ECH Weekend Review: November 17-19
written By Alex Berger - November 22nd, 2023A troubling trend is starting to take place at the top of the Everything College Hockey rankings. Every single weekend the #1 ranked team has played this year, they have lost. The only time the top-ranked team has stayed at #1 was this past week, when Wisconsin held their ranking after a week off. Just a week later the Badgers were swept by #9 Michigan State. If you take the results for what they are every week they may be shocking on their own; but when taken from a season-long perspective it shows that any given team can win on any given night.
On a side note, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which is as good a time as any to reflect on what you are grateful for in your life. To avoid the sappiness, we can collectively choose to be grateful for college hockey this holiday weekend. Whether it's school pride, connecting you closer to your family or friends, traveling to games, or following your favorite players after they leave for the NHL, college hockey gives us so much to cheer for every single weekend.
Speaking of the holiday, make sure to keep a close eye on scheduling this weekend. One of the best matchups of the entire week is later today -- #5 Boston University vs. #7 Quinnipiac -- and there are five games on Sunday, including a high-profile Big Ten matchup between Michigan State and Minnesota. The storylines for the 2023-'24 season are starting to take shape. Let's recap before we head into a big weekend of nonconference series across the country.
Photo: @msu_hockey on Twitter
- #9 Michigan State Sweeps #1 Wisconsin
With a week off following back-to-back sweeps over top-five teams, Wisconsin went into this weekend as the #1 team in the country behind a 9-1-0 record and a rejuvenated locker room under first-year head coach Mike Hastings. Their matchup against #9 Michigan State was the latest step in a season full of early tests.
On the other side of the ice, Michigan State has put together a solid under-the-radar schedule to begin the 2023-'24 season. All three of their losses have come on the road (including two to now #2 ranked Boston College), and have started conference play 5-0-1. They rank fourth in the country in goals/game (4.4), fourth in shots/game (36.1), eighth in power play percentage (26.8%), and 11th in Corsi For (54.6%). Nine of their players have scored at least four goals and ten total points this season, and their goaltender Trey Augustine has made the second-most saves in college hockey this season to pair with a 2.99 GAA. The Spartans have proved they're a well-rounded team that will be difficult to take down on their home ice.
Augustine's "coming out" party seemingly came last weekend, when he made 60 saves on 64 shots in the series sweep. On Friday night he faced 32 of those shots and helped keep the Badgers 0-for-3 on the power play. The freshman got some help from his team, however, as the Spartans spotted him four goals in the game. Michigan State would open the scoring late in the first period on a bit of a funky play. After a 3-on-2 chance was broken up, graduate senior forward Nicolas Muller broke off the rush, stayed in the offensive zone, and rushed into the slot after the Spartans won the puck back. He collected a pass and fired it past the glove of Badgers' goaltender Kyle McClellan to give Michigan State the lead. After tying the game at 1-1 in the second period, Wisconsin would give up two power play chances to the Spartans in just under two minutes. The Spartans would capitalize on the first chance, as Joey Larson and Artyom Levshunov put together two beautiful seam passes back-to-back to get the puck on Larson's stick with a wide open net.
Even though they didn't score on the second power play opportunity, junior forward Tanner Kelley would score a beautiful goal just 51 seconds after the end of the man advantage to give Michigan State a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission. Wisconsin would again make it a close game, with a goal from Sawyer Scholl eight minutes into the final frame, but Jeremy Davidson scored an empty-net goal with just under two minutes left to ice the 4-2 win for the Spartans.
It was another tight game on Saturday night, with Wisconsin even outshooting (30-28) and outdrawing (41-28) the Spartans. However, the scoresheet would read very similarly to Friday night's game. Michigan State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, Wisconsin would tie the game in the second period, and the Spartans would pull away from a two-goal lead late in the game. The only difference this time is that the Badgers kept the game tied through 40 minutes, thanks to a late goal from Owen Lindmark in the second period. With an important final 20 minutes in front of both teams, Michigan State would be the ones to pull away late. Joey Larson scored another clutch goal just under two minutes into the third -- a snipe from the low slot -- before captain Nash Nienhuis fluttered a puck past McClellan on a rebound shot to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead. Wisconsin would get an extra-attacker goal late in the game, but it wouldn't be enough. Michigan State would hold on for a 3-2 win and upset sweep over the #1 team in the country.
Despite a pair of close games, it was a disappointing power play that sunk Wisconsin during the two-game series. The Badgers went a combined 0-for-8 on the weekend and are now just 18.4% with the man advantage this season (36th in the NCAA). They have a favorable stretch to figure out their power play, with home series against Alaska-Anchorage (75% penalty kill, 56th in NCAA), Ohio State (78.4%, T-46th), and Penn State (78.4%, T-46th) over the next three weekends.
As for Michigan State, the weekend sweep moved them all the way up to #3 in the Everything College Hockey Poll, and they have a great series upcoming on the road against #8 Minnesota. With both teams on opposite ends of the Big Ten standings, this will be an important weekend for the Spartans to prove they're one of the conferences best and for the Gophers to get right back in the title race.
- Massachusetts Moves Into Top-10 With Home-And-Home Sweep Over #3 Providence
The hottest team is college hockey was cooled off this past weekend by a team still struggling to find their identity after their 2021 NCAA Title win. Massachusetts posted one of their best weekends in years with a home-and-home sweep over #3 Providence, ending the Friars nine-game unbeaten streak.
Going on the road in game one, the Minutemen bunkered down and survived a first period which saw them get outshot 18-7 and outscored 1-0. Luke Krys opened the scoring for Providence, firing a shot from the point through traffic to score his fourth goal of the season. After that barrage in the first period, Massachusetts rebounded with one of the best defensive efforts ever seen on a scoresheet. They allowed just four shots in the second period and one, yes one(!!!) shot on the goal in the third period to limit Providence to just 23 total shots on goal in the game (the Minutemen also blocked nine shots). Even though one of those four shots in the second period went in, Massachusetts had the momentum by the third for a 3-2 win on the road over the #3 team in the country. Lucas Mercuri was the hero in the comeback as he scored past a diving Philip Svedeback with just 48 seconds left in the game on a scramble in front of the net.
During another close game on Saturday, Massachusetts freshman goaltender Michael Hrabal posted one of the best games of his young career. Despite getting outshot 33-16 in the game, Hrabal made 31 saves in regulation to keep the game within a goal the entire way. The lone shot that made it past him came in the first period when Providence freshman Graham Gamache collected a great entry pass and finished a shot in close to score his first career goal. But despite the overwhelming pressure and four power play chances (including a five-minute major), Hrabal and Massachusetts kept it at 1-0 until late in the third period.
Sometimes in a close conference game, all you need is a bounce. That's exactly what the Minutemen got with just 2:50 to go in the game. A shot from the point from Lucas Vanroboys found it's way to the stick of forward Jack Muse. The freshman was able to deflect the puck and send it through a mass of bodies and past Svedeback to tie the game at 1-1 and send it to overtime. Just 70 seconds into the three-on-three frame defenseman Ryan Ufko scored one of the best goals we saw all weekend. He gathered the puck in the offensive zone, skated around every single Providence defender, and scored a Bobby Orr-esque diving goal across the Providence crease to seal the game and series for Massachusetts; an exciting end to a fantastic series for Minutemen fans.
A big key to the Minutemen's hot streak to start the season has been the play of defenseman Scott Morrow. The second-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes leads the team in assists (11), points (14), is fifth on the team in plus/minus rating (+3), and has ten blocked shots in 12 games so far this season. Make sure to keep an eye out for ECH's next "Day In The Life" video with Morrow, coming soon.
- Boston University Sweeps Maine In Top-10 Matchup
In the second top-ten matchup of the week, Boston University took on the surging Maine Black Bears at Agganis Arena in a huge Hockey East series. Heading into the weekend Maine was 6-1-1, third in the Hockey East standings, and coming off an upset win over #1 Boston College.
But despite a goal just 14 seconds into the series by Maine's Thomas Freel, Macklin Celebrini and BU would be too much for Maine, especially on the power play. The Terriers went 3-for-5 with the man advantage on Friday night on the way to a 3-2 win. Freel, who hadn't scored a goal all season for the Black Bears, scored twice for Maine in the loss. Celebrini, Ryan Greene, and Tom Willander all scored on the power play for Boston University.
Saturday's series finale was one of the best games of the whole weekend. Maine would once again jump out to an early lead thanks to Bradly Nadeau, who finished a great passing play from Lynden Breen and his brother Josh 10 minutes into the first period. But the talent was on display on the other end of the ice as well, as Quinn Hutson scored a highlight reel power play goal after seven seconds of skating through the defense and a twisted wrister from the right half wall. Five minutes into the second period Boston University would take a 2-1 lead after a great turnover and feed from Macklin Celebrini found it's way to Luke Tuch, who fired a perfectly placed shot past Maine goaltender Victor Ostman.
The back-and-forth play really kicked off in the third period with four goals in the first nine minutes to start the final frame. At the end of that stretch, BU was up 5-2 and Ostman was pulled after giving up two goals in under two minutes after Maine had scored on the power play to keep it a one-goal game. That final goal from Devin Kaplan would end up being the game-winner and sweep-clincher. Despite 20 shots on goal in the final 20 minutes and two goals late in the third, Maine could not complete the comeback and would lose the series finale 5-4. The Black Bears should feel good about how they played against one of Hockey East's best teams. Maine dominated play in game two, outshooting the Terriers 43-24 and outworking them in the faceoff circle 39-28.
Boston University has now won four-straight games since splitting with now #1 North Dakota at home earlier this month. Two big nonconference games against Quinnipiac (more on that later) and Cornell are upcoming for the Terriers this week. That game against the Big Red will be held at Madison Square Garden, a fantastic venue for what should be a great top-20 matchup this Saturday.
- Persson, North Dakota Sweep Miami; Move To #1
The first matchup of the season between the Fighting Hawks and RedHawks had a little extra buzz this year, as former Miami goaltender Ludvig Persson started against his longtime team for the first time in his career. Persson played in 72 games over three years for Miami before transferring to North Dakota this summer. The Swede is in the midst of a career year already, posting the most wins (9), his best goals against average (2.00), and tying his season-high in shutouts (2) just 12 games into the season.
Surprisingly, it was an off night for Persson in game one against Miami. He let in a season-high four goals on a season-low 13 shots against, including two goals in a 51 second span midway through the second period. Luckily for the former RedHawk, he was on the other side of the North Dakota matchup this time around. The Fighting Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and scored three more unanswered goals when Miami responded with their pair of goals in the second. North Dakota seemingly pulled off the gas pedal late, and the RedHawks scored twice in the last 2:30 of the game (including once on a 4-on-3 power play) to make the final score a little closer. Even though they won 6-4, NoDak should've/could've/would've run up the score with a 42-13 shots on goal advantage in the opener.
In a complete inverse, North Dakota played one of the toughest games yet of this young season and somehow blew out Miami 5-1 in the series finale. The RedHawks tied NoDak in shots on goal (22-22) and had five power play opportunities (0-for-5), but could not get the puck past Persson like they could on Friday night. After going down 1-0 early in the first period, Miami responded just under three minutes later on a 2-on-1 to tie the game. It looked as though it would be a tight rematch but North Dakota would score three more times in the first period -- including back-to-back unassisted breakaway goals from Riese Gaber and Jackson Blake -- to take a 4-1 lead heading into the first intermission. Despite getting outshot the rest of the way, North Dakota would get another goal from freshman Jayden Perron and hang on to win 5-1.
"Friends of the Pod" Gaber and Blake were two of many electric NoDak skaters on the ice over the weekend. Those two and top line center Owen McLaughlin combined for five goals and four assists in the two-game sweep over Miami. What's even more impressive is that McLaughlin missed Saturday night's game. Other multi-point players over the weekend include Jayden Perron (2 goals - 0 assists - 2 points in two games), Hunter Johannes (1-2-3), and Cameron Berg (0-2-2). Outside of their power play (17.4%, 38th in NCAA) North Dakota has seemingly gotten their offense to click. With the sweep, the Fighting Hawks have now won five-straight games and move to #1 in the Everything College Hockey rankings. We'll see if they can be the first team this season to avoid being upset as the top team in the country when they face off against Bemidji State at home over Thanksgiving weekend.
- Quinnipiac Wins Fifth Straight, Eyes Matchup Against #5 BU
Another team that has won five-straight games is Quinnipiac, who has moved to 9-3-1 and undefeated in ECAC play this season (5-0-1 with a shootout loss). Their three losses this season have all come in overtime and without Hobey Baker finalist Collin Graf. Outside of the first game of the season when he got hurt just minutes into a matchup against Boston College, Graf has posted an insane 2.29 points/game mark this year (7 goals - 9 assists - 16 points in seven games). That leads all Quinnipiac skaters, but has been supported by five other point/game or better players; including Jacob Quillan who leads the Bobcats in goals (8) and points (19) through 13 games this season.
This past weekend Quinnipiac continued their recent offensive hot streak. They blitzed Cornell goaltender Ian Shane for three goals on nine shots just 10:20 into the game on Friday night, and added five more on backup Remington Keopple to boat-race the Big Red 8-4. Including this past weekend's games, Quinnipiac has scored 31 goals in their five-game win streak (6.2 goals/game). That's better than any five-game stretch during last season's national championship winning team.
In the fifth win, the Bobcats beat Colgate thanks to a three-point night from Jacob Quillan (2-1-3, 18-for-27 on faceoffs) and four-assist night from defenseman Cooper Moore. Quillan opened the scoring just 45 seconds into the game to get the home crowd into it early, but Colgate would bounce back after an eventual two-goal lead. The Raiders would rally in the second period with two goals in 1:30 and would again tie the game after falling behind 3-2, but got into penalty trouble in the third and eventually fell to the ECAC leaders 7-4.
Although it is much too early to bring up the Pairwise, it is worth noting that on Wednesday Quinnipiac (#1 in Pairwise, #7 in ECH Rankings) will have a huge matchup against Boston University (#2, #5) in one of the biggest matchups of the week and a matchup of the two top teams in that metric. After dropping their season opener to the Terriers' rival Boston College, Quinnipiac should hopefully be fired up for a huge road matchup against one of the best teams in the country. If you aren't doing anything at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT, make sure you are watching that game. It could very well be one of the best games of the entire season.
- NCHC Standings
1. St. Cloud State (18 Points): Swept Minnesota-Duluth at home with 2-1, 6-5 wins
2. North Dakota (12 Points): Swept Miami at home with 6-4, 5-1 wins
3. Western Michigan (10 Points): Swept Colorado College on the road with 3-1, 4-0 wins
4. Denver (9 Points): Split with Omaha at home with 8-4 win, 4-3 loss
5. Colorado College (6 Points): Swept by Western Michigan at home with 3-1, 4-0 losses
6. Omaha (5 Points): Split with Denver on the road with 8-4 loss, 4-3 win
T-7. Miami (0 Points): Swept by North Dakota on the road with 6-4, 5-1 losses
T-7. Minnesota-Duluth (0 Points): Swept by St. Cloud State on the road with 2-1, 6-5 losses
- Big Ten Standings
1. Michigan State (16 Points): Swept Wisconsin at home with 4-2, 3-2 wins
T-2. Wisconsin (12 Points): Swept by Michigan State on the road with 4-2, 3-2 losses
T-2. Notre Dame (12 Points): Split with Minnesota on the road with 4-2 win, 4-1 loss
4. Michigan (9 Points): Split with Penn State at home with 6-4 win, 5-3 loss
5. Penn State (8 Points): Split with Michigan on the road with 6-4 loss, 5-3 win
6. Minnesota (7 Points): Split with Notre Dame at home with 4-2 loss, 4-1 win
7. Ohio State (2 Points): No games scheduled
- CCHA Standings
1. Bemidji State (13 Points): Split with Minnesota State on the road with 5-1 loss, 7-6 win
2. St. Thomas (12 Points): No games scheduled
3. Northern Michigan (9 Points): Swept Alaska at home with 3-1, 3-1 wins
T-4. Lake Superior (8 Points): Split with Bowling Green at home with 5-3 loss, 5-4 OT win
T-4. Minnesota State (8 Points): Split with Bemidji State at home with 5-1 win, 7-6 loss
6. Michigan Tech (7 Points): Split with Ferris State at home with 3-2 OT loss, 3-2 win
7. Ferris State (5 Points): Split with Michigan Tech on the road with 3-2 OT win, 3-2 loss
8. Bowling Green (4 Points): Split with Lake Superior on the road with 5-3 win, 5-4 OT loss
- Hockey East Standings
1. Boston University (17 Points): Swept Maine at home with 3-2, 5-4 wins
2. Providence (15 Points): Swept by Massachusetts with 3-2 loss at home, 2-1 OT loss on the road
T-3. Boston College (13 Points): Swept Connecticut with 5-4 OT win at home, 3-0 win on the road
T-3. New Hampshire (13 Points): Swept Northeastern with 4-2 win on the road, 4-0 win at home
5. Massachusetts (11 Points): Swept Providence with 3-2 win on the road, 2-1 OT win at home
6. Maine (10 Points): Swept by Boston University on the road with 3-2, 5-4 losses
T-7. Connecticut (9 Points): Swept by Boston College with 5-4 OT loss on the road, 3-0 loss at home
T-7.Merrimack (9 Points): "Split with" UMass-Lowell with 2-1 SO win at home, 3-2 OT loss on the road
9. Vermont (8 Points): Lost to AIC on the road 2-1
10. UMass-Lowell (7 Points): "Split with" Merrimack with 2-1 SO loss on the road, 3-2 OT win at home
11. Northeastern (2 Points): Swept by New Hampshire with 4-2 loss at home, 4-0 loss on the road
- ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac (16 Points): Beat Cornell 8-4 at home, beat Colgate 7-4 at home
T-2. Brown (9 Points): Lost to Clarkson 3-2 OT at home, beat St. Lawrence 2-1 at home
T-2. Colgate (9 Points): Beat Princeton 6-3 on the road, lost to Quinnipiac 7-4 on the road
T-2. Cornell (9 Points): Lost to Quinnipiac 8-4 on the road, lost to Princeton 2-1 OT on the road
T-2. Dartmouth (9 Points): No games scheduled
T-6. Clarkson (8 Points): Beat Brown 3-2 OT on the road, beat Yale 2-1 on the road
T-6. Princeton (8 Points): Lost to Colgate 6-3 at home, beat Cornell 2-1 OT at home
8. Harvard (7 Points): No games scheduled
T-9. Rensselaer (6 Points): No games scheduled
T-9. Union (6 Points): No games scheduled
T-9. Yale (6 Points): Beat St. Lawrence 5-0 at home, lost to Clarkson 2-1 at home
12. St. Lawrence (3 Points): Lost to Yale 5-0 on the road, lost to Brown 2-1 on the road
- Atlantic Hockey Standings
1. RIT (17 Points): No games scheduled
2. Sacred Heart (16 Points): No games scheduled
T-3. Niagara (13 Points): Swept Robert Morris with 6-2 win at home, 4-1 win on the road
T-3. Holy Cross (13 Points): Swept Bentley with 2-0 win at home, 2-0 win on the road, 3-2 loss to Army at Home on Tuesday
T-5. AIC (12 Points): Beat Vermont at home 2-1, Beat Bentley 4-2 at home on Tuesday
T-5. Bentley (12 Points): Swept by Holy Cross with 2-0 loss on the road, 2-0 loss at home, 4-2 loss to AIC on the road Tuesday
T-7. Air Force (10 Points): Split with Mercyhurst on the road with 5-2 win, 5-1 loss
T-7. Canisius (10 Points): Split with Army on the road with 6-4 win, 2-1 loss, Beat RMU 5-1 at home on Tuesday
T-7. Mercyhurst (10 Points): Split with Air Force at home with 5-2 loss, 5-1 win
10. Army (7 Points): Split with Canisius at home with 6-4 loss, 2-1 win, Beat Holy cross 3-2 on the road Tuesday
11. Robert Morris (6 Points): Swept by Niagara with 6-2 loss on the road, 4-1 loss at home, 5-1 loss to Canisius on the road Tuesday
- Independent Roundup
Alaska: Swept by Northern Michigan with 3-1, 3-1 losses
Alaska-Anchorage: Swept by Arizona State on the road with 4-3, 3-0 losses
Arizona State: Swept Alaska-Anchorage at home with 4-3, 3-0 wins
Augustana: No games scheduled
Lindenwood: Split with Long Island at home with 3-0 win, 6-2 loss
Long Island: Split with Lindenwood on the road with 3-0 loss, 6-2 win
Stonehill: Lost to Anna Maria at home 4-2 (DIII)
