ECH Weekend Review: February 2-5
written By Alex Berger - February 8, 2024:The conference races are heating up around the country, and with just four weeks to go there isn't a whole lot of time for the standings to change. Just two top teams (Quinnipiac and North Dakota) have leads of two or more games in their respective conferences, showing just how close the regular-season races are this year.
If you missed it this past weekend, we'll cover the lone first-place series of the weekend, why our former #1 and #2 in the ECH Hobey Watchlist dropped to #4 and #5, and how goaltender interference calls changed games across the country on Saturday night.
Photos: Richard T Gagnon (https://www.instagram.com/richardtgagnon/)
- Northeastern, #3 Boston University Set For Beanpot Championship
We're in between the two first Mondays in February, which can only mean one thing in Boston: The Beanpot. If you haven't read our preview of college hockey's biggest in-season tournament, make sure to check that out after reading this one. Although the semifinals have passed it's still a great read before next week's title game, including interviews with senior forwards on both teams in the championship (including one captain).
In game one at TD Garden, the defending champs Northeastern took on Harvard. The Huskies dominated the play early, posting 15 shots in the first 20 minutes. Senior forward Alex Campbell opened the scoring in his first Beanpot game, firing a shot past Derek Mullahy seven minutes in. But the momentum shifted towards the end of the 1st, and the Crimson took that advantage into the start of the second. Ben MacDonald tied the game with a shot through traffic, and Harvard would draw a penalty just a couple of minutes later. To make matters worse for Northeastern, Ryan Healey earned a penalty shot for the Crimson on the man advantage. But Cameron Whitehead made the stop in one of the biggest plays of the game, stopping the momentum.
Heading into the third period tied at 1-1, Harvard took their first lead of the game with the first goal of the season from freshman defenseman Matthew Morden. It looked like Harvard was going to pull away with the upset win, but Huskies' captain Justin Hryckowian took control of the game. Every time his line was on the ice they were dominant, and they eventually tied the game. Hryckowian himself scored the tying goal, calmly collecting a rebound and roofing it into the net with a backhand. The game eventually went into overtime, but it wouldn't take long for Northeastern to punch their ticket to the championship. Just 30 seconds in, Hryckowian fed the puck to Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (the best name in college hockey) cutting to the net past all three defenders and firing a one-timer past Mullahy for the game-winning goal.
After a great first semifinal, the stage was set for the main event. #1 Boston College against #3 Boston University for the third time in 11 days. The rivalry, possible revenge for the Terriers, and high-stakes of the Beanpot made for one of the best games of the year. Both teams came out high flying, with 32 combined shots in the first period alone. After a tough series last weekend, Matheiu Caron came into the game dialed in, making a handful of tough saves and killing off a penalty seconds into the game to stave off the early push by the Eagles. Then it turned into the Macklin Celebrini show. The lights weren't too bright for the 17-year-old as he scored twice in a two-minute span to give BU the 2-0 lead. The latter, a one-time on the power play, was an NHL-level shot right past the ear of Jacob Fowler.
Heading out of the first intermission, Boston College needed a big push to get back into the game. They got it and earned two power play chances, scoring on the first with a great tic-tac-toe feed between Eamon Powell, Will Smith, and Gabe Perreault (his 11th of the year). Despite BC keeping up the pressure, it was a costly turnover that gave BU the two-goal lead again. A D-to-D pass behind the Eagles' net deflected off a skate and right onto the stick of Luke Tuch, who wheeled and fired past Fowler's blocker to make it 3-1.
Another Terriers goal from Ryan Greene early in the third period seemed to put the game away, but Boston College would rally with a furious comeback. First, senior forward Gentry Shamburger fired a shot past Caron for just his second career goal. Then three minutes later, Perreault finished a great feed in front for his second of the game, cutting the lead to 4-3. But despite continued pressure and nearly 90 seconds of 6-on-5 play, Boston College couldn't find the the tying goal.
There were a couple of big takeaways from the third matchup between these powerhouses. First, freshman Macklin Celebrini and Gabe Perreault showed they play best when the lights are the brightest. They each scored twice in the game, rank top-five in points in the country, and are now #1 and #2 respectively in our Hobey Baker Watchlist. The second is that Boston College and Boston University are destined to meet again at some point this season, whether in the Hockey East or NCAA Tournament.
But before that, Boston University has to focus on next week's Beanpot championship game. Gunning for their second title in three years, they'll have to go through a team that just beat them over a week ago. Northeastern is one of the hottest teams in college hockey, winning six of their last seven (including against now #3 BU and #8 Maine). They're also the defending Beanpot champions and have won four of the last five titles. It will again be a must-watch game next Monday for any college hockey fan.
- #9 Minnesota Wins 'Border Battle' Rematch Against #5 Wisconsin
Looking for revenge after getting swept at home by one of their biggest rivals earlier this season, Minnesota traveled east to face off against Wisconsin in front of a packed Kohl Center in Madison. Everything College Hockey was there on Friday night for the Badgers' "White Out" game, where more than 13,00 people packed the stands for one of the best atmosphere’s of the season.
But despite the sea of white surrounding one of the biggest home series in years, Oliver Moore continued his hot streak and silenced the crowd early. On a 2-on-1, the freshman faked a pass and took the puck in himself, beating Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan on the glove side just seven minutes into the game. In the ten games since returning from this year's World Junior's Tournament, Moore has lit it up for Minnesota, posting five goals and ten assists in his last ten games.
After the goal, Minnesota goaltender Justen Close took over the game. He made 40 saves on Friday night, including 21 in the second period alone. The only time he was beaten was early in the third period when Owen Lindmark collected the puck after a shot block, took it to the slot, and backhanded it into the wide open net to tie the game 1-1. That score would hold until overtime, but not much long after the game moved to 3-on-3. After a Wisconsin turnover in the offensive zone the Gophers collected the puck and skated past the forecheckers for another 2-on-1 rush. This time Moore passed the puck over to Brody Lamb, who collected and fired the puck past a diving McClellan for the "upset" overtime road win.
After allowing just three combined goals in game one of the series, McClellan and Close once against combined for a great goaltending duel. This time it was the Wisconsin senior who led the way, making 42 saves to keep the Badgers in the game. Keeping up with the similarities, the Badgers were the ones to jump out to an early lead on Saturday night as sophomore forward Jack Horbach buried the puck after a deflection off the wall and scramble in front of the net. The Gophers would eventually tie the game, but many Minnesota fans are still recovering from a pair of goals that were not awarded. Two times on Saturday night the referees called off goals for "questionable" goaltender interference calls; once in the second period and once in the third, which likely changed the storyline of the game. Instead, Minnesota and Wisconsin skated to a 1-1 tie.
In the shootout, the Gophers' woes continued. McClellan made two saves and the Badgers scored twice for the extra point in the Big Ten standings. Minnesota is now 0-4 in conference shootouts this season. Even more remarkably, their skaters have gone a combined 0-for-11 with their opportunities. Those four lost points are looming large, as the Gophers trail first-place Michigan State by 11 points in the Big Ten standings with four weeks to go in the regular season.
- #13 Western Michigan Scores 7 On Saturday, Splits With #6 Denver On The Road
For two teams high up in the ECH and Pairwise rankings, this was a weekend for both Denver and Western Michigan to get out of the log-jam in the NCHC standings. Right now, five of the eight teams -- 3rd through 7th place -- are separated by just seven points. The Pioneers and Broncos are two of those five teams and need to start stringing together sweeps if they want to guarantee home-ice in the first round of the conference playoffs.
After being held to just two goals all of last weekend, Western Michigan was likely looking to get their top scorers going in the high altitude of Denver. It would be an uphill battle in the first game of the series, as Jared Wright and Alex Weiermair scored three minutes apart in the first period to give Denver a 2-0 lead. Despite four power play chances in the first 40 minutes, the Pioneers could not extend that lead, which gave Western Michigan a chance to get back into the game. The Broncos scored midway through the second when Luke Grainger scored his ninth of the season off a rebound on a 2-on-1 rush.
Heading into the third period up by just a goal and down a man, Denver regained the momentum with a quick kill and goal from Shai Buium 68 seconds in. Western Michigan dialed up the pressure after once again going down by two goals, blasting goaltender Matt Davis with 16 shots in the final 20 minutes. It appeared that they cut the game to 3-2 with an extra-attacker goal with just over three minutes to go, but the goal was called back due to goalie interference. Dylan Wendt would score a minute later, his 20th of the season, but time would run out for Western Michigan and the Pioneers would hang on for the win.
After scoring two goals on 41 shots in game one, the puck luck flipped for Western Michigan on Saturday night. After another Shai Buium goal just 37 seconds into the game, WMU rattled off five-straight goals in the next 25 minutes, chasing Davis from the game (the junior made just 12 saves on 17 shots). Two more goals in the third period from Alex Bump and last week's 'Pucks In Deep' guest Sam Colangelo -- his second of the night -- and Western Michigan skated to a blowout 7-2 win. Alongside the goals, the Broncos also paced DU in shots on goal (30-27) and faceoff wins (48-20).
After a series sweep over Omaha which saw 14 combined points between Massimo Rizzo and Jack Devine, the duo of top NCAA point scorers has posted just five combined points in their last four games (Rizzo: 0-2-2, Devine: 0-3-3). Four players have now tied Devine for the lead in goals this season: Dylan Wendt (WMU), Cutter Gauthier (BC), Ben Steeves (UMD), and Macklin Celebrini (BU). Devine and Steeves will battle for the top spot next weekend with a series in Duluth.
- #4 Michigan State Upset By Notre Dame, Still First In Big Ten
Heading on the road after a tough series against Minnesota, the Michigan State Spartans traveled south for a matchup against Notre Dame. It was a showdown between two of the best goalies in the Big Ten -- freshman Trey Augustine and graduate senior Ryan Bischel -- who combined to allow 10 total goals the last time the teams met for a series at East Lansig in December.
The great goaltending between these two teams continued this past weekend too. On Friday night Bischel took the spotlight, making 30 of the 31 saves he saw in the upset win. After giving up a power play goal in the second period the Fighting Irish responded instantly, tying the game on the next shift. Then in the third period, Notre Dame pulled away with a one-timer from Drew Bavaro and a great passing play finished off by Cole Knuble just three minutes apart. With an empty-net goal from Trevor Janicke the Irish held on for a 4-1 win, arguably their biggest since mid-November at Minnesota.
A big key to the win, of course, was Bischel. After an up-and-down season he has been on a tear of late, posting six-straight games with at least 30 saves (4-2-0 record). In that span he's allowed under 4 goals five times, and under 3 goals three times. With 859 saves in 28 games, he leads all of college hockey in total saves this season alongside a top-five save percentage (.929%). He's firmly in our top three on the Mike Richter Watchlist.
Michigan State turned it around on Saturday night, firing 42 shots on goal in a dominant 4-0 win. All the usual suspects factored in: Trey Augustine posted a 30-save shutout, Artyom Levshunov and Red Savage each scored a goal, and Joey Larson posted two assists. Despite getting into penalty trouble the Spartans killed all six Notre Dame power play opportunities, keeping the crowd of 5,200 silent the whole night.
With the win and split between Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Spartans still have a five-point lead over the Badgers in the Big Ten standings with four weeks to go. The Badgers have eight games remaining to MSU's six, including series at Penn State and at Ohio State. As we've written since November, first place in the conference will likely come down to the team's matchup at the Kohl Center the last week of the regular season.
- St. Thomas, Minnesota State Mankato Meet In First-Place Showdown
The lone first-place series of the weekend happened in the CCHA, as St. Thomas and Minnesota State entered their second matchup of the season tied at the top of the conference. It was an unlikely spot for the two teams at this point of the season, as our ECH crew tabbed them to finish to finish 5th and 3rd in our preseason poll, respectively. That was (likely) due to the fact that the Tommies are just in their third year of D1 hockey, while the Mavericks lost head coach Mike Hastings and a lot of depth over the last offseason. Instead, it's a first-place matchup between two brewing rivals in the state of hockey.
Just over a thousand people were in attendance at St. Thomas in Mendota Heights on Friday night, as the Tommies await construction of their brand-new arena on campus in St. Paul (expected to open in fall of 2025). Minnesota State silenced that small crowd with two goals in the first period, including a power play tally by freshman forward Brett Moravec. St. Thomas would rally back with three-straight goals, taking a 3-2 lead with just over four minutes to go in the game. But Minnesota State would get the final two blows to dagger the Tommie crowd. First, Josh Groll would tie the game with an extra-attacker goal with 33 seconds left in the game. Then in overtime, Zach Kranik made a great play around the zone, dragging three defenseman over before finding Kaden Bohlsen on the backdoor for the tap-in game-winning goal.
Heading back home in first place in the CCHA, the Mavericks looked to capitalize on the momentum at home in front of nearly five thousand Maverick fans. Instead, the Tommies and goaltender Aaron Trotter returned the favor of a home loss. The junior made 33 saves, including two highlight-reel stops, to lead the Tommies to a road win. After getting spotted a 2-0 lead nine minutes into the game, Trotter made at least 10 saves in each period in just his sixth win of the season. His two best stops were 'Sportscenter' worthy. In the second period, Trotter extended the glove on the goal line to steal a goal on a 3-on-2 rush. Then in the third, he made a diving scorpion kick on the penalty kill. Both saves retained a one-goal lead for the Tommies, and Trotter certified his spot among the three stars of the game with an assist on the empty-net goal to ice the 4-2 win.
Despite the series split, Minnesota State has to be feeling a bit dissatisfied with the Saturday-night results. They arguably played better than St. Thomas, and similar to Minnesota's series finale against Wisconsin, had a couple of questionable calls by the officials. It will be a race to the finish line between these two teams. Mankato ends the season with series @ Michigan Tech (T-4th in CCHA), vs. Lake Superior (3rd), and @ Bemidji State (T-4th). St. Thomas' remaining conference games are series vs. Bowling Green (7th), vs. Bemidji State (T-4th), and @ Michigan Tech (T-4th).
- NCHC Standings
1. North Dakota (37 Points): Swept Miami on the road with 5-4 OT, 4-1 wins
2. St. Cloud State (30 Points): Split with Colorado College on the road with 2-1 OT win, 5-3 loss
3. Colorado College (27 Points): Split with St. Cloud State at home with 2-1 OT loss, 5-3 win
4. Denver (26 Points): Split with Western Michigan at home with 3-2 win, 7-2 loss
5. Western Michigan (25 Points): Split with Denver on the road with 3-2 loss, 7-2 win
6. Omaha (21 Points): Swept Minnesota-Duluth at home with 5-1, 4-3 wins
7. Minnesota-Duluth (20 Points): Swept by Omaha on the road with 5-1, 4-3 losses
8. Miami (6 Points): Swept by North Dakota at home with 5-4 OT, 4-1 losses
- Big Ten Standings
1. Michigan State (40 Points): Split with Notre Dame on the road with 4-1 loss, 4-0 win
2. Wisconsin (35 Points): "Split with" Minnesota at home with 2-1 OT loss, 2-1 SO win
3. Minnesota (29 Points): "Split with" Wisconsin on the road with 2-1 OT win, 2-1 SO loss
4. Notre Dame (27 Points): Split with Michigan State at home with 4-1 win, 4-0 loss
5. Michigan (25 Points): Swept Ohio State on the road with 4-2, 4-1 wins
6. Penn State (17 Points): No games scheduled
7. Ohio State (7 Points): Swept by Michigan at home with 4-2, 4-1 losses
- CCHA Standings
1. St. Thomas (34 Points): Split with Minnesota State with 4-3 OT loss at home, 4-2 win on the road
2. Minnesota State (32 Points): Split with St. Thomas with 4-3 OT win on the road, 4-2 loss at home
3. Lake Superior (28 Points): No games scheduled
T-4. Bemidji State (27 Points): Split with Augustana at home with 5-0 win, 5-2 loss
T-4. Michigan Tech (27 Points): "Swept by" Northern Michigan with 4-1 loss on the road, 4-3 SO loss at home
6. Northern Michigan (25 Points): "Swept" Michigan Tech with 4-1 win at home, 4-3 SO win on the road
7. Bowling Green (24 Points): Swept Ferris State on the road with 4-3, 3-1 wins
8. Ferris State (16 Points): Swept by Bowling Green at home with 4-3, 3-1 losses
- Hockey East Standings
1. Boston University (38 Points): Beat New Hampshire on the road 6-3, beat Boston College at TD Garden 4-3 [Beanpot]
2. Boston College (37 Points): Beat UMass-Lowell on the road 6-1, lost to Boston University at TD Garden 4-3 [Beanpot]
3. Maine (28 Points): Lost to Northeastern on the road 6-3, beat Massachusetts on the road 1-0
4. Providence (26 Points): Split with Connecticut with 5-0 win on the road, 2-1 loss at home
5. Connecticut (23 Points): Split with Providence with 5-0 loss at home, 2-1 win on the road
T-6. Massachusetts (22 Points): Beat Merrimack on the road 3-2, lost to Maine at home 1-0
T-6. New Hampshire (22 Points): Lost to Boston University at home 6-3, beat Merrimack at home 3-1
8. Northeastern (20 Points): Beat Maine at home 6-3, beat Harvard at TD Garden 3-2 OT [Beanpot]
9. Vermont (16 Points): No games scheduled
10. Merrimack (12 Points): Lost to Massachusetts at home 3-2, lost to New Hampshire on the road 3-1
11. UMass-Lowell (11 Points): Lost to Boston College at home 6-1
- ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac (38 Points): Beat Harvard at home 2-1, beat Dartmouth at home 5-1
2. Cornell (27 Points): Beat St. Lawrence at home 5-1, beat Clarkson at home 7-2
3. Colgate (26 Points): Beat Clarkson at home 4-2, beat St. Lawrence at home 3-2
4. Clarkson (23 Points): Lost to Colgate on the road 4-2, lost to Cornell on the road 7-2
5. Union (22 Points): Lost to Yale on the road 3-1, beat Brown on the road 5-4 SO
T-6. Brown (20 Points): Lost to Rensselaer at home 3-1, lost to Union at home 5-4 SO
T-6. Yale (20 Points): Beat Union on the road 3-1, beat Rensselaer at home 2-1 SO
T-8. St. Lawrence (19 Points): Lost to Cornell on the road 5-1, lost to Colgate on the road 3-2
T-8. Dartmouth (19 Points): Beat Princeton on the road 5-1, lost to Quinnipiac on the road 5-1
10. Harvard (17 Points): Lost to Quinnipiac on the road 2-1, lost to Northeastern at TD Garden 3-2 OT [Beanpot]
11. Rensselaer (16 Points): Beat Brown on the road 3-1, lost to Yale on the road 2-1 SO
12. Princeton (14 Points): Lost to Dartmouth at home 5-1
- Atlantic Hockey Standings
1. RIT (43 Points): "Split with" Niagara with 5-4 SO loss on the road, 4-2 win at home
2. Sacred Heart (41 Points): Swept AIC at home with 4-3 OT, 3-1 wins
3. Holy Cross (40 Points): Swept Air Force at home with 6-3, 5-2 wins
T-4. Air Force (32 Points): Swept by Holy Cross on the road with 6-3, 5-2 losses
T-4. AIC (32 Points): Swept by Sacred Heart on the road with 4-3 OT, 3-1 losses
6. Bentley (31 Points): Split with Army at home with 4-2 win, 2-1 loss
7. Niagara (28 Points): "Split with" RIT with 5-4 SO win at home, 4-2 loss on the road, beat Canisius on the road 3-2 OT [Tuesday]
8. Canisius (27 Points): Lost to Niagara at home 3-2 OT [Tuesday]
T-9. Robert Morris (21 Points): Swept Mercyhurst with 5-2 win on the road, 4-3 win at home
T-9. Mercyhurst (21 Points): Swept by Robert Morris with 5-2 loss at home, 4-3 loss on the road
11. Army (20 Points): Split with Bentley on the road with 4-2 loss, 2-1 win
- Independent Roundup
Alaska: Lost to Alaska-Anchorage on the road 4-2
Alaska-Anchorage: Beat Alaska at home 4-2
Arizona State: "Swept" Lindenwood at home with 4-4 OT tie, 5-1 win
Augustana: Split with Bemidji State on the road with 5-0 loss, 5-2 win
Lindenwood: "Swept by" Arizona State on the road with 4-4 OT tie, 5-1 loss
Long Island: Swept Stonehill on the road with 3-1, 5-0 wins
Stonehill: Swept by Long Island at home with 3-1, 5-0 losses
- Hobey Baker Award Watchlist
1. Macklin Celebrini, Fr. Forward, Boston University; 21 goals (T-1st), 18 assists (T-35th), 39 points (T-4th), 1.63 points/game (4th)
2. Gabe Perrault, Fr. Forward, Boston College; 12 goals (T-47th), 29 assists (T-2nd), 41 points (3rd), 1.64 points/game (T-2nd)
3. Jackson Blake, So. Forward, North Dakota; 17 goals (T-9th), 22 assists (T-15th), 39 points (T-4th), 1.39 points/game (10th), four GWG (T-6th)
4. Massimo Rizzo, Jr. Forward, Denver; 10 goals, 34 assists (1st), 44 points (1st), 1.57 points/game (5th), +24 plus/minus rating (T-1st)
5. Jack Devine, Jr. Forward, Denver; 21 goals (T-1st in NCAA), 21 assists (T-19th), 42 points (2nd), 8 power play goals (T-6th), 1.50 points/game (7th)
Honorable Mentions: Collin Graf, (Quinnipiac), Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota), Dylan Wendt (Western 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; 18-6-1 record (T-2nd in NCAA in wins), 1.88 GAA (3rd), 6 shutouts (1st), and .933 SV% (2nd)
2. Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College; 19-5-1 record (1st), 2.28 GAA (10th), one shutout (T-24th), and .922 SV % (7th)
3. Ryan Bischel, Gr., Notre Dame; 14-12-2 record (T-11th), 2.41 GAA (T-15th), three shutouts (T-3rd), .929 SV% (T-3rd), and 859 saves (1st)
4. Ian Shane, Jr. Cornell; 13-2-4 (T-14th wins, 1st fewest losses), 1.69 GAA (1st), two shutouts (T-11th), .919 SV% (11th)
5. Jakob Hellsten, Jr., New Hampshire; 9-6-1 record (T-30th), 1.94 GAA (5th), two shutouts (T-11th), and .915 SV% (T-14th)
Honorable Mentions: Ludvig Persson (North Dakota), Trey Augustine (Michigan State), Vinny Duplessis (Quinnipiac), Justen Close (Minnesota), and Aaron Trotter (St. Thomas)
