Two pivotal matchups were on tap over the weekend, including a two-game series in the NCHA featuring Adrian and St. Norbert.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-Eau Claire squared off as well in a key WIAC battle, with the reigning national champs escaping with a narrow victory.
In the MIAC, Augsburg knocked off Concordia twice to surge to the top of the standings.
The matchup of the weekend was the showdown between the Green Knights and Bulldogs, and in the end, it was St. Norbert that prevailed, skating to a series sweep of its conference rival. The sweep was n historic moment for the Green Knights, as no team had ever swept Adrian in a series at the Arrington Ice Arena.
The Green Knights won the opener 3-1 and then closed out the series with a 4-2 victory. TJ Black made 45 saves in Saturday’s game. Steven Phillips scored the go-ahead goal in the series finale. Jeremy Olinyk finished off the scoring for St. Norbert. Olinyk and Noah Nelson each scored a goal and an assist to pace the offense.
In Friday’s game, Adrian got its only goal from Dino Balsamo. Riley Christensen scored twice for the Green Knights.
St. Norbert is 14-2-1 overall and 10-1-1 in the conference. Adrian is 12-5-2 overall and 11-3 in the NCHA.
Augsburg swept Concordia to move to the top of the MIAC standings. The Auggies opened their series with a 4-1 win and closed it out in dominant fashion, cruising to a 10-2 win Saturday. The 10 goals scored by Augsburg is the most goals it has scored in a game since 2006.
Noteworthy: Erick Brenk and Nate Flynn both tallied two goals and an assist in the finale to pace the Auggies, who have outscored their opponents 65-37 this season. Trevor Stewart and Corbin Chapman each scored a goal and both players came through with two assists apiece. Nick Schmit was stellar in goal for Augsburg, stopping 28 shots Saturday.
Chapman and Flynn both scored goals in Friday’s 4-1 win for the Auggies as well.
Sam Nelson made 43 saves for Concordia Friday night and tallied 31 on Saturday.
Augsburg is one point ahead (20-19) of St. Thomas in the standings. The Auggies are 12-3-2 overall and 6-1-1 in conference play. Concordia is 9-7-1 overall and 3-4-1 in the MIAC.
Saint Mary’s and Hamline split their weekend series. The Cardinals won 3-1 Friday, but the Pipers bounced back Saturday with a 7-2 victory. Hamline scored four goals in the second period of Saturday’s game en route to the win, snapping a four-game home-ice losing streak. On Friday, Chad Cesarz scored in the second to put the Cardinals ahead for good at 2-1.
Noteworthy: In Friday’s win, Saint Mary’s improved to 8-0 when holding opponents to less than three goals. Seth Kamrass scored his second goal of the year in the victory and Nick Albergo gave the Cardinals an insurance goal in the win. It was his fourth goal of the year. Aaron Davis made 21 saves to help preserve the win. In Saturday’s game, Mitch McPherson paved the way for the Pipers, scoring two goals and dishing out an assist. Russ Jordan tallied a pair of assists and Brandon Wahlin came through with a goal and two assists to help fuel the offensive attack of the Pipers. Justin Quale played all 60 minutes for Hamline and stopped 29 shots for his fifth win of the year.
The Cardinals sit in third place in the standings with 18 points. They are 10-7-2 overall and 6-4 in league play. Hamline is in fifth, sitting at 8-7-3 overall and 5-4-1 in the MIAC.
St. Olaf topped Gustavus 3-2 in overtime Friday, but the Gusties avenged the loss the following night, earning a 3-2 victory in overtime to snap a 14-game winless streak. St. Olaf trailed 2-0 early Saturday, but the Gusties battled back and capped the comeback on a goal by Evan Erickson. It was his seventh goal of the season.
Noteworthy: Colin Hernon scored his fourth goal of the year for the Gusties Saturday and Joe Lindberg also scored a goal. Jake Bushey assisted on both goals and now has 13 assists on the season, the most on the team. Erik Johnson started for the second consecutive game and made 20 saves to nail down the win. St. Olaf stretched its unbeaten streak to three games on Friday thanks to an overtime goal by Drew Otto. Otto also scored in Saturday’s game. Tobias Gabrielsen and Patrick Sivets also scored for the Oles in the win. Gustavus ends the weekend with its first MIAC victory of the year. The Gusties are 2-11-4 overall and 1-6-1 in the conference. St. Olaf is now 5-11-2 overall and 3-6-1 in the MIAC.
Wis.-Stevens Point edged Wis.-Eau Claire 3-2 in a crucial WIAC showdown Friday. The Pointers grabbed a 2-1 lead after two periods and held on for the win over their WIAC rival. Jacob Barber scored a short-handed goal in the third to secure the win for the Pointers.
Noteworthy: Lawrence Cornellier and Austin Kelly pushed the Pointers out to a 2-0 lead before Jake Hopfner scored off a power play to cut the Wis.-Stevens Point advantage to one. Max Milosek made 19 saves to earn his ninth win of the year. Adam Knochenmus also scored a goal for the Blugolds, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Wis.-Stevens Point and Wis.-Eau Claire have identical records. Both teams are 13-4-3 overall and 3-1 in the WIAC.
Wis.-River Falls nailed down a big WIAC win Saturday night, knocking off Wis.-Stevens Point 4-2 for its conference win of the season. Four different players scored in the win for the Falcons.
Noteworthy: The Falcons jumped in front 1-0 on Terry Leabo’s first goal of the season. Blake Anderson came through with his second goal of the year. Taylor Burden put the Falcons in front 3-1 on his third goal of the year and Mike Fazio capped the scoring for Wis.-River Falls with his fifth goal of the season. The Pointers held a 32-22 advantage in shots, but couldn’t avoid their fourth loss of the year. Kyle Sharkey and B.J. Duffin both scored for Wis.-Stevens Point. Wis.-River Falls is now 9-10-1 overall and 1-3 in the WIAC. Wis.-Stevens Point fell to 13-4-3 and is 3-1 in the conference.
St. Scholastica dominated its two-game series against Lawrence, winning 7-2 Friday and then earning a 2-1 win Saturday. The Saints have never lost a game at home against the Vikings.
Noteworthy: In Friday’s win, Derek Sutliffe, playing in his 100th career game, tied the game at 1-1 in the opening period, but Brett Radford, who has tallied at least a point in eight consecutive games, scored in the second period to even the score at 2-2. Cole Golka gave the Saints the lead for good in the second. Steven Phee had a big night, scoring once and tallying three assists. It was a much tighter game Saturday, with Golka providing the difference-maker in the third period. Mike Nolan also scored for St. Scholastica, while Sutliffe dished out two assists. Josh Koepplinger scored the lone goal for the Vikings. The Saints are 10-6-1 overall and 8-3-1 in the NCHA. The Vikings are now 8-10-2 overall and 5-3 in the conference.
Marian and Lake Forest split their weekend series. The Sabres prevailed 2-1 Friday, but lost 4-3 Saturday. In the series finale against the Foresters, Marian gave up three goals in the second period. Jack Lewis scored one of his two goals for the Foresters in the period. Travis Hill and Cody Guldorzi also scored. Gianni Mangone and Travis Meyer both scored for the Sabres, who fell to 10-8-1 overall and to 8-6 in the NCHA. Lake Forest is now 10-9 overall and 6-8 in the league.
Marian pushed its win streak to five games Friday night thanks to a goal by Derek Perl. Derek Thorogood also scored for the Sabres. Lewis scored the lone goal for the Foresters.
