Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. No. 1 Minnesota State makes statement with road sweep of Duluth
If there was any doubt that Minnesota State deserves to be called the top team in the nation at the season’s current state, the Mavericks put that to bed this weekend.
Minnesota State defeated Minnesota Duluth 4-1 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday in Duluth.
A big reason for the sweep was Mavericks’ goaltender Dryden McKay. The sophomore had 27 saves on Friday night and 37 on Saturday.
Minnesota State’s special teams was also key all weekend, scoring five goals on the power play. The Mavericks also successfully killed off a five-minute major late in the second period of Saturday’s game to preserve a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs eventually evened the game in the third period, but Lucas Sowder and Jake Jaremko netted goals to secure the sweep.
2. Winter weather, power outage, make Saturday’s game difficult
The series between Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth was arguably one of the most highly touted of the entire season, but only a handful of people saw the Mavericks complete the sweep live.
That was for good reason, as the Duluth area was hit with a major blizzard Saturday evening into Sunday. More than a foot of snow and high winds off Lake Superior made getting to the game difficult. Attendance, which is based on tickets sold, was announced at 5,103 but about one in five tickets went unused.
Amsoil Arena also lost power about three minutes after the puck drop in the first period. Both teams went back to their locker rooms and the delay lasted roughly 15 minutes.
3. Mercyhurst and Robert Morris postponed
Duluth wasn’t the only team with arena issues this weekend. Friday’s game between Mercyhurst and Robert Morris at the Mercyhurst Ice Center was postponed when a protective covering over a light fixture came loose prior to the game beginning. The game was postponed in the interest of safety, as the covering was above the playing surface.
The two teams were able to play Saturday, at Robert Morris, and ended up tying 2-2. Friday’s game will be made up on Tuesday, Jan. 14, before the weekend where the two teams were scheduled to play their second home-and-home series of the season.
4. North Dakota wins both ways against Minnesota
With a blowout victory on Thanksgiving and a tight one-goal victory on Friday, North Dakota got full value out of its series at Minnesota this weekend.
Thursday’s game had a football score, with UND winning 9-3. The Fighting Hawks got goals from eight different players in the game and, somewhat shockingly, all were even-strength except for Colton Poolman’s power-play tally late in the first period. Minnesota’s Bob Motzko used all three of the goaltenders he had on the bench at some point in the game.
Friday’s game was more competitive. The Gophers took the lead with an unassisted goal by Tyler Nanne, but UND scored the game’s next three goals. Minnesota clawed to within one goal early in the third period but was unable to come up with the game-tying goal.
5. Bowling Green downs Notre Dame in home-and-home series
Minnesota State wasn’t the only WCHA team that enjoyed a big nonconference sweep this weekend. Bowling Green swept its series against Notre Dame by winning 5-2 on the road Friday and also picking up a 5-2 home win on Saturday.
The Falcons were able to chase Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris after two periods on Friday. Freshman Ryan Bischel got the start for the Irish on Saturday, but didn’t fare much better.
Eight players lit the lamp for the Falcons this weekend. Frederic Letourneau and Brandon Kruse each scored a goal in both games. Goaltender Eric Dop picked up both wins, making 27 saves on Friday and 25 on Saturday.
6. AIC picks up important points against RIT
Last year’s NCAA tournament Cinderella, AIC, hasn’t exactly set the world on fire early this season but the Yellow Jackets picked up a big Atlantic Hockey sweep this weekend at home against RIT.
AIC won 4-2 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday. Joel Kocur scored two first-period goals, the second short-handed, to get the Yellow Jackets off the mark on Friday. On Saturday, AIC used power-play goals by Austin Albrecht, Janis Jaks and Martin Mellberg to score the first five goals of the game before RIT scored late in the third period.
AIC currently sits fifth in Atlantic Hockey with 15 points.
7. Boston College downs Harvard
In the lone upset in games played between two ranked opponents, No. 14 Boston College downed No. 9 Harvard on Friday night in Cambridge, Mass.
Harvard looked to be the team in control when Jack Drury scored a power-play goal at the 17:15 mark of the second period to take a two-goal lead, but it would be the Eagles that ended the period with the lead. Aapeli Rasanen scored at the 17:35 mark of the period, Alex Newhook tied the game at the 18:30 mark and David Cotton gave BC the lead at the 19:27 mark. Mark McLaughlin gave the game its final score with a short-handed tally in the third period.
8. Cornell blanks Boston University at Madison Square Garden
Matthew Galajda’s big performance in the Big Apple was more than enough to give Cornell a 2-0 victory over Boston University in the Red Hot Hockey game at Madison Square Garden.
Galajda picked up a 28-save shutout as Cornell improved to 9-0 for the first time since the 1969-70 season. Michael Regush and Brenden Locke scored the goals in the game.
Cornell will try to go undefeated in the first half of its schedule. The Big Red will play their final two games of 2019 next weekend at Harvard and Dartmouth.
9. UConn sweeps Miami at home
UConn may currently rest in the bottom of the Hockey East standings, but the Huskies picked up an impressive sweep of a NCHC opponent this weekend.
UConn downed Miami 6-4 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. The Huskies trailed 3-1 after one period and 4-3 after two on Friday, but scored three goals in the third period. Vladislav Firstov scored two goals in the contest, including the game winner.
The Huskies surrendered a one-goal lead in the third period on Saturday, but were able to build a two-goal lead thanks to goals from Brian Rigali and Yan Kuznetsov. Miami’s John Sladic cut that lead back to one, but Miami was unable to tie the game.
10. Ohio State sweeps newly-ranked Michigan State
A string of impressive performances helped Michigan State climb back into the rankings this week, but Ohio State put the Spartans back in their place.
The Buckeyes picked up the home sweep, winning 3-1 on Saturday and 2-0 on Sunday. Ronnie Hein picked up two goals during Saturday’s contest. Tanner Laczynski and Gordi Myer provided the offense on Sunday.
Ryan Snowden and Tommy Nappier each picked up a win in net. Snowden made 26 saves on Saturday and Nappier pitched a 23-save shutout on Sunday.
