Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our brand-new Monday 10 feature.
1. Notre Dame, Ohio State settle for split
A game-winning goal from Joe Wegwerth on Saturday night helped No. 5 Notre Dame salvage a weekend split at home against seventh-ranked Ohio State.
The night before, 23 saves from Sean Romeo and a Mason Jobst power-play goal 8:59 into the game were enough to give Ohio State a 1-0 victory in South Bend, Ind.
Jobst opened the scoring again Saturday in the second period, but another tight game went Notre Dame’s way as Colin Theisen pulled the Fighting Irish level 11:58 into that same frame before Wegwerth scored unassisted in the third, creating a turnover before firing high past Buckeyes goaltender Tommy Napier.
Notre Dame’s victory Saturday was coach Jeff Jackson’s 300th win at the school, coming early in his 14th season there.
2. O’Connell gets first win behind bench at Boston University
Another memorable moment came Saturday at Boston University’s Agganis Arena when BU alumnus and first-year Terriers head coach Albie O’Connell was given his first career victory behind the bench in a 4-1 win over No. 13 Northeastern.
BU (1-4-1) scored first in a game for the first time this season, and two Dante Fabbro goals gave the Terriers a 2-0 advantage early in the third period. They scored two more goals 4:09 apart later in that period before a shorthanded tally from Northeastern’s Matt Filipe ruined Jake Oettinger’s shutout bid with 1:45 left.
O’Connell captained BU’s 1998-99 team before returning as an assistant coach in 2014.
3. Minnesota State takes two over Gophers
Fourth-ranked Minnesota State enjoyed a statement weekend, bagging two wins against an in-state nonconference rival in No. 10 Minnesota.
MSU never trailed Friday in a 5-1 road victory in Minneapolis. Mavericks senior forward Marc Michaelis had a four-point game (two goals, two assists), and junior Charlie Gerard had a goal and two assists as MSU beat Minnesota for the fifth time in the teams’ last seven meetings.
Make that six from eight after MSU beat the Golden Gophers again, 2-1, Saturday in Mankato. Minnesota scored first late in the first period on a Rem Pitlick one-timer past Mavericks goalie Mathias Israelsson, but second-period goals from Parker Toumie (power play) and Jake Jaremko (shorthanded) proved enough to help MSU clinch the sweep.
4. North Dakota sweeps Wisconsin
No. 14 North Dakota had an iffy start to the season, going 0-1-2 before Oct. 20. Since then, UND has split with then-No. 7 Minnesota State, beaten Minnesota in a one-off game in Las Vegas and, last weekend, swept No. 16 Wisconsin at home.
The Fighting Hawks ran into particularly few problems Friday in a 5-0 win. Rhett Gardner recorded a hat trick and Collin Adams had three assists while UND freshman goalie Adam Scheel stopped all 24 shots he faced.
Another UND newcomer was the hero Saturday when defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker scored the winning goal in a 3-2 overtime victory. The first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators picked up his second collegiate goal during a 5-on-3 power play by wristing a shot through traffic and into the net 21 seconds into the extra period.
UND faces another tough test this weekend at No. 20 Miami.
5. Omaha at last gets into win column
Miami’s third loss of the season came Saturday on the road when Omaha got goals from six different players in a 6-3 win at Baxter Arena.
UNO trailed 2-0 14 minutes into the game on Miami power-play goals from Grant Hutton and Phil Knies, but Taylor Ward pulled a goal back with 1:01 left in the first period before Omaha went ahead for good on three second-period power play goals all coming in a 2:23 span.
The victory snapped an 0-6-1 start to the season for the Mavericks, their worst in program history.
6. Arizona State records first top-10 victory
One of the teams that beat Omaha earlier this year was Arizona State, who swept the Mavericks two weeks ago in Tempe before the Sun Devils accomplished a split last weekend at No. 6 Penn State.
Both games in University Park, Pa., were tight, as Penn State scored three third-period goals Friday to win 6-5. On Saturday, however, Arizona State earned its first-ever win over a top-10 team, with Johnny Walker’s goal — his second of the game — 1:09 into overtime lifting the Sun Devils to a 4-3 victory.
ASU was 23-62-10 in its first three full seasons in NCAA Division I hockey. This season, the Sun Devils are 7-3.
7. Bowling Green gets mixed results at home
Ninth-ranked Bowling Green could drop in the national rankings today splitting at home last weekend against Northern Michigan.
BGSU scored once in each period Friday through three different skaters in a 3-1 win. Northern Michigan bounced back Saturday, with Connor Frantti’s goal 4:27 into the game standing up as the winner in a 2-0 Wildcats victory.
Defensively, it was a night to forget for BGSU as the Falcons gave up two goals on 15 shots. NMU’s Atte Tolvanen stopped all 35 shots he faced to finish the series with 59 saves from 62 shots.
8. Lake State scores eight in split with Michigan
Twelfth-ranked Michigan made its first trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., last weekend since the CCHA dissolved after the 2012-13 season, and the homestanding Lakers were very much up to the challenge.
LSSU put in its best performance of the season Friday in a 5-2 win, getting a four-point performance (one goal, three assists) from Anthony Nellis. The Lakers were less fortunate Saturday in a 5-3 loss but scored a goal in each period, with Nellis getting his second of the weekend 96 seconds into the second period.
Lake Superior is 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in WCHA play. This weekend, the Lakers will host league rival Alaska (0-7-1).
9. Dutchmen record weekend sweep
No. 17 Union continued its solid start to the season with two home wins against ECAC rivals.
Jack Adams scored the Dutchmen’s first two goals Friday in a 4-1 win over St. Lawrence, the second of those tallies standing up as the game-winner off a 5-on-3 power play midway through the second period. Union then never trailed Saturday in a 3-2 win over Clarkson but held on after Michael Ryan put the hosts in front for good 5:19 into the third period.
Union (6-2-1) visits No. 19 Princeton (1-1-1) this Friday facing No. 15 Quinnipiac (6-1) on Saturday in Hamden, Conn.
10. Air Force sweeps service academy series
The new season’s first games between D-I hockey’s two military service academies went to Air Force, with the Falcons earning matching 4-2 wins last weekend at Army West Point.
Air Force’s Brady Tomlak put away a rebound with 2:48 left to put the Falcons ahead for good in Friday’s opener before four different AFA skaters scored Saturday. One big difference in the series was Air Force goalie Billy Christopoulos, who made 47 saves on the weekend.
Air Force (4-4), currently leading Atlantic Hockey, plays at home this weekend against Bentley (2-4-1). Army West Point (4-4-1) is preparing for a home-and-home series against Sacred Heart (1-3-1).
