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This Week in Hockey East: With young core on back end, UMass hoping to find more consistency with 2024-25 season in full swing

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Michael Hrabal is off to a solid sophomore season for UMass (photo: UMass Athletics).

If the well-worn phrase is true — that the best defense is a good offense — then the Massachusetts Minutemen might be onto something this season.

The No. 20 Minutemen (5-5-2 overall, 1-3-2 Hockey East) overcame a sluggish effort in a 2-1 loss at home to Providence last Thursday to rebound with a 5-1 win at the Friars’ home rink two nights later.

Two UMass goals in Saturday’s win came off the sticks of defensemen, continuing a positive trend for the Minutemen. Defensemen have scored at least one goal in 11 of UMass’s 12 games so far.

“I expect we’ll start getting more goals from our forwards, but it’s great when you can count on (defensemen),” said ninth-year UMass coach Greg Carvel. “If you’re getting a goal a game from your defensemen, that’s like getting a power-play goal a game. So it’s a huge plus.”

Carvel acknowledged goaltending has been an issue. He pulled Michael Hrabal — who had started all of UMass’s games to that point — 14 minutes into a 4-0 loss at Vermont on Nov. 9 after the sophomore gave up two goals. Fellow sophomore Jackson Irving took over and kept the Catamounts scoreless the rest of the way (UVM scored twice with an empty net).

On Nov. 14 vs. Providence, Irving turned away 26 shots in his first collegiate start to keep the Minutemen in the game. Carvel went back to Hrabal for the second game of the Providence series, saying the decision wasn’t a difficult one, citing Hrabal’s two wins vs. the Friars the previous season.

It seems Carvel doesn’t mind having two goalies he can count on.

“If (Hrabal) plays the way he played on Saturday night, he’ll own the net,” Carvel said. “(Irving) has earned a lot of trust just through his time here. (He’s) improved dramatically. (You) know what you’re going to get — you’re going to get good, steady goaltending. That’s all you ever want as a coach. Spectacular goaltending is great, and it wins games for you, but if I can get a goaltender to give me a .920 save percentage, that’s all I ever asked for as a coach. That’s asking a lot, maybe, but Michael should be capable of that.”

The Minutemen are 5-0-0 this season when scoring at least four goals and are winless when scoring three or fewer. All five UMass goals were scored from long range in the win over Providence, and while he’s not complaining, Carvel said he would like to see his team finish on more close-range opportunities.

“I’d like to see us score some more rebound goals, deflection goals,” he said. “We need to get better at going to the net, and more urgency to be around the net. But I’ll take five goals any way we can get them.”

Sophomore forward Aydar Suniev scored twice against Providence on Saturday and now has eight goals on the season, leading the Minutemen. Carvel said Suniev is hungry to score.

“He’s the kind of kid that, he’s not happy unless he’s scoring,” Carvel said. “That’s not always what you’re looking for, but it’s not the worst thing in the world either.”

UMass will take a break from Hockey East action on Friday when it hosts Harvard (7 p.m. on ESPN+), then will host Vermont Sunday at 3 p.m. (NESN).

Carvel said he hopes the pieces are in place for UMass to put its up-and-down start to the season behind it and find more consistency.

“We knew we had a young defense at the beginning of the year. We made a lot of mistakes. We gave up a lot of odd-man rushes. That’s changed,” he said. “We’ve hardly given up any in the last couple of weekends. Then it was the goaltending, and in the last couple of games we’ve had outstanding goaltending. And then it was the scoring — we couldn’t score. Then we got five goals. We put those three things together, and I say this all the time — limit the other team to two, we score three. (I) think we’re capable of that.”

Michigan State, North Dakota heading to Austin, Texas, for 2026 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game

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North Dakota, in partnership with Ralph Engelstad Arena, H-E-B Center, and Visit Austin, announced Tuesday that H-E-B Center at Cedar Park will play host to the 2026 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game on Oct. 31, 2026.

This special event features North Dakota and Michigan State at 7:07 pm (CST).

“We’re looking forward to hosting a premier college hockey event that will provide an unmatched life experience for our student-athletes and offers our fans an exciting destination game weekend,” said UND coach Brad Berry in a statement. “The game, featuring two premier college hockey programs promises to be an outstanding game. We’re excited about playing a very good Michigan State team in the Live Music Capital of the World.”

“We’re looking forward to playing in the Hall of Fame Game and our trip to Austin,” added Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale. “It promises to be an outstanding matchup between two storied college hockey programs that combined, have won 11 NCAA national championships. We’re honored to be a part of this fantastic event.”

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Nov. 12, 2025 at 10 a.m. CST.

Preliminary Schedule of Events:

Thursday Night Gathering – Thursday evening, October 29
NoDak Golf Tournament at the Avery Ranch Golf Club – Friday morning, October 30
NoDak Palooza at Austin City Limits Live (ACL Live) – Friday evening, October 30
Pregame Party – Saturday afternoon, October 31
2026 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game – Saturday, October 31 at 7:07 p.m. CST

For more information, visit theralph.com/austin.

Johnson resigns as St. Thomas women’s hockey coach; Brausen named interim coach for Tommies

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Joel Johnson was named St. Thomas coach in 2021 after 16 seasons at Minnesota in two stints (photo: Minnesota Athletics).

St. Thomas women’s hockey coach Joel Johnson has resigned, the school announced Tuesday, amid questions on why he was not with the team for its most recent game.

The school confirmed Johnson’s resignation in a two-paragraph release that didn’t indicate any reason for the departure. Assistant coach Bethany Brausen will be the team’s interim head coach starting with a series Friday and Saturday at No. 1 Wisconsin.

The Tommies are 5-8-1 and 2-7-1 in the WCHA after they were swept on the road by Bemidji State last weekend.

Johnson was behind the bench for Friday’s 4-1 loss but video of Saturday’s 4-3 defeat did not show him as part of the coaching staff on the bench or in postgame handshakes.

A St. Thomas spokesperson didn’t return a message seeking information earlier Tuesday on Johnson’s absence from Saturday’s game. The school on Wednesday issued a statement from athletic director Phil Esten that referenced an incident.

“I can confirm we immediately started an investigation after concerns were brought to our attention following Friday night’s game,” Esten said in the statement.

The school did not respond to a question about the hiring process for a new full-time head coach.

St. Thomas was 28-88-4 in three-plus seasons with Johnson as head coach, although he missed parts of his first season, 2021-22, while he was head coach of the U.S. Olympic team that won a silver medal.

He was named St. Thomas’ coach on June 7, 2021, as the St. Paul, Minn., school made the transition from Division III to Division I. Johnson was an assistant at Minnesota for 16 seasons over two stints around a stretch from 2004 to 2010 in which he worked with the Bethel men’s hockey program.

TMQ: With American International leaving for NCAA D-II ranks in 2025-26, what is the trickle-down effect across college hockey?

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AIC players get hyped before a recent game (photo: AIC Athletics).

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.

Ed: Jim, last Wednesday when we spoke with College Hockey Inc. executive director Sean Hogan on the USCHO Spotlight podcast, he noted that there’s been more change in college hockey in the last 12 to 18 months than in the previous 15 or 20 years.

Many of them seem destined to work against smaller schools or smaller budgets. We’ve expressed concern in “print” and on our podcasts that we might lose some schools at a time when there’s more of a need for Division I hockey programs than ever before.

After TMQ was published last week, word came unexpectedly that American International College was going to drop its men’s hockey program to D-II. We’re going to address a number of aspects to the decision, including how it affects students, staff and their families, and the entire D-I landscape.

But first I’d like to comment on how it was handled by the college. On Wednesday, AIC announced its “Pathway to Progress” plan, addressing enrollment and budget issues, and specifically how athletics would be affected. Men’s wrestling and women’s tennis will be dropped entirely.

The news release outlining the plans included some FAQs, including this one about hockey:

“How will the College handle funds that have been donated to men’s ice hockey?

“Funds raised for the men’s ice hockey program will continue to be utilized to support the ice hockey program, allowing it to be competitively positioned among peers and offering a greater level of impact than if the program were to stay in Division I.”

If I can quote a somewhat coarse phrase, “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” It’s hard to see how there could be any bigger impact to AIC as an institution than to have a national brand on the highest level of D-I athletics.

Before the No. 16 seed Yellow Jackets upset No. 1 St. Cloud in the 2019 NCAA regionals, American International wasn’t exactly a household name. But a stretch of success in Atlantic Hockey and three NCAA appearances should be the envy of every team in that league and in D-I in general.

It also emphasized the “I” in International, as coach Eric Lang pioneered recruiting a large portion of his team from Europe.

Clumsy public relations aside, there are a lot of people personally affected by this, and D-I men’s hockey is also impacted. Let’s take the rest of today’s column to focus on those.

Jim: I agree with everything you said, Ed.

This is a dark moment for college hockey. I won’t harken back to the days when programs dropped like flies – Fairfield, Iona, Wayne State – among those to fall in that tragic stretch. But this concerns me.

Though AIC put out a very cute public relations statement of their vision of the future, it certainly doesn’t consider the student athletes of the present who made concerted decisions to attend AIC. Many of those players arrived there because of the win in the 2019 regionals that you referenced, one of the biggest upsets in NCAA hockey tournament history.

This, to me, strikes as a massive financial decision that is shortsighted at best. Somehow, Eric Lang has turned this program into a national contender year in and year out. It has brought national attention to a school that isn’t exactly known for its academic reputation and given that school some national brand equity in athletics that it really had no other reason to have.

I have been fortunate to grow to know UMass president Marty Meehan, who as an administrator I consider one of the best around these days. I have heard him say numerous times that athletics are the “front porch” of a university. Which means people learn about your school because of the success of athletic programs.

Who knew about Gonzaga before they made their basketball run? Same can be said about AIC and many other college hockey schools. Quinnipiac is a great example. The success of hockey on their campus has elevated their school.

So AIC making a short-sighted decision to cut off the men’s hockey team at the knees is taking away that “front porch.”

I question how hard it might be for many going forward to even find the front door.

Ed: I guess the one thing we don’t know is how dire the financial situation is at AIC. An interim president and an interim athletic director are charged with making these decisions. Do they appear short-sighted to us? Absolutely. Are they urgent measures being made to keep AIC afloat as an institution of higher learning? It appears that way.

Public relations and marketing might not be your top priority when you’re just trying to keep the lights on.

But let’s consider the situation for all the various hockey stakeholders (for lack of a better term): players, coaches, Atlantic Hockey America, and NCAA D-I hockey overall.

First of all, the student-athletes. They’ve made a commitment to the program based on promises that are now being broken. Many players have no doubt had other options to consider, but found the situation and the offer made by Eric Lang and his staff to be their best route for hockey and for an education. Now the rug is pulled out from under them only a third of the way through the season.

These players – assuming that they don’t stick around for a D-II season – are going to have to find new places to attend school and play. The timing on that couldn’t be worse, considering that the supply of players has now increased with major junior eligibility at D-I. I suppose the early announcement gives a little more time than there would be after the season, but it’s still a lousy situation.

There’s even one player on the roster who has been at three programs in three seasons, and could end up on a fourth team next year.

I’m sure that Lang and his staff are gutted thinking about the players.

What about the situation for the coaches? They’ve also made a commitment; they’ve made decisions that affect their careers and families.

Jim: I think there was a day and age where I felt worst for the players. But in the modern day of the transfer portal, and I don’t mean to sound highly insensitive, but I feel less for the players. Any qualified player will end up on another Division I roster next season. Some won’t, but conceivably there is another option – Division II hockey – for these players (though admittedly, I’m not sure that Division II is desirable, at least not more than Division III, where you compete for a national championship).

I always feel for the staff. The head coach and coaches, equipment guys who plug massive hours. The people who put in miles on the road trying to attract and sell that program to young players. You’re a coach out there telling a player that there is nothing better than going to American International College. Then when you arrive, that same school pulls the rug out from under you. It’s a horrible situation, and the coaches who sold that program probably feel awful.

To me, this is a massive red flag. The way things have fallen in NCAA hockey over the last half decade or so – transfer portal, NIL, House v. NCAA settlement, now CHL eligible players – part of me looks from a business side and, as much as I call it short-sighted, I understand how highly uninformed administrators at many colleges and universities might look at the situation and throw their collective hands in the air.

How can we handle all of this?

I will admit I get pretty fired up about it all. I’ve been around long enough to watch programs rise and fall. Too many to count at this point.

But the one thing we can’t underscore enough when it comes to AIC is the unprecedented success the Yellow Jackets have had since Eric Lang took over as coach. Many coaches likely think that if you win your games, win tournaments, qualify for the NCAAs (and pull off major upsets) that your job, your program is safe.

Security is what is lacking right now in college athletics. This is a gross reality.

Ed: I agree about security. There is so much uncertainty right now that even informed administrators also have to be throwing their hands in the air about what happens next.

The decision at AIC also blindsided Atlantic Hockey America, a conference that just got back Robert Morris last season. At RMU, a fundraising effort and pressure on that university’s administration returned the men’s and women’s programs – and ultimately cost its president his job.

AHA commissioner Michelle Morgan said on Wednesday that she was shocked and disappointed by the news. And that was news that AIC’s administration didn’t even communicate directly.

“Like many others, we were first informed via social media, yet have waited to understand all facts from the institution,” Morgan said in a statement. “We recognize that these difficult decisions are not made in a vacuum, as they effect the lives of so many individuals. Our immediate focus is on the remainder of the 2024-25 season, in which AIC will remain an active member. The AHA will continue its work in elevating all facets of our newly united league, while remaining nimble in the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics.”

There are two or three independent programs that could slot into Atlantic Hockey. But will the league’s athletic directors want to take a program with an uncertain future? I suspect the conference will stay at 10 for a while unless a program shows a serious commitment, perhaps with a more serious poison pill than the league’s $60,000 exit fee.

Although CHI’s Hogan had a positive take on continued growth in D-I – and I hope he’s right – would you agree that this could put the brakes on other schools looking to add D-I hockey?

Jim: Unfortunately, if I am an administrator at a school that is actively exploring Division I hockey – both at the men’s and women’s level – this headline from AIC makes me take pause.

Why would a school make a significant investment, somewhere north of $20 million is a likely minimum these days, if not higher? It’s dangerous, but there can be a payoff. Let’s go back to that “front porch” comment. I will say it again: How many people had ever heard of American International before that 2019 game against St. Cloud State. You and I knew the school. But I remember the number of college hockey fans asking me, “Who are they?”

People have known schools like Penn State and Arizona State long before they added Division I hockey. But many people I know were shocked to know those schools had hockey before they made the NCAA tournament. I guarantee you, there are tens of thousands who have no idea where Augustana or St. Thomas are. But let those schools make one NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey tournament and those questions become answered.

Honestly, as someone who has spent the last 33 years of my life in college hockey, I hope this doesn’t set the sport back. There has never been more qualified players to play this sport at a high level (and we haven’t even talked about the expansion of the player pool with the addition of CHL players beginning next season).

This should be the glory days of the sport. It’s sad that one school’s decisions that seem guided only by the bottom line could dampen the excitement.

Denver picks up all 50 first-place votes, Pioneers a unanimous No. 1 team in Nov. 18 USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll

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Denver had the offense firing on all cylinders last weekend at North Dakota (photo: Russell Hons).

With all 50 first-place votes this week, Denver is again the top team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll.

Michigan State moves up two to No. 2, Boston College is down one to No. 3, Minnesota is down one to No. 4, and Maine is up two to No. 5, tied with Michigan that stays fifth.

USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll – Nov. 18, 2024

Colorado College is up one to No. 7, Cornell is down two to eight, Western Michigan jumps up four to No. 9, and Providence stays 10th.

North Dakota falls out of the top 10, going from No. 9 to No. 12 in this week’s poll.

Clarkson (No. 19) and UMass (No. 20) join the rankings this week after being previously unranked.

In addition to the top 20 teams, 14 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.

Denver remains perfect amid weekend of splits, AIC’s decision to move to D-II: Weekend Review college hockey podcast Season 7 Episode 7

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Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger review games of the weekend and news of the week.

No. 1 Denver continues its winning streak, while Boston College faces challenges ahead without their top goaltender on Tuesday. Minnesota splits with Bemidji State, and Michigan State likely rises to No. 2 in the USCHO poll. They look at Dartmouth’s win over Cornell, and Colorado College’s weekend results at Western Michigan. The discussion shifts to AIC’s surprising move to Division II, pondering the implications for the program and college hockey expansion.

Times are approximate:

00:15 Introduction and Hosts
00:26 Denver’s dominance and North Dakota’s struggles
03:18 Boston College’s loss at UConn, Fowler suspension
08:51 Minnesota vs. Bemidji State split
12:44 Michigan State’s impressive streak
14:53 Dartmouth’s surprising performance
16:35 Colorado College and Western Michigan showdown
17:55 NCHC Standings and Team Analysis
21:32 Balancing league schedules: challenges and solutions
26:34 Providence vs. UMass
28:37 Wisconsin’s turnaround
31:18 Quinnipiac’s prospects at 5-5-0
32:36 AIC’s announced drop to D-II
42:24 The broader impact on college hockey
45:22 Final thoughts and wrap-up

Subscribe to this college hockey podcast on Apple podcasts, in your favorite podcast app, or on Spreaker.

Find our podcast archive at USCHO.com/podcasts

D-II/III East Men’s Ice Hockey Weekend Wrap-up – November 18, 2024

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Forward Andrew Kurapov paced Endicott’s offense in a pair of wins over UNE this past weekend (Photo by Edward Jacobs/Team Shred

Maybe it was the “Super Full Moon” that saw a ton of upsets among favored and ranked teams including Skidmore, Plattsburgh, Trinity, and UNE to name but a few. Conversely, there were teams finding their game like Endicott, Elmira, and Plymouth State who all had big weekends along with Connecticut College in the first week of play for NESCAC. This season is really bearing out the fact that any team can win on any given night and with just three weekends in the books we are setting up for one of the most exciting seasons across all the conferences in quite some time. Here is the recap of the action that have a lot of people, including this prognosticator, scratching their heads in the east:

CNE

Endicott and the University of New England played a home-and-home series and once again the Gulls found a way to win on the road with Andrew Kurapov delivering an overtime win with a breakaway goal against the previously unbeaten Nor’easters. At home on Saturday, Kurapov led the Gulls attack with a pair of goals as Endicott found their offense in an 8-1 win. The Gulls started fast with three goals in the first period and blew the game open with four unanswered goals in the second period. Peyton Miller also scored twice for the Gulls.

Curry looked to keep their winning ways in a pair of contests against Western New England. On Friday, the Colonels took advantage of 23 saves from goaltender Shane Soderwall and two goals from Alex Duncan in a comfortable 5-0 win on the road. Back on home ice on Saturday, Curry was led by forward Eelis Laaksonen who scored two goals as Curry cruised to a 4-0 lead before the Golden Bears scored two times late in the third period for a 4-2 final and weekend sweep.

Nichols faced a Suffolk team coming off a 5-1 non-conference win on Tuesday against Worcester State but it was the Bison who brought the offense to the Friday night contest. Gabe Temple scored two goals as Nichols opened a 3-1 lead in the second period and Nathan Carl sealed the 4-1 win with a tally in the third period. Goaltender Nick Anderson stopped 35 shots to earn the victory. On Saturday, Temple added his third goal on the weekend in the third period to tie the score at 1-1 and the teams finished with an overtime tie and the Bison earning a shootout win over the Rams.

Johnson & Wales played Wentworth and each team took a win to earn a split of the series. On Friday, the Leopards rallied from a 2-1 first period deficit to skate away with a 5-2 win. Ethan Lim scored one goal and added a pair of assists for Wentworth. On Saturday, it was again the visiting team that took control of the scoring as the Rams scored five unanswered goals to break open a 1-1 tie on the way to a 6-1 win. Bret Beale scored a pair of goals for Suffolk while Harout Torosian added a goal and an assist.

MAC

Stevenson faced-off against newcomer Misericordia in a weekend series and despite outshooting the visitors by a 49-26 margin, the Mustangs eked out a 2-0 win. A goal by Gage Parillo in the first minute of play and an empty-net goal from Jack Karlsson was all goaltender Ford DeLoss (26 saves) would need to earn the shutout win. On Saturday, goals from Ryan Karbach and Patrick Toomey gave Misericordia a 3-2 lead entering the final period. Stevenson tied the score in the final three minutes of regulation off the stick of Blake Benson and the teams finished with a 3-3 overtime tie before Stevenson won the shootout.

Wilkes hosted Lebanon Valley for a pair of games and swept the Flying Dutchmen by scores of 5-2 and  4-1. On Friday, the Colonels jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from Leyton Pettypiece only to see LVC tie the game before the end of the first period. Two goals from Nick Swain sandwiched around one from Patrick Roglinski led to the 5-2 final score. On Saturday, Jordan Carter opened the scoring and finished the scoring as he completed a hat trick with an empty-net goal in the third period to help Wilkes earn a 4-1 win.

Alvernia played host to King’s for the weekend and the Monarchs stunned the Golden Wolves on Friday night earning their first win of the season by a 3-1 score. Kent Lee and Ethan Hersant gave the visitors a 2-1 lead before Patrick Nowak iced the win with an empty-net goal for the 3-1 final score. Goaltender Ben Williams was outstanding in goal making 49 saves as King’s was outshot by a 50-22 margin. On Saturday, Alvernia started fast with four first period goals and cruised to a 5-2 win. Will White, Frazer Dodd and Matthew Imbriano each scored a goal and added an assist to help Alvernia earn a split of the two-game series.

MASCAC

Fitchburg State took a non-conference win over Assumption on Tuesday by a score of 5-2. Alexandre Bauvais and Elowan Orme Lynch each chipped in with a goal and assist. Looking to remain unbeaten, the Falcons opened conference play against Salem State and captured a 2-1 road win to remain unbeaten at 4-0-0 on the season. The teams traded first period goals, and the goaltenders took over until Isaiah McKinney netted the game-winner for FSU midway through the third period. Goaltender Frederick Soderberg stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Falcon win.

Plymouth State kept the win streak going at three games with an 8-2 win over Worcester State in their MASCAC opener. Ethan Stuckless, Dante Moretti, and Cam Patton each scored two goals to pace the offense for the Panthers.

Rivier played a thrilling game on Tuesday where they took a 6-4 win over in-state rival St. Anselm. Jake Laville scored twice and added two assists while Damon Kiyawasew added a goal and two assists for the Raiders. In their MASCAC opener on Saturday, the offense was hard to come by as Salem State started fast with three goals in the first period on the way to a 6-2 win. James Tatro recorded a hat trick for the Vikings while goaltender Will Nepveu picked up his first win stopping 34 of 36 shots.

Framingham State picked up their first win of the season in a non-conference game against Franklin Pierce on Tuesday. Sam Larkin led a group of six players with two-point games as the Rams broke open a 2-2 first period tie with four unanswered goals for the 6-2 win.

NE-10

After Tuesday’s loss to Fitchburg State, Assumption returned to NE-10 action with a weekend series against Franklin Pierce and skated off with a pair of wins to remain unbeaten in league play. On Friday, the Greyhounds scored twice in each period on the way to a 6-3 win over the Ravens. Ronny Paragallo scored twice for Assumption in the win. On Saturday, two power -play goals and a pair of shorthanded goals helped lead Assumption to a 7-2 win and weekend sweep. Paragallo chipped in with a goal and two assists while Jonathan Surrette (1G-2A-3 Pts) and John Wornle (0G-3A-3 Pts) also recorded three-point games.

St. Michael’s was looking to keep pace with Assumption with a sweep of SNHU over the weekend to remain unbeaten, but the Penmen had other ideas. On Friday, SNHU took a 2-0 first period lead and stretched the advantage to a comfortable 5-2 win on the road. On Saturday, Ben Baxter got the Purple Knights off and running with a pair of goals as the home team took a 3-0 lead and cruised to a 5-2 win to earn the weekend split.

After a Tuesday loss to Rivier at home, St. Anselm traveled to play Post for a weekend series. The Eagles were fresh off an overtime win over Westfield State on Tuesday and carried that momentum into Friday night where they took a 4-3 win over the Hawks. Baxter Kimball’s power-play goal in the first minute of the third period proved to be the game-winner for Post. On Saturday, the Eagles took a 3-0 lead only to see St. Anselm rally back with four goals, including two with the man advantage for a 4-3 win to split the series. Luke Mix assisted on three of the four goals for the Hawks who moved to 3-1-0 in NE-10 action.

NEHC

After opening the season 0-1-1, Elmira has their game going in NEHC play with back-to-back weekend sweeps. After taking a pair of games from Southern Maine last weekend, the Soaring Eagles played host to nationally ranked Skidmore and took wins by scores of 3-2 and 5-1. On Friday, Nathan Young and Cole Tucker scored third period goals to rally the home team from a one-goal deficit to a one-goal win. Goaltender Brody Haynes made 33 saves for Elmira to earn the win. On Saturday, Young and Tucker were again featured in the offense as Elmira took a 3-0 lead and converted the advantage into a 5-1 win over the Thoroughbreds.

Hobart hosted Massachusetts-Boston looking to extend their win streak to six games to start the season. Khalil Fontana’s hat trick helped lead the Statesmen to a lopsided 7-1 win on Friday night. On Saturday, Hobart completed the sweep scoring the first five goals of the game including two from forward Shane Shell, on the way to a 6-2 win.

Newcomers Salve Regina traveled to Babson looking to remain unbeaten in NEHC play and took Friday night’s contest by a 5-3 score. Trailing 3-2 in the third period, the Seahawks scored three goals including Aidan Connolly’s game-winner with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. Logan Calder iced the win with a goal in the final five seconds. On Saturday, both teams combined for 13 goals in a crazy 7-6 win for the Beavers, who picked up their first win in conference play on the season. Babson scored five times in the first forty minutes including a hat trick from Jimmy Fallon and held on for the one-goal win.

New England College opened their conference campaign hosting Norwich and surprised the Cadets with an overtime tie and win in the two-game series. Goals were hard to come by for both teams as evidenced by Friday’s 1-1 tie where the Pilgrims’ David Novotny tied the score in the final second of regulation. There was no overtime winner, but NEC captured the shootout. On Saturday, Novotny was again the hero for NEC as he assisted on Paul Waldhauser’s third period goal before providing an insurance goal in a 2-0 Pilgrim win. Goaltender Anthony Beaulieu stopped 31 Cadet shots to earn the shutout win.

Albertus Magnus moved to 2-2-0 in conference play with a pair of one-goal wins over VSU-Castleton. After Friday’s 3-2 win, the Falcons needed a third period comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Goals from Zane Kindrachuk and JJ Berdal tied the score at three and William Lavigne gave the home team the 4-3 win in the first minute of overtime.

NESCAC

Connecticut College pulled a major upset to start their season as the Camels knocked off the defending conference champions from Trinity on Friday by a 4-2 score. Two power play goals from John Harrington and Rocco Testa-Basi helped pace Conn College to a 3-1 lead but after Trinity closed the gap to a single goal Jack Luca’s empty-net goal sealed the upset win. On Saturday, the Camels continued their hot start with a 4-1 win over another in-state rival in Wesleyan. Three first period goals from Andrew Eberling, Devan Newhook, and Harrington paced the Camels to a comfortable victory and weekend sweep.

Middlebury also skated away with two wins to open the season and conference play as the Panthers defeated Bowdoin and Colby to start 2-0-0. On Friday, Jin Lee scored two goals, John Burdett chipped in with three assists and goaltender Andrew Heinze earned the shutout win in a 5-0 decision. On Saturday, the Panthers surrendered Will Molson’s goal in the first minute of play before scoring shorthanded and power-play goals before the end of the period to take a 2-1 lead. Jack Silverman scored in the second period and that ended all the scoring in a 3-1 win over the Mules.

Hamilton played a single conference game against travel partner Amherst on Saturday earning a 5-2 win behind a four-point game from Jackson Krock who recorded a hat trick and added an assist in the Continentals win over the Mammoth. Luke Tchor also added a goal and two assists for Hamilton in the road win. On Sunday, Hamilton stayed productive on the road as they knocked Anna Maria from the unbeaten ranks with a 5-1 win over the AmCats. Five different players scored for Hamilton who launched 50 shots against Anna Maria netminder Matthew Hennessey.

SUNYAC

Anytime that Plattsburgh plays Oswego you should just throw out the records and roster analysis because the rivalry always trumps the paper analysis of who should win the hockey game. On Friday, the Lakers entered the third period holding a 1-0 lead and scored four third period goals to down the Cardinals, 5-1. On Saturday, Oswego moved to 2-0-0 in SUNYAC play with a 6-1 win over Potsdam. Six different players scored goals led by Drake Semrad and Travis Baker who scored a goal apiece and added an assist each.

Plattsburgh bounced back with a 7-1 win over Canton to earn a split of their weekend games. Jake Lanyi, Brannon Butler, and Jack Ring each recorded a goal and two assists in the Cardinal victory.

Buffalo State started their SUNYAC season with a sweep of games against Morrisville and Cortland by scores of 4-1 and 5-3. Against the Mustangs, a three-goal second period launched the Bengals to a comfortable three-goal win. On Saturday, Don Powell and Vadim Kiriakov led a four-goal outburst for the Bengals who needed an empty-net goal by Andrey Manov to secure a 5-3 win over the Red Dragons.

UCHC

Utica faced Brockport for the first time in UCHC action and took a pair of wins over the Golden Eagles to move to 4-0-0 in conference play. Matt Wood scored a goal and added two assists to pace the Pioneer offense in a 5-2 win on Friday night. On Saturday, Utica took advantage of four first period goals from four different players for an easy 5-1 win. Transfer Johnny Mulera scored one goal and picked up a pair of assists to lead the Utica offense.

Both Geneseo and Manhattanville entered their weekend series unbeaten in early season conference action. The Knights were ready to go from the drop of the puck on Friday as seven different players scored goals in a 7-1 rout of the Valiants. Luke Panchisin scored one goal and added three assists to pace the Geneseo attack. Things were a little tighter on Saturday as the teams skated to a 1-1 tie after two periods of play. Geneseo’s Cannon Green scored the game-winning goal in the third period to give the Knights a 2-1 win and weekend sweep. Goaltender Jacob Torgner picked up the win making 23 saves as Geneseo outshot Manhattanville by a 57-24 margin.

Nazareth and Chatham played a two-game series with Friday’s game ending in a 3-3 overtime tie before the Cougars earned a 1-0 shootout win. Anthony Quinlivan scored a shorthanded goal in the final minute of regulation to tie the score at 3-3 for the Golden Flyers. On Saturday, a pair of power-play goals from Blake Frost and Logan Tobias in the third period broke a 1-1 deadlock for a 3-1 Nazareth win.

Three Biscuits

Andrew Kurapov – Endicott – scored the overtime winning goal that gave the Gulls a   4-3 win over UNE on Friday that took the Nor’easter from the list of the unbeaten. Kurapov added two more goals on Saturday in an 8-1 romp for the weekend sweep.

Jimmy Fallon – Babson – scored a hat trick in the Beavers’ 7-6 win over Salve Regina to earn a weekend split and give the Seahawk their first loss of the season.

Jackson Krock – Hamilton – recorded a four-point game in the Continentals 5-2 win over Amherst on Saturday. Krock scored a hat trick and added an assist in the season opening win.

Week three really showed that anything can happen regardless of position in the standings or what conference you play in. No doubt every team is showing up ready to play but no team can take its opponent lightly because the margins are just so thin across the talent playing at the D-III level and we the fans are enjoying the tremendous action accordingly.

 

 

NCAA D-III West Men’s Hockey Weekend Wrap

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The Aurora Spartans swept Adrian in a battle of nationally ranked teams. (Photo Credit: Steve Woltmann/Aurora Athletics)

As far as statements go in NCAA Division III hockey, Aurora made a big one over the weekend.

The Spartans completed a sweep of the No. 2 Bulldogs Saturday with a 4-2 victory on the road. They won the opener on Friday by a 4-1 score.

Not that the sweep is a complete surprise. Aurora came into the weekend ranked 11th.

Four different players scored in Saturday’s win for Aurora, which is 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the NCHA.

Chase Broda tallied a goal and an assist to help lead the way while JaCob Mucitelli racked up 39 saves.

In Friday’s win, the Spartans scored three times in the third, with Landry Schmuck scoring twice, as the Spartans secured a 4-1 win.

Jason Kirk also scored twice while Lukas Sedlacek and Simon Diaz each tallied two assists. Mucitelli made 30 saves.

Aurora has scored four or more goals in every game it has played in this season.

Green Knights survive Sabres

St. Norbert held off Marian in overtime Saturday, winning 4-3, to cap a sweep of the Sabres. Liam Fraser scored the game winner 36 seconds into the OT.

The Green Knights are now 7-0 and 4-0 in the NCHA.

St. Norbert held a 52-19 advantage in shots. Grant Adams made 16 saves.

Logan Dombrowsky stepped up in a big way, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists for the fifth-ranked Green Knights.

Jack Christen scored a goal and had an assist while Dayton Delcs finished with a goal and assist.

On Friday, St. Norbert scored twice in the third to finish off a 3-0 win.

Fraser scored the 62nd goal of his career in the victory, tying him for fifth all-time in school history. He’s eighth in career points with 133.

Dombrowsky dished out two assists to help pace the offense.

Trine stays unbeaten

The Thunder came away with a tie and a win in its weekend series with Dubuque.

The No. 14 team in the nation finished off the series with a 3-1 win. scoring all three goals with a man advantage.

Aleksa Babic and Josh Wright each tallied a goal and assist. Michael DiPietra dished out two assists. Kyle Kozma made 22 saves.

Trine improved to 5-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 in the NCHA.

In the opener, Trine outscored the Spartans 3-1 in the third to secure a comeback victory. The Thunder then won the shootout 2-1.

Babic came through with three assists, DiPietra dished out two assists and Sam Antenucci finished with a goal and assist.

Zach Burfoot, Jack Paweski and Owen Hardy all tallied a goal and assist for Dubuque, which led 2-1 going into the third.

Dubuque is 0-5-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the league but continues to be competitive in its second year. Dubuque has two one-goal losses.

Cobbers clutch again

Concordia scored twice in the third period to pick up a 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Friday.

It’s the fourth time this season Concordia has scored more than one goal in the final period.

Tai Halliday and Hanson O’Leary scored the third-period goals in Friday’s victory. Dane Couture finished with 29 saves for his fourth win. It’s the third time in five games he’s given up just one goal.

Concordia ended the weekend with a 1-0 loss to UW-River Falls and is 4-2 on the year.

Falcons grind out a win

On the road against one of the better teams in the MIAC, No. 15 UW-River Falls earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Concordia.

The Falcons are now 4-1 on the season after a game-winning goal from Alex Atwill. He scored in the third and the goal was the first of his career.

Great goaltending did the rest as Brennan Boynton made 27 saves on his way to his first career shutout with the Falcons.

The teams had a combined nine power play chances but neither converted. UW-River Falls won despite being outshot 27-16.

In the win column

Gustavus held off St. Olaf 6-5 on Saturday to not only salvage a sweep with the Oles but also earn its first victory of the year.

The win is the first for head coach Tyler Walsh at the helm of Gustavus.

Jack Suchy helped lead the way as he came through with a hat trick. Marko Belak racked up 18 saves.

Gustavus improved to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC. St. Olaf won the opener of the series by a 3-1 score.

Rivalry win over Yellowjackets

UW-Superior and St. Scholastica are no strangers to each other. They used to be conference rivals and they still play each other every year.

Friday’s game marked the 145th time the two teams have met, and the night belonged to the Yellowjackets, who prevailed 2-1.

Justin Dauphinais scored the game winner for Superior with 1:04 to go and Jack Boschert helped seal the deal with 26 saves over the final two periods. He made 29 saves in all.

Evan Axell scored a goal and dished out an assist, marking his second consecutive multi-point game.

Superior is 2-1-1 on the year after losing 4-3 to Bethel Saturday.

Big night for Blugolds

Leo Bacallao stepped up big time for UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, recording a hat trick as the Blugolds topped Augsburg 5-1 for their first win of the year.

Bacallao scored twice in the final 10 minutes to help Eau Claire seal the deal.

Max Gutjahr came up big in goal, stopping 24 shots for his first win of the season. Eau Claire is now 1-2-1 on the year.

Cardinals sweep Pipers

Saint Mary’s won both games in its MIAC series with Hamline, winning the finale 3-1.

Collin Tushie tallied a goal and an assist to help lead the way offensively and AJ Rushkowski made 17 saves.

Saint Mary’s won the opener 6-1 on Friday as six different players scored in the victory. The Cardinals are 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the MIAC.

Monday 10: Denver keeps getting victories, Wisconsin sweeps at Penn State, Hockey East upsets, Alaska Governor’s Cup series sees each team win

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Alaska and Alaska Anchorage split their Governor’s Cup series over the weekend in Anchorage (photo: Stephanie Burgoon).

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.

1. Twelve – make that 21 – in a row

Denver’s road sweep of North Dakota improved the Pioneers to 12-0-0 on the season. With No. 8 Colorado College’s overtime loss and tie at No. 13 Western Michigan, and No. 17 Dartmouth’s 4-4 tie vs. Colgate, DU is the last team this season with an unblemished record.

“It’s a really hard place to sweep,” said Denver coach David Carle. “Our first one-goal game of the year, our first 3-2 game of the year, and we feel fortunate to come out on the right side and come out of here with six points.”

Denver’s last defeat was the penultimate game of the 2023-24 regular season, a 4-3 loss to Colorado College on March 8. The Pioneers’ current winning streak is 21 games.

2. A Badger road sweep

It’s been a tough slog for Wisconsin in the first two months of the season, but the Badgers may have turned the corner with a sweep at No. 18 Penn State. Wisconsin prevailed with a 5-4 overtime win on Friday and a 6-3 win on Saturday. Before the weekend, the Badgers had not scored even three goals since an overtime win over Lindenwood on October 12.

“Our starts have gotten better, our secondary scoring has gotten better,” Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings told the Wisconsin State Journal. “And when we needed our power play to come through, it did.”

Wisconsin improves to 4-8-0 overall and 3-5-0 in Big Ten play.

3. Beavers upset the No. 3 Gophers

Bemidji State and Minnesota split a home-and-home Thursday/Saturday series, with the home team winning both.

The Golden Gophers won Thursday, 5-3, at 3M Arena at Mariucci, while Bemidji State took the Saturday night tilt at Sanford Center, 3-1. In the upset, Mattias Sholl made 38 saves and allowed just a 6-on-5 goal by the Gophers with 2:12 left.

Kirklan Irey scored just 21 seconds into the game and the game-winning goal midway through the first period to lead the Beavers.

It was the first victory for Bemidji over Minnesota on home ice.

4. Spartans sweep Irish

No. 4 Michigan State improved to 9-1-0 and 4-0-0 in conference as the only team with an unblemished record in the Big Ten with an 8-3, 4-3 weekend home sweep of Notre Dame. It’s the first time the Spartans have started at 4-0 in Big Ten history.

Michigan State extended its winning streak to seven games, the longest since the 2007-08 season, with the only loss in this campaign coming on October 11 to then-No. 2 Boston College.

5. An Alaska Governor’s Cup split

Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage will face each other six times this season in the Governor’s Cup series. The Nanooks took the opener, 3-2, on an overtime powerplay goal by Broten Sabo at 1:02 of the extra period on Friday, while the Seawolves cruised to a 6-1 win on Saturday to split the series at 1-1.

In Saturday’s game, Alaska Anchorage scored three empty-net goals in the third period. Porter Schachle scored the first at 14:37, and Dylan Contreras scored twice at 15:12 and 18:08.

“Solid effort by everyone in the lineup tonight,” said Anchorage coach Matt Shasby. “We took a step to establishing our identity.”

6. UMass, UConn get Hockey East upsets

Massachusetts spilt a Thursday/Saturday home-and-home against No. 10 Providence with the road team winning each game. The Minutemen rolled to a 5-1 win over the Friars on Saturday after losing 2-1 at home in the first game of the series.

UMass is now 7-2-1 in its last 10 at Providence.

“I thought the guys came out with the mission.” said UMass coach Greg Carvel. “They played a great 60 minutes, and I couldn’t be prouder of this group. I’m hoping this will be a springboard for us.”

Connecticut picked up a home upset over No. 2 Boston College on Friday. BC scored with 1:14 left in the game to close the Huskies lead to 4-3 before UConn’s Ryan Tattle got an empty-netter that would prove to be the game-winning goal.

Boston College goalie Jacob Fowler received a roughing major and game misconduct at 4:49 of the second period and was relieved by Jan Korec. Fowler received supplementary discipline from Hockey East and will be ineligible for the Eagles’ Tuesday night game at Providence.

7. Army’s Cataldo off to great rookie season in net

Freshman goalie JJ Cataldo leads the nation in save percentage at 0.956 and is second in goals-against average at 1.34, having allowed just eight goals in his six games in net for Army. His Black Knights picked up 5-1 and 4-2 wins at Rochester Institute of Technology over the weekend.

Cataldo saw 34 shots on Saturday, but it could have been a lot worse. Army blocked a whopping 28 shots in the contest, including six by defenseman Sam Groebner, who also scored for the Black Knights. Army defensemen had not tallied a goal until this weekend. Mac Gadowsky scored twice on Saturday and got the first goal by an Army blueliner this season on Friday.

8. Who’s in first?

Conference schedules in D-I college hockey are really uneven here in mid-November, with some teams having only played two league games, while others have well over one-third of their conference contests in the books. So league points are all over the place.

In the Big Ten, Wisconsin has played eight league games while Michigan has had just two. Atlantic Hockey ranges from a low of five to a high of 10. In Hockey East, four teams have had eight conference games, while Boston College has played just three and is in 10th place in the standings.

It will all come out in the wash, but this early disparity could lead one to wonder if there’s any statistical or on-ice difference to be seen with front-loading or back-loading schedules. It could be argued that a younger team could be better served by having more conference games later in the season, or that an older team would benefit by taking advantage of a program just starting to get its underclassmen to coalesce.

9. Regressing, not progressing

Word came last Tuesday that American International would be dropping its men’s hockey program to Division II next season, as well as discontinuing its men’s wrestling and women’s tennis programs.

On Wednesday, AIC announced the change officially in its “Pathway to Progress” announcement. Despite D-II not having an NCAA championship in hockey and being limited to the Northeast 10, the college attempted to portray it as a positive move.

“Funds raised for the men’s ice hockey program will continue to be utilized to support the ice hockey program, allowing it to be competitively positioned among peers and offering a greater level of impact than if the program were to stay in Division I,” the press release stated.

10. Are smaller schools actually better positioned to expand college hockey?

Last Wednesday, College Hockey Inc. executive director Sean Hogan was a guest on the USCHO Spotlight podcast. He suggested that schools without FBS football are good targets to add D-I hockey.

“Where we’re going to see growth is – and this is my opinion – is at the Division I level with schools that might not have major college football,” Hogan said. “And what makes our brand – makes hockey – so successful and appealing to athletic departments is the big major national brands don’t always win our national championship.

“If done well, you can compete nationally at an elite level right away. You can bring a national championship level sport to your campus, build excitement around that sport, have sellouts in your building, and really have a hockey brand that’s nationally known. And that can be very appealing.”

Women’s Division I College Hockey: Weekend Wrap November 18, 2024

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(1) Wisconsin at (2) Ohio State

Having lost six straight games in Columbus, things did not look good for the Badgers early on Friday as Ohio State scored twice in fourteen seconds late in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. First Maddi Wheeler and Joy Dunne connected on a rush then Jenna Buglioni tipped in a shot from distance by Dunne to give the Buckeyes the advantage. But Wisconsin started chipping away at the lead early in the second when Casey O’Brien and Lacey Eden connected on a rush of their own to cut the lead to 2-1. Later in the frame, a missed cover up by Amanda Thiele left the puck for O’Brien, who tapped it in to tie the game. Wisconsin took the lead in the opening minutes of the third on the power play on a 4-on-2 that Eden buried to make it 3-2. KK Harvey would add an empty-netter to secure the comeback and win for the Badgers. Saturday started similarly, with the Buckeyes taking a 2-0 lead early. Makenna Webster scored the only even strength goal of the game, carrying the puck in and scoring on Ava McNaughton point blank. Wheeler scored her second of the weekend, placing a shot high to make it 2-0. Wisconsin would pull back within one when Kirsten Simms put back a rebound on an O’Brien shot on the power play to make it 2-1. After a scoreless second in which both goals were called on to make big saves, Kiara Zanon restored the two-goal lead on a short-handed breakaway to make it 3-1. Wisconsin responded 33 seconds later when Maggie Scannell put away a loose puck in the crease to make it 3-2. But the Badgers could not find an equalizer and OSU took the win and earned a split.

(3) Minnesota at (4) Minnesota Duluth

The Gophers outshot the Bulldogs 22-9 in the first period, but the teams were tied headed into intermission. Sydney Morrow scored on the power play to put Minnesota up with under four to play in the frame, but Hanna Baskin replied 90 seconds later for UMD. The teams continued to battle back and forth but Minnesota broke the game open later in the second as Abbey Murphy gave them the 2-1 lead and Ella Huber scored short-handed with just more than a minute left in the second to make it a 3-1 game. Huber added an empty-netter to secure the 4-1 win on Friday. Ève Gascon made 48 saves for UMD in the loss. The Bulldogs came out pressing on Saturday as Kamryn Davis scored just 3:54 into the game to put the home team up 1-0. Gracie Graham tied the game for the Gophers midway through the period and Peyton Hemp gave them the lead thanks to a power play goal with under two to play. Minnesota took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Despite seven minutes of power play in the second, the Gophers could not take advantage and the score was the same after two periods. Emma Connor extended the lead for Minnesota 3-1 late in the third, but UMD was able to bring the lead back to one on a power play goal from Nina Jobst-Smith with under four to play. The Bulldogs pulled the goalie, but the Gopher defense shut them down and the could not find the equalizer as Minnesota earned the 3-2 win and weekend sweep. 

Dartmouth at (5) Colgate

Kalty Kaltounková scored just 13 seconds into the game, but Dartmouth quickly responded as Lauren Messier lit the lamp on the power play to make it a 1-1 game at the first intermission. Elyssa Biederman scored with a player advantage in the second to put Colgate up 2-1. But in the third, the Raiders pulled away as Alexis Petford scored in the opening few minutes, Madeline Palumbo added a power play goal and Sara Stewart closed out the scoring to give Colgate a 5-1 win. Freshman goalie Farah Walker picked up her first-career ECAC win in net for the Raiders. 

Harvard at (5) Colgate

For the second straight game, Kalty Kaltounková scored early in the first to put Colgate up, this time on the power play to make it 1-0 before four minutes had elapsed. Alexis Petford doubled the lead late in the second and Elyssa Biederman added an empty-netter to secure the Raiders’ 10th-straight win 3-0. 

St. Lawrence at (6) Clarkson

Thursday afternoon’s youth game was a chess match where neither team was able to pull away from the other. High-quality chances were at a premium as both teams racked up more than a dozen blocks and both goalies stood tall. Sarah Marchand broke the stalemate just 24 seconds into the third, cleaning up a rebound on a shot from Kennedy Wilson to put St. Lawrence up 1-0. Four minutes later Shelby Laidlaw picked up a clear attempt at the top of the zone and took advantage of a screen in front of the net to put a shot from distance into the net. Neither team was able to find the go ahead goal, even through overtime. Clarkson earned the extra point in the shootout as Nicole Gosling and Sena Catterall each scored. In the rematch on Saturday, the Golden Knights picked up their defense even more, blocking 17 shots while Julia Minotti made 27 saves. Anne Cherkowski was the difference-maker, going bar down with six minutes to go in the third to make it 1-0. Haley Winn added an empty-netter to secure the 2-0 win for Clarkson. 

Minnesota State at (8) St. Cloud State

Claire Vekich’s first-period goal put the Mavericks up 1-0. Jamie Nelson doubled the lead in the second, but St. Cloud quickly responded as Avery Farrell made it a 2-1 game at the second intermission. But it was Mankato’s day as they extended the lead early in the third on a goal from Bella Shipley. Taylor Otremba’s goal midway through the third secured the 4-1 win. MSU outshot SCSU 33-30 and dominated in faceoffs, 36-16, which helped power the win. It looked like Minnesota State might duplicate that result when Saturday’s game started with a second-period goal from JuliAnna Gadzik. But St. Cloud’s Emma Gentry tied the game before the end of the second. In the third, Mackenzie Bourgerie put Mankato up 2-1, but St. Cloud was once again able to respond with a goal from Farrell to force overtime. In the extra frame Sofianna Sundelin scored just after an MSU penalty expired to give the Huskies a 3-2 OT win. 

Harvard at (10) Cornell

The Big Red pushed the pace early in this game and it finally paid off in the final minutes of the first period as Avi Adam, Lindzi Avar and Lily Delianedis each scored to put Cornell up 3-0. The final two goals came in the final minute of the period. Delianedis continued the onslaught just 20 seconds into the second period to extend the lead and then Karel Prefontaine scored to make it 5-0. Paige Lester spoiled the shutout but the Crimson could not cut further into the lead and the Big Red took the win. 

Dartmouth at (10) Cornell

Lindzi Avar scored twice while Delaney Fleming and Mckenna Van Gelder each had a goal to lead Cornell to a 4-0 win on Saturday. Annelies Bergmann made 17 saves to earn her fifth shutout of the season. 

(11) Boston College vs. (14) Boston University (home and home)

Friday’s game was one of streaks. Boston College owned the first period, outshooting BU 11-6 and skating away with a 1-0 lead thanks to Kate Ham. But the Terriers regrouped during the intermission and came out firing. Sydney Healey scored on the power play just 1:15 into the second to tie the game. Sixty-two seconds later BC took the lead again on a goal from Molly Jordan. And 90 seconds later, Julia Shaunessy tied it one more time for BU. The Terriers continued to control the puck for much of the second two periods, but Grace Campbell made 23 of her 29 saves in the second and third periods and the Eagles made 13 blocks in the game to keep the score tied. In overtime, Julia Pellerin carried the puck from the side boards into the slot and slid the puck five-hole to win the game for the Terriers. In the second game, BU held Boston College to just nine shots on goal. Kara Gouldin scored early for the Eagles, but once again the Terriers came alive in the second as Ani Fitzgerald and Lindsay Bochna each scored in the opening five minutes of the frame to give Boston University a lead they wouldn’t surrender. Healey added a goal in the third to secure the 3-1 win and weekend split for the Terriers.

Lindenwood at (12) Penn State

Lindenwood goalie Anna LaRose made 48 saves and the defense made 17 blocks as they pushed the Nittany Lions to the brink on Friday. Penn State outshot the Lions 50-10 but needed overtime to earn a 3-2 victory. Tessa Janecke opened the scoring, but Lindenwood responded soon after on a power play goal from Sidney Jackel to send the teams to the locker room tied 1-1. In the second, Maddy Christian scored an extra-attacker goal of her own to give PSU the 2-1 lead. With 2:29 left in regulation, Morgan Neitzke scored on the breakaway to tie the game 2-2 and force overtime. In the extra frame, Karley Garcia put home a feed from Alyssa Machado to salvage the win for Penn State. The Nittany Lions apparently felt they had something to prove on Saturday as they rallied to earn a 7-1 win. The game was close in the early going as Christian’s goal was the only tally of the first period. In the second, Grace Outwater doubled the lead before Josey Dunne made it a 2-1 game. But that’s as close as it would get for Lindenwood as the Nittany Lions seemed to find another gear as Tessa Janecke scored twice and Katelyn Roberts added a goal before the end of the second period to make it 5-1. Kendall Butze and Stella Retrum added goals in the third to secure the 7-1 win. Butzke led Penn State with six points on a goal and five assists. 

(13) Connecticut at Merrimack

Friday’s game got off to a quick start as Maria Lindberg tipped in a puck under four minutes into the game to put the Warriors up 1-0. But UConn responded just 64 seconds later as Ashley Allard tied the game 1-1. Allard got the assist on the Huskies’ next goal as her stellar pass put Maya Serdachny in the perfect place to give them a 2-1 lead. Jada Habisch scored her third short-hander of the season to extend Connecticut’s lead to 3-1 midway through the second. Lindberg tallied her second of the game later in the third on the power play, but Megan Warrener prevented Merrimack from tying it up and earned UConn the 3-2 win. Kyla Josifovic and Brooke Campbell each scored and Tia Chan earned a 13-save shutout on Saturday as the Huskies took a 2-0 win and weekend sweep. 

 

Rankings roundup: How the top 20 NCAA hockey teams fared, Nov. 15-16

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Colorado College’s Noah Laba and Western Michigan’s Owen Michaels follow the play as the two teams played a pair of tight games over the weekend in Kalamazoo, Mich. (photo: Ashley Huss).

Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of Nov. 11 fared in games over the weekend of Nov. 15-16.

No. 1 Denver (12-0-0)
11/15/2024 – No. 1 Denver 5 at No. 9 North Dakota 2
11/16/2024 – No. 1 Denver 3 at No. 9 North Dakota 2

No. 2 Boston College (7-2-0)
11/15/2024 – No. 2 Boston College 4 at Connecticut 5

No. 3 Minnesota (10-2-0)
11/14/2024 – Bemidji State 3 at No. 3 Minnesota 5
11/16/2024 – No. 3 Minnesota 1 at Bemidji State 3

No. 4 Michigan State (9-1-0)
11/15/2024 – RV Notre Dame 3 at No. 4 Michigan State 8
11/16/2024 – RV Notre Dame 3 at No. 4 Michigan State 4

No. 5 Michigan (7-2-1)
Did not play.

No. 6 Cornell (3-1-2)
11/15/2024 – No. 6 Cornell 3 at No. 17 Dartmouth 4
11/16/2024 – No. 6 Cornell 2 at No. 20 Harvard 2 (OT)

No. 7 Maine (7-2-2)
11/15/2024 – No. 11 Boston University 2 at No. 7 Maine 5
11/16/2024 – No. 11 Boston University 2 at No. 7 Maine 2 (OT)

No. 8 Colorado College (8-1-1)
11/15/2024 – No. 8 Colorado College 2 at No. 13 Western Michigan 3 (OT)
11/16/2024 – No. 8 Colorado College 1 at No. 13 Western Michigan 1 (OT)

No. 9 North Dakota (5-6-0)
11/15/2024 – No. 1 Denver 5 at No. 9 North Dakota 2
11/16/2024 – No. 1 Denver 3 at No. 9 North Dakota 2

No. 10 Providence (7-2-2)
11/14/2024 – No. 10 Providence 2 at RV Massachusetts 1
11/16/2024 – RV Massachusetts 5 at No. 10 Providence 1

No. 11 Boston University (5-5-1)
11/15/2024 – No. 11 Boston University 2 at No. 7 Maine 5
11/16/2024 – No. 11 Boston University 2 at No. 7 Maine 2 (OT)

No. 12 St. Cloud State (8-3-0)
Did not play.

No. 13 Western Michigan (6-1-1)
11/15/2024 – No. 8 Colorado College 2 at No. 13 Western Michigan 3 (OT)
11/16/2024 – No. 8 Colorado College 1 at No. 13 Western Michigan 1 (OT)

No. 14 Ohio State (9-2-1)
11/15/2024 – No. 14 Ohio State 5 at Lindenwood 2
11/16/2024 – No. 14 Ohio State 3 at Lindenwood 2

No. 15 UMass Lowell (8-2-0)
11/15/2024 – No. 15 UMass Lowell 5 at Vermont 2
11/16/2024 – No. 15 UMass Lowell 3 at Vermont 0

No. 16 Minnesota State (8-4-2)
11/15/2024 – Northern Michigan 0 at No. 16 Minnesota State 3
11/16/2024 – Northern Michigan 1 at No. 16 Minnesota State 1 (OT)

No. 17 Dartmouth (5-0-1)
11/15/2024 – No. 6 Cornell 3 at No. 17 Dartmouth 4
11/16/2024 – Colgate 4 at No. 17 Dartmouth 4 (OT)

No. 18 Penn State (4-5-0)
11/15/2024 – Wisconsin 5 at No. 18 Penn State 4 (OT)
11/16/2024 – Wisconsin 6 at No. 18 Penn State 3

No. 19 Quinnipiac (5-5-0)
11/15/2024 – No. 19 Quinnipiac 3 at Brown 2
11/16/2024 – No. 19 Quinnipiac 4 at Yale 1

No. 20 Harvard (2-2-1)
11/15/2024 – Colgate 4 at No. 20 Harvard 2
11/16/2024 – No. 6 Cornell 2 at No. 20 Harvard 2 (OT)

RV = Received Votes

SATURDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Bemidji State upsets No. 3 Minnesota, top-ranked Denver still unbeaten with sweep over No. 9 North Dakota, UMass knocks off No. 10 Providence, No. 20 Harvard plays to tie with No. 6 Cornell, No. 4 Michigan State sweeps Notre Dame

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Bemidji State celebrates a goal Thursday night at Minnesota, a game the Beavers lost 5-3 before bouncing back with a 3-1 win on home ice over the Gophers Saturday night (photo: Brace Hemmelgarn).

After losing 5-3 Thursday night to No. 3 Minnesota at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, Minn., Bemidji State rebounded with a 3-1 win at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn., on Saturday night.

The victory was the first for the Beavers over the Gophers since a 4-2 win on Jan. 30, 2016 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Kirklan Irey scored twice for the Beavers, while goaltender Mattias Sholl made 38 saves, losing his shutout bid at 17:48 of the third period on a Matthew Wood goal.

Donte Lawson added an empty-net goal for Bemidji State with just under nine seconds left in the third period.

Minnesota goalie Liam Souliere finished with 18 saves.

POLL | SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS

No. 1 Denver 3, No. 9 North Dakota 2

Denver scored two goals in the second period and held off North Dakota to win 3-2 and sweep the weekend series at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

Denver extended its school-record, season-opening win streak to 12 games and picked up its first sweep at North Dakota since the 2022-23 campaign.

Aidan Thompson, Boston Buckberger and James Reeder all scored for the Pioneers and goaltender Matt Davis finished with 21 saves.

Dylan James and Sacha Boisvert scored for UND and TJ Semptimphelter made 19 saves in goal.

No. 4 Michigan State 4, Notre Dame 3

Four different players – Shane Vansaghi, Matt Basgall, Gavin O’Connell and Daniel Russell – scored as Michigan State swept Notre Dame with a 4-3 win in East Lansing, Mich., at Munn Ice Arena.

Trey Augustine made 28 saves in goal for the Spartans.

For Notre Dame, Blake Biondi, Ian Murphy and Axel Kumlin scored and Nicholas Kempf stopped 26 shots between the pipes.

No. 6 Cornell 2, No. 20 Harvard 2 (OT, Cornell wins shootout)

Ryan Fine and Mason Langenbrunner scored for Harvard and Tim Rego and Ryan Walsh answered for Cornell as the two teams tied 2-2 at Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Boston.

Cornell then won the ensuing shootout.

Ian Shane made 20 saves in the Cornell net, while Aku Koskenvuo recorded 18 for the Crimson.

No. 11 Boston University 2, No. 7 Maine 2 (OT, BU wins shootout)

Shane Lachance’s goal at 19:40 of the third period pulled Boston University into a 2-2 tie with Maine at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.

The Terriers then won the shootout.

Cole Eiserman added the other goal for BU and goalie Mathieu Caron made 26 saves.

Nolan Renwick and Anthony Calafiore scored for the Black Bears and Albin Boija finished with 15 saves in goal.

No. 8 Colorado College 1, No. 13 Western Michigan 1 (OT, CC wins shootout)

Matteo Costantini scored for Western Michigan and Klavs Veinbergs answered for Colorado College as the teams skated to a 1-1 tie at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Colorado College tacked on the extra point winning the shootout.

In goal, Kaidan Mbereko made 24 saves for the Tigers and Hampton Slukynsky 21 for the Broncos.

UMass 5, No. 10 Providence 1

Aydar Suniev scored two goals to help UMass to a 5-1 win over No. 10 Providence at Schneider Arena in Providence, R.I.

Linden Alger, Lucas Olvestad and Dans Locmelis also scored for the Minutemen and goaltender Michael Hrabal made 34 saves.

For the Friars, Connor Kelley scored the lone goal and Zachary Borgiel turned aside 29 shots in goal.

No. 14 Ohio State 3, Lindenwood 2

Ohio State earned the weekend road sweep at Lindenwood after a 3-2 win at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Sam Deckhut and Davis Burnside scored for the Buckeyes and goalie Logan Terness made 26 saves.

Jaeden Mercier scored both goals for the Lions and Henry Graham registered 20 saves between the pipes.

No. 15 UMass Lowell 3, Vermont 0

Henry Welsch made 20 saves as UMass Lowell blanked Vermont 3-0 at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt.

Matt Crasa, Scout Truman and Dillan Bentley scored the goals for the River Hawks.

Vermont goalies Keenan Rancier and Connor MacKenzie combined on a 16-save effort.

Northern Michigan 1, No. 16 Minnesota State 1 (OT, NMU wins shootout)

Will Diamond’s goal at 10:27 of the third period gave Northern Michigan a 1-1 tie with Minnesota State at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn.

The Wildcats then won the shootout.

Northern Michigan goalie Ryan Ouellette made 20 saves.

For the Mavericks, Will Hillman scored and Alex Tracy finished with 12 saves in goal.

Colgate 4, No. 17 Dartmouth 4 (OT, Colgate wins shootout)

Four different players scored for each team as Colgate and Dartmouth tied 4-4 at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H.

Ben Raymond, Jacob Napier, Daniel Panetta and Brett Chorske tallied for Colgate, while Braiden Dorfman, Nikita Nikora, Eric Charpentier and Cooper Flinton scored for Dartmouth.

Andrew Takacs made 24 saves in goal for the Raiders and Roan Clarke posted a 24-save outing for the Big Green.

Wisconsin 6, No. 18 Penn State 3

Wisconsin doubled up Penn State 6-3 to sweep the weekend series at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa.

Six different Badgers players scored – Quinn Finley, Cody Laskosky, Ryland Mosley, Kyle Kukkonen, Christian Fitzgerald and Tyson Dyck – and goalie Tommy Scarfone made 30 saves.

The Nittany Lions were led by Jarod Crespo, Aiden Fink and Charlie Cerrato, all of whom scored a goal, and goalies Arsenii Sergeev and Noah Grannan, who combined to make 25 saves.

No. 19 Quinnipiac 4, Yale 1

After Yale’s Ronan O’Donnell gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead just 3:30 into the game, Quinnipiac scored the next four goals to down Yale 4-1 at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn.

Mason Marcellus scored twice, Aaron Schwartz and Jack Ricketts also added goals, and Dylan Silverstein made 23 saves.

Yale goalie Jack Stark kicked out 30 shots.

Alaska Anchorage 6, Alaska 1

In the second game of the Governor’s Cup, Alaska Anchorage downed Alaska 6-1 at the Chuck Homan Ice Arena in Anchorage, Ak.

The series is now tied 1-1 after the Nanooks won 3-2 in overtime Friday night.

Dylan Contreras scored twice for the Seawolves, while Logan Acheson, Dylan Finley, Brandon Lajoie and Porter Schachle added single goals.

Greg Orosz made 20 saves for the win in goal.

For the Nanooks, Anton Rubtsov scored and Nicholas Grabko finished with 14 saves between the pipes.

Hockey East suspends Boston College goalie Fowler one game for major roughing penalty Nov. 15 vs. UConn

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Hockey East announced Saturday that Boston College sophomore goaltender Jacob Fowler has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 4:49 of the second period on Nov. 15 at UConn.

On the play, Fowler was given a five-minute major penalty for roughing and a game misconduct.

Fowler is ineligible to play Nov. 19 at Providence and can return to the Eagles lineup on Nov. 22 against Northeastern.

FRIDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: UConn upsets No. 2 Boston College, No. 1 Denver downs No. 9 North Dakota, No. 17 Dartmouth beats No. 6 Cornell, No. 13 Western Michigan gets by No. 8 Colorado College in OT, No. 7 Maine tops No. 11 Boston University

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In a back-and-forth game, UConn picked up the upset win, 5-4 on home ice Friday night over No. 2 Boston College (photo: UConn Athletics).

Connecticut pulled off the upset Friday night, knocking off No. 2 Boston College 5-4 at the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn.

Hudson Schandor, Kaden Shahan, Tristan Fraser, Tom Messineo and Ryan Tattle scored for the Huskies and goaltenders Tyler Muszelik and Thomas Heaney combined on a 28-save night in net. Muszelik started and played 40 minutes before leaving the game with an injury and Heaney played the third period and earned the win.

Aidan Hreschuk scored twice for the Eagles, while Andre Gasseau and Ryan Leonard added single goals.

Jacob Fowler started in goal for BC and made 25 saves before getting ejected after Fraser’s goal for roughing. Jan Korec played the rest of the game and finished with 16 saves.

POLL | SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS

No. 1 Denver 5, No. 9 North Dakota 2

Zeev Buium’s hat trick led Denver to a 5-2 win over North Dakota at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

Aidan Thompson and Sam Harris added goals for the Pioneers and Matt Davis made 22 saves between the pipes.

Ben Strinden and Dane Montgomery posted the Fighting Hawks goals and T.J. Semptimphelter made 34 stops in goal.

No. 4 Michigan State 8, Notre Dame 3

Karsen Dorwart scored two goals and goaltender Trey Augustine stopped 27 shots in goal as Michigan State romped to an 8-3 win over Notre Dame at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.

Tiernan Shoudy, Red Savage, Mikey DeAngelo, David Gucciardi, Charlie Stramel and Joey Larson also scored for Michigan State.

Danny Nelson netted a pair of goals for Notre Dame, Michael Mastrodomenico had the other, and Owen Say and Jack Williams combined to make 33 saves between the pipes.

No. 17 Dartmouth 4, No. 6 Cornell 3

Dartmouth captain Steven Townley’s goal with 3:24 to play in the third period snapped a 3-3 tie and the Big Green held on the rest of the way to beat Cornell 4-3 at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H.

Sean Chisholm, Hayden Stavroff and John Fusco also tallied for Dartmouth and Roan Clarke made 29 saves in goal.

For the Big Red, Kyle Penney scored twice, Tyler Catalano posted a goal, and Ian Shane finished with 19 saves in the blue paint.

No. 7 Maine 5, No. 11 Boston University 2

Maine jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back, downing Boston University 5-2 at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.

Owen Fowler had two goals for the Black Bears, while Frank Djurasevic, Harrison Scott and Thomas Freel added goals of their own.

In goal, Albin Boija made 23 saves for Maine.

Doug Grimes and Ryan Greene scored for the Terriers and Max Lacroix turned aside 29 shots between the pipes.

No. 13 Western Michigan 3, No. 8 Colorado College 2 (OT)

Western Michigan captain Tim Washe scored 3:22 into overtime to give the Broncos a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Colorado College at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoon, Mich.

Gavin Lindberg and Zaccharya Wisdom gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first period, only to see Tristan Lemyre and Grant Slukynsky answer in the third period for the Broncos, setting the stage for Washe’s game winner.

WMU goalie Cameron Rowe finished with 12 saves, while Kaidan Mbereko stopped 36 for the Tigers.

No. 14 Ohio State 5, Lindenwood 2

Riley Thompson and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine each scored two goals as Ohio State downed Lindenwood 5-2 at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Noah Powell also scored for the Buckeyes and goaltender Kristoffer Eberly made 23 saves.

Jake Southgate and David Gagnon scored for the Lions and Owen Bartoszkiewicz also finished with 23 saves in goal.

No. 15 UMass Lowell 5, Vermont 2

Five different players scored for UMass Lowell as the River Hawks defeated Vermont 5-2 at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt.

Dillan Bentley, Mirko Buttazzoni, Stefan Owens, Chris Delaney and Scott Truman found the net for UMass Lowell and goalie Henry Welsch made 19 saves.

For the Catamounts, Timofei Spitserov and Simon Jellus scored and Axel Mangbo made 22 saves in net.

No. 16 Minnesota State 3, Northern Michigan 0

Alex Tracy fashioned a 21-save shutout as Minnesota State blanked Northern Michigan 3-0 from the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn.

Will Hillman, Ralfs Bergmanis and Jakob Stender scored the Mavericks’ goals.

Wildcats goalie Ryan Ouellette made 20 saves.

Wisconsin 5, No. 18 Penn State 4 (OT)

Daniel Laatsch’s goal at 3:48 of overtime lifted Wisconsin over Penn State 5-4 in overtime from Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa.

Danny Dzhaniyev had tied it for Penn State at 19:10 of the third period.

Ryland Mosley, Sawyer Scholl, Cody Laskosky and Ryan Botterill also scored for the Badgers and Tommy Scarfone made 32 stops in goal.

Aiden Fink, Charlie Cerrato and Ben Schoen added markers for the Nittany Lions and Arsenii Sergeev had 23 saves.

No. 19 Quinnipiac 3, Brown 2

Elliott Groenewold’s goal at 14:53 of the third period stood as the game winner as Quinnipiac edged Brown 3-2 at Meehan Auditorium in Providence, R.I.

Aaron Bohlinger and Aaron Schwartz also scored for the Bobcats and goalie Matej Marinov made 18 stops.

For the Bears, Tanner Hartman and Tyler Kopff scored and Tyler Shea stopped 35 shots in goal.

Colgate 4, No. 20 Harvard 2

Four different players found the net for Colgate as the Raiders doubled up Harvard 4-2 at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Boston.

Brett Chorske, Simon Labelle, Daniel Panetta and Ryan Spinale scored in the win.

Colgate goaltender Andrew Takacs made 33 saves.

Mason Langenbrunner and Marek Hejduk scored for the Crimson and Aku Koskenvuo made 29 saves between the pipes.

Alaska at Alaska Anchorage (in progress)

The annual battle for the Governor’s Cup between Alaska and Alaska Anchorage was midway through the second period from the Chuck Homan Ice Arena in Anchorage, the two teams tied 2-2.

Brendan Ross and Matt Koethe scored for the Nanooks and Conor Cole and Dylan Contreras for the Seawolves.

Nicholas Grabko has 15 saves for Alaska and Greg Orosz eight for Anchorage.

NCAA D-III West Men’s Hockey Game Picks

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Aurora is unbeaten and is ready for a big test against Adrian. (Photo Credit: Steve Woltmann/Aurora Athletics)

It’s the middle of the month and the hockey just keeps getting better. Several ranked teams are in action, including in a showdown featuring Adrian and Aurora.

Let’s dive right in with a few game picks for this weekend.

Friday

UW-Eau Claire at Concordia

The Blugolds (0-1-1) are searching for their first win. Max Dronen has two early-season goals and having Max Gutjahr in goal always means Eau Claire has a shot to win. He already has one shutout this season.

Concordia (3-1) won its first three games before dropping a game and looks to bounce back. The Cobbers have scored four or more goals twice and have held an opponent to a single goal twice as well. This is also Concordia’s home opener.
Concordia, 4-3

UW-Superior at St. Scholastica

The Yellowjackets (1-0-1) are off to an unbeaten start and face a big test on the road against the Saints. They only have one goal off the power play in nine chances,but on the flip side, they have forced to just 1-for-10 in those situations.

St. Scholastica (1-2-1) has had a tough start to the year, dropping its last two, and hope to get back on track this weekend. Minimizing opportunities for the opponent is key as the Saints have given up eight goals in their last two games.
UW-Superior, 4-2

Saturday

UW-Eau Claire at Augsburg

Eau Claire faces a big early-season test against an Augsburg team that is always a contender in the MIAC and beyond. It’s a chance for the Blugolds to make a statement on the road.

The Auggies (2-2) are feeling good after a big win over Concordia last weekend and they look to keep that momentum going into the weekend. Graham Harris is among the players off to a great start, dishing out four assists while scoring a goal. Having this one at home could prove to be a big advantage.
Augsburg, 3-2

UW-Stout at Saint John’s

The Blue Devils (3-0) are unbeaten coming into this one and face a big road test here. Twice this season Stout has come through with a shutout and it’s offense has shown how dynamic it can be, scoring five or more goals twice.

Saint John’s (3-1) is coming off a big time win over nationally ranked UW-River Falls on Thursday, winning 3-0, and Jon Howe was stellar in goal, stopping a career-best 44 saves. It was his second collegiate shutout and the 10th win of his career.
Saint John’s 3-1

UW-River Falls at Concordia

The Falcons (3-1) are ready to bounce back after a tough road loss to Saint John’s, but it won’t be easy against a Concordia team that has been playing well. River Falls has been pretty good offensively, having averaged five goals per game prior to Thursday’s loss. Jonny Meiers has tallied three goals to lead the way.

Concordia knows this game provides an opportunity to potentially get into the national ranking discussion and having this game at home is a big deal.

UW-River Falls, 3-2

Friday and Saturday

Aurora at Adrian

Does it get better than this? Two NCHA rivals, both of which are nationally ranked, going at it in a weekend series.

Aurora (4-0) comes in No. 11 nationally and has looked sharp offensively, scoring at least five goals in every game it has played so far. Matt Weber has helped fuel the offense with four goals.

Adrian (3-1) is ranked No. 2 in the nation and this will mark the fourth time in the last five games that the Bulldogs have gone up against a team ranked in the top 15 of the USCHO.com poll. Adrian has to be feeling good about its offensive production lately, scoring four or more goals in its last three games.

I’ll be surprised if this is a sweep either way. It should definitely be entertaining.
Adrian, 5-4; Aurora, 4-3

Marian vs. St. Norbert

Marian (2-0) has given up just one goal in its first two games and now gets ready for a big-time test on the road against one of the nation’s best teams. The Sabres are going to need to strike early offensively and come through with their best defensive effort of the year.

St. Norbert (4-0) is still perfect and ranked fifth nationally. And the Green Knights are coming off an impressive 6-2 win over national power UW-Stevens Point on Tuesday. They are 5-0 for the first time since their national title season in 2017-18 and Liam Fraser led the way with a hat trick, doing that in the first 10 minutes of the game.
St. Norbert, 5-2 and 4-1

 

D-II/III East Men’s Hockey Game Picks – November 15, 2024

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Hobart’s Bauer Morrissey and the Statesmen look to stay perfect on the season when UMass-Boston comes to “The Cooler” for two games this weekend (photo: Hobart Athletics).

Here we are in mid-November and now everyone in the east is joining the party with NESCAC games scheduled this weekend. The action to open the first two weeks has been stellar and I do not anticipate that is going to change this week with more conference action getting underway along with some intriguing non-conference matchups on tap.

The weekly picks were a respectable 8-4-0 (.667) last week but I missed on several ranked opponent matchups and feel like the numbers are actually worse. Overall, my season numbers are 18-6-0 (.750) which is a great start, but I really want to stop the downward trend despite the small sample size. And speaking of sample size, teams that started the first week of November are fast approaching 20% of the season completed already (based on a 24-game schedule). With that in mind, it would be nice to get on a roll like a lot of teams who want to establish a winning trend for their upcoming schedule. Here are this week’s picks for the east:

Friday, November 15, 2024

Lebanon Valley v. Wilkes

The Colonels rebounded nicely last week after an opening game loss to Geneseo. Time to keep the positive momentum and high-powered offense going this week against the Flying Dutchmen. This one is closer than one might expect but a win for the home team – Wilkes, 4-3

Endicott v. (10) University of New England

The Gulls found a way to score on Curry netminder Shane Soderwall last week in earning a split of the weekend series. Now they face a UNE team that has yet to surrender a single goal this season. Tough place to play especially when Nor’easters are playing well. Close game goes to the home team –        UNE, 3-2

Salve Regina v. Babson

The Seahawks scored in bunches against Massachusetts-Boston last weekend but will find a tougher Babson squad on deck this weekend. Special teams are the difference in this one for the visitors who eke out a win – Salve Regina, 4-3

Connecticut College v. (4) Trinity

The Bantams have been waiting for the 2024 re-boot since their last game a=on home-ice against Hobart. Enter the Camels who are a tough opening act for this new edition of Trinity hockey. New or old, both have Devon Bobak so expect goals to be at a premium for the visitors – Trinity, 3-1

Southern New Hampshire v. St. Michael’s

The Purple Knights had to earn their wins last weekend against Post on the road and this week does not get any easier with an experienced SNHU team looking to rebound after back-to-back losses at Assumption. David Ciancio and Case Kantgias may be the best pair of offense/defense players in the NE-10 and that helps pick-up another win –                    St. Michael’s, 4-2

(12) Plattsburgh v. Oswego

The Lakers are young and still figuring things out while the Cardinals are coming off a loss to Plymouth State and a high-scoring exhibition win. It is back to the basics for these two longtime rivals and in this case, it is the depth and experience that gets it done for the visitors – Plattsburgh, 5-2

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Salem State v. Rivier

The Raiders meet the Vikings in MASCAC action and both teams display some high-end skill in all situational aspects of play. Do not think I would want to be in the crease on either end for this one but think Luke Newell will have a save or two that earns the home squad a victory – Rivier, 5-4

(7) Skidmore v. Elmira

The Soaring Eagles swept Southern Maine last weekend and return home to face a ranked Thoroughbred team building some momentum with their unbeaten start. Expect this game to be a track meet as both teams feature offensive skill. A power play goal for the visitors is the difference and it might even come in overtime – Skidmore, 4-3

Colby v. Middlebury

The Panthers finished last season in the final four of the NESCAC tournament and are looking to build on the positive momentum from last season. Strong returning group upfront will need some validation in goal for the home team to see more success. New season and home crowd help the Panthers to an exciting win – Middlebury, 3-2

Manhattanville v. (6) Geneseo

Two undefeated teams meet in this two-game series where they battle for UCHC points in the standings. The Knights make it difficult for any opponent in their barn and have the depth to pressure mistakes all over the ice. Goaltending will be the difference maker for the home team along with a well-timed empty-net goal – Geneseo, 5-3

Buffalo State v. (13) Cortland

The Red Dragons look to bounce back from their loss at home to Adrian against a Bengals squad that has been idle since their hosting a tournament to open the season. Second of five straight road games for the Bengals and the home team is less than hospitable in a high-scoring game – Cortland, 5-4

Massachusetts-Boston v. (1) Hobart

The Beacons have struggled to start the season so playing a two-game set against the defending national champions is not a recipe for capturing wins. Or is it? Not going to call this a TRAP GAME but the Beacons do have some talented players like Jazz Krivtsov that can be dangerous. Home team does not let its guard down – Hobart, 5-1

Every week there has been another team to drop from the ranks of the unbeatens and places in the USCHO poll have been transient already. What changes are waiting in this week’s action where all eight conferences in the east are now playing meaningful hockey games. If you are lacing them up, you better be ready to play – “Drop the Puck!”

UW-Stout hockey standout Nicolas Pigeon focused on having fun

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UW-Stout’s Nicolas Pigeon focused on having fun and helping his team succeed.(Photo provided by UW-Stout Athletics)

Nicolas Pigeon gravitated to hockey when he was younger. Growing up in Canada, it made sense.

“Oh for sure. I started playing when I was a kid,” Pigeon said. “We had outdoor rinks everywhere, but in the summer, I would play some soccer.”

Pigeon’s passion for the game, and his consistent development in the game led to an opportunity at the college level. Pigeon is now in his second season at UW-Stout, where he is looking to build of last year’s success.

Pigeon led the team in assists as a freshman, tallying 21, and also scored eight goals, earning All-WIAC recognition. Eight times last season he recorded a multi-point game.

This season, with Stout off to a 3-0 start, Pigeon has already come through with three goals and three assists.

“I feel like I’m playing pretty good. And the team is looking good. It’s good to be back for another season,” Pigeon said.

Stout is looking to improve on its 13-14-2 record from a year ago and Pigeon is ready to do whatever he can to help make it happen.

He put in a lot of work this offseason to get himself ready.

“I tried to focus on getting a little bigger, a little stronger,” Pigeon said. “Coming in from juniors last year, this league is tough, so I focused on the physical aspect. I gained a few pounds and definitely feel better this year.”

He feels good about the way Stout has started as a team as well.

“We’re looking good ad moving in the right direction,” Pigeon said. “We have some good wins and want to prove ourselves against the best this year. We have good players on this team and I think the future is bright.”

A native of Quebec, Pigeon always had a goal of playing college hockey. And Stout appealed to him because so many of the players on the team were from Canada.

“There were some guys from juniors I played with here and a lot of Canadians on the team. That was something that interested me about coming to Stout,” Pigeon said.

With a strong passion for hockey, Pigeon said what he loves most about the sport is the escape the sport provides and the bond he has forged with teammates.

“It takes your mind off other things. Life is on pause and you can have fun for a few hours being with the boys,” Pigeon said. “I know a lot of of guys on the team are going through the same things as me, being away from home, and I’m grateful for the friendships I have on the team.”

Pigeon said that while he’s enjoyed the early season success, he’s looking forward to making the most of the rest of the season.

“I want to keep having fun. Last year hockey wasn’t as fun at times as it should have been, so I’m focused on having fun. I am going to work hard, too, but I don’t want to forget that hockey is just a game. It’s something that should bring you joy and make you happy.”

Our first look at national championship futures for this season: USCHO Edge college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 6

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With lines for Friday unavailable at recording time because of two Thursday night games, USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly, Dan Rubin, and Ed Trefzger take their first look at national championship futures for this season, including an explanation of how futures work.

Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, in your favorite podcast app, or on Spreaker.

Check out all of USCHO’s podcasts, including USCHO Weekend Review and USCHO Spotlight, plus our entire podcast archive.

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This Week in NCHC Hockey: Passing of longtime college hockey official, supervisor Rutherford leaves void in ‘that whole brotherhood of officials’

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NCHC officials, including the late Brent Rutherford (far right), gather at the league awards ceremony in 2023 at the St. Paul Event Center in St. Paul, Minn. (photo: NCHC).

Heather Weems saw an example of how tight-knit the hockey community is when she attended a memorial service earlier this fall for former NCHC officiating supervisor Brent Rutherford.

The NCHC’s commissioner had traveled from her home base in Minnesota to Madison Heights, Mich., a northern Detroit suburb, to help celebrate the life of Brendan “Brent” Francis Rutherford, who died Sept. 20 at the age of 73, following an illness.

“I flew out and met his family, and the cool thing that I see among the officials is that there’s a brotherhood, just like there’s a brotherhood on teams and among the coaches,” Weems said. “His family, including a couple of his nieces who he was really close to and a sister, they were so blown away by the number of phone calls and visits, and people who had flown in to talk to him and spend time with him.

“(Family members) knew that he did this officiating stuff but were blown away by the level of care, concern and friendship that had developed over time. It’s a behind-the-scenes thing in sports, but that whole brotherhood of officials and people who support the sport, it’s so great to see.”

Rutherford was a supervisor of officials for the NCHC for nine seasons, from 2015 through this past 2023-24 campaign. All told, he served as an officiating supervisor in college hockey for nearly 25 years, including over a decade between the former CCHA and WCHA conferences. He had also joined the officiating supervisor staff for the Federal Prospects Hockey League, a single-A minor league, ahead of the FPHL’s 2023-24 season.

RUTHERFORD

He previously was an on-ice official in NCAA hockey for 20 seasons, refereeing for 18 and working another two as a linesman. He was selected to officiate conference playoff games across 12 consecutive seasons and worked several NCAA tournament games.

The NCHC has six largely geographically-based supervisors of officials, plus Mike Schmitt, the conference’s director of officiating. Owing to the NCHC’s increasingly large reach, Rutherford primarily worked closest to home with games at Western Michigan and Miami. Weems said that the conference will likely intend to find a successor to Rutherford in that area of the country, although for now, the NCHC is flying officials out to work games in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Oxford, Ohio, respectively.

Throughout this season, NCHC officials are sporting helmet decals that feature the initials of Rutherford, who would’ve turned 74 last Friday.

“Obviously you want to be thoughtful about the process, but also you want to be able to honor him,” Weems said of the helmet decals’ creation. “It came up at that point that, ‘How do we make sure that Brent knows he’s being thought of?’

“The stickers are our way of recognizing him and the challenge he was going through. When we were at an officiating camp, shortly before he passed, that was a discussion among all our officials, and they did a nice ad hoc video for him, as well, just to talk to him and thank him for his service and let him know how much they appreciate and were thinking about him.”

Conference officials moved quickly to make sure that this season would run in Rutherford’s memory, but his influence is bound to extend much further into the future.

“What’s special about our league is the supervisor relationship with all of the officials,” Weems said. “I think it’s so beneficial that the guys, as they’re going out there, essentially have a coach. During the game, in between periods if anything goes wrong, or after the game, there’s a critical feedback loop that gives the officials a level of support, and a time of reflection about what happened with the game.

“Brent was passionate about the game. He’d been an official, he knew what it was to live that life, and they identify with each other, and they know what it’s like to get screamed at by the fans or get criticized by the coaches and the student-athletes. He was passionate about the game, and he understood the officials and the need to support them and help them be their best.”

NESCAC Men’s Hockey Season Preview – Bantams front runners for another conference title

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Trinity’s Devon Bobak and a strong supporting cast carried the Bantams to the national championship game last season. They are looking for more success in NESCAC this year to jump start national aspirations (Photo by Stan Godlewski/Trinity Athletics)

Last year, Hobart won the national title game against an incredibly good Trinity team backstopped by goaltender Devon Bobak who returns to the Bantam crease. Key losses among the senior defense and forward groups along with the departure of assistant coach Kim Weiss to the Colorado Eagles (AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche) will mean new opportunities for a deep group at Trinity. With balance always being a hallmark of the conference from top to bottom, there are a host of schools who will challenge for the top spot and look to unseat the defending champions. Unlike the other conferences, NESCAC immediately jumps into real games in conference play, so the points are valuable early as well as the need to get out of the gate strong in what amounts to a spring to the end of the first half of the season and upcoming semester break.

The Favorites

While Trinity will be a little younger this season, they return several key pieces in front of netminder Devon Bobak and play a system conducive to pressuring opponents for the full 200-feet. Defenseman Teddy Griffin leads a mobile back-end, and the forward group has great balance led by Nicholas Siffringer, Richard Boysen, Connor Sedlak and Spencer Korona. Assistant coach Paul Russell joins from Curry College following an outstanding career as a player at Norwich. The Bantams will be a targeted group, but coach Matt Greason and staff will make sure this year’s group is focused on the details needed to win.

The Continentals have been on the brink of something special for awhile under head coach Rob Haberbusch. A skilled set of forwards led by Grisha Gotovets, Ben Zimmerman, Luke Tchor and Alex Danis will provide ample offense in front of James Philpott and a versatile defensive group. Goaltending has long been a strength for the Continentals who return Charlie Archer, Josh Nadler, and see the additions of first-year Tyler Bloomfield and Union transfer, Aksel Reid. It all starts in the blue paint where solid play could help Hamilton be a contender come February.

The Dark Horses

It may have been a surprise to see Tufts among the top echelon in the conference last season, but coach Pat Norton has been steadily building the Jumbos program and this year could be another inflection point. Tyler Sedlak and Max Resnick are critical to the energy level for the rest of the team and offensive production on the ice. The defensive group and goaltending will be young but if the group comes together quickly, the Jumbos will contend for a NESCAC title this season.

Amherst has seen remarkable success under longtime head coach Jack Arena and this year’s team has several key elements returning for the Mammoth. Ben Ritter and Max Thiessen lead a skilled defensive group in front of goaltender Connor Leslie. Upfront Amherst has skill and experience with Matt Toporowski, Bobby Luca, Ben Kuzma, and Josh Burke. The Mammoth usually excel on special teams which is critical to success in today’s game so look for Amherst to be in the mix if their specialty teams excel this season.

Never count out a Williams squad that always finds their game at the right time of the season. Coach Bill Kangas has key pieces to lean on in each of the positional groups starting in goal with Cal Sandquist, Conner Berg on defense and Owen Stadheim leading a deep forward group. There are nine first-year players to integrate but historically, the Ephs upper classmen do that as well as any roster in   D-III hockey. If pieces gel and the team stays healthy, things could be interesting for the Purple Cows this season.

Players to watch.

Amherst:                                         Ben Kuzma – forward; Max Thiessen – defense

Bowdoin:                                        Bryce Bollman – forward; Luke Wheeler – forward

Colby:                                              Bobby Falvey – defense; James Tepper – forward

Connecticut College:                     Cole Eichler – forward; Rocco Testa-Basi – forward

Hamilton:                                        Grisha Gotovets – forward; James Philpott – defense

Middlebury:                                   John Burdett – defense; Jin Lee – forward

Trinity:                                Devon Bobak – goaltender; Theodore “Teddy” Griffin – defense

Tufts:                                               Max Resnick – forward; Tyler Sedlak – forward

Wesleyan:                                       Patrick Morrissey – defense; Owen Sweet – forward

Williams:                                       Cal Sandquist – goaltender; Owen Stadheim – forward

USCHO Predicted finish

  1. Trinity
  2. Hamilton
  3. Tufts
  4. Amherst
  5. Williams
  6. Middlebury
  7. Colby
  8. Bowdoin
  9. Connecticut College
  10. Wesleyan

This weekend’s opening schedule finds Middlebury and Williams hosting Bowdoin and Colby while Wesleyan and Trinity play host to Connecticut College and Tufts. Amherst and Hamilton will also play each other to open the season in a single game on Saturday between the two travel partners.

 

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