Tigers earn split at UND
Colorado College and eighth-ranked North Dakota have split their four-game season series after CC managed a road split last weekend in Grand Forks.
Goals from Alex Pernitsky and Westin Michaud helped the Tigers break a 2-2 tie Friday night and gave the visitors a 4-2 win. UND starting goaltender Cam Johnson lasted 28 minutes before being relieved in the second period by Peter Thome, who was called upon again Saturday and made 20 saves in a 5-1 Fighting Hawks victory. Joel Janatuinen scored twice in the rematch while Shane Gersich recorded a goal and an assist.
UND hits the road later this week to face No. 13 Omaha, while CC is preparing for a home-and-home with second-ranked Denver.
Huskies roll on the road
The only other series last weekend in a short docket involved two wins at Miami for No. 4 St. Cloud State.
A three-goal first period on Friday proved to be enough for SCSU in a 5-2 win. Robby Jackson scored twice and three Huskies teammates also got in on the fun.
Saturday provided even smoother sailing for St. Cloud in a 4-0 victory. Stopping a third-period penalty shot was among Dávid Hrenák’s highlights in a 30-save shutout performance before Patrick Newell scored twice and Judd Peterson fired into an empty net to cap a good trip for SCSU.
The Huskies are away from home again later this week against No. 15 Western Michigan, while Miami travels to 10th-ranked Minnesota Duluth.
Huskies, Bulldogs share spoils
At the time of writing, six NCHC teams are either firmly favored to get into the NCAA tournament or are at least on the bubble, according to the PairWise Rankings.
SCSU and Denver are Nos. 1 and 2, currently, while Omaha and UMD are tied for 10th. North Dakota is 12th after its home split last weekend with Colorado College, and Western Michigan stands to move up from 13th if the Broncos can put together results at home against St. Cloud.
CC is tied with Union for 22nd, while Miami and Harvard are tied for 26th.
