FRIDAY ROUNDUP: Dartmouth wins wild one, 5-4, over Harvard

by
No. 11 Dartmouth won a crazy back-and-forth game with Harvard on Friday and Hayden Stavroff (10) scored a hat trick that included the game-winner (File photo: Dartmouth Athletics)

No. 11 Dartmouth outlasted Harvard, 5-4, in a wild back-and-forth game that featured two shorthanded goals and a third-period winner from Hank Cleaves.

Harvard struck first on the penalty kill when Mick Thompson finished a shorty at 12:06, but Dartmouth answered late in the period as Hayden Stavroff tied it at 18:11 to send the teams even into intermission.

The second period turned into a track meet. Dartmouth took its first lead on Brock Cummings’ goal at 4:09, but Harvard responded with its own shorthanded marker from Richard Gallant at 6:20. Stavroff put Dartmouth back in front midway through the period, only for Casey Severo to pull Harvard even again at 15:32. Dartmouth grabbed the momentum heading into the third when Jack Silverberg scored at 19:08, giving the Big Green a 4-3 edge after 40 minutes.

Harvard had one more push, tying it at 4-4 on Ryan Fine’s goal at 5:55 of the third. But Dartmouth had the last word: Cleaves finished the eventual game-winner at 10:11, capping a three-point night for Stavroff (two goals, assist). Emmett Croteau made 20 saves for Dartmouth, while Ben Charette stopped 16 in the loss.

SCOREBOARD  |  USCHO POLL  |  NCAA POWER INDEX

No. 6 Western Michigan 4, No. 7 Denver 1

No. 6 Western Michigan grabbed control early and then survived a tense third period to earn a 4-1 win at No. 7 Denver.

The Broncos struck just 59 seconds in when Liam Valente finished off a quick start to put WMU in front. Western Michigan then settled into its game, trading stretches of zone time with Denver while Hampton Slukynsky quietly kept the Pioneers from finding an equalizer through the first two periods.

The third period brought the drama. Western Michigan made it 2-0 at 1:11 on a power-play goal from William Whitelaw, but Denver nearly answered back soon after when Erik Pohlkamp appeared to score. That goal was wiped out after the Broncos challenged and won on goaltender interference, keeping WMU’s two-goal cushion intact.

Denver kept pushing and finally broke through late, with Boston Buckberger pulling the Pioneers within 2-1 to set up a frantic finish. But after WMU created a breakaway look in the final minutes, Denver was hit with a penalty-shot situation when Buckberger threw his stick to prevent Valente from scoring — and Valente was awarded the goal to restore the two-goal cushion.

From there, Slukynsky did the rest, and Zaccharya Wisdom added a short-handed empty-netter to close it out. Slukynsky finished with 35 saves as Western Michigan turned a one-goal game into a convincing road win.

No. 1 Michigan 5, Notre Dame 2

No. 1 Michigan got back in the win column with a 5-2 victory over Notre Dame, using a big second period to create separation.

The Wolverines opened the scoring on a first-period power play when Adam Valentini finished at 11:57, then poured it on after intermission. Michigan scored three times in the middle frame — Malcolm Spence made it 2-0 early, Kienan Draper buried the eventual game-winner at 10:00, and Asher Barnett added an unassisted goal just 2:01 later for a 4-0 lead. Notre Dame finally answered late in the period to cut into it, and Brennan Ali made it 4-2 in the third, but Michigan closed the door with an empty-netter from Nick Moldenhauer at 17:55.

Jack Ivankovic stopped 29 shots for Michigan, while the Wolverines also controlled the dots, winning 67 percent of the faceoffs.

No. 2 Michigan State 6, Ohio State 2

No. 2 Michigan State blew the game open with a four-goal burst late in the first period and rolled past Ohio State, 6-2.

After a quiet opening 13 minutes, the Spartans struck three times in a 23-second span — Anthony Romani (13:23), Porter Martone (13:30) and Charlie Stramel (13:46) — to turn the game on its head. Martone added a power-play goal at 18:27 to make it 4-0, chasing OSU starter Kristoffer Eberly after the first.

Ohio State settled things in the second and got on the board through Max Montes at 12:39, but Michigan State answered any push in the third. Stramel scored his second of the night on the power play at 4:06, and Ryker Lee finished it off with an unassisted goal at 8:09. Trey Augustine made 30 saves for MSU, while Martone (2G, 2A) and Stramel (2G, 1A) powered the offense as the Spartans went 2-for-4 on the power play.

No. 3 Wisconsin 5, Alaska Anchorage 0

No. 3 Wisconsin controlled the night from start to finish and blanked Alaska Anchorage, 5-0.

The Badgers peppered UAA with 21 first-period shots but didn’t break through until Ben Dexheimer’s power-play goal at 16:24 of the second gave Wisconsin a 1-0 lead. From there, it turned into a third-period avalanche — Ryan Botterill, Bruno Idzan and Oliver Tulk scored in a span of 3:53 to blow the game open, and Luke Osburn added a late power-play goal to cap it.

Daniel Hauser stopped all 16 shots he faced for the shutout, while Tyler Krivtsov kept Anchorage afloat as long as he could with 43 saves on 48 shots. Wisconsin finished 2-for-3 on the power play and won the shot battle, 48-16.

No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 6, Lindenwood 3

No. 5 Minnesota Duluth shook off an early deficit and opened its non-conference series with Lindenwood with a 6-3 win, riding a four-goal first period and a lethal power play.

The Bulldogs struck first on a Grayden Siepmann power-play goal, but Lindenwood answered with back-to-back tallies to jump in front 2-1. Minnesota Duluth responded with three goals in the final 9:35 of the period — including Max Plante’s go-ahead marker late — to take a 4-2 lead into the break.

Lindenwood pulled within one early in the second, but Siepmann’s second power-play goal restored breathing room and proved to be the separator. Harper Bentz added an insurance goal late in the third as the Bulldogs finished 3-for-5 on the man advantage and outshot the Lions 44-22. Siepmann led the way with two goals, and Jayson Shaugabay stood out on the setup side with three assists. Adam Gajan made 19 saves for Minnesota Duluth, while Klayton Knapp stopped 38 in the loss.

UMass Lowell 5, No. 10 Connecticut 3

UMass Lowell went on the road and stunned No. 10 UConn, 5-3, using a decisive late push in the second period to flip the game.

After Connor Eddy opened the scoring late in the first, Connecticut tied it early in the second, but the River Hawks answered with three goals in the final 3:54 of the period to seize control. Jay Ahearn snapped the 1-1 tie on the power play, Luke Shipley followed less than a minute later, and Jak Vaarwerk buried another man-advantage goal at 19:42 that stood up as the game-winner.

UConn made it interesting in the third with goals 16:39 apart, cutting the deficit to 4-3, but Ahearn capped a two-goal night with an empty-netter in the final 10 seconds to seal it.

Lowell finished 2-for-4 on the power play and won the faceoff battle, while Austin Elliott turned aside 24 shots in the win.

No. 18 Providence 6, No. 12 Maine 1

No. 18 Providence hammered No. 12 Maine, 6-1, leaning on a lethal power play and a big second period to turn it into a runaway.

The Friars struck twice in the first to grab control, then blew it open with three more in the middle frame — including two power-play goals 11:52 apart — to take a 5-0 lead after 40. Maine finally broke through 48 seconds into the third on Brandon Holt’s power-play marker, but Providence answered later in the period to restore the five-goal cushion.

Providence finished 3-for-7 on the power play and blocked 23 shots, while Jack Parsons was steady in net with 26 saves. Roger McQueen paced the offense with two goals, and the Friars’ special teams set the tone the whole night.

Vermont 3, No. 16 Northeastern 2

No. 16 Northeastern’s skid hit four straight as Vermont held on for a 3-2 win in Burlington.

The Huskies opened the scoring on Joe Connor’s first-period finish, but Vermont answered late in the frame to pull even, then went in front on Jens Richards’ goal midway through the second. The Catamounts stretched it to 3-1 early in the third when Massimo Lombardi scored the eventual game-winner.

Northeastern made it interesting less than two minutes later on Amine Hajibi’s reply, but couldn’t find the equalizer. Vermont won the faceoff battle (30-17) and got 20 saves from Aiden Wright, while Lawton Zacher stopped 21 in the loss.

No. 17 Augustana 3, Northern Michigan 0

Augustana stayed hot with its third straight win and a 3-0 shutout of Northern Michigan, pushing the Vikings to 7-1-2 in their last 10 games.

After a scoreless first, Augustana broke through on the power play late in the second when Brett Meerman buried the opener at 13:42 for the game-winner. The Vikings kept the pressure on in the third, doubling the lead on Samo Meritähti’s goal midway through the period before Joey DelGreco sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute.

Augustana controlled the game territorially, outshooting Northern Michigan 33-18, and Josh Kotai turned aside all 18 shots he faced for the shutout. Oliver Auyeung-Ashton made 30 saves for the Wildcats, but Northern Michigan couldn’t solve Augustana’s structure or find a spark on three power-play chances.

Mercyhurst 3, Army West Point 0

Mercyhurst finally broke through for its first win of the season, scoring three times in the third period to blank Army West Point, 3-0.

The game was tight — and scoreless — through 40 minutes despite Army owning long stretches of the shot clock advantage. Mercyhurst goalie Charles-Edward Gravel was the difference early, turning aside 24 shots through two periods as the Lakers weathered pressure and a handful of special-teams looks (both teams finished 0-for-3 on the power play).

Mercyhurst’s breakthrough came midway through the third when Will Schumacher snapped the deadlock at 12:50. Sean James doubled the lead 87 seconds later, and Andrew LeBlanc’s empty-netter at 18:03 sealed it. Gravel finished with a 39-save shutout, while Mercyhurst also leaned on its defending with 19 blocks to close out the win.