Each week, USCHO.com picks the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. Terriers, Huskies close out Matthews with one for the ages
Brandon Svoboda has scored just four goals this season, but the fourth will probably be the one that most people remember. The Boston University sophomore forward scored with less than two minutes left in a 3-3 game Saturday, tripping over the stick of a Northeastern defender that sent him flying in the air like Bobby Orr in the iconic 1970 photo. Like Orr’s Stanley Cup-winning goal, this one will also go into the history books–the final goal ever scored at historic Matthews Arena. The Terriers beat Northeastern 4-3, putting the curtain down on an arena that opened in 1910 and has been the home for numerous hockey and basketball teams in Boston over the years.
https://www.twitter.com/TerrierHockey/status/2000034192709595303
The Huskies had taken a lead late in the second period when Joe Connor scored with just seconds remaining in the frame to make it 3-2 going into the intermission.
Northeastern kept them off the scoreboard for much of the period but BU tied it up with Kamil Bednarik’s extra attacker goal just 18 seconds before Svoboda’s game-winner.
“Playing the last game ever in this building is pretty special and what was it, 1910 this place was built so it was pretty special being the last team playing in this building,” Svoboda told MassLive after the game.
Matthews has been home to Northeastern hockey and basketball since 1930, and was the home ice for the BU hockey team at various points throughout its history. The building is set to be demolished by the end of January so construction can begin on a new arena, which is scheduled to be opened by 202
2. Augustana makes statement in CCHA race with first-ever win over Minnesota State
Augustana and Minnesota State’s hockey rivalry may be new–the Vikings, after all, are only in their third year as a program. However, the two schools have a long rivalry history in other sports that goes back ages as members of the old Division II North Central Conference and now as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
This weekend, the Vikings broke out new, throwback-inspired gold threads as part of their rivalry weekend. The result? Their first-ever regulation hockey victory over the Mavericks. The Vikings won 3-1 on Friday night thanks to a pair of goals by Brett Meerman and 33 saves by Josh Kotai. They then followed that up with a 4-4 tie and shootout win on Saturday, earning them the extra point in the league standings. Kotai was again strong, making 38 saves in to help the Vikings earn five points on the weekend. The weekend results mean the Mavericks (11-4-5) go into the holiday break just three points ahead of second-place Bemidji State (9-8-3), who was idle this weekend. The Vikings (9-5-3) are nipping on the heels of both teams, just one point behind the Beavers.
Also significant for the Vikings–the results moved them up from No. 13 to No. 11 in the NPI rankings, giving them a great shot at an at-large bid along with the Mavericks, who are No. 9. The Vikings have one more series before they head to their holiday break–they host Omaha in Sioux Falls next weekend, the only college hockey games remaining on the slate before Christmas.
3. UNH hands Dartmouth first loss
The unbeatens are no more. After reeling off 11 straight victories to begin the season, Dartmouth finally found itself on the wrong end of a result. The Big Green suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of instate rival New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats beat the Big Green 3-2 in overtime. The Wildcats (10-7-0) scored first with an early first-period goal from Jacob Newcombe, and kept the Big Green (11-1-0) on the back foot all game. Dartmouth was able to tie it up on Ryan Schelling’s rebound goal with two minutes to play in regulation, but in the end it was Brendan Fitzgerald who scored the overtime winner on a feed from Newcombe to give the Wildcats their fifth consecutive victory. Dartmouth, who was No. 1 in the NPI before the loss (they had blanked Army 3-0 on Friday night), didn‘t drop much in the rankings. They go into the holiday break at No. 2, behind Michigan.
4. Maine sweeps Lindenwood
After a frustrating sweep last weekend at the hands of rivals New Hampshire, Maine managed to get back on track this week with a win over UMass-Lowell and a sweep of Lindenwood. The Black Bears (11-7-1) had rallied to beat the RiverHawks 5-4 in overtime in a Wednesday game in Portland, Maine, before 12 goals this weekend in a dominating sweep of the Lindenwood Lions on Saturday and Sunday. Justin Poirier scored four times for Maine–a pair of goals and an assist in each game–while Brandon Chabrier tallied four assists in Sunday’s 7-2 win. Albin Boija’s 28 saves on Saturday resulted in a 5-0 win and his third shutout of the season. Maine will head to Denver after the New Year to take on the Pioneers in what should be a solid nonconference matchup between two top-15 teams. Lindenwood, now 8-8-0 on the season, will host Canisius on Jan. 2-3 for their first series after the break.
5. North Dakota sweep has them atop NCHC
North Dakota will enter the holiday break in first place thanks to a home sweep of Omaha over the weekend. The Fighting Hawks (14-4-0) beat the Mavericks 4-1 Friday and 3-1 Saturday to complete the sweep. Seven different players scored for UND over the weekend, including Ellis Rickwood, who added two assists Friday to his goal on Saturday. The Mavericks were without star goaltender Simon Latkoczy, who exited early in the first period of Friday’s game with an apparent lower-body injury. Meanwhile, UND’s Jan Špunar became the first goalie in UND hockey history to win his first nine collegiate starts when he backstopped Friday’s game with a 30-save performance. Homer Gibson started Saturday and made 29 stops.
6. Denver splits with St. Cloud
UND is able to be atop the NCHC at the break thanks, in part, to some help from St. Cloud State. After Denver beat them 5-1 on Friday night, the Huskies rallied to win 4-3 on Saturday night. The Pioneers (12-6-1) had taken a 3-1 lead in the second period but the Huskies (8-10-0) scored three unanswered goals to win the game–including two from Tyson Gross. The Pioneers are a point behind North Dakota in the NCHC standings with 24 points, while Minnesota Duluth is in third place with 21 after they split with Arizona State over the weekend.
7. Union sweeps Alaska
Union went into the break on a high with a sweep of visiting Alaska. The Garnet Chargers (12-5-2) beat the Nanooks (4-10-1) in both games, winning 5-1 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday. Friday’s game saw Union score five unanswered goals after the Nanooks’ Rylen Roersma gave Alaska an early first-period lead. Ben Muthersbaugh and Tyler Dunbar each had a goal and an assist for Union in the win. On Saturday, the Nanooks again struck first with a goal from Misha Danylov but Union took control of the game in the second period, with goals by Muthersbaugh and Luke buss. Brandon Buhr scored what turned out to be the game-winner with a power-play tally midway through the fourth. Brayden Gillespie was in net for both Union wins, making 13 and 17 saves on Friday and Saturday, respectively.9
8. Tech back on track with sweep in Big Rapids
It was a rough December for Michigan Tech. After sweeping their archrivals Northern Michigan to start the month, the Huskies struggled in their subsequent three series, winning just once–a 2-1 overtime victory against Bemidji State. So this weekend’s series at Ferris State was the perfect opportunity for the Huskies to get back on track. That’s exactly what they did, sweeping the Bulldogs 3-2 and 5-2 to close out the first half of their season on a high note. Tech (10-6-2) got contributions from up and down the lineup. Stiven Sardarian–who leads the CCHA in scoring at the break–also led the Huskies with two goals and an assist on the weekend, while Max Koskipirtti, Elias Jansson and Noah Reinhart were also among the goalscorers. There will be a potential rematch of this series after Christmas, when both teams are competing in the annual Great Lakes Invitational. The Huskies will take on Miami in their first tournament game while the Bulldogs (4-14-10) tangle with instate rivals Michigan State.
9. Miami, CC about as tight as can be
A series split doesn’t always show which teams were more dominant on a given weekend. Often, one team can dominate both games yet still somehow leave with just three points. This was not one of those weekends. Miami tied Colorado College 4-4 on Friday night and won the shootout, while the Tigers returned the favor on Saturday with a 3-3 tie and a shootout win to close out the first half of their respective seasons. Friday’s game saw Casper Nassen score a dramatic extra-attacker goal to force overtime–the first extra-attacker goal by a RedHawk since Jan. 27, 2024. David Deputy also scored twice for Miami (10-6-2) while Wilson Bjorck scored twice for the Tigers (8-7-3). Saturday’s game had a similar rhythm. Doug Grimes scored twice for Miami but Phillipe Blais-Savoie’s second goal of the evening turned out to be the one that tied the game and forced overtime. Each team had 35 shots on Saturday night. Miami will head to the GLI after the holidays while CC takes on Augustana after the New Year.
10. Leading at the break
Now that just about every team is done with their games until Christmas (not counting you, Augie and Omaha), we can take a look at which teams are leading the way in each conference. There’s obviously a lot of hockey left to play, but if you’re in first place at the holiday break you usually have a better shot to win it all than the team in last.
Here’s a quick recap of who leads each league:
Atlantic Hockey: Holy Cross is on top of AHA, but the margin is razor-thin. The Crusaders are a point ahead of second-place Bentley by a single point (26 to 25). Both teams have identical 8-1-1 conference records but the Crusaders are ahead by virtue of a shootout win. RIT is also in striking distance, with 22 points, but both the Crusaders and Falcons have two games-in-hand on the Tigers.
Big Ten: Logic might dictate that Michgigan should be atop the Big Ten, considering how dominant they’ve been, but the Wolverines find themselves looking up at Wisconsin at the holiday break. The Badgers have 22 points thanks to their 8-2-0 record. The Wolverines have 20 points and are 7-3-0 so far in the conference.
CCHA: As previously mentioned, Minnesota State (28 points), Bemidji State (25) and Augustana (24) are jumbled at the top. But, in typical CCHA fashion, the contenders go about six deep: Michigan Tech (22) is also a weekend sweep from being atop the league. And don’t discount Bowling Green and St. Thomas, who are tied for fifth with 21 points apiece.
ECAC: Cornell and Dartmouth are tied at 18 points each, but the Big Green have two games-in-hand on the Big Red. Harvard (15 points), Princeton (13) and Colgate (12) are all within six points of the top.
Hockey East: Currently, UCONN (22 points) and Boston College (21 points) are battling it out for Hockey East supremacy, although the Eagles have played one fewer game than the Huskies. Boston U (17 points), Maine (16) and Northeastern (16) are also in striking distance.
NCHC: Finally, another one mentioned previously, North Dakota is on top with 25 points but Denver is on their heels with 24. Minnesota Duluth is in third with 21 points and Western Michigan fourth with 17, but the Bulldogs have played two more conference games than everybody else.