{"id":100022,"date":"2019-10-21T11:53:43","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T16:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=100022"},"modified":"2019-10-21T11:53:13","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T16:53:13","slug":"monday-10-handful-of-freshmen-off-to-fast-starts-denver-still-undefeated-wisconsin-sweeps-minnesota-duluth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/10\/21\/monday-10-handful-of-freshmen-off-to-fast-starts-denver-still-undefeated-wisconsin-sweeps-minnesota-duluth\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday 10: Handful of freshmen off to fast starts, Denver still undefeated, Wisconsin sweeps Minnesota Duluth"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Quinnipiac’s Keith Petruzzelli led the Bobcats to a 4-3 win over Maine on Saturday night (photo: Rob Rasmussen).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. A B1G sweep<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wisconsin swept two-time defending champion Minnesota Duluth 6-2 and 3-1 at home, giving the Badgers a 3-1 start to this season and dropping the Bulldogs to 1-3. With the nine goals in the series plus their 14 from the weekend before, the Badgers top the nation in scoring offense with an average of 5.75 goals per game.<\/p>\n

After Saturday\u2019s 3-1 win, coach Tony Granato said that he\u2019d been a little concerned about an emotional letdown following the Badgers\u2019 dominant performance Friday \u2013 and their 17-goal output in two consecutive games \u2013 but said that Wisconsin had found \u201ca different way to win\u201d to secure the sweep.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be able to score six or 11 goals all the time, so when you don\u2019t have it, you\u2019ve got to find ways to play smart defensively, and I think the commitment from our team and group was very obvious from the start of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minnesota Duluth suffered back-to-back losses just four times in 2018-19 and was swept by a single opponent just once last season.<\/p>\n

2. Hot-starting rookies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three Wisconsin forwards are off to a hot scoring start. Cole Caufield (6-1-7), Alex Turcotte (3-5-8) and Owen Lindmark (3-2-5) are making a good case for the Badgers having the best recruiting class in the country. Caufield and Lindmark each had two goals Friday and Turcotte had a goal and three assists on the weekend.<\/p>\n

Massachusetts will give Wisconsin some competition for that distinction, though. Reed Lebster (3-1-4) and Cal Kiefiuk (2-2-4) and defenseman Zac Jones (2-5-7) are making their mark early as well.<\/p>\n

Against Union, Jones had a goal and four assists and currently leads the Minutemen in scoring. Lebster had two goals and an assist on the weekend and Cal Kiefiuk had a goal and an assist.<\/p>\n

3. Undefeated and most impressive<\/strong><\/p>\n

After opening 4-0 on the road, the Pioneers returned home to sweep Boston College, 3-0 and 6-4. Denver is a perfect 6-0 this season, and freshman goaltender Magnus Chrona (1.83 GAA, .930 SV%) has played every minute so far. Chrona posted his second career shutout Friday night.<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s start is made even more impressive by its offensive output. The Pioneers are averaging 3.83 goals per game and have yet to score fewer than three goals in a game this season \u2013 and 14 Pioneers have contributed at least one goal this season, with several netting three so far. Five different skaters have accounted for Denver\u2019s six game-winning goals.<\/p>\n

4. A rare shutout loss for the Nittany Lions<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Alaska beat Penn State 4-0 Friday night to earn a road split with the Nittany Lions, the Nanooks did something that no team has done against Penn State since the 2017-18 season. The last time the Nittany Lions were kept off the scoreboard was a 4-0 road loss to Michigan Jan. 19, 1918. It\u2019s just the second shutout the team has experienced at Pegula Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would be really disappointing if every individual on our team, coaching staff included, doesn\u2019t learn a lesson,\u201d said coach Guy Gadowsky. \u201cWe got beat badly. We got beat 4-0 in our own barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gadowsky was the head coach at Alaska from 1999 to 2004.<\/p>\n

The Nanooks win came a night after being shut out themselves by Penn State, 7-0. Coach Erik Largen said that he was happy with his team\u2019s response to Thursday\u2019s loss. \u201cWe played a selfless team game tonight,\u201d said Largen.<\/p>\n

5. And the minutes keep coming<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the series between Alaska and Penn State, the teams combined for 85 penalty minutes, 33 of which were earned by the Nanooks in their win. In the second period of that game, Alaska\u2019s Steven Jandric earned a five-minute major for contact to the head with a game misconduct.<\/p>\n

A total of 17 Nanooks have at least one penalty to their credit this season, and the team leads the nation in PIMs (120) through six games played, averaging 20 per game.<\/p>\n

Through six games, the Nanooks have killed off 31-of-34 opponent power plays.<\/p>\n

6. The sweeps have it, but the ties are interesting, too<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of the 16 single-opponent series on the weekend, seven resulted sweeps, six were splits and three had a single game that ended in a tie.<\/p>\n

Each of the three series that featured a tie was interesting in its own right.<\/p>\n

In Minnesota State\u2019s 4-4 home tie against North Dakota Friday, the teams combined for 23 shots and a goal apiece in the first period before limiting each other\u2019s chances for the remainder of the game. The Mavericks had 11 shots for the remainder of regulation \u2013 their total for the first period \u2013 while North Dakota registered 14 shots through the end of 60 minutes. Minnesota State had two shots in OT to North Dakota\u2019s one. In their 2-1 win the following night, the Mavericks were outshot 35-22.<\/p>\n

Colgate and UMass Lowell played a pair of overtime games in the Tsongas Center, with Colgate senior Ben Sharf\u2019s fourth career goal in his 84th career game winning Friday\u2019s contest nine seconds into overtime. The teams skated to a 0-0 OT tie Saturday. Colgate sophomore Mitch Benson had 35 saves in his first career shutout. Lowell senior Tyler Wall stopped all 25 shots he faced in his ninth career shutout.<\/p>\n

Northern Michigan improved to 2-1-1 on the road against Boston University with a 4-4 tie and 4-3 win. The Terriers outshot the Wildcats 39-20 in the tie.<\/p>\n

7. Two nights, two looks, two different results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out this goal by Maine junior Eduards Tralmaks, the first of his two goals in Friday\u2019s 4-2 win over visiting Quinnipiac. That\u2019s junior Keith Petruzzelli in net, who gave up four goals on 18 shots in the loss.<\/p>\n

\n

Eduards Tralmaks with the diving goal to give @MaineIceHockey<\/a> a lead they wouldn\u2019t surrender in tonight\u2019s upset of 8th-ranked Quinnipiac.#NCAAHockey<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/M18lfKqHEZ<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) October 19, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n