When the weekend began, the hopes of Northeastern earning its first-ever Hockey East regular-season title were slim.
They needed a minimum of five point against Merrimack and also needed Boston College to beat first-place Massachusetts twice in regulation.
That dream nearly ended on Friday when UMass, trailing 2-1, appeared to score the tying goal as regulation expired, but the goal was ruled to have entered the net a fraction of a second too late. Northeastern beat Merrimack, 6-1, to keep the slim hopes alive.
On Saturday, after UMass lost, 4-3, Northeastern was embroiled in a scoreless tie with Merrimack and seemed headed to overtime. UMass and UMass Lowell each had 46 points; Northeastern 44. An overtime or shootout win would give the Huskies a three-way share of the regular-season title, but the third seed in the playoffs.
And then Aidan McDonough changed everything.
AT THE DEATH. THE SNIPER.#HowlinHuskies | #HockeyEast pic.twitter.com/mqXIJdpqDe
— Northeastern Men’s Hockey (@GoNUmhockey) March 6, 2022
With 9.6 seconds remaining, McDonough was improbably left uncovered in front of the net as Jack Hughes won puck battle in the corner and centered a pass that McDonough fired far side on goaltender Hugo Ollas.
The 1-0 victory gave the Huskies the outright title in Hockey East and the top seed in the league tournament.
Goaltender Devon Levi was outstanding at the other end of the ice, earning the victory with 29 saves for his 10th shutout of the season.
Northeastern will play the lowest remaining seed from Wednesday’s opening round games at home next Saturday.
No. 3 Denver 5, Colorado College 1
Similar to Northeastern, the hopes of Denver earning even a share of the regular-season title in the NCHC didn’t seem highly probable. But with multiple scenarios falling right, the Pioneers not only earned a share of the Penrose Cup with North Dakota, they earned the number one seed in the NCHC tournament.
On Friday, a late Omaha goal forced overtime, keeping North Dakota from taking all three points and the outright NCHC crown. Even with an overtime win that evening, the Fighting Hawks only guaranteed a share of the trophy.
With a sweep of the weekend series over Colorado College and an Omaha win on Saturday, the Pioneers and Fighting Hawks each finished the season with 53 points. And despite North Dakota sweeping the head-to-head series, a quirky league rules eliminated that criteria because both games of the series were played at North Dakota.
Thus, based on total league wins, Denver is the top seed in the NCHC quarterfinals next weekend and will host Miami. Colorado College, which fell twice this weekend to Denver, travels to Grand Forks.
Saturday’s win was a cakewalk from the get-go with Denver scoring twice in each of the third two periods while limiting Colorado College to just seven shots total.
While the Tigers got on the board at 1:28 of the third on Marc Pasemko’s goal, Cole Guttman scored shorthanded at 5:05 to snuff out any hope of a miracle comeback.
Folks, it doesn't get any prettier than this. A short-handed, unassisted goal by the senior captain. pic.twitter.com/RlYDqvdxQ4
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 6, 2022
Carter Savoie scored twice for the Pioneers, while Bobby Brink added two assists to his national point scoring lead.
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
Bentley 4, Niagara 1 (Bentley wins series, 2-0)
Bentley scored the game’s opening two goals and never lost the lead, as Cole Kodsi added two third period goals to give the Falcons a 4-1 lead and a series sweep of 8th-seed Niagara in Buffalo.
IT'S A SWEEP!!
Cole Kodsi added his 2nd of the night with 3:27 left and we win Game 2, 4-1.
The Quarterfinals against AIC are up next! pic.twitter.com/JciRNUajld
— Bentley Hockey (@BentleyHockey) March 6, 2022
Brendan Hamblet and Kohei Sato scored 70 second apart midway through the first period to spot Bentley a 2-0 lead. Walker Sommer got the host Purple Eagles within a goal just 43 seconds after.
The game remained tied with the Falcons limiting Niagara’s opportunities through much of the second and third before Kodsi successfully clinched the series for Bentley.
They will now travel next weekend to top-seeded AIC in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals.
Other Atlantic Hockey scores
Mercyhurst 2, Holy Cross 1 (Mercyhurst wins series, 2-0)
Big Ten Tournament
Penn State 3, No. 12 Ohio State 2 (series tied, 1-1)
Ryan Kirwan’s goal with 2:41 remaining broke a 2-2 tie as Penn State upset No. 12 Ohio State to force a third and deciding game on Sunday in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
🚨 KIRWANNNNNNNN 🚨
Penn State leads 3-2 at 17:19 of the third period!!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/AoK4lP074Q
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 6, 2022
The visiting Nittany Lions never trailed on the night, opening the scoring with 29 second remaining in the first on a Dylan Lurgis goal. After Ohio State tied the game on the power play with 6:05 remaining in the second, Kevin Wall scored as Penn State retook the lead with 3:48 left in the middle period.
Cole McWard’s goal at 9:33 once again pulled the two teams even at two before Kirwan played the role of hero to bring the two clubs back for game three on Sunday.
Other Big Ten scores
No. 7 Notre Dame 3, Wisconsin two (series tied, 1-1)
No. 5 Michigan 8, Michigan State 0 (Michigan wins series, 2-0)
CCHA Tournament
Lake Superior 3, Northern Michigan 2 (series tied, 1-1)
Brandon Puricelli and Timo Bakos scored less the two minutes apart late in the second period to break a 1-1 tie as Lake Superior earned a 3-2 victory over Northern Michigan to even the CCHA quarterfinal series at a game a piece.
Lake Superior never trailed and scored twice on power plays, including at 10:15 of the first period when Miroslav Mucha netted his 10th goal of the season. Alex Fyre evened things with the man advantage at 9:54 of the second.
While the Lakers held a lead into the third, AJ Vanderbeck made things interesting, scoring his 24th goal of the season. But the Wildcats got no closer as goaltender Ethan Langenegger finished with 27 saves for Lake Superior.
Other CCHA scores
No. 15 Michigan Tech 3, Ferris State 2 (Michigan Tech wins series, 2-0)
No. 1 Minnesota State 8, St. Thomas 2 (Minnesota State wins series, 2-0)
Bemidji State 4, Bowling Green 2 (series tied, 1-1)
ECAC Tournament
Brown 2, St. Lawrence 1 (OT – series tied, 1-1)
It took Justin Jallen just 2:06 of overtime to score his 10th goal of the season and give ninth-seed Brown a 2-1 victory over St. Lawrence and force a game three on Sunday.
GAME 2 GOES TO THE BEARS!
Jallen from Crozier 2:06 into overtime!#GoBruno pic.twitter.com/yhwt1BT1Sp
— Brown Men's Hockey (@BrownMensHockey) March 6, 2022
After losing 4-1 on Friday, Brown trailed again early on Saturday on David Jankowski’s goal for the Saints at 18:41 of the first.
But as the opening frame expired, Luke Krys tallied to tie the game, where the game would stand due to solid defense on both sides.
The extra session, though, was all Brown, posting the only three shots of the short frame and the deciding goal.
Other ECAC scores
Rensselaer 3, Dartmouth 2 (series tied, 1-1)
Colgate 5, Yale 1 (Colgate wins series, 2-0)
Union 5, Princeton 1 (Union win series, 2-0)
