With 38 seconds remaining in regulation and the game tied 3-3, Riley Thompson redirected Gunnarwolfe Fontaine’s power-play shot to give Ohio State a 4-3 edge and the first win of the Frozen Confines in Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
BUCKEYES 🆙
Riley Thompson tips it in on the power play to give @OhioStateMHKY the lead with less than a minute to play 🔥
Watch » BTN
Tickets » https://t.co/fvkSdzU6sN#B1GHockey pic.twitter.com/w9BcLF4bvD— Big Ten Hockey (@B1GHockey) January 4, 2025
The Wolverines led 1-0 after one when Michael Hage stripped defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata in front of the Ohio State net and scored at 18:14, unassisted. Michigan went up 2-0 early in the second on the power play when T.J. Hughes buried Will Horcoff’s sweet feed from behind the net.
Ohio State answered with two second-period goals to knot things up after two, Sam Deckhut’s from Noah Powell at 15:26 and Powell from Chris Able at 18:37.
Midway through the third, Horcoff netted his first collegiate goal — in his first collegiate game — when he picked up Hage’s rebound in the crease to put the Wolverines ahead again. That lead wouldn’t last more than three minutes, though, as Thompson scored his first of the night at 12:05 before capping the game with his winning tally in the final minute.
Each team had 34 shots on goal. For the Buckeyes, Kristoffer Eberly made 31 saves in his 10th win of the season. Cameron Korpi had 30 saves for Michigan.
SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | POLL | PAIRWISE
Augustana 5, No. 8 Colorado College 1
Trailing 1-0 after the first period, Augustana’s brothers Tyler and Hayden Hennen scored two minutes apart early in the second to put the visiting Vikings ahead en route to a 4-1 win over Colorado College in the first game of a nonconference series at Ed Robson Arena.
Hayden Hennen’s game-winning goal on the power play at 7:38 in the second was his first goal of the season, his first career game-winning goal and the fifth goal of he’s scored in 52 games in two seasons.
A program first tonight!
Tyler Hennen and Hayden Hennen are the first brother duo in program history to record goals on the same night. #WeHoldThePen ⚔️ #BuildingChampions pic.twitter.com/VlAUsRUOVz
— Augustana Men's Hockey (@AugieMHockey) January 4, 2025
Chase McLane put the Tigers on the board late in the first from Owen Beckner after Colorado College outshot Augustana 10-3 in the opening period.
The Vikings answered with five unanswered: the two from the Hennen brothers in the second, Colton Friesen’s early third-period goal to make it 3-1 and empty-net goals by Payton Matsui and Easton Young.
Josh Kotai stopped 28-of-29 in his 10th win of the season. Kaidan Mbereko had 19 saves on the 22 shots he faced in the Colorado College net.
No. 6 Denver 2, No. 7 Maine 1
The Pioneers edged the Black Bears 2-1 on the road in the first of a two-game nonconference set between the top-10 teams.
With the game tied 1-1 after the Pioneers and Black Bears exchanged second-period power-play goals, Denver’s Rieger Lorenz scored the game-winning goal from Cale Ashcroft with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.
Cale Ashcroft's game-winner is tonight's @Safeway Goal of the Game!#GoPios pic.twitter.com/YmJvQu80zC
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) January 4, 2025
Matt Davis had 29 saves in his 14th win of the season. For the Black Bears, Albin Boija stopped 22-of-24.
No. 3 Minnesota 6, Mercyhurst 2
Six different Golden Gophers scored as Minnesota easily handled Mercyhurst 6-2 in front of 10,000 fans in the opener of a nonconference series in 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Minnesota took a 2-0 lead after the first on late-period goals by Jimmy Snuggerud and Connor Kurth. Brody Lamb made it 3-0 less than two minutes into the second on a power-play goal from Erik Påhlsson and Snuggerud.
🚨 #GOPHERS GOAL 🚨
Brody buries his 13th goal of the season! pic.twitter.com/JUf7rbhCsI
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) January 4, 2025
Riley Fitzgerald and Connor Pelc put the Lakers to within one midway through the second period, but Matthew Wood and John Mittelstadt scored 1:11 apart late in the second to make it 5-3. PĂĄhlsson picked up the empty netter with less than two remaining in regulation.
PĂĄhlsson led all scorers with a goal and two assists as several Gophers had multi-point nights.
In the Minnesota net, Nathan Airey stopped 20-of-22 shots. For the Lakers, Carter McPhail made 39 saves as Minnesota outshot Mercyhurst 45-22.
No. 10 UMass Lowell 3, Michigan Tech 2
In the opening game of the inaugural Coachella Valley Cactus Cup, UMass Lowell’s Lee Parks scored on the power play at 18:19 in the third to break a 2-2 tie and win the game for the River Hawks.
Parks (1-1) and teammates Matt Crasa (1-1) and Ian Carpentier (0-2) led all skaters in points, and UMass Lowell’s Henry Welsch needed only 13 saves in the game as the River Hawks held the Huskies to 15 total shots.
The game was tied 1-1 after the first on Elias Jansson’s power-play goal for Michigan Tech at 2:01 and Crasa’s goal from Carpentier and Parks at 13:01.
After a scoreless second, Pierson Brandon gave the River Hawks their first lead at 2:17 in the third from Crasa and Carpentier. Isaac Gordon evened the game for the Huskies at 13:02. Derek Mullahy made 25 saves for Michigan Tech.
UMass Lowell will play Omaha for the tournament title Saturday night in Acrisure Arena, home of the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL. The Mavericks beat Holy Cross 4-3 in overtime in Friday’s second game.
Holy Cross and Michigan Tech will meet in Saturday’s early game.
No. 16 Cornell 4, Massachusetts 2
Trailing 2-1 heading into the third, Cornell scored three in the final period to beat Massachusetts 4-2 in the opening game of the sixth Desert Hockey Classic, played in Arizona State’s home rink of Mullett Arena.
Four different Big Red skaters found the net and Cornell goalie Ian Shane stopped 22-of-24 in his sixth win of the season.
Massachusett’s Larry Keenan opened the scoring the game in the final minute of the first, giving the Minutemen a 1-0 lead after one on a feed from Francesco Dell’Elce.
The teams exchanged goals three minutes apart late in the second. Ryan Walsh scored unassisted to put Cornell on the board at 16:18, but the Minutemen scored their second last-minute goal of the night at 19:44 with Dell’Elce picking up his second assist of the night on Michael Cameron’s power-play goal.
Tim Rego scored the first of Cornell’s third-period goals at 6:52, tying the game. Dalton Bancroft’s go-ahead goal at 12:18 stood as the game-winner. Kyler Kovich added the empty netter with seven seconds left.
The Minutemen went 1-for-1 on the power play in a game that saw just three total minor penalties. Jackson Irving made 31 saves for Massachusetts.
Cornell will face off against host Arizona State in the tourney title game Saturday. The Sun Devils beat Robert Morris 7-3 in the second Friday game. The Minutemen will meet the Colonials in Saturday’s early game in Mullett Arena.
Bowling Green 3, Lake Superior State 0
Christian Stoever stopped all 34 shots he faced and Ryan O’Hara had a hand in all three the goals the Falcons scored when Bowling Green shutout Lake Superior State on the road to kick off second-half CCHA play for both teams.
O’Hara’s goal at 12:39 in the first on the Falcons’ power play from Dalton Norris and Breck McKinley was his second game-winning goal of the season.
Ryan O'Hara nets his second goal in as many games for @BGSUHKY!
Watch live on @midcosports
đź’»: https://t.co/FwkzD2H2rK #CCHAHockey | #AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/XX027pgH2X— CCHA (@CCHAHockey) January 4, 2025
Brody Waters converted another power play three minutes later, assisted by Norris and O’Hara to make it a 2-0 game after one. O’Hara’s second goal of the night — from Waters — was an empty netter at 17:16 in the third period.
Stoever earned his second shutout of the season on just five starts and his record improves to 4-0-1. For the Lakes, Rorke Applebee stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced.
Sacred Heart 3, Air Force 0
With 26 saves, Ajeet Gundarah earned his second shutout of the season as the Pioneers blanked the Falcons 3-0 in the Martire Family Arena, the first Atlantic Hockey of the second half for Sacred Heart and Air Force.
After a scoreless first period, Jake Hewitt had the game-winning goal early in the second period on a scramble in front of the Falcons’ net. John Jaworski and Reid Pabich added empty-net goals in the final two minutes of the game.
Guy Blessing made 25 saves in the Air Force net.