ECH Weekend Review: February 24-26
by alex berger - march 02, 2023We've officially made it to the postseason. In my opinion these next four weeks may be the best four-week stretch in any sport in the country. Every team has something to play for, whether it be tuning-up before the NCAA tournament, playing for Pairwise seeding, or fighting for their season.
Because of the high-intensity games, we'll be learning a lot about teams across the country and if they can be trusted to bring home another trophy (or two) before the season ends. This past weekend was just an appetizer.
Minnesota State Holds On For MacNaughton Cup
Photo by Mansoor Ahmad
In the biggest series of the weekend, Minnesota State hosted Michigan Tech with the CCHA regular season title on the line. The Huskies trailed by two points, so they needed a road sweep to take home the MacNaughton Cup. The Mavericks needed to win just one game to claim the trophy.
On Friday night, 'friend of the pod' Blake Pietila posted a 35-save shutout to lead Michigan Tech to a 2-0 win. The shutout was the seniors ninth of the season. The game was scoreless until the 3rd period until freshman forward Kyle Kukkonen scored his 15th goal of the season to break the tie. Senior Logan Pietila then scored an empty-net goal to ice the game and set up a winner-take-all series finale.
The dramatics were out on Saturday night with the title on the line. The game was scoreless until late in the second period. With Minnesota State on the power play, Lucas Sowder collected a pass on the faceoff dot and sniped a wrist shot top shelf to make it 1-0. The Mavericks doubled their lead on another power-play goal early in the third, as David Silye deflected a shot from the point to make it 2-0.
The Huskies would fight back and respond with a penalty shot goal from Tristan Ashbrook just under two minutes later. Then, with the extra-attacker on the ice and 90 seconds remaining, it appeared that Kyle Kukkonen scored in a scramble in front of the net to tie the game at 2-2. However, the goal was disallowed after goalie interference.
To make matters worse, the Huskies went shorthanded shortly after the disallowed goal after a hooking penalty. It didn't matter. Kyle Kukkonen provided a "puck don't lie" moment as he skated through three Maverick defenders and scored shorthanded to tie the game.
With just over a minute left, the Huskies were still shorthanded. Minnesota State gained the zone, set up their power play, and got the puck to Cade Borchhardt skating down from the point to the faceoff circle. The senior forward wound up a shot and fired it off a falling Huskies defender, deflecting into the top corner for the game-winning goal.
With the win, Minnesota State has now won six-straight regular season titles, dating back to the WCHA. They will be the #1 seed in the CCHA postseason, which includes home-ice advantage throughout the tournament.
Denver Sweeps #4 Western Michigan, Wins Penrose
In a top-five matchup, #4 Western Michigan hosted #3 Denver for a series to determine the NCHC regular season champion. Trailing by five points, the Broncos controlled their own destiny. Four wins would give them their first Penrose Cup in school history.
The story was too good to be true. The Pioneers came into Lawson and silenced the Lunatics with 5-2 and 3-1 wins. Friday night was a penalty-filled affair, with 33 combined penalty minutes and four power play goals. The Pioneers had the advantage, however, going 3-for-9 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
The Broncos faced similar issues on the power play on Saturday, replicating their 1-for-6 mark from the previous night. Denver goaltender Magnus Chrona stood tall with 30 saves and helped the Pioneers escape from an early 1-0 deficit. Jack Devine, Carter Mazur, and Massimo Rizzo scored for Denver. The game-winning goal was especially memorable for Mazur, as he was born in Jackson, Michigan, just an hour away from Kalamazoo.
Denver has now won back-to-back Penrose Cups and three total in NCHC history. Since the league started in 2013-14 only the Pioneers, North Dakota (5), and St. Cloud State (3) have won the regular-season championship.
Boston University Takes Control of Hockey East Standings
Photo by @Bensfliks on Instagram
The Hockey East regular-season title will still be up for grabs in the final week of the regular season. Boston University (48 points, 22 games played), Merrimack (47 points, 23 games played), and Northeastern (46 points, 22 games played) are all still alive in the race for the #1 seed.
Last weekend, Boston University rebounded from four-straight losses and swept Vermont on the road, jumping Northeastern in the process. Merrimack swept UMass-Lowell with a 5-3 win on the road and a 2-0 win at home. Northeastern took the only loss in the trio, as they were upset by Massachusetts 3-2 on the road on Friday night. The Huskies bounced back and earned a split with a 4-0 home win on Saturday.
Next weekend, Boston University plays a home-and-home against Providence (T-6th in Hockey East), Merrimack hosts Vermont (11th), and Northeastern plays a home-and-home against UMass-Lowell (5th).
Alaska Sweeps Arizona State on the Road, Now #12 in Pairwise
A huge road sweep over Arizona State has the Alaska Nanooks primed for their second trip ever to the NCAA tournament. As an unaffiliated team (meaning they do not belong to an NCAA Hockey conference), the only way the Nanooks could qualify for the postseason is through an at-large bid. Alaska is currently #12 in the Pairwise rankings.
Alaska won both games 4-2. On Friday night sophomore forward Peyton Matsui scored a hat trick, including the eventual game-winning goal shorthanded in the first period. On Saturday Arizona State fought back, taking a 2-0 lead on two power play goals. However, by the end of the second period, Alaska had tied the game with goals from Garrett Pyke and Chase Dubois. Then in the third period, sophomore forward Simon Falk scored twice in a five-minute span to propel Alaska to a sweep.
Alaska is now 13-1 against other unaffiliated teams this season (Alaska-Anchorage [6-0], Arizona State [4-0], and Long Island [3-1]). The Nanooks host Lindenwood in their last series of the season next weekend.
Splits against Denver (#3 in Pairwise), Notre Dame (#14), and Omaha (#16) earlier this season are one of the biggest reasons for Alaska's high ranking. The only teams to sweep the Nanooks this season are Penn State (#8) and Michigan Tech (#12).
#1 Minnesota Sweeps #7 Ohio State
So much for the curse on the #1 seed. Everything College Hockey's top team Minnesota continued their dominance with 5-2 and 4-0 wins over #7 Ohio State at Mariucci. The Gophers are now 15-3 at home and are scoring over four goals/game this season.
Ohio State ran into penalty trouble on Friday night, taking seven penalties and giving up two 5-on-3 goals. Junior defenseman Mike Koster scored twice, his fourth and fifth goals of the season, and goaltender Justen Close made 23 saves for the Gophers in the win.
The Buckeyes responded with a pair of 5-on-3 goals of their own on Saturday night, scoring with three seconds left in the first and just over a minute into the second period to take a 2-0 lead. That margin didn't last long however. The Gophers scored three times in the second period, including two points each from Matthew Knies (one goal, one assist), Logan Cooley (one goal, one assist), and Jimmy Snuggerud (two assists) to make it 3-2 by the second intermission. The trio's second goal was one of their prettiest of the season, with Cooley finishing in close after receiving a no-look, between-the-legs pass from Knies. The Gophers would add two more goals in the third from Bryce Brodzinski and Ryan Johnson, celebrating their senior night accordingly.
Minnesota will have a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament and will host the lowest-remaining seed in a semifinal at Mariucci in two weekends. According to College Hockey News' Pairwise matrix, the Gophers can finish no lower than the #2 overall seed in this year's NCAA tournament.
- NCHC Standings
1. Denver: Swept Western Michigan on the road with 5-2, 3-1 wins. (50 Points)
2. Omaha: Split with St. Cloud State at home with 6-2 loss, 6-2 win. (41 Points)
T-3. Western Michigan: Swept by Denver at home with 5-2, 3-1 losses. (39 Points)
T-3. St. Cloud State: Split with Omaha on the road with 6-2 win, 6-2 loss. (39 Points)
5. Minnesota-Duluth: Split with Miami at home with 3-2 win, 4-1 loss. (29 Points)
6. North Dakota: "Swept" Colorado College on the road with 2-1 OT win, 0-0 SO win. (28 Points)
7. Colorado College: "Swept by" North Dakota at home with 2-1 OT loss, 0-0 SO loss. (25 Points)
8. Miami: Split with Minnesota-Duluth on the road with 3-2 loss, 4-1 win. (13 Points)
Big Ten Final Standings / Postseason Bracket
1. Minnesota - 57 Points
2. Michigan - 38 Points
3. Ohio State - 36 Points
4. Notre Dame - 35 Points
T-5. Penn State - 34 Points
T-5. Michigan State - 34 Points
7. Wisconsin - 18 Points
All seven teams qualify. Minnesota gets a bye this weekend and the remaining teams play a best-of-three series. Michigan hosts Wisconsin, Ohio State hosts Michigan State, and Notre Dame hosts Penn State. The series' winners move onto the semifinals.
Following the quarterfinals, a single-game elimination bracket begins. Minnesota plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals. All games are hosted on campus by the higher seed.
CCHA Final Standings / Postseason Bracket
1. Minnesota State - 52 Points
2. Michigan Tech - 50 Points
3. Bowling Green - 41 Points
T-4. Northern Michigan - 39 Points
T-4. Bemidji State - 39 Points
6. Ferris State - 34 Points
7. St. Thomas - 32 Points
8. Lake Superior - 25 Points
All eight teams qualify. In the quarterfinals Minnesota State hosts Lake Superior, Michigan Tech hosts St. Thomas, Bowling Green hosts Ferris State, and Northern Michigan hosts Bemidji State in best-of-three series.
The semifinals and championship are a single-game elimination tournament between the four remaining seeds. The two-highest remaining and highest-remaining teams host those games on campus, respectively.
Hockey East Standings
1. Boston University: Swept Vermont on the road with 5-3, 3-0 wins. (48 Points, 22 GP)
2. Merrimack: Swept UMass-Lowell with 5-3 win on the road, 2-0 win at home. (47 Points, 23 GP)
3. Northeastern: Split with Massachusetts with 3-2 loss on the road, 4-0 win at home. (46 Points, 22 GP)
4. Connecticut: Beat New Hampshire at home 6-1. (38 Points)
5. UMass-Lowell: Swept by Merrimack with 5-3 loss at home, 2-0 loss on the road. (36 Points)
T-6. Maine: Swept Boston College at home with 6-3, 2-1 wins. (32 Points)
T-6. Providence: No games scheduled. (32 Points)
8. Boston College: Swept by Maine on the road with 6-3, 2-1 losses. (27 Points)
9. New Hampshire: Lost to Connecticut on the road 6-1. (23 Points)
10. Massachusetts: Split with Northeastern with 3-2 win at home, 4-0 loss on the road. (22 Points)
11. Vermont: Swept by Boston University at home with 5-3, 3-0 losses. (15 Points)
ECAC Final Standings / Postseason Bracket
1. Quinnipiac - 60 Points
2. Harvard - 49 Points
3. Cornell - 47 Points
4. St. Lawrence - 37 Points
5. Colgate: 36 Points
6. Clarkson - 31 Points
T-7. Rensselaer - 26 Points
T-7. Union - 26 Points
T-7. Princeton - 26 Points
10. Yale - 22 Points
11. Brown - 20 Points
12. Dartmouth - 16 Points
All 12 teams qualify. Quinnipiac, Harvard, Cornell, and St. Lawrence receive byes in the first round. Colgate hosts Dartmouth, Clarkson hosts Brown, Rensselaer hosts Yale, and Union hosts Princeton on campus for a single-elimination game.
The winners are then reseeded and play a best-of-three series on the campuses of the higher seeds. The series' winners then play the single-elimination semifinal and championship rounds at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Atlantic Hockey Final Standings / Postseason Bracket
1. RIT - 57 Points
2. AIC - 47 Points
3. SHU - 45 Points
4. Canisius - 41 Points
5. Army - 39 Points
6. Niagara - 38 Points
7. Holy Cross - 37 Points
8. Mercyhurst - 35 Points
9. Bentley - 27 Points
10. Air Force - 24 Points
The top eight teams qualify, which means Bentley and Air Force are done for the season. In the quarterfinals, RIT hosts Mercyhurst, AIC hosts Holy Cross, Sacred Heart hosts Niagara, and Canisius hosts Army in best-of-three series hosted by the higher seed.
The winners of those series move on to play single-game elimination semifinals and the championship game, with the higher seeds hosting. All games are played on campus.
Independent Roundup
Alaska: Swept Arizona State on the road with 4-2, 4-2 wins.
Alaska-Anchorage: Beat Long Island on the road 4-0, plays Long Island on Sunday.
Arizona State: Swept by Alaska at home with 4-2, 4-2 losses.
Lindenwood: Played the U-S Under-18 Team on the road.
Long Island: Lost to Alaska-Anchorage at home 4-0, plays Alaska-Anchorage on Sunday.
Stonehill: No games scheduled.
