Jonathan Desbiens power play goal with 1:26 left in regulation broke a 3-3 tie and Ryner Gorowsky’s empty-net goal 39 seconds later completed the hat trick as Bentley earned a 5-3 win over Canisius to sweep the best-of-three Atlantic Hockey first-round series.
Jonathan Desbiens with the game winner!
Breaks a 3-3 tie with a power play goal with 1:26 left in the 3rd period. pic.twitter.com/xnPJy6pEo1
— Bentley Hockey (@BentleyHockey) March 8, 2020
Unlike Friday’s series opener, a 6-1 win for Bentley, Saturday’s rematch was back-and-forth throughout. Bentley never trailed but watched leads of 2-0 and 3-2 slip away before Desbiens game-winner.
Bentley took advantage of the power play scoring three times, including the game-winner, in four opportunities.
Other Atlantic Hockey playoff results
Robert Morris 2, Holy Cross 1 (series tied, 1-1)
Air Force 5, Mercyhurst 1 (Falcons win series, 2-0)
Scoreboard | PairWise Rankings
ECAC playoffs
Princeton 5, Dartmouth 4 (OT)
Princeton, a team that won just four regular-season games and only two in ECAC play, completed a two-game sweep of Dartmouth, winning for the second straight night in overtime as Mark Paollini scored on the power play at 10:55 of overtime.
The Game Winner! The Series Ender!
Paolini Finds Paydirt And Princeton Advances! pic.twitter.com/p9J0nYUpBj
— Princeton University Hockey (@princetonhockey) March 8, 2020
The Tigers will advance to face No. 1 Cornell next weekend in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.
Princeton spoiled an impressive comeback from the Big Green, which trailed 4-1 with less than nine minutes to play. Goals from Harrison Markell at 11:52 and Tanner Palocsik at 12:57 of the third closed the gap to one, before an extra-attacker goal from Matt Baker forced overtime.
Easily the star of the game and the weekend for Princeton was goaltender Jeremie Folger who stopped 46 shots on Saturday to help his team advance.
Other ECAC playoff results
Harvard 7, St. Lawrence 1 (Crimson wins series, 2-0)
Colgate 3, Brown 2 (OT – Raiders wins series, 2-0)
Yale 4, Union 1 (Series tied, 1-1)
WCHA Playoffs
Michigan Tech 4, Northern Michigan 3 (3OT)
Logan Pietilla’s goal at 4:41 of the third overtime period gave Michigan Tech a 4-3 victory advancing them past rival Northern Michigan in WCHA quarterfinal play. The win earns the Huskies a series sweep and a trip to the WCHA semifinals.
The game was the 17th longest men’s NCAA Division I hockey game of all time.
Logan Gagne scored twice for Tech, including a goal early in the third period that tied the game at 3. Michigan Tech will await their opponent, a game that will be played on the road, next weekend in the WCHA semifinals.
Other WCHA playoff results
Minnesota State 4, Alaska Anchorage 2 (Mavericks win series, 2-0)
Lake Superior 5, Bemidji State 3 (Series tied, 1-1)
Bowling Green 3, Alaska 2 (Falcons win series, 2-0)
Big Ten playoffs
Minnesota 2, Notre Dame 1
Ryan Zuhlsdorf got host Minnesota on the board early, just 1:24 into Saturday’s second game of the Big Ten quarterfinal series as the Gophers earned a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame to force a third-and-deciding game on Sunday.
Hey Morris, Munson's just gonna sneak that one right behind ya! pic.twitter.com/RvfxIlokHP
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) March 8, 2020
Jack LaFontaine was strong in net for Minnesota, stopping 30 shots including 13 in the third period.
These clubs have now played six times this season combining for a 2-2-2 record over that span.
With both Ohio State and Michigan advancing in their quarterfinal series on Saturday, the winner of Sunday’s game between the Gophers and Fighting Irish will travel to Penn State next weekend for the Big Ten semifinals.
Big Ten playoff results
Michigan 3, Michigan State 0 (Wolverines win series, 2-0)
Ohio State 2, Wisconsin 1 (Buckeyes win series, 2-0)
