Trine pulled off perhaps the biggest sweep of the weekend, stunning Marian in an NCHA showdown. The Thunder scored five goals in both games to take down the Sabres, who came in as the leader of the North Division. Lake Forest, meanwhile, kept its impressive win streak intact.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire also made a statement over the weekend with a sweep of Wisconsin-Superior in a battle of nationally ranked teams. The Blugolds dominated the series, allowing just two goals to surge back into first place in the WIAC.
Over in the MIAC, Gustavus and Bethel have put themselves in a great position in the MIAC, sitting in a tie for second. The Royals are enjoying their best season in nearly a decade.
Here are some of the top storylines from the weekend
Thunder delivers impressive performance
Trine wasn’t expected to beat Marian over the weekend. But the Thunder went out and proved the doubters wrong, knocking off the Sabres 5-0 and 5-1 to complete a series sweep of a Marian team that came in leading the way in the NCHA North Division.
Trine trailed 1-0 in Saturday’s win before roaring back for the upset win.
TJ Delaney tied the score at 1-1 and Trine never looked back.
Frank Trazera put Trine up 2-1 after two periods of play and William Casey extended the advantage to 3-1. A pair of empty-net goals finished out the scoring for the Thunder.
Brett Young came up big for the second consecutive night. After a shutout win the night before, he made 34 saves in Saturday’s win. His shutout on Friday was his third of the year.
The Thunder is now 10-8-1 overall and 8-5-1 in the conference.
Lake Forest continues to roll
The Foresters stretched their win streak to 11 games Saturday with an 8-0 win over St. Scholastica. Lake Forest opened the weekend with a 6-1 win.
Aaron O’Neill led the way as he scored four times and dished out two assists, the first six-point performance by a Forester in the more than a decade. He had a hat trick by the second period, the second of his career. He is the 17th player in program history to score at least four goals in a game.
Four others also scored for Lake Forest, which is now 16-2-1 overall and 13-1-0 in the NCHA.
Boyd DiClemente came through with eight saves in the win.
Blugolds roll past Yellow Jackets
UW-Eau Claire came up big in a critical conference series against UW-Superior, sweeping the Yellow Jackets. THe Blugolds won the opener 4-2 and then skated to a 2-0 win Saturday to close out the series.
UW-Eau Claire is now 14-3-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the conference.
Zach Dyment was on top of his game in Saturday’s win, making 25 saves for his fourth shutout of the year. He is 11-2-2 on the year.
Matt Stanton and Jake Bresser both scored goals for the Blugolds, who are now 6-2-1 when leading after one period of play.
Pointers end series on high note
Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-River Falls played to a 2-2 tie on Friday before the Pointers bounced back Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Falcons.
UW-Stevens Point sits in second place in the league with a 10-6-3 mark. The Pointers are 4-2-3 in the conference. The Pointers extended their unbeaten streak to seven games.
Stevn Quagliata gave UW-Stevens Point a 1-0 lead in the opening period and Logan Fredericks made it 2-0 in the third. Luke Mclhenie added a third goal later in the period. He leads the team with 12 goals on the season.
Eli Billing stepped up in goal, stopping 12 shots.
Gusties battle Tommies tough
Gustavus made a move to the second spot in the MIAC standings over the weekend with a solid performance against St Thomas.
The Gusties ended the weekend with a 3-3 tie against the Tommies and opened it with a 3-2 win.
A strong first half helped set the tone. Gustavus took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Tyler Ebner in the opening period.
Dylan Gast put the Gusties ahead 2-0 in the second off his first collegiate goal and Ebner scored a second time for a 3-0 lead.
The Tommies cut their deficit to 2-1 in the second and got another goal in the third but Robbie Goor rose to the occasion in goal, stopping 28 shots in all.
Gustavus comes out of the weekend with an 8-6-3 overall record and 4-2-2 mark in league play.
Bethel sweeps Cardinals
Bethel joins Gustavus in a tie for second place in the standings after sweeping Saint Mary’s. The Royals topped the Cardinals 4-3 in their opener and then closed out the series with an impressive 5-3 win.
The Royals scored four uanswered goals in the third period to notch their first conference series sweep since the 2012-13 season. They are now 5-11-3, marking the first time they have won more than four games since the 2012-13 season. Josiah Roen came through with a pair of goals in the third to seal the deal.
Roen also dished out an assist. Brandon Baker scored a goal and tallied an assist while Jarrett Cammarata came through with a pair of assists.
Luke Posner scored a goal as well in the win and Joe Sheppard made eight of his 26 saves in the third period.
