St. Norbert rose to the occasion in a weekend series against Adrian, with the Green Knights coming through with a sweep in a showdown of nationally ranked opponents.
Seventh-ranked St. Norbert dominated both games against the No. 9 Bulldogs, winning 6-2 and 5-0 on the road to sweep Adrian for only the second time in program history.
The Green Knights improved to 16-5 overall and 11-3 in the NCHA, and in Saturday’s game, 12 players tallied at least one point. St. Norbert scored all five of its goals in the second period.
Ethan Byrne came through with a goal and assist while Liam Fraser finished with two assists. Hunter Garvey was on top of his game as he made 33 saves to help hand Adrian its first shutout loss of the year. The Bulldogs have dropped three in a row.
T.J. Koufis and Brock Baker each scored two goals in Friday’s win. Calvin Hanson racked up a pair of assists. Garvey finished his night with 26 saves as the Green Knights swept a weekend for the first time since Nov. 29-30 against UW-Eau Claire.
Spartans soar to top of standings
The series between Aurora and Trine lived up to the hype. And in the end, the Spartans came through with a sweep in a battle of nationally ranked NCHA teams.
Landry Schmuck proved to be a difference maker in the finale, scoring twice, including from inside the circle for the game winner in a 4-3 win for the No. 3 Spartans on Saturday.
His goal broke a 3-3 tie in the third and lifted Aurora to its eighth consecutive win. Hassan Akl added two assists and JaCob Mucitelli recorded 36 saves as the Spartans took care of business against the fourth-ranked Thunder and took over first place in the conference.
Aurora is 18-3 overall and 12-2 in league play.
Friday’s game was entertaining as well as Aurora and Trine were tied at 3-3 after two periods. The Spartans shifted the momentum in their favor in the third, scoring three times for a 6-3 win.
Matt Weber played in the 100th game of his career for Aurora, scoring two goals in the win, and Akl tallying a goal and assist, and he now has the single-season record for points (40). Mucitelli tallied 24 saves.
Foresters win two
Lake Forest got the job one in a weekend series against Dubuque, finishing off the series with a thrilling 5-4 win in overtime on Saturday.
Jared Gerger scored with 7.3 seconds left in OT to give the Foresters the win.
Chase Freiermuth scored in the win for his eighth goal of the year, while Matteas Derruagh tallied two assists, pushing his total to 13 on the year, the most on the team. Connor Scahill came through with two goals. He scored both of his goals off the power play.
Griffen Sanom and Logan Kittleson tallied two assists apiece while Bobby McCloskey tallied 20 saves. The Foresters improved to 9-11-1 overall and 5-8-1 in the NCHA.
Lake Forest scored twice in the opening period of Friday’s game and the Foresters went on to win 3-0.
McCloskey made 26 saves on his way to his second shutout win of the year. It’s the third of his career.
Gerger, Sanom and Trevor Faucher all scored for Lake Forest. Faucher’s goal was his 10th, the most on the team.
Lucky No. 13
UW-Superior now has a 13-game unbeaten streak after sweeping UW-Eau Claire.
The Yellowjackets won 4-1 and 2-0 to win their third in a row while their 13-game unbeaten streak is now the fifth longest in program history.
Saturday’s win was their fourth shutout victory of the year. Jan Skorpik made 26 saves to help Superior sweep the Blugolds in a series for the first time since 2010.
The Yellowjackets improved to 16-3-1 overall and 9-1-1 in the WIAC, remaining in first place in the league standings.
In Friday’s 4-1 win, Ikki Kogawa and Justin Dauphinais each scored twice. Dauphinais now has a team-best 11 goals on the year while Daniel Rozsival tallied two assists.
Falcons and Pointers split series
UW-River Falls managed a split with No. 10 UW-Stevens Point over the weekend, picking up a 3-2 win over the Pointers on Friday. It’s the second time this year that the Falcons have beaten the Pointers. They won 5-1 on Nov. 22.
Brennan Boynton came through with 31 saves while Max Collette, Dylan Smith and Reid Lune all scored goals.
The Pointers bounced back on Saturday with a 6-2 win. Six different players scored for the Pointers and Alex Proctor made 22 saves. Peyton Hart, Alec Hamady and Owen Dean each tallied a goal and assist for Stevens Point.
Stevens Point improved to 15-5-1 overall and 7-3-1 in the WIAC. River Falls is 11-9-1 overall and 5-5-1 in the league.
Working overtime
Gustavus and Bethel squared off in a pivotal MIAC series and both games ended up going to overtime.
The Gusties lost Saturday’s game 5-4 after rallying for a 4-3 win on Friday in OT. Despite the split, Gustavus remains in first place in the conference standings. Bethel is third.
The Gusties are 12-7 overall and 8-2 in the conference. The Royals sit at 10-7-2 overall and 6-3-1 in the MIAC.
Jack Brown was the hero for Bethel on Saturday, scoring with 1:10 to go in the extra session as Bethel secured its 10th win The Royals have now won 10 or more games in four consecutive seasons. Tyler Braccini played a key role in the win as he scored his 12th goal of the year.
On Friday, Gustavus won its eighth consecutive MIAC game after overcoming a two-goal deficit. Drew Holt scored the game winner at the 3:26 mark of OT.
Oles pick up two big wins
St. Olaf finished off its first MIAC sweep of the season with a 4-1 win over Augsburg on Saturday. The Oles won Friday’s game by a 3-2 score.
St. Olaf has won five of its last six games against Augsburg and is now within a point of a playoff spot in the league after starting the weekend at the bottom of the standings. The Oles are 9-73 overall and 4-5-1 in the MIAC.
Nicholas Sewecke scored a goal on Saturday, marking his third straight game with a tally, and and Camden Benson tallied a goal and assist for his first multi-point game at the college level. Thomas Lalonde made 32 saves.
On Friday, a third period goal by Connor Kalthoff secured a 3-2 win over the Oles. Kalthoff scored with 4:06 to play in the game. Lalonde won his first game of the year as he made 19 saves.
Saints go marching to pair of wins
St. Scholastic had a huge weekend in MIAC play as it swept Saint Mary’s with a pair of 5-1 wins.
The Saints are now in second place in the league standings, sitting at 11-9-1 overall and 6-6 in the MIAC.
On Saturday, Eino Rissanen tallied 44 saves, including 18 in the second period, while Gavin Gunderson scored twice and dished out an assist. Braden Panzer finished with two assists.
In Friday’s game Rissanen came up with nearly 50 saves (48) while Brodie Girod racked up a goal and assist. Tristan Shewchuk did the same while Wyatt Wurst added two assists for the Saints, who have won three of their last four.
