ECH Weekend Review: February 9-12
written By Alex Berger - February 15, 2024:Happy late Valentine's Day to all of you college hockey lovers out there. After a full slate of games and the Beanpot championship this past weekend, there's a lot to recap as we head into the final stretch of regular-season games.
Coming up in just a few days we have three top-20 matchups -- including #1 Boston College vs. #17 Massachusetts, #2 North Dakota vs. #12 Colorado College, and #3 Boston University vs. #11 Providence -- along with a Border Battle rematch between #9 Maine and New Hampshire. Six of those eight teams would be in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today, with the other two (New Hampshire and Colorado College) right on the edge of the Pairwise bubble. If you're lucky enough to go to one of those games, you're in for a great preview of postseason hockey!
The biggest change with our weekly reviews is this week's Mike Richter Award watchlist. The Hockey Commissioners Association officially announced the ten semifinalists for the award on Wednesday, including four from the Big Ten alone. We'll still rank them every week, but from this point forward those are the only names you will see listed in our top five and honorable mentions categories. We'll do the same when the Hobey Baker finalists are announced, and when both awards announce their respective top three.
- #18 Northeastern Wins 71st Beanpot With Overtime Thriller Over #3 BU
For the second straight Monday, college hockey fans got an absolute show curtesy of the Beanpot at TD Garden. We had one of our very own ECH reporters on the scene - Arianna Ottrando - to cover it all - stay tuned for the full recap tomorrow featuring exclusive interviews from Northeastern players and head coach Jerry Keefe!
- Michigan State Wins 'Duel in the D,' Sweeps Rival Michigan
Three weeks after their last matchup, conference rivals Michigan and Michigan State met for the second and final time of the season this weekend, including their annual 'Duel in the D' in Detroit. With both teams winning on the road during their last series, it would be an interesting dynamic for Big Ten points with a game at Yost and at Little Caesars Arena.
The Wolverines got the home crowd into it first on Friday night, as Gavin Brindley scored his 16th of the season with a highlight-reel goal 10 minutes into the second period. The sophomore brought the puck in on a late-developing 3-on-2, toe dragged around a defender, and labeled a wrister past the blocker of MSU goaltender Trey Augustine. But just 25 seconds later, the Spartans responded with a crowd silencer from their fourth line. Junior right winger Tanner Kelly took a puck off the half wall, skated right to the net, and scored with a forehand-backhand move into the open net.
After a tight game through the first 40 minutes, Michigan State dominated in the final period. Daniel Russell scored to give MSU the lead, which Maxim Strabak doubled just a few minutes later. Augustine would stop all eight shots he faced in the third, coupled with empty-net goals from Red Savage and Jeremy Davidson to ice the game at 5-1. It was the second win at Yost for Michigan State this year, the first time since 2017 they've taken road games from their rival in the same season.
Game two moved 40 miles east, as the teams matched up in front of 18,000 at a sold-out Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. It was a another tight game, as neither team had a two-goal lead until late in the second period. That was Michigan State, who capitalized off of a great forecheck to get the puck to the net with numbers. Tanner Kelly, who scored the opening goal of the game, got Wolverines' goaltender Jake Barczewski to slide to his right before spinning a pass out to Karsen Dorwart. The sophomore forward was wide open in the slot and fired the puck into the open net, putting the Spartans up 3-1.
After going down by two, Michigan seemingly controlled play in the final period. A backdoor tip in front of the net from Gavin Brindley (his second of the weekend) cut the lead to one, and the Wolverines pulled the goalie with nearly 90 seconds left in the game. But time ran out to get a puck past Trey Augustine, and Michigan State stood tall for the 3-2 win and series sweep.
With the win, the Spartans claim the 'Iron D' trophy for just the second time and first since 2016, when they beat their rivals by an identical score (the trophy was introduced during the 2015-16 season). Michigan is still 5-1-1 since then, and leads the overall 'Duel in the D' series 19-12-5.
Alongside the sting of being swept by your rival, Michigan also has to deal with the worries of being firmly on the Pairwise bubble. They currently rank #15, and would be the first team out if the season ended today. They play Penn State (#23), Notre Dame (#21), and Minnesota (#8) to end their regular season, and need to string some wins together to stay up in the Pairwise. A bad loss or two before the start of postseason could leave them needing to win the Big Ten Playoffs to make their fifth-straight NCAA tournament.
- Justen Close Posts Back-To-Back Shutouts For #8 Minnesota
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, the hottest goaltender in college hockey seems to get better as the season goes on. After 66 total saves last weekend on the road against Wisconsin, graduate senior Justen Close posted two-straight shutouts against Penn State in a pair of 3-0 wins for the Golden Gophers. In his last five games, Close has gone 4-0-1 with a .981 SV% and 0.59 GAA.
The series started with a bang for Minnesota and Hobey Baker nominee Rhett Pitlick. The junior scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season on the first two shots of the game for either team, giving the Gophers a 2-0 lead under four minutes into the game. The biggest turning point, however, came late in the second period when Minnesota got into penalty trouble. A five-minute major from Carl Fish and minor penalties from Aaron Huglen and Jaxon Nelson gave the Nittany Lions two separate extended 5-on-3 power play chances. But the Minnesota penalty kill locked in for one of their biggest shifts of the season, keeping the game at 2-0 headed into the second intermission. Close was the best player on the ice for that five-minute stretch (he made 19 saves in the second period alone), and even flashed the leather with a great glove save as the final seconds of the power play wound down. Then, just a minute into the third period, the Gophers would put the game away with a goal from Connor Kurth.
It was a similar storyline in the Saturday matinee. This time it was Aaron Huglen who posted a two-goal period, the first multi-goal game of his career, to give Minnesota the 2-0 lead in the second period. Penn State put 30 shots on goal for the second-straight night, but couldn't solve Close again. Mason Nevers scored on a great individual effort late in the third period to put the the away game for the Gophers, and Close held on for his second shutout of the weekend on 66 total saves.
Thanks to the resurgence in net, Minnesota has silently posted one of the best second halves of the season in all of college hockey. They have gone 9-2-1, including wins over current top-12 teams Colorado College (#12), Michigan State (#4), and Wisconsin (#5). The fans are surely feeling the surge too, as 3M at Mariucci set a regular-season record with 21,310 in attendance for the weekend series. Although they may be out of the running for the Big Ten regular season title, they currently rank #8 in the Pairwise heading into mid-February. They're turning into less of a "dark horse" to make the Frozen Four in St. Paul, a place where they'd likely have home-ice advantage.
- #9 Maine, #11 Providence Split Wild Series At Alfond
In one of the biggest Hockey East series of the weekend, #9 Maine hosted #11 Providence for a pair of games at the Alfond. The Black Bears' home rink has continued to be one of the most electric in college hockey this season, and welcomed in their eighth sellout of the season on Friday night.
For fans expecting an offensive shootout, they might have been a bit disappointed during game one. Maine's Albin Boija and Providence's Philip Svedeback combined for 48 saves on 51 combined shots and helped their teams kill off six of seven total penalty kills. The only goal on the power play came from Maine, as Josh Nadeau got a pass from his brother Bradly and roofed a puck above the shoulder of Svedeback for the game's opening goal. Just five minutes later, freshman forward Anthony Calafiore buried a rebound in the front of the net, scoring his first career goal to make it a 2-0 game.
Providence would get a puck past Albin Boija a couple of minutes later, but the freshman stood tall throughout the rest of the game. The Swedish netminder made 11 saves in the third period alone, including a huge breakaway save to keep the game at 2-1. That score would hold, and Boija moved his career record to 5-1-1 (including three wins in the last three weeks). He's turned into a nice compliment to senior Victor Ostman who's having a great season of his own (13-4-1, 2.66 GAA, .897 SV%).
Boija played well enough to earn the start again in game two, and helped kill off seven Providence power plays. The problem is that Maine took nine penalties in the game, including five in the third period, which the Friars took full advantage off. After a back-and-forth game which saw five combined power play goals, Providence would tie the game late on a weird scramble in front of the net, and send the game to overtime. Just 23 seconds in and with a 4-on-3 power play the Friars would set their top unit up, pass the puck around the zone, and get it on the stick of Guillaume Richard on the left circle. The junior defenseman fired a slapshot past Boija for the overtime game winner.
With the series win, Maine kept their spot in third place in the Hockey East standings, nine points behind first-place Boston University with two conference games in hand. Providence is currently tied for fourth with Massachusetts, five points clear of Connecticut for a coveted first-round bye in the conference postseason tournament. Both the Black Bears (vs. UNH, Northeastern, Vermont, Massachusetts) and Friars (vs. Boston U., UMass-Lowell, Merrimack, and Boston U., Northeastern) have an interesting slate of opponents to end the regular season. Their respective races in the Hockey East + Pairwise will be some of the most interesting to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
- Stonehill Skyhawks Win First D-1 Game In Program History
After putting up with months of blowout losses and becoming a recurring joke on 'Pucks In Deep,' the college hockey world rallied around the Stonehill Skyhawks this past weekend. After 28-straight losses to begin the season -- and a night after dropping a 10-1 loss at home to Lindenwood -- the newest team in NCAA D1 hockey posted the program's first-ever win at the highest level of the sport.
179 were in attendance to witness history in Bridgewater, MA, a defensive slugfest between the two teams. Stonehill blocked 30 total shots, led by defenseman Greg Japchen and Cam Mannion, with eight and seven respectively. All those blocked shots led the Skyhawks to a 6-for-7 mark on the penalty kill (86%) and holding Lindenwood to just 29 shots on goal the entire game.
After a scoreless first period Stonehill would open the scoring early in the second. Sophomore forward Kyle Heath collected a pass in the slot, held the puck past a sliding defenseman, and fired it into the top corner just 49 seconds in to make it 1-0 Skyhawks. After a power play goal from Aiden Yakimchuck tied the game later that period, forward Jake LaRusso would be the hero for Stonehill in the third. In just the 12th game of his career, the freshman would score once on the power play (another snipe past the glove of Lindenwood goalie Trent Burnham) and once on a breakaway in the span of ten minutes. His second put the Skyhawks up 3-1 with just over four minutes to play.
Lindenwood would pressure with the extra-attacker, getting multiple scoring opportunities. David Gagnon would eventually find a goal in a scramble in front to cut the lead to one, and with time winding down the Lions would get a few more chances to tie the game. But another freshman for Stonehill, Anthony Galante, would be a hero as well. After winning a battle in his own end, Galante would collect the puck on the half wall and fire it 175 feet down the ice and into the empty net. As the clock hit zero the players poured off of the bench, celebrating their first win with college hockey fans across the country.
Before the historic win, there was a record watch in effect on Saturday night. According to our resident Stonehill expert Connor Thelemann, the Skyhawks had tied the overall D1 losing streak with 32-straight D1 losses from the beginning of 2022, their inaugural season. That record originally was set back in 1961-'62 by Colorado College. Although Stonehill was 0-29-0 before their Saturday night win, two of those games were against D3 teams, which do not count towards their D1 losing streak. With the Skyhawks' 1st win, that record will now be officially tied between Stonehill and CC.
- NCHC Standings
1. North Dakota (37 Points): No games scheduled
2. St. Cloud State (36 Points): Swept Miami on the road with 5-2, 3-1 wins
3. Western Michigan (29 Points): Split with Omaha at home with 6-1 win, 3-2 OT loss
4. Colorado College (27 Points): No games scheduled
5. Denver (26 Points): No games scheduled
6. Omaha (23 Points): Split with Western Michigan on the road with 6-1 loss, 3-2 OT win
7. Minnesota-Duluth (20 Points): No games scheduled
8. Miami (6 Points): Swept by St. Cloud State at home with 5-2, 3-1 losses
- Big Ten Standings
1. Michigan State (46 Points): Swept Michigan with 5-1 win on the road, 3-2 win at Little Caesars Arena ['Duel in the D']
2. Wisconsin (41 Points): Swept Notre Dame at home with 4-2, 3-2 wins
3. Minnesota (35 Points): Swept Penn State at home with 3-0, 3-0 wins
4. Notre Dame (27 Points): Swept by Wisconsin on the road with 4-2, 3-2 losses
5. Michigan (25 Points): Swept by Michigan State with 5-1 loss at home, 3-2 loss at Little Caesars Arena ['Duel in the D']
6. Penn State (17 Points): Swept by Minnesota on the road with 3-0, 3-0 losses
7. Ohio State (7 Points): No games scheduled
- CCHA Standings
1. Minnesota State (35 Points): Split with Michigan Tech on the road with 3-1 loss, 4-2 win
2. St. Thomas (34 Points): Swept by Augustana on the road with 4-2, 2-1 OT losses
3. Bemidji State (32 Points): "Swept" Northern Michigan on the road with 4-2, 4-3 SO wins
T-4. Bowling Green (30 Points): Swept Lake Superior at home with 6-3, 4-2 wins
T-4. Michigan Tech (30 Points): Split with Minnesota State at home with 3-1 win, 4-2 loss
6. Lake Superior (28 Points): Swept by Bowling Green on the road with 6-3, 4-2 losses
7. Northern Michigan (26 Points): "Swept by" Bemidji State at home with 4-2, 4-3 SO losses
8. Ferris State (16 Points): No games scheduled
- Hockey East Standings
1. Boston University (41 Points): Beat Merrimack at home 7-1, lost to Northeastern 4-3 OT at TD Garden [Beanpot]
2. Boston College (40 Points): Beat New Hampshire at home 6-1, beat Harvard 5-0 at TD Garden [Beanpot]
3. Maine (32 Points): Split with Providence at home with 2-1 win, 4-3 OT loss
T-4. Massachusetts (28 Points): Swept Connecticut with 2-0 win on the road, 3-1 win at home
T-4. Providence (28 Points): Split with Maine on the road with 2-1 loss, 4-3 OT win
6. Connecticut (23 Points): Swept by Massachusetts with 2-0 loss at home, 3-1 loss on the road
7. New Hampshire (22 Points): Lost to Boston College on the road 6-1, lost to Merrimack on the road 3-1
T-8. Northeastern (20 Points): Beat Boston University 4-3 OT at TD Garden [Beanpot]
T-8. Vermont (20 Points): "Swept" UMass-Lowell with 2-1 SO, 4-3 SO wins
10. Merrimack (15 Points): Lost to Boston University on the road 7-1, beat New Hampshire at home 3-1
11. UMass-Lowell (13 Points): "Swept by" Vermont with 2-1 SO, 4-3 SO losses
- ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac (41 Points): Lost to St. Lawrence on the road 3-1, beat Clarkson on the road 4-2
2. Cornell (33 Points): Beat Rensselaer on the road 4-1, beat Union on the road 6-1
3. Colgate (28 Points): Lost to Union on the road 5-3, "beat" Rensselaer on the road 6-5 SO
4. Clarkson (26 Points): Beat Princeton at home 4-2, lost to Quinnipiac at home 4-2
5. Union (25 Points): Beat Colgate at home 5-3, lost to Cornell at home 6-1
T-6. St. Lawrence (23 Points): Beat Quinnipiac at home 3-1, lost to Princeton at home 5-4 OT
T-6. Yale (23 Points): Beat Brown at home 3-1
T-8. Brown (20 Points): Lost to Yale on the road 3-1
T-8. Dartmouth (20 Points): "Lost to" Harvard on the road 6-5 SO
10. Harvard (19 Points): "Beat" Dartmouth at home 6-5 SO, lost to Boston College 5-0 at TD Garden [Beanpot]
11. Rensselaer (17 Points): Lost to Cornell at home 4-1, "lost to" Colgate at home 6-5 SO
12. Princeton (16 Points): Lost to Clarkson on the road 4-2, beat St. Lawrence on the road 5-4 OT
- Atlantic Hockey Standings
1. RIT (45 Points): Split with Mercyhurst on the road with 7-6 OT win, 3-2 loss
2. Sacred Heart (44 Points): Split with Air Force on the road with 3-2 win, 2-0 loss
3. Holy Cross (40 Points): No games scheduled
4. Bentley (36 Points): "Swept" Canisius on the road with 3-0, 3-2 SO wins
5. Air Force (35 Points): Split with Sacred Heart at home with 3-2 loss, 2-0 win
6. AIC (34 Points): "Split with" Niagara on the road with 4-2 loss. 5-4 SO win
7. Niagara (32 Points): "Split with" AIC at home with 4-2 win, 5-4 SO loss
8. Canisius (28 Points): "Swept by" Bentley at home with 3-0, 3-2 SO losses
9. Mercyhurst (25 Points): Split with RIT at home with 7-6 OT loss, 3-2 win
10. Robert Morris (24 Points): Split with Army on the road with 3-1 loss, 4-3 win
11. Army (23 Points): Split with Robert Morris at home with 3-1 win, 4-3 loss
- Independent Roundup
Alaska: Swept by Arizona State on the road with 2-0, 4-2 losses
Alaska-Anchorage: Split with Long Island at home with 2-1 loss, 3-1 win
Arizona State: Swept Alaska at home with 2-0, 4-2 wins
Augustana: Swept St. Thomas at home with 4-2, 2-1 OT wins
Lindenwood: Split with Stonehill on the road with 10-1 win, 4-2 loss
Long Island: Split with Alaska-Anchorage on the road with 2-1 win, 3-1 loss
Stonehill: Split with Lindenwood at home with 10-1 loss, 4-2 win
- Hobey Baker Award Watchlist
1. Macklin Celebrini, Fr. Forward, Boston University; 23 goals (T-1st), 19 assists (T-37th), 42 points (T-3rd), 1.62 points/game (T-2nd)
2. Gabe Perreault, Fr. Forward, Boston College; 13 goals (T-38th), 32 assists (2nd), 45 points (1st), 1.67 points/game (1st), four GWG (T-6th)
3. Jackson Blake, So. Forward, North Dakota; 17 goals (T-11th), 22 assists (T-16th), 39 points (T-7th), 1.39 points/game (11th), four GWG (T-6th)
4. Massimo Rizzo, Jr. Forward, Denver; 10 goals, 34 assists (1st), 44 points (2nd), 1.57 points/game (T-4th), +24 plus/minus rating (T-3rd)
5. Jack Devine, Jr. Forward, Denver; 21 goals (T-3rd in NCAA), 21 assists (T-25th), 42 points (T-3rd), 8 power play goals (T-6th), 1.50 points/game (7th)
Honorable Mentions: Collin Graf, (Quinnipiac), Cutter Gauthier (Boston College), Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota), Dylan Wendt (Western Michigan), and Josh Nadeau (Maine)
- Mike Richter Award Watchlist
(Stats Per Qualified Goaltenders in NCAA)
1. Kyle McClellan, Sr., Wisconsin; 20-6-1 record (T-1st in NCAA in wins), 1.89 GAA (3rd), 6 shutouts (1st), and .932 SV% (T-1st)
2. Justen Close, Gr. Minnesota; 17-7-5 (T-5th), 2.25 GAA (10th), 4 shutouts (T-2nd), .926 SV% (T-5th), and 826 saves (5th)
3. Ian Shane, Jr. Cornell; 15-2-4 (T-11th wins, 1st fewest losses), 1.62 GAA (1st), two shutouts (T-13th), .922 SV% (T-9th)
4. Ryan Bischel, Gr., Notre Dame; 14-14-2 record (T-13th), 2.46 GAA (21st), three shutouts (T-4th), .927 SV% (4th), and 920 saves (1st)
5. Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College; 20-5-1 record (1st), 2.23 GAA (9th), one shutout (T-26th), and .924 SV % (T-7th)
Honorable Mentions: Trey Augustine (Michigan State), Tommy Scarfone (RIT), Vinny Duplessis (Quinnipiac), Kaidan Mbereko (Colorado College), and Jake Sibell (St. Thomas)
-Pairwise Top-20 as of 2/15 (Credit: College Hockey News)
