Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. North Dakota-Minnesota series goes both ways in OT
Fans at 3M Arena at Mariucci for either of the North Dakota-Minnesota games this weekend got more than they bargained for, both figuratively and literally.
Figuratively because each game was an intense back-and-forth affair that featured a rally by the home team to force overtime. Literally because the fans were treated to free hockey each night.
On the first night, Matthew Knies was the overtime hero just 21 seconds into the extra frame as the top-ranked Gophers rallied late for a 3-2 win. The next night, No. 7 North Dakota got the OT winner from Mark Senden at the 2:21 mark. The two-game series attracted an announced crowd of 20,611, plenty of whom were wearing North Dakota garb.
“You could feel it go both ways,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said of the atmosphere. “When they got a little momentum, their fans were yelling and screaming, and then obviously the chants that you hear constantly, not only at the Ralph, but you hear here, and we got some momentum too. It was great to hear, and I know our guys fed off that.”
2. St. Cloud sweeps Minnesota State on homecoming
St. Cloud, ranked No. 8 in the DCU/USCHO.com D-I poll, made it a memorable homecoming weekend with a sweep of No. 2 Minnesota State. The win put the Huskies at 6-0-0, their best start to a season since 2017. Minnesota State was swept for just the first time since 2018.
Grant Cruikshank scored twice for St. Cloud in the second game of the series, including his sixth of the season, which stood as the game winner with less than five minutes to go.
3. Denver takes two vs. Friars
Defending NCAA champion Denver, ranked No. 4 in the latest DCU/USCHO.com D-I poll, is now above .500 with a weekend sweep vs. No. 11 Providence. The Pioneers were swept the previous weekend at No. 6 UMass, and a win the week before against Maine puts them at 3-2-0 vs. schools from the six-state region.
On the night the 2022 national champions were celebrated, Denver’s Jack Devine scored the game winner at 1:16 of overtime before a crowd of 6.324.
“To go down and fight back and respond in the second (period) and to give up the late one and respond in the overtime with the big goal was awesome,” Denver coach David Carle said. “I think we sent a lot of happy people out of the building.”
4. Maine stuns No. 3 Quinnipiac, Bobcats get revenge next night
Quinnipiac escaped Maine with a weekend split, earning a 6-2 win on Sunday, one day after the Black Bears stunned the third-ranked Bobcats 4-0 at Alfond Arena.
Victor Ostman, who hails from Danderyd, Sweden, earned his first career shutout with 33 turnaways in the series opener.
5. Michigan takes two from Lake Superior State
A pair of freshmen helped lift No. 5 Michigan to a sweep in the U.P. over the weekend, as the Wolverines took wins of 5-2 and 5-1 at Lake Superior State. Adam Fantilli and T.J. Hughes led the way in Game 2, with Fantilli scoring a goal with three assists and Hughes lighting the lamp on back-to-back occasions.
Michigan improved to 5-1 on the season and will face intra-state rival Western Michigan (No. 17) next weekend before diving headfirst into Big Ten play the following weekend at No. 18 Penn State.
6. Six scorers pace UMass over Union
A well-balanced scoring attack led No. 6 UMass-Amherst to a pair of wins over Union. Six different players scored in a six goal scorers and 14 Minutemen notched at least one point in a 7-0 rout on Saturday. The win came on the heels of a 7-1 win the night before. Cole Brady had 31 saves for the shutout on Saturday.
“I think we can count on scoring throughout the lineup this year and that’s a nice relief for a coach,” said UMass coach Greg Carvel. “Depth in goaltending and depth in scoring hopefully (will) be consistent for us.”
7. Huskies, Terriers split in Boston
Boston University and Connecticut split a pair of contests between ranked Hockey East teams at Agganis Arena, with 14th-ranked Huskies taking Friday’s opener in overtime and the No. 9 Terriers earning a 5-2 win the following night, giving UConn its first loss of the season.
“Another good response from our team,” first-year BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “We didn’t play our best (Friday) night and we expected to have a good response from our group. Our leaders led the way tonight.”
8. Wisconsin wins pair of road upsets for first wins of season
Unranked and previously winless Wisconsin snapped out of its early season slumber in a big way, sweeping No. 10 Minnesota-Duluth with wins of 5-2 and 3-0.
Despite the mismatch on paper, the weekend in Duluth might have been just the thing the Badgers needed, as they extended their unbeaten streak against the Bulldogs to eight games (7-0-1).
Despite the loss, Duluth led the Badgers with shots on goal 35-28.
9. UMass Lowell upends Northeastern
In another matchup of Hockey East ranked teams, No. 19 UMass-Lowell went to No. 12 Northeastern and earned a 3-2 win at Matthews Arena.
“It wasn’t a work of art tonight, but there were some positives — scored a shorty, ended up 100 percent on the PK and a couple of guys scored their first of the year,” Lowell coach Norm Bazin said. “There’s still a lot to be worked on. We’re a work in progress right now.”
Northeastern, which has yet to play a road game, finally will don the black jerseys with a pair of games at Maine starting Friday.
10. Two shutouts in Broncos-Irish series
No. 17 Western Michigan and No. 13 Notre Dame split a pair of shutouts over the weekend, with each team winning on their home ice. The Irish skated to a 2-0 win on Friday in South Bend, Ind., while Western won 4-0 the next night in Kalamazoo.
A pair of defensemen led the way for the Broncos — Cedric Fiedler and Zak Galambos both scored a pair. Cameron Rowe stopped all 22 shots to earn his first shutout as a Bronco.
