Boston College scored three unanswered goals in the third period in the Eagles’ 4-2 victory over New Hampshire last Friday night (photo: Brody Hannon).
Boston College is again the top team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll, collecting all 50 first-place votes in this week’s rankings.
Michigan State is again No. 2, while Western Michigan is up one to No. 3, Minnesota is down one to No. 4, and Maine holds steady at No. 5.
Denver stays No. 6, Providence is again No. 7, Ohio State moves up one to No. 8, Boston University is down one to No. 9, and Arizona State enters the top 10, up two from last week.
UMass Lowell falls out of the top 10, sitting 13th in this week’s poll after a No. 10 ranking.
Previously unranked Penn State is 18th this week and Omaha comes in at No. 20.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 12 others received votes this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger review games of the weekend and news of the week.
Highlights include Minnesota State’s pivotal sweep over Augustana in the CCHA, Boston College extending its winning streak to nine games, and Western Michigan’s strong performance against St. Cloud State. Additional discussions cover Ohio State’s dominance over Notre Dame in the Big Ten, surprising developments in Atlantic Hockey, and potential Hobey Baker Award candidates such as Ryan Leonard, Isaac Howard, and others. The episode also delves into standout goaltenders for the Richter Award, emphasizing the importance of sufficient playing time for award consideration.
This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four, April 10 and 12 in St. Louis. Get your tickets now at ncaa.com/frozenfour
Times are approximate:
00:15 Introduction and sponsorship
00:36 Minnesota State in the CCHA
03:10 Boston College’s winning streak
05:37 Western Michigan’s strong performance
08:08 Ohio State’s surprise season
09:49 Penn State’s climb in the PairWise Rankings
12:47 Maine’s quiet rise in Hockey East
18:32 Atlantic Hockey shake-up
25:14 Hobey Baker and Richter frontrunners
37:48 Conclusion and sign-off
Chatham’s Nick Cyprian scored the game tying goal in Friday’s overtime battle with Utica where the Cougars won the shootout (Photo by Chatham Athletics)
Things are definitely heating up as the weeks in February roll by. Battles at the top are getting tighter, especially in the UCHC, SUNYAC, CNE and MASCAC at both the top as well as contests for playoff position further down the standings. The NE-10 has their regular season champion (St. Anselm) confirmed with one remaining week on the schedule, but they and the MAC may be the only ones where there is enough of a gap and too few games remaining to matter to take the top sot away from Wilkes. Some ranked teams struggled this week including Utica, Hamilton, and Endicott who saw their weekends blemished by ties and both a tie and a loss for the Continentals. The excitement is going to continue right to the final horn – here is the weekend roundup in the east:
CNE
The battle for seeding is red hot as just three points separate Curry at the top from second place, University of New England and Endicott lurking four points further in arrears. The real battle is for the remaining playoff positions of third place through sixth where the gap is five points among Suffolk, Johnson & Wales, Nichols, and Wentworth. This weekend certainly tightened things up.
Curry extended their win streak to eleven games with back-to-back shutouts over Wentworth. Karim Gayfullin’s second period goal was all Shane Soderwall needed in a 1-0 win over the Leopards on Friday and the Colonels extended their shutout streak on Saturday with a 4-0 victory. Three first period goals got the Colonels off and running while Jon Kopack and Soderwall split the shutout with a total of fifteen saves.
UNE kept pace with a pair of shutout wins as well over Johnson & Wales by scores of 3-0 and 7-0. Nathan Chickering figured in all the goals on Friday, scoring twice and assisting on Juraj Elias’s goal to open the scoring in the first period. Joey Stanizzi stopped eighteen Wildcat attempts for the shutout win on the road. Back home on Saturday, the Nor’easters opened up the offense with Ryan Kuzmich scoring two goals and Dominic Murphy chipping in with three assists in the lopsided win. Stefan Carney picked up the shutout stopping twenty-six shots.
Endicott earned a win and an overtime tie with Nichols to drop a point in the standings versus the frontrunners. Domenic Garrozzo paced the offense for the Gulls on Friday scoring a hat trick in an 8-2 rout of the Bison. Ryan Willett also had a three-point night scoring one goal and adding two assists. On Saturday, the Bison were far more aggressive on their home ice peppering Gulls goaltender Ryan Wilson with forty-four shots. Nathan Carl gave the home team a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded tally in the third period, but Jack Costanzo netted the game-tying goal with just 58 seconds remaining in regulation for the 1-1 draw. The Gulls took the shootout for the extra point following the scoreless overtime.
This upcoming weekend sees single games between all three league leaders that should make the race even more exciting as Curry hosts Endicott on Friday before traveling to face UNE on Saturday.
MAC
Wilkes has a comfortable lead over second place Stevenson, but Arcadia and Neumann are tied with twenty-eight points and Alvernia sits just four points back in a race for home-ice seeding.
While Wilkes downed Lebanon Valley, 3-1 and Stevenson defeated Misericordia, 6-2, Neumann picked up a big win over Arcadia on Friday night. In the battle of the Knights, the home team Arcadia Knights took a 2-0 lead before Neumann scored three unanswered goals in the second period, including two by Zack Smith for what proved to be the final scoring in a 3-2 road win. Goaltender Cole DeFazio stopped thirty-nine shots including fifteen in each of the second and third periods to backstop the Neumann comeback win.
Arcadia dropped another one-goal game to Wilkes on Saturday, 2-1 while Alvernia tightened things up winning on Friday against King’s and Saturday over Misericordia. On Friday, the Golden Wolves overcame a hat trick from the Monarchs’ Ethan Hersant as Justin Pare scored two goals and added three assists for Alvernia in a 7-3 win. On Saturday, a four-goal third period helped break a 3-3 tie for a 6-3 win over the Cougars. Frazer Dodd paced the attack with two goals while Will White and Lucas Ochitwa each chipped in with two assists.
MASCAC
While weather interfered with games scheduled for Thursday, Plymouth State won the contest played on Thursday and downed Rivier on Saturday for a seven-point lead over Anna Maria who has two games in hand. The real battle is behind third place Salem State where fourth place Worcester State is just three points ahead of seventh place Massachusetts-Dartmouth in what should be a wild race to the finish line.
Worcester State helped themselves out with a big 5-2 win over the Corsairs on Saturday which extended their win streak to four games. Shane Prifrel’s second goal of the game gave the Lancers a 3-1 lead early in the third period, but Hunter Scanlon halved the deficit for UMass-Dartmouth with over thirteen minutes still to play in regulation. Empty-net goals from Brian Clougherty and Anders Groongstad in the final ninety seconds sealed the 5-2 win. Goaltender Wyatt Friedlander stopped 33 of 35 shots to earn the win.
MCLA was riding a two-game win streak after last week’s OT win over Fitchburg and Friday’s 4-0 win over Rivier where goaltender Matthew Gover made thirty-seven saves in a 4-0 win over the Raiders. On Saturday, Anna Maria ended the trailblazers streak with an 8-3 win where the AmCats saw eight different goal scorers and four power play markers pace the attack.
NE-10
St. Anselm hosted St. Michael’s over the weekend with an opportunity to clinch the top seed and regular season title and accomplished both with two wins by 4-2 and 5-3 scores. On Friday, a three goal second period erased a 2-0 deficit to the Purple Knights and Hunter Brackett padded the margin in the third period for the final two-goal margin. On Saturday, the big line of Alberti, Burum and Brackett got going early with all three scoring to help the Hawks to a 3-0 lead. The Purple Knights closed the gap to one goal in the second period but third period goals from Steve Armstrong and Will Van der Veen sealed the 5-3 win.
SNHU jumped ahead of St. Michael’s in the standings with a win and an overtime tie (with shootout win) over Franklin Pierce over the weekend. On Friday, the Penmen rallied from a 2-0 hole against the Ravens with Brendan Lynch scoring one goal and assisting on three others in a 4-2 win. On Saturday, the resilient Penmen again found ways to rally from deficits of 2-1, 4-2, and 5-4 before earning a 5-5 OT tie on Kurt Watson’s third period score.
Earlier in the week the Ravens broke the ice for their first win of the season when they downed a struggling Assumption squad, 6-3. Austin Pick had a five-point game with a goal and four assists to pace the Ravens. Assumption then lost to Post in overtime on Friday as two goals, the second in OT, from Joe Santoro erased a one-goal lead for the Greyhounds in a 2-1 Eagles win. Goaltender Benjamin Cunneen stopped forty-four shots to earn the win.
NEHC
While Hobart is comfortably atop the conference standings and Babson has created some space in second place, there is a logjam of teams between third place and eighth place that are separated by just seven points including third-place Salve Regina being just three points in front of sixth place New England College.
New England College, winners of seven of their last eight, have found their game at the right time of the season. They continued their hot play by taking a two-game series from Elmira over the weekend. Friday night’s contest saw the Pilgrims take advantage of two power play goals to grab a 4-2 win over the Soaring Eagles. Jack Herron paced the attack with two goals and an assist for NEC. Saturday’s re-match was a playoff style atmosphere with both teams exchanging man advantage goals in the first period for all the scoring until Gunnar Sibley scored shorthanded to give the Pilgrims a 2-1 win.
Babson swept a two-game series from Massachusetts-Boston with 4-2 scores in both games. John McElaney led the Beavers offense on Friday with two -goals and Egan Schmitt iced the contest with an empty-net goal. On Saturday, the Beavers scored three times in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit in a second 4-2 win. Will Holland scored the game-winning goal late in the third period and Wyatt George added a more comfortable margin with his tally in the final two minutes of regulation.
Skidmore is yet another team that has found a winning formula in the past couple of weeks as the Thoroughbreds extended their win streak to four games with two wins over Albertus Magnus. Cooper Rice and Mitchell Floccare scored second period goals to break a 1-1 tie in Skidmore’s 4-1 win over the Falcons on Friday. On Saturday, the score was the same, but it was a fast start for the Thoroughbreds that determined the outcome early. Goals by Stephen Perez, Coleman Jenkins, and Ethan Heidepriem in just over a five-minute span in the opening period was more than enough to pace a 4-1 win for Skidmore.
NESCAC
Maybe no other conference has the volatility that one weekend’s results can bring to the standings like NESCAC. This week saw the gap at the top close between Hamilton and Trinity to just three points while third place to tenth place is just a ten-point gap with two weekends of action remaining for playoff eligibility and seeding.
Bowdoin jumped into third place with a strong weekend where they defeated Hamilton and tied Amherst. On Friday, goals were in abundance as the Polar Bears took advantage of two goals and two assists from Gabe Shipper in a 7-5 road win over the Continentals. Defense was a bit tighter on Saturday as Bowdoin and Amherst managed just one marker apiece and Polar Bar netminder Jacob Osbourne doing yeoman’s work with fifty saves to preserve the OT tie.
Trinity tightened the gap to Hamilton with wins over Middlebury and Williams over the weekend. On Friday, the Bantams needed goals by Eamon Doheny and Richard Boysen in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and post a 4-2 win over the Panthers. On Saturday, the Ephs took a 3-1 lead only to see Trinity battle back for a 4-3 advantage in the third period. Owen Stadheim tied the game with just fifteen seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 4-4. In the extra session Doheny gave Trinity the sudden victory with just twenty seconds remaining in the overtime period, 5-4.
SUNYAC
The standings in SUNYAC are set for some serious scoreboard watching as while Cortland has clinched a playoff spot, that is the only known for all the teams competing to earn a post-season berth. Just four points separate the top three teams while one point is the margin between fourth and seventh place.
Potsdam kept their playoff hopes alive when they ended Cortland’s four game win streak on Friday night. The Bears took advantage of two goals by Mason Hoehn to break a 1-1 tie and Jakub Hall added some margin late in the third period for a big 4-2 road win over the Red Dragons. Potsdam completed their weekend action with a comfortable 5-1 win over Morrisville to stay in the playoff mix.
Cortland rebounded on Saturday against Plattsburgh with a decisive 6-2 win at home. Two goals from Domenic Settimo and a goal and two assists from Colby Seitz helped the Red Dragons to a 4-0 advantage in route to the victory over the Cardinals.
After dropping a 4-3 contest to Canton, Buffalo State rallied to down Oswego on Saturday with two goals in the final period breaking a 2-2 tie in a 4-2 win over the Lakers. Don Powell and Connor Bizal provided the decisive markers for the Bengals.
Canton completed their victorious tour of western New York with a 2-1 overtime win over Fredonia on Saturday. Evan Pringle scored less than a minute into overtime to give the Kangaroos a hard-fought road win over the Blue Devils.
UCHC
The battle is still at the top with Geneseo and Utica battling for the top seed and games against each other still on the calendar this coming weekend.
Geneseo took a pair of wins over former SUNYAC opponent Brockport over the weekend. On Friday, two goals and an assist from Zach Purcell helped pace a 7-2 Knights victory over the Golden Eagles. Saturday’s contest saw Robert Gatewood record a hat trick in Geneseo’s 5-2 win against Brockport. Goaltender Jacob Torgner made seventeen saves in the win.
The Utica Pioneers faced a far more determined opponent as Friday’s matchup with Chatham was a very physical and penalty filled affair. Utica took a 3-1 lead into the third period only to see Zack Conner and Nick Cyprian score in the final eight minutes to tie the score at 3-3. Overtime could not decide a winner and the Cougars took the shootout (2-0). On Saturday, Utica took advantage of two goals from Drake Morse and two-point games from Johnny Mulera and Eric Vitale in a 6-2 win.
Manhattanville picked up a pair of one-goal wins against Nazareth over the weekend by 3-2 and 4-3 scores. Nicholas Rogers scored two goals and Elijah Devereaux added one as the Valiants built a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win. Saturday’s game saw the Valiants rally with Devereaux netting the game-tying goal with just six seconds remaining in the third period and Artem Mateichenko score the game-winner in overtime for the 4-3 win over the Golden Flyers.
Three Biscuits
Austin Pick – Franklin Pierce – scored one goal and assisted on three more for the Ravens who earned their first victory of the season over Assumption on Tuesday night with a 6-3 win.
Domenic Garrozzo – Endicott – scored a hat trick in the Gulls dominating 8-2 win over Nichols on Friday night.
Will McEvoy – Connecticut College – stopped forty-one Jumbo attempts on goal in a 1-0 win for the Camels over their travel partner on Friday night.
There are just one or two weekends left for teams to make their move and kick their level of play into high gear. This weekend showed that even the frontrunners can be surprised and that sets up some very juicy storylines coming down the stretch in February. Lots to watch in person and other scores on your phone as there will still be a lot of movement coming soon in league standings across the region.
Daunte Fortner helped lead Marian to an upset of Trine. (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.
Michigan’s Nick Moldenhauer looks for a rebound in front of Michigan State goalie Trey Augustine (photo: Michigan Photography).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. BC, BU to meet in Beanpot final
We most often focus in this space on what happened last weekend. But this time, it’s hard to avoid what happened earlier last week, as well as what’s going on tonight.
Top-ranked Boston College and No. 8 Boston University will meet at 7:30 p.m. Eastern in the championship game of the 72nd Men’s Beanpot title game. BC got there by hammering defending champion Northeastern 8-2 in last Monday’s semifinals, on the same night that BU handed Harvard a 7-1 drubbing. More recently, BU dropped a 2-1 overtime decision Friday at Merrimack, while BC won 4-2 on the road against New Hampshire.
Tonight will mark the first time that BC and BU have met in the Beanpot final since 2016.
2. Maine, Providence clash in top-10 series
Fifth-ranked Maine visited No. 7 Providence last weekend for a series that ended up looking better from the visitors’ perspective.
Maine picked up a shootout win Friday after the teams skated to a 3-3 tie through 65 minutes. Two game-tying Taylor Makar goals in the third period, including one with the Black Bears skating shorthanded, helped force extras. So, too, did Albin Boija’s 29 saves.
Makar then scored the only goal, 2:15 into overtime, in Maine’s 1-0 win Saturday. Makar now has five game-winning goals this season and is on a five-game goal streak.
3. Denver, Arizona State split in desert
Sixth-ranked Denver and No. 12 Arizona State split their weekend series in Tempe, Ariz., with both games going to overtime.
Aidan Thompson’s second goal of Friday’s game came in the last minute of overtime, helping Denver outlast ASU 5-4. It was the 11th consecutive game where the Pioneers had gone without a loss when they went past regulation (8-0-3). Denver’s senior class also won its 113th career game Friday, setting a new school record in their program’s 75th season.
Arizona State’s Bennett Schimek then scored twice himself Saturday, including the winner as the Sun Devils won 6-5. Lukas Sillinger added another two goals on a night when ASU won its four-game season series with the defending national champions.
4. Michigan, Michigan State share spoils
Second-ranked Michigan State and No. 13 Michigan split a two-game series last weekend, with Michigan nabbing a 2-1 road win Friday before the Spartans responded with a 6-1 trouncing Saturday at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.
Garrett Schifsky scored in the last minute of Michigan’s victory in East Lansing, and it was actually the second time this season that Schifsky had scored a game-winner this season against MSU. It was also the first time that Michigan had pulled ahead in the final minute of regulation in a game since October 2017.
But the Spartans got their revenge, retaining the Duel in the D trophy with a blowout win Saturday at the home of the Detroit Red Wings. Joey Larson’s goal and two assists saw him lead five MSU players with multi-point nights, as the Spartans ensured that they and U-M would split their four-game regular season series.
5. Minnesota State takes pair over Augustana
In a high-profile CCHA series last weekend, No. 15 Minnesota State took a pair of home games over No. 17 Augustana.
Adam Eisele’s game-winner Friday helped MSU reclaim first place in the CCHA standings. Mavericks goaltender Alex Tracy made 25 saves in the winning effort, on a night when MSU went 4 on 4 on penalty kills. Mason Wheeler, Campbell Cichosz and Will Hillman blocked three shots apiece.
Notre Dame transfer Fin Williams scored his first MSU goal Saturday, and Tracy made 28 saves in a 2-1 victory. Rhett Pitlick, an MSU senior and former Minnesota player, also scored to help the Mavericks solidify their spot atop the conference standings with four games left.
6. Ohio State takes two on road
Ninth-ranked Ohio State rolled in Big Ten action last weekend, handing Notre Dame a pair of 5-1 defeats.
Two Ryan Gordon goals helped the Buckeyes to their victory Friday night, when Ohio State equipment manager Tim Adams worked his 1,000th career game. Adams is in his 28th season with the men’s hockey program at his alma mater.
Back on the ice, Davis Burnside’s goal and two assists Saturday again helped OSU win a game in which the Buckeyes gave up the first goal. Burnside finished the weekend with two goals and five points, while Logan Terness made 68 saves on the weekend for the visitors. Forty-one of them came in the series finale.
7. Quinnipiac splits two weekend games
No. 14 Quinnipiac, currently ECAC Hockey’s only top-20 team, split a pair of home games last weekend, beating St. Lawrence 5-1 on Friday before dropping a 3-2 overtime decision Saturday against Clarkson.
Mason Marcellus’s career-best four-point night with two goals helped Quinnipiac to its third win in a row, and he was one of five QU players to put the puck into St. Lawrence’s net. Eleven different Bobcats found their way onto the scoresheet, on a night when QU moved to 10-0 this season when scoring first.
They did not score first against Clarkson, but first-period goals from Chris Pelosi and Victor Czerneckianair had QU ahead before Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood tied the game midway through the second. Tristan Sarsland bagged the Golden Knights’ winner 2:20 into overtime.
8. Omaha takes two more at home
Unranked Omaha refuses to be counted out of the NCAA tournament hunt. The Mavericks’ home sweep last weekend over Minnesota Duluth gave UNO its fifth and sixth wins in the Mavs’ last eight games.
Fresh off an 11-2 humbling Feb. 1 at Denver, UNO won 4-1 Friday over UMD on the back of 39 saves from reigning NCHC goaltender of the month Simon Latkoczy. Zach Urdahl scored twice in the game, giving him his team-best fourth multi-goal outing of the season.
Brady Risk also scored in that game, then bagged another two in the Mavericks’ 5-2 victory. UNO was outshot 52-29, but that didn’t stop the Mavs from picking up their seventh consecutive home win. Three of their goals Saturday came on power plays.
9. Western Michigan keeps on rolling
Fresh off a road split with No. 20 Colorado College, fourth-ranked Western Michigan cruised to a pair of home wins last weekend, beating St. Cloud State 4-0 on Friday and 6-1 the following night.
Trisan Lemyre’s hat trick on four shots Friday propelled the Broncos, as did Cameron Rowe’s 24 saves in the graduate student’s eighth career shutout.
Six different Broncos scored in their blowout win Saturday. Hampton Slukynsky, who has helped make for a formidable goaltending duo with Rowe, made 25 saves in the freshman’s sixth win of the season.
10. Sacred Heart, Holy Cross tied on points atop AHA
Sacred Heart and Holy Cross finished the weekend tied at the top of Atlantic Hockey, with 47 points apiece.
Holy Cross, which has two games in hand on the Pioneers, did itself a big favor last weekend by taking two games at RIT. Twelve different Crusaders recorded points Friday in Holy Cross’s 9-2 win, before Thomas Gale made 26 saves in a 3-0 shutout Saturday.
Meanwhile, Sacred Heart skated to a 2-2 tie Friday at Army, with the Black Knights taking an overtime shootout. Army then won 5-3 on Saturday, scoring three power-play goals. Two of them came on the same five-minute major, after Sacred Heart’s Gabe Blanchard received a game misconduct for direct contact to the head.
Read the recap of the first game here. In the second game, the Badgers held a 13-3 shot advantage in the first, but the game was 0-0 at the first intermission. Wisconsin began to pull away early in the second. First Vivian Jungels scored her second of the weekend as she took advantage of open ice during four-on-four to make it 1-0. Just 45 seconds later, Kirsten Simms beat a defender five hole to extend the lead to 2-0. With the second assist on that goal Casey O’Brien reached 250 points for her career. Three minutes later, Lacey Eden hit a one-timer from the high slot on a pass from Simms on the power play to make it a 3-0 game. Emma Connor cut into the lead for Minnesota with a patient backhand that beat an outstretched Ava McNaughton to make it a 3-1 game before ten minutes had elapsed in the second. O’Brien tipped a pass on a Gopher power play late in the second and took off on her own, scoring a breakaway short-hander to extend the lead to 4-1. The Badgers added two goals in the final two minutes of the game as Claire Enright’s centering pass deflected into the net and Kelly Gorbatenko took a stretch pass in on a breakaway to secure the 6-1 win and season sweep for Wisconsin.
St. Thomas at (2) Ohio State
The Buckeyes outshot the Tommies 21-7 in the first, but it was Lauren Stenslie’s goal with under two to play that had St. Thomas up 1-0 at the first intermission. Maddy Clough’s power play goal two minutes into the second extended the Tommies’ lead to 2-0. Jocelyn Amos cut into the lead a few minutes later, but St. Thomas had the response as Chloe Boreen extended the lead to 3-1 heading into the third period. Riley Brengman pulled the Buckeyes within one a minute into the first on a coast-to-coast goal to make it 3-2. At the midpoint of the third, Keara Parkergave the Tommies a 4-2 lead. With under six minutes to play, Jenna Buglioni scored short-handed to cut the lead to 4-2. OSU pulled their goalie with 2:36 left on the clock and with just 29 seconds left on the clock, Amos scored to tie the game and force overtime. St. Thomas took a delay of game penalty, which carried over into overtime, putting Ohio State on a 4-on-3 advantage and Joy Dunne ended the game and OSU escaped with a 5-4 win. On Saturday, Ohio State came out firing as a first period power play goal from Amos and a goal a minute into the second from Makenna Webster had the Buckeyes up 2-0. Sadie Lindsay scored for the Tommies before the midpoint to cut the lead to one, but Kiara Zanon quickly responded and St. Thomas would not be able to slow OSU down. Dunne and Buglioni added goals before the end of the frame and Ohio State would go on to win 5-1.
(4) Colgate at Union
Mallory Mauracher put Union on the board early with a deflection to make it 1-0. Avery Pickering scored after a rebound to tie the game late in the second to tie it 1-1. It wasn’t until late in the third that Emma Pais scored on the power play to give Colgate the lead and they held on for the 2-1 win.
(4) Colgate at RPI
The Engineers had an answer for every Colgate goal on Saturday and then struck in overtime to earn an upset victory. Madeline Palumbo scored midway through the first to send the teams to the first intermission with the Raiders up 1-0. In the second, Meg Hildner’s late goal for RPI tied the game at 1-1. Elyssa Biederman put Colgate ahead 2-1 early in the third with a power play tally, but Ellie Kaiser had the answer for RPI to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra frame, Sophie Helgeson’s shot was blocked by Casey Borgiel, but it got hung up and Borgie lost track of the puck when it finally hit the ice. Natalie Tulchinsky picked it up and backhanded it into the net to win the game for RPI.
(5) Cornell at RPI
Despite Cornell out-shooting RPI 16-2 in the first, the teams went to the locker room tied 0-0. But the Big Red found their groove in the second as Piper Grober, Ashley Messier and Georgia Schiff each lit the lamp. Avi Adam added a goal in the third to close out the 4-0 win for Cornell.
(5) Cornell at Union
After not capitalizing on a power play in the first, Union struck with the extra attacker early in the second as Maddie Leaney gave the Garnet Chargers a 1-0 lead. With seven minutes left in the third, Mackenna VanGelder tied the game for the Big Red and a minute later Karel Prefontaine scored on a toe drag to give Cornell the 2-1 lead and eventual win.
(6) Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State
Friday was a Caitlin Kraemer showcase as the rookie scored a shorthander in the first and on the power play in the second to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 win. On Saturday, a five-goal second period powered UMD to a 6-0 win. Six different Bulldogs scored in the victory as Jenna Lawry, Olivia Wallin, Clara Van Wieren, Kraemer, Grace Sadura and Kamdyn Davis all lit the lamp for UMD.
(9) Quinnipiac at (7) St. Lawrence
Abby Hehl scored midway through the first with some quick reflexes on an awkward bound and that would be the only scoring until Kristina Bahl added an empty netter to make it 2-0. Laurence Frenette managed to claw one back for the Bobcats, but Quinnipiac ran out of time to complete a comeback and SLU took the 2-1 win.
(12) Princeton at (7) St. Lawrence
Abby Hustler scored twice on the power play to close out the game for St. Lawrence and earn her 150th career point. Tori Verbeek opened the scoring for the Saints in the first, but Princeton quickly replied as Sarah Paul and Mackenzie Alexander each lit the lamp to send the Tigers to the locker room with a 2-1 lead. From there, it was all Hustler, who scored on the advantage in the second and third, both assisted by Kristina Bahl and Claire Tyo, to give SLU the 3-2 win on their senior night.
Mercyhurst at (8) Penn State
Penn State won the first official AHA regular season title on Friday, their third in a row after winning the final two CHA regular season championships. It was a busy first period to start the weekend. The Nittany Lions had a hole to dig out of after Julia Schalin and Marielle Parks put Mercyhurst up 2-0 by the midpoint of the first. Maddy Christian pulled one back just 30 seconds later, but just two minutes later Jade Maisonneuve pulled one back for Mercyhurst to make it 3-1. Grace Outwater cut the lead to one before the frame ended, sending the teams to the locker room with the Lakers up 3-2. Abby Stonehouse found a loose puck in front in the second to tie the game for Penn State in the second. No one managed to break the tie in the third and the game headed to overtime. With just more than a minute to go, Lyndie Lobdell’s shot off the crossbar and in was initially called no goal, but after a review was called good, giving Penn State the 4-3 win and wrapping up the AHA title for them. Saturday’s game was the opposite, with a scoreless first period. Sofia Nuutinen opened the scoring for Mercyhurst on the wraparound to give the Lakers the 1-0 lead. Christian tied the game on a short-handed breakaway a few minutes later to tie the game 1-1. Midway through the second, Tessa Janecke stole the puck and took off on her own to give Penn State the 2-1 lead. Early in the third, Schalin scored with her own steal and breakaway to tie the game 2-2. Vanessa Upson tipped in the puck with about nine minutes to go in the third for what would prove to be the game-winner, giving Mercyhurst the 3-2 victory.
(9) Quinnipiac at (10) Clarkson
Jenna Goodwin went bar down on the power play midway through the first to open the scoring for Clarkson and put them up 1-0. Kahlen Lamarche responded for Quinnipiac to tie the game 1-1 at the first intermission. Nicole Gosling lit the lamp at the end of a rush for the Golden Knights to make it 2-1 Clarkson. Sena Catterall added an empty-netter to close out the 3-1 win.
(12) Princeton at (10) Clarkson
After a scoreless first, this game featured a busy second period. Clarkson jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second thanks to back-to-back power play goals on identical plays. In both, Haley Winn sent a pass from the goal line and first Rhea Hicks and then Sena Catterall pushed the puck past the goalie. Hannah Fetterolf closed the gap for the Tigers midway through the second and then Sarah Paul’s power play goal tied the game 2-2. No one could find the back of the net in the third or overtime and the game went to a shootout. Winn was the only player to score to give Clarkson the shootout win
(11) St. Cloud State at Minnesota State
SCSU jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Emma Gentry off a forced turnover by Taylor Larson to go up 1-0. That held into the second period, but Mankato’s Alexis Paddington scored on the power play to tie the game 1-1. Ninety seconds into the third, Marie Moran made good on a one-on-one, scoring through the five hole to make it 2-1. Alice Sauriol’s breakaway attempt a few minutes later was stopped, but she put back her own rebound and it bounced into the net to give St. Cloud the 3-1 lead and eventual win. Sofianna Sundelin put the Huskies up 1-0 on Saturday just eight minutes in, putting back her own rebound. Claire Vekich tied the game with four minutes left in the first and then Bella Shipley put Minnesota State up 2-1 four minutes into the second. Avery Farrell tipped in a shot midway through the third to tie the game and eventually force overtime. After no score in the extra frame, Minnesota State took the shootout when Taylor Otremba scored in the final round.
(13) Northeastern at Maine
Kiia Lahtinen earned a 33 save shutout to power Maine to a 2-0 win over the Huskies. Lily Fetch scored in the closing minutes of the second to give the Black Bears the 1-0 lead and Stephanie Jacob scored an empty-netter to ice the win.
Connecticut at (14) Boston University
The Huskies used a balanced offense, scoring once in each frame to take down Boston University and close the gap atop Hockey East to just one point. Brianna Ware redirected a shot on the power play to put UConn up 1-0 after one. In the second, Claire Murdoch extended the lead to 2-0 early, but BU cut it back to on before the end of the frame with a goal from Neely Nicholson. Jada Habisch’s short-handed goal midway through the third gave UConn some breathing room and they closed out the game to win 3-1.
Providence at (14) Boston University
Sydney Healey scored twice while Maeve Carey and Alex Law each scored once to lead BU to a come-from-behind win over Providence on Saturday. After a back and forth but scoreless first period, Reichen Kirchmair scored to put the Friars up 1-0 midway through the game. But the Terriers came alive in the third. Sydney Healey tied the game as she chipped in the puck eight minutes into the third. Less than two minutes later, Carey scored her first goal as a Terrier, lifting the puck into the net to make it 2-1. Alex Law’s short-handed breakaway goal sealed the 3-1 win for BU. Mari Pietersen made a career-high 36 saves in the win.
(15) Boston College at Vermont
Lara Beecher scored on the power play to open the scoring and put Vermont up 1-0 on Thursday, but Boston College took over from there, shutting down the Catamount offense and scoring seven unanswered goals to take the win. Gabby Roy’s power play goal late in the first tied the game and the Eagles scored four times in the second to break the game open. Jade Arnone, Olivia Maffeo, Katie Pyne and Molly Jordan each lit the lamp to make it 5-1 at the end of the second. Abby Newhook and Kate Ham’s goals in the third completed the 7-1 win. On Saturday, Oona Havana and Rose-Marie Brochu had a two-on-one breakaway 44 seconds into the game and Brochu waited out the goalie to find the twine and make it 1-0. The Eagles pushed back, scoring twice in a minute on goals from Ham and Lauren Glaser to give BC a 2-1 lead. Brochu repeated her early period magic in the second, scoring on a wraparound 42 seconds into the frame. Then Brochu and McKenzie Cerrato broke out on an odd-player rush and Cerrato scored what would prove to be the game-winner with about six to play in the second. Jane Gervais made 29 saves, including 12 in the third, to help Vermont to the 3-2 win.
Quinnipiac beat St. Lawrence Friday night and fell in overtime Saturday night to Clarkson (photo: Farrah Chernov).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll of Feb. 3 fared in games over the weekend of Feb. 7-8.
No. 1 Boston College (21-4-1)
02/03/2025 – Northeastern 2 vs No. 1 Boston College 8 (Beanpot)
02/07/2025 – No. 1 Boston College 4 at RV New Hampshire 2
No. 2 Michigan State (22-5-3)
02/07/2025 – No. 13 Michigan 2 at No. 2 Michigan State 1
02/08/2025 – No. 2 Michigan State 6 vs No. 13 Michigan 1 (Detroit, Mich.)
No. 3 Minnesota (21-6-3)
Did not play.
No. 4 Western Michigan (20-5-1)
02/07/2025 – RV St. Cloud State 0 at No. 4 Western Michigan 4
02/08/2025 – RV St. Cloud State 1 at No. 4 Western Michigan 6
No. 5 Maine (18-5-4)
02/07/2025 – No. 5 Maine 3 at No. 7 Providence 3 (OT)
02/08/2025 – No. 5 Maine 1 at No. 7 Providence 0 (OT)
No. 6 Denver (20-7-1)
02/07/2025 – No. 6 Denver 5 at No. 12 Arizona State 4 (OT)
02/08/2025 – No. 6 Denver 5 at No. 12 Arizona State 6 (OT)
No. 7 Providence (16-7-5)
02/07/2025 – No. 5 Maine 3 at No. 7 Providence 3 (OT)
02/08/2025 – No. 5 Maine 1 at No. 7 Providence 0 (OT)
No. 8 Boston University (15-10-1)
02/03/2025 – No. 8 Boston University 7 vs. Harvard 1 (Beanpot)
02/07/2025 – No. 8 Boston University 1 at Merrimack 2 (OT)
No. 9 Ohio State (18-8-2)
02/07/2025 – No. 9 Ohio State 5 at Notre Dame 1
02/08/2025 – No. 9 Ohio State 5 at Notre Dame 1
No. 12 Arizona State (17-10-1)
02/07/2025 – No. 6 Denver 5 at No. 12 Arizona State 4 (OT)
02/08/2025 – No. 6 Denver 5 at No. 12 Arizona State 6 (OT)
No. 13 Michigan (16-12-2)
02/07/2025 – No. 13 Michigan 2 at No. 2 Michigan State 1
02/08/2025 – No. 2 Michigan State 6 vs No. 13 Michigan 1 (Detroit, Mich.)
No. 14 Quinnipiac (17-9-2)
02/07/2025 – St. Lawrence 1 at No. 14 Quinnipiac 6
02/08/2025 – RV Clarkson 3 at No. 14 Quinnipiac 2 (OT)
No. 15 Minnesota State (20-8-2)
02/07/2025 – No. 17 Augustana 1 at No. 15 Minnesota State 4
02/08/2025 – No. 17 Augustana 1 at No. 15 Minnesota State 2
No. 16 North Dakota (14-11-2)
02/07/2025 – No. 20 Colorado College 6 at No. 16 North Dakota 4
02/08/2025 – No. 20 Colorado College 1 at No. 16 North Dakota 3
No. 17 Augustana (16-9-3)
02/07/2025 – No. 17 Augustana 1 at No. 15 Minnesota State 4
02/08/2025 – No. 17 Augustana 1 at No. 15 Minnesota State 2
No. 19 Wisconsin (11-16-3)
02/07/2025 – RV Penn State 2 at No. 19 Wisconsin 0
02/08/2025 – RV Penn State 6 at No. 19 Wisconsin 2
No. 20 Colorado College (14-13-1)
02/07/2025 – No. 20 Colorado College 6 at No. 16 North Dakota 4
02/08/2025 – No. 20 Colorado College 1 at No. 16 North Dakota 3
Arizona State played two one-goal games against defending national champion Denver this weekend at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz., winning in overtime Saturday night (photo: Arizona State Athletics).
Bennett Schimek’s goal at 13:44 of the third period tied the game 5-5 and then Schimek won it at 1:26 of overtime as No. 12 Arizona State defeated No. 6 Denver 6-5 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz.
Lukas Sillinger also scored twice for the Sun Devils, while Kyle Smolen and Ryan Kirwan added goals.
Ty Jackson and Cruz Lucius each recorded two assists for ASU and goalie Luke Pavicich made four saves in relief to get the win in goal. Gibson Homer made 24 saves for the Sun Devils through 51:58.
Sam Harris scored three goals for the Pioneers, Jack Devine had three assists, and Aidan Thompson and Kieran Cebrian also scored. Zeev Buium contributed two assists.
Denver goaltender Matt Davis finished with 49 saves.
From Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Joey Larson recorded a goal and two assists to lead Michigan State past Michigan 6-1 in the annual “Duel in the D” game.
Isaac Howard, Shane Vansaghi and Gavin O’Connell each added a goal and an assist, and Tiernan Shoudy and Mikey DeAngelo scored one apiece.
What a rip by Shoudy! Assists go to West and Augustine – the third of the season for both. pic.twitter.com/jNPmrWGZ4z
Trey Augustine made 17 saves in goal and also drew an assist on Shoudy’s goal.
For the Wolverines, Tyler Duke scored and goaltender Cameron Korpi stopped 34 shots.
No. 4 Western Michigan 6, St. Cloud State 1
Brian Kramer and Grant Slukynsky each had a goal and an assist to help Western Michigan to a 6-1 win over St. Cloud State at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Joona Väisänen added two assists, while Tim Washe, Owen Michaels, Ty Henricks and Matteo Costantini also scored for the Broncos.
What a start! What an effort! 💪
Owen Michaels dives to put @WMUHockey in front early with an #NCHCTopPlay. It's his team-leading 14th goal of the season.
Black Bears goalie Albin Boija made 28 saves, while Friars netminder Philip Svedebäck stopped 19 shots.
No. 9 Ohio State 5, Notre Dame 1
After Danny Nelson opened the scoring for Notre Dame midway through the first period, Ohio State scored the next five to take a 5-1 win at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Ind.
🚀 GOAL! McBrayer goes bar down and puts the Buckeyes up 4-1.
Davis Burnside had a goal and two assists, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine a goal and an assist, and Sam Deckhut, Nathan McBrayer and William Smith each added goals for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State goalie Logan Terness made 41 saves.
Nicholas Kempf stopped 25 shots in net for the Fighting Irish.
No. 11 UConn 5, No. 10 UMass Lowell 4 (OT)
UConn’s Hudson Schandor tied the game 4-4 at 15:15 of the third period and then scored the overtime winner on a power play at 4:32 of extra time as the Huskies defeated UMass Lowell 5-4 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
Schandor added two assists for a four-point game. Jake Richard and Viking Gustafsson Nyberg added two assists apiece.
Joey Muldowney added a goal and an assist for UConn, while Ryan Tattle and Ethan Gardula also scored to back Callum Tung’s 33 saves in goal.
For the River Hawks, Dillan Bentley popped the hat trick and Connor Eddy added a goal as goalie Beni Halasz made 29 saves.
Clarkson 3, No. 14 Quinnipiac 2 (OT)
Tristan Sarsland scored 2:20 into overtime to lift Clarkson to a 3-2 win over Quinnipiac from the M&T Bank Arena in Hamden, Conn.
🟢CLARKSON WINS🟡
Tristan Sarsland goes coast to coast and wins it in overtime to complete the weekend sweep for the Golden Knights!🧹 #letsgotechpic.twitter.com/SGlTEZgemM
Ryan Bottrill and Ellis Rickswood also scored for the Golden Knights, Ryan Richardson chipped in two assists, and goaltender Ethan Langenegger turned aside 30 shots.
Chris Pelosi and Victor Czerneckianair scored for the Bobcats and Dylan Silverstein finished with 14 saves in goa.
No. 15 Minnesota State 2, No. 17 Augustana 1
All scoring came in the first period as Minnesota State edged Augustana 2-1 at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn.
Rhett Pitlick and Fin Williams scored for the Mavericks and goalie Alex Tracy made 28 saves.
Payton Matsui scored for the Vikings and Josh Kotai stopped 17 shots in goal.
No. 16 North Dakota 3, No. 20 Colorado College 1
Carter Wilkie registered a goal and an assist and TJ Semptimphelter finished with 24 saves as North Dakota defeated Colorado College 3-1 from the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Ben Strinden and Andrew Strathmann also scored for the Fighting Hawks.
Drew Montgomery tallied the lone Tigers goal and netminder Carsen Musser made 24 stops of his own.
Penn State 6, No. 19 Wisconsin 2
Reese Laubach scored two goals and Arsenii Sergeev made 39 saves in goal as Penn State scored four goals in the third period and defeated Wisconsin 6-2 from the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Charlie Cerrato added a goal and two assists, Danny Dzhaniyev three assists, and Cade Christenson, Matt DiMarsico and Aiden Fink also found the back of the net for the Nittany Lions.
For the Badgers, Kyle Kukkonen and Ryland Mosley scored and Tommy Scarfone finished with 16 saves between the pipes.
MADISON — The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers won their 10th WCHA regular season Championship Saturday afternoon, dominating No. 3 Minnesota with an 8-2 win.
The win ties the Badgers’ record for largest margin of victory against the Gophers. They also beat their rivals by six goals, winning 8-2 on December 4, 2016.
After three games where they seemed to struggle to find the rhythm that has been a hallmark of their season thus far, Wisconsin made it look easy on Saturday.
“I feel like we were just firing at all cylinders. We were all playing a 200-foot game, all on the same page. I think when we’re all clicking like that, we’re a dangerous team. And it showed today… I think if we play like that, we can beat any team,” said Laila Edwards.
The Badgers came out fast and furious on their Senior Day, scoring twice in the opening five minutes, first with a great effort from KK Harvey that ended with a cross-crease pass to Laila Edwards, who was waiting just beyond the far post. Edwards took a second to control the puck and pick her spot before popping it in the net to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
Just 23 seconds later, Vivian Jungels spotted Lacey Eden with room in the neutral zone and hit her with a stretch, cross-ice pass to put Lacey Eden in on a breakaway. Hannah Clark’s poke check stopped the immediate threat, but she pushed it right into Eden’s skate where it deflected back at her and into the net to give Wisconsin a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
“Right away in the first period we felt like we were playing so much lighter than maybe the past few weekends, and everything was clicking. There’s really no better way to end senior day than with a regular season title.I think we’re all just happy that we kind of found our game again and played really well today,” said Wisconsin captain Casey O’Brien.
Minnesota cut into the lead five minutes later when a stretch pass from Sydney Morrow broke Ella Huber into the zone alone. Huber’s shot to the far top corner made it a 2-1 game.
Midway through the frame, Badger defender Ava Murphy left the ice after she seemed to get injured switching directions while skating.
In the waning minutes of the first, Emma Venusio let go with a slapshot from the top of the zone. Clark made the initial save, but the puck dropped to Marianne Picard, who’s first shot was stopped, but second lit the lamp to make it 3-1.
Minnesota looked to come out strong in the second, but despite disrupting play, they couldn’t clear the puck out of the zone. Laney Potter’s cross-ice pass to Hannah Halverson didn’t result in a shot, but the puck bounced through the crease and Maggie Scannell tapped it home to make it a 4-1 game. Less than two minutes later, Edwards found herself with the puck in the slot and she calmly wristed the shot into the net to extend the lead to 5-1.
Badger captain and fifth-year senior Casey O’Brien got on the board as she followed Kirsten Simms up the boards on the near side. Simms dropped the puck to O’Brien, who let go of a shot from the faceoff dot that pinged both posts in the far top corner and went into the net to make it a 6-1 game.
Wisconsin’s defense suffered another setback when Laney Potter, who had two assists earlier in the period, collided shoulder to shoulder with Abbey Murphy. Potter left the ice and immediately went to the locker room, leaving the Badgers down two of six starting defenders. Extra skater McKayla Zilisch took time on defense while Edwards, who recently started playing on defense with Team USA, also took defensive shifts.
The Gophers switched goalies at the second intermission and junior Sophia Johnson, who had just 3:19 of game play before today, was welcomed to the game by a goal from O’Brien just 26 seconds into the period as Wisconsin used their speed to break out and have numbers in on net to make it 7-1.
Sydney Morrow’s individual effort made it 7-2 Minnesota, but the Badgers weren’t done as Vivian Jungels closed out the scoring on a tight-angle, top-shelf shot to close out the 8-2 win.
The Badgers honored Lacey Eden, Katie Kotlowski, Quinn Kuntz, Casey O’Brien, Marianne Picard and Sarah Wozniewicz for senior day. Eden, O’Brien and Picard each scored on Saturday and O’Brien said the team was extra fired up every time a senior lit the lamp.
“We have a pretty close senior class. To be able to experience it with them just kind of filled my heart to have a day where we could feel the love from everybody was super special. We went on that ice and played our hearts out because they were so full,” said O’Brien
Coach Mark Johnson has said in the past that conference or NCAA tournament trophies get a lot of hype, but he thinks it’s the most prestigious to win the conference regular season title because of the body of work it represents. He reiterated that belief on Saturday.
“It’s 28 tough games, and you have to be consistent, and have to do it for a long period of time to even have a chance to win it. The group should be proud of themselves. They committed themselves early on, and they’ve been consistent for most of the season. And the end result is you win the trophy,” said Badger coach Mark Johnson.
The two teams return to the ice on Sunday for a 12 pm central time puck drop.
Clockwise from top left, Abbey Murphy, Lisa Jönsson, Annelies Bergmann and Katie DeSa (photos: Minnesota Athletics, Northeastern Athletics, Cornell Athletics, Penn State Athletics).
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its women’s hockey monthly award winners for Jan. 2025.
Player of the month is Minnesota senior forward Abbey Murphy, rookie of the month is Northeastern goalie Lisa Jönsson, and co-goaltenders of the month are Penn State junior Katie DeSa and Cornell sophomore Annelies Bergmann.
Murphy had 18 points (8-10-18) in leading the Gophers to a 9-1-0 record. She is third in NCAA this year with 1.72 PPG.
Another strong month for Jönsson as she went 7-2-0 with a GAA of 1.23, a save percentage of .949 and three shutouts.
DeSa had a phenomenal month: .957 percentage, 1.00 GAA and a 9-0-0 record (including a win at No. 3 Minnesota).
Playing ranked opponents in seven of 10 games, Bergmann went 7-1-2, .946, 1.23, with two shutouts (vs. Clarkson and St. Lawrence).
Clockwise from top left, Mac Gadowsky, Ryan Manzella, Josh Kotai, Tyler Muszelik, Jimmy Snuggerud and Ryan Kirwan (photo: Army West Point Athletics, Michigan Tech Athletics, Augustana Athletics, UConn Athletics, Minnesota Athletics. Arizona State Athletics).
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its men’s hockey monthly award winners for Jan. 2025.
The three co-players of the month are Army West Point sophomore defenseman Mac Gadowsky, Arizona State senior forward Ryan Kirwan and Minnesota junior forward Jimmy Snuggerud, rookie of the month is Michigan Tech goaltender Ryan Manzella, and co-goaltenders of the month are Augustana sophomore Josh Kotai and UConn junior Tyler Muszelik.
Gadowsky led all NCAA blueliners with 8-8-16 in a month in which the Cadets went 6-1 in Atlantic Hockey play.
Kirwan went 11-6-17 in nine games and added a plus-9 to his stat line as ASU rose in the national rankings.
Snuggerud also posted 11-6-17, becoming the third player in team history to begin a career with three straight 20-goal seasons.
Manzella was 5-0-0 in six games played, putting up 1.23 GAA and a .950 save percentage. Had three shutouts in five starts.
A main reason Augustana moved up in the rankings in January, Kotai went 5-0-2 with a 1.39 GAA and a .958 save percentage.
Muszelik posted numbers of 1.38 and .951 in an undefeated January (4-0-1), including wins vs. Maine, New Hampshire and Quinnipiac.
Nick Pierre had the tying goal as Merrimack came from behind at home to beat No. 8 Boston University in overtime (photo: Merrimack Athletics).
With a perfect center-crease feed from Zach Bookman, Caelan Fitzpatrick scored 20 seconds into overtime to give Merrimack a 2-1 win over No. 8 Boston University in Lawler Arena.
Trailing 1-0 on Jack Harvey’s goal at 13:24 in the first, Nick Pierre knotted the score for the Warriors just over four minutes later on the power play, assisted by Caden Cranston and Seamus Powell. Powell also had the second assist on Fitzpatrick’s game winner.
Max Lundgren stopped 24-of-25 in his sixth win of the season. In net for the Terriers, Mikhail Yegorov had 26 saves.
The win helps the seventh-place Warriors keep pace with other teams tightly packed into the middle of the Hockey East standings. The OT loss gives the Terriers a point, keeping them in third place behind No. 5 Maine and now six points under No. 1 Boston College.
With 56 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied 1-1, Garrett Schifsky tipped in Ethan Edwards’ shot from the blue line to put No. 13 Michigan ahead of No. 2 Michigan State, 2-1, in Munn Ice Arena.
The teams exchanged power-play goals in the first period, with Michigan State’s Karsen Dorwart giving the Spartans the 1-0 lead at 8:43 after taking a cross-crease pass from Isaac Howard.
Michigan answered at 11:09 when T.J. Hughes scored on a two-man advantage. Edwards had the first assist on that goal as well, and Michael Hage was the second assist on both Michigan goals.
The Spartans outshot the Wolverines 39-27, and Michigan’s Cameron Korpi stopped 38 of those Michigan State shots. Trey Augustine made 25 saves in net for the Spartans.
Schifsky also had the overtime game-winner for the Wolverines against Michigan State Jan. 17. Michigan leads this season series 2-1 as the teams meet again Saturday night for the Duel in the D, played annually in Detroit’s Little Caesar’s Arena.
No. 1 Boston College 4, New Hampshire 2
Down 2-1 early in the third period, No. 1 Boston College scored two quick goals and added another for a 4-2 come-from-behind road win over New Hampshire.
Lukas Gustafsson and Aram Minnetian led the Eagles with two assists each, Minnetian’s first helper of the night coming on Gentry Shamburger’s game-winning goal at 6:15 in the third.
With the game tied on second-period goals by New Hampshire’s Cy LeClerc and Boston College’s Gabe Perreault, Ryan Conmy gave the Wildcats at 2-1 lead at 2:04 in the third.
That lead lasted all of 21 seconds. Will Vote tied the score at 2:25 with Shamburger scoring four minutes later and Mike Posma adding the Eagles’ final goal at 12:17.
Jacob Fowler stopped 19 shots in his 19th win of the season. For the Wildcats, Jared Whale made 28 saves.
No. 4 Western Michigan 4, St. Cloud State 0
Tristan Lemyre junior broke a 17-game goal-scoring drought in style with his first career hat trick in No. 4 Western Michigan’s 4-0 home win over St. Cloud State.
Lemyre’s game-winning goal came 1:19 in the first period, a backhander from Grant Slukynsky.
Lemyre and Slukynsky connected again in the first to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead after one.
Zach Nehring scored at 15:31 in the third and Lemyre added his third goal, an empty netter, at 17:15.
This was also Lemyre’s first multi-goal game and the three goals give the junior transfer from Denver a career-high six for the season.
Cameron Rowe had 24 saves in his first shutout of the season, the ninth of his career. In net for St. Cloud, Gavin Enright stopped 30-of-34.
No. 5 Maine 3, No. 7 Providence 3
When No. 7 Providence scored, No. 5 Maine answered every single time, resulting in a back-and-forth tie game in Schneider Arena.
Graham Gamache and Hudson Malinoski each had a goal and two assists for the Friars and Taylor Makar had two goals for the Black Bears, including the goal that sent the game to overtime at 17:56 in the third.
2️⃣ goals from Taylor Makar and 2️⃣9️⃣ saves from Albin Boija 🎥
Albin Boija had 23 saves for the the Black Bears. Philip Svedebäck had 21 for the Friars, including seven in the five-minute overtime.
Maine won the extra point in the shootout.
No. 6 Denver 5, No. 12 Arizona State 4 (OT)
Aidan Thompson had two goals for No. 6 Denver, including the overtime winner from Zeev Buium and Sam Harris, as the Pioneers down No. 12 Arizona State in Mullett Arena.
The game was tied at the end of every period. With the Sun Devils trailing 4-3 in the final minute of regulation, Bennett Schimek scored to knot the game from Artem Shlaine and Noah Beck at 19:12.
Denver’s Matt Davis stopped 23 in the win. For Arizona State, Luke Pavicich made 29 saves.
Penn State 2, No. 19 Wisconsin 0
Reese Laubach scored from Aiden Fink and Tyler Paquette at 3:10 in the first and Fink added an empty-net goal in Penn State’s 2-0 road win over No. 19 Wisconsin
Arsenii Sergeev had 25 saves in his third shutout of his last 10 games, all played since returning from an injury Jan. 3.
The shutout was Sergeev’s fourth of the season, the fifth of his career.
Wisconsin’s Tommy Scarfone stopped 24-of-25 in the loss.
Quinnipiac 6, St. Lawrence 1
Mason Marcellus led the Bobcats with two goals and two assists, including a helper on Chris Pelosi’s game winner, in Quinnipiac’s definitive home win over St. Lawrence.
Marcellus gave the Bobcats a fast start, scoring just 1:08 in the game. Pelosi’s only marker of the game came at 4:29, and Quinnipiac led 3-0 by 7:22 in the first when Aaron Schwartz scored from Marcellus.
Will Arquiett had the sole goal of the night for the Saints at 18:10 in the third.
In the win for the Bobcats, Matej Marinov stopped 15-of-16, and Noah Altman played out the final 1:50 of the game in the Quinnipiac net.
Mason Kucenski had the loss for St. Lawrence with those first three goals on four shots. In relief, Dominic Basse stopped 23-of-26.
Holy Cross 9, RIT 2
John Gelatt scored four times — twice on the power play, including the game winner — and Holy Cross went 5-for-12 with the man advantage in the Crusaders’ 9-2 road win over RIT.
Holy Cross had a 3-0 lead before this game was 10 minutes old. Gelatt scored his first of the night at 2:19 followed by Liam McLinskey’s goal at 5:17, both even strength. Gelatt’s second marker — his first of the night on the power play — at 9:04 was also the game-winning goal.
The Crusaders led 7-1 after the first period, the last three of those goals scored on a single major power play between 17:25 and 19:20.
All told, RIT had 14 penalties for 66 minutes, Holy Cross had five for 26. Twelve Crusaders recorded points.
Jakub Krbecek earns the loss for the Tigers after surrendering the first seven goals. For the Crusaders, Thomas Gale had 18 saves through two periods and the win.
Trinity’s Devon Bobak was immense in goal in every Trinity game last season, leading the Bantams to the 2024 national championship game and earning him USCHO POTY honors (photo: Trinity Athletics).
In a season with lots of twists and turns across NCAA D-II/III college hockey, the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has announced that 40 players are semifinalists for the 24th Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III hockey player in New England.
The Joe Concannon Award was established in 2001 shortly after the passing of the longtime writer for the Boston Globe who had a great passion for the game of college hockey while always advocating strongly for amateur athletics.
Overall, 32 institutions are represented in the slate of candidates that includes eight players from the NEHC, seven from the NE-10, five from the MASCAC, 10 from the NESCAC, and eight from the CNE. One independent program, Keene State, also has two nominees this season.
The 2024 winner was Trinity goalie Devon Bobak, also a semifinalist this season.
The following is the complete list of semifinalists with statistics reflecting games through Feb. 5, 2025:
Albertus Magnus: Tim Manning, senior forward from Concord, OH (5G – 9A – 14 points; +9)
Anna Maria College: Matthew Gilbert, graduate student forward from Wyandotte, MI (12G – 8A – 20 points; +20)
Assumption: Ronny Paragallo, senior forward from Huntington, NY (10G – 20A – 30 points; -15)
Babson: Wyatt George, senior forward from Mount Lebanon, PA (7G – 9A – 16 points; +4)
Bowdoin: Luke Wheeler, senior forward from Golden, CO (7G – 6A – 13 points; +3)
Colby: Connor Gallagher, junior defenseman from Novi, MI (3G – 10A – 13 points; +6)
Curry: Shane Soderwall, sophomore goaltender from Algonquin, IL (19 GP – 1.47 goals-against average; .945 save percentage; 6 shutouts); Killian Rowlee, junior forward from Fulton, NY (7G – 8 A – 15 Pts; +14)
Endicott: Andrew Kurapov, senior forward from Corvallis, OR (11G – 9A – 20 points +11); Ryan Willett, senior forward from Bayville, NY (5G – 19A – 24 points; +12)
Fitchburg State: Samuel Rennick, senior forward from Salisbury, MA (4G – 12A – 16 points; +2)
Johnson & Wales: Jake Inzirillo, sophomore goaltender from Bayshore, NY (15 GP – 2.51 goals-against average; .935 save percentage; 1 shutout)
Keene State: Chase Carney, first-year forward from Lynnfield, MA (11G – 12A – 23 points; +15); Marcus Chrisafeidis, first-year forward from Kansas City, KS (18G – 12A – 30 points; +10)
UMass Boston: Michael Krupinski, senior forward from Dallas, TX (2G – 8A – 10 points; +4)
UMass Dartmouth: Tyler Stewart, junior forward from Pittsburgh, PA (12G – 16A – 28 points; -3)
Middlebury: Revy Mack, sophomore forward from Anchorage, AK (8G – 10A – 18 points; +15)
New England College: Anthony Beaulieu, first-year goaltender from Lawrence, MA (18 GP – 2.31 goals-against average; .931 save percentage; 2 shutouts)
Norwich: Clark Kerner, senior forward from Kansas City, KS (6G – 6A – 12 points; +1)
Post: Aidan Canady, first-year defenseman from Schaumburg, IL (2G – 14A – 16 points; +13)
Salem State: Landon Greatorex, junior forward from Reading, MA (8G – 16A – 30 points; +13)
Salve Regina: Arvega Hovsepyan, first-year forward from Glendale, CA (7G – 23A – 30 points; +13)
Southern Maine: Matt Sullivan, sophomore forward from Hingham, MA (5G – 9A – 14 points; -8)
Southern New Hampshire: Collin Berke, sophomore goaltender from Crofton, MD (18GP – 2.12 goals-against-average – .938 save percentage; 4 shutouts)
St. Anselm: Mark Blaney, senior defenseman from Braintree, MA (2G – 14A – 16 points; +5); Hunter Brackett, senior forward from Fort Lauderdale, FL (17G – 17A – 34 points; +4)
St. Michael’s: David Ciancio, senior defenseman from Scituate, RI (10G – 10A – 20 points; +4); Case Kantgias, senior defenseman from Bloomfield Hills, MI (4G – 15A – 19 points; -4)
Suffolk: CJ Hapward, senior goaltender from West Caldwell, NJ (20 GP – 1.98 goals-against average; .929 save percentage; 3 shutouts)
Trinity: Devon Bobak, junior goaltender from Northwood, OH (18 GP – 2.01 goals-against average; .928 save percentage; 1 shutout) Theodore Griffin, senior defenseman from Marshfield, MA (0G – 10A – 10 points; +10); Spencer Korona, senior forward from Enfield, CT (5G – 18A – 23 points; +15)
University of New England: Ryan Kuzmich, senior forward from Norton, MA (16G – 13A – 29 points; +18); Drew Olivieri, sophomore forward from Swampscott, MA (9G – 19A – 28 points; +20)
VSU-Castleton: Andrew Stefura, senior forward from Boston, MA (6G – 14A – 20 points; +7)
Westfield State: Cooper Board, senior forward from Glen Ellin, IL (8G – 8A – 16 points; +5)
Williams: Jake McManus, first-year forward from Winthrop, MA (7G – 10A – 17 points; +3)
“This year has seen as balanced a level of competition that there has ever been on the D-II/III landscape in New England,” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello. “A watch list of over 100 outstanding players showcased talents throughout the season to date which has made this year’s group of nominees the deepest across conferences and number of teams that the committee has ever seen. While the 40 semifinalists represent our largest field in the 24-year history of the Joe Concannon Award, it was an immense challenge to reduce to this list of semifinalists.
“While there are just a few weeks remaining in the regular season and conference tournaments, we are confident that the best players will rise to the occasion when stakes are highest.”
The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 24th Joe Concannon Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Frozen Four on March 28 and March 30 at a site TBD.
The Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association has announced this year’s semifinalists for the Women’s Goalie of the Year Award.
Nine goalies from four NCAA Division I conferences have advanced from a watch list of 33 outstanding netminders. Voting was conducted by a national panel of coaches, administrators and media members.
Two of the semifinalists repeat from last year: Minnesota Duluth sophomore Ève Gascon and Colgate senior Hannah Murphy.
The class breakdown: two graduate students, one senior, two juniors, three sophomores and one freshman. There are four from the United States, three from Canada and one each from Denmark and Sweden.
Three finalists will be announced during the conference championships and the winner will be announced during this year’s NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis.
Semifinalists for the 2025 Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award
Gustavus is in first place in the MIAC and faces Saint John’s this weekend. (Photo Credit: Pavla Yakimova, Gustavus Athletics)
Only a few weeks remain in the regular season and things start to matter even more now as teams battle for playoff positioning and take aim at clinching a conference title.
Without further delay, here are some predictions for the weekend.
MIAC
St. Scholastica (11-9-1, 6-6) )vs. St. Olaf (9-7-3, 4-5-1
The Saints look to keep pace near the top of the conference standings. St.Scholastica enters the weekend in second place.
The Oles need every win they can get at this point as they are tied for sixth at the moment.
St. Scholastica has won two in a row, scoring five goals in each game. Hunter Hansen is a big part of the offense, scoring 11 goals on the year. The Oles have also won their last two and have gotten solid play from Jonathan Panisa. St. Scholastica, 4-2; St. Olaf, 3-1
Gustavus (12-7, 8-2) vs. Saint John’s (8-11, 5-5)
The Gusties are still holding down first place in the MIAC standings and are looking to bounce back after a tough 5-4 lot to Bethel in a series finale. Jack Suchy and Hunter Newhouse have been instrumental in the Gusties’ offensive success while netminder Colin Androlewicz has also played well.
The Johnnies are in a good spot in the standings, sitting in fourth, and have had a lot of success against the Gusties in recent years. Last season, they swept Gustavus for the fifth consecutive season. Will the streak continue? Saint John’s, 4-3; Gustavus, 5-4
Saint Mary’s (8-10-1, 4-5-1) vs. Bethel (10-7-2, 6-3-1)
Colin Tushie and Joona Juntunen are among the top playmakers in the conference, combining for 30 assists, and they hope to help the Cardinals get back on track. Saint Mary’s has lost its last three games. The Royals sit in third in the league standings and are coming off a big win over Gustavus last week. Now the goal is to keep the momentum on their side. Bethel, 4-2 and 3-2
NCHA
Adrian (14-7, 8-6) )vs. Concordia (11-10, 6-8)
The Bulldogs come in ranked 12th in the USCHO.com poll and are led by Ian Amsbaugh and Bradley Somers, who have scored 12 and 11 goals, respectively. They’ll be looked upon to help Adrian end a three-game losing streak.
The Falcons have put together a turnaround year, sitting a win shy of matching their win total from the last two years combined. Derek Humphreys has played a big role in the success, scoring 14 goals on the season. Adrian, 4-2 and 3-2
Aurora (18-3, 12-2) vs. MSOE (10-8-3, 5-7-2)
The No. 3 Spartans look to keep hold of first place in the conference standings. They have won eight in a row and have the top scoring threat in the conference in Landry Schmuck, who has scored 24 goals on the year. Eddie Shepler is one to watch for the Raiders as he has 10 goals on the season. The Raiders will be ready for the challenge and have a win over nationally ranked St. Norbert this season. Aurora, 5-3 and 4-1
St. Norbert (16-5, 11-3) )vs. Lake Forest (9-11-1, 5-8-1)
Sixth-ranked St. Norbert has won two in a row and features two of the best scoring threats in the country in Liam Fraser and Logan Dombrowsky. The two have combined for 27 goals. Hunter Garvey has been solid in goal with a 2.10 goals against average.
Trevor Faucher has led the way for Lake Forest, scoring 10 goals. The Foresters have won their last two and do have a win over nationally ranked Adrian this season. St. Norbert, 5-2 and 4-2
WIAC
UW-Superior (16-3-2, 9-1-1) vs. UW-Stout (11-8-2, 4-6-1)
The first-place Yellowjackets are riding high into this one, sporting a 13-game unbeaten streak. And this is a team that has been tough in tight games, going 6-3 in games decided by two goals or less. They’ve also been tough defensively, recording four shutouts.
The Blue Devils won’t be a pushover, however, considering they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Yellowjackets back on Dec. 7. Stout comes in on a two-game winning streak and aims for an upset of the 11th-ranked team in the nation. UW-Superior, 5-2 and 4-3
UW-Eau Claire (8-12-1, 6-5) vs. UW-River Falls (11-9-1, 5-5-1)
The Blugolds are trying to get back on track after getting swept by Superior last week. The good news is they already have one win over River Falls this season, winning 3-0 on Dec. 7. The key to to success is a great defensive effort, something the Blugolds should get with Max Gutjahr in goal. He sports a 1.95 goals against average.
Speaking of goaltending, Brennan Boynton has been pretty good for the Falcons, owning a 2.54 goals against average. UW-River Falls, 3-2; UW-Eau Claire, 4-3
St. Anselm center Max Burum hopes to keep his line producing more goals as the Hawks seek another NE-10 title (Photo by Jim Stankiewicz)
With a comfortable lead in the conference standings and just four games remaining on the regular season schedule, the St. Anselm Hawks are not taking the final games of the season lightly in preparation for a NE-10 championship run. While the team has flourished in conference play and found new player combinations to create balanced scoring, a return to health from illness and injury are a must have for the final stretch run.
“We have had to make some adjustments in the lineup just due to a recent flu run through the team and some injuries impacting our depth,” said head coach Larry Rocha. “We have three defensemen out right now and are looking to get them and some other pieces back to get us ready for the final games of the conference schedule before the tournament. Meanwhile we have moved around some of our healthy bodies, and we are seeing some improved production from the new player groupings.”
One of those “new but old” groupings has been the line of Max Burum with Hunter Brackett and the return of Garrett Alberti but not in his normal center position but as a right wing. The line has taken off since their reunion eight games ago and all the players are enjoying the offensive skills and opportunities, they can create with their linemates.
“We had an injury that made us look as some different combinations and Garrett had played with Max and Hunter previously with some success,” noted Rocha. “Garrett is normally a center and a left shot, but we asked him to play right wing and they have really taken off in recent weeks including some big goals last weekend against Post.”
Brackett, a senior forward, has had a breakout year for the Hawks as he leads the team and conference in scoring with seventeen goals and thirty-four points overall. He has been effective in all situations including recording four power play goals as well as opening the scoring in games five times for the Hawks along with producing three game-winning goals.
“Hunter loves to shoot the puck,” state Rocha. “He has a great shot and always looks for the opportunity to shoot as he leads the team in shots on goal. This year, I think Hunter has become more a complete player in taking advantage of his skill to create opportunities for his teammates. Last week against Post, Hunter had the puck on a odd-man rush that turned into a 2-on-1 with Alberti as the trailer. Hunter made a move to look like he was going to shoot the puck, freezing the goaltender before he dished off the pass for Alberti to finish into an open net. That was a great example of his growth as a player. That group has been making the most of their opportunities and setting up each other for success.”
This weekend, the Hawks play their final home games of the season against second-place St. Michaels’s in a series that can secure a first-round bye and potentially the top spot in the standings for the regular season. While most teams might relish the advantage of home-ice, the Hawks are just 5-5-1 in the friendly confines of Sullivan Arena and that is an area of focus for the coaching staff entering the stretch run of the season.
“It is a conundrum,” said Rocha. “We have been better as a road team and I think part of that is when we go away, it is all business in preparing for the game and activites are tightly scheduled. We might be too comfortable at home with friends and family on campus and other distractions that we might not have the same focus. We had to play St. Michael’s earlier, on the road, on separate Tuesdays due to a change in the finals schedule, and we played pretty well earning a couple of wins. We know they are coming into our place looking to turn the tables on us. So now would be a very good time to make our very nice arena a difficult place to play for the opposition. You work very hard all season to earn the home-ice advantage – we need to make sure we are ready to play and take advantage of what we earned.”
The Hawks finish the regular season with a two-game series against cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire before likely enjoying a bye in the quarterfinal round of the NE-10 championship tournament. With a return to health and continued performance form new combinations, the Hawks hope to recapture the conference crown last won in the 2022-23 season.
Derek Humphreys is one of the top goal scorers in the NCHA and has helped Concordia put together a turnaround season. (Photo provided by Concordia Athletics)
Derek Humphreys had a lot of long days over the summer. He worked in a warehouse and then spent his free time shooting pucks.
Humphreys has seen that hard work pay off, establishing himself as one of the top scoring threats in the NCHA while helping the Concordia Falcons put together a turnaround season.
“The offseason for me wasn’t anything pretty,” Humphreys said. “I had a lot of long days working in a warehouse, filling out grocery orders, stacking boxes. After those long days, I’d head back home and hit the weight room and shoot pucks. It was definitely a grind, but it was something I enjoyed.”
The grind has no doubt been worth it.
Humphreys has scored 14 goals and tallied six assists in 21 games for the Falcons, who are 11-10, beating last year’s win total by three games and sit on the brink of their first winning campaign since the 2019-20 season.
“The coaching staff has done a great job of turning the program around and getting us going in the right direction” Humphreys said.
As for his personal success, he points to his teammates.
“It goes back to the team effort,” Humphreys said. “The guys around me have been awesome and are playing well. We are all working hard on and off the ice and I’m doing whatever I can to help the team.”
Humphreys started out playing baseball. He then got into hockey at the age of seven.
“There’s a WHL team called the Spokane Chiefs and I went to a game and came away feeling like maybe Ill give this a shot. I came home and asked my dad if I could try out,” Humphreys said.
What is interesting is that he had no idea his dad used to play hockey.
“The funny thing is he played growing up in Green Bay and played at Notre Dame and in Europe for a bit. I had (hockey) in my blood I guess. I started playing and never looked back.”
As for how Humphreys ended up in Wisconsin after growing up in the state of Washington, he just happened to get noticed while playing junior hockey.
“I finished up juniors in Mason City, Iowa, and had sent an email out to them. But they hadn’t seen it until they came to watch a different team that was playing us in the playoffs,” Humphreys said. “I had a good night and they added me to their list.”
Humphreys managed two goals and six assists his freshman year before scoring 10 goals and five assists last year.
He’s stepped up his game this year, playing a key role in Concordia being able to nearly match its win total (12) from the last two years combined.
Humphreys said the mindset has definitely changed and he’s having a blast.
“It’s been awesome,” Humphreys said. I have no complaints. It’s a great environment all the way around.”
Concordia is currently sixth in the NCHA standings. The Falcons have two weeks to go in the regular season and have a shot at making the league playoffs.
“We just have to keep our nose to the grindstone and not get too comfortable,” Humphreys said. “We have to put our heads down and get back to work, and keep working to get better. We’ll play our hearts out and see what happens.”
Holy Cross’ Liam McLinskey has been a key player this season for the Crusaders (photo: Thomas Wolf Photography).
Like a lot of hockey players, Holy Cross senior forward Liam McLinskey’s journey to conference MVP and All-American wasn’t a straight line.
After two seasons of junior hockey with the Jersey Hitmen of the NCDC where he put up 119 points in 94 games, McLinskey was recruited by Quinnipiac and entered his freshman year in 2021.
But he found it hard to crack the lineup for the Bobcats, a talented team that went on to win the national championship the following season.
“At the end of the year, in my meeting with the coaches, it was pretty clear to me that I probably wasn’t going to play the next year,” said McLinskey. “They were an older team and pretty deep.”
The Pearl River, N.Y, native entered the transfer portal soon after, and was snatched up quickly by Holy Cross coach Bill Riga, who previously recruited McLinskey when Riga was an assistant at Quinnipiac.
“I talked to my family, and talked to my advisor,” said McLinskey. “Coach Riga was first to reach out.”
McLinskey’s first season at Holy Cross, his sophomore year, started slowly, with five goals scored by Christmas. But in the second half, things started to pick up, culminating with a record nine goals in the post season, helping the Crusaders to a spot in the championship game for the first time since 2006.
“Confidence was a major part of it,” said McLinskey. “It took a while getting to know the guys and finding my game. For a whole year (previously) I was practicing but not playing and it took a while to get back in the swing of things.”
McLinskey finished the season with 21 goals and 4 assists, and he complemented that the following year by scoring 18 goals and raising his assist total to 28.
“I’m always trying to get better,” he said. “I’m looking for chances to move the puck better and make plays to help the team.”
If his sophomore season put McLinskey on everyone’s radar, his junior year saw him named a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist, Holy Cross’ first ever. He was also named an All-American, just the second time a Crusader received that honor.
McLinskey, who was also the Atlantic Hockey player of the year in 2023-24, currently has 17 goals and 13 assists. He scored his 100th career point on Jan. 25.
As his college career winds down, McLinskey, an economics major, says the support of his family has helped him immensely.
“They’re at every home game,” he said. “It’s a three or four hour drive, so it’s manageable. They even even flew out to Air Force this season to see me play.”
McLinskey says some of his fondest memories of his college career have been the Crusaders’ playoff runs, which ended a win short of a championship in 2023 and an exit in the semifinals last season.
“The first playoff run (in 2023), we came together as a team and it was a lot of fun. Last year too, we went on a really good run.”
This year, the Crusaders control their own destiny. Win out, and they’ll be the top seed in the conference tournament. Holy Cross hasn’t lost since Jan. 10 (7-0-1).
“We’re also on a little bit of a run right now,” said McLinskey. “We got some guys back from injury and playing well.”
When asked if he’s watching the standings, McLinskey said,”It’s definitely something that we’re aware of, but we’re trying not to think ahead. We’re focused on the next game.”
McLinskey says he’s also not thinking too far ahead about what his post-college career will look like.
“I’m not totally sure yet,” he said. “I want to continue to play hockey, but I’m not sure what path I will go down. I’ll figure it out after our season ends.”
Hunter Brackett leads the NE-10 in scoring and will be looking to add to his totals in rivalry games with St. Michael’s this weekend (Photo by Jim Stankiewicz)
When the calendar turns to February, it is go time for college hockey! There are less than a handful of weekends remaining in the regular season and that means that playoff eligibility, seeding and home-ice berths are all on the line across conferences where there isn’t much of a gap between a lot of teams fighting for the same thing. That translates to some intense hockey games coming down the stretch because and wins and points mean so much. While a few teams have some gap in the standings, it isn’t time to rest on one’s laurels just yet as there are a lot of points still left, and nothing is locked in any conference in the east right now.
Last week my picks finished at an almost perfect 11-1-0 (.916) which is looking like playoff caliber performance at this point in the season. Overall, my season numbers are at 99-43-7 (.688) which only means I can’t let down now and expect that I will hit my season-long goal of a 70% success rate. Here are this week’s game picks for the east:
Thursday, February 6, 2024
Massachusetts-Dartmouth v. Salem State
The Vikings have proven to be a tough team to play against and especially at “The Rockett.” Lots of talented scorers to challenge the goaltenders and Tyler Stewart (UMD) and Landon Greatorex (SSU) are two of the best around this season. Overtime thriller for the home team – Salem State, 5-4
Worcester State v. Anna Maria
The Lancers are on a roll having won three in a row but face a red hot AmCat squad that still has designs on capturing the regular season title. Home ice is exactly where AMC wants to play and Matthew Gilbert and company chalk up another win to keep the positive momentum going – AMC, 4-3
Friday, February 7, 2024
Alvernia v. King’s
The Monarchs are certainly among the hottest teams in the MAC as they enter the weekend on a four-game win streak and aspirations of moving up in the standings. The Golden Wolves are not too far ahead in points to think this is an easy win and the home team shows why playing your best brand of hockey at this time of the year matters – King’s, 3-2
(5) Curry v. Wentworth
The Leopards knocked off Endicott last weekend, so confidence is high for the home team. Best way to lower the confidence is to shut the door on scoring and Curry has one of the best in Shane Soderwall in goal. Not an easy win but a win nonetheless for the Colonels – Curry, 3-1
Albertus Magnus v. Skidmore
The Falcons are coming off a huge home weekend where they knocked off Hobart but now move to the big sheet where a resurgent Thoroughbred squad is trying to get their game right for the post-season. Kaeden Patrick and company find just enough offense to earn the big win and NEHC points they need to move up – Skidmore, 3-2
St. Michael’s v. St. Anselm
The Hawks and Purple Knights are the two top teams in the conference so this one beyond the rivalry matters quite a bit for playoff positioning. Hunter Brackett has been a scoring machine for the home team while David Ciancio and Case Kantgias produce from the blueline for the visitors. Fun game to watch with the Hawks earning an OT win – St. Anselm, 4-3
Potsdam v. (14) Cortland
It maybe took a little longer than some might have expected to see the Red Dragons atop the SUNYAC standings but that is where they want to stay, and the Bears will find that out with the home team starting fast. Too much firepower for the home team that is still looking to establish their presence in front of the home crowd – Cortland, 6-3
Saturday, February 8, 2025
(2) Utica v. Chatham
The Cougars have made things very difficult for opposing teams on their home ice so the Pioneers best come to play for the full sixty minutes. Think things will be low-scoring here with special teams being the difference for the visitors – Utica, 3-2
Salve Regina v. Norwich
The Cadets win or lose in very low-scoring games and will need to find a bit more offense if they expect a “W” against the Seahawks. Joe Johnson and Clark Kerner show up large on the scoresheet in another one-goal game that goes the Cadets way on home ice – Norwich, 4-3
Williams v. (13) Trinity
The Ephs have found their game in recent weeks and sit in a logjam of teams desperately battling for every point in the standings. The Bantams are on home ice and still are within range of Hamilton if they can win out and get some help from another desperate team. Spencer Korona leads the way in a Bantam win – Trinity, 3-2
Stevenson v. Neumann
The Mustangs captured a big win over Wilkes last weekend and really want to keep the momentum going. Evan Beers and Liam McCanney will provide enough offense with Ford DeLoss backstopping another key MAC win – Stevenson, 4-3
Johnson & Wales v. (9) University of New England
The Wildcats have quietly moved into the last home playoff position but face a juggernaut on their home ice. Ryan Kuzmich and Drew Olivieri are too much for the visitors as a close game shifts late with a Nor’easters win – UNE, 4-1
No doubt there will be lots of scoreboard watching across the region as teams look to take care of their own business and hope to get some help elsewhere in the conference. Should be a lot of fun for fans everywhere – “Drop the Puck!”
MADISON — The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers won their 10th WCHA regular season Championship Saturday afternoon, dominating No. 3 Minnesota with an 8-2 win.
