SATURDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: No. 10 Dartmouth improves to 10-0-0 with 6-1 win over Yale

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Dartmouth improved to a perfect 10-0-0 on the season after a 6-1 in over Yale in which Hayden Stavroff registered four points (2g, 2a) for the Big Green (Photo: X/Dartmouth Athletics)

No. 10 Dartmouth stayed perfect on the season, rolling past Yale 6–1 to improve to 10-0-0. The Big Green controlled the game from the opening puck drop, building a multi-goal lead early and never letting the Bulldogs settle in behind another composed performance from goaltender Emmett Croteau.

Andrew Clarke opened the scoring at 8:06 of the first off feeds from Eric Charpentier and Colin Grable, and Hayden Stavroff doubled the lead at 15:22 with what stood up as the game-winner. Dartmouth kept its foot down in the second: Stavroff struck again on the power play just 1:10 into the period, then Grable pushed it to 4–0 at 15:14, with Charpentier and Stavroff picking up the assists. In the third, Cleaves made it 5–0 at 2:31 from MacDonald and Stavroff, and Charpentier added a sixth at 7:45 off a setup from Joshua Schenk and Jason Stefanek before Yale finally broke through on a late power play from David Chen at 17:18.

The win was another showcase of Dartmouth’s balance at both ends of the ice. The Big Green outshot Yale 34–16 and went 1-for-2 on the power play while holding the Bulldogs to a single man-advantage opportunity. Croteau finished with 15 saves, backstopping a defense that leads the nation at just 1.30 goals against per game. Up front, Stavroff (2–2–4) paced an attack that now sits second nationally at 4.80 goals per game, just behind Michigan’s 4.90, with Cleaves, Charpentier, Grable, MacDonald, and Clarke all posting multi-point nights as Dartmouth continued one of the hottest starts in college hockey.

No. 3 Michigan State 3, No. 1 Michigan 1

No. 3 Michigan State answered back in its rivalry series, rallying for a 3–1 win over No. 1 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena to earn a reverse weekend split. Trey Augustine made 30 saves and Anthony Romani scored twice as the Spartans flipped the script less than 24 hours after being shut out 3–0 in the opener.

Michigan was opportunistic early despite being badly outshot. The Wolverines managed just four shots in the first period but cashed in on their lone power play when Will Horcoff buried a cross-ice feed from Michael Hage at 12:17, with T.J. Hughes also drawing an assist. At the other end, Jack Ivankovic turned aside all 17 shots he faced in the opening frame to preserve the 1–0 lead.

The game tilted back toward Michigan State late in the second. The Spartans finally broke through at 18:44 when Romani found space in the slot and converted off a feed from Patrick Geary, with Gavin O’Connell also picking up an assist. That goal seemed to unlock MSU’s top line, and Romani struck again just 1:44 into the third, finishing a passing play from Cayden Lindstrom and Colin Ralph to give the Spartans their first lead at 2–1.

Michigan pushed hard down the stretch, outshooting MSU 13–8 in the third and 31–33 overall, but Augustine was sharp, turning aside multiple looks from Horcoff and Hage on the power play. With Ivankovic on the bench for an extra attacker, Porter Martone sealed the result at 18:51, sliding home an empty-netter from Travis Shoudy and Charlie Stramel. The Spartans finished 0-for-2 on the power play but held Michigan to 1-for-3 and owned a slight 33–28 edge in blocks and a 53.9 percent advantage in the faceoff circle, grinding out a statement road win to close the series.

No. 7 Western Michigan 3, No. 4 Minnesota Duluth 2 (F/OT)

No. 7 Western Michigan clawed back from two separate deficits and beat No. 4 Minnesota Duluth 3–2 in overtime at Lawson Ice Arena, earning a hard-fought series split. Freshman William Whitelaw scored twice, including the OT winner, and goaltender Hampton Slukynsky stopped 18 shots and added an assist on the decisive goal.

Minnesota Duluth struck first at 9:25 of the opening period when Harper Bentz finished a feed from Hunter Anderson. Whitelaw pulled Western level at 5:43 of the second, converting off passes from Ty Henricks and Samuel Sjolund, but the Bulldogs regained the lead at 14:01 on Callum Arnott’s goal. The Broncos answered again early in the third, as Zack Sharp tied it 2–2 at 5:37 off a setup from Cole Spicer and Cole Crusberg-Roseen to force overtime.

In the extra session, Slukynsky kicked aside a rush and quickly moved the puck to spring transition, earning the lone assist as Whitelaw cut in and buried the winner at 3:04. Western outshot UMD 30–20 and dominated the faceoff circle 28–15. The Broncos killed the game’s only power play, taken late in the first, while never getting a man-advantage opportunity of their own in a tight, five-on-five–heavy contest.

No. 5 North Dakota 4, St. Cloud State 2

No. 5 North Dakota finished off a big NCHC sweep of St. Cloud State with a 4–2 win at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Cade Littler scored twice and defenseman Jake Livanavage delivered a third-period shorthanded game-winner as the Fighting Hawks overcame a heavy St. Cloud shot advantage to stay hot.

Littler opened the scoring on UND’s first power play of the night, converting at 13:49 of the first from Abram Wiebe and Will Zellers. He struck again at 8:15 of the second, finishing a feed from Keaton Verhoeff and David Klee to make it 2–0. St. Cloud finally broke through late in the frame on the man advantage, as Finn Loftus scored at 18:15 to cut the North Dakota lead to 2–1 after two.

The Huskies pressed hard in the third and tied it 2–2 at 11:10 when Ryan Rosborough scored from Jack Reimann and Grant Ahcan. Less than two minutes later, UND’s penalty kill flipped the game: Livanavage jumped into the rush shorthanded and buried the go-ahead goal at 12:56 off a setup from Mac Swanson and Cole Reschny. With St. Cloud’s net empty in the final seconds, Livanavage added his second of the night into the vacated cage at 19:56. St. Cloud outshot North Dakota 37–25 and went 1-for-6 on the power play, while UND finished a perfect 1-for-1 with the man advantage and got 35 saves from Jan Špunar to lock down the sweep.

New Hampshire 3, No. 11 Maine 2

New Hampshire completed a massive road sweep of rival Maine with a 3–2 win in the Border Battle finale at Alfond Arena. The Wildcats scored twice in the second period to build a two-goal cushion and then leaned on goaltender Kyle Chauvette to close out the rivalry victory.

It is UNH’s first sweep of Maine at Alfond Arena since the 2007-08 season.

Maine struck first at 2:47 of the opening frame when Josh Nadeau finished a feed from Brandon Holt, but UNH answered quickly. Nick Ring tied it at 6:44, converting off a setup from Cam MacDonald to send the teams to the room even at 1–1. The Wildcats seized control in the second: J.P. Turner gave them their first lead at 9:18 from Jacob Newcombe and Nick De Angelis, and Josh Player followed at 11:59 with the eventual game-winner, set up by Morgan Winters and Brendan Fitzgerald.

The Black Bears pushed hard in the third and cut the deficit to 3–2 when Holt scored at 4:31 from Nicholas Peluso and Thomas Pichette, but Chauvette shut the door from there. Maine outshot UNH 30–17 and held the edge in attempts over the final 20 minutes, yet the Wildcats blocked 25 shots and went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Chauvette finished with 28 saves, while Maine’s Albin Boija stopped 11 of 14 through two periods before giving way to Mathis Rousseau, who made three saves in relief.

Vermont 3, No. 18 Boston University 2

No. 18 Boston University’s struggles continued in a 3–2 loss to Vermont at Agganis Arena, as the Catamounts scored more than two goals in a game for the first time this season. Aiden Wright made 30 saves and Thomas Sinclair buried the late winner to give UVM a statement road victory.

Vermont opened the scoring at 4:19 of the first when Jax Wismer finished a feed from Sebastian Törnqvist and Jens Richards, but BU answered at 11:31 on a Cole Eiserman strike set up by Gavin McCarthy and Cole Hutson. The Catamounts regained the lead in the second, with Massimo Lombardi scoring at 14:46 off assists from David Sacco and Richards. BU pressed in the third and pulled even at 10:07 when Nick Roukounakis converted from Jonathan Morello and McCarthy to make it 2–2.

The game seemed destined for overtime until Vermont’s late push paid off. Sinclair netted the game-winner at 19:39, finishing a setup from Philip Törnqvist and Blake Steenerson to stun the home crowd. BU outshot Vermont 32–20 and there were no power plays for either side on a whistle-light night, but Wright’s 30 stops outdueled Mikhail Yegorov’s 17 saves. Vermont also held a slight 30–28 edge in the faceoff circle as it closed out the upset.

Union 4, No. 8 Quinnipiac 0

Union turned in a statement effort, blanking No. 8 Quinnipiac 4–0 at Messa Rink to improve to 10-5-2. Brayden Gillespie made 31 saves for the shutout and defenseman Tyler Dunbar drove the offense with two goals and an assist as the Garnet Chargers controlled the night at five-on-five and on special teams.

After a scoreless first, Union broke it open on the power play in the second. Dunbar opened the scoring at 12:18 with a blast from the point off feeds from Will Felicio and Ben Muthersbaugh, and Lucas Buzziol doubled the lead at 14:13 on another power-play strike. Union then put Quinnipiac on its heels just 21 seconds into the third when Dunbar jumped into the rush for his second of the game from Brandon Buhr and Colby MacArthur, and Riley Brueck made it 4–0 at 3:17 off a setup from Dunbar.

Quinnipiac outshot 31–21, but Gillespie turned aside everything he saw while Union’s power play finished 2-for-4 and the penalty kill went a perfect 5-for-5. Matej Marinov made 31 saves on 35 shots for the Bobcats before giving way to Dylan Silverstein, who stopped all seven shots he faced in relief. Union blocked 11 shots and, despite a disadvantage in the faceoff circle, never let Quinnipiac’s power play get going in closing out the shutout of a top-10 opponent.

Ferris State 4, No. 13 Minnesota State 1

Ferris State picked up a marquee road win, knocking off No. 13 Minnesota State 4–1 behind a pair of power-play goals and a stout defensive effort. The Bulldogs never trailed, building a three-goal cushion through 40 minutes and withstanding a late Mavericks push to close out the upset.

Ferris State opened the scoring at 15:08 of the first when Caden Brown finished a feed from Connor McGrath and Tyler Schleppe. The Bulldogs’ power play took over in the second: Gavin Best struck at 6:08 on the man advantage and Jean-Louis made it 3–0 at 13:32. Minnesota State finally broke through late in the third when Jack Smith scored with the extra attacker at 17:19, but Doell answered with an empty-netter at 19:02.

Ferris State outshot the Mavericks 23–20 and went 2-for-4 on the power play while killing all four Minnesota State opportunities. Martin Lundberg stopped 19 of 20 shots in goal for the Bulldogs, who also piled up 27 blocked shots in front of him. Alex Tracy made 19 saves on 22 shots for Minnesota State before coming off for the extra attacker, as the Mavericks’ 32–24 edge in the faceoff circle wasn’t enough to erase the early damage.