There was plenty of excitement in holiday tournaments as nonconference action dominated the first weekend of the New Year to open the second half of the season.
ECAC East
Norwich (9-1-2) hosted and won the Northfield Savings Bank Holiday Tournament over the weekend.
On Friday night, the Cadets shut out the Milwaukee School of Engineering (2-11-0), holding the Engineers to just three shots on goal for the night. Saturday saw another five-goal night with a 5-1 victory over Amherst (7-3-0).
Senior forward Travis Janke (2-2-4) had four points on the weekend and is now tied as the leading scorer for the Cadets with fellow senior Shane Gorman, as they each have a matching 5-14-19 scoring line.
ECAC West
Hobart (4-4-4) takes bragging rights as well as the Buck Supply Winter Classic Championship winners this past weekend as they posted two victories against unbeaten opponents.
On Friday night, Mac Olson was the hero of the evening as he notched the game-winning overtime goal against Williams (5-1-2) nine seconds into the extra period. Saturday night, the Statesmen handed the host team, Plattsburgh (10-1-2), its first loss of the season as they skated to a 3-1 victory over the nation’s top-ranked team.
MIAC
There were only two games in the league for the weekend, with neither ending in a MIAC win.
On Saturday, St. Thomas (8-2-2) fell 5-2 to St. Norbert (11-2-0) in a road contest. St. Olaf (3-8-2) suffered a loss to Wisconsin-River Falls (9-1-1) with a 4-2 score.
NCHA
Adrian (12-0-1) is the only team left in the nation that has yet to suffer a regulation loss this season.
The Bulldogs skated to 6-2 win on Friday against Buffalo State (5-7-3) and then the Bulldogs secured the weekend sweep with a 4-3 win on Saturday. Adrian went 5-for-8 on the power-play on Friday night.
Junior forward Justin Basso shined on the man-advantage as he scored two goals on special teams.
NESCAC
Middlebury (5-3-2) captured the Middlebury Holiday Classic title, which marked head coach Bill Beaney’s 500th win in 27 seasons with the program.
Middlebury downed Neaumann (5-4-3) by a 3-1 count for the milestone win after beating St. Michael’s (1-8-1) 6-2 on Friday night.
Overall, Beaney has 586 wins over 34 years as a Division III head coach, the most wins all-time.
SUNYAC
Oswego (6-2-2) hosted and won the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Classic tournament last weekend and beat Curry 3-0 on Friday night before skating to a 2-2 tie with Utica (9-2-2) on Saturday.
To determine a winner of the tournament, the teams battled through a five-minute overtime before heading to a shootout. The Lakers won the shootout 2-1 to win the tournament.
WIAC
It was a quiet weekend in the WIAC, but a successful Saturday for the league.
Wisconsin-Stout (4-8-0) beat Curry (2-7-1) 3-2 on Saturday night in the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Classic third-place game. On Friday night, the Blue Devils dropped a 4-2 contest to Utica.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point (11-1-0) upended Lake Forest (5-7-0) 4-3 on Saturday, while Wisconsin-River Falls (9-1-1) beat St. Olaf (3-8-2) in a pair of nonconference contests.
