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Big Ten’s big series takes Michigan, Penn State to Big Apple

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Steve Racine has emerged as Michigan’s go-to goaltender, coach Red Berenson says (photo: Rachel Lewis).

This week’s marquee series in the Big Ten will conclude at one of the world’s most famous venues, but it would still be a big series for Michigan and Penn State if it was played on a frozen pond.

Michigan and Penn State will play at Pegula Ice Arena on Thursday evening and then will wrap up the series at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday. The Wolverines and Nittany Lions are tied for second in the Big Ten going into the weekend, six points behind Minnesota. The Gophers playing two nonconference games this weekend means that the opportunity to close the gap looms large.

“We know that they’re a tough opponent and we’re going to have to be at our best against them,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said of the Nittany Lions.

Penn State owns an 11-3-1 record at home this season, so the beginning of Thursday’s game will be crucial for Michigan.

“It’s important that we have a first good period and that we have a good first five minutes,” Berenson said. “They’re going to come out hard, just like we try and come out hard at home. We’ve got to match that.”

Berenson said the team hadn’t talked about Saturday’s game at The Garden much. He anticipated that they would treat it like a game at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, a professional venue that the Wolverines typically play at multiple times during the regular season.

Michigan is riding a six-game unbeaten streak and played an exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 Team last weekend. The Wolverines skated to a comfortable 5-2 victory against the national development team, but Berenson said that they provided a tough test, one from which he hoped his team could grow.

“We wanted to be better in a couple of areas,” he said. “One of them was transition on loose pucks and trying to outnumber the other team when you get a break. I thought we did that a couple times; we scored a nice goal on a rush.”

The coach also said he wanted to work on special teams play and used to opportunity to get some players who had lacked game minutes this season into the lineup, which will be crucial as multiple players will miss action this weekend due to suspensions.

“We were able to get a couple guys in the lineup and get their legs under them,” Berenson said. “Because they’ll have to play this weekend.”

The Wolverines are still allowing more than three goals per game this season. During the six-game unbeaten streak, Michigan has allowed two goals three times, three goals once and five and six in consecutive games against Ohio State. They took four of six points from the Buckeyes, but Berenson doesn’t shy away from saying that allowing that many goals isn’t going to work in the long run.

“One game it might be a bad goal on the goalie’s part and another game it might be the penalty killers or just a breakdown defensively,” he said. “That’s something that we’re trying to do, I think we can do a better job. We’re trying to do a better job in those areas. You can’t go through a season with over three goals against and expect to win anything.

“Really, when you look at it, it comes down to one or two shots or goals in 100 shots that can be the difference,” Berenson added. “So we’ve got to look at it that way and take care of those shots.”

Goaltender Steve Racine does seem to be trending in the right direction in 2016, and Berenson agreed with that assessment. The senior has a 2.96 GAA and .906 save percentage and Berenson said that he “right now is probably our go-to goalie.”

The Wolverines offense, however, doesn’t seem to have many weak points. The top line of Kyle Connor (36 points), JT Compher (32) and Tyler Motte (28) leads the way, but Michigan also has good secondary scoring, with 13 players having 10 or more points this season.

“In Justin Selman, Alex Kile, Boo Nieves, Tony Calderone and Cooper Marody we’ve got some secondary scoring,” Berenson said. “That’s going to be important because Kyle Connor can’t score every night and it’s going to be important that our second, third and even our fourth line, if we get that secondary scoring I think that’s going to help us a lot.”

Minnesota rides a hot streak into North Star Cup

Michael Brodzinski had a third-period hat trick in Minnesota’s win over Wisconsin last Saturday (photo: Jim Rosvold).

A recent CityPages article was a talking point around the state of Minnesota after it brought up some points about the “downfall” of the Minnesota hockey program and heaped most the blame on coach Don Lucia. I’m not going to talk a lot about the article other than to say it accomplished what it was supposed to: create a controversy and get talked about.

One of the points raised was the Gophers’ less-than-stellar record against their in-state rivals. Minnesota is 1-5 against Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State this season. The Gophers will have a chance to better that record this weekend at the North Star College Cup, and they look like they’re playing their best hockey of the season heading into the tournament.

“We’re trying to improve. I think since Christmas we’ve lost two games, both in overtime, and both we could have won, but we didn’t,” Lucia said after Saturday’s victory at Wisconsin. “We’re 8-2 in the Big Ten and we’ve played everybody one round and we’ve played six out of 10 on the road. We’ve put ourselves in a good position with that, but you just have to keep winning.

“We lost some games earlier in the year that we let slip away and we just have to keep clawing our way back up and try and fill in the hole that we dug for ourselves,” he added. “I give our guys a lot of credit; they’ve stayed with it.”

Lucia added that he was happy for the players that the team was playing better, saying, “It’s not easy when you’re not winning in our program.” Lately, the Gophers have been winning. Minnesota has won five games in a row, but four of those wins were against team near the bottom of the PairWise Rankings.

A game against a formidable Bemidji State squad and a rematch with St. Cloud State or Minnesota State this weekend will tell us if Minnesota’s resurgence is something or nothing.

Suspensions galore

For the second straight weekend, a major headline in the Big Ten was dirty hits and the suspensions that resulted from those hits.

Minnesota’s Tommy Novak was on the bad end of two separate vicious hits from Wisconsin’s Aidan Cavallini and Eddie Wittchow on Saturday. Cavallini was suspended for one game and Wittchow will sit out three games. Lucia kept things political after the game, but didn’t hide the fact that he wasn’t happy.

“That was an ugly hit and that’s obviously the hits that they’re trying to take out of the game,” he said. “I was surprised at some of the runs and a couple of the majors against the walls — you can’t do that. That open-ice hit, you just can’t make that play anymore. Both majors it was [Novak]; I don’t know if they were targeting him or what, but those are not good plays.”

Mike Eaves said during Wisconsin’s Monday news conference that the team may look into appealing Wittchow’s suspension, which is surprising to me. I don’t know how it can be argued that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. If anything, it may be too forgiving.

It doesn’t seem like suspensions ranging from one to three games are curbing the number of dirty and dangerous hits in college. Maybe ones that range from six to eight games, especially for extremely egregious hits, would.

Ohio State’s Josh Healey also picked up a two-game suspension last weekend, so if you add that to the four suspensions that were a result of the fight at the end of the Ohio State-Michigan game on Jan. 17, it’s been a busy couple weeks for those in charge of reviewing tape and handing out suspensions.

Three stars of the week

A historically good weekend in Madison ends with the Gophers sweeping the three stars.

First star — Minnesota junior defenseman Michael Brodzinski: After ending up in Lucia’s doghouse due to taking a bad penalty, Brodzinski notched his first career hat trick during Saturday’s 9-2 victory over Wisconsin. He also had an assist during Friday’s victory.

Second star — Minnesota junior forward Hudson Fasching: Fasching picked up two goals and three assists for Minnesota.

Third star — Minnesota freshman goaltender Eric Schierhorn: He stopped all 29 shots he saw on Friday night and added another 25 saves on Saturday. The Gophers picked up their first road sweep of Wisconsin since 2006.

B1G in the poll

No. 20 Minnesota joins No. 6 Michigan and No. 15 Penn State in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.

My ballot

1. North Dakota
2. Quinnipiac
3. St. Cloud State
4. Providence
5. Boston College
6. Michigan
7. Harvard
8. Massachusetts-Lowell
9. Boston University
10. Yale
11. Notre Dame
12. Omaha
13. Cornell
14. Penn State
15. Denver
16. Minnesota State
17. Rensselaer
18. Bowling Green
19. Michigan Tech
20. Minnesota

This week’s games

Michigan at Penn State (Thursday at Pegula Ice Arena, Saturday at Madison Square Garden)

Michigan State at Ohio State (Friday and Saturday, Value City Arena)

Alaska at Wisconsin (Friday and Saturday, Kohl Center)

Minnesota vs. Bemidji State and St. Cloud State or Minnesota State (Saturday and Sunday, North Star College Cup at Xcel Energy Center)

Amherst doing away with Lord Jeff nickname due to ‘driving people apart’

USCHO Staff Report
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Amherst trustees have voted to stop using Lord Jeff as the school’s unofficial mascot and nickname because of “its negative historical connotations,” according to the Associated Press.

The mascot was initially named for 18th-century British Gen. Jeffery Amherst, who was allegedly known for hatching a plan to deliver small pox-infected blankets to Native Americans.

Here is an excerpt from a statement released today by the school’s Board of Trustees chair Cullen Murphy:

Lord Jeff as a mascot may be unofficial, but the College, when its own resources are involved, can decide not to employ this reference in its official communications, its messaging, and its symbolism (including in the name of the Inn, the only place on the campus where the Lord Jeffery name officially appears). The Board of Trustees supports such an approach, and it will be College policy. The Inn’s new name will reflect its deep connections with Amherst College and the town of Amherst. Beyond that, people will do as they will: the College has no business interfering with free expression, whether spoken or written or, for that matter, sung. Period. We hope and anticipate that understanding and respect will run in all directions. To those who argue that stepping back from Lord Jeff as an unofficial mascot takes us down some sort of slippery slope that calls into question the name of the town or the College, the board would respond that you can find slippery slopes anywhere you look, that real life isn’t a philosophy class or court of law, and that people long ago figured out the common-sense way to deal with slippery slopes: just draw the line. Amherst College will always be the name of the school.

Murphy added that the mascot is “driving people apart because of what it symbolizes to many in our community” and while many students and some 23,000 living alumni are attached to the mascot, Murphy said surveys found that most faculty and students favored dropping the Lord Jeff name.

Mercyhurst gets anonymous $250K donation to renovate Mercyhurst Ice Center

USCHO Staff Report
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Members of the Mercyhurst women’s team check out renderings of the proposed renovations to the Mercyhurst Ice Center (photo: Caitlin Ewing).

The Mercyhurst Ice Center will undergo a number of renovations, as planned by the school’s administration, after an anonymous donation of $250,000 was accepted by the Lakers’ men’s and women’s hockey programs during a press conference on Tuesday.

Phase I of the ice center project, which is underway, includes a redesign of the lobby, including a permanent ticketing station, trophy case, a second set of doors for climate control, new lighting, and fresh carpet and paint.

Phase II, thanks to the newest donation, will move forward at the conclusion of this year’s hockey season. It will include elevating seating at the west end of the arena to provide fans with a better vantage point and construction of a new meeting room and locker room facilities for the Mercyhurst men’s and women’s programs. The upgrades will support recruiting efforts by men’s coach Rick Gotkin and women’s coach Mike Sisti and their respective staffs.

Rapid rise for Denver recruit Boyle hasn’t come without stumbling points

By Scott Powers
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Denver recruit Michael Boyle’s size, athleticism and potential have caught the attention of the NHL over the last year (photo: Brandon Anderson/USHL).

Two players from Arizona could be selected in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Everyone knows the first one, Auston Matthews, who is expected to be taken No. 1 overall. He’s been on people’s radars for a long time.

The second one, Michael Boyle, isn’t nearly as known.

Boyle, 18 and a Denver recruit, wasn’t even considering a future in hockey as of a year and a half ago. He was then playing AA youth hockey in Phoenix and assumed his hockey days were about to be numbered.

“I was just playing for fun,” said Boyle, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound defenseman. “I actually thought I was going to stop playing just because it was a hobby. Maybe get into like a trade or start working or something.”

Boyle sat down with his father before the hockey season in 2014 and discussed his future. They decided Boyle should try playing at a higher level and see where it takes him.

Now, it may just take him to the NHL.

Boyle’s size, athleticism and potential have caught the attention of the NHL over the last year. He played for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, a AAA team, last season and is playing for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL this season.

Boyle appeared on the NHL Central Scouting list’s November report as a B-rated prospect. Not that he knew exactly what that meant at that time.

“I had heard of Central Scouting, but I didn’t know what it was,” Boyle said. “I was sitting in class in Sioux City and CJ Dodero is like, ‘We’re on the list for Central Scouting.’ I was like, ‘What is that?’ He was going over the letters and stuff. I didn’t know what was going on. But that was pretty cool to see.”

Boyle’s draft stock has dropped since then as he’s still adapting to playing at a higher level of hockey. A lot of the interest in Boyle at this point is based on his upside. He recently took part in the USHL Top Prospects Game and had a lot of NHL eyes on him.

“He’s playing a tough position for a first-year player coming in,” NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said. “I think his game is growing and growing in the right direction as well. I don’t know if he’s playing with the confidence yet where his skill set is showing. You can see he has size and strength and understanding of his positioning. I think his game with the puck and offensive part of his game is going to start more in the second half here and certainly next year.”

Boyle gets that it’ll take him some time to catch up with his peers. A lot of the players in the USHL knew hockey was their path for quite some time and have been playing competitively for much of their lives. Boyle is just now learning a lot about the game on and off the ice.

“Everyone has their struggles,” Boyle said. “I may have had a little more than most just because it’s a lot different watching video, systems. Before, you played to have fun. Now, you have a purpose in what you do. It hit me pretty hard, but I’m figuring it out. … They say my learning curve is probably a lot different than others just because I never played at a high level like other kids did. I had great coaching, but it was never that high level. It’s definitely different.”

Boyle is fighting to stay positive.

“Hockey is a huge mental game,” he said. “I got down on myself for a while there just because I was making the lineup but I wasn’t playing as much. And I felt like I wasn’t performing as I need to. I felt like I was letting people down and the people that put all their effort into me. So, I just felt like I was letting them down. You just have to figure it out. You’ve got to build that confidence and get back into it.”

Musketeers teammate Jackson Keane, a North Dakota recruit who also participated in the USHL Top Prospects Game, was surprised when he discovered Boyle was relatively new to competitive hockey.

“I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it,” said Keane, whose father Mike Keane played in the NHL. “We were lucky enough to go to Switzerland for Sioux City at the beginning of the season and he was there. He was a great player. I didn’t even think twice. I thought he probably grew up playing the game in Arizona. A couple guys said he started playing last year or the year before, and I was blown away. He’s got so much potential. He’s obviously a huge guy, can skate, can move the puck. Seeing him play and develop is pretty cool.”

College recruiting was something else that Boyle was introduced to in the last year.

“It was all overwhelming because I never talked to a college,” Boyle said. “I didn’t even know what juniors was by the time I switched over to playing AAA. I had no idea. It all kind of hit me at once. First a junior team talks to you, you don’t know what’s going on. There was that. Then, I never talked to a college in my life until I went to main camp in Sioux City. It all pretty hit me pretty quick.”

Boyle said he was impressed by the coaches, players and the campus at Denver and committed there in August. He thought he could remain in the USHL for another year before enrolling into school.

As for the upcoming draft, Boyle has met Matthews before and described him as “disgustingly good.” Boyle knows Matthews’ name will be called come June. He isn’t sure about his own.

“It’s crossed my mind just the possibility, especially being on Central Scouting,” Boyle said. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I realize the reality of it. If it ever actually happened this coming year, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Minnesota State’s Hastings, USCHO.com’s Hendrickson join us for Jan. 26 USCHO Live!

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USCHO_FinalFile.fwOur guests on the Jan. 26 edition of USCHO Live! are Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings, whose No. 20 Mavericks stand atop the WCHA standings after a weekend sweep, and USCHO.com Hockey East columnist David H. Hendrickson, who will join us for a preview of this year’s Beanpot.

Please note our new live streaming host: Join us for the conversation and information, Tues., Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. EST using the player below or listen using the Spreaker Radio app for iOS,  Android or Windows phone.

Be part of the conversation! Send your tweets to @USCHO or your emails to [email protected]. Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach, administer and play college hockey, and journalists who cover the sport.

About the hosts

Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.” Jim is the winner of the 2012 Joe Concannon award. He is the color analyst for UMass-Lowell hockey’s radio network, and is a studio analyst for NESN.

Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and as RIT’s play-by-play voice for nine seasons. Ed is general manager of CBS Sports Radio affiliate 105.5 The Team in Rochester, N.Y., and COO of its parent company, Genesee Media Corporation.

TMQ: Why it’s hard to picture another coach reaching 1,000 wins

By Jim Connelly and Paula C. Weston
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Jerry York is in his 44th season as a college hockey head coach (photo: Melissa Wade).

Each week during the season we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.

Paula: The very first thing that comes to my mind this week, Jim, is Jerry York’s 1,000th victory, making him the first coach in NCAA hockey history to reach that mark, regardless of the division. We both know how humble York is. We both know he’s the type to point to his longevity in the business as a big part of the reason behind this milestone, but we both know, too, that longevity isn’t the reason behind his success. Instead, it’s his success that has guaranteed his longevity.

Looking just at active Division I coaches, the next guy behind York is Red Berenson, fourth on the overall list with 824 wins and all at Michigan, and then there are six more active D-I coaches with 400 or more wins: Minnesota’s Don Lucia (687), New Hampshire’s Dick Umile (568), Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin (504), Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold (433), Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson (422) and Ferris State’s Bob Daniels (408).

You’ve seen more of the Boston College program than I have. What is the secret to York’s success? And what strikes you about the other names on that list?

Jim: I guess I will start with your second question first. What strikes me is that there isn’t much chance for any other coach to ever reach the 1,000-win plateau. Yes, I know that’s a strong statement, particularly given that Rand Pecknold has 433 wins and is still in his 40s. But let’s put York’s numbers in perspective.

For one, he became a head coach at age 26. Not counting this season, in the 43 full seasons prior, York’s teams won an average of 22 games per year. Pecknold’s teams have won, on average, almost 20 games per season for his first 21 years. At that pace, Pecknold would have to remain a head coach for another 29 seasons — into his late 70s — to eclipse 1,000 wins. And he is the best hope in the “next” generation to hit this milestone.

Now to your other question: Why is York so successful? A lot of it is his ability to keep up with the times. He has never let the times pass him by. He keeps up with technology, with the changes in the game, with his players’ generation. He also believes in his road map on how to build a team that can compete to win the national championship every year.

That, to me, is what makes York stand out. And having covered him and the BC beat for years at the beginning of my career, I’m proud and excited that he reached the 1,000-win mark. Can’t think of a better fellow.

Paula: You make some great points about York’s career. As I said, it’s not just longevity — it’s the quality of the coaching and the overall success. That average of 22 wins per season is amazing.

When I glanced at the list of active coaches with over 400 wins, I don’t know why I was surprised to see Pecknold’s name, but I was. I guess the relatively recent consistent success of the Quinnipiac program is still one of those things sneaking up on me.

Speaking of Quinnipiac, it says a lot for the Bobcats’ season that I’m looking at their overtime ties against Maine and Rensselaer as stumbles along their path. With a single loss this season, the Bobcats are very fine. Four of their five games in January have gone to overtime and they’re 2-0-3 in that span. Is that something of a concern? The Bobcats are still tops in the PairWise Rankings and still tops in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, but 20 of the 50 voters opted for someone else as No. 1.

Jim: Listen, going 2-0-3 is never bad. But for some reason with Quinnipiac, I may be a little bit concerned.

I recall the 2012-13 season when Quinnipiac became the No. 1 team in the country for the first time. The Bobcats followed that up with a 2-1 loss at home against St. Lawrence the following game. Last week, a day after becoming No. 1 again, Quinnipiac needed a third-period rally from two goals down to earn a 3-3 tie against a Maine team that is in last place in Hockey East.

Both of these events may be completely unrelated, but when I read Pecknold’s quote in last week’s ECAC Hockey column written by Josh Weinreb saying his team needs “passion” and has been “faking [passion] since Christmas,” I guess I am surprised.

The reality is this could be a bit of a wake-up call for the Bobcats. But I have seen mediocre play by teams, particularly this time of year, lead to a doldrums that can become costly. Let’s not forget, as good as Quinnipiac was in the 2012-13 season, losing to Yale in the national title game, the Bobcats never reached the ECAC title game that season. Regular seasons are great and finishing first in your league is a testament to consistency. But for Quinnipiac, that has never translated into an ECAC tournament title.

Quinnipiac isn’t alone as a top team that is having a tough going right now. Of the top 10 teams in last week’s USCHO.com poll, only two swept their weekend series last weekend — St. Cloud State and Harvard. Does that tell you anything?

Paula: Actually, it tells me a couple of things. First, there’s a difference between sweeping a single opponent in a weekend, as St. Cloud State did, and beating two different opponents on consecutive nights, as Harvard did. Not to diminish St. Cloud’s accomplishment, but prepping for two different, distinct opponents in a weekend is a tough thing to do, especially when one of them is ranked and each plays so differently, as do Colgate and Cornell.

Second, it tells me that some teams — like Colorado College, Dartmouth and Miami — may be finding their stride in the second half and the competition with an ever-shrinking number of regular season weeks remaining is getting tougher. CC and Miami, especially, have struck me as teams that were better than their records, and now the Tigers are 1-2-1 in their last four against St. Cloud and North Dakota, and the RedHawks have won three in a row and are 3-1-1 in their last five against ranked opponents.

Some teams need half a season, it seems, to jell. Minnesota is one of those teams. The Golden Gophers extended their win streak to five with their sweep of Wisconsin. The weekend before, Minnesota swept Michigan State. The argument can be made that the Gophers played two weaker opponents that they should have beaten, but Minnesota outscored Wisconsin 13-2 in two games and Michigan State 8-3, and they split with Penn State three weekends ago to begin this run. I think they’re coming together.

And I am still amazed by the number of games we are seeing with such high scores. In addition to Minnesota’s 9-2 win over Wisconsin Saturday, there was Minnesota State 8-0 over Lake Superior State, Bowling Green 6-2 over Alaska-Anchorage, St. Cloud 8-2 over Western Michigan — so many lopsided games with high scoring. In my column last week, I lamented the goaltending situation in the Big Ten. I’d like to think, though, that there’s more to it than that. What do you think is the reason behind so many high scores and such lopsided games?

Jim: I think we are actually seeing some pretty potent offenses around college hockey this season. Without a doubt, we’re seeing more teams reach marks in single-game goal scoring that I don’t remember in recent years. It seems almost every weekend, there are multiple teams posting six goals in a game and usually one or two that get to seven or eight. This despite the fact that goaltending numbers are still pretty solid.

Here is an interesting stat regarding goaltending: In order to be a top-20 goaltender in GAA, you need to be at 2.14 or less. With those six-, seven- and eight-goal outbursts that I just mentioned, it seems pretty darn easy to skew those stats.

So I guess in the end, my crackerjack analysis leads me to one thought: While there is plenty of offense at times, goaltending still leads the way.

Thumbs up

An obvious one — to Jerry York for becoming the first college hockey coach to reach 1,000 wins. Here’s to 1,000 more!

Thumbs down

To Alaska-Anchorage rookie Eric Roberts. College debuts are supposed to be memorable. For Roberts, his will be memorable for all the wrong reasons. Just 3:15 into the game last Friday at Bowling Green, he was called for hitting from behind and received a minor penalty. Just over three minutes after getting out of the box, Roberts was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind. The ensuing power play led to two Bowling Green goals. The Falcons won 6-2 to complete a sweep.

Coming up

There’s an exciting extended weekend of college hockey coming up, starting with No. 6 Michigan playing at No. 15 Penn State on Thursday. The teams then move to Madison Square Garden for a game Saturday.

No. 10 Notre Dame puts its 12-game unbeaten streak on the line Friday when it hosts No. 5 Boston College.

No. 17 Michigan Tech plays a series at No. 18 Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday, while No. 11 Yale hosts No. 16 Rensselaer on Saturday.

Saturday and Sunday brings the third North Star College Cup in St. Paul, Minn., where No. 3 St. Cloud State plays No. 19 Minnesota State and No. 20 Minnesota plays Bemidji State in the first round.

And the 64th Beanpot gets started on Monday, with No. 7 Harvard playing No. 5 Boston College in the early game, followed by Northeastern against No. 9 Boston University.

Big Ten announces suspensions of Ohio State, Wisconsin players

USCHO Staff Report
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The Big Ten announced today that Ohio State junior defenseman Josh Healey, Wisconsin junior forward Aidan Cavallini and Wisconsin senior defenseman Eddie Wittchow have each been suspended, under the conference’s supplemental discipline process, as a result of incidents that occurred in separate games on January 23.

Healey has been suspended for two games after a review of an incident that occurred near the 1:37 mark of the third period against Penn State and resulted in the player receiving a major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct. Healey is ineligible to play Jan. 29-30 against Michigan State.

Cavallini and Wittchow have been suspended after a review of separate incidents against Minnesota. Cavallini has been suspended for one game after a review of an incident that occurred near the 11:20 mark of the first period and resulted in the player receiving a major penalty for hitting from behind and a game misconduct. Cavallini is ineligible to play on Jan. 29 against Alaska.

Wittchow, who received an automatic one-game suspension after being issued a disqualification penalty during the game by the on-ice officials, has been suspended for two additional games. The action was taken after a review of an incident that occurred near the 4:14 mark of the third period and resulted in the player receiving a major penalty for contact to the head and a game disqualification. Wittchow is ineligible to play in Wisconsin’s next three games scheduled for Jan. 29-30 against Alaska and Feb. 12 against Michigan.

WCHA suspends Lake Superior State freshman Hand one game for head contact infraction

USCHO Staff Report
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The WCHA announced Monday a one-game suspension for Lake Superior State freshman forward Jake Hand.

Coupled with his automatic one-game suspension for a receiving a game disqualification penalty, Hand will miss the Lakers’ next two contests Feb. 5-6 at Michigan Tech.

The supplemental discipline comes after a review of Hand’s game disqualification infraction, which was assessed following a hit with contact to the head of an opposing player, at the 19:44 mark of the third period of LSSU’s game on Saturday, Jan. 23 at Minnesota State.

Hand is eligible to return for the Lakers’ game on Feb. 12 against Bemidji State.

Weekend wrap: Jan. 24

By Tim Costello & Brian Lester
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Senior Andrew Wigg reached the century mark in career points in notable fashion, figuring in all three of Plymouth State’s goals in a key conference win over Fitchburg State by a 3-1 score on Saturday (photo: Dan Hickling).

The weekend in review…

EAST WRAP – Tim Costello

ECAC Northeast
Just four points separate the top five teams in the conference after a weekend that saw contender battles tighten things up at the top. Endicott avenged an early season overtime loss by knocking off Nichols on home ice by a 5-3 score behind two goals apiece from Cam Olsson and Cam Bleck. Another battle among top-four contenders saw Suffolk knock off Salve Regina by a 3-2 score. The Rams spotted the home team a first-period lead of 2-0 before rallying over the final 20 minutes with two goals to take the lead. Brandon Smolarek made 34 saves in the win that ties Suffolk with Nichols at the top of the standings.

ECAC West
Hobart took games from Nazareth to maintain their grip on the top spot in the conference. Brad Robbins scored all three goals in Friday’s 3-0 win before opening the scoring for four in a row in Saturday’s 6-2 win.

Manhattanville surged into second place with a dramatic 5-4 overtime win over Elmira on Friday night. In a game with five lead changes, the Valiants won the game with just over a second remaining on a penalty shot goal from Stephen Gaul, who was awarded the shot when Elmira’s Rob Simpson was whistled for displacing the net in the final second.

MASCAC
Plymouth State tied Framingham State on Thursday before downing Fitchburg State by a 3-1 score. Forward Andrew Wigg tallied twice an added an assist to bring his career scoring total to 100 points.

Salem State inched closer to the Panthers with a 4-2 win over Fitchburg State on Thursday before dismantling Massachusetts-Dartmouth by a 7-2 score. Cam Moniz and Andrew Bucci scored two goals each for the Vikings.

NE-10
In a game that saw a combined 112 shots on goal, Stonehill took an important conference win from Assumption by a 5-2 score. Garrett White scored two of the Skyhawks’ three first-period goals and chased Assumption’s starting goalie Nick Commesso as Stonehill cruised to the win and remained unbeaten in conference play.

NEHC
Things are tightening up at the top as Babson took a pair of wins over Castleton and Skidmore, while conference leader and travel partner Massachusetts-Boston tied Skidmore 3-3 on Friday night before defeating Castleton 5-1 to yield a point back in the standings. The Beavers now trail by just two points.

Norwich remained in the third spot with a win over New England College and a tie at St. Anselm, while the University of New England won its lone game of the weekend against travel partner Southern Maine by a 9-2 score where 14 players recorded a point for the Nor’easters.

NESCAC
Trinity continued its winning ways with a pair of close wins over Tufts and Connecticut College, while Williams split a pair of games in Maine and Hamilton won its only league matchup over Amherst putting all three teams within just two points for the top spot in the conference.

Wesleyan broke into the win column with a big road win on Friday night when they knocked off Connecticut College by a 5-2 score. James Kline picked up a pair of goals for the Cardinals in the win.

Bowdoin played things close to the vest and took four points at home with a 1-0 win over Williams followed by a 2-1 win over Middlebury. Freshman Cody Tedesco scored the game-winning goals in both games for the Polar Bears.

SUNYAC
Dillan Fox scored twice in Plattsburgh’s Friday night road win over Morrisville and Connor Gorman did him one goal better in recording a hat trick in the home win on Saturday over the Mustangs by a 4-2 score. The four points moved the Cardinals into the top spot alone in SUNYAC.

Anthony Marra scored twice and added an assist as Geneseo downed Cortland 6-1 keeping the Knights in the thick of the battle at the top, while Oswego appears to be making a late-season run following their 5-3 win at Brockport. The Lakers outshot the home team by a 51-30 margin, but needed the game winner from Shawn Hulshof in the third period to break open a 3-3 tie. Hulshof recorded a hat trick with a goal in each period in the win.

Weekend Biscuits
Bryan Green, St. Anselm – the freshman forward made his first goals of the season count in a big way for the Hawks when he scored a natural hat trick to open the scoring in a 5-1 win over Franklin Pierce last Monday night.

Brad Robbins, Hobart – the Statesmen forward made it easy as 1-2-3 in scoring a goal in each period as the only goals of the game for a natural hat trick in Hobart’s 3-0 win over Nazareth. Robbins made it four goals in a row when he opened the scoring on Saturday night’s rematch, also won by Hobart 6-2.

Andrew Wigg, Plymouth State – the senior forward figured in all three Panther goals in a 3-1 win over Fitchburg State that saw Wigg attain 100 points for his career in 93 games played.

WEST WRAP – Brian Lester

MIAC

Augsburg and Concordia (Minn.) went into their weekend series tied for second place in the MIAC standings and they played like two teams jockeying for position at the top of the standings.
Saturday’s game was wild to say the least. The Cobbers trailed 3-0, but scored three goals in a span of 135 seconds to forge the tie. Jordie Bancroft fueled the rally with a pair of goals. Adam Wiertzema scored the game-tying goal. Eli May, Eric Brenk and Nate Flynn all scored for the Auggies, who are now 10-6-1 overall and 6-1-1 in the MIAC. Concordia is 7-8 overall and 5-2-1 in the conference. The Auggies are atop the conference with 19 points and the Cobbers are third with 17 points. Augsburg edged the Cobbers 4-3 Friday and the two teams skated to a 3-3 tie Saturday. The Auggies snapped a two-game losing streak Friday with the win and handed Concordia only its second conference loss of the year. Trevor Stewart scored twice in Friday’s win. Jon Grebosky scored his team-leading ninth goal of the year for the Cobbers. It was his fifth goal in the last six games … St. John’s wrapped up a sweep of Bethel Saturday with a 7-1 win. The Johnnies scored seven unanswered goals to secure the victory and catapult themselves into a tie for second with St. Thomas in the MIAC standings. Both teams have 18 points. The Johnnies have scored seven more more goals in their last three games and have punched in 20 goals in their last three games against the Royals. Mitch Fritz and Neal Smith each scored two goals to pace St. John’s, which is 8-9-2 overall and 6-4 in the MIAC. Smith his pushed his season goal total to eight. Saxton Soley racked up 19 saves for his sixth win. The Johnnies won 7-3 Friday as the fourth line combined for nine points. St. John’s trailed 2-0 early before striking back with fourth goals. Sam Valerius paced the Johnnies with two goals. Travis Payne scored his seventh goal in the last three games for the Royals, who are now 2-12-2 overall and 1-7 in the conference.

NCHA

In the biggest showdown of the weekend, top-ranked St. Norbert and second-ranked Adrian duked it out on the ice. The two teams came away with a split as the Bulldogs grinded out a 5-4 win Friday before the Green Knights salvaged a split with a 2-1 win. Chris Leone scored the game-winner late in the third period to give Adrian the win on Friday. The Bulldogs extended the nation’s longest unbeaten streak at any level of college hockey to 16 games. Trevor Boyd and Brett Pinkerton scored to stake the Bulldogs to a 2-0 lead but Michael Hill struck twice off the power play to tie the game. Riley Christensen gave St. Norbert a 3-2 lead before Byran Yim tied the game. Adrian led 4-3 after a goal by Jeremy Olinyk but St. Norbert tied it again on a goal by Erik Cooper. The game was rugged throughout as the two teams combined for 11 infractions. Saturday’s game was just as tight, only goals were tougher to come by. Ross Pavek scored the game winner for the Green Knights, ending Adrian’s impressive unbeaten streak at 16. Michael Hill also scored for the Green Knights. Daniel Lisi scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs. The two teas combined for 11 penalties and Adrian held a 32-15 advantage in shots. Adrian is now 15-2-1 overall and 11-2-1 in the conference. St. Norbert is 14-2-1 overall and 10-2 in the conference. T.J. Black made 31 saves for the Green Knights. Tyler Parks tallied 13 saves for Adrian … Marian capped off a sweep of Lake Forest over the weekend with an 8-3 win. The Sabres, ranked No. 15 in the nation, have swept the last three series they have played and are riding a six-game win streak at the moment. Jake Howie and Warren Carter both scored two goals apiece to pave the way. Howe also dished out three assists on a night when he came through with his third multi-goal game of the season. Mike Gudmanson racked up 19 saves as he earned his third win of the season. He is 3-3. The Sabres are 11-5-3 overall and 9-4-1 in the NCHA. Lake Forest is 6-11 overall and 4-10 in the conference. Marian scored five goals in the first two periods to earn a 5-2 win over the Foresters Friday. Curtis Lewington scored his first career goal in the win. Carter tallied his fourth goal of the season and Derek Thorogood dished out four assists. Mike Baldwin made 14 saves for his eighth win. Ian Pichel and Justin Pelock scored for Lake Forest.

WIAC

Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-Eau Claire battled in a top 10 showdown Friday and the Blugolds used an overtime goal to pull off the win at home. Patrick Moore scored the game winner for eighth-ranked Eau Claire. It was one three goals for Moore. Jake Hopfner and Bryan Sinz also scored for Eau Claire, which improved to 12-5-2 overall and to 2-2 in the WIAC. Adam Knochenmus, the team’s leading goal scoring threat, racked up four assists as the Blugolds snapped a two-game losing streak. Knochenmus has tallied 16 goals and 12 assists on the year. The fourth-ranked Pointers erased a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead on goals by Jono Davis, Kyle Sharkey and Trace Strahle. Sharkey scored twice in the game … Stevens Point bounced back Saturday with a thrilling 4-3 win over No. 13 Wisconsin-River Falls. Alex Kromm punched in the game-winner with 14 seconds as the Pointers erased a two-goal deficit. The win ended the Falcons’ 11-game unbeaten streak. Stephan Beauvais scored the other goal during the comeback. Logan Lemirande also scored for Stevens Point, which improved to 13-4-1 overall and 2-2 in the WIAC. Mike Dietrich, Danny Hamburg and Taylor Burden all scored for the Falcons, who are 11-4-3 and 3-1 in the conference. Stevens Point has won seven of its last eight games. The loss was the first for River Falls since Nov. 21 when it fell 2-1 to the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Weekend Wrap: Jan. 24

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The women’s Division III schedule was chock-full this past weekend, and with less than a month left in the regular season, every game matters at this point.

Still, even with the action from this weekend, don’t expect Monday’s USCHO.com Division III Women’s Poll to change much, save for a possible tweak in spots 8-10.

All of the country’s 10 ranked teams were in action, including top-ranked Plattsburgh on the road at Oswego.

The Cardinals blanked the Lakers in two straight, 7-0 and 5-0. In the opener Saturday night, Melissa Sheeran scored two goals and Camille Leonard earned the 14-save shutout. Sunday afternoon, Sheeran and Melissa Ames notched two goals apiece and Leonard pitched an 11-save shutout to gain her NCAA-best 11th shutout in just 16 games.

No. 2 Elmira swept Chatham by identical 4-1 scores Friday and Saturday. Olivia Nystrom had two goals and an assist in the first game, while Kelcey Crawford made 13 saves. Saturday, Meghan Fonfara posted two goals and a helper and Maddie Evangelous popped two goals. Kyle Nelson finished with nine saves.

Third-ranked Adrian again won the battle of Michigan with Finlandia, taking an 11-0 win Friday and then a 15-2 victory on Saturday. On Friday, Kristin Lewicki and Michelle Jones posted hat tricks, Brooke Lupi two goals and an assist, Kaylyn Schroka a goal and three assists, and Logan Taylor four assists. Jade Walsh stopped all nine shots as the Bulldogs outshot the Lions 81-9. The Saturday rout saw Adrian outshoot Finlandia 75-18, as Brooke Gibson made 16 saves for the win in net. Sarah Shureb had a hat trick, Schroka three goals plus a helper, Audrey Noles and Lexie Tzafaroglou two goals each, Lupi and Lewicki a goal and three assists each, and Kristi Zink four assists.

St. Thomas entered the weekend at No. 4 and took both ends of the home-and-home series with St. Catherine with 2-1 scores each game. In Friday’s win, Mackenzie Torpy made 20 saves and Allison Borgstrom and Leah Schwartzman scored. Saturday’s victory had Kaylee Druk and Megan Juricko scoring and Torpy making 24 saves to stay unbeaten on the year at 13-0-1.

No. 5 Lake Forest swept Concordia (Wis.) at home. Michelle Greeneway scored two goals and added an assist and Kayla Griffith recorded a goal and two assists in Friday’s 5-2 win that also saw Allie Carter stop 14 shots in goal. In the finale, Concordia scored the game’s first and last goals, but Lake Forest scored the four in between to take the 4-2 win. Olivia Spellmire scored twice and Greeneway scored again to add to her nation-best 26 goals. Jacqueline Audet stopped 12 shots for her second win of the season.

Sixth-ranked Amherst took four points from Colby, winning 4-1 Friday and 3-1 Saturday. Four different players scored for the Lord Jeffs and Bailey Plaman stopped 22 shots Friday, while Alex Toupal had a goal and an assist and Sabrina Dobbins fashioned a 24-save outing in Saturday’s win.

Middlebury will stay No. 7 after winning both from Bowdoin, 2-0 Friday on Maddie Winslow’s two goals (and Jessica Young’s two assists) and Julie Neuburger’s 13-save shutout. The finale saw Young score two, Winslow pick up a goal and an assist, Janka Hlinka two assists, and Marisa Dreher make 12 saves in goal.

At No. 8, Wisconsin-River Falls split with Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Falcons won 4-3 Friday as Chloe Kinsel snapped a 3-3 tie at 19:32 of the third period after Ali Biagini tied the game for UWSP at 18:53. Saturday, Cara Lemirande’s goal 12:09 into the second stood as the winner as the Pointers took a 2-1 win. Sydney Conley made 30 saves in goal for Stevens Point.

Castleton may not occupy No. 9 any longer, especially after an 8-0 drubbing against St. Anselm on Friday. Alex Starzyk scored four goals for St. Anselm, while Ashley Moran scored two goals and Sara McNamara and Alison Butler had a goal and an assist. Martha Findley added three assists and Hannah Synnott stopped all 14 shots fired her way. Saturday, the Spartans had to go to overtime with Massachusetts-Boston, but came away with a 2-1 win on Aimee Briand’s winner 34 seconds into extra time. Jess Cameron made 36 saves in the win.

No. 10 Norwich shut out St. Michael’s 5-0 Friday and Nichols 6-0 on Saturday. Madison Gallagher scored twice Friday and Laurie King picked up the goose egg in net with 11 saves. Celeste Robert made all eight saves Saturday and Bryn Labbe went for four goals and an assist for the Cadets. Rachel Bellio and Adelle Murphy each had a goal and an assist to boot.

In a unique stat, all the games last weekend that went to overtime came away with winners. Besides Briand scoring for Castleton, other heroes were Melissa Boudreau for University of New England Friday (beat Nichols 2-1), St. Norbert’s Jillian Kosteck Friday (beat St. Scholastica 3-2), and Brede Postier for Hamline (beat St. Mary’s 2-1 Saturday).

Cornell’s offense struggles, Dartmouth keeps winning and Rensselaer gets the Mayor’s Cup

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Here are some notes from the weekend in ECAC Hockey:

Cornell struggles offensively

The Big Red managed only two goals this weekend, both of which came in a 6-2 loss to No. 9 Harvard on Saturday. Cornell is 0-3-1 in its last four since Jan. 15, a midseason skid that is in stark contrast to its strong first half. The team is 11-5-3 overall, 6-4-2 within the conference, with a chance next weekend against surging Clarkson and sliding St. Lawrence to stop the bleeding. One thing is for sure: Mitch Gillam and the Big Red defense need to be better.

Dartmouth extends winning streak

Don’t look now, but Dartmouth is in the midst of a five-game winning streak, including a 3-0 shutout win over No. 10 Cornell on Friday. For a team that struggled through the first half, this second-half resurgence is particularly impressive. The Big Green have outscored opponents 20-8 through the five-game stretch, led by seniors Jack Barre and Brett Patterson with seven goals each. On Friday, Dartmouth will host Quinnipiac, the No. 1 team that continued to tread water through another week with ties to Maine and Rensselaer. If there’s any time to face the Bobcats, it’s now.

RPI wins the Mayor’s Cup

The Engineers swept the season series against Union with a 5-2 victory on Saturday, getting help from five different goal scorers to do so. RPI is third behind Quinnipiac and Harvard in the ECAC standings, dropping a spot after the Crimson swept their weekend games against Colgate and Cornell. It is also ranked No. 16 nationally. But consistency hasn’t been the Engineers’ friend as of late — they’ve gone 2-2-2 in their last six games. Ties to Colgate and Quinnipiac have sent mixed signals. But if RPI will have a chance to make some noise down the stretch, it’ll be behind the play of goaltender Jason Kasdorf. RPI will play Brown and No. 12 Yale next weekend.

Weekend Wrap: Jan. 24

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26 and counting
No. 1 Boston College added three more wins to its perfect season. To start its week, Meghan Grieves scored twice on assists by Tori Sullivan, and Katie Burt turned away 29 shots to record a 2-0 shutout of Harvard.

The Eagles returned home to sweep Vermont, 6-2 and 6-1. In the opener, Dana Trivigno had a goal and three assists, while Alex Carpenter scored twice. Carpenter potted two more with a helper on Saturday. She now has 250 career points, good for seventh in the NCAA era.

Tight margins in the CHA
The lower-ranked team gained at least a split in all three series played in the CHA. The six teams combined to score just 18 goals in the six games on the weekend, and half the games went to overtime.

Penn State was the only team to gain ground in the league, taking three of four points from Robert Morris. Bella Sutton was the hero for the Nittany Lions on Friday, scoring at 3:41 of OT to give her team a 3-2 win. Sarah Quaranta had assisted on third-period tallies by Mikaela Lowater at 12:54 and Bittany Howard at 14:40 to bring the Colonials back from a two-goal deficit. Hannah Bramm built the PSU lead, converting assists from Amy Petersen in each of the first two stanzas. Celine Whitlinger earned the win with 33 saves. RMU’s Rikki Meilleur forced overtime again on Saturday with her unassisted goal with 33 seconds remaining in regulation. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, and Hannah Ehresmann finished with 40 saves for Penn State, while Jessica Dodds made 27 stops for the Colonials. Petersen had given the Nittany Lions a third-period lead, after Bramm and Ashley Vesci traded goals in the first frame.

Goals were scarce at Lindenwood. On Friday, it wasn’t until the game’s final minute that Mercyhurst’s Sarah Robello broke through on a power play. Jaclyn Arbour added an empty-netter with nine seconds left, giving Sarah McDonnell, who stopped 25 shots, a 2-0 shutout win. Shara Jasper scored the Lions’ only goal of the weekend 4:44 into Saturday’s game, but that proved to be enough for a 1-0 win, thanks to 35 saves by Nicole Hensley.

Syracuse was unable to gain ground on the Lakers, however, because the Orange had problems of their own versus RIT. Carly Payerl’s second goal of the day a minute into overtime gave the Tigers a 2-1 victory on Friday. Jess Paton had the primary assist, as she did on Payerl’s earlier goal that tied the game after Nicole Ferrara had given Syracuse a lead. Jetta Rackleff made 41 saves to garner the win. The Orange bounced back with a 3-0 win, getting goals from Dakota Derrer, Heather Schwarz, and Alysha Burriss, and 14 saves from Jenn Gilligan.

Favorites prevail in the WCHA
Underdogs had their moments in the WCHA, but not enough of them, as the favored teams took 23 of the 24 points awarded.

No. 1 Wisconsin again had difficulty with No. 8 North Dakota, but this time, the Badgers were able to overcome the adversity and swept in front of two sellout crowds. Erika Sowchuk scored Saturday’s only goal 3:34 into the contest, assisted by Rachel Jones and Jenny Ryan. Ann-Renée Desbiens took over from there, stopping all 29 shots that the Fighting Hawks mustered. Shelby Amsley-Benzie made 31 saves to keep UND close. Wisconsin triumphed, 3-1, on Sunday, when Emily Clark scored the winning goal on a power play with 72 seconds left. Annie Pankowski added an empty-net goal and assisted on the other two tallies for the Badgers. Clark had two helpers as well. Sarah Nurse gave Wisconsin the first lead of the game, before Becca Kohler responded with UND’s only tally of the weekend. Amsley-Benzie finished with 31 saves for the second day, while Desbiens stopped 27 shots to earn her 22nd win of the season.

No. 3 Minnesota’s 7-0 victory at St. Cloud State on Friday gave Brad Frost his 279th win for the Gophers, moving him ahead of Laura Halldorson for most in program history. Sarah Potomak had two goals and three assists, while Dani Cameranesi had a four-point game, and Hannah Brandt, Kelly Pannek, and Kelsey Cline all finished with three points. Amanda Leveille saved all 18 shots to get the shutout. The Gophers power play converted on three of five opportunities on Saturday as they finished off the sweep, 4-2. Milica McMillen, Cara Piazza, Taylor Williamson, and Cameranesi hit the net for Minnesota, while Lauren Hespenheide and Suvi Ollikainen got the Huskies on the board. Brandt finished the weekend with 267 career points, moving her into fourth place on the NCAA list.

No. 7 Bemidji State swept at Minnesota-Duluth, 3-2 and 2-0. Lara Stalder scored Friday’s first and last goals for the Bulldogs, but Kristin Huber equaled that with a pair of power-play tallies for the Beavers, who went ahead to stay on freshman defenseman Melissa Hunt’s first goal of her career. Ivana Bilic of BSU and UMD’s Ashleigh Brykaliuk contributed a pair of helpers. Brittni Mowat got the shutout on Saturday by making 27 stops, supported by goals from Kaitlyn Tougas and Madison Hutchinson. Maddie Rooney saved 26 shots for the Bulldogs.

Ohio State kept Minnesota State winless in the league on the season. The teams skated to a 3-3 draw on Friday, with OSU winning the shootout. Julia McKinnon and Claudia Kepler scored twice with two assists in the Buckeyes’ 8-3 Saturday win. OSU’s Katie Matheny also had a pair of goals, as did Emily Antony, who finished with three goals in the series for the Mavericks.

How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 4 Quinnipiac skated away from Boston University, 6-1. Taylar Cianfarano led the attack with two goals and an assist, and Kristen Tamberg had one goal in her three points.

No. 6 Northeastern took both ends of a home-and-home series over Connecticut, 4-0 and 7-3. Brittany Bugalski made 15 saves to claim the shutout in the opener. Jordan Krause had three assists and McKenna Brand scored and added an assist. On Saturday, Kendall Coyne scored twice with two helpers, defenseman Lauren Kelly had two goals and an assist, and Brand tallied once with two assists.

No. 5 Clarkson got a short-handed goal from Olivia Howe and an unassisted tally by Rhyen McGill, but had to settle for a 2-2 tie at Cornell when Jess Brown scored a third-period goal. Hanna Bunton had opened the scoring for the Big Red, who got 34 saves from Paula Voorheis. Shea Tiley made 25 saves for the Golden Knights.

Clarkson came from behind to down No. 10 Colgate on Saturday, 3-2, handing Raiders’ netminder Julia Vandyk her first loss in 13 decisions. Geneviève Bannon scored the final two goals for the Golden Knights after McGill had started the rally.

Colgate started the weekend with a tie of its own, 1-1, versus St. Lawrence, gained when Breanne Wilson-Bennett converted on a power play midway through the third period. Grace Harrison saved the other 16 shots from the Raiders, who got 23 stops from Vandyk, marred only by a first-period goal for SLU’s Kennedy Marchment.

Other action
St. Lawrence finished with a three-point weekend when it defeated Cornell, 5-1. Marchment and Hannah Miller scored in the first period, and Jenna Marks grew the lead to three with a short-handed tally. Anna Zorn got the Big Red on the board, but the Saints pulled away on empty-net goals by Justine Reyes and Amanda Boulier. Harrison made 19 saves to get the win.

Harvard’s Emerance Maschmeyer made 23 saves to shut out Dartmouth, 2-0. Karly Heffernan and Lexie Laing provided the goals.

Katie Rooney’s hat trick with an assist highlighted Rensselaer’s 6-2 win over Brown.

Melissa Black’s 39 saves weren’t enough to keep Union from falling to Yale, 2-1. Jamie Haddad and Courtney Pensavalle scored for the Bulldogs after Kathryn Tomaselli had given the Dutchwomen an early lead.

Brown’s Erin Conway scored an extra-attacker goal to tie Union, 2-2, and deny the Dutchwomen their first victory yet again. Lizzy Otten had put Union on the brink of victory with a shorthanded goal, after Tomaselli and Sam Donovan had traded goals.

Katelyn Rae scored twice with an assist and Samantha Ridgewell made 26 saves to get her fourth win when Merrimack downed Brown, 4-1.

Boston University swept a home-and-home series from Providence, 5-1 and 4-2. Rebecca Leslie scored twice and added an assist in the opener. Blair Parent struck twice to give the Friars a two-goal lead on Sunday, but the Terriers rallied behind second-period goals from Maddie Elia, Rebecca Russo, Mary Grace Kelley, and Victoria Bach.

New Hampshire swept Maine, 5-1 and 3-0. Jonna Curtis had a goal and a three-point game on Saturday. Kyra Smith turned in a 32-save shutout on Sunday, supported by a goal and an assist from Carlee Toews.

Three things from the weekend, Jan 24

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1. Mavericks make statement

Minnesota State bounced back from a one-point weekend at Michigan Tech in big-time fashion, scoring 13 goals in a romp over Lake Superior State in Mankato. The Mavericks won 8-0 and 5-1 against a team that had made some real strides defensively this season. One weekend might not be enough to make a trend, but if MSU has indeed found the goal-scoring touch it had been missing for much of the season, it could spell trouble for the rest of the league. Minnesota State is now 10-0-0 all-time against Lake Superior State. Forward C.J. Franklin, who had three goals and two assists this weekend, has 12 career points in eight games against the Lakers.

2. Bulldogs burst in

In each of its first eight league series, Ferris State secured two points for the league standings, hanging around and keeping itself in the hunt for home ice. In each of the last two series, however the Bulldogs have gotten three points, and they’re suddenly in a tie for third place. This weekend, Ferris played two overtime games at Bemidji State (surprise, surprise!) and got a win and a tie. On Friday, the Bulldogs’ Simon Denis forced OT with an extra-attacker goal with 25 seconds to play in regulation, and Mitch Maloney won it 47 seconds into extra time. On Saturday, goalie Darren Smith stopped 35 of 36 Bemidji State shots to get the tie. (Smith had 28 saves on Friday.)

3. Falcons fly forward

Bowling Green kept pace with Minnesota State in the race for the MacNaughton Cup by beating visiting Alaska Anchorage in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday and Friday. The Falcons are three points behind the Mavericks in the standings but have two games in hand. They play an important series this coming weekend when they host Michigan Tech. Bowling Green’s offense exploded against the Seawolves, who were on the back half of a two-weekend road swing (the went 1-3-0 on the trip and have just one win in their last eight games). In the opener, the Falcons scored five goals in the second period; on Saturday, they had a three-goal first. Brandon Hawkins had a stellar weekend with three goals and two assists.

The Gophers roll, the Buckeyes rebound and the Spartans get a win that doesn’t count

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Both of the Big Ten’s Michigan teams played the U.S. Under-18 squad in exhibition this week, giving everyone else a chance to climb the standings. One team did exactly that.

1. The Gophers rolled over the Badgers.

For the second week in a row, Wisconsin failed to take a single point from an opponent in a two-game set, which is especially bad news for the Badgers now that Big Ten play is underway. Minnesota, though, took advantage of a struggling opponent and earned six points in the process, surging ahead of the idle Wolverines with whom they were tied for first place entering the weekend. Minnesota has 24 points to Michigan’s 18, although the Wolverines have two games in hand on the Gophers.

Not only did Minnesota beat Wisconsin in two games, but the Gophers outscored the Badgers 13-2 in the series, shutting out Wisconsin 4-0 the first night. In Friday’s win, freshman Eric Schierhorn’s made 29 saves in his third shutout of the season. Nine different Gophers accounted for the 13 goals in two games, and junior defenseman Michael Brodzinski registered his first career hat trick in Saturday’s contest. Brodzinski has eight goals in 23 games this season, two short of his offensive production in 62 games in his first two seasons.

With the wins, the Gophers extend their win streak to five games, and Minnesota is showing signs of coming together as a team at the perfect time of the season. The Badgers’ winless streak is now six games (0-5-1).

2. The Buckeyes will not be ignored.

Ohio State began the second half by capturing the Florida College Classic title just before the new year began and used those wins to propel them to a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2), but an 8-6 loss to Michigan Jan. 17 snapped that, and the Buckeyes fell in overtime to the Nittany Lions on Friday night, 3-2.

Saturday was another story, entirely. Senior captain Craig Dalrymple scored at 3:30 in the first period and Ohio State went on to a 5-1 win over Penn State, with five different Buckeyes scoring in the contest. In fact, the Buckeyes — like the Gophers — like to spread that scoring around; six different Buckeyes accounted for the seven total goals that OSU scored in the weekend, and with that offensive output, the Buckeyes improve to an average of 3.32 goals per game (14th nationally). Of course, they’re still allowing 3.18 goals per game and are among the bottom third of teams on defense nationally, but so are four of the six B1G teams, so that may not be a factor in conference play down the stretch.

In the second half, the Buckeyes have impressed me as a highly skilled and fast team. Against Penn State, OSU may have proven that it is a team to contend with in conference play.

3. The Spartans win. Finally. Sort of.

Heading into this weekend’s road series against Ohio State, Michigan State has lost eight consecutive games — at least on the record. Saturday night, the Spartans held off the U.S. Under-18 team in overtime, 3-2, and even though the win doesn’t count, the reward for effort must feel like the proverbial shot in the arm that Michigan State has needed.

“It was nice to find a way to win,” is what coach Tom Anastos said after the game. “It was a good game and given how it ended, it was something we needed.”

Sophomore Ed Minney had 36 saves in the game, and junior Thomas Ebbing had the game-winner on the power play at 3:09 in OT.

How tough a season has it been for the Spartans? Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis told the Lansing State Journal last week that he’s “spending hours watching over programs that need some recalibration, and hockey is one of those.” Hollis said, “I think we need to continue the dialogue to save the sport of college hockey the best that we can in the future.”

When an AD goes on the record to discuss concerns about a given program, that program is struggling, indeed.

Maybe the win over the Developmental Program team can help the Spartans earn a win that counts. Michigan State has one win in its last 16 games.

Three Things: Sweeps for the old guard

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Sweeps for the old guard

When Air Force and Rochester Institute of Technology joined Atlantic Hockey in 2006, they immediately dominated, posting a combined five regular season titles and six tournament championships in six years.

And in this new age of parity where sweeps are rare, it was the old guard that came away with four points this past weekend. Air Force recorded a home sweep of Niagara (3-0 and 3-1), and RIT wrestled four points away from Sacred Heart at the Milford Ice Pavilion (3-1 and 5-3).

The Falcons dominated on Friday, outshooting Niagara 45-14. Saturday was a closer affair, with Niagara out-chancing Air Force 30-26 and holding the Falcons to a 1-1 tie until late in the third period.

Special teams was the difference in the RIT-Sacred Heart series, with the Tigers going three for four on the power play on Friday, and holding Sacred Heart to one for nine with the man advantage on Sunday. A wild second period saw the teams combine for four goals in a 2:43 stretch including one for each side just eight seconds apart.

Road, sweet road

The win by RIT on Sunday extended the Tigers’ unbeaten road conference streak to a school-record 10 games (9-0-1).

But RIT is just 3-5 at home in conference play and faces a tough challenge when it hosts Holy Cross this weekend. The Crusaders, coming off a tie and overtime loss to Canisius, trail RIT by a point for second place. The setback on Saturday was just the second conference home loss of the season for Holy Cross, which is 7-2-1 in league play at the Hart Center.

Battle won

It won’t affect the standings, but there was a big game played in Kingston, Ontario on Saturday.

Army West point retained the Challenge Cup, defeating their Canadian counterparts, the Royal Military Academy, 4-3. It was 80th meeting between the two schools and the fifth straight win in the series for the Black Knights.

Freshman Ian Mansfield scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the third period.

Because the game was officially an exhibition, neither goal will count in Mansfield’s official statistics. He has yet to record a point in 17 NCAA games, but that doesn’t take away from a big night up north for Mansfield and Army West Point.

The Black Knights return to league play this weekend, visiting Niagara.

 

Three things: Jan. 24

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We came out of this last round of NCHC games with plenty to discuss in the days ahead. What follows are three of the bigger talking points that caught our eyes.

Omaha swept at home again
It wasn’t that long ago that Omaha was easily a top-10 team in the country looking poised to build on its deep Frozen Four run last season. Now, though, the Mavericks are in a little trouble.

UNO won each of the first eight games in its new Baxter Arena home, but the Mavs are now on a four-game losing streak there after a pair of losses this weekend against unranked Miami. Two weeks ago, Omaha dropped two home games against Denver.

Omaha entered this weekend’s series against the RedHawks ranked seventh in the latest USCHO Division I poll. They’re likely to face a sharp drop when the new poll comes out Monday.

They’re also all but out of the Penrose Cup competition. UNO now sits in fifth place in the NCHC, 22 points behind league-leading St. Cloud State.

Miami will surely get consideration from voters. Including one three-on-three overtime victory against Minnesota-Duluth on Jan. 8, the RedHawks have now picked up wins in five of its last six games.

Huskies keep rolling
Western Michigan picked up points in both of the Broncos’ first two NCHC trips to St. Cloud State. Not on the third one, though.

Fifth-ranked SCSU rolled past Western in a pair of home wins this weekend. An 8-2 win over the Broncos on Friday gave way to the Huskies’ 7-3 triumph in Saturday’s rematch.

St. Cloud now hasn’t lost since falling 5-2 on Jan. 9 at home against a resurgent Colorado College team (more on CC in a bit). The Huskies will be full of confidence going into next weekend’s North Star College Cup games, first against No. 20 Minnesota State and then either Minnesota or Bemidji State.

That said, keep an eye out for MSU. The Mavericks are 3-1-1 in their past five games and put 13 goals past Lake Superior this weekend.

Colorado College gives North Dakota a fright
Arguably the biggest recent surprise in the NCHC has been Colorado College’s uptick, and the Tigers were unlucky to come away empty-handed from its series this weekend at North Dakota.

Second-ranked North Dakota beat CC 5-4 on Friday thanks to a 1-0 shootout triumph, but the Fighting Hawks will feel it shouldn’t have come to that. UND opened the game with four first-period goals before the Tigers erased the deficit and then went ahead 5-4 on Hunter Fejes’s second goal of the night 6:34 into the fourth period.

A 6-on-5 Rhett Gardner goal inside the final minute of regulation tied the game up at 5-5 before UND prevailed in a shootout.

CC goaltender Tyler Marble was a big reason for his team’s success Friday. After starting goalie Jacob Nehama was pulled when he gave up a third goal 9:10 into the game, Marble came in and made 23 saves the rest of the way.

The Hawks had fewer headaches in a 5-1 win over CC on Saturday. Next weekend, CC hosts a struggling Omaha club while UND visits Western Michigan.

York’s 1,000th may have been easy, but also quite special

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It was an 8-0 decision for Boston College over Massachusetts that gave BC head coach Jerry York his 1,000th career win. That doesn’t make the value of the victory any less.

1) 1-0 or 8-0, York’s victory on Friday was special

I honestly don’t care about the final score. But Boston College head coach Jerry York won his 1,000th game on Friday night, the first – and possibly the only – college coach who will ever accomplish that feat. Think about what it takes – if a 25-year-old becomes head coach, he needs an average of 20 wins each season over a 50-year career to reach 1,000. In this day and age where head coaches reach that position in their 30s of 40s, we’ll never see this again. The fact the win was a foregone conclusion in the first period, when BC led 5-0, didn’t matter. Jerry York will take this memory along with his hundreds of other great milestones, and enjoy them.

2) The best continue to shine

We have talked about Hockey East having an elite five teams at this point – the quintet fighting for four first-round byes and a regular-season title. Those teams went a combined 7-2-1 this weekend with UMass-Lowell and Providence splitting a weekend series. Boston University and Notre Dame swept Maine and New Hampshire, respectfully, while BC beat UMass and tied Connecticut. In other words, the rich get richer in Hockey East.

3) If you didn’t hear me the last time, keep an eye on Northeastern

The Huskies might be the hottest team in Hockey East, having swept three straight weekend series. The Huskies are 8-1-2 in their last 11, outscoring their opponents, 43-21. All of which was done, until this past weekend, without the efforts of Kevin Roy. Might this be the most dangerous team heading down the stretch? And might Northeastern make this one of the most interesting Beanpots in recent years – which, ironically, is Northeastern’s next game? Time will tell.

Rankings roundup: How ranked teams fared, Jan. 18-24

USCHO Staff Report
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A day after Boston College coach Jerry York won his 1,000th game, the Eagles tied Connecticut on Saturday (photo: Melissa Wade).

Here’s how the teams ranked in the Jan. 18, 2016, USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll fared between Jan. 18 and Jan. 24:

RANK LAST WEEK’S RESULTS RECORD THIS WEEK’S GAMES
1
Quinnipiac		 Tuesday: tied at Maine 3-3
Thursday: tied No. 16 Rensselaer 2-2		 19-1-5 Friday: at Dartmouth
2
North Dakota		 Friday: tied Colorado College 5-5
Saturday: beat Colorado College 5-1		 20-3-3 Friday-Saturday: at Western Michigan
3
Providence		 Friday: beat No. 8 UMass-Lowell 4-2
Saturday: lost at No. 8 UMass-Lowell 3-1		 16-4-4 Friday-Saturday: vs. New Hampshire
4
Boston College		 Friday: won at Massachusetts 4-0
Saturday: tied Connecticut 3-3		 16-4-4 Friday: at Notre Dame
5
St. Cloud State		 Friday: beat Western Michigan 8-2
Saturday: beat Western Michigan 7-3		 20-5-1 Saturday: vs. Minnesota State
Sunday: vs. Bemidji State or Minnesota
6
Michigan		 Thursday: beat U.S. Under-18 Team 5-2 (ex) 14-3-4 Thursday: at Penn State
Saturday: vs. Penn State
7
Omaha		 Friday: lost to Miami 3-1
Saturday: lost to Miami 7-3		 15-8-1 Friday-Saturday: at Colorado College
8
UMass-Lowell		 Friday: lost at No. 3 Providence 4-2
Saturday: beat No. 3 Providence 3-1		 15-5-4 Friday-Saturday: vs. Arizona State
9
Harvard		 Friday: won at Colgate 4-2
Saturday: won at No. 10 Cornell 6-2		 11-4-3 Friday: vs. Princeton
10
Cornell		 Friday: lost to Dartmouth 3-0
Saturday: lost to No. 9 Harvard 6-2		 11-5-3 Friday: at Clarkson
Saturday: at St. Lawrence
11
Boston University		 Friday: won at Maine 5-2
Saturday: beat Maine 6-1		 13-7-4 Friday: vs. Merrimack
12
Yale		 Friday: tied at Clarkson 2-2
Saturday: won at St. Lawrence 3-2		 11-4-4 Friday: vs. Union
Saturday: vs. Rensselaer
13
Notre Dame		 Friday: won at New Hampshire 5-1
Saturday: won at New Hampshire 3-2		 14-4-7 Friday: vs. Boston College
14
Penn State		 Friday: won at Ohio State 3-2 (OT)
Saturday: lost at Ohio State 5-1		 16-5-3 Thursday: vs. Michigan
Saturday: vs. Michigan
15
Denver		 Friday: beat No. 19 Minnesota-Duluth 3-2
Saturday: beat No. 19 Minnesota-Duluth 2-1		 12-7-5 Friday-Saturday: at Maine
16
Rensselaer		 Thursday: tied at No. 1 Quinnipiac 2-2
Saturday: beat Union 5-2		 13-7-6 Friday: at Brown
Saturday: at Yale
17
Michigan Tech		 Off 13-7-4 Friday-Saturday: at Bowling Green
18
Bowling Green		 Thursday: beat Alaska-Anchorage 6-2
Friday: beat Alaska-Anchorage 6-2		 15-7-5 Friday-Saturday: vs. Michigan Tech
19
Minnesota-Duluth		 Friday: lost at No. 15 Denver 3-2
Saturday: lost at No. 15 Denver 2-1		 8-10-5 Friday-Saturday: at Northern Michigan
20
Minnesota State		 Friday: beat Lake Superior State 8-0
Saturday: beat Lake Superior State 5-1		 13-8-5 Saturday: vs. St. Cloud State
Sunday: vs. Bemidji State or Minnesota

Gallery: Power play carries Minnesota past St. Cloud State

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No. 3 Minnesota used three power-play goals to defeat St. Cloud State 4-2 on Saturday in St. Cloud, Minn.

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Providence freshman Desharnais out 2-4 weeks with unspecified illness

USCHO Staff Report
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Providence announced on Saturday that freshman defenseman Vincent Desharnais will miss the next 2-4 weeks due to illness.

Desharnais has played 10 games this season with one assist to his credit.

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