ECH Weekend Review: January 13-15
By Alex Berger - Jan 18, 2023
Photo by Sacred Heart University
The conference schedule got into full swing this weekend, with 20 such games being played on both Friday and Saturday night. Here are some of the biggest storylines from the past weekend.
Later in the article you will find each conference and the results from each team's games this weekend. The teams are listed in order of their current conference standings.
Sacred Heart Opens Martire Family Arena, BC Spoils Opener
Everything College Hockey was on scene on Saturday night as Sacred Heart opened Martire Family Arena, the university's brand-new $70-million dollar, 3,600-seat rink.
Despite the festivities, the Pioneers dropped the inaugural game 3-2 in overtime to Boston College. Defenseman Connor Hutchinson scored the first ever goal at Martire on the power play, a twisted wrister from the top of the slot, early in the second period. However, BC tied the game with a shorthanded goal and then took a 2-1 lead just 32 seconds into the third. Sacred Heart tied the game midway through the third after Kevin Lombardi tipped a shot from the point past BC goalie Mitch Benson. The score remained 2-2 until the end of regulation, and Marshall Warren was the hero for the Eagles. Warren collected a pass from Andre Gasseau and labeled a wrist shot glove side for the win. Gasseau had three points in the win (one goal, two assists) as BC improved to #17 in the Pairwise rankings.
The Sacred Heart Women's Hockey team played their first game at Martire Family Arena on Sunday afternoon. Thanks to an incredible performance by goaltender Carly Greene with 54 saves, the Pioneers hung on and pulled off the upset over Harvard with a 2-1 overtime victory.
Overall the weekend was a big success for both Pioneer programs, and is just the beginning of what's to come. Stay tuned for the ECH College Hockey GameDay video coming soon!
Western Michigan Sweeps North Dakota at the Ralph
As a North Dakota fan, this weekend sucked. The Fighting Hawks were swept at home by the Broncos after a 4-0 loss on Friday and a 7-6 loss on Saturday.
Friday night was self-explanatory, as Western Michigan had great goaltending from Cameron Rowe (25 saves) and Jason Polin did Jason Polin things with two goals and an assist. Polin leads the NCAA with 21 goals in 24 games this season. North Dakota defenseman Tyler Kleven was ejected after a contact-to-the-head major in the second period and was suspended in game two of the series.
Saturday night's game was one of the most exciting tilts in college hockey this season. With North Dakota in must-win mode, the Fighting Hawks came out swinging and led 3-2 after the first period. NoDak extended their lead to 5-2 with six minutes left in the second period, however Western Michigan then scored four unanswered goals to take a 6-5 lead. The Fighting Hawks responded and tied the game 6-6 on a power play with 4:09 left to play. That score did not stay for long though. The Broncos scored the eventual game-winning goal just 75 seconds later.
21 different players registered a point in Saturday night's game and the teams combined to go 6-for-10 on the power play. Broncos' junior forward Luke Grainger had six points (two goals, four assists). Shockingly, despite scoring seven goals Western Michigan's top line of Polin, McAllister, and Sasson combined for zero points on Saturday night.
St. Thomas Gets First-Ever Ranked Win
Despite a 6-15-1 record so far this season, the St. Thomas Tommies are slowly making progress in the CCHA. That was evident on Saturday night in their 3-2 win on the road against Michigan Tech (Entered the game ranked #13 in USCHO Poll). It was the Tommies' first-ever win over a ranked opponent in their school's history.
In a tight contest against the Huskies, St. Thomas erased two one-goal deficits and took their first lead of the game with 3:33 left in the 3rd period. The game-winning goal was a great play off of a defensive faceoff. The Tommies won the draw, cleared the puck, won a battle along the boards, and Luc Laylin converted on a beautiful 2-on-1 rush. Freshman defenseman Caron Peters had two assists in the win.
Bowling Green Sweeps Bemidji State, Now First In CCHA
With Minnesota-State Mankato not playing any conference games this weekend, Bowling Green had a great opportunity to make up some ground in the CCHA standings.
They did just that with a home sweep over Bemidji State (4-2 win on Friday, 5-2 on Saturday). 6 of the Falcons' 11 goals this weekend were not at even strength (1 PP, 2 SH, 3 EN). The pair of shorthanded goals both were scored in Friday night's win. Forwards Alex Barber (3 assists) and Taylor Schneider (2 goals, 1 assist) led Bowling Green with three points on the weekend.
Minnesota-State trails Bowling Green by five points in the CCHA standings but has two games in hand. The Mavericks get back to conference play next weekend against Lake Superior State. Bowling Green hosts Minnesota-State for a two-game series on January 27 and 28.
For those keeping track, the Falcons have swept three series in a row now. Which means their legendary Equipment Manager Scott Jess (AKA "Scooter") has done his diamond cutter victory celebration back to back to back weekends.
Penn State #3 In Pairwise Despite Losing Tough Series To Michigan State
Penn State had a tough time on the road against Michigan State this weekend. The Nittany Lions lost 3-2 in overtime on Friday night and lost in a shootout on Saturday night.
Despite the pair of losses, Penn State is currently third in the Pairwise. A 10-0-0 record against non-conference opponents and wins over Minnesota (#1), Ohio State (#6), and Michigan (#8) are likely the causes of their high ranking. Looking ahead, the Nittany Lions will play three straight series' against those teams beginning in just under two weeks.
NCHC Standings
Denver: Swept Miami at home, 7-0 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday. (29 Points)
SCSU: Split with Colorado College at home, 4-2 loss on Friday, 4-0 win on Saturday. (23 Points)
Omaha: Swept Duluth at home, 3-2 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday. (21 Points)
Colorado College: Split with St. Cloud State on the road, 4-2 win on Friday and 4-0 loss on Saturday. (20 Points)
Western Michigan: Swept North Dakota on the road, 4-0 on Friday and 7-6 on Saturday. (19 Points)
Minnesota-Duluth: Swept by Omaha on the road, 3-2 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday. (13 Points)
North Dakota: Swept by Western Michigan at home, 4-0 on Friday and 7-6 on Saturday. (12 Points)
Miami: Swept by Denver on the road, 7-0 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday. (7 Points)
Big Ten Standings
Minnesota: Split with Notre Dame on the road, 2-2 SO loss on Friday and 3-0 win on Saturday. (34 Points)
Ohio State: Split with Michigan on the road, 7-2 win on Friday and 4-2 loss on Saturday. (24 Points)
Michigan State: "Swept" Penn State at home, 3-2 OT win on Friday and 4-4 SO win on Saturday. (24 Points)
Penn State: "Swept by" Michigan State on the road, 3-2 OT loss on Friday and 4-4 SO loss on Saturday. (24 Points)
Notre Dame: Split with Minnesota at home, 2-2 SO win on Friday and 3-0 loss on Saturday. (17 Points)
Michigan: Split with Ohio State at home, 7-2 loss on Friday and 4-2 win on Saturday. (15 Points)
Wisconsin: 6-1 exhibition loss to U.S. Under-18 team on Friday. (6 Points)
CCHA Standings
Bowling Green: Swept Bemidji State at home, 4-2 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. (35 Points)
Minnesota State: Swept Arizona State on the road, 3-1 on Friday and 5-0 on Saturday. (30 Points)
Michigan Tech: Split with St. Thomas at home, 2-0 win on Friday and 3-2 loss on Saturday. (28 Points)
Bemidji State: Swept by Bowling Green on the road, 4-2 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. (25 Points)
Ferris State: Split with Lake Superior on the road, 4-0 win on Friday and 4-1 loss on Saturday. (23 Points)
Northern Michigan: No games scheduled. (18 Points)
St. Thomas: Split with Michigan Tech on the road, 2-0 loss on Friday and 3-2 win on Saturday. (17 Points)
Lake Superior: Split with Ferris State at home, 4-0 loss on Friday and 4-1 win on Saturday. (10 Points)
Hockey East Standings
Merrimack: Split with Providence at home, 8-3 loss on Friday and 3-0 win on Saturday. (30 Points)
Northeastern: 4-3 win on the road against Connecticut on Saturday night. (28 Points)
Connecticut: 4-3 loss to Northeastern at home on Saturday night. (27 Points)
Boston University: 4-3 win at home against Cornell on Saturday night. (26 Points)
Providence: Split with Merrimack on the road, 8-3 win on Friday and 3-0 loss on Saturday. (26 Points)
UMass-Lowell: Split with Maine on the road, 2-1 win on Friday and 5-3 loss on Saturday (20 Points)
Boston College: 3-2 OT win over Sacred Heart on Saturday. (19 Points)
Maine: Split with UMass-Lowell at home, 2-1 loss on Friday and 5-3 win on Saturday (12 Points)
Massachusetts: 1-3 loss at home against New Hampshire on Sunday. (11 Points)
New Hampshire: 3-1 win on the road against Massachusetts on Sunday. (8 Points)
Vermont: 4-0 loss at home to American International College on Saturday. (6 Points)
ECAC Standings
Quinnipiac: 5-2 road win against Long Island on Saturday. (36 Points)
Harvard: 4-1 home win against Clarkson on Friday, 5-0 home win against St. Lawrence on Saturday. (27 Points)
Cornell: 4-3 loss at Boston University on Saturday night. (22 Points)
Princeton: 5-2 home win against Long Island on Friday. (20 Points)
Colgate: No games scheduled. (19 Points)
St. Lawrence: 3-2 OT road win against Dartmouth on Friday, 5-0 road loss to Harvard on Saturday. (17 Points)
Clarkson: 4-1 road loss to Harvard on Friday, 5-4 road win over Dartmouth on Saturday. (14 Points)
Brown: 6-2 home win over Union on Friday, 3-0 home win over Rensselaer on Saturday. (13 Points)
Union: 6-2 road loss to Brown on Friday, 0-0 SO road win against Yale on Saturday. (11 Points)
Rensselaer: 4-1 road loss to Yale on Friday, 3-0 road loss to Brown on Saturday. (10 Points)
Yale: 4-1 home win over Rensselaer on Friday, 0-0 SO loss at home to Union on Saturday. (9 Points)
Dartmouth: 3-2 OT loss at home to St. Lawrence on Friday, 5-4 loss at home to Clarkson on Saturday. (6 Points)
Atlantic Hockey Standings
RIT: Split with Mercyhurst at home, 4-4 SO loss on Friday and 1-0 win on Saturday. (40 Points)
Sacred Heart: 3-2 OT loss at home to Boston College on Saturday. (31 Points)
American International: 4-0 win on the road against Vermont on Saturday. (27 Points)
Mercyhurst: Split with RIT on the road, 4-4 SO win on Friday and 1-0 loss on Saturday. (21 Points)
Holy Cross: Swept Air Force at home, 5-2 win on Friday and 4-1 win on Sunday. (21 Points)
Army: Split with Canisius at home, 2-0 win on Friday and 5-4 OT loss on Saturday. (19 Points)
Niagara: Swept by Bentley at home, 6-3 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday. (19 Points)
Canisius: Split with Army on the road, 2-0 loss on Friday and 5-4 OT win on Saturday. (13 Points)
Bentley: Swept Niagara on the road, 6-3 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday. (12 Points)
Air Force: 5-2 loss on the road to Holy Cross on Friday and 1-4 loss on Sunday. (7 Points)
Independent Roundup
Alaska: No games scheduled.
Alaska-Anchorage: No games scheduled.
Arizona State: Swept by Minnesota-State at home, 3-1 and 5-0.
Lindenwood: No games scheduled.
Long Island: 5-2 loss to Princeton on the road (Fri.), 5-2 loss to Quinnipiac at home (Sat.).
Stonehill: No games scheduled.
