ECH Weekend Review: October 13-15
written By Alex Berger - October 18th, 2023Down goes #1! After barely squeaking by Bentley last weekend, Boston University couldn't avoid the upset in New Hampshire this weekend, one of the biggest shocks yet this season. The Terriers loss (losses if you count their exhibition against the U.S. Under-18 Team) dropped them from #1 to #5 in this week's Everything College Hockey rankings.
BU's upset wasn't the only storyline from this past weekend. We had an Ice Breaker champion crowned, a flurry of program firsts in South Dakota, and an instant classic in a first time matchup. Peeking ahead at next weekend's slate of games, we have plenty of action to look forward too as well. Let's get into it.
Photo Credit: @UNHMHOCKEY on Twitter
- #1 Boston University Upset by New Hampshire
After heading into the season as one of the top team's across college hockey in a trio of polls, Boston University has now posted just an overtime win over Bentley in their first three games of the season (including one exhibition). This past Friday the Terriers were upset, losing 6-4 on the road in New Hampshire to open Hockey East play.
The game started off wild, with six combined goals in the first period alone. Freshman forward Ryan Comny assisted on all three of the Wildcats' goals in the period, including two power play tallies, and helped New Hampshire head into the first intermission tied 3-3. In the second it was Mordan Winters' time to shine. The Wildcat sophomore forward scored two goals in the first six minutes of the period to jump his team out to a 5-3 lead. His second tally, an unassisted shorthanded goal, would be the eventual game winner. The Whittemore was rocking, and despite a late push by Boston University, the Wildcats would hang on for a 6-4 win.
One night later, Boston University would host the U.S. Under-18 Team for an exhibition and their first game at home of the season. The Terriers had another off night, losing to the visitors 8-2. Future commitments Cole Eiserman and Cole Hutson combined for five goals in the win.
#5 BU now needs to pick up the pieces before a tough three-week stretch. This week they travel to South Bend to face goaltender Ryan Bischel and Notre Dame. They then play a home-and-home against in-state foe Massachusetts, before welcoming in #6 North Dakota for their first true home series of the season. If there's one thing to be optimistic of so far, it's in freshman Macklin Celebrini. The forward has led the Terriers in goals and points so far this season, posting an average of two/game in the young season.
- Minnesota Sweeps St. Thomas, Wins Thriller at Xcel Energy Center
Everything College Hockey was at the Xcel Energy Center last Friday night when cross-town rivals Minnesota and St. Thomas met for the first time ever. The opening chapter in the history book was one to remember, as the two teams played in an instant classic in front of 11,376 at the NHL venue.
The Gophers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Aaron Huglen and Jaxon Nelson, but the Tommies fought back hard in the second. St. Thomas scored three unanswered goals, including a shorthanded tally from Mack Byers. Then, just 30 seconds into the third period, St. Thomas struck again to make it a 4-2 game.
That 4th goal kickstarted one of the craziest periods of the weekend. Gopher forward Jimmy Snuggerud responded almost instantly with a blast from the blue line just 20 seconds later to make it a one-goal game again, followed by Brody Lamb scoring twice in the next five minutes to give Minnesota the lead. The high-flying action continued with a combined 23 shots in the period, and eventually Lucas Wahlin scored his second goal of the period to tie the game for St. Thomas. A 3-2 game had turned into a 5-5 game in just a little over 13 minutes, and the two teams were deadlocked until overtime.
In the extra frame, who else but Snuggerud would be the hero. Just over a minute into overtime the Hobey Baker candidate grabbed the puck in his own zone, went coast to coast, flew past two St. Thomas defenders, and almost seamlessly fired the puck above goaltender Aaron Trotter for the game-winner.
Game two wasn't as eventful, but showed that Minnesota can win in a variety of different ways. Graduate senior Justen Close posted 24 saves in his first shutout of the year and Snuggerud scored two goals to lead the Gophers to a 3-0 win. Despite the results, St. Thomas proved that they can hang with some of the best teams in the country, and a rivalry is definitely building between the Twin Cities teams. As for #1 ranked Minnesota, they'll have to quickly turn the page to a two-game showdown against North Dakota at the Ralph this upcoming weekend. That will be must-watch college hockey for any fan.
- North Dakota Wins 2023 Ice Breaker Tournament
With four games over two nights, the 2023 version of the Ice Breaker featured Army, Bemidji State, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. The annual tournament is the traditional start of the college hockey season, and this year's iteration marked the first-ever appearance for Bemidji State (one of the co-hosts).
On Friday night, the Fighting Hawks hosted the Black Knights in Grand Forks while the Beavers and Badgers matched up in Bemidji. Army played NoDak tough, relying on a Joey Baez power play goal to post a 1-1 mark after the first period. However, the Fighting Hawks pulled away in the second period, scoring five times and cruising to a 7-2 win. Both sophomore forward Jackson Blake and transfer graduate senior Hunter Johannes posted two goals in the season-opening win for North Dakota. At the Sanford Center, Wisconsin needed overtime to get through Bemidji State after a back-and-forth game. Cruz Lucius was the hero for the Badgers, scoring two goals including the overtime winner to send Wisconsin to the championship game.
On Saturday night, Bemidji State beat Army 3-2 in overtime to post their first win of the season. Sophomore forward Lleyton Roed posted a goal in both games of the Ice Breaker, including the OT winner against the Black Knights to close out their tournament.
In the championship game, North Dakota welcomed Wisconsin at the Ralph Engelstad Arena for the latest matchup in the long-time former WCHA rivalry. It was a tight game despite nine combined power play opportunities and 57 combined shots on goal. For the second-straight night, Hunter Johannes opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal in the first period, and captain Riese Gaber scored a beautiful backhanded goal off an even better feed from Cameron Berg in the second. Ludvig Persson posted his first shutout of the season and helped North Dakota hold on for the 2-0 win and the Ice Breaker Championship. With three goals over two games, forward Hunter Johannes was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
- Minnesota State Sweeps #10 St. Cloud State
Following a 1-0 exhibition loss to Omaha to begin the season, there were some definite question marks for Minnesota State heading into a big in-state series against #10 St. Cloud. The Mavericks answered some of those concerns though, with a huge sweep and jump in the ECH rankings this past weekend.
On Friday night, Minnesota State had to respond quickly after going down 2-0 early in the second period. First-year head coach Luke Strand was able to rally his team, however, as graduate senior Lucas Sowder scored just minutes later and freshman Bret Moravec tied the game later in the period. In a tight matchup, the Mavericks would prevail in overtime. Sophomore forward Adam Eisele would be the hero, collecting a turnover at neutral ice, skating into the offensive zone, and beating Dominic Basse on a wraparound goal to give Minnesota State a 3-2 OT victory and Strand his first win as a head coach.
Everything College Hockey was there for the series finale on Saturday night. The Mavericks flipped the script on the Huskies, scoring three goals in the first 22 minutes of the game. Sam Morton scored two of those goals, including a rebound finish on the power play, to tally his first two points of the season. St. Cloud would get one back early in the third period from Kyler Kupka, but it would be too-little too-late. Minnesota State would scored two empty-net goals to put the game away 5-1.
For the Huskies, it's been a tough start for a promising squad. St. Cloud is now 1-3-0 on the young season, including two tough overtime losses to St. Thomas and Minnesota State. They'll now look to get back on track with two-straight home series against Alaska and Miami.
- Augustana Earns First Program Win, Sweep Over Bowling Green
It was a weekend of firsts for the Augustana Vikings, as the team celebrated their first home game, goal, win, and sweep all in the span of nearly 24 hours.
The celebrating began on Saturday night when freshman forward Hunter Bischoff buried a rebound following a breakaway attempt in the first period to score the first goal in program history. The second goal would have to wait until the third, however, when Ryan Naumovski scored on the power play to make it 2-0 Vikings. Bowling Green battled back, however, scoring two goals in a little under five minutes to tie the game at 2-2. The crowd of 3,600+ wouldn't go home disappointed though, as graduate senior forward Arnaud Vachon jumped on a loose puck in the slot and fired it bar-down to give Augustana a 3-2 lead late in the third period. The Vikings would hold on for their first win in program history.
There were much less dramatics in game two, as Augustana jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first period and cruised to a 4-1 win. Bischoff scored his second goal of the series, and starting goaltender Zack Rose posted a 43-save performance to help lead the Vikings to their program's first sweep. There were some good signs from the team's first two wins. They went a combined 7-7 on the penalty kill over the weekend and got some outstanding goaltending play from Rose. Those are some definite building blocks to add onto.
Now, the Vikings will now head on a seven-game "road trip," which features some tough matchups including #4 Denver, #14 Michigan Tech, and #15 Omaha. To be optimistic, this will be a great experience for a young program looking to make a name for themselves in the college hockey landscape.
- NCHC Recap
Colorado College: Swept Union at home with 7-3, 6-2 wins
Denver: No games scheduled
Miami: Swept Canisius at home with 4-2, 4-1 wins
Minnesota-Duluth: "Swept" Northern Michigan at home with 5-5 OT tie, 8-5 win
North Dakota: Beat Army at home 7-2, beat Wisconsin at home 2-0
Omaha: Swept Niagara at home with 8-1, 2-1 wins
St. Cloud State: Swept by Minnesota State on the road with 3-2 OT, 5-1 losses
Western Michigan: “Swept” Ferris State with a 6-4 win at home and 3-3 tie on the road.
- Big Ten Recap
Michigan: Split with Massachusetts on the road with 7-2 win, 6-3 loss
Michigan State: Split with Air Force on the road with 6-5 loss, 5-3 win
Minnesota: Swept St. Thomas with 6-5 OT win at Xcel Energy Center, 3-0 win at home
Notre Dame: Beat by RIT on the road 3-0
Ohio State: "Swept" Lindenwood with 4-2 win, 2-2 OT tie
Penn State: Beat Clarkson on the road 4-2, beat St. Lawrence on the road 4-1
Wisconsin: Beat Bemidji State on the road 4-3 OT, lost to North Dakota on the road 2-0
- CCHA Recap
Augustana: Swept Bowling Green at home with 3-2, 4-1 wins
Bemidji State: Lost to Wisconsin at home 4-3 OT, beat Army at home 3-2 OT
Bowling Green: Swept by Augustana 3-2, 4-1 losses
Ferris State: “Swept” by Western Michigan with 4-6 loss on the road, 3-3 OT tie at home
Lake Superior: Split with Alaska-Anchorage at home with 5-1 win, 3-2 loss
Michigan Tech: "Swept by" Alaska with 4-1 loss, 2-2 OT tie
Minnesota State: Swept St. Cloud State at home with 3-2 OT, 5-1 wins
Northern Michigan: "Swept by" Minnesota-Duluth with 5-5 OT tie, 8-5 loss
St. Thomas: Swept by Minnesota with 6-5 OT loss at Xcel Energy Center, 3-0 loss on the road
- Hockey East Recap
Boston College: Beat Long Island at home 4-2
Boston University: Lost to New Hampshire on the road 6-4, lost to U.S. Under-18 Team 8-2 (Exhibition)
Maine: Swept RPI at home with 4-1, 6-3 wins
Massachusetts: Split with Michigan at home with 7-2 loss, 6-3 win
Merrimack: Swept by Arizona State on the road with 1-0 OT, 4-2 losses
New Hampshire: Beat Boston University at home 6-4
Northeastern: Beat Bentley at home 5-2
Providence: Beat Stonehill at home 7-2
Connecticut: Swept by Holy Cross with 2-1 loss on the road, 2-0 loss at home
UMass-Lowell: No games scheduled
Vermont: Beat St. Lawrence on the road 3-1, lost to Clarkson on the road 3-2 OT
- ECAC Recap
Brown: No games scheduled
Clarkson: Lost to Penn State at home 4-2, beat Vermont at home 3-2 OT
Colgate: Swept Sacred Heart on the road with 3-2, 6-1 wins
Cornell: Beat TMU at home 6-1 (Exhibition)
Dartmouth: No games scheduled
Harvard: No games scheduled
Princeton: Beat Toronto at home 4-2 (Exhibition)
Quinnipiac: Swept AIC with 3-2 OT win on the road, 8-0 win at home
Rensselaer: Swept by Maine on the road with 4-1, 6-3 losses
St. Lawrence: Lost to Vermont at home 3-1, lost to Penn State at home 4-1
Union: Swept by Colorado College on the road with 7-3, 6-2 losses
Yale: No games scheduled
- Atlantic Hockey Recap
Air Force: Split with Michigan State at home with 6-5 win, 5-3 loss
AIC: Swept by Quinnipiac with 3-2 OT loss at home, 8-0 loss on the road
Army: Lost to North Dakota on the road 7-2, lost to Bemidji State on the road 3-2 OT
Bentley: Lost to Northeastern on the road 5-2
Canisius: Swept by Miami on the road with 4-2, 4-1 losses
Holy Cross: Swept Connecticut with 2-1 win at home, 2-0 win on the road
Mercyhurst: Tied Robert Morris at home 3-3 OT
Niagara: Swept by Omaha on the road with 8-1, 2-1 losses
RIT: Beat Notre Dame at home 3-0
Robert Morris: Tied Mercyhurst on the road 3-3 OT
Sacred Heart: Swept by Colgate at home with 3-2, 6-1 losses
- Independent Roundup
Alaska: "Swept" Michigan Tech on the road with 4-1 win, 2-2 OT tie
Alaska-Anchorage: Split with Lake Superior on the road with 5-1 loss, 3-2 win
Arizona State: Swept Merrimack at home with 1-0 OT, 4-2 wins
Lindenwood: "Swept by" Ohio State with 4-2 loss, 2-2 OT tie
Long Island: Lost to Boston College on the road 4-2, beat Stonehill on the road 7-3
Stonehill: Lost to Providence on the road 7-1, lost to Long Island at home 7-3
