It was an interesting weekend of action, with Wisconsin-Stevens Point clinching the WIAC championship. The Pointers did it by rolling to a 4-1 win over Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a pivotal showdown that closed out the regular season for both teams.
Lawrence Cornellier scored his 19th goal of the year in the win. He also dished out an assist. Logan Fredericks fueled the offensive attack of the Pointers, scoring twice, and Kyle Sharkey dished out two assists.
Wis.-Stevens Point is now 17-4-3 overall and is 6-1 in the conference. Wis.-Eau Claire got its lone goal from conference scoring leader Patrick Moore. The Blugolds fell to 15-6-3 overall and to 4-3 in the conference.
The Pointers, who are the reigning national champions, enter the conference tournament on a five-game win streak. They have scored four or more goals in each of their last four games.
In other action from the weekend, Augsburg and St. Thomas battled in a pivotal MIAC series and the Auggies managed to forge a tie atop the standings thanks to a 5-3 win on Friday and a 6-6 tie Saturday. St. Thomas earned the bonus point in the series despite the tie as it earned a 1-0 win in a shootout. Charlie Donlin scored the shootout goal for the Tommies. Augsburg and St. Thomas both have 30 points apiece entering the final weekend of play.
Eric Brenk scored twice for Augsburg in Saturday’s wild game while Nick Schmit made 11 saves. Nate Flynn and Corbin Chapman both tallied a goal and an assist while Luke Gillett tallied two assists. Flynn leads the team with 14 goals and his total is the third-most in the conference. Brenk ranks fifth in the league in goals scored with 12.
Augsburg, which has clinched a MIAC tournament berth and is unbeaten in its last eight games, has outscored opponents 91-60 this season. Its 91 goals is the most in the MIAC.
The Tommies, despite not winning a game this weekend, are also assured of a spot in the conference tournament. Johnny Panvica, Tanner Barnes, Thomas Williams, and Brett Gravelle all scored a goal and dished out an assist in the tie. Benjamin Meyers made 19 saves as the starting goalie, but Andrew Rohkohl came in late in the second period and tallied 11 saves. It’s been a tough February for the Tommies, who have won just once in four games but are still alive in the hunt for a league title.
Saint Mary’s and Saint John’s split their weekend series. The Cardinals won the opener Friday by a 3-2 score in overtime and the Johnnies capped the weekend with a 5-4 win. Saint Mary’s clinched a playoff berth Friday. Kevin Walz scored less than two minutes into the overtime to lift the Cardinals to the win. The Johnnies led 1-0 until Jay Heinle scored his 10th goal of the season to even the score in the second period. Andrew Cummings gave Saint Mary’s a 2-1 lead. Huba Sekesi tied the score in the third to force overtime. Phil Heinle made a season-high 44 saves to help the Cardinals hang on for their third consecutive win.
Saturday’s game was a different story. The Johnnies scored three times in the third period to rally for the 5-4 win and snap their three-game losing streak. Sekesi scored the game-winner with less than three minutes to play. Sekesi has scored five goals and dished out five assists in 10 career games against the Cardinals. Sekesi dished out an assist in Saturday’s win. Rob Stautz and Tyler Dunagan both scored a goal and dished out an assist. Kyle Wagner tallied two assists as the Johnnies improved to 11-9-3 overall and to 6-6-2 in the MIAC. Saint Mary’s is now 13-9-3 overall and 9-6-1 in the conference.
The Johnnies enter the final weekend of regular season play two points behind Concordia for the final playoff spot. St. John’s closes out the regular season at home against Augsburg and Concordia, which tied (2-2) and lost (5-3) in a series with St. Olaf over the weekend, plays a series at Bethel.
Wisconsin-Stout came through with a big win in its final game of the regular season, knocking off Wisconsin-River Falls 4-3 Saturday night. Gavin Smith scored the game-winning goal for the Blue Devils. Wis.-Stout also tallied two power-play goals, ending a drought of six consecutive games without one. Joe Kleven and Jack Forbort both scored power-play goals for the Blue Devils, who are now 11-12-2 overall. They finished the regular season with a 3-5 record in conference play. Kleven also dished out three assists in the victory while Alex Toscano came through with two assists for Wis.-Stout, which was tied at 3-3 with Wis.-River Falls after two periods. Spencer Viele nailed down his seventh win of the year in goal, racking up 24 saves.
Mitch Kotny scored a goal and dished out an assist to pace the Falcons, who fell to 12-11-2 overall and finished the regular season with a 3-4-1 record in the WIAC.
St. Norbert capped off a sweep of St. Scholastica Saturday with a dominating 9-2 win. The Green Knights opened the series Friday with a 2-0 victory. The Green Knights dominated Saturday’s finale and clinched the NCHA North Division crown. Noah Nelson paved the way as he scored twice and dished out five assists. His five assists and his seven points tie school records. Steven Phillips had a productive day as well, recording his first career hat trick. He also dished out three assists as he nearly tied the record for points in a game. T.J. Black tallied 20 saves for the Green Knights, who are 18-4-1 overall and 14-3-1 in the NCHA.
Kale Derkson scored both goals for the Saints, who are 12-10-1 overall and 10-7-1 in the conference. The Saints have dropped three of four in the month of February but are still assured of a berth in the conference tournament.
Adrian went on the road and came up with a sweep of Concordia (Wis.). The Bulldogs won 8-1 Friday and closed the NCHA series out Saturday with a 3-1 win. Kyle Brothers paved the way for Adrian in Saturday’s win, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists. Taylor McCloy played well for Adrian, tallying a goal and an assist. Trevor Boyd scored a goal as well, pushing his season total to a team-best 15 goals. He has 31 points on the year, the most he has had in his career. Kevin Entmaa rose to the occasion in goal, racking up 25 saves. He won his 11th game of the year in the process.
Eric Therrien came through with the Falcons’ lone goal. It was his fifth of the year.
Adrian has now won its last four games and is allowing only 1.5 goals per game. The Bulldogs are 36-0 lifetime against the Falcons and have won 12 consecutive NCHA road games dating back to last year. Adrian is 16-5-2 overall and 15-3 in the NCHA. Concordia falls to 12-10-1 overall and to 9-8-1 in the conference. The Falcons have lost their last three games after winning three in a row.
