Providence scored three first period goals and never looked back as the No. 12 Friars defeated Hockey East foe No. 6 Merrimack, 6-1, to earn the championship trophy at Dartmouth’s Ledyard Bank Classic.
Bennett Schimek, who opened the scoring for Providence at 5:49 of the first, paced the Friars offense with two goals and an assist. Nick Poisson added two goals and netminder Philip Svedeback made 19 saves to earn the win.
Unreal effort by Parker Ford to split the D and finish for his seventh of the season and our fifth shorthanded goal of the year! Craig Needham earns an assist.https://t.co/Vh8XM1NGi8 pic.twitter.com/XPGYA04asC
— PC Men's Hockey (@FriarsHockey) December 31, 2022
The victory avenges the Friars league loss to the Warriors at home 21 days ago. Providence is now 8-2-4 in the last 14 games.
In the consolation game, Tyler Campbell’s goal at 14:31 of the third period gave host Dartmouth just its second win of the season, a 4-3 victory over Yale.
Alaska Anchorage 3, No. 13 UMass Lowell 2
In what might be considered the biggest weekend upset of the season, Alaska Anchorage, which began the second half with just two wins and ranked 60th among 61 teams in the PairWise Rankings, completed a two-game road sweep of No. 13 UMass Lowell, 3-2.
After coming back from 2-1 down in the third on Friday, scoring the games final three goals in a 4-2 victory, the Seawolves scored three straight goals on Saturday and then held on as the River Hawks closed to within a goal, emerging with the second victory of the weekend, doubling UAA’s win total on the season.
UMass Lowell jumped on top early, scoring on its first shot as Isac Johnson ripped a shot inside the post at 2:44 of the first. But 30 seconds later, Matt Allen, a transfer from Lowell, tipped home a shot from Brett Bamber to even the score.
The Seawolves were outshot heavily for much of the weekend, but in Saturday’s middle frame was UAA’s best frame as they scored twice to take a 3-1 lead in the third, a lead the River Hawks couldn’t overcome.
No. 5 Penn State 3, No. 20 RIT 1
Penn State finished off a two-game sweep of No. 20 RIT on Saturday with a 3-1 victory at home to finish off the home-and-home series.
The Nittany Lions dominated the Tigers, 6-1, on Friday in a game played in Rochester.
Chase McLane and Alex Servagno each scored in the first and second periods, respectively, to spot the hosts a 2-0 lead.
First of his collegiate career from @alex_servagno!!#WeAre #HockeyValley@GamblersHockey | @USHL pic.twitter.com/SV2Kxr5zH2
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 31, 2022
After RIT’s Tyler Mahan made it a one-goal game with 3:45 left, Connor McMenamin’s empty-net goal sealed the game and the weekend sweep.
Alaska 3, No. 19 Notre Dame 2
The Nanooks of Fairbanks maintained a strong weekend for the Alaskan teams going into South Bend on Saturday, knocking off No. 19 Notre Dame, 3-2, in the opening game of a two-game non-conference series. The two clubs rematch Sunday at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Chase Dubois scored one in each of the first two frames and Karl Falk extended the lead to 3-0 with a goal with 1:04 remaining in the middle frame for a 3-0 edge through two.
Notre Dame did everything it could to come back in the third as Hunter Strand and Chayse Primeau each tallied to close the deficit to one.
But goaltender Matt Radomsky finished the final period with 17 saves, 32 on the game, to earn the victory.
