(Photo provided by Marian Athletics)
Marian pulled off a big win over the weekend, edging seventh-ranked Trine 5-4 on Saturday.
Tied at 2-2 after two, the Sabres outscored the Thunder 3-2 in the final period, getting a game-winning goal from Daunte Fortner, who found the back of the net with 10.3 seconds to play in regulation.
The goal was Fortner’s second of the game and resulted in the fourth multi-goal game of the year for him. He’s had at least one point in five consecutive games. Edison Weeks added two assists and Nicholas Von Kaufmann won his first college game, making 24 saves.
Marian scored five goals in a game for the third time this year and snapped a six-game losing streak to the Thunder while improving to 8-13-1 overall and 5-9-1 in the conference.
Trine flipped the script on Sunday, getting a goal from Logan Furstneau with 3.6 seconds to play to secure a 3-2 win.
Drew Welsh and Drew Jeffers each tallied a goal and assist as the Thunder improved to 17-5-1 overall and 11-4-1 in the NCHA.
Spartans keep streak going
Aurora is unbeaten in its last 10 games after tying MSOE on Friday and winning on Saturday.
The third-ranked Spartans capped the series with a 6-3 win, scoring all six goals in the final two periods after trailing 2-0 at the end of one.
Aurora is 19-3-1 overall and 13-2-1 in the NCHA, and the win total for the Spartans is tied for the most in program history.
Landry Schmuck and Jacob Brockman scored twice and also each dished out an assist. Hassan Akl added two assists, as did Juliano Santalucia. Akl leads the country in assists. Schmuck leads the nation in goals.
In Friday’s game, the two teams played to a 3-3 tie after regulation and two overtime periods before the Spartans won the shootout by a 2-1 count.
MSOE is 10-8-4 overall and 5-7-3 in the conference. Seth Bernard scored twice in Friday’s game. Austin Schwab made 27 saves.
Bulldogs dominate series
Ryan Pitoscia helped Adrian finish off a big weekend, coming through with a hat trick in a 6-1 win over Concordia.
He also hit the 100-point milestone in his career in the win after scoring a goal in the opening period. Pitoscia also came through with an assist in the victory. Bradley Somers tallied three assists for Adrian, which is 16-7 overall and 10-6 in the NCHA.
The Bulldogs blanked the Falcons on Friday as Ryder Nienhuis stole the show with a four-goal effort, tying the program record for most goals in a game.
Adrian is 55-0 all-time against Concordia, with 10 wins coming via shutout.
Fraser shines for St. Norbert
Liam Fraser is used to rising to the occasion for St. Norbert, and he did it again on Friday, tying the NCAA Division III single-season record for game-winning goals in a 3-2 victory over Lake Forest.
Fraser scored in the first minute of the third period to give the Green Knights the lead for good. He now has nine game-winning goals on the year and 16 goals overall as St. Norbert won its third consecutive road game.
St. Norbert scored twice in the third in Saturday’s game to force overtime. Calvin Hanson then scored less than two minutes into OT for the win.
Fraser finished with a goal and two assists. He has 74 goals in his career, the second-most in program history.
The sixth-ranked team in the country is 18-5 overall and 13-3 in the NCHA.
MIAC
Cobbers on a roll
Concordia is a team on the rise in the MIAC.
The Cobbers are unbeaten in their last six, picking up two more wins this past weekend in a series sweep of Hamline, surging to fourth place in the conference standings.
Concordia was once near the bottom of the league but is rolling now, sitting at 10-9-2 overall and 6-4-2 in the league.
In Saturday’s 6-4 win,, the Cobbers shook off a 4-1 first period deficit on their way to a a big win.
Mason Plante scored twice while Dane Couture racked up 12 saves. Tied at 4-4, Hunter Olson scored the game winner for the Cobbers a little over three minutes left in the third.
Concordia won 3-1 on Friday, scoring twice in the second to take control in its first game in two weeks. Caden Triggs scored the game winner for his sixth goal of the year. Couture made 22 saves.
Gusties stay in first
After playing to a 2-2 tie against Saint John’s on Friday, Gustavus finished off the series with a 3-0 win over the Johnnies.
The Gusties scored all three of their goals in the third period as they beat Saint John’s for the first time since 2015.
Joey Gimberlin, Drew Holt and Nate Stone all scored for the Gusties, who are 13-7-1 overall and 9-2-1 in the MIAC.
Marko Belak came through with his third shutout of the season, making 25 saves, to help Gustavus stretch their lead in the standings to eight points.
Gustavus won a shootout thanks to a goal by Wilmer Svensson. Belak tallied 36 saves, stopping all five shots in the shootout.
Oles on a roll
St. Olaf stretched its win streak to four games on Saturday with a 3-1 win over St. Scholastica.
The Oles won Friday’s game by a 5-4 score. They come out of the weekend in third place in the standings. They are 11-7-3 overall and 6-5-1 in the MiAC.
Jonathan Panisa helped lead the way as he scored a goal and dished out an assist while Thomas Lalonde stopped 28 shots and hit the 1,000-save milestone in his career.
Down 3-2 after one period on Friday, the Oles rallied for a win, scoring three times in the third to take the lead.
Panisa was on top of his game as he scored two goals while also dishing out an assist to record the first three-point game of his collegiate career. Tyler Green also stepped up, tallying a goal and assist.
Lalonde rose to the occasion as well, making 18 saves, including a key save in the third on his way to his third win of the season.
WIAC
Still on top
UW-Superior remains the top team in the WIAC after sweep UW-Stout. The Yellowjackets won 2-1 and 4-1, stretching their unbeaten streak to 15 games.
The 11th-ranked team in the USCHO.com poll got two goals from Reed Stark as they assured themselves of no worse than a second place finish in the league standings.
Stark and Justin Dauphinais are now tied for the team lead in goals scored with 12 apiece. Kobe Grant stopped 23 shots for his sixth win.
The unbeaten streak by Superior is the third longest in school history, and the Yellowjackets improved to 18-3-2 overall and 11-1-1 in the WIAC. The team hasn’t won 17 or more games since the 2008-09 campaign.
Down 1-0 after two periods on Friday, the Yellowjackets scored twice, including off a goal by Dauphinais as they won their fourth overtime game of the year. Collin Pederson tied the game in the third.
Jack Boschert racked up 20 saves for Superior and has allowed one goal or less in eight of his 10 appearances.
Blugolds split with Falcons
UW-Eau Claire moved into third place in the WIAC standings after salvaging a split in its series with UW-River Falls Saturday, winning 7-5 in a wild game on the road.
The Blugolds scored five times in the second period while the Falcons scored three times. Eau Claire led 6-4 going to the third.
Conor Szmul scored twice while Collin Stein, Jadon Reimer, Trenten Hyde and Tyler Herzberg finished with two assists apiece. Maz Gutjahr racked up 22 saves.
Eau Claire improved to 9-13-1 overall and 7-6 in the WIAC.
It was a different story on Friday as the Falcons prevailed in overtime, beating the Blugolds 2-1. Reid Lune stepped up in crunch time, scoring the game winner in OT. It was his eighth goal of the year and the second game-winning goal of the season. Brennan Boynton stopped 33 saves, tying a season high in that category. He also won his 12th game.
Pointers power past Northland
UW-Stevens Point had little trouble against Northland, winning 8-2 on Friday and finishing the series with a 5-0 win on Saturday.
The 10th-ranked Pointers got a hat trick from Sean Bunting in Saturday’s game. It was the first three-goal game of his collegiate career. The Pointers improved to 17-5-1 overall and 9-3-1 in the WIAC. They have won three consecutive games.
Eight Pointers scored in Friday’s win as Stevens Point shook off a 2-0 deficit by tallying eight unanswered goals. Nico Chmeleveski and Andrew Poulias both finished with a goal and assist.
