite their second loss to the Greyhounds, AMC stays optimistic for a strong finish in the first half of the 2023-24 season led by their trio of Matts.
“I like the way we are competing,” said head coach Dave McCauley. “We have been hard to play against and maybe need to dial back on some of the penalty minutes but I like the intensity and the focus the guys have shown with some big games still to play in November and December before the break. We are getting contributions from a lot of guys but “the Matts” have been really good early and that should help us moving forward with our schedule.”
The “Matts” refer to goaltender Matthew Hennessey, forward Matthew Byrne and forward Matthew Gilbert. All three players have figured prominently in the AmCats early season success and really could not be more different as players. Hennessey, a freshman, burst on to the scene with a 51-save effort in Anna Maria’s upset of then unbeaten Plymouth State. He has surrendered just 10 goals in five plus games while posting a .947 save-percentage and has taken the crease for Anna Maria as the No. 1 netminder.
Matt Byrne has already picked up three goals and two assists in the first six games of the season while fellow forward Matthew Gilbert has five goals in six games while averaging a point per game this season.
“Hennessey has been impressive with his steady play as a freshman,” noted McCauley. “The team has complete trust in him in goal and plays with confidence in front of him. Gilbert is having a breakout season for us so far early in the year. He is pushing the pace and contributing exclusively in 5-on-5 and penalty kill ice time. Byrne has stepped up his shooting numbers and is now a featured guy on the power play along with probably our best player, Guilliaume Coulombe (2-3-5) that provides more balance in scoring. These guys along with several others are off to great starts and will need that continued strong play with six games still to play before the semester break.”
On Saturday, coach McCauley predicted (maybe should have him guest pick for me some week) his team’s 4-2 win over the Skyhawks and saw the balance and depth of his roster with Derek Raposo chipping in with a pair of goals and Max Wennerberg adding a pair of assists while goaltenders Cole Johnston and Connor Bradford combined for 41 saves on 43 shots in the win.
“We feel we can play with anyone and want to be a hard team to beat,” stated McCauley. We have some big tests coming up in December and after the new year in the second half that will show our growth as a team against some very successful programs like Curry, Amherst, Oswego and Cortland. We respect every team we face and know we have to be at our best to beat anybody on our schedule from the different D-III conferences.”
Next year, the AmCats move to the MASCAC and in 2025, become a full member in all sports. The six-year run as an Independent comes to an end after this season but Anna Maria is focused on showcasing what their future conference foes can expect with them in the league and competing for a conference championship.
“It is hard to believe it has been six-years doing this independent scheduling, noted McCauley. “My life just got instantly easier with 18 conference games and just adding a few more to the schedule beyond our Worcester Cup opening to the season. It will be nice to focus on playing in a conference and competing for championships and a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. This team has been building for that next step so they are very committed to building long-term success and momentum with results this year.”
The AmCats closed out their November schedule with a re-match of the Woo Cup final against D-II Assumption looking to avenge the 5-4 loss in just their second game of the season. The result was another one-goal loss with a third period rally from a 4-0 deficit that fell one goal short. December brings five D-III contests to close out the first half of the season including, Morrisville, Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Curry, Southern Maine, and New England College.
Joey Baez scored three goals over the weekend that saw Army split its series at home against Canisius (photo: Army West Point Athletics).
It’s been a rough start to the season for Army West Point.
Going into last weekend’s series with Canisius, the Black Knights were 0-8 with losses to North Dakota, Union, and Bemidji State as well as to some of Atlantic Hockey’s top teams in Sacred Heart, Rochester Institute of Technology, and archival Air Force.
Several games followed the same script: The Black Knights would take a lead, often coming from behind to do so, but surrender a late goal or two and end up on the wrong side of the scoresheet. Examples:
– Against Bemidji State in the Icebreaker tournament, Army West Point led 2-1 in the third before allowing a pair of goals, including the game-winner with less than a minute to play.
– At Air Force, the Black Knights fought back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game on John Driscoll’s goal with 53 seconds to play, only to fall in overtime, 4-3.
– Last Friday against visiting Canisius, Brian Riley’s team trailed 3-1 after the first period, went ahead 4-3 in the third, but allowed three late goals to fall, 6-4.
Saturday finally saw a breakthrough for Riley and the Black Knights, which found themselves in familiar territory, leading by a goal in the third period.
This time was different. Riley’s team, which features 20 freshmen and sophomores and only 10 upperclassmen, held down the fort for the 2-1 win.
“Until you win a close game, you don’t have that to draw upon,” said Riley, in his 20th season at West Point. “You have to learn how to win. On Saturday, we took a step.”
The deja vu moment wasn’t lost on Riley.
“It was strange, we were in the same position as we were on Friday, the same position we’ve been in a couple of other times,” he said.
“Friday, we had the lead in the third and we didn’t handle it well. It wasn’t winning hockey on our part.”
Against Air Force the prior weekend, it was more of the same.
“We played an unbelievable seven minutes to tie, we were feeling really good,” said Riley. “Air Force played a very deliberate game in the overtime. They just sat and waited for us to make a mistake, and we tried to make a play at the blue line, and it cost us.
“It’s been a learning process. We learned that we can come back, we’ve done that. Saturday, we learned how to win.”
That victory was the first career win for junior goaltender Evan Szary, who has split time this season with senior Gavin Abric.
The Black Knights’ power play (20.4%) has been a bright spot with goals hard to come by so far this season.
All-conference players Joey Baez (eight points) and Max Itagaki (six points) lead the way on the scoresheet, with rookie Brent Keefer chipping in four goals, second on the squad.
Like Air Force, Army West Point can’t make use of the transfer portal, or give players a fifth year of eligibility due to the pandemic.
“We can’t reload like most schools,” said Riley. “We have to rebuild and go through those cycles. I would have loved to have guys back for another year, that experience is invaluable. We’re getting experience the old-fashioned way, by going through the ups and downs.”
Riley said that he’s happy with his team’s effort so far, but effort often isn’t enough.
“Effort and compete are different,” he said. “You can have the effort but the compete level is using it to win battles, one-on-one battles,” he said. “The team that wins those battles is going to win the game. That’s something that takes getting used to for young players moving up from juniors to college.”
The Black Knights have a Tuesday game at Holy Cross, and then will participate in the Turkey Leg Classic, hosted by UMass Lowell and Merrimack.
After that, 17 of the Black Knights’ 20 remaining games will be in conference play. Last season, Army West Point also got off to a slow start, but ended up finishing fifth in the league.
“We were 1-7 to start last year,” said Riley. “We hope to be playing our best hockey coming down the stretch, and the more experience we get, the better our chances.”
