Another busy weekend across the college hockey landscape.
Check out what happened around the country!
Saturday, Jan. 30
Atlantic Hockey
No. 19 American International def. Holy Cross, 3-0
After an offensive onslaught on Friday, the AIC Yellow Jackets had a little bit tougher of a time against the Holy Cross Crusaders. Holy Cross netminder Erik Gordon put in a great effort to keep his team in the game, making 31 saves. However, three goals in the second period helped the Yellow Jackets pick up the weekend sweep. Darwin Lakoduk, Elijah Barriga and Julius Janhonen were the goal scorers for AIC, with freshman netminder Ryan McInchak picking up his second win, and the second shutout of the weekend, by making 20 saves.
RIT def. Canisius, 3-2
The RIT Tigers are set to play the Canisius Golden Griffins three times over a four-day span. They started the series on the right foot, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes, and were able to hold a late surge by the Golden Griffins to pick up improve to a 7-4-2 record. Caleb Moretz led the attack with a goal and an assist for the Tigers, with Will Calverley and Andrew Petrucci scoring the other two for RIT.
Robert Morris def. Mercyhurst, 5-3
The Mercyhurst Lakers stunned the Robert Morris Colonials last weekend, where the Lakers swept the Colonials. Robert Morris exacted a little revenge on Saturday night after rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third period. The Colonials reeled off four unanswered goals, with Roman Kraemer’s second of the season ended up as the game-winner. Nick Jenny led the attack for RMU, tallying a goal and an assist.
Army-West Point ties Sacred Heart, 2-2 (Army wins in a shootout)
After falling to the Army Black Knights the night before, the Sacred Heart Pioneers pick up a point on Saturday. However, the Black Knights prevailed in the shootout, earning a weekend sweep (sort of). Lincoln Hatten and Tucker DeYoung found the back of the net in regulation for Army, as Anthony Firriolo and Mason Krueger tallied goals in the shootout to help the Black Knights pick up the extra point. Trevin Kozlowski had a little bit a busier night compared to Friday, as he was tasked with making 32 saves in 65 minutes, before making four more stops in the shootout.
Big Ten
No. 4 Minnesota def. Ohio State, 5-2
The Minnesota Golden Gophers dominance over the past two weekends has been outstanding. Over their last four games, the Gophers have outscored their opponents 30-5 after completing the weekend sweep of Ohio State on Saturday.
Against the Buckeyes, Jacks LaCombe scored a goal and two assists, with Sammy Walker and Jaxon Nelson each picking up a goal and an assist. Jack LaFontaine earned his 13th win of the season, stopping 28 shots in net for Minnesota.
No. 13 Wisconsin def. Michigan State, 4-1
The Wisconsin Badgers were able to complete the weekend sweep of the Michigan State Spartans, but it was not nearly as easy as their 6-0 win on Friday. It was a 1-1 game heading into the latter half of the third period. That was when Ty Pelton-Byce scored his second goal of the weekend to put the Badgers ahead. Cole Caufield scored the final two goals of the contest, giving him four on the weekend, and helping the Badgers to their 11th win of the season. Caufield also assisted on the other two goals, totaling six points against the Spartans.
Hockey East
Connecticut def. Merrimack, 6-2
The UConn Huskies were able to pull out another win against the Merrimack Warriors, going above the .500 mark for the first time this season. Jonny Evans had one of the best nights of his career, scoring four straight goals for UConn. Kale Howarth, Hudson Schandor, John Spetz and Jachym Kondelik each had multi-point nights.
No. 10 Massachusetts def. No. 16 UMass-Lowell, 2-1
In the second battle of the Masses, the UMass-Lowell River Hawks played considerably better than the night before, only getting outshot 31-29. However, despite a third period surge trying to erase a 2-0 hole, the Minutemen were able to hang on and get the weekend sweep. Garrett Wait scored his fifth of the season for the Minutemen, with George Mika’s first of the year being the deciding tally. Filip Lindberg had to be sharp in net, ending up with 28 saves, including 10 in the third period.
NCHC
No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth def. Miami (OH), 6-3
After narrowly beating the Miami RedHawks on Friday night, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs came out with a little bit more convincing victory on Saturday night. 13 Bulldogs put their names on the scoresheet, including Cole Koepke, who scored twice in the contest. Ryan Fanti had to be sharp, making 32 saves in the win.
No. 9 Omaha def. No. 2 North Dakota, 5-4
The Omaha Mavericks let their matchup against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, they did not let that happen on Saturday. In a wild opening 20 minutes, the Mavs came out of it with a 3-2 lead.
Goals from Taylor Ward and Kevin Conley gave Omaha enough of a cushion in the third to pick up their fourth win against a ranked opponent this season. Special teams proved to be vital in Omaha’s win, as they went 3-5 with the man advantage, while only giving up one power-play goal to the Fighting Hawks. Mavs’ leading-scorer, Chayse Primeau scored his sixth of the season, while Isaiah Saville had to come up big in net once again, making 43 saves, earning his eighth win of the season.
WCHA
No. 8 Bowling Green def. No. 18 Michigan Tech, 5-2
The Bowling Green State Falcons improve to 4-0 against ranked opponents after completing the weekend sweep over the Michigan Tech Huskies. This, despite the Huskies holding a 2-1 lead after the first period. Alex Barber had a great game, scoring twice, including the game-winner, while assisting on another.
Northern Michigan def. Ferris State, 5-3
For the fourth time this season, the Northern Michigan Wildcats take down the Ferris State Bulldogs, as they win another offensive battle. After neither team scored in the first period, the Wildcats exploded for three in the second. The teams traded goals in the third, but the Wildcats held on to complete the weekend sweep. Griffin Loughran and Andre Ghantous each scored a goal and an assist, with Colby Enns second goal of the season (both against Ferris State) ending up being the game-winner.
Sunday, Jan. 31
Atlantic Hockey
Bentley def. Air Force, 6-3
The Air Force Falcons remain winless as they fall to the Bentley Falcons on Sunday, even both teams seemingly could not miss in the third period. Seven goals were scored in the final stanza, with Bentley finding the back of the net four times, which was more than enough to win their third game of the season. Jakov Novak and Luke Santerno each had three-point nights, with Matt Gosiewski chiming in with a goal and an assist as well for the Falcons.
Hockey East
No. 17 Providence def. New Hampshire, 3-2
The Providence Friars completed the weekend sweep of the New Hampshire Wildcats in an almost similar fashion to their win on Friday, where they scored four goals in the final 20 minutes. On Sunday, the Wildcats held a 2-0 lead into the final period, but Providence came out with three goals in less than four minutes to take the lead. The Friars, and netminder Jaxson Stauber, shut it down from there, and improve to a 7-5-4 record. Stauber ended up making 28 saves in the contest, with Tyce Thompson scoring his sixth goal of the season, and is now tied for the team lead in scoring with 12 points.