ECH Weekend Review: January 26-28
written By Alex Berger - February 1, 2024:We were genuinely spoiled this past weekend with how many fantastic games there were around college hockey: three top-ten matchups, rivalry games, highlight-reel goals, and more. Even though the most high-profile series -- Boston University vs. Boston College and Denver vs. North Dakota -- ended with sweeps, both games in each series were playoff-style matchups with excellent atmospheres at the Conte Forum, Agganis Arena, and the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The conference races have also gotten more interesting over the past week. Four of the six had changes at the top, whether it was a team taken sole possession of first place or tying for the lead. Although there's still up to six weeks left to go in the regular season, the list of teams legitimately vying for those titles are getting shorter and shorter by the series. With conference play in full swing, each upset becomes more and more important to teams in that race. With that being said, let's get into our top storylines of the weekend, which features three of those races (including two huge series' in the Big Ten).
- Boston College Sweeps Boston University in #1 vs. #2 Showdown
In arguably the biggest "Battle of Comm. Ave" since the 1978 championship game, #1 Boston University and #2 Boston College met for the first time this season. It seemed like from October these two programs were on a collision course, featuring first-round picks, Hobey Baker candidates, and great depth on both offense and defense. The best part of this weekend, arguably, was the back-to-back sellout barns at both the Conte Forum and Agganis Arena. Both student sections were jam packed and brought the energy early, lining up hours before the doors even opened before the games.
The series began at Boston College on Friday night, and despite 26 combined shots on goal in the first period, it took awhile for either team to find the back of the net. That first strike eventually came a couple of minutes into the second. Boston College retrieved a puck deep, passed it around the zone, and got it onto the stick of Ryan Leonard on the far half-wall. The freshman skated a few steps into the circle and fired a twisted wrister past BU goalie Mathieu Caron to send the Conte Forum into chaos. Later in the period Leonard and the rest of his phenom freshman line combined again. Leonard took a hit to make a play in the neutral zone to get the puck to Will Smith on a 2-on-1. After slowing down to let Gabe Perreault catch up and drag a Terriers defenseman in, Smith sent a pass over to Perrault who sniped it past the glove of Caron to double the Eagles' lead. Junior forward Jack Hughes cut the lead to 2-1 late in the third period, but it was too little too late. Boston College scored two empty-net goals to ice the game and secure their first win over the #1 team in the country in over 12 years.
After the road loss, all of the pressure shifted on Boston University in game two. Although they outshot their rivals 25-14 through the first 40 minutes, they got into penalty trouble early. The Terriers took five penalties in the first period alone, including two in a under a minute to put BC on a 5-on-3 power play. Gabe Perrault struck for the second-straight game with the two-man advantage, and Lukas Gustafsson scored just seconds after the second penalty expired to give the Eagles the early 2-0 lead. But just before the period ended, Terriers freshman Shane LaChance responded with a power play goal of his own. A great tic-tac-toe play from the half-wall, to behind the net, to the slot got the puck onto the stick of LaChance, who fired it above the shoulder of Eagles' goaltender Jacob Fowler for one of the biggest goals of the weekend.
Then just minutes into the second period, Boston University tied the game with a great play down low, winning the puck on the forecheck before Luke Tuch threw the puck out in front with a backhand pass. Sam Stevens was on the receiving end and buried another puck past Fowler from right in front. But despite being on the road, taking three penalties, and generally losing the momentum, Boston College found a way to regain the lead. Yet another great play by Ryan Leonard on the forecheck got the puck onto the stick of Cutter Gauthier, who fired a quick release past Caron to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead. Then in the third period, once again defending against a BU push, Fowler made a tremendous kick save on a 2-on-1 rush to spark an odd-man rush the other way. The puck ended up on the stick of Will Smith, who once again beat Caron to extend the lead to 4-2. Although Macklin Celebrini would finally find his way to the scoresheet with a 6-on-5 goal, the late fury wouldn't be enough, and Boston College would skate to a series sweep over the country's top team.
Via: BC_MHockey on Twitter
With the wins, the Eagles have now moved up to the #1 team in both the ECH Rankings and the Pairwise, a huge boost to their season-long expectations. As for the Terriers, they'll have a tough road matchup against New Hampshire on Friday night before preparing for their rematch against Boston College in the Beanpot semifinal next Monday (make sure to stay tuned for our Beanpot Preview, coming out before the puck drops at TD Garden).
- #6 North Dakota Shuts Down #3 Denver's Offense In Home Sweep
In the second top-six matchup of the weekend, North Dakota welcomed in Denver for the two team's second series of the regular season. The Fighting Hawks flew home with the upper hand back in early December, as they beat the Pioneers 7-5 with a wild comeback before dropping the rematch on Saturday night 3-2 in overtime. With both teams in the top three of the NCHC standings and top ten in the Pairwise, this was arguably the most important regular season series remaining on North Dakota's schedule.
Everything College Hockey was there on Friday night when over 11,000 people piled into Ralph Engelstad Arena, and the energy was there from the start of the game. The Fighting Hawks dominated play through the first 30 minutes, out chancing and outshooting the Pioneers. Finally, Jackson Blake and Dylan James combined to ignite the crowd. After blocking a pass in his own zone, Blake raced up the ice on a 2-on-1. He took the puck himself, deking around Denver goalie Matt Davis and sliding it back out in front of the crease for James, who backhanded it into the wide-open net. Just six minutes later, a headman pass and chip in the neutral zone sent in Griffin Ness on yet another 2-on-1. And yet again the NoDak forward took it himself. Ness sniped it past Davis for just his third goal of the year, giving the Fighting Hawks a 2-0 lead. Zeev Buium would cut the lead to 2-1 a few minutes later with a great wraparound play, but Blake would strike right back for NoDak. The sophomore sniped a puck just under the bar on the power play, regaining the two-goal lead heading into the second intermission.
Despite once again outshooting Denver in the third period, it wouldn't be easy for the Fighting Hawks. Pioneers forward Miko Mattika fed a great pass through three North Dakota defensemen to Aidan Thompson on the backdoor, who snuck a puck past Ludvig Persson to cut the lead to 3-2 with just over five minutes left in the game. After minutes of 6-on-5 pressure and multiple blocked shots (North Dakota had 14 blocks in the game), NoDak pulled away. Cameron Berg iced the game with an empty-net goal with 55 seconds to play, and Ben Strinden added another just 27 seconds later to secure the 5-2 win.
After a tough loss on Friday night, Denver came out with intensity in the rematch. Just 90 seconds into the game Jared Wright capitalized on a breakaway, silencing another shutout crowd with an early 1-0 lead. After falling behind for the first time in the series, Berg and the Fighting Hawks would respond on the power play to tie the game late in the first. The back-and-forth action would continue, as Sam Harris scored on a one-timer for Denver and Jackson Kunz scored on a breakaway for North Dakota in the second period.
Special teams was one of the biggest x-factors over the weekend. The Pioneers went 0-for-4 on the power play in the two-game series, two chances each night. They also kept taking penalties against one of the country's hottest extra-attacker units. In a tight third period, Ben Strinden took the puck in 1-on-2 and was leveled with a hit to the head by Sean Behrens. The junior defenseman was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit, which put North Dakota on the power play with just over 10 minutes to go in the game. After nearly two minutes of zone time, Owen McLaughlin fired a shot past Davis, causing the Ralph to absolutely explode with the go-ahead goal. With the major penalty still in play, Fighting Hawks captain Riese Gaber fired a shot from his go-to spot to give North Dakota the 4-2 lead and eventual win. NoDak went 4-for-6 on the power play during the sweep, is now 11-for-23 (47.8%) in the second half of the year, tied with Michigan State for the fifth-best unit in the country (27.0%).
It was an unfortunate time for the top offensive team in the country to have their worst weekend. The losses were the only time this season that Denver (5.00 goals/game this season) was held under three goals. Their star players Massimo Rizzo (NCAA leader in points) and Jack Devine (NCAA leader in goals) were also held in check. Devine posted the only point between the two -- an assist on Saturday night -- well below their combined average of 3.16 points/game this season. The losses don't mark the end of the season for the Pioneers as they're still #6 in the Pairwise, but they'll need a miracle over the next six weeks to for their third-straight Penrose Cup.
- #4 Michigan State, #9 Minnesota Split Top-Ten Series
Meanwhile in the Big Ten, two massive series were underway in Michigan between four of the top five teams in the conference. In East Lansing, the first-place Spartans welcomed in the Gophers for their second series of the season. Michigan State had the advantage in round one, "sweeping" Minnesota on the road with a shootout and overtime win in late November.
This time around, it looked like Minnesota would be returning the favor on the road. They dominated the first 40 minutes on Friday night, outshooting MSU 22-13 and jumping out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Mike Koster and Oliver Moore. But despite three power play opportunities in the third, the Gophers could not put the Spartans away. In fact, Michigan State scored shorthanded on one of their five penalty kills in the game to tie the game at 2-2. With time winding down and all of the momentum on their side, the Spartans threw a puck on net with just seconds remaining in regulation. After a scramble in front of Gophers' goaltender Justen Close, sophomore forward Daniel Russel jammed the puck into the back of the net for the last-second, comeback winner.
Even though they outplayed Michigan State on the road for 40 of the 60 minutes on Friday night, Minnesota was not discouraged by the result. In fact, they looked even better in game two of the series. History seemed to be repeating itself for a second, as the Gophers held another two-goal lead in the second intermission, but they pulled away this time around for a 5-1 win. Freshman center Oliver Moore scored two goals and added an assist in the win, posting a four-point weekend in one of the best series of his young career. Aaron Huglen and Mason Nevers also found the back of the net for the Gophers, a good sign for their season-long success (Minnesota only has four players with more than seven goals so far this year).
Despite the series split at home, Michigan State still leads the Big Ten in point percentage (thanks to their rivals winning their series against the Badgers). With two more games played than Wisconsin, the Spartans have a five-point lead. Their series in Madison to end the season will likely decide the conference regular season title.
- #5 Wisconsin Salvages Road Split Against #14 Michigan With OT Win
After a big comeback series against their biggest rivals last weekend, Michigan welcomed in Wisconsin for a matchup against one of the conference's best teams. This time, both games would be played at Yost. With the fifth-ranked Badgers coming in unbeaten since November 24 and on a rest week, it would be a tough test for the Wolverines.
But Michigan was certainly up to the test on Friday night, racing out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the second period. It was the usual suspects factoring into the scoring -- Rutger McGroarty, Frank Nazar III, Dylan Duke, Gavin Brindley, T.J. Hughes -- who are really finding their chemistry over the last few weeks. A goal from Wisconsin's Jack Horbach early in the third period put some doubt in the final result, but Nazar’s second goal of the game iced it on the way to a 5-1 Wolverines win.
Going for the sweep for the second-straight Saturday night, Michigan drew a penalty just seconds into the game and struck early, cleaning up a rebound laying right in front of the net. The goal 90 seconds in was a sign of things to come, as the teams combined for seven goals in the first period alone. Special teams was a major factor in that scoring. Wisconsin was 1-for-4 with the man advantage in the game and scored 4-on-4, while Michigan was 3-for-5 on the PP. The Badgers would come back and tie the game twice, knotting things up at 5-5 with just over eight minutes to go in the 3rd.
It didn't take long in overtime for Wisconsin to find the game-winner. A wall-to-wall pass sent a Wolverine defender flying the other way and Christian Fitzgerald in on a 2-on-1 rush. He took three steps in past the blue line and wound up for a shot, beating Michigan goaltender Jake Barczewski clean past the blocker for the overtime win. The Badgers are now the first team to 20 wins this season, and are keeping pace with Michigan State in the race for first in the Big Ten.
With back-to-back splits against top-five teams, Michigan is officially back. What's even crazier is that both series could have easily been sweeps too, showing just how good Michigan is at full strength. Forwards McGroarty (3-13-16 in the last six games), Nazar III (5-9-14), and Duke (8-4-12) have all hit their stride so far in the second half of the season. Although they may be out of the running for the Big Ten regular season title, they're very likely to be a factor in the postseason tournament and could be a 3/4 seed in the NCAAs (a nightmare matchup for a top seed in the first round).
- #8 Quinnipiac Wins Connecticut Ice Tournament
In one the biggest nonconference storyline of the weekend -- Connecticut, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac, and Yale met at the XL Center in Hartford for the annual Connecticut Ice Tournament.
The Huskies brought the excitement early in the first semifinal against Sacred Heart. In the first period alone Connecticut scored two goals that cracked the Sportscenter Top 10. Just two minutes into the game Samu Salminen grabbed a puck sitting behind the net and pulled a full 'Michigan,' beating SHU goaltender Chase Clark above the right goal for one of the best goals of the season. Just seven minutes later Hudson Schandor tracked a pass on a busted 3-on-2 between his legs and somehow fired off a shot, beating Clark again into the wide open net. Schandor would score again by the end of the first period, setting up the Huskies to cruise to a 6-2 win.
That semifinal seemingly had all of the excitement, as Quinnpiac and Yale combined for just one goal in the second game of the day. That was scored by Bobcats' freshman Mason Marcellus, his tenth of the year, in the first period. After that QU's defense dialed in, allowing just 14 shots on goal the entire game and helped goaltender Vinny Duplessis post his third shutout of the season. Yale would respond from the shutout in the third-place game with a 3-2 win over Sacred Heart.
The matchup between Connecticut and Quinnipiac brought in a great crowd, with over 6,400 people in attendance for the championship game. Graduate senior defenseman Harrison Rees opened the scoring -- his tenth goal in 151 career games -- with a slapshot from the top of the left circle which beat Duplessis. After the goal the game opened up, with the teams combining for five goals on 29 shots in the second period. UConn extended their lead to 3-1 at one point, but goals from Victor Czerneckianair and Travis Treloar 54 seconds apart tied the game for Quinnipiac. Heading into the third period 3-3, the game wouldn't remained deadlocked for long. Forward Zach Tupker collected a puck in his own zone, took it coast-to-coast, and skated in against three defenseman before he sniped a puck from just in the line past Huskies' goaltender Ethan Haider and under the bar for the eventual game-winning goal. After taking the lead, Duplessis took over the game, making big save after big save to hold the 4-3 lead for the Bobcats. With the win, Quinnipiac retained the Connecticut Ice title for the third-straight year.
Via: QU_MIH on Twitter
- NCHC Standings
1. North Dakota (32 Points): Swept Denver at home with 5-2, 4-2 wins
2. St. Cloud State (28 Points): "Swept by" Omaha at home with 7-6 OT, 2-1 SO losses
T-3. Colorado College (23 Points): Swept Western Michigan on the road with 2-1 OT, 2-1 OT wins
T-3. Denver (23 Points): Swept by North Dakota on the road with 5-2, 4-2 losses
5. Western Michigan (22 Points): Swept by Colorado College at home with 2-1 OT, 2-1 OT losses
6. Minnesota-Duluth (20 Points): Swept Miami at home with 6-2, 3-2 OT wins
7. Omaha (15 Points): "Swept" St. Cloud on the road with 7-6 OT, 2-1 SO wins
8. Miami (5 Points): Swept by Duluth on the road with 6-2, 3-2 OT losses
- Big Ten Standings
1. Michigan State (37 Points): Split with Minnesota at home with 3-2 win, 5-1 loss
2. Wisconsin (32 Points): Split with Michigan on the road with 5-1 loss, 6-5 OT win
3. Minnesota (26 Points): Split with Michigan State on the road with 3-2 loss, 5-1 win
4. Notre Dame (24 Points): No games scheduled
5. Michigan (19 Points): Split with Wisconsin at home with 5-1 win, 6-5 OT loss
6. Penn State (17 Points): Swept Ohio State at home with 4-3, 4-3 wins
7. Ohio State (7 Points): Swept by Penn State on the road with 4-3, 4-3 losses
- CCHA Standings
T-1. St. Thomas (30 Points): No games scheduled.
T-1. Minnesota State (30 Points): "Split with" Northern Michigan at home with 3-2 SO loss, 4-1 win
3. Lake Superior (28 Points): Split with Michigan State at home with 3-1 win, 1-0 loss
4. Bemidji State (27 Points): No games scheduled
5. Michigan Tech (26 Points): Split with Lake Superior on the road with 3-1 loss, 1-0 win
6. Northern Michigan (20 Points): "Split with" Minnesota State on the road with 3-2 SO win, 4-1 loss
7. Bowling Green (18 Points): No games scheduled
8. Ferris State (16 Points): Swept Augustana on the road with 5-2, 4-3 OT wins
- Hockey East Standings
1. Boston University (35 Points, 16 GP): Swept by Boston College with 4-1 loss on the road, 4-3 loss at home; lost to Northeastern on the road 4-3 OT [Tuesday]
2. Boston College (34 Points, 15 GP): Swept Boston University with 4-1 win at home, 4-3 win on the road
3. Maine (25 Points): No games scheduled
4. Providence (23 Points): Swept UMass-Lowell with 7-2 win on the road, 4-3 OT win at home
5. Connecticut (20 Points): Beat Sacred Heart 6-2, lost to Quinnipiac 4-3 at Connecticut Ice Tournament
T-6. Massachusetts (19 Points): No games scheduled
T-6. New Hampshire (19 Points): Split with Vermont on the road with 2-1 loss, 6-3 win
8. Northeastern (17 Points): Swept Merrimack with 5-3 win at home, 4-1 win on the road; beat Boston University at home 4-3 OT [Tuesday]
9. Vermont (16 Points): Split with New Hampshire at home with 2-1 win, 6-3 loss
10. Merrimack (12 Points): Swept by Northeastern with 5-3 loss on the road, 4-1 loss at home
11. UMass-Lowell (11 Points): Swept by Providence with 7-2 loss at home, 4-3 loss on the road
- ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac (32 Points): Beat Yale 1-0, beat Connecticut 4-3 at Connecticut Ice Tournament
2. Clarkson (23 Points): Split with St. Lawrence with 4-1 win at home, 2-1 loss on the road
3. Cornell (21 Points): Beat Harvard on the road 2-0, "lost to" Dartmouth on the road 3-2 SO
T-4. Colgate (20 Points): Beat Dartmouth on the road 4-3 OT, lost to Harvard on the road 6-3
T-4. Union (20 Points): Beat Rensselaer at home 5-3
T-6. Brown (19 Points): No games scheduled
T-6. St. Lawrence (19 Points): Split with Clarkson with 4-1 loss on the road, 2-1 win at home
8. Harvard (17 Points): Lost to Cornell at home 2-0, beat Colgate at home 6-3
9. Dartmouth (16 Points): Lost to Colgate at home 4-3 OT, "beat" Cornell at home 3-2 SO
10. Yale (15 Points): Lost to Quinnipiac 1-0, beat Sacred Heart 3-2 at Connecticut Ice Tournament
11. Princeton (14 Points): Beat Army at home 4-3 OT [Tuesday]
12. Rensselaer (12 Points): Lost to Union on the road 5-3
- Atlantic Hockey Standings
1. RIT (39 Points): Swept Bentley at home with 3-0, 2-1 OT wins
2. Sacred Heart (36 Points): Lost to Connecticut 6-2, lost to Yale 3-2 at Connecticut Ice Tournament
3. Holy Cross (34 points): Swept Mercyhurst on the road with 5-2, 5-3 wins
4. Air Force (32 Points): Split with Canisius at home with 5-1 win, 5-3 loss
5. AIC (31 Points): Split with Robert Morris at home with 2-0 loss, 5-2 win
6. Bentley (28 Points): Swept by RIT on the road with 3-0, 2-1 OT losses
7. Canisius (26 Points): Split with Air Force on the road with 5-1 loss, 5-3 win
8. Niagara (24 Points): Beat U.S. Under-18 Team at home 3-2 (Exhibition)
9. Mercyhurst (21 Points): Swept by Holy Cross at home with 5-2, 5-3 losses
10. Army (17 Points): Beat Royal Military College of Canada at home 6-1 (Exhibition), lost to Princeton on the road 4-3 OT [Tuesday]
11. Robert Morris (15 Points): Split with AIC on the road with 2-0 win, 5-2 loss
- Independent Roundup
Alaska: Swept Long Island on the road with 7-3, 3-1 wins
Alaska-Anchorage: No games scheduled
Arizona State: No games scheduled
Augustana: Swept by Ferris State at home with 5-2, 4-3 OT losses
Lindenwood: Swept Stonehill at home with 7-1, 6-5 OT wins
Long Island: Swept by Alaska at home with 7-3, 3-1 losses
Stonehill: Swept by Lindenwood on the road with 7-1, 6-5 OT losses
- Hobey Baker Award Watchlist
1. Jack Devine, Jr. Forward, Denver; 21 goals (T-1st in NCAA), 19 assists (T-20th), 40 points (2nd), 8 power play goals (T-6th), 1.54 points/game (6th)
2. Gabe Perrault, Fr. Forward, Boston College; 9 goals, 27 assists (T-3rd), 36 points (3rd), 1.57 points/game (5th)
3. Massimo Rizzo, Jr. Forward, Denver; 10 goals, 32 assists (1st), 42 points (1st), 1.62 points/game (2nd), +23 plus/minus rating (T-2nd)
4. Jackson Blake, So. Forward, North Dakota; 16 goals (T-9th), 18 assists (T-28th), 34 points (T-6th), 1.31 points/game (18th), three GWG (T-16th)
5. Macklin Celebrini, Fr. Forward, Boston University; 18 goals (T-6th), 17 assists (T-38th), 35 points (T-4th), 1.59 points/game (4th)
Honorable Mentions: Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota), Collin Graf, (Quinnipiac), Rutger McGroarty (Michigan), Cutter Gauthier (Boston College), and Ben Steeves (Minnesota-Duluth).
- Mike Richter Award Watchlist (Stats Per Qualified Goaltenders in NCAA)
1. Kyle McClellan, Sr., Wisconsin; 18-5-0 record (T-1st in NCAA in wins), 1.92 GAA (4th), 6 shutouts (1st), and .930 SV% (3rd)
2. Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College; 18-4-1 record (T-1st), 2.25 GAA (10th), one shutout (T-23rd), and .924 SV % (T-6th)
3. Ryan Bischel, Gr., Notre Dame; 13-11-2 record (T-13th), 2.41 GAA (T-19th), three shutouts (T-2nd), .928 SV% (T-4th), and 791 saves (2nd)
4. Jakob Hellsten, Jr., New Hampshire; 8-5-1 record (T-27th), 1.72 GAA (2nd), two shutouts (T-10th), and .923 SV% (8th)
5. Jake Sibell, So., St. Thomas; 7-4-0 record (T-40th), 1.77 GAA (3rd), and .936 SV% (1st)
Honorable Mentions: Ian Shane (Cornell), Ludvig Persson (North Dakota), Trey Augustine (Michigan State), Vinny Duplessis (Quinnipiac), and Arsenii Sergeev (Connecticut)
