Adrian made a statement Friday and Saturday in a battle of two nationally ranked NCHA teams, reigning supreme in a pair of wins over Aurora.
Third-ranked Adrian swept the then No. 7 Spartans, winning the opener 8-4 before closing things out with an 8-2 win.
The Bulldogs have now won four consecutive games and returns to the top of the conference standings on the strength of their latest wins.
They closed out the series with a dominant third period, putting up five goals on their way to the series sweep and their fourth consecutive win.
Riley Murphy paved the way as he recorded a hat trick while Matius Spodniak struck for a goal and an assist as he continues to lead the nation in scoring.
Connor May added a goal and two assists while Ryan Pitoscia tallied two assists as Adrian improved to 18-3-2 overall and 12-3-1 in the conference. Aurora, which fell to 12th nationally, drops to 15-6-2 overall and 11-3-2 in NCHA play. Nic Tallarico came through with 23 saves for the Bulldogs. Carson Riddle and Derek Budz both scored for the Spartans.
Adrian actually took over first place on Friday with its series-opening win. Spodniak scored twice and Mathew Rehding dished out five assists, tied for the second-most in a game program history. Alessio Luciani and Ty Enns both scored twice as well.
The Bulldogs are now just one win away from securing the Peters Cup. They play against St. Norbert this coming weekend to close out the regular season.
Thunder rolls to series sweep
Trine played an impressive brand of hockey Saturday night in its series finale against Lake Forest, rolling to a 7-0 victory.
Outside the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll last week, the Thunder check in at No. 15 this week while improving to 15-7-1 overall and 10-6 in conference play. Lake Forest falls to 9-10-4 and 6-7-3.
Sam Antenucci led the offense with a pair of goals and Garrett Hallford dished out four assists. He also scored a goal for a five-point night.
Three of Trine’s goals came off off the power play and Kyle Kozma registered 33 saves in goal for his second shutout of the season and career.
Trine opened the weekend with a 2-1 win on the road over the Foresters. The Thunder scored both of their goals in the second period.
Thad Marcola tied the game at the 9:50 mark of the period and Hallford came through with the game winner less than three minutes later. Griffen Sanom scored Lake Forest’s lone goal.
Kozma tallied 22 saves for his fifth win of the year.
Green Knights hold off Raiders
St. Norbert has won its last two games after sweeping MSOE over the weekend. The Green Knights won the opener 5-2 and closed things out with a 4-3 victory.
Liam Fraser’s hat trick on Saturday was the difference in the finale. That effort included the game-winning goal as he put the Green Knights up 3-1 just 23 seconds into the second period. Fraser added an assist to his point total for the night as he helped St. Norbert improve to 14-7-2 overall and 11-4-1 in conference play.
Brendan Aird added two assists and Curtis Hammond scored a goal for the Green Knights, who need a win and an overtime game against Adrian to claim the Peters Cup title.
St. Norbert scored three goals in the second period on Friday to seal the deal. Those goals came over a six-minute stretch.
Fraser and Michael McChesney both tallied a goal and an assist in the win. Johnny Roberts made 21 saves.
Falcons soar in sweep of Blugolds
Burke Simpson scored in overtime to lift UW-River Falls to a 4-3 win and series sweep of UW-Eau Claire. Simpson scored just 23 seconds into OT and also scored the game-tying goal that forced OT. HE also dished out an assist in the win.
Connor McGrath came through with a goal and two assists for the Falcons, who improved to 9-13-1 overall and 3-9-1 in the WIAC. Dysen Skinner tallied 18 saves as UW-River Falls snapped a two-game losing streak.
In Friday’s 1-0 victory, the lone goal of the game was scored in the opening period by Valentino Passarelli. Skinner came up with 25 saves for his fourth shutout win of the year.
Lumberjacks just miss out on win
Northland didn’t come away with a victory over nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point in regulation or overtime, but they did get a shootout win thanks to goals by Luke Hartge and Conor Taylor.
Josh King scored with 16 seconds left in regulation to force OT. Brock Weiner scored his fifth goal of the season, tied for the most on the team. Chris Curr tallied 33 saves as the Lumberjacks ended a nine-game losing streak. Curr made six of those saves in OT.
Northland wasn’t as fortunate on Saturday as the Pointers rolled to a 6-0 win. Andrew Poulias scored a goal and dished out an assist. Dawson Sciarrino tallied two assists.
The Pointers are ninth nationally and are 13-5-4 overall and 9-2-1 in the WIAC. Northland is 1-19-2 and 1-10-1 in conference play.
Yellowjackets sting Blue Devils
UW-Superior controls its own destiny heading into the final weekend of WIAC play after beating UW-Stout 3-1 on Friday night.
The Yellowjackets face UW-Stevens Point this coming weekend and go into that series with a chance to claim the regular-season title. They are riding a four-game win streak.
Colton Friesen scored his first goal since Dec. 29 and it marked his 10th of the year. Gavin Rasmussen and Conor MacLean also scored goals in the win. Myles Hektor made 31 saves, including 24 in the final two periods of play. The win was his third of the year.
Cardinals dominate Johnnies
Saint Mary’s avenged Thursday’s 2-0 loss to Saint Johns with an impressive 7-3 win over the Johnnies on Saturday.
It’s the third consecutive series where the Cardinals have earned a split. Saint Mary’s is 10-10-1 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
Laudon Poellinger, Colin Tushie, Warner Young and Thomas Magnavite all tallied a goal and an assist in the win. Kellen Tharaldson dished out two assists, as did Jack Campion.
Saints still in first
St. Scholastica remains the top team in the MIAC after sweeping Bethel to stretch their win streak to six games.
The Saints are 14-5-2 overall and 11-0-1 in the MIAC.
After opening the weekend with a 6-4 win on Friday, the Saints earned a 5-3 win on Saturday.
Carsen Richels scored twice for the Saints in Saturday’s game and finished with five points in all in the series.
Jacob Seitz dished out a pair of assists and Arkhip and Filimon Ledenkov both scored a goal as the Saints remained the only unbeaten team in conference play.
Jack Bostedt was once again impressive in goal as he made 38 saves.
On Friday, Richels and Nathan Adrian each scored twice for the Saints. One of the interesting things about that game was neither team had a penalty.
Auggies on a roll
Augsburg is in the midst of a late-season surge as it stretched its win streak to three gams with a sweep of Concordia in MIAC play.
The Auggies won 4-3 on Friday and then wrapped up the series with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Samuel Vyletelka recorded his seventh career shutout to set a new record for shutouts in a season. He stopped 34 shots in the win. It’s the fifth game of the year where he has made 30 or more saves in a game.
Jack Blackowiak scored the lone goal of the game for the Auggies, who were outshot 34-24. Augsburg had outshot its opponent in its previous seven games.
Augsburg is now 12-8-1 and 8-4 in the MIAC.
Ten different players factored into the scoring in Friday’s win, including goal by Blackowiak.
