Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. Much up for grabs in the WCHA
Nothing seems settled yet in the WCHA after a weekend that saw eight out 10 teams play.
Minnesota State extended its lead on Bemidji State by taking both games against Northern Michigan at home.
The Mavericks won the Friday night game thanks to a pair of goals from Jared Spooner, and two points each from Spooner, Connor Mackey, Charlie Gerard, Julian Napravnik, Walker Duehr, Reggie Lutz, and Edwin Hookenson.
In Saturday’s 1-0 win, Spooner struck again, 13:35 into the opening frame. From there, Dryden McKay shut the door, making 22 saves en route to his 25th win of the season.
The Mavericks have next weekend off.
2. Michigan takes two from Wisconsin at Yost
Michigan, looking to close out the regular season strong, took both games at home from Wisconsin, winning 8-4 and 5-3.
With the wins, the Wolverines put some space between themselves and the Badgers in the Big 10 standings as they now hold a 10-point lead in the race for sixth place and also sit just one point back of fifth-place Notre Dame.
Nick Granowicz scored three times Friday night. Jake Slaker added a goal and three assists to help spark the Wolverines’ offense to the win.
Saturday, Slaker scored one goal and Granowicz added an assist in the win. Jimmy Lambert added a pair of assists on the night as well.
3. Arizona State goes east, wins twice
In one of the team’s longest road trips of the season, Arizona State needed overtime to defeat Holy Cross 3-2 Friday night. The Sun Devils then traveled to face Bentley on Saturday, and cruised to a 3-0 victory.
Trailing 2-1 in the third period Friday, P.J. Marrocco scored 1:14 into the third to even things at 2-2. Then Joshua Maniscalco struck 3:44 into the extra session to lift the Sun Devils to the win.
In Saturday’s win, Austin Lemieux picked up assists on goals by Filips Buncis in the first period and by Brett Gruber in the second period as the Sun Devils carried a 2-0 lead into the final frame. Gruber then assisted on Brinson Pasichnuk’s empty-net goal to seal the win.
4. Michigan Tech lends out some Winter Carnival magic
On Friday night, Michigan Tech celebrated Winter Carnival by jumping out to an early 1-0 lead before seemingly handing over some of their mojo to the Lake Superior State for the rest of the night.
Ashton Calder struck twice, including once short-handed, driving Huskies starting netminder Matt Jurusik from the game before it was 12 minutes old.
Six different Lakers scored in the 7-3 win.
Saturday night, the Huskies were outshot 42-30, but found a way to earn a 4-3 win in overtime. Brian Halonen scored just 45 seconds into the contest, struck again at 14:53 of the second period and later picked up the primary assist on Alex Smith’s game-winning tally with 30 seconds left in the first overtime.
5. Minnesota Duluth takes two at home
Two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth continued its hot run with a pair of wins over Omaha over the weekend, taking 3-2 and 4-1 victories.
Seven different Bulldogs scored goals over the weekend as they continue to find players chipping in to help them win games. Kobe Roth, Quinn Olson and Noah Cates all scored on Friday.
Saturday, after a scoreless first period, Justin Richards, Tanner Laderoute, Jade Miller and Cole Koepke all found the twine. Laderoute finished the weekend with a goal and two assists.
The Bulldogs find themselves just two points back of North Dakota with six conference games left on their schedule.
6. Alaska continues to shine
Alaska continues to hold down the fourth and final home playoff spot in the WCHA standings thanks, in part, to a five-point weekend on the road against Alabama Huntsville.
On Friday, the Nanooks had to battle back from a 3-1 deficit at the start of the second period, which they did thanks to goals from Steven Jandric and Kylar Hope. However, the Chargers scored three more times in the middle frame, giving them a 6-4 lead heading into the third. James LaDouce and Max Newton scored in the third for the Nanooks to force overtime.
Saturday, Gustavs Grigals made 26 saves on 26 Chargers’ shots to earn the 3-0 win and the shutout.
7. UMass Lowell earns two more wins
Wins out east come at a premium, but UMass Lowell earned a pair of them over the weekend, 3-2 over Boston College and 4-3 over Merrimack, both on the road.
Friday, the River Hawks trailed early in the second period before Carl Berglund and Kenny Hausinger scored 5:10 apart to give Lowell a 2-1 lead heading into the third. After the Eagles tied things at 2-2 on a goal by Ben Finkelstein just under a minute into the third, Marek Korencik regained the lead for good for the River Hawks at 10:51.
Saturday, the River Hawks used goals from Matt Brown, Connor Sodergren, Blake Wells and Korencik in the middle frame to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead. They hung on from there to earn the win.
8. Bowling Green storms back with sweep
Looking to right the ship before the regular season comes to a close, Bowling Green earned a pair of wins at home over the weekend against Alaska Anchorage, 5-4 and 4-1.
Friday, five different Falcons found the net as Taylor Schneider and Jacob Dalton scored in the first period, Cameron Wright and Will Cullen scored in the second, and Alec Rauhauser scored the game-winner 2:14 into overtime.
Saturday, four more Falcons scored as Casey Linkenheld, Tim Theocharidis, Adam Conquest and Sam Craggs all found the net. Zach Rose added 10 saves to earn the win.
9. Quinnipiac avoids upset late Saturday
On Saturday night, Quinnipiac found itself down 2-0 after Brown got its second goal of the night from Brent Beaudoin with just 2:37 left in the frame.
Searching for a spark, the Bobcats got in Ethan de Jong, who found daylight behind Bears goaltender Gavin Nieto at 19:57. Looking then to build that spark into a flame, the Bobcats jumped out quickly in the third, thanks to a goal from Alex Whelan just 2:23 in. The Bobcats continued to storm Nieto, firing 17 shots at him in the third and in the overtime session, but only beat him once over that stretch.
10. Western Michigan rolls over Rensselaer
Playing their final nonconference weekend of the season, Western Michigan was looking for something to build on before they set out to face Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota on back-to-back weekends in late February.
The Broncos earned 8-4 and 6-2 victories over Rensselaer.
Friday night, Hugh McGing scored twice and added an assist. Dawson DiPietro notched one goal and two assists for a three-point night as well. Seven more skaters had at least two points in the win.
Saturday, Cam Lee had two goals and an assist and Drew Worrad added three assists to lead the charge for the Broncos. Austin Rueschhoff added a goal and an assist as well in the victory.
