Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. Bemidji takes two on road in Mankato
Bemidji State last week earned its first sweep over in-state rival Minnesota State since 2006, taking both games of a CCHA series on No. 16 MSU’s home ice.
Mankato native Kyle Looft scored the overtime winner in Bemidji’s 4-3 victory Friday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, firing into the net with 28.5 seconds left. The Beavers had to come from behind late, as two MSU power-play goals in the first 2:56 of the third period put the Mavericks ahead 3-2, but Aaron Myers drew the visitors level at 7:22.
Saturday’s 4-1 Bemidji win was a little more straightforward for the Beavers. The game was tied 1-1 early in the second period, but three unanswered goals for the visitors helped BSU sit atop the CCHA standings at the holiday break.
2. Top-ranked Pioneers get a scare
Denver didn’t have everything the Pioneers’ way last weekend at home to Lindenwood.
Or, at least, not in one of the games.
Five different DU players scored in the Pios’ 5-0 win Friday, when goaltender Matt Davis pitched a 19-save shutout.
Saturday provided a much different story. Denver led 3-1 in the second period after Mike Benning scored back-to-back goals, but in the third, Mitch Allard and a second goal of the game from Cade DeStefani tied the game at 4-4, only for DU’s Justin Lee to wrap up his team’s 5-4 win with 2:27 left.
That seems to say plenty for a Lindenwood team in its first NCAA Division I season, and which lost 9-1 at Denver at the start of last season.
3. Buckeyes take two over in-state foe
Fourteenth-ranked Ohio State picked up two wins last weekend in a home-and-home series against former CCHA rival Bowling Green.
Five different Buckeyes scored Friday in a 5-2 win on BGSU’s home ice. Three goals in less than a minute in the third period opened up what had been a tight game.
Saturday’s rematch in Columbus was just as eventful. Ohio State opened up a 7-0 lead but won 9-4. Joe Dunlop and James Burnside both scored twice.
4. Nanooks claim Governor’s Cup again
Alaska last weekend continued the Nanooks’ recent dominance over in-state rival Alaska Anchorage, taking both games of a weekend set in Anchorage.
One week after Alaska beat UAA twice at home, four goals from as many players helped the Nanooks to a 4-0 win Friday, and a 17-save shutout Saturday from Matt Radomsky saw Alaska win 1-0.
Chase Dubois scored the lone goal on a night when the Nanooks claimed the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup for the 12th consecutive time.
5. Upper Peninsula rivals split series
Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State split a weekend series on LSSU’s home ice.
MTU outshot the host Lakers 41-21 Friday, but couldn’t solve goalie Ethan Langenegger in a game where Lake State won 3-0. Benito Posa scored twice for LSSU.
The Huskies exacted revenge Saturday, when five different Tech players scored in a 5-1 win.
6. Tommies, Bulldogs split, too
St. Thomas and Ferris State split a CCHA series on the Tommies’ home ice in Minnesota.
The Tommies scored back-to-back goals on three separate occasions in a 7-4 win Friday, when Mack Byers and Luke Manning both scored twice.
Ferris fought back Saturday, scoring three unanswered in a 4-2 victory. Four different Bulldogs scored, and Brenden MacLaren had a goal and an assist.
7. Niagara coach re-ups
Sixth-year Niagara coach Jason Lammers is set to stick around through the 2026-27 season, the university announced Wednesday.
Lammers has led the Purple Eagles to two Atlantic Hockey semifinal appearances, and until last week, Niagara was the only AHA team to receive votes in the DCU/USCHO.com poll over the past 11 weeks.
Niagara is 9-5-2 at the semester break. The Purple Eagles opened the season with a road sweep over Omaha and won five straight between Oct. 29 and Nov. 26.
8. World Junior roster NCAA-heavy
Twenty-one of the 25 spots on the United States World Junior Championship roster are currently on a Division I roster.
Other countries are joining in on the fun. Michigan forward Adam Fantilli will play for Canada, and Providence’s Jaroslav Chmelar made the Czechia roster.
The tournament, held in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, begins Dec. 26.
9. Minnesota State SID retires
He might not love my saying this, but a sports information legend retired last week after serving more than 37 years at Minnesota State.
Paul Allan, MSU’s senior deputy athletic director for external operations, joined the university’s athletic department in 1985. Friday was the last day for a tenure longer than any current athletic communications staff member at a Minnesota college or university.
Allan entered the College Sports Information Directors of America hall of fame in 2009, and in his time at MSU, he helped oversee the Mavericks’ transition from Division III hockey to Division I.
I got to know him while I was an Omaha and WCHA men’s hockey reporter with USCHO.com and have missed working with him since my role here changed with the advent of the NCHC.
All the best, Paul.
10. Northeastern survives LIU test
Hockey East’s Northeastern ended up getting all it could want in a road trip to independent Long Island, eking out a 4-3 win Sunday.
The visiting Huskies built up a 3-0 lead, that LIU would tear down over the second and third periods. Sam Colangelo’s second goal of the night, this one coming in overtime, was the decider.
Northeastern’s win snapped a four-game skid, dating back to mid-November.
