The final weekend of January is here and it’s all conference play across the schedule. Saint John’s and Augsburg play a big MIAC series, with Friday’s game being played outdoors, and nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point faces a big test against UW-Stout, the hottest team in the MIAC at the moment. In the NCHA, St. Norbert heads out on the road to take on Trine in a key conference series.
It should be a fun weekend ahead as every team is jockeying for position in the standings going into the final month of the regular season.
St. Scholastica (10-5-2, 7-0-1) vs. Hamline (9-7-1, 2-6)
The first-place Saints look to maintain their hold atop the standings. They have won their last two games and feature two of the best offensive players in the game in Arkhip Ledenkov and Filimo Ledenkov. The two have combined for 25 goals. Nathan Adrian has scored 12 goals on the year. Hamline is led by Sam Dabrowski (9 goals) and is coming off a big win over Saint John’s.
St. Scholastica, 4-3 and 3-1
Saint John’s (10-7-2, 6-3-1) vs. Augsburg (9-7-1, 5-3)
The Johnnies face one of their toughest tests of the year as they take on the Auggies in a key MIAC series. There’s an added twist to the Friday night game as it will be played outdoors
Michael Nick is the second best goal scorer in the league, tallying 13 on the season for the Johnnies. Bailey Huber has been tough in goal and leads the league in goals against average (1.77). The Auggies also have a pretty good netminder in Samuel Vyletelka, who sports a 2.38 goals against average. Austin Dollimer has come through with nine goals. It won’t be a surprise if this one ends in a split.
Saint John’s 5-3; Augsburg, 4-2
Saint Mary’s (8-8-1, 4-4) vs. Bethel (9-9-1, 4-5-1)
The Cardinals slit with the Oles last weekend and go into this series with a chance to gain some ground in the standings. They are currently sixth in the standings. Saint Mary’s has used a balanced attack this year, with no player scoring more than seven goals.
Bethel is led by Jarrett Cammarata, who has come through with nine goals on the year and he’ll try to help the Royals snap a three-game losing streak.
Saint Mary’s, 3-1; Bethel 4-2
St. Olaf (11-7-1, 5-5) vs. Concordia (7-9-1, 4-4)
The Oles are just six points out of first place and could really position itself in a good place going into February with a strong series against the Cobbers. Tyler Cooper has scored the fourth-most goals in the league with 10. The Cobbers have shown they can compete with anyone and have won their last two games after losing their first four games of the month. They have an opportunity to go into February on a high note.
St. Olaf, 3-1 and 5-3
UW-Stevens Point (12-4-3, 8-1) vs. UW-Stout (14-4-1, 5-3-1)
The Pointers are ranked ninth in the USCHO D-III men’ poll and face a big test against a hot UW-Stout team. The Blue Devils have won their last five games and are just six points out of first place.
An offensive show could be in store in this series. The top four goal scorers in the conference will be on the ice. Peyton Hart and Jacob Halvorson of UW-Stout have combined for 26 goals. Conor Witherspoon and Andrew Poulias have combined for 19 goals.
UW-Stevens Point, 5-4; UW-Stout, 4-3
UW-River Falls (7-11-1, 1-7-1) vs. UW-Superior (10-7-2, 5-3-1)
The Falcons haven’t had an easy season and face a tall order on the road against the Yellowjackets, who feature two of the top goal scorers in the conference in C.J. Walker and Colton Friesen. Both have tallied nine goals apiece. The Falcons have taken nearly 30 shots per game on the season and Mike Gelatt has tallied six goals and seven assists. Yellowjackets should prevail but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Falcons get out of here with a split.
UW-Superior, 4-3 and 3-2
St. Norbert (11-6-2, 8-3-1) at Trine (12-6-1, 7-5)
The Green Knights are eager to bounce back after falling in the final game of its series with Marian last weekend. Ben Schmidling will look to play a key role as he ranks second in the league in points with 27. He’s quite the playmaker as he has dished out 18 assists on the season. Trine has an opportunity to make a statement at home against the 12th-ranked team in the nation. Cristian Wong-Ramos ranks third in goals against average (2.28). Colby Entz of St. Norbert is second in that category (1.97).
St. Norbert, 4-3; Trine, 3-2
Aurora (14-3-2, 10-0-2) at Marian (7-10-2, 4-6-2)
The Spartans hold down the top spot in the NCHA standings and come in ranked fifth in the country. Jack Jaunich ranks fifth in the league in points (26) while Kobly Thornton has been solid in goal, allowing 2.43 goals per game. Marian is riding the high of a win over St. Norbert last weekend and will need to duplicate that kind of effort to upset the Spartans.
Aurora, 5-2 and 4-2
Concordia (3-16, 3-9) at Adrian (14-3-2, 8-3-1)
The Falcons won’t have it easy against the fourth-ranked Bulldogs, especially on the road. They are going to need a stellar defensive effort to get a win, having given up 95 goals on the season while scoring only 41. Adrian is on the cusp of clinching a conference tournament berth and are still one of the top scoring teams around, putting up 86 goals on the year. If that offense is clicking, Adrian will be in good shape.
Adrian, 6-2 and 5-1
