Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
February is almost over, one league has (just about) reached the end of its regular season while another has crowned a champion. This and more in this week’s Monday 10…
1. Now that the math is done, Minnesota State is your CCHA champion
You can put your abacus away as I will save you a little time: Minnesota State is your CCHA champion. The league used percentage of total points (winning percentage) to determine its champion with the late addition of Augustana to the league schedule. And it was that Vikings team that forced us to pull out the calculators. Minnesota State, after sweeping Lake Superior this weekend, boasts a .722 winning percentage to Augustana’s .625. With the Vikings schedule complete, the Mavericks’ percentage can’t drop below .667. Hand them the trophy.
2. Season’s end delayed, Holy Cross still takes Atlantic crown
Holy Cross knew that this past weekend, despite the scheduled close of the Atlantic Hockey America regular season, that they still had a game to play. A rescheduled game against AIC is scheduled for Monday, but the Crusaders have already clinched at least a share of the title. They are currently tied with Sacred Heart so any points earned on Monday against the Yellow Jackets would clinch the crown outright. A regulation loss would create a co-champion situation though Holy Cross still owns the top seed.
3. Michigan State loses games and B1G top spot
It was one tough weekend for Michigan State. After moving back to the top spot in the USCHO.com poll last Monday, the Spartans took just one-of-six points from Penn State on home ice over the weekend. Michigan State rallied for a tie on Friday before dropping the shootout and then fell behind, 3-0, on Saturday to have a rally fall short. Certainly the results are disappointing for Sparty but more painful may be losing the grip on first place in the Big Ten to Minnesota, which swept Ohio State. That race will come down to the final weekend.
4. One team’s losses are another team’s gains
One the other side of Michigan State pain is Penn State, which has quickly ascended up both with Big Ten standings and the national rankings. The Nittany Lions are a point behind Michigan for the final home ice spot in the semifinals. More importantly, they’ve made a meteoric rise in the PairWise. On January 18, Penn State was 28th in the PairWise and winning the Big Ten tournament looked as the only hope for an NCAA bid. Now Penn State, riding a 9-1-3 record in its last 13, is 16th in the PairWise, needing to climb past Arizona State and UMass Lowell to get inside the cutline. An interesting wrinkle for the host school of the Allentown Region.
5. Boston College is eying the top spot in the poll, wrapping up Hockey East
Certainly, Boston College has been among the best teams all season. But recent losses to Boston University in the Beanpot final and Massachusetts had kept the race for the top spot in Hockey East close. Maine’s recent surge brought the Black Bears into a tie with the Eagles entering the weekend. BC, though, re-planted the flag with a sweep of Vermont while Maine lost its only game of the weekend in overtime to Connecticut. The Black Bears now have a game in hand on BC, but the Eagles lead by five points heading down the stretch.
6. Western Michigan likely wins the NCHC, but Arizona State put the celebration on hold for now
As the NCHC season comes to a close, Western Michigan is a mere three points away from clinching its first-ever regular season title. But Arizona State did its part to make sure points aren’t coming easy for the Broncos. The Sun Devils posted a 5-3 win on Friday and sported a 3-2 edge in Saturday’s rematch. Western Michigan, though, got a Liam Valente goal to tie the game before Iiro Hakkarainen won the game in OT. It is still mathematically possible for Arizona State, Omaha and North Dakota all to catch Western Michigan in the final two weeks. But if the Broncos can earn just three of the remaining 12 points, they’ll clinch the title. On another note, the regulation loss on Friday was the first in NCHC play all season for Western Michigan. That’s impressive.
7. Quinnipiac will enter final weekend on verge of ECAC title
Quinnipiac has quietly exploded to within two points of clinching the ECAC regular-season crown. The Bobcats have won four straight and are 7-1-0 in their last eight games. This stretch has given the Q a four-point lead in the ECAC over Clarkson heading into their game on Friday in the North Country. More importantly, the Bobcats are now 13th in the PairWise, inside the bubble which means it may be possible for the ECAC to get two teams into the NCAA tournament.
8. North Dakota sweeps Minnesota Duluth and may be stalking dark horse status
There are plenty of dark horses that over the next four weekends will help their teams emerge and win a conference championship. Sometimes they’re difficult to pick. But sometimes, you can see those teams coming. North Dakota seems ready to take on the status of dark horse. They are 5-2-1 in the last eight and are coming off a sweep of Minnesota Duluth to extend a winning streak to a modest three games. But the Fighting Hawks defense has also been making a mark, allowing three goals or less in 12 of the last 16 games.
9. Behind a three-point effort for Barrett Hall, St. Cloud State ends an ugly streak
It’s been a really difficult 2025 for St. Cloud State. Entering the new year with high hopes and an 11-7-0 record, the Huskies entered Saturday on an 11-game winless skid (0-10-1). But Barrett Hall proved hero on Saturday scoring the game’s first two goals and setting up a third in a 4-2 win over Colorado College. According to veteran scribe Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, the 11-game winless skid was a Division I record for St. Cloud.
10. Great career, toothy ending for Big Ten referee Tony Czech
This past weekend was the final for veteran Big Ten referee Tony Czech as he wore the stripes for Minnesota and Ohio State. But according to Gopher Puck Live, Czech’s goodbye weekend was interrupted on Friday when he was struck in the face by a stick, knocking out teeth. Anyone who has ever met an ice hockey official, particularly at the higher levels, know that being on the ice means everything to them. So it’s not surprising to see that Czech was back on Saturday night to finish off his great career.
