An interesting weekend in the WCHA — not a single team swept. Nobody had a bad weekend, but here’s three things I noticed from the league this week.
1. Bowling Green gets five points
The only team who came away from the weekend with more than three points was Bowling Green. The Falcons beat Michigan Tech 2-1 Friday then tied the Huskies 2-2 on Saturday before winning the shootout. Those points — coupled with Minnesota State’s split with Northern Michigan — quietly moved BG into a first-place tie with MSU. Both teams have 12 points. BG has only lost once in league play — against Minnesota State at home. Both BG goalies — freshman Eric Dop and sophomore Ryan Bednard — have performed well for the Falcons so far, too. They’ve been splitting time in net and both are in the top three in the WCHA in save percentage at the moment (Bemidji State’s Michael Bitzer is the third).
2. Wildcats continue playing well
Northern Michigan continues to play solid hockey under first-year coach Grent Potulny. The Wildcats are 5-3 with wins over Wisconsin and now Minnesota State under their belt. Although NMU lost to MSU 3-0 on Friday, they rallied for a 4-1 win Saturday thanks, in part, to Robbie Payne’s ridiculous D2: The Mighty Duck goal (doesn’t this look like something that would happen in a Mighty Ducks movie, right after the knucklepuck?). Payne continues to lead the league in scoring, with seven goals to his name in eight games.
3. Bulldogs bounce back, finally win at Yost
Ferris State wasn’t out of Thursday’s game in Ann Arbor until the third period. That’s when Michigan scored four goals in 20 minutes to turn a 3-2 lead into a 7-2 rout. On Friday, the Bulldogs weren’t about to let that happen again. Mitch Maloney scored the game-tying goal midway through the third period and Ryker Killins tallied the game-winner 2:26 into overtime as Ferris beat Michigan to earn the split. It was FSU’s first win at Yost Arena since Feb. 25, 2006, and their first win over UM since Oct. 4, 2014, in Big Rapids.
