D-III West Men’s Hockey Weekend Wrap-up

Aurora pulled off an upset win of Adrian on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Aurora Athletics)

Aurora produced the win of the weekend and made a little history in the process.

The Spartans had never beaten Adrian on the ice, and it looked as if it might stay that way after losing 3-2 on Friday to the second-ranked Bulldogs.

Hope for a win remained dim on Saturday after the Bulldogs jumped on top 2-0 in the first, But the Spartans rallied and prevailed 4-3 for an upset win and huge NCHA victory.

Akl Hassan assisted on three of the goals while Giovanni Procopio finished with a goal and two assists as the Spartans improved to 4-3-1 overall and 4-2 in the conference. JaCob Mucitelli racked up 19 saves to help Aurora hold on for the memorable win.

Adrian lost for only the second time this year and is now 5-2-1 overall and 5-1 in NCHA play.

In Friday’s 3-2 loss, all five goals were scored in the final period.

Here’s a look a some of the other games that took place this weekend.

NCHA

Green Knights top Sabres

St. Norbert dominated Marian 6-2 on Friday and then finished off a sweep with a 3-2 win Saturday.

Friday’s win marked a season high in goals for the Green Knights, who are now 6-3- overall and 5-1 in the conference.

Logan Dombrowsky helped lead the charge with a goal and three assists. 

Liam Fraser finished with a goal and two assists while Adam Stacho scored his seventh goal of the season and also dished out an assist. Bryan Gilman’ recorded his first collegiate goal and added an assist as well.

On Saturday, St. Norbert earned its third consecutive win after Dombrowsky scored at the 14:36 mark of the third period to secure the victory. The Green Knights have won five of their last six.

Two more for the Thunder

Trine notched two NCHA wins over the weekend as it crushed Lake Forest 6-1 on Friday and then earned a 3-2 win Saturday.

Five players scored goals, with Brendan Finn leading the way with a pair of goals. Kyle Kozma came through with 12 saves on a night when he wasn’t tested often.

Trine improved to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in league play on Saturday after surviving overtime.

Josh Wright delivered the game winner a little more than four minutes into the extra session. Kozma helped seal the deal with 19 saves, three of which came in overtime.

Vikings split with Falcons

A five-goal second period helped lead Lawrence to its biggest win of the season as it blanked Concordia 8-0 Friday night.

Miles McCue made a little history as he came through with his first college hat trick and added one more goal for good measure, becoming only the fifth ever in the program to hit the four-goal mark in a game.

Carter Cloutier also played well, fashioning a hat trick on a night when he scored the first three goals of his college career.

It was also a big night for Nolan Mahaffey, who made 24 saves for his first collegiate shutout.

The Vikings are 3-4-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the league after falling 4-1 on Saturday. The Falcons jumped on top 3-0 and never looked back.

Alex Ochtiwa, Mason Ausmus, Seth Bergeron and Joey Petronack all scored for Concordia, which is 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the NCHA.

MIAC

Saints stay unbeaten

St. Scholastica remains one of the hottest teams out west. The Saints completed a sweep of St. John’s Saturday with a 3-0 win. They won the opener 4-2 last Thursday.

Ranked eighth nationally at the moment, the Saints are now 7-0 after Jacob Seitz scored for the third time in the last two games while Eino Rissanen got the start in goal and made 43 saves for his second win.

Isaac Suppin and Carsen Richels also scored goals in the victory, which gives St. Scholastica a 4-0 record in MIAC play.

St. Scholastica has scored three or more goals in all but two games this season.

In Thursday’s game, the Saints got two goals from Seitz while Arkhip Ledenkov punched in his third goal of the year. Jack Bostedt started in goal and made 32 saves.

Auggies dominate Cardinals

Augsburg skated to a MIAC sweep of Saint Mary’s over the weekend, winning 6-0 and 4-1 in their first two conference games of the season. Augsburg is 4-2-1 overall.

Erik Palmqvist and Kyler Yeo each tallied a pair of goals on a night when the Auggies held a 34-27 advantage in shots. Palmquvist also had an assist. Samuel Vyletelka made 26 saves after racking up 41 on Friday. Fritz Belisle dished out a pair of assists in Saturday’s win.

Daniel Chladek scored twice in Friday’s win for Augsburg which has won three consecutive games heading into December.

Oles roll to sweep

After winning 3-2 in overtime Friday over Hamline, St. Olaf dominated in the finale, scoring the last six goals of the game in a 7-2 win.

Eric Brown and Troy Bowditch paved the way for the Oles. For Brown, it was the first time in his college career with a two-goal game.

Cody Sherman racked up two assists and had the game-winning goal on Friday. 

Thomas Lalonde won for the first time this year as he made 22 saves in goal. The Oles have won two in a row and are 4-3-1 overall and 2-1-1 in league play.

Gusties earn split with Royals

Gustavus ended the weekend on a high note with a 6-2 win over Bethel, handing the Royals their first loss of the year.

Jac Triemert came through with a hat trick to highlight the big victory for the Gusties, who won a conference game for the first time this season. Gustavus is 3-4-1 overall and 1-3 in the MIAC. Bethel falls to 5-1-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the MIAC.

Gustavus held a 40-24 advantage in shots and went 5-for-5 in penalty kill situations.

It was a different story for Bethel one night earlier in a 4-1 win thanks to two goals by Jack Westlund.

WIAC

Pointers hold off Blue Devils

UW-Stevens Point capped a big week with a wild 7-6 win over UW-Stout in a battle of unbeaten WIAC teams.

A four-goal third period proved to be the difference in this road win for the 14th-ranked team in the country.

Noah Finstrom scored twice and Andrew Poulias put the Pointers up for good at 6-5 with under six minutes to play in the game.

Ryan Maguire racked up six saves in the third period to help seal the deal on his first collegiate win. Alex Proctor tallied 23 saves. Dawson Green made 28 saves for the Blue Devils. Kobe Keller scored twice for UW-Stout.

The Pointers have won five consecutive games and are 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference. They opened the week with a 5-3 win over nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire and closed the weekend with a 4-3 win over Northland.

Yellowjackets bounce back

After falling 2-1 to UW-River Falls Friday, UW-Superior knocked off UW-Stout 4-1 Saturday. Jack Boschert made 33 saves and the Yellowjackets held a 34-28 advantage in shots.

Jordan Guiney led the offense with three assists as UW-Superior improved to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the league. UW-Stout is 3-3-1 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

Blugolds top Falcons

Special teams was the name of the game for UW-Eau Claire, which earned a 2-1 win over UW-River Falls Saturday thanks to a power play goal and a goal off a penalty kill.

Aaron Swanson and Trenten Heyde scored the only goals of the night for the No. 6 Blugolds, who improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the WIAC. Max Gutjahr stopped 22 shots for his fourth win of the year.