ECH Weekend Review: February 10-12
Written by Alex Berger - February 16, 2023It was rivalry weekend across college hockey this week! We had Minnesota/Wisconsin, Michigan/Michigan State, and Denver/North Dakota among the marquee matchups. Not only were there bragging rights on the line, but the games had some pretty big implications for conference standings.
Some other headlines include a trip to Michigan Tech for Everything College Hockey Gameday, the Beanpot Final on Monday night, and a surprising sweep by Niagara over Atlantic Hockey leader RIT.
Everything College Hockey Gameday at Michigan Tech
After a disappointing loss to Bowling Green in the series opener, Michigan Tech needed a big Saturday night to keep pace in the CCHA standings. With Everything College Hockey in the building, the Huskies won a huge game 4-2 over the Falcons at MacInnes.
Bowling Green opened the scoring in the first period with a power play goal from sophomore forward Austen Swankler. However, Michigan Tech responded with three-straight goals, including the game-tying and eventual game-winning goal in a three-minute stretch in the second period. Bowling Green scored a goal with the goalie pulled to make it a one-goal game late but gave up an empty-net goal before finding the equalizer.
Freshman forward Kyle Kukkonen scored twice, including the empty-net goal which iced the game. Kukkonen scored four goals in the weekend series. Brett Thorne (two assists) and Tristan Ashbrook (one goal, one assist) also added two points in the game.
Wisconsin Upsets Minnesota, #1 Curse Continues
Photo by Wisconsin Athletics
For yet another week the #1 ranked team in the country lost at least once. This week, it was unranked Wisconsin in a border battle against Minnesota. Friday night was an expected result, as the Gophers won 4-1 but this time it was their goaltending that stood out. Justen Close was the best player on the ice for Minnesota as he made 36 saves on the night including 21 stops in the first period alone.
The Badgers came back on Saturday night, however, with a 3-1 win. Minnesota opened the scoring with a goal from junior defenseman Mike Koster late in the first period, but Wisconsin responded with a huge goal from former Minnesota commit Cruz Lucius before the end of the first frame. Defenseman Daniel Laatsch then scored his first goal of the season and the eventual game winner, midway through the second period. Carson Bantle scored a few minutes later to make it 3-1.
The Gophers' loss didn't come without controversy, as a potential game-tying goal in the second period was waved off due to a ticky-tacky too many men call. Saturday night was just one of the few times this season that Minnesota played poorly and couldn't find ways to get offense going, but games like this are to be expected along the road. Minnesota should bounce back just fine.
Denver Sweeps NoDak, Gains 8-Point Lead in NCHC Standings
With a sweep over rival North Dakota, the Denver Pioneers have now won four straight games and are in the driver's seat for their second-straight Penrose Cup. Denver has an eight-point lead with six games remaining.
On Friday night, Carter Mazur stole the show with two goals, including a highlight-reel play to put the game out of the reach in the third period. Mazur skated the puck in across the blue line, cut through the slot between four North Dakota players, and fired a shot past goaltender Jakob Hellsten while falling down.
The turning point of the game was in the second period. North Dakota had just tied it up at 2-2 after a power play goal, but the Pioneers came right back. In less than 30 seconds after the goal, Denver scored twice to go up 4-2. The Pioneers eventually won the game 5-3.
On Saturday night, special teams was the difference maker. North Dakota had 50 penalty minutes, including two five-minute majors, and went 0-for-6 on the power play. Denver scored three goals on the two major penalties and won the game 5-2.
Michigan Sweeps In-State Rival Michigan State
Michigan continues to be the hottest team in college hockey. The Wolverines swept their in-state rivals Michigan State this weekend with 4-2 and 4-3 OT wins and have now won seven-straight games.
Friday night's game got chippy, as the teams combined for 28 penalties and 105 penalty minutes. Leading scorer for the Wolverines, Adam Fantili was one of the 4 ejections that happened after he got in a fight with MSU defenseman Nash Nienhuis.
Michigan scored three times in the first 12 minutes of the game and held off a push from the Spartans. Michigan State went 1-for-8 on the power play in the loss.
The series finale was held at Little Caeser's Arena in Detroit. It was a back-and-forth affair, as the game stayed within one goal the entire game. Luke Hughes was the hero in overtime as he collected a rebound and fired it past a frantic Dylan St. Cyr to score the game-winning goal as time expired.
Northeastern Wins 70th-Annual Beanpot
Photo by Northeastern Athletics
With a 3-2 shootout win over Harvard, the Northeastern Huskies won the 70th-Annual Beanpot at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Huskies have now won four of the last five Beanpot tournaments going back to 2018. This was the first ever Beanpot final featuring Northeastern and Harvard.
Northwestern's Gunnarwolfe Fontaine and Harvard's Matthew Coronato scored two goals for their respective teams in regulation, and the game went to a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime. The overtime used to be like in the NCAA tournament, with 5-on-5 play and full 20 minute periods. However, that rule changed in 2020, much to the dismay of almost every past and present Beanpot fan. Regardless, Aiden McDonough scored the lone goal of the shootout for the Huskies, and Devon Levi stopped all three shots he faced.
Levi was named the tournament MVP after 32 saves in the championship game and 33 in the semifinal against Boston University, allowing only three goals in two games.
In the consolation game, Boston College beat Boston University 4-2. The Eagles scored twice in the opening 12 minutes to take a 2-0 lead. Boston University battled back throughout the game and tied it at two goals a piece in the third period. However, just 27 seconds after the game-tying goal, Boston College regained the lead with a goal from freshman forward Andre Gasseau. The Eagles would ice it at 4-2 with an empty-net goal with four seconds left in the game. BU has now lost two straight games for the first time since their final games of the 2021-22 season.
NCHC Standings
1. Denver: Swept North Dakota at home with 5-3, 5-2 wins. (41 Points)
T-2. Western Michigan: No games scheduled. (33 Points)
T-2. St. Cloud State: No games scheduled. (33 Points)
T-2. Omaha: Split with Colorado College at home with 3-2 OT win, 2-2 SO loss. (33 Points)
5. Minnesota-Duluth: No games scheduled. (23 Points)
7. Colorado College: Split with Omaha on the road with 3-2 OT loss, 2-2 SO win. (23 Points)
6. North Dakota: Swept by Denver on the road with 5-3, 5-2 losses. (21 Points)
8. Miami: No games scheduled. (9 Points)
Big Ten Standings
1. Minnesota: Split with Wisconsin on the road with 4-1 win, 3-1 loss. (46 Points)
2. Michigan: Swept Michigan State with 4-2 win on the road, 4-3 OT win at Little Caeser's Arena. (35 Points)
T-3. Ohio State: "Swept by" Notre Dame on the road with 2-1 loss, 2-2 SO loss. (31 Points)
T-3. Michigan State: Swept by Michigan with 4-2 loss at home, 4-3 OT loss at Little Caesar's Arena. (31Points)
T-3. Notre Dame: "Swept" Ohio State at home with 2-1 win, 2-2 SO win. (31 Points)
6. Penn State: No games scheduled. (30 Points)
7. Wisconsin: Split with Minnesota at home with 4-1 loss, 3-1 win. (12 Points)
CCHA Standings
1. Michigan Tech: Split with Bowling Green at home with 5-2 loss, 4-2 win. (47 Points)
2. Minnesota State: No games scheduled. (45 Points)
3. Bowling Green: Split with Michigan Tech on the road with 5-2 win, 4-2 loss. (41 Points)
4. Bemidji State: Split with Ferris State on the road with 3-2 loss, 6-2 win. (34 Points)
5. Ferris State: Split with Bemidji State at home with 3-2 win, 6-2 loss. (33 Points)
6. Northern Michigan: Split with St. Thomas on the road with 3-0 win, 4-2 loss. (27 Points)
7. St. Thomas: Split with Northern Michigan at home with 3-0 loss, 4-2 win. (26 Points)
8. Lake Superior: No games scheduled. (17 Points)
Hockey East Standings
1. Boston University: vs. Boston College in Beanpot Consolation game on Monday. (41 Points)
2. Northeastern: Beat Providence on the road 3-3 SO, vs. Harvard in Beanpot Championship game on Monday. (40 Points)
3. Merrimack: No games scheduled. (36 Points)
4. Connecticut: Swept by New Hampshire on the road with 4-1, 3-2 OT losses. (35 Points)
T-5. UMass-Lowell: vs. Maine on Sunday. (30 Points)
T-5. Providence: Lost to Northeastern at home 3-3 SO. (30 Points)
7. Maine: Beat Boston College on the road 3-1, at UMass-Lowell on Sunday. (23 Points)
8. Boston College: Lost to Maine at home 3-1, vs. Boston University in Beanpot Consolation game on Monday. (21 Points)
T-9. New Hampshire: Swept Connecticut at home with 4-1, 3-2 OT wins. (19 Points)
T-9. Massachusetts: "Swept" Vermont at home with 3-3 SO, 4-4 SO wins. (19 Points)
11. Vermont: "Swept by" Massachusetts on the road with 3-3 SO, 4-4 SO losses. (15 Points)
ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac: Beat Clarkson on the road 3-0, beat St. Lawrence on the road 5-0. (48 Points)
2. Cornell: Split with Colgate with 3-2 win at home, 4-4 SO loss on the road. (41 Points)
3. Harvard: Beat Dartmouth with 6-3 win on the road, vs. Northeastern in Beanpot Championship game on Monday. (37 Points)
T-4. Colgate: Split with Cornell with 3-2 loss on the road, 4-4 SO win at home. (30 Points)
T-4. St. Lawrence: Beat Princeton 6-2 at home, lost to Quinnipiac 5-0 at home. (30 Points)
6. Clarkson: Lost to Quinnipiac 3-0 at home, beat Princeton 4-1 at home. (24 Points)
T-7. Princeton: Lost to St. Lawrence 6-2 on the road, lost to Clarkson 4-1 on the road. (23 Points)
T-7. Union: Beat Yale 3-1 at home, beat Brown 3-1 at home. (23 Points)
9. Rensselaer: Lost to Brown 3-2 at home, beat Yale 4-2 at home. (20 Points)
10. Brown: Beat Rensselaer 3-2 on the road, lost to Union 3-1 on the road. (19 Points)
11. Yale: Lost to Union 3-1 on the road, lost to Rensselaer 4-2 on the road. (16 Points)
12. Dartmouth: Lost to Harvard 6-3 at home. (13 Points)
Atlantic Hockey Standings
1. RIT: Swept by Niagara on the road with 4-3, 4-1 losses. (48 Points)
2. SHU: Split with Air Force at home with 5-4 loss, 5-3 win. (42 Points)
3. AIC: Beat Bentley on the road 2-2 SO. (36 Points)
T-4. Army: Split with Holy Cross at home with 5-2 win, 7-0 loss. (33 Points)
T-4. Niagara: Swept Niagara at home with 4-3, 4-1 wins. (33 Points)
6. Holy Cross: Split with Army on the road with 5-2 loss, 7-0 win. (32 Points)
7. Mercyhurst: Swept by Canisius at home with 4-3, 2-0 losses. (29 Points)
8. Canisius: Swept Mercyhurst on the road with 4-3, 2-0 wins. (28 Points)
9. Bentley: Lost to AIC at home 2-2 SO. (22 Points)
10. Air Force: Split with SHU on the road with 5-4 win, 5-3 loss. (21 Points)
Independent Roundup
Alaska: Split with Long Island on the road with 5-3 win, 3-1 loss.
Alaska-Anchorage: No games scheduled.
Arizona State: No games scheduled.
Lindenwood: Swept Stonehill at home with 5-2, 10-3 wins.
Long Island: Split with Alaska at home with 5-3 loss, 3-1 win.
Stonehill: Swept by Lindenwood on the road with 5-2, 10-3 losses.
