No. 8 Cornell knocks off No. 1 Quinnipiac in OT; No. 2 Minnesota State rolls past St. Thomas in the elements; No. 3 Michigan, No. 15 Ohio State win to remain atop B1G

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Minnesota State’s David Silye celebrates one of seven goals that the Mavericks scored outdoors in the snow at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato, Minn., as part of annual Hockey Day in Minnesota celebrations (photo: Jim Rosvold).

Freshly-minted No. 1 Quinnipiac may have a short-lived tenure atop the DCU/USCHO poll as No. 8 Cornell rebounded from a loss to Princeton on Friday with a 2-1 overtime victory on Saturday.

Ben Berard’s power play goal with 16 seconds remaining in overtime sealed the victory after Quinnipiac’s TJ Friedmann forced overtime with a goal at 5:39 of the third.

Though much has been made of the unworldly statistics of Quinnipiac netminder Yaniv Perets (18 saves), it was Cornell netminder Ian Shane who stood out on Saturday, stopping 33 of the 34 shots he faced to earn the victory.

For Berard, it was a two-goal effort having originally given the Big Red the lead, also on the power play, at 5:51 of the middle frame.

SCOREBOARD |  DCU/USCHO POLL  |  PAIRWISE RANKINGS

No. 3 Michigan 4, No. 11 Minnesota 1

A night after falling in overtime to host Minnesota, Michigan rebounded with a 4-1 victory on Saturday to take four-of-six points in the Big Ten standings.

With Ohio State sweeping Michigan State on the weekend, the two clubs now sit tied atop the Big Ten standings with 33 points, six points clear of third-place Minnesota.

The Wolverines fell behind early on Saturday as Bryce Brodzinski got the host Gophers on the board at 2:46 of the first. But Michigan answered twice in 62 seconds later in the frame on goals by Brendan Brisson and Matty Beniers.

Michael Pastujov and Nick Blanekburg added goals for the victory.

Goaltender Erik Portillo finishend the game with 39 saves for Michigan.

No. 2 Minnesota State 7, St. Thomas 1

With a picturesque backdrop of steady snow and packed stands, Minnesota State piled goals faster than Mother Nature could drop white flakes at Blakeslee Stadum in Mankato, Minn., defeating St. Thomas, 7-1, as part of Hockey Day in Minnesota festivities.

David Silye notched a hat trick for the Huskies, while goaltenders Dryden McKay and Kennen Rancier each saw time in the Mavericks net, McKay earning the victory making just five saves.

Despite consistent snow throughout the game, fans packed the stadium stands with temperatures in the single digits for much of the game.

 

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