Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. No. 1 Gophers end regular season with big sweep
Minnesota’s five unanswered goals Saturday saw the top-ranked Golden Gophers come from behind to beat visiting No. 8 Ohio State 5-2 to close out a series sweep.
Aaron Huglen and Matthew Knies’ goals 12 seconds apart in the second period set the table for Minnesota’s 11th win this season against a top-10 opponent. The Gophers won in a game where they gave up two power-play goals for just the fourth time this season, and for the first time since mid-November.
The Big Ten’s regular-season champions finished the Ohio State series in front of a packed 3M Arena at Mariucci, playing to a sell-out crowd for the eighth time this season.
2. Quinnipiac reaches 20 league wins
Second-ranked Quinnipiac on Saturday became the first ECAC Hockey team in 34 years to reach the 20-win mark in-conference, thanks to a 4-1 win at RPI.
The Bobcats won both their games last weekend by matching scores, also beating Union 4-1 Friday on the road. RPI got on the board first Saturday, but multiple-point showings from Collin Graf, Jayden Lee, Jacob Quillan and Sam Lipkin helped Quinnipiac end the regular season with eight consecutive victories by a combined 33-7.
Quinnipiac’s 28 overall wins this season match the Bobcats’ total from a year ago. The Bobcats are one win away from setting a new program record for victories in a single season.
3. Harvard finishes regular season unbeaten in seven
Seventh-ranked Harvard should also feel good about itself heading into the postseason, as two road wins last weekend saw the Crimson’s officially unbeaten streak reach seven games.
Two-point showings from both Alex Laferriere and John Farinacci helped Harvard to its 6-2 win Friday at St. Lawrence, in a game where five different Crimson players scored. On Saturday at Clarkson, Ian Moore scored the eventual game winner with .02 seconds left in the second period, and Harvard held on to beat the Golden Knights 3-2. That saw the Crimson reach 21 wins for the second consecutive season.
Harvard has won six of its last seven games, with the only blemish in that span being a tie and shootout loss Feb. 13 against Northeastern in the Beanpot championship game.
4. Denver repeats as Penrose champions
Third-ranked Denver on Saturday won the Pioneers’ second consecutive NCHC regular-season title, thanks to a 3-1 road win against No. 5 Western Michigan.
In front of Lawson Ice Arena’s biggest crowd in 11 years, Denver erased a first-period deficit and saw Carter Mazur’s goal 4:48 into the third stand up as the game-winner. Magnus Chrona made 30 saves for Denver, earning his 22nd win of the season.
Denver’s two previous Penrose Cup triumphs came in 2017 and 2022, when the Pioneers also won the national championship. No pressure, then.
5. Minnesota State claims McNaughton again
With apologies to the rest of the CCHA, it feels like the McNaughton Cup is Minnesota State’s to hold onto until proven otherwise.
The Mavericks on Saturday became conference regular-season champions for the sixth consecutive year, thanks to a 3-2 home win over Michigan Tech. MSU had dropped a 2-0 decision to the Huskies one night earlier, but three-power play goals Saturday put MSU over the top.
Lake Superior State comes to Mankato, Minn., later this week for a first-round CCHA playoffs series against a MSU team hoping to make a repeat trip to the Frozen Four.
6. BU stays on top of Hockey East
Ninth-ranked Boston University is one of many teams standing in MSU’s way, though, and the Terriers are riding high after a road sweep over Vermont saw BU hold onto first place in Hockey East.
Two Dylan Peterson goals lifted BU to its 5-3 series-opening win Friday at Gutterson Fieldhouse, before Drew Commesso stopped all 23 shots he faced Saturday in a 3-0 victory for the visitors. Domenick Fensore, Luke Tuch and Jay O’Brien supplied the goals.
BU seems to own Vermont on the Catamounts’ home rink, winning eight straight there and earning shutouts in three of them. The Terriers were particularly good on the penalty kill last weekend, going 7 for 7.
7. Michigan, Notre Dame go to OT twice
In one of the bigger series of the weekend, fourth-ranked Michigan was taken to overtime twice by No. 20 Notre Dame, and the visiting Fighting Irish got the best of the deal.
They skated to a 3-3 tie Friday with Michigan but took the extra Big Ten standings point in the shootout. Regulation didn’t decide anything on Saturday, either, but Drew Bavaro’s second goal of the game 1:30 into overtime meant that Notre Dame came away happiest with how the weekend went. Irish goaltender Ryan Bischel was fantastic, too, making 48 saves.
A 2-0-2 mark from its last four regular-season games helped Notre Dame sneak into a home-ice spot for the first round of the Big Ten playoffs. The Irish host Michigan State for a best-of-three series starting on Friday.
8. Alaska on verge of NCAA tourney spot
Alaska is nearly within touching distance of earning a huge win for Division I independent teams, as the Nanooks zero in what could be their first NCAA tournament berth since 2010.
Matching 4-2 wins last Friday and Saturday at Arizona State set Alaska up in 12th place in the PairWise Rankings. The Nanooks finished the weekend with a flourish, too, as four unanswered goals helped Alaska reach the 20-win mark for the season. This is the first time that Alaska has hit 20 wins in a single season since 2001-02, when the Guy Gadowsky-led Nanooks reached 22.
Now led by an obvious national coach of the year candidate in Erik Largen, Alaska could all but lock up a NCAA tourney berth this weekend with two home wins over Lindenwood.
9. Omaha pays tribute to late assistant Jerrard
Fourteenth-ranked Omaha last weekend played the Mavericks’ first two home games following the death of UNO assistant Paul Jerrard, who passed on Feb. 15 following a long cancer battle.
He was 57.
Jerrard’s funeral service Wednesday was live-streamed for public viewing at Baxter Arena, where a later celebration of his life was held. Before the Mavericks’ series opener Friday against St. Cloud State, a moment of silence was held before Jerrard’s wife and two daughters performed a ceremonial puck drop.
UNO split the series against No. 6 SCSU, dropping a 6-2 decision Friday before winning Saturday by the same score.
10. Andrew helps RIT finish regular season with home sweep
Atlantic Hockey regular-season champion RIT had lost four of its last five games heading into last weekend, but the Tigers finished the right way with two victories against last-place Air Force.
Sophomore forward Tanner Andrew’s career-high three-point night Friday helped RIT beat the Falcons 3-1, and Andrew’s first collegiate multi-point game saw him reach 20 career points. He had another big game Saturday, scoring twice in a 5-2 victory on RIT’s Senior Night.
The Tigers open Atlantic Hockey playoff action Friday at home to Mercyhurst.
