Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. No. 2 BC sweeps No. 1 BU
I mean, where else were we going to start?
Boston College is certain to be the new top team in the country this week, after sweeping incumbent No. 1 Boston University last weekend in a home-and-home series.
Second-period goals from Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault were enough in BC’s 4-1 home win Friday at a sold-out Conte Forum, and after BU dug out of an early 2-0 hole Saturday at Agganis Arena, BC’s Cutter Gauthier scored the eventual game-winner late in the second period of a 4-2 Eagles victory.
BC’s six-point weekend means that the Eagles and BU sit tied atop the Hockey East standings. Even better if maroon’s more your color, BC sits first in the PairWise Rankings, with BU third.
2. North Dakota claims sole possession of first place in NCHC
No. 5 North Dakota entered last weekend tied on points with St. Cloud State at the top of the NCHC standings, but the Fighting Hawks are now all alone there after a home sweep of No. 4 Denver.
Two-point performances from both Jackson Blake and Cameron Berg helped North Dakota to a 5-2 win Friday. Ben Strinden, Dylan James and Griffin Ness also scored a goal apiece, and Blake extended his recent point streak to seven games.
Blake then picked up two assists in UND’s 4-2 win Saturday. Power-play goals 45 seconds apart from Owen McLaughlin and Riese Gaber in the third period put the Hawks over the top, after Denver’s Sean Behrens was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for a high hit on Strinden.
UND now sits four points ahead of St. Cloud in the NCHC standings. More on the Huskies later.
3. Quinnipiac defends CT Ice title
Seventh-ranked Quinnipiac won its third-consecutive CT Ice tournament title last weekend, beating local rival Yale as well as Connecticut at the XL Center in Hartford.
Mason Marcellus’s first-period goal was the difference Friday as Quinnipiac beat Yale 1-0, with Vinny Duplessis pitching a 14-save shutout. On Saturday, the Bobcats erased a 3-1 deficit to beat UConn 4-3. Second-period goals 54 seconds apart from Victor Czerneckianair and Travis Treloar tied the game, before Zach Tupker buried the eventual game-winner 28 seconds into the third.
Quinnipiac has won the CT Ice championship in three of the four years that the event has taken place. The Bobcats won in 2022 in Bridgeport and again last season on their home ice in Hamden. UConn has been the first runner-up each of the last three years.
4. Wisconsin, Michigan share spoils
Third-ranked Wisconsin was made to claw back for a road split against No. 14 Michigan, after the host Wolverines posted a 5-1 win Friday.
Two Frank Nazar goals and one apiece from three Michigan teammates saw the Wolverines win comfortably Friday. Winnipeg Jets draft pick Rutger McGroarty’s two assists gave him a fifth-consecutive multi-point game, and Dylan Duke’s two points extended his active point streak to 11.
Duke would make it 12 with two goals in Saturday’s rematch, but Wisconsin won 6-5 in overtime on Christian Fitzgerald’s goal 57 seconds into the extra period. The Badgers had trailed four times in that game, which had included a seven-goal first period.
5. Michigan State, Minnesota split, too
There was another weekend split last weekend between ranked Big Ten teams, as No. 8 Michigan State and ninth-ranked Minnesota both picked up a win at MSU’s Munn Ice Arena.
Daniel Russell’s goal with four seconds left saw Michigan State cap a comeback from two goals down Friday at the second intermission. The Spartans’ victory that night saw them end a 16-game winless streak against Minnesota.
But they might be in danger of starting another slide now against the Golden Gophers. Oliver Moore’s two goals and three points, plus 24 saves from Justen Close, helped Minnesota to a 5-1 win Saturday. Moore is now on a seven-game point streak.
6. CC sweeps Western Michigan
Sixteenth-ranked Colorado College did itself some favors last weekend, picking up a pair of 2-1 overtime wins at No. 12 Western Michigan.
Continuing on the theme, Noah Laba scored the winners both nights, and now has four overtime game-winners this season. He bagged Friday’s winner just 16 seconds into the extra period, then scored Saturday’s winner with 2:03 left. This secured CC’s sixth sweep of the season, the Tigers’ most in a single campaign since 2007-08.
CC has now won five straight, while Western Michigan has lost three of its last four games.
7. Providence takes 2 against Lowell
Tenth-ranked Providence has now won four of its last five games, after the Friars took two last weekend in a home-and-home set with unranked UMass Lowell.
Providence sophomore Bennett Schimek’s two goals and career-high four points Friday helped the Friars cruise to a 7-2 road win. Four goals over the last 11:38 of the first period saw the Friars lead 4-0 after 20 minutes. Schimek’s goals came 3:04 apart to open the scoring.
The Friars then erased a 3-1 deficit Saturday on their home ice to win 4-3 in overtime. Austen May scored in the extra period, giving Providence its 1,100th win all-time.
8. St. Cloud struggles with unranked Omaha
No. 15 St. Cloud State couldn’t quite get over the hump either night at home to unranked Omaha, falling 7-6 in overtime Friday before skating to a 1-1 tie Saturday.
Two Jack Randl goals helped get UNO to overtime Friday before Griffin Ludtke set up his brother Tanner for the overtime winner. On Saturday, Matt Miller erased the Mavericks’ first-period deficit before UNO’s Ty Mueller scored the only goal in a three-round shootout.
Seth Eisele’s 31 saves saw the UNO goaltender improve to 4-1 on the season. St. Cloud finished its January slate without a single regulation win.
9. Minnesota State climbs into first-place tie in CCHA
A win and a tie last weekend at home to Northern Michigan saw Minnesota State draw level on points with idle St. Thomas at the top of the CCHA standings.
Lucas Sowder’s goal 8:56 into Friday’s third period saw Minnesota State erase a 2-1 second-intermission deficit, but Northern would go on to take an overtime shootout. Saturday’s rematch was a different story, as 10 different players recorded a point and Alex Tracy made 18 saves in the MSU sophomore’s third career shutout, a 4-0 win.
The Mavericks and St. Thomas, both with 30 points in the league standings, meet this week in a home-and-home series.
10. RIT moves 3 points clear in Atlantic Hockey standings
No. 19 RIT used two home wins last weekend against Bentley to bump the Tigers’ winning streak to four games, while also putting them three points clear of Sacred Heart at the top of Atlantic Hockey with a game in hand.
Tommy Scarfone’s 19 saves Friday gave RIT a 3-0 win. It was his 44th victory with the Tigers, setting a new record for wins during RIT’s Division I era.
RIT graduate student forward Elijah Gonsalves then scored the game-winning goal 1:15 into overtime in Saturday’s 2-1 victory. Gonsalves had set up Aiden Hansen-Bukata’s game-tying goal with 41.6 left in regulation.
The Tigers are now 2-3-1 in overtime this season, after earning their first overtime win since Oct. 27 against Holy Cross.
