ECH Weekend Review: October 20-22
written By Alex Berger - October 26th, 2023From top-ten tilts on opposite sides of the country to surprising sweeps, we're finally starting to get into the groove of the college hockey season. We're still a few weeks ago from the Pairwise mattering (don't look now, but Providence is the current #1) but we can already start to point out a few trends three weeks into the new season. Like the fact that Northern Michigan freshman Tanner Latsch leads the country with seven goals in four games, or that Western Michigan is already scoring at an absurd rate (4.8 goals/game, NCAA-leading 44.4% power play). I know it's early, but as we continue through the season we'll start to see more of these trends emerge.
This past weekend saw a handful of great games, including a pair of possible NCAA matchups in Minnesota/North Dakota and Denver/Boston College, while other teams saw upsets or injuries to their star players.
Photo: Russell Hons / UND Athletics
- #1 Minnesota, #6 North Dakota Split at Ralph Engelstad Arena
In the biggest series of the weekend, #1 overall Minnesota traveled up I-94 to face of against long-time hated rival #6 North Dakota in a two-game series at the Ralph. Both nights were packed, with 11,000+ attending for each tilt, many of whom chanting for the downfall of the Golden Gophers.
The series started with a back-and-forth period, including 23 combined shots and a power play opportunity for both sides, but neither team could solve the other's goaltender. That scoreless tie draw ended just two minutes into the second period. With time expiring on an early penalty kill, sophomore Brody Lamb worked his way behind the defense, received a head-man pass, and broke in on the breakaway. With a simple shot-fake deke he got Ludvig Persson down, and fired the puck above his outstretched stick to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. Exactly ten minutes later, freshman phenom Oliver Moore led a 3-on-2 into the offensive zone, skated into the circle, and fired a twisted wrister through a screen and above Persson's glove to give Minnesota a two-goal lead and suck the life out of the Fighting Hawks' fans in attendance.
Despite a two-goal deficit, NoDak could only muster 12 shots on goals in the final 20 minutes and went 0-for-4 on the power play. Much of that was in part to a great performance by Justen Close for Minnesota, who posted his second shutout of the season. The Golden Gophers added two late goals, including Jimmy Snuggerud's fifth of the season, to win game one 4-0.
In as important as a non-conference game can get in October, North Dakota came out firing on Saturday night. They outshot the Gophers 24-12 in the first two periods, and scored their first goal of the series on a Jayden Perron tip five minutes into the second. Heading into the third, you could tell that the Fighting Hawks would need to find a way to get one more goal to seal the win. They did just that 59 seconds into the frame, as Jake Livanavage skated the puck into the neutral zone himself, flipped a backhanded towards the net, and watched it trickle through the legs of Close to make it 2-0. It was a tough break for the graduate senior, who played really well over the weekend series. Despite giving up a goal to Jaxon Nelson with 12 minutes to go and going 0-for-3 on the power play in the third, the Fighting Hawks would hold on for a 2-1 win and and secured a split against the #1 team in the country.
Although both squads have question marks on the back end, this weekend felt like a preview of teams who have a legitimate shot of making the Frozen Four in April. Both have an elite talent (Jimmy Snuggerud/Jackson Blake), a great goaltender (Justen Close/Ludvig Persson), young talent, depth scoring, and phenomenal coaching staffs. It’s still early, but you could already see the pieces in place for deep postseason runs at the end of the season.
- #4 Denver Splits Weekend Road Trip Against #9 Providence, #2 Boston College
After a week off, Denver rallied the troops for an early-season road trip out east, tasked with facing two different top-ten teams on the road in back-to-back nights.
The name of the game against Providence, one of the biggest surprises so far this year, was special teams. Denver went just 1-for-9 on the man advantage in their game against the Friars, and gave up two power play goals to Providence on five attempts. The Pioneers also needed to get some more saves from goaltender Matt Davis, playing in just his third game since taking over the starting role from Magnus Chrona. The junior faced just 18 shots all night and gave up four goals, including a backbreaking goal that trickled through with just five minutes left in the game. Denver lost 4-3, while the Friars improved 3-1-0 on the season. Their lone loss came on the road against #7 Michigan, and they picked up another win against Rensselaer on Saturday night.
The Pioneers needed to quickly rebound with a big game against #2 Boston College the very next night. Heading into a blackout at the Conte Forum, Denver went down early in the game as Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabe Perrault connected for a first period goal. After a second period which saw both teams score, David Carle rallied the Pioneers for a huge third period. Denver posted 13 shots in the final frame and scored three goals (including two on the power play) to storm back and win the game 4-3 and best Boston College in the top-five showdown. Junior forward Jack Devine posted two assists in the win and is tied for the second in the country (along with Massimo Rizzo) with 10 points so far this season.
- Wisconsin Sweeps #14 Michigan Tech On The Road
After a second-place finish at last weekend's Ice Breaker Tournament, Mike Hastings and the Wisconsin Badgers traveled up to the U.P. for a weekend series against Blake Pietila and #14 Michigan Tech. The name of the game over the weekend was special teams, as the two teams combined for five power play goals, a shorthanded goal, and two empty-net goals in the two-game series.
On Friday night the game remained scoreless until the second period. Just two minutes into the middle frame, freshman forward Will Whitelaw banged a puck in after a trio of deflections for the first goal of his collegiate career to open the scoring. The Huskies battled back, scoring two power play goals in a five-minute stretch to take a 2-1 lead. Despite the quick turnaround, the Badgers fought back themselves with a huge goal from former Maverick David Silye, who scored his first goal for Wisconsin with just seven seconds remaining in the period. In the final frame the Badgers pulled away despite being outshot 12-4 with an early goal from Daniel Laatsch and empty-net tally from Cruz Lucius.
On Saturday night the Badgers came out hot, outshooting Michigan Tech 10-3 in the first period. However, Wisconsin got into some penalty trouble late and gave up a power play goal to Logan Pietila with 33 seconds left. The momentum from the first period continued into the second, as the Badgers extended their shot total to 26-9 and earned four power play opportunities, including a 5-on-3 chance. Wisconsin would capitalize, as Matthieu De St. Phalle scored to tie the game at 1-1. Four minutes later, freshman defenseman Joe Palodichuck scored his second goal of the young season to give the Badgers the lead. Late in the second, Michigan Tech took their second unsportsmanlike conduct minor of the period. Wisconsin would capitalize just 28 seconds into the third period and would add a fourth goal just 45 seconds later, eventually hanging on for a 5-2 win.
After being swept at home, Michigan Tech has more questions than answers five games into the season. The Huskies (0-3-2) have not yet won a game this year and are averaging just 1.8 goals/game. They'll look for a get-right weekend next week at St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
As for Wisconsin, Mike Hastings has led the Badgers to a great start to their nonconference schedule. They are 5-1-0 this year, with their lone loss at #5 North Dakota, and have a huge series at #1 Minnesota this Thursday and Friday. If Hastings has truly turned around the program this early, we'll know it this weekend.
- #19 New Hampshire Upsets #3 Quinnipiac With Home Split
One week after upsetting the #1 team in the country, New Hampshire moved on from a huge win against Boston University to an even bigger home series against Quinnipiac. The Wildcats lived up to another big early-season test and split with the defending national champions at the Whittemore Center.
Collin Graf opened the scoring for the Bobcats on Friday night, as he split the defensive pair and shot one above the glove of goaltender Tyler Muszelik to make it 1-0 11 minutes into the game. In the second period New Hampshire battled back with a great 20, outshooting Quinnipiac 14-7 and getting two goals from underclassmen (sophomore Stiven Sardarian and freshman Ryan Conmy) in the first five minutes to take the lead. Despite the advantage heading into the third period, the Wildcats wouldn't be able to finish things off. Quinnipiac tied the game 2-2 just under five minutes into the third period on a goal from Ohio State transfer Travis Treloar, and would explode late in the frame. With just two minutes to go in a tied game, freshman forward Mason Marcelllus scored one of the best goals of the season so far. He gave a no-look tip on a puck that had deflected off the back wall, and it somehow made it into the back of the net. The goal not only made that night's Sportscenter Top 10, but also gave the Bobcats the 3-2 lead. QU would add two more late goals, including an empty-net tally from Jacob Quillan, to put the game away 5-2.
In game two, both teams came out fast and furious with seven total goals scored in the first period alone. At the end of 20, Quinnipiac (paced by Anthony Cipollone with a goal and assist) led the Wildcats 4-3. New Hampshire would close the gap early though, with a power play goal from Colton Huard three minutes into the second. After that goal the game tightened up on both sides. Despite 10 combined penalties in the last two periods there were just 39 combined shots and no goals scored. With the score tied, the teams would need overtime to decide this one. That's when controversy struck the Whittemore. With just over a minute left to go in overtime, there was a mad scramble in front of Bobcats' goaltender Vinny Duplessis. With players all around the crease, the puck squirted free and found its way right to the stick of Cy LeClerc. The sophomore didn't miss, scoring his third goal in three games to send the home fans home happy. Many Quinnipiac fans called goaltender interference on the play with all of the contact in front of the net, however, the goal was called good. To make matters worse, star forward Collin Graf exited the Saturday night loss with a lower-body injury and was spotted in a walking boot later in the week.
For the Wildcats, two tough home wins against two top-five teams gives them a ton of confidence to begin their season. At 2-1-0, New Hampshire now turns their attention to a schedule that ramps up conference games, including three-straight home games.
- #5 Boston University Rescues Split At Notre Dame Without Lane Hutson
After a rough stretch to begin the season, Boston University went into South Bend this past weekend with an important matchup against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish also have stumbled out of the gate, dropping two of their first three to Clarkson and RIT. For both of these teams, the series is an important chance to get right in the early part of the season.
The Terriers opened the scoring early on Friday night as Ryan Greene lit the lamp just 4:44 into the first period. It looked like BU would be off and running, but the Fighting Irish responded with a power play goal just over five minutes later. Notre Dame would score twice more in the first period to take a 3-1 lead heading into the intermission. After that, graduate senior Ryan Bischel took over. The goaltender posted 43 saves in the game, including 18 in the third period, to seal the 4-1 upset win. Freshman forwards Patrick Moynihan and Maddox Fleming each posted two assists in the game, the first multi-point games of their collegiate careers.
With the series-opening loss, it was desperation mode for Boston University heading into the Saturday finale. The Terriers started the rematch with the best period of their young season, and showed why they're still worthy of a top-10 ranking across the national polls. BU outshot Notre Dame 22-6 and led 5-1 after the first period, including goals from Macklin Celebrini, Quinn Hutson, and Luke Tuch. Celebrini added his fifth goal of the season in the second period and helped extend the lead to seven goals, and the Terriers held on for a much-needed 8-2 win. Surprisingly, BU scored eight goals without star defenseman Lane Hutson. The sophomore left Friday night's game early after a big hit. Hopefully Hutson's injury isn't anything serious and he can get back on the ice soon.
- NCHC Recap
Colorado College: Swept Long Island at home with 4-2, 3-2 wins
Denver: Lost to Providence on the road 4-3, beat Boston College on the road 4-3
Miami: No games scheduled
Minnesota-Duluth: Swept Bemidji State with 4-0 win at home, 5-4 OT win on the road
North Dakota: Split with Minnesota at home with 4-0 loss, 2-1 win
Omaha: No games scheduled
St. Cloud State: Split with Alaska at home with 4-1 win, 5-2 loss
Western Michigan: Swept Bowling Green with 5-2 win on the road, 5-2 win at home
- Big Ten Recap
Michigan: "Split with" Ohio State at home with 7-1 win, 3-2 SO loss
Michigan State: Swept Canisius at home with 6-3, 4-3 wins
Minnesota: Split with North Dakota on the road with 4-0 win, 2-1 loss
Notre Dame: Split with Boston University at home with 4-1 win, 8-2 loss
Ohio State: "Split with" Michigan on the road with 7-1 loss, 3-2 SO win
Penn State: Split with AIC at home with 3-2 win, 6-4 loss
Wisconsin: Swept Michigan Tech on the road with 4-2, 5-2 wins
- CCHA Recap
Augustana: No games scheduled
Bemidji State: Swept by Minnesota-Duluth with 4-0 loss on the road, 5-4 OT loss at home
Bowling Green: Swept by Western Michigan with 5-2 loss at home, 5-2 loss on the road
Ferris State: Beat Grand Valley St. at home 9-0 (Exhibition)
Lake Superior: Beat Simon Fraser at home 6-4 (Exhibition)
Michigan Tech: Swept by Wisconsin at home with 4-2, 5-2 losses
Minnesota State: Swept by Massachusetts at home with 6-3, 1-0 losses
Northern Michigan: Swept by Arizona State on the road with 3-2, 5-1 losses
St. Thomas: "Swept" Lindenwood at home with 4-4 OT tie, 3-1 win
- Hockey East Recap
Boston College: Beat Rensselaer at home 6-1, lost to Denver at home 4-3
Boston University: Split with Notre Dame on the road with 4-1 loss, 8-2 win
Maine: No games scheduled
Massachusetts: Swept Minnesota State on the road with 6-3, 1-0 wins
Merrimack: Beat Clarkson at home 4-1
New Hampshire: Split with Quinnipiac at home with 5-2 loss, 5-4 OT win
Northeastern: No games scheduled
Providence: Beat Denver at home 4-3, beat Rensselaer at home 4-2
Connecticut: Split with Union on the road with 4-1 loss, 5-0 win
UMass-Lowell: Swept Colgate on the road with 4-2, 5-2 wins
Vermont: No games scheduled
- ECAC Recap
Brown: No games scheduled
Clarkson: Lost to Merrimack on the road 4-1
Colgate: Swept by UMass-Lowell at home with 4-2, 5-2 losses
Cornell: Beat U.S. Under-18 Team at home 5-4 OT (Exhibition)
Dartmouth: No games scheduled
Harvard: No games scheduled
Princeton: No games scheduled
Quinnipiac: Split with New Hampshire on the road with 5-2 win, 5-4 OT loss
Rensselaer: Lost to Boston College on the road 6-1, lost to Providence on the road 4-2
St. Lawrence: No games scheduled
Union: Split with Connecticut at home with 4-1 win, 5-0 loss
Yale: No games scheduled
- Atlantic Hockey Recap
Air Force: Split with Alaska-Anchorage on the road with 3-1 loss, 4-3 OT win
AIC: Split with Penn State on the road with 3-2 loss, 6-4 win
Army: No games scheduled
Bentley: Swept Stonehill at home with 2-0, 4-1 wins
Canisius: Swept by Michigan State on the road with 6-3, 4-3 losses
Holy Cross: "Split with" Robert Morris on the road with 3-1 win, 4-3 SO loss
Mercyhurst: Beat Niagara on the road 4-3 SO
Niagara: Lost to Mercyhurst at home 4-3 SO
RIT: Lost to Sacred Heart at home 5-2
Robert Morris: "Split with" Holy Cross at home with 3-1 loss, 4-3 SO win
Sacred Heart: Beat RIT on the road 5-2
- Independent Roundup
Alaska: Split St. Cloud State on the road with 4-1 loss, 5-2 win
Alaska-Anchorage: Split with Air Force at home with 3-1 win, 4-3 OT loss
Arizona State: Swept Northern Michigan at home with 3-2, 5-1 wins
Lindenwood: "Swept by" St. Thomas on the road with 4-4 OT tie, 3-1 loss
Long Island: Swept by Colorado College on the road with 4-2, 3-2 losses
Stonehill: Swept by Bentley on the road with 2-0, 4-1 losses
