NCAA roundup
Atlantic Hockey
Air Force 3, at Sacred Heart 1
Shane Starrett made 21 saves and Air Force rode a three-goal third period to an important conference win. Tyler Ledford put Air Force on the board with a power-play goal at 10:27 of the third, and A.J. Reid scored what proved to be the game-winner at 15:09. After Kory Kennedy scored a short-handed goal at 18:11 to bring the Pioneers within one, Evan Feno added an empty-netter at 19:53 to seal the win. Sacred Heart went 0-for-2 on the power play.
Canisius 3, at Holy Cross 0
Cameron Heath scored two goals and Charles Williams made 30 saves to earn a shutout as Canisius earned a road win over Holy Cross. The Crusaders were 0-for-3 on the power play. Heath got Canisius on the board at 1:43 of the second with a quick wrist shot from the slot, and Heath added a power-play strike at 13:44 of the second, making it 3-0 after Casey Jerry had given Canisius at 2-0 lead at 2:30, just 47 seconds after Heath’s first goal.
ECAC
No. 4 Harvard 5, Rensselaer 1
Merrick Madsen made 30 saves and Luke Esposito and Sean Malone each had a goal and assist as Harvard rolled to a 5-1 victory over Rensselaer. Esposito’s power-play goal at 13:05 of the first proved to be the game-winner. Madsen helped Harvard kill off all five Rensselaer power-play opportunities. Cam Hackett made 33 saves in the loss.
WCHA
Alaska-Anchorage 4, No. 15 Bemidji State 1
The Seawolves got goals just 35 seconds apart in the first period from Mason Mitchell and Alex Jackstadt and rode that momentum to an upset win over No. 15 Bemidji State. Olivier Mantha made 26 saves in the win. The Seawolves were 0-for-5 on the power play, while Bemidji got its lone goal with an extra man at 8:21 of the third on a goal from Phillip Marianaccio. Though Bemidji had pulled to within one goal at that point, the special teams cost them when Matt Anholt got a short-handed goal at 17:17 to make it 3-1, and Austin Azurdia added an empty-netter to seal the win. Michael Bitzer made 16 saves in the loss.
Nonconference
No. 2 Denver 2, at Providence 2
Tanner Jaillet made 35 saves and Denver twice rallied from a one-goal deficit to tie Providence, 2-2. Denver was without its top three scorers, as Henrik Borgström and Troy Terry are competing in the World Juniors in Canada for Team Finland and Team USA, respectively, and Dylan Gambrell was sitting a one-game suspension for a penalty he took at the end of a game against Minnesota-Duluth. Jake Walman put Providence on the board on a power play at 16:19 of the first, but Matt Marcinew answered at 18:27. Providence took a lead into the third period on a goal by Garrett Gamez in the second period, but Jarid Lukosevicius tied it midway through the third period.
“I really liked the way we played tonight, especially with some key players out of the lineup for us,” DU coach Jim Montgomery said. “Obviously, it would’ve been nice to get the victory, but our staff was pleased with everyone’s effort and the way we battled hard in all three zones. Hopefully, we can come back with another strong effort on Saturday and come out with a series win.”
No. 13 Vermont 7, Bentley 1
Rob Darrar had two goals and two assists, Brendan Bradley scored a goal and three assists, and Brady Shaw had a goal and two assists as Vermont rolled past Bentley, 7-1. Darrar put the Catamounts up 1-0 at 7:10 of the first with a power-play goal, then Vermont broke the game open with five goals in the second period. Ross Colton started the carnage on a power-play goal at 3:22, Bradley struck on a power-play at 12:38, and Shaw struck on a power play at 14:41. Stefanos Lekkas made 16 saves, and Pat Feeley replaced him late in the third and made six saves. Jake Kauppila ruined Lekkas’ shutout bid at 6:26 of the third.
No. 20 Omaha 4, Lake Superior 1
Austin Ortega tied an NCAA record for game-winning goals as Omaha earned a big win at home, 4-1, over Lake Superior State. Omaha, 10-6-3, had entered tonight’s contest just 2-5-1 at home. Ortega got the game-winner when he fired home a pass from Fredrik Olofsson at 9:47 of the second period to give Omaha a 2-0 lead in the game. Ortega joined Brett Sterling of Colorado College and Kyle Rau of Minnesota with 23 career game-winning goals. Evan Weninger made 28 saves in the win. The Mavericks also got third-period goals from Fredrik Olofsson at 8:27 and Tyler Vesel at 12:28.
Bowling Green 3, RIT 0
Chris Nell made 17 saves in a 3-0 shutout win and Mitchell McLain got the only goal the Falcons would need on a four-on-four strike at 11:19 of the first period. Brett D’Andrea added a power-play goal at 17:51 of the first, and Frédéric Létourneau capped the scoring at 10:04 of the third.
Northeastern 8, Clarkson 2
Zach Aston-Reese had a hat trick, his second in a row, and Adam Gaudette had a goal and three assists as Northeastern romped to an 8-2 win over Clarkson. Ryan Ruck made a season-high 37 saves, including 29 in the second and third periods. Lincoln Griffin got the Huskies on the board just 47 seconds in the game, and Garrett Cockerill made it 2-0 just 1:30 later. Aston-Reese scored short-handed at 1:32 of the second, and got his second on a power play at 13:59 of the second, and capped off his night with an even-strength marker at 13:41 of the third. Clarkson’s special teams did earn a short-handed goal from Perry D’Arriso at 8:01 of the third. The game was the 200th career game for Northeastern coach Jim Madigan.
New Hampshire 6, Maine 4
In a nonconference battle between two Hockey East foes, the host Wildcats scored two goals in each period and got 33 saves from Daniel Tirone to defeat Maine, 6-4. Jason Salvaggio had two goals and two assists, and Tyler Kelleher had two goals and one assist. Maine twice battled back from one-goal deficits to tie the game, first getting a goal from Ryan Smith at 1:16 of the first to tie it at one after Salvaggio had scored just 28 seconds into the game, and then getting a goal from Eric Schurhamer on a power play just 44 seconds in the second to tie it at two.
