Three goals in 80 seconds in the second period broke open a scoreless tie as the Minnesota Golden Gophers earned a 4-1 victory over St. Cloud State in the championship game of the Mariucci Classic, giving the hosts their first championship since 2012.
Sammy Walker, Tyler Nanne and Bryce Brodzinski all scored between the 3:46 and 5:24 mark of the second period to give the Gophers control of the game.
Scott Reedy scored an empty-net goal and St. Cloud’s Micah Miller’s goal late broke up the shutout.
“Got a couple wins for #Wooger” https://t.co/d68SQdmMla
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) December 30, 2019
Jack LaFontaine earned his second win of the weekend making 24 saves.No. 2 Minnesota State won the consolation game with a 2-0 victory over Bemidji State.
Catamount Cup (Burlington, Vt.)Vermont 2, Lake Superior 0
For the second straight game, Stefanos Lekkas posted a shutout, this time making 31 saves, and Ace Cowans first period goal held up as the game-winner, as Vermont skated past Lake Superior, 2-0.
Combined with Providence’s 1-1 tie with Union, Vermont takes the championship in the pre-determined field tournament. It is the third time in four years and second straight season that Vermont has won its holiday tournament.
RECAP: #VCats capture 2019 Catamount Cup behind 31-save shutout from @S_Lekkas https://t.co/9rz7UbwoEv #ThisIsVermont pic.twitter.com/ilsqux7u3l
— UVM Men's Hockey (@UVMmhockey) December 30, 2019
The weekend for Lekkas was elite, posting two straight shutouts and making 57 saves on the two nights. Similarly Cowans scored the only two goals with the Catamounts closing out each game with empty-net tallies.
Ledyard Bank Classic (Hanover, N.H.)Dartmouth 4, Connecticut 3
Quin Foreman’s goal with 3:34 left in regulation broke a 3-3 and completed a comeback from a two-goal deficit as Dartmouth won its first Ledyard Bank Classic championship since 2015, 4-3, over Connecticut.
Here it is… the goal that won the #LedyardClassic.
Quin Foreman: Tournament MVP pic.twitter.com/xZ7UANdLbn
— Dartmouth Men's Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) December 30, 2019
UConn’s Carter Turnbull, whose goal in the ninth round of a shootout on Saturday gave UConn its title game berth, scored twice in 42 seconds early in the third to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead.But that was short lived.
Drew O’Connor’s seventh of the season at 6:49 of the third pulled the Big Green within a goal. Then Sam Hesler’s tally with 10:22 left evened the title game.Dartmouth goaltender Adrian Clark was stellar in earning the victory making 41 saves.
Colorado College bested St. Lawrence, 7-3, in the consolation game.
