SATURDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: No. 19 BU edges No. 17 Cornell at MSG

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No. 19 Boston University got goals from Kamil Bednarik and Cole Eiserman to knock off No. 17 Cornell in this year’s edition of Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden in N.Y. (Photo: Boston University/Eliza Nuestro)

 

NEW YORK — No. 19 Boston University edged No. 17 Cornell 2–1 in Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden, riding a third-period winner from freshman Cole Eiserman and a 28-save performance from goaltender Mikhail Yegorov.

BU struck first on the power play at 6:17 of the opening period when Kamil Bednarik buried a feed from Cole Eiserman and Gavin McCarthy. Cornell drew level late in the second, as Reegan Hiscock scored at 15:00 off assists from Ryan Walsh and Charlie Major to make it 1–1 through 40 minutes. Eiserman provided the difference at 5:24 of the third, ripping the go-ahead goal from Charlie Trethewey’s setup for the eventual game-winner.

Cornell carried the shot advantage, 29–17, and held a 35–28 edge in draws, but went 0-for-4 on the power play. BU finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage and blocked seven shots in front of Yegorov, who turned aside 28 of 29 attempts. At the other end, Alexis Cournoyer made 15 saves for the Big Red in the narrow defeat.

Here is a summary of college hockey action for Saturday, November 27, 2025:

REBOARD  |  USCHO POLL  |  UPDATED NPI

Friendship Four (Belfast, N.I.)

Miami claimed the Belpot with a 3–2 win over No. 20 Union in the Friendship Four championship at SSE Arena. Matteo Giampa scored twice, including the late game-winner, and goaltender Matteo Drobac turned aside 29 shots as the RedHawks held off a third-period push from the Dutchmen.

Giampa opened the scoring at 13:02 of the first, finishing a setup from Ilia Morozov and Michael Quinn for a 1–0 Miami lead after one. Union pulled even early in the second when Etienne Lessard scored at 4:18 off feeds from Tyler Dunbar and Alex Laurenza, but the RedHawks answered on the power play at 10:06 as Casper Nassen converted from Quinn and Ethan Hay to restore the one-goal cushion.

Union tied it again at 3:24 of the third on Connor Smith’s goal, assisted by Lucas Buzziol and DJ Hart, setting up a tense finish. Giampa delivered the decisive blow at 16:22, jumping on a turnover and scoring unassisted for his second of the night and the Belpot-winning tally. Union outshot Miami 31–28 and went 2-for-0 on the power play while holding the RedHawks to 1-for-4, but Drobac’s 29-save performance and Giampa’s two-goal effort proved the difference

In the tournament’s third place game, Sacred Heart goaltender Teagan Kendrick stopped all 26 shots he faced as Sacred Heart blanked RIT, 3-0.

Adirondack Winter Invitational (Lake Placid, N.Y.)

Alaska 3, Clarkson 2

Alaska captured the Adirondack Winter Invitational title with a 3–2 comeback win over Clarkson at Herb Brooks Arena. The Nanooks rallied from an early deficit and got two goals from Michael Citara plus a strong effort in net from Lassi Lehti to lift the trophy.

Citara opened the scoring at 2:11 of the first, finishing a feed from Peyton Platter and Noah Barlage, but Clarkson answered with a push of its own. Matthew Mayich tied it at 6:32 off passes from Erik Bargholtz and Luka Sukovic, and Jace Letourneau gave the Golden Knights a 2–1 lead at 18:26 from Luke Pakulak and Conyr Hellyer. Alaska pulled even in the second when Citara struck again at 8:48, set up by Misha Danylov and Lucas Sorace.

The game stayed level deep into the third until the Nanooks found the winner. At 17:28, Rylen Roersma buried the championship-clinching goal from Braden Birnie and Adam Cardona to make it 3–2. Clarkson held a 23–21 edge in shots and went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Alaska was 0-for-2 with the man advantage. Lehti finished with 21 saves for the Nanooks, and Shane Soderwall stopped 18 shots for Clarkson as Alaska skated off with the tournament crown.

In the third place game, Dalyn Wakely registered a hat trick as UMass Lowell skated past St. Lawrence, 7-3.

In other college hockey action Saturday…

No. 1 Michigan 4, Harvard 3 (F/OT)

No. 1 Michigan survived a furious Harvard comeback and escaped Bright-Landry Hockey Center with a 4–3 overtime win. Will Horcoff scored twice, including the power-play winner in OT, as the Wolverines completed the sweep despite being outshot 32–26.

After a scoreless first, Michigan seemed to take control in the second. Horcoff opened the scoring at 8:16 from T.J. Hughes and Michael Hage, Hage doubled the lead at 15:40, and Aidan Park made it 3–0 at 18:00 off a feed from Kienan Draper. Harvard flipped the script in the third: Salvatore Guzzo got the Crimson on the board at 6:30, then a pair of power-play strikes from Philip Tresca and Ryan Healey at 12:22 and 14:31 erased the deficit and sent the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Michigan finally cashed in with the man advantage. With Harvard down a man, Horcoff buried his second of the night at 2:45, finishing a passing play from Hage and Hughes for the 4–3 winner. Hage posted a goal and two assists, while Jack Ivankovic made 29 saves for Michigan. Ben Charette stopped 22 shots for Harvard, which went 2-for-6 on the power play and held a 42–34 edge on faceoffs, but couldn’t complete the upset.

Minnesota 6, No. 4 Denver 5 (F/OT)

Minnesota pulled an upset of No. 4 Denver with a wild 6–5 overtime win at Magness Arena. Javon Moore scored the winner at 4:25 of OT, and the Gophers survived a 52–25 shot deficit to steal the victory on the road.

Minnesota set the tone early when Tate Pritchard scored just 1:48 in, but Boston Buckberger answered on a power play in the final minute of the first. The Gophers grabbed control in the second on goals from Brody Lamb and Brodie Ziemer, the latter on the power play, to go up 3–1 after 40 minutes. The third period turned into chaos: Denver’s Samu Salminen cut it to 3–2, Jimmy Clark replied for Minnesota, then Eric Pohlkamp scored twice to tie it 4–4. LJ Mooney’s power-play strike at 16:38 gave the Gophers a 5–4 lead, only for Buckberger to force overtime with an extra-attacker goal at 19:37.

In overtime, Minnesota finally ended it when Moore finished a rush off a feed from Cal Thomas and Mooney. The Gophers went a perfect 2-for-2 on the power play while holding the Pioneers to 1-for-2, and blocked 21 shots in front of Luca Di Pasquo, who made 47 saves. Denver’s Quentin Miller stopped 19 of 25, as the Pioneers also held a 47–31 edge in the faceoff circle but couldn’t complete the comeback.

No. 6 North Dakota 2, Bemidji State 1

No. 6 North Dakota needed overtimeto get past Bemidji State, edging the Beavers 2–1 on a power-play goal from freshman Will Zellers. Goaltender Jan Špunar turned aside 33 shots as the Fighting Hawks were outshot 34–30 but found a way to complete the nonconference sweep.

After a scoreless first, North Dakota opened the scoring at 6:57 of the second when Ben Strinden finished a feed from Jake Livanavage and Keaton Verhoeff. Bemidji State answered at 12:31, as Kasper Magnussen tied it 1–1 off a setup from Adam Flammang. The Beavers carried stretches of play and generated 24 shots over the first two periods, but Špunar held firm, and neither side could break through in the third.

In overtime, a holding minor on Kirklan Irey at 2:39 set up UND’s winner. Just 11 seconds into the power play, Zellers buried the deciding goal at 2:50, again with Livanavage and Verhoeff drawing the assists. North Dakota finished 1-for-1 on the man advantage and killed both Bemidji State power plays, while Max Hildebrand made 28 saves in a tough-luck loss for the Beavers. The Hawks also held a 28–24 edge on faceoffs in the extra-time win.

Army 5, No. 18 Massachusetts 4

Army scored five unanswered goals after an early 2–0 hole and held on for a 5–4 upset of No. 18 Massachusetts at Tate Rink. The Black Knights erased a multi-goal deficit with a wild second period and rode a 34-save effort from Jacob Biron to the nonconference win.

UMass jumped out front in the first on goals from Owen Murray at 7:13 and Václav Nestrašil on the power play at 17:41, but Nils Forselius cut the deficit to 2–1 with 45 seconds left in the period. Army exploded for four goals in the second: Ben Ivey tied it on a power play at 2:43, Vincent Salice put the Knights ahead at 4:11, and after Nick VanTassell answered for UMass at 5:31, Barron Woodring buried a shorthanded break at 17:42 to make it 4–3. Nestrašil’s second power-play goal at 18:05 briefly pulled the Minutemen even again before Brent Keefer snuck in the 5–4 marker with just three seconds left in the frame.

Biron slammed the door in the third, stopping all 13 UMass shots to preserve the one-goal margin. The Minutemen outshot Army 38–22, went 2-for-3 on the power play and held a 39–31 edge on faceoffs, but also surrendered a key shorthanded tally. Army finished 1-for-2 with the man advantage, registered 10 blocked shots, and got three-point nights from Woodring (1–2–3) and a timely depth contribution from Keefer to close out the upset.

No. 8 Quinnipiac 3, Stonehill 2

No. 8 Quinnipiac needed a late push to avoid the upset, scoring twice in 34 seconds to edge Stonehill 3–2. The Bobcats outshot the Skyhawks 42–18 but had to rally from a third-period deficit to secure the nonconference win.

Quinnipiac jumped in front early when Markus Vidicek cashed in on the power play at 2:58 of the first, set up by Ethan Wyttenbach and Chris Pelosi. Stonehill hung around and flipped the game in the third: Matthew Romer tied it at 4:33 off feeds from Joel Lehtinen and Justin Gibson, and Dominick Campione gave the Skyhawks a 2–1 lead at 12:47 with an unassisted strike.

The Bobcats answered late with the extra attacker. Vidicek buried his second of the night at 16:59 from Mason Marcellus and Wyttenbach to make it 2–2, and Elliott Groenewold provided the winner just 34 seconds later, finishing a setup from Aaron Schwartz and Andon Cerbone.

Quinnipiac went 1-for-3 on the power play while holding Stonehill to 0-for-2, with Matej Marinov stopping 16 shots for the Bobcats and Connor Androlewicz turning aside 39 in a strong effort for the visitors.

No. 13 Dartmouth 1, Merrimack 0

No. 13 Dartmouth stayed perfect on the season, improving to 8-0-0 with a 1–0 win over Merrimack. Emmett Croteau made 24 saves for his first shutout of the year as the Big Green leaned on structure and goaltending to grind out the nonconference victory.

The only goal came midway through the first period. CJ Foley broke the deadlock at 9:06, finishing a setup from Cooper Cleaves and Hayden Stavroff for the eventual game-winner. From there, the teams traded chances but neither power play could break through, with Dartmouth going 0-for-5 and Merrimack 0-for-3 on the man advantage.

Merrimack outshot Dartmouth 10–6 in the opening frame and 24–21 overall, but Croteau was sharp throughout and turned aside all nine shots he faced in the second period as the Warriors pushed for an equalizer. At the other end, Max Lundgren stopped 20 of 21 shots for Merrimack. Dartmouth also controlled the faceoff circle 36–24 (60%), helping the Big Green protect their one-goal margin the rest of the way.

No. 11 Northeastern 4, Brown 1

No. 11 Northeastern struck early and never trailed in a 4–1 win over Brown at Matthews Arena. The Huskies scored twice in the opening five minutes and got 27 saves from Quentin Sigurdson to secure the nonconference victory.

Northeastern jumped out quickly when Amine Hajibi opened the scoring at 4:09, finishing a feed from Dylan Hryckowian and Griffin Erdman. Just 38 seconds later, Joe Connor doubled the lead with what stood up as the game-winner, set up by Tyler Fukakusa and Giacomo Martino. Hryckowian made it 3–0 at 4:06 of the second from Hajibi and Jacob Mathieu before Brown finally broke through late in the frame on a goal by Matthew Desiderio at 18:10.

The Bears pressed in the third but couldn’t close the gap, and Northeastern put it away when Vinny Borgesi scored into an empty net at 18:40 off a feed from Hryckowian, who finished with a three-point night (1–2–3). The Huskies outshot Brown 32–28, with both teams going 0-for-3 on the power play. Sigurdson stopped 27 of 28 for Northeastern, while Brown’s Freddie Halyk made 28 saves in the loss.

No. 14 Minnesota State 3, Northern Michigan 2

No. 14 Minnesota State leaned on its power play and a strong night from Alex Tracy to edge Northern Michigan 3–2. The Mavericks scored once at even strength and twice on the man advantage, then locked it down in the third to finish off the one-goal win.

Northern Michigan opened the scoring at 10:33 of the first when Michael Burchill converted on the power play from Jakub Altrichter and Matthew Argentina. Minnesota State answered with two late in the period: Bryce Strand tied it at 13:57 off feeds from Mason LeBel and Campbell Cichosz, and Tristan Lemyre put the Mavericks ahead 2–1 at 19:01 on a power-play strike set up by Ralfs Bergmanis and Jack Smith. Smith added what proved to be the game-winner at 11:34 of the second, another power-play goal from LeBel and Lemyre, before Grayden Slipec’s man-advantage tally at 14:21 pulled NMU back within one.

Minnesota State protected the lead the rest of the way, with Tracy turning aside all eight Wildcat shots in the third to finish with 31 saves on 33 attempts. The Mavericks went 2-for-5 on the power play while Northern Michigan went 2-for-3, and MNSU held a 36–33 edge in shots along with a 33–27 advantage in the faceoff circle. Goaltender William Gramme stopped 33 of 36 for the Wildcats in the loss.

No. 16 Providence 2, Colorado College 1

No. 16 Providence rode a two-goal night from Hudson Malinoski and a 37-save performance by Philip Svedebäck to a 2–1 win over Colorado College at Robson Arena. The Friars scored once in each of the first two periods and then leaned on their goaltender to weather a late Tigers push.

Malinoski opened the scoring at 5:51 of the first, finishing a feed from Logan Sawyer and Kale McCallum for a 1–0 Providence lead. Colorado College pulled even early in the second when Brandon Lisowsky scored at 2:10 off passes from Connor Hvidston and Ryan Koering, but Malinoski answered with the eventual game-winner at 16:49, taking a setup from Tomas Machu to restore the Friars’ edge.

The Tigers controlled much of the shot clock, outshooting Providence 38–27 and holding a 39–23 advantage in the faceoff circle, but Svedebäck turned aside 37 of 38 attempts to backstop the win. Neither power play connected, with CC going 0-for-4 and Providence 0-for-2. Jackson Unger finished with 25 saves for the Tigers, who couldn’t find an equalizer over the final 20 minutes.