Behind two goals by Lucius, No. 11 Minnesota routs No. 3 Michigan, 5-1; injury-ridden No. 16 Northeastern shuts out No. 13 Providence; No. 5 St. Cloud State scores eight on No. 7 North Dakota

By
-
There were plenty of opportunities to celebrate for No. 11 Minnesota as they scored three first-period goals and cruised to a 5-1 win at No. 3 Michigan (File photo: Jim Rosvold)

Minnesota scored three times in the first period, including twice by Chaz Lucius, as the Gophers cruised to an easy, 5-1, victory over host Michigan.

The Wolverines continue to struggle at home. Michigan, which is undefeated on the road, is 6-5-0 at Yost.

Ben Meyers and Sammy Walker each posted two assists for Minnesota, while Jack LaFontaine stopped 30 shots in victory.

Michigan starter Erik Portillo was pulled after making 17 saves on 22 shots. His replacement Noah West stopped all eight shots he faced.

SCOREBOARD  |  USCHO.com POLL  | PAIRWISE RANKINGS

No. 5 St. Cloud State 8, No. 7 North Dakota 1

St. Cloud State needed a bounce back after being swept by Western Michigan two weekends ago. After a week idle, the Huskies had a response and then some.

St. Cloud scored three first period goals, faced some pushback when North Dakota responded in the second, but then scored the final five goals over the final 25 minutes to notch a rout of the Fighting Hawks.

Easton Brodzinski scored three goals and added an assist to pace the Huskies offense while Nick Perbix registered four assists in the game.

St. Cloud State scored three times in seven opportunities with the man advantage while North Dakota was held off the board on its two power plays.

No. 16 Northeastern 2, No. 13 Providence 0

On a night where Northeastern is depleted by injuries, particularly at the forward position, the Huskies relied on its defense, particularly it last line of defense – goaltender Devon Levi.

Levi posted a 37-save shutout and was beyond valuable to the Huskies team, particularly early in the game when Northeastern killed a five-minute power play after leading scorer Aidan McDonough was ejected for contact to the head.

Gunnerwolfe Fontaine scored the only goal at 5-on-5 with 53 seconds remaining in the opening period. Matt Choupani scored a shorthanded, empty-net goal with 1:19 left.

No. 15 UMass Lowell 4, No. 14 Massachusetts 4 (OT – UML wins shootout, 1-0)

The Battle of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was supposed to be a defensive battle. The two teams entered the game with two of the lowest goals against averages nationally.

Instead, it was an offensive explosion that entertained the sellout crowd at Tsongas Center, both teams scored four times before Carl Berglund scored the only goal in a shootout as the River Hawks took two-of-three points in the Hockey East standings.

UMass grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Ryan Lautenbach in the first and Scott Morrow early in the second. But Lowell had a rally in the middle frame. After Matt Allen scored his first collegiate goal at 9:18, a strange scrum after the whistle gave the River Hawks a two-man advantage for a full two minutes.

Both Reid Stefanson and Matt Crasa scored on the power play for a 3-2 Lowell edge heading to the third. But the scored was hardly over.

Anthony Del Gaizo scored twice in the third, sandwiched between Crasa’s second of the night.

Despite a power play in OT, UMass was unable to score, forcing the shootout where Owen Savory stopped all three Minutemen shooters.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR