ECH Weekend Review: February 17-19
Written by alex berger - february 22, 2023 It's crazy to believe, but we are just weeks away from postseason college hockey. Some teams are playing for regular-season trophies, while others are fighting for their season.
Minnesota (Big Ten), Quinnipiac (ECAC), and RIT (Atlantic Hockey) all won their respective conferences this past weekend and will be the #1 seed in their postseason tournaments. Next weekend features two huge matchups - Denver vs. Western Michigan (NCHC) and Minnesota State vs. Michigan Tech (CCHA) - which will effectively decide the fate of those two conferences.
#1 Minnesota Sweeps #10 Penn State in Happy Valley
Photo by Jeffrey Fyola
Everything College Hockey's #1 team Minnesota went into Happy Valley this weekend and swept #10 Penn State. Before this weekend, the Nittany Lions were 12-4 at home on the season.
The Gophers won on Friday night in convincing fashion. Minnesota jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 30 minutes of the game and held on to win 7-2. Once again, Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Matthew Knies proved to be the best line in college hockey. The trio combined for four goals, six assists, and a +8 rating in the win.
On Saturday night Penn State bounced back with a goal 30 seconds into the game. The game was tight throughout after Minnesota tied the game two minutes into the 2nd period. That scored remained until sophomore forward Danny Dzhaniyev gave Penn State the lead with just over two minutes left. However, Matthew Knies was the hero of the night. He scored the game-tying goal with an extra attacker with 41 seconds left and then the overtime winner. Knies now has 20 goals on the season, which leads the Gophers and is tied for the second-most in the country.
Ohio State Beats Michigan in Faceoff On The Lake
Photo by Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State made up major ground in the Big Ten standings this weekend in a "home" series against Michigan. The Buckeyes beat the Wolverines in a shootout on Thursday night in Columbus before playing the Faceoff On The Lake on Saturday.
With 45,000 in attendance at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Buckeyes put on a show in Cleveland. Ohio State beat Michigan 4-2 in a special teams filled game. The Buckeyes went 2-for-6 on the power play and 7-for-7 on the penalty kill with a shorthanded goal.
Sophomore defenseman Cole McWard opened the scoring with a little over five minutes to go in the second period with a shot off the rush that beat Michigan goalie Erik Protillo low on the glove side. Three minutes later, Jake Wise doubled the lead with a power play tally. Michigan got on the board just over a minute later, but Ohio State responded with a shorthanded goal from Tyler Duke. Michigan made it a one-score game halfway through the third, but Ohio State responded once again with a power play goal just under a minute afterwards.
On a positive note for Michigan fans, they still are 3rd in pairwise rankings this week and hopefully will have Luke Hughes back in the lineup, as he sat out on Saturday's game with a lower body injury.
Minnesota State, Michigan Tech Prepare for MacNaughton Cup Showdown
Michigan Tech were the biggest Bemidji State fans this weekend. While the Huskies (47 points in the CCHA) had the weekend off, they were cheering for the Beavers over Minnesota State (45 points) in a weekend series in Bemidji.
The Mavericks, however, were playing for themselves. Mankato won 4-1 in convincing fashion on Friday night, responding from an early deficit and getting two goals from freshman forward Christian Fitzgerald to earn the win.
On Saturday night Bemidji Sate responded with a 2-1 OT win. BSU and MSUM traded goals in the first period and played an otherwise scoreless game. Senior defenseman Kyle Looft was the hero for the Beavers, scoring a power play goal on a blast from the point in overtime to give Bemidji State the win and sending up cheers in Houghton, Michigan.
This now sets up a crucial matchup next weekend. Michigan Tech will travel to Minnesota State for a two-game series in Mankato. The Huskies need any combination of four points to win the MacNaughton Cup and earn the #1 seed in the CCHA postseason. Minnesota State just needs one win next weekend to clinch their sixth-straight regular season championship (WCHA + CCHA). The Huskies beat Mankato 3-2 and lost 2-2 SO at home in their only other series this season.
Hockey East Title Race Down to the Wire
With two weekends remaining in the Hockey East regular season Northeastern (43 Points), Boston University (42 Points), and Merrimack (41 Points) are in a dogfight for the Lamoriello Trophy. None of the three teams plays each other over the last two weeks, however Merrimack has played 21 games compared to Northeastern and Boston University's 20 games played.
This past weekend Merrimack made up major ground in the standings with a home-and-home sweep over BU with 4-1 and 4-3 OT wins. Senior forward Mick Messner had three goals on the weekend for the Warriors while senior Ben Brar played hero on Saturday night with the game-tying goal in the third period followed by the game-winner in overtime.
Northeastern had just one game on the weekend, a 3-0 win over Vermont on the road. The Huskies scored once each period, including an empty-net goal, and got a 42-save shutout from Devon Levi in the win. Levi now has five shutouts on the season and has made 206 saves in his last five games (41.2 saves/game) Northeastern is 2-1-2 in that stretch.
Duluth Earns Split Against #3 Denver, NCHC Standings Still Shuffling
This is about the time of year where Minnesota-Duluth begins to get hot. After a disappointing weekend last week against Western Michigan, the Bulldogs responded with a huge 6-5 win on the road against the #3 Denver Pioneers.
Duluth needed to hold on on Saturday night, as they had a 5-2 lead heading into the third period but gave up two goals in the first two minutes in the final frame. Freshman forward Ben Steeves added to his impressive goal total this season with a two-goal game, including the eventual game winner. Steeves now has 19 goals on the season, tied for the fifth-most in college hockey this year. The Bulldogs went 3-for-4 on the power play in the win.
Although they are three games below .500 on the season, Minnesota-Duluth currently ranks fifth in the NCHC and still has a chance to earn home ice. The Bulldogs play Miami at home next weekend and then travel to fourth-ranked St. Cloud State to end the season.
Denver, on the other hand, will have their hands full next weekend with a trip to Western Michigan with the Penrose on the line. The Pioneers currently have a five-point lead on the Broncos with four games remaining in the regular season. Western Michigan has won 11 of their last 12 games and have lost just four games at home all season. Next weekend will most likely decide the league winner.
NCHC Standings
1. Denver: Split with Minnesota-Duluth at home with 6-2 win, 6-5 loss. (44 Points)
2. Western Michigan: Swept Colorado College at home with 4-1, 2-1 wins. (39 Points)
3. Omaha: Swept Miami on the road with 3-1, 3-2 OT wins. (38 Points)
4. St. Cloud State: Split with North Dakota on the road with 4-3 OT loss, 2-2 SO win. (36 Points)
5. Minnesota-Duluth: Split with Denver on the road with 6-2 loss, 6-5 win. (26 Points)
6. North Dakota: Split with St. Cloud State at home with 4-3 OT win, 2-2 SO loss. (24 Points)
7. Colorado College: Swept by Western Michigan on the road with 4-1, 2-1 losses. (23 Points)
8. Miami: Swept by Omaha at home with 3-1, 3-2 OT losses. (10 Points)
Big Ten Standings
1. Minnesota: Swept Penn State on the road with 7-2, 3-2 OT wins. (51 Points)
T-2. Michigan: "Swept by" Ohio State with 2-2 SO loss on the road, 4-2 loss at Faceoff At The Lake. (36 Points)
T-2. Ohio State: "Swept" Michigan with 2-2 SO win at home, 4-2 win at Faceoff At The Lake. (36 Points)
4. Michigan State: Split with Wisconsin on the road with 6-2 win, 6-2 loss. (34 Points)
T-5. Penn State: Swept by Minnesota at home with 7-2, 3-2 OT losses. (31 Points)
T-5. Notre Dame: No games scheduled. (31 Points)
7. Wisconsin: Split with Michigan State at home with 6-2 loss, 6-2 win. (15 Points)
CCHA Standings
1. Minnesota State: Split with Bemidji State on the road with 4-1 win, 2-1 OT loss. (49 Points)
2. Michigan Tech: No games scheduled. (47 Points)
3. Bowling Green: No games scheduled. (41 Points)
4. Bemidji State: Split with Minnesota State at home with 4-1 loss, 2-1 OT win. (36 Points)
T-5. Northern Michigan: Swept Ferris State at home with 9-2, 8-3 wins. (33 Points)
T-5. Ferris State: Swept by Northern Michigan on the road with 9-2, 8-3 losses. (33 Points)
7. St. Thomas: Split with Lake Superior on the road with 2-1 loss, 2-1 win. (29 Points)
8. Lake Superior: Split with St. Thomas at home with 2-1 win, 2-1 loss. (20 Points)
Hockey East Standings
1. Northeastern: Beat Vermont on the road 3-0. (43 Points)
2. Boston University: Swept by Merrimack with 4-1 loss on the road, 4-3 OT loss at home. (42 Points)
3. Merrimack: Swept Boston University with 4-1 at home, 4-3 OT win on the road. (41 Points)
4. UMass-Lowell: Split with Providence with 3-2 OT loss on the road, 2-1 win at home. (36 Points)
5. Connecticut: Defeated Alaska Anchorage 4-3 in OT on Thursday night at home. (35 Points)
6. Providence: Split with UMass-Lowell with 3-2 OT win at home, 2-1 loss on the road. (32 Points)
7. Boston College: Swept Massachusetts with 7-3 win at home, 3-1 win on the road. (27 Points)
8. Maine: "Swept by" New Hampshire on the road with 2-2 SO, 0-0 SO losses. (26 Points)
9. New Hampshire: "Swept" Maine at home with 2-2 SO, 0-0 SO wins. (23 Points)
10. Massachusetts: Swept by Boston College with 7-2 loss on the road, 3-1 loss at home. (19 Points)
11. Vermont: Lost to Northeastern at home 3-0. (15 Points)
ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac: Beat Yale at home 5-1, beat Brown at home 5-2. (54 Points)
2. Harvard: Beat Union at home 5-3, beat Rensselaer at home 4-0. (43 Points)
3. Cornell: Lost to Clarkson at home 4-3, lost to St. Lawrence at home 1-0. (41 Points)
T-4. St. Lawrence: Lost to Colgate on the road 3-2 OT, beat Cornell on the road 1-0. (34 Points)
T-4. Colgate: Beat St. Lawrence at home 3-2 OT, beat Clarkson at home 3-3 SO. (34 Points)
6. Clarkson: Beat Cornell on the road 4-3, lost to Colgate on the road 3-3 SO. (28 Points)
7. Princeton: Beat Brown at home 3-2, lost to Yale at home 4-0. (26 Points)
T-8. Rensselaer: Beat Dartmouth on the road 3-1, lost to Harvard on the road 4-0. (23 Points)
T-8. Union: Lost to Harvard on the road 5-3, lost to Dartmouth on the road 1-0. (23 Points)
T-10. Yale: Lost to Quinnipiac on the road 5-1, beat Princeton on the road 4-0. (19 Points)
T-10. Brown: Lost to Princeton on the road 3-2, lost to Quinnipiac on the road 5-2. (19 Points)
12. Dartmouth: Lost to Rensselaer at home 3-1, beat Union at home 1-0. (16 Points)
Atlantic Hockey Standings
1. RIT: Split with Bentley at home with 4-0 win, 2-1 loss. (51 Points)
2. SHU: Lost to Canisius on the road 6-4, 3-2 OT win on Sunday. (44 Points)
3. AIC: Swept Air Force on the road with 3-2, 4-3 wins. (42 Points)
4. Holy Cross: Swept Niagara at home with 4-3 OT, 3-0 wins. (37 Points)
5. Army: Split with Mercyhurst at home with 3-2 OT win, 7-3 loss. (35 Points)
T-5. Canisius: Beat SHU at home 6-4, lost 2-3 in OT on Sunday. (35 Points)
6. Niagara: Swept by Holy Cross on the road with 4-3 OT, 3-0 losses. (34 Points)
8. Mercyhurst: Split with Army on the road with 3-2 OT loss, 7-3 win. (33 Points)
9. Bentley: Split with RIT on the road with 4-0 loss, 2-1 win. (25 Points)
10. Air Force: Swept by AIC at home with 3-2, 4-3 losses. (24 Points)
Independent Roundup
Alaska: Swept Long Island at home with 3-2, 6-3 wins.
Alaska-Anchorage: No games scheduled.
Arizona State: Swept Lindenwood at home with 8-2, 5-3 wins.
Lindenwood: Swept by Arizona State on the road with 8-2, 5-3 losses.
Long Island: Swept by Alaska on the road with 3-2, 6-3 losses.
Stonehill: No games scheduled.
