It’s Valentine’s Day weekend and there will be no love lost between teams as they compete in conference play. A lot is riding on every game. The weekend includes nationally ranked battles between Adrian and Trine and UW-Superior and UW-Stevens Point.
Augsburg (7-13-1, 3-8-1)vs. Saint John’s (8-12-1, 5-6-1)
The Auggies are in last place in the standings, having dropped two in a row, but could things around in a hurry with a couple of wins this weekend. The Johnnies are two points outside of a playoff spot at the moment but can help their cause by taking care of business. Saint John’s is winless in its last three and has been held to two goals or less in that stretch.
Saint John’s, 4-3; Augsburg, 2-1
Concordia (10-9-2, 6-4-2) vs. Bethel (11–8-2, 7-4-1)
The Cobbers are playing as well as anyone right now as they are unbeaten in their last six games. They’ve won three in a row. Dane Couture has helped lead the way in goal, sporting a 2.39 goals against average. The offense is rolling as well, scoring five or more goals in two of their last three.
Bethel has won two of its last three and hoping to stay among the best in the conference standings. Tyler Braccini leads the MIAC in goals scored (16) and Austin Ryman has a 2.79 goals against average. This should be a fun series to watch.
Bethel, 3-2; Concordia, 5-3
Saint Mary’s (9-11-1, 5-6-1) )vs. St. Olaf (11-7-3, 6-5-1)
The Cardinals are currently on the outside looking for the playoffs, though they are just two points out. The Oles are in third place in the standings and looking to stay in the top three.
Two of the top scorers in the conference will be on the ice as Jonathan Panisa has tallied 11 goals for St. Olaf. Colin Tushie has done the same for Saint Mary’s while ranking thor in assists (15).
St. Olaf, 4-2; Saint Mary’s, 5-4
Gustavus (13-7-1, 9-2-1) vs. St. Scholastica (11-11-1, 6-8)
The first-place Gusties are in great shape but face a big test against the Saints, who are tied for fourth.
Gustavus has won seven of its last 10 and has Marlo Belak in goal. He was the MIAC Defensive Player of the Week, making 61 saves in two games against the Johnnies last weekend.
Belak will be tested against a Saints team that has three of the top five goal scorers in the conference, including Tristan Shewchuck, who has 12 goals. Brodie Girod and Hunter Hansen have 11 goals apiece.
St. Scholastica, 3-2; Gustavus, 5-3
NCHA
Adrian (16-7, 10-6) )vs. Trine (17-5-1, 11-4-1)
Trine has two of the best netminders in the league in Cristian Wong-Ramos and Kyle Kozma and that could be the key to success against the Bulldogs. Offensively, the Thunder have scored 84 goals.
Adrian has racked up 95 goals and an is led by Ian Amsbaugh, who has scored 12 goals.
Both teams are looking to make a statement. Trine is ranked seventh in the nation. Adrian is 12th. Both teams will end up in the top four for the postseason no matter how the weekend goes. Adrian has won two in a row.
Trine, 5-3; Adrian, 4-3
St. Norbert (18-5, 13-3) vs. Lawrence (7-13-2, 6-9-1)
The Green Knights are ranked sixth in the country and have Liam Fraser, who is second in goals with 17. Logan Dombrowsky ranks fifth with 13 goals. St. Norbert comes in having won four in a row.
Lawrence is fighting for a playoff spot and could finish as high as fifth or get left out. The Vikings need at least three points to clinch a spot.
St. Norbert. 5-2 and 4-1
WIAC
UW-Stevens Point (17-5-1, 9-3-1) vs. UW-Superior (18-3-2, 11-1-1)
It doesn’t get any better than a showdown between the top two teams in the WIAC and two teams ranked in the top 15 in the USCHO.com poll.
You have to believe a lot of goals are going to be scored. Peyton Hart and Dawson Sciarrino lead the No. 10 Pointers with 16 and 15 goals, respectively, while Justin Dauphinais and Reed Stark have scored 13 and 12 goals, respectively.
The 11th-ranked Yellowjackets have won five in a row and can finish no worse than second in the standings. They are currently atop the league and unbeaten in their last 15.
The Pointers beat Superior 5-4 on Nov. 23 and hope to keep that success going this time around. Stevens Point has won three in a row.
UW-Superior, 4-3 and 5-4
