SATURDAY ROUNDUP: Ohio State stifles Michigan State, 2-1

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Ohio State bounced back from a Friday loss to upset No. 2 Michigan State, 2-1 (Photo: Ohio State Athletics)

Ohio State earned a weekend split with No. 2 Michigan State on Saturday, grinding out a 2-1 upset in Columbus.

After a scoreless first period, the Buckeyes struck early in the second when Nathan Lewis finished to put Ohio State in front. Michigan State answered midway through the period on a Porter Martone goal to tie it at 1, and the game stayed tight the rest of the way with both teams coming up empty on the power play.

The difference came at 8:01 of the third, when Davis Burnside scored the eventual game-winner as Ohio State snapped the deadlock for good. From there, the Buckeyes leaned on faceoff dominance, winning more than 63 percent of the draws on the night, and got key stops from Samuel Hillebrandt to close it out, as the game turned chippy late with matching majors and multiple misconducts at the final buzzer.. Trey Augustine made 33 saves for Michigan State in the loss.

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No. 18 Providence 3, No. 12 Maine 0

No. 18 Providence finished off a weekend sweep of No. 12 Maine with a 3-0 shutout, breaking open a scoreless game with a pair of special-teams strikes.

After a quiet first period, the Friars got the breakthrough at 9:21 of the second when Tanner Adams scored short-handed, a backbreaking goal that also stood up as the game-winner. Providence carried that momentum into the third, where Aleksi Kivioja doubled the lead with an unassisted tally at 7:56.

Maine tried to push back, but Jack Parsons was sharp all night, turning aside 20 shots to earn his first collegiate shutout. The Black Bears’ best chance to change the game came on the power play, but they went 0-for-2 and couldn’t solve Parsons as Providence’s defense kept the middle clean.

Andrew Centrella put it away on the man advantage at 16:11 of the third, giving Providence a 1-for-4 night on the power play and a convincing finish to the sweep.

St. Thomas 4, No. 15 Minnesota State 2

St. Thomas upset No. 15 Minnesota State on the road with a decisive 4-2 win, doing all of its damage in a whirlwind second period.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Tommies erupted with four goals in a span of 7:13 to seize control. Lucas Wahlin opened the floodgates just 20 seconds into the period, and St. Thomas kept coming with goals from Attila Lippai and Quinton Pepper before Ryan O’Neill made it 4-0.

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Minnesota State finally pushed back in the third with goals from Mason LeBel and Jakob Stender, but the comeback never really got off the ground. St. Thomas protected the middle of the ice, blocked 15 shots, and controlled the face-off dot to bleed the clock and close it out.

Vermont 5, No. 16 Northeastern 3

Vermont completed a statement sweep of No. 16 Northeastern with a 5-3 win in Burlington, turning a tight game into another big finish in the third.

The Catamounts struck first on Max Strand’s goal at 9:43 of the opening period, but Northeastern answered in the second when Matthew Perkins tied it at 7:30. Vermont immediately regained the lead on the power play as Jonah Aegerter made it 2-1 at 9:38, before the Huskies pulled even again late in the period on Amine Hajibi’s goal at 18:56.

Vermont took control in the third. Philip Törnqvist put the Catamounts back in front at 5:50, and Jens Richards followed with the eventual game-winner at 8:28 to make it 4-2. Northeastern pushed late and got within one on Dylan Hryckowian’s extra-attacker goal at 15:56, but Richards finished off his two-goal night with an empty-netter at 19:48 to seal the 5-3 final.

Aiden Wright made 25 saves for Vermont as the Catamounts capped the weekend with another quality win over a ranked opponent.

No. 1 Michigan 7, Notre Dame 4

No. 1 Michigan finished off a weekend sweep of Notre Dame with a wild 7-4 win, surviving a chaotic, penalty-filled night.

The Wolverines set the tone early behind Aidan Park, who scored twice in the opening period to stake Michigan to a 2-1 lead. Notre Dame hung around by capitalizing on chances at even strength, but Michigan’s skill and pace kept showing through — especially when Michael Hage converted on the power play early in the second to push the margin again.

The middle frame turned into a track meet. Notre Dame twice pulled within a goal, but Michigan answered both times and carried a 5-3 lead into the third. Garrett Schifsky was right in the middle of everything, scoring twice and helping Michigan blunt each Irish push, while Nick Moldenhauer’s second-period finish stood up as the game-winner.

When Axel Kumlin made it 5-4 early in the third, Michigan responded with two more to finally create breathing room, including a Jayden Perron goal that put the game out of reach. The closing minutes devolved into a parade to the penalty box — a combined 26 penalties and more than 170 penalty minutes — but Michigan’s offense had already done the damage to complete the sweep.

No. 3 Wisconsin 3, Alaska Anchorage 2

No. 3 Wisconsin jumped in front early and held off a late surge from Alaska Anchorage for a 3-2 win, improving behind a pair of goals from Quinn Finley.

Finley opened the scoring on the power play late in the first period, and Finn Brink made it 2-0 just over a minute later to give the Badgers a quick cushion. The key moment came in the second when Finley struck again — this time shorthanded — to make it 3-0 and ultimately stand up as the game-winner.

Anchorage didn’t go away. Joey Potter got the Seawolves on the board with a power-play goal midway through the second, and Oren Shtrom cut it to 3-2 early in the third as the visitors tilted the ice with a 14-shot period. Daniel Hauser closed the door the rest of the way, finishing with 19 saves as Wisconsin survived a one-goal win.

No. 4 North Dakota 5, Colorado College 2

No. 4 North Dakota answered Friday’s overtime setback with a convincing 5-2 win over Colorado College on Saturday, earning the split and taking four of six points in the NCHC series.

The Fighting Hawks fell behind 1-0 on Mats Lindgren’s first-period strike, but flipped the game early in the second. Dylan James tied it just 31 seconds in on the power play, and Bennett Zmolek put UND in front a few minutes later to swing momentum for good.

UND blew it open in the third with three goals in an eight-minute span. Tyler Young’s finish at 3:26 stood as the game-winner, Abram Wiebe added on, and Cole Reschny made it 5-1 midway through the period as North Dakota continued to control play. Lindgren scored his second of the night late to trim the margin, but it never seriously threatened the result.

Jan Špunar earned the win with 19 saves, and UND’s special teams contributed with the early second-period power-play goal that sparked the rally.

No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 8, Lindenwood 4

No. 5 Minnesota Duluth’s offense erupted for eight goals Saturday, completing a nonconference sweep of Lindenwood with an 8-4 win.

The Bulldogs came out flying, getting first-period goals from Jayson Shaugabay, Zam Plante and Joey Pierce to build a 3-0 lead. Lindenwood pushed back in the second, scoring twice to pull within one and tighten the game heading to the third.

UMD’s special teams and depth took over from there. Max Plante struck on the power play 43 seconds into the third, but Lindenwood answered to make it a one-goal game again. That was as close as it got: Harper Bentz delivered the eventual game-winner and the Bulldogs piled on with five goals in the period, cashing in four power-play goals on the night (4-for-8). Plante finished with two goals and two assists, while Shaugabay (goal, three assists) and Aaron Pionk (three assists) also piled up multi-point nights. Ethan Dahlmeir made 29 saves as Duluth finished the weekend with 14 goals in the two-game set.

No. 6 Western Michigan 6, No. 7 Denver 2

No. 6 Western Michigan completed a two-game road sweep at No. 7 Denver on Saturday, using a three-goal burst in the second period to pull away for a 6-2 win.

Denver struck just 35 seconds in on a James Reeder goal, but the Broncos answered with a power-play tally from William Whitelaw and took the lead late in the first when Owen Michaels made it 2-1.

Western Michigan then blew the game open early in the second. Michaels scored again 7:09 in, and the Broncos followed with goals from Iiro Hakkarainen and Ty Henricks in a span of 4:37 to turn a one-goal game into a 5-1 cushion. Denver managed one response on a Rieger Lorenz power-play goal, but Whitelaw added his second of the night in the third to cap the scoring.

Michaels finished with two goals and an assist, while Bobby Cowan had three assists for the Broncos. Hampton Slukynsky made 35 saves as Denver outshot Western Michigan, 37-30, but the Broncos were opportunistic and left Magness Arena with the sweep.

No. 8 Quinnipiac 4, Rensselaer 3 (F/OT)

No. 8 Quinnipiac outlasted Rensselaer in overtime, 4-3, after the Bobcatsgot the winner from Markus Vidicek at 4:43 of the extra session.

RPI grabbed the game’s first lead early when Kazimier Sobieski scored at 4:46 of the opening period, but Quinnipiac responded with two goals in a 26-second span midway through the second to go in front 2-1.

The third period turned into aback-and-forth affair. Rainers Rullers tied it for the Engineers just a minute in, and Quinnipiac answered late when Chris Pelosi buried the equalizer at 18:10 to make it 3-2. RPI forced overtime anyway on Matthew Buckley’s extra-attacker goal with 14 seconds left in regulation.

In OT, Vidicek finished the job for the Bobcats, snapping home the game-winner to send Quinnipiac away with the 4-3 victory. The teams finished even in shots, 25-25, and Matej Marinov made 22 saves for Quinnipiac.

No. 9 Penn State 5, Minnesota 2

No. 9 Penn State completed the weekend sweep of Minnesota with a 5-2 win, using a three-goal first period to take control and then closing it out late.

Minnesota struck first on Brodie Ziemer’s unassisted goal at 3:27, but Penn State answered quickly and poured it on from there. Braedon Ford tied it, Matt DiMarsico put the Nittany Lions in front, and Lev Katzin made it 3-1 just before the intermission.

The Gophers pulled within one early in the second on Javon Moore’s goal, but Penn State’s defense and Kevin Reidler (32 saves) held the line through a scoreless middle frame. In the third, Jackson Smith provided breathing room at 17:35, and Dane Dowiak sealed it with a shorthanded empty-netter in the final minute. Aiden Fink helped drive the finish with three assists as Penn State outshot Minnesota, 43-34.

No. 10 Connecticut 5, UMass Lowell 1

No. 10 Connecticut answered a home loss on Friday by earning a split with UMass Lowell, pulling away late for a 5-1 win that was much tighter than the final score.

Lowell opened the scoring on a Luke Shipley power-play goal at 2:41, but the Huskies settled in and tied it midway through the first when Kaden Shahan beat Austin Elliott to make it 1-1. The game stayed even through long stretches of back-and-forth play, with the teams nearly even in shots and neither side giving much away at five-on-five.

UConn grabbed the lead for good early in the second on Joey Muldowney’s go-ahead goal at 5:20, and then leaned on steady goaltending from Kam Hendrickson, who turned aside 28 shots to earn his first collegiate win.

The Huskies finally created separation in the closing minutes. Muldowney added an empty-netter, Ryan Tattle followed with another, and Shahan capped the night with a late power-play goal to put the finishing touches on Connecticut’s five-goal response.