ECH Weekend Review: October 6-8
written By Alex Berger - October 12th, 2023The 2023-2024 college hockey season is officially underway! This past weekend saw 47 total games, which includes 15 exhibitions, and had a couple of top-ten teams suffer an upset on their opening night. Michigan State graduate senior Nicolas Muller had the honor of scoring the first goal of the season, finishing a beautiful feed from Jeremy Davidson and sparking the Spartans to a weekend sweep over Lake Superior State and a #7 spot in 'Everything College Hockey' weekly rankings.
This week's article will be a combined recap from last weekend, and a preview towards this weekend's full slate of games. You'll find every team's result below, but no conference standings as those matchups have not yet begun. Also no Pairwise listed yet, as it's literally still the second week of October. Regardless, you'll still find everything you need to know about last weekend's opening festivities.
- Boston College Wins Top-5 Overtime Thriller Over Quinnipiac
It was a historic night in Hamden, Connecticut, as the Quinnipiac Bobcats raised the banner from their first-ever national championship season in 2023. Beyond all the excitement, there was an extremely important game to be played as well. The Bobcats, who were our #1 ranked team heading into the season, welcomed in #5 Boston College for the lone top-five matchup across the country over the first weekend of play.
It would be an uphill battle for Quinnipiac, as they lost both star forwards Sam Lipkin (game misconduct) and Collin Graf (injury) within the first ten minutes of the game. They would also go down by a goal heading into the first intermission, after giving up a shorthanded tally to sophomore forward Andre Gasseau with under two minutes to go in the opening frame.
It was a tight game for two teams with a lot of scoring talent up front, but the Bobcats eventually tied it late in the third with a goal from freshman Mason Marcellus. That score would hold through the end of regulation and over four minutes of overtime. With time winding down, a defensive breakdown left the puck on the stick of Boston College star Cutter Gauthier, who fired it past Vinny Duplessis with just under ten seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 2-1 OT win.
I know I just discounted the Pairwise in this article's lead, but this was a massive win for Boston College. With both teams expected to be in the top ten of the Pairwise in late March, having a one-game comparison over the other is as big of a win as you can have in mid-October. Quinnipiac will have plenty of time to rebound with 3 straight non conference series ahead and ECAC play upcoming, but a single game at Boston University looms large for the end of November. A point of emphasis for the coaching staff going forward should be on their depth power play. The Bobcats went 0-for-7 in their game without Lipkin and Graf.
- Boston University Survives Overtime Scare Against Bentley
While the game between Quinnipiac and Boston College was ongoing, another top-five team was having an overtime scare of their own. #2 Boston University opened their season on the road against Bentley, a team who went 11-21-2 a season ago and ranked last in our Atlantic Conference ECH Poll. However, the Falcons didn't get the memo, taking one of the best teams in the country wire-to-wire in their season opener.
It was smooth sailing for the Terriers in the first half of the game, scoring midway through the first period and again early in the second to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Projected first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini didn't waste a minute making his welcome to the NCAA, finishing a great BU rush with a slick move in front of the net to score the first goal of his collegiate career in the second period.
After going down by a pair, Bentley fought back. Freshman forward Kolby Amici scored with six minutes to go in the second to make it a one-goal game before Michigan State transfer A.J. Hodges tied the game on the power play early in the third. Despite outshooting the Falcons 10-7 in the final frame, Boston University couldn't retake the lead in regulation and headed into overtime.
You may have noticed Hobey Baker favorite Lane Hutson hasn't been mentioned yet. You can only shut down players like Hutson for so long, and usually they reappear in the biggest moments. The sophomore defenseman made his presence known in overtime, firing a shot from the slot past the blocker of Bentley goaltender Connor Halsey for the game-winning goal. Hutson, who was assisted by Celebrini on his goal, led all players with seven shots on goal in the season-opening win. Although it was a bit closer than Terrier fans expected, BU still was able to show why they're one of the best teams in college hockey this year, and why they jumped up to our #1 ranked team this week.
- 'Everything College Hockey' Gameday at Long Island University
For the first time in the 2023-'24 season, Everything College Hockey brought gameday out of the studio and into the arena. James and Myles of ECH took on Long Island New York this past weekend, attending LIU's home opener against Penn State.
After giving up a first-period goal and being outshot 16-6 in the middle frame, the Sharks responded with a pair of goals from senior forward Preston Brodziak and sophomore forward Riley Wallack in just over two minutes. The Nittany Lions played spoiler, however, scoring late in the second period to tie the game up and late in the third to snatch a win from LIU.
Penn State arguably deserved the win on paper, outshooting the Sharks 32-18 and posting a 60% winning percentage in the faceoff dot. However, according to ECH Co-Owner Connor Thelemann, “If Noah Kane doesn’t get called for a hit to the head + Game Misconduct in the 3rd (should’ve only been two minutes max), LIU at least takes this game to OT if not wins it outright).
Either way, it was a great showing between the two young programs and there’s a lot of positives to take from both teams on this one.
Myles and James of ECH at LIU Home Opener
- Minnesota to Face St. Thomas at Xcel Energy Center (ECH Gameday)
A cross-town rivalry will write it's first chapter in the history books this Friday, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the St. Thomas Tommies Men's and Women's hockey teams will face off in a doubleheader at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. It will be the first-ever official meeting between the men's programs, and the first-ever game at 'The X' for the women's program. To make the stakes even higher, the ECH team will be in the building with cameras rolling.
#20 St. Thomas will technically be the home team in the matchup (their campus is located in St. Paul, just over five miles west of the arena) and are coming off a huge road result against another in-state team, St. Cloud State. The Tommies beat the Huskies in overtime, a 5-4 victory to open their season. St. Thomas will need to work on their penalty kill this week, as all four of the goals they allowed in the win came with St. Cloud on the power play. Although they dropped the series finale, the win is a huge boost and was one of the biggest upsets in college hockey over the first weekend of play.
For #2 Minnesota, a game at the Xcel is a foreshadow of just how big expectations are for them this season. This year's Frozen Four will be in St. Paul, and although they lost a large portion of their talent, Gopher fans expect their team to make it back there for the third-straight year. The Golden Gophers are coming off an in-state matchup of their own, a 5-2 exhibition win at home for the first time on the shortened Mariucci ice. Underclassmen forwards Oliver Moore and Rhett Pitlick both impressed in the season-opener, as they each scored two goals in the win.
- Bemidji State, North Dakota Prep to Co-Host '2023 Icebreaker Tournament'
Two teams in the Midwest will host this season's "start of the college hockey season." Bemidji State and #8 North Dakota will co-host the 2023 Icebreaker Tournament, welcoming in Army and Wisconsin for a pair of games to the Sanford Center and Ralph Engelstad Arena, respectively.
North Dakota posted double digits in their exhibition 10-0 win over Manitoba last Saturday, led by their young second line of Jackson Blake, Owen McLaughlin, and freshman Jayden Perron. That trio combined for six goals and five assists in their "season opener," led by Perron who posted a hat trick in his unofficial debut as a Fighting Hawk. They'll welcome in Army on Friday night and Wisconsin on Saturday, a pair of great matchups for their completely revamped defensive core.
Two hours east, Bemidji State returns home after dropping an in-state Exhibition loss to Minnesota at Mariucci on Sunday. The Beavers lost 5-2 but put up a fight on the penalty kill. They went 4-for-4 during the game, killing off a five-minute major and scoring a shorthanded goal in the process. Although it is an exhibition, that's a great early-season result against a talented Minnesota lineup for a team that ranked average (80.7%, T-31st in NCAA) in that mark a season ago. Bemidji State will host their season/home opener against former WCHA foe Wisconsin on Friday night, before turning their attention to Army on Saturday.
As for the visitors, the Badgers will look to build on some early momentum with a home sweep over Augustana. Junior goaltender Kyle McClellan played in both games against the Vikings, and made 43 combined saves in back-to-back shutouts. For Army, they'll look to rebound after a 6-0 season-opening home loss to Union last Sunday. All four games of this year's tournament should be a great showcase of four different conferences across college hockey.
- NCHC Recap
Colorado College: Beat Simon Fraser 6-3 at home (Exhibition)
Denver: Swept Alaska on road with 7-3, 5-2 wins
Miami: Split with Ferris State on road with 5-4 OT loss, 5-2 win
Minnesota-Duluth: Tied Michigan Tech at home 2-2
North Dakota: Beat Manitoba 10-0 at home (Exhibition)
Omaha: Beat Minnesota-State 1-0 on the road (Exhibition)
St. Cloud State: Split St. Thomas at home with 5-4 OT loss, 1-0 win
Western Michigan: Beat U.S. Under-18 Team 9-4 at home (Exhibition)
- Big Ten Recap
Michigan: Split with Providence at home with 4-2 loss, 5-4 win
Michigan State: Swept Lake Superior at home with 5-2, 4-2 wins
Minnesota: Beat Bemidji State at home 5-2 (Exhibition)
Notre Dame: Split with Clarkson at home with 3-1 loss, 3-0 win
Ohio State: Beat Mercyhurst on the road 4-3
Penn State: Beat Long Island on the road 3-2
Wisconsin: Swept Augustana at home with 4-0, 3-0 wins
- CCHA Recap
Augustana: Swept by Wisconsin on the road with 4-0, 3-0 losses
Bemidji State: Lost to Minnesota on the road 5-2 (Exhibition)
Bowling Green: Split Robert Morris with 3-0 win on the road, 3-0 loss at home
Ferris State: Split with Miami at home with 5-4 OT win, 5-2 loss
Lake Superior: Swept by Michigan State on the road with 5-2, 4-2 losses
Michigan Tech: Tied Minnesota-Duluth on the road 2-2
Minnesota State: Lost to Omaha 1-0 at home (Exhibition)
Northern Michigan: No games scheduled
St. Thomas: Split with St. Cloud on the road with 5-4 OT win, 1-0 loss
- Hockey East Recap
Boston College: Beat Quinnipiac on the road 2-1 OT
Boston University: Beat Bentley on the road 3-2 OT
Maine: Beat New Hampshire 3-2 at Alfond Arena (Exhibition)
Massachusetts: Beat AIC 5-3 at home, beat Dartmouth 5-1 on the road (Exhibition)
Merrimack: Beat Sacred Heart on the road 3-2 OT (Exhibition)
New Hampshire: Lost to Maine 3-2 at Alfond Arena (Exhibition)
Northeastern: Beat Stonehill at home 7-0, tied Quinnipiac 2-2 (Exhibition)
Providence: Split at Michigan with 4-2 win, 5-4 loss
Connecticut: "Split" at Colgate with 4-2 win, 3-3 tie
UMass-Lowell: Split at Alaska-Anchorage with 3-2 OT loss, 2-1 win
Vermont: Beat McGill at home 4-0 (Exhibition)
- ECAC Recap
Brown: No games scheduled
Clarkson: Split with Notre Dame on the road with 3-1 win, 3-0 loss
Colgate: "Swept by" Connecticut at home with 4-2 loss, 3-3 tie
Cornell: No games scheduled
Dartmouth: Lost to Massachusetts at home 5-1 (Exhibition)
Harvard: No games scheduled
Princeton: No games scheduled
Quinnipiac: Lost to Boston College at home 2-1 OT, tied Northeastern on the road 2-2 (Exhibition)
Rensselaer: Tied Union at home 2-2 (Exhibition), beat Guelph at home 6-4 (Exhibition)
St. Lawrence: Beat RIT at home 4-3
Union: Tied Rensselaer on the road 2-2 (Exhibition), beat Army on the road 6-0
Yale: No games scheduled
- Atlantic Hockey Recap
Air Force: Split with Lindenwood at home with 4-1 win, 4-3 OT loss
AIC: Beat by Massachusetts on the road 5-3
Army: Beat by Union at home 6-0
Bentley: Beat by Boston University at home 3-2 OT
Canisius: Beat Niagara on the road 5-2 (Exhibition)
Holy Cross: Beat Long Island at home 5-2
Mercyhurst: Beat by Ohio State at home 4-3
Niagara: Beat Royal Military at home 8-3 (Exhibition), lost to Canisius at home 5-2 (Exhibition)
RIT: Lost to St. Lawrence on the road 4-3
Robert Morris: Split with Bowling Green with 3-0 loss at home, 3-0 win on the road
Sacred Heart: Lost to Merrimack at home 3-2 OT (Exhibition), beat Ottawa 8-2 at home (Exhibition)
- Independent Roundup
Alaska: Swept by Denver at home with 7-3, 5-2 losses
Alaska-Anchorage: Split with UMass-Lowell at home with 3-2 OT win, 2-1 loss
Arizona State: Beat Arizona at home 16-0 (Exhibition)
Lindenwood: Split with Air Force on the road with 4-1 loss, 4-3 OT win
Long Island: Lost to Penn State at home 3-2, lost to Holy Cross on the road 5-2
Stonehill: Lost to Northeastern on the road 7-0
