Some teams have certainly found their game already in the second half while others have seen the surprise outcome (formerly known as the upset bug) de-rail their momentum, at least temporarily. Lots to review and assess from some great action across the country this past weekend.
Here’s a look at some of the drama that unfolded on the ice in-conference and out over the weekend:
Gulls quietly extending winning ways
A look at the CNE standings sees a familiar team atop the group, as Endicott is riding an eight-game win streak following their wins over Western New England and Tufts this past weekend. The Gulls are 11-1-1 overall and 6-1-1 in conference while going without a regulation loss on the road. Impressive numbers for a team expected to compete or the conference title.
On Thursday, the Gulls offense exploded for eight goals in a comfortable 8-2 win over the Golden Bears. Eight different players scored goals for Endicott as they outshot WNEU by a 54-16 margin.
On Saturday, Endicott traveled to face a challenging Tufts team in a non-conference thriller that saw the Gulls skate off with a 4-3 win. After a 1-1 deadlock in the first period, the Jumbos scored twice in the middle frame to take a 3-1 lead into the third period. Louie Kamienski scored a power play goal to cut the deficit in half before Ryan Vaites netted the game-tying goal midway through the period. With just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Ben Jenkinson netted his second goal of the contest which proved to be the game-winner for the Gulls. Goaltender Peter Stirling stopped 28 of 31 shots to pick up the win as the Jumbos held the shot advantage by a 31-28 margin.
BluGolds make some noise with sweep of MSOE
Wisconsin- Eau Claire has started the new year playing some great hockey. After downing Stevens Point to open 2026, the BluGolds traveled to play NCHA contender MSOE and the action was playoff caliber from the opening puck drop to the final horn as the visitors swept the two-game series.
On Friday, a goaltender’s duel between UWEC’s Max Gutjahr and Austin Schwab for the home Raiders saw the netminders match save for save in a 0-0 regulation tie. Tyler Herzberg had other thoughts in the overtime session as his goal in the final minute of bonus hockey gave the visitors a 1-0 win. Gutjahr was at his best in the third period when he stopped all 13 Raider shots to preserve the tie and send the game to overtime.
Saturday’s contest didn’t take so long for some goal scoring as Easton Inglis and Kade Peterson scored in the opening ten minutes and the BluGolds never looked back. Leo Bacallao extended the advantage to 3-0 in the second period before Jacob Bosse broke Gutjahr’s bid for back-to-back shutouts in a 3-1 UWEC win. The weekend sweep extended Eau Claire’s win streak to five games and moved them to 10-4-1 overall on the season.
Surprise outcomes for some teams around the country
Salve Regina’s 15-2 record added an “L” on Saturday as St. Michael’s from the NE-10 took advantage of a third period goal from Hans Forselius and 37 saves from goaltender Evan Plunkett in a stunning 2-1 win for the Purple Knights over the Seahawks. Salve Regina held a 38-19 shot advantage but could not solve Plunkett beyond Logan Calder’s second period power play goal.
Babson suffered only its second loss of the season as the Beavers dropped a 2-1 decision to New England College on Saturday. The Beavers held a wide shot advantage over the Pilgrims but ran into the hot goaltending of Anthony Beaulieu who made 40 saves to earn the win over the ranked Beavers. Second period goals from Matteo Viglino and a shorthanded tally by Dylan Duckson were enough for the Pilgrims to spring the upset.
After a hard fought one-goal loss to Hamilton on Friday, Bowdoin also dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Amherst on Saturday. The ranked Polar Bears surrendered first period goals to Caden Olenczak and Quinton Gove and goaltender Andrew Palena surrendered just one goal late to Ricky Volpe as the Mammoth took some needed points in the NESCAC race.
Suffolk took the opening game of their two-game series with UNE on Friday with a 2-0 shutout over the ranked Nor’easters. Austin McNicholas stopped all 27 shots he faced and goals from Daniel McKiernan and Joe O’Brien were enough for the Rams to secure an impressive 2-0 road win.
On Thursday night, a non-conference battle between NCHA contenders Adrian and Trine saw the Thunder skate away with a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs despite being outshot by a 41-21 margin. Goaltender Kyle Kozma was sensational stopping 40 shots while Alexander Babich paced the offense with a goal and an assist for Trine.
MAC contenders split series
Stevenson and Neumann played a two-game series with each team taking away points in a weekend split to keep things tight at the top of the MAC standings.
On Friday night, the Mustangs were able to take one goal leads into the dressing room after the first and second periods only to see the Knights tie things up at 2-2 after forty minutes of action. In the third period, Carson Gailin scored what proved to be the game-winner midway through the period on the power play and goaltender Ford DeLoss closed the door for a 3-2 win.
Saturday’s re-match saw the Knights start quickly with a pair of goals from Jared Coccimiglio for a 2-0 advantage. Zach Smith extended the advantage to 3-0 with a [power play goal in the second period and Neumann cruised to a 4-1 win that keeps the standings congested at the top of the MAC leaderboard.
Chatham offense erupts for 28 goals in series sweep over Hiram
Facing newcomers Hiram for the third time this season, the Cougars scored double-figure goals against the Terriers in two very lopsided wins.
On Friday, five points from Kowin Belsterling and a hat trick from Nick Cyprian paced a 13-2 rout as the Cougars dominated play with five first period goals.
On Saturday’s senior night Cyprian added two more goals and an assist while forward Bekk McClaine picked up the hat trick in a 15-1 runaway win.
In three games with Hiram this season, Chatham has outscored the Terriers by a 38-4 margin and the two teams play one more team at Hiram on Friday, January 16.
USCHO Game Pucks
Evan Plunkett – St. Michael’s – the Purple Knight netminder stopped 37 of 38 shots to shutdown the high-powered offense of Salve Regina in a 2-1 upset win on Saturday.
Tyler Herzberg – Wisconsin – Eau Claire – provided the dramatic overtime game-winner in the final minute of the extra session for the BluGolds in a 1-0 win on the road against MSOE.
Maksis Brimanis – Wisconsin – Stout – netted a power play overtime game winner for Stout in a thrilling 7-6 win over Augsburg that saw the Auggies send the game to bonus hockey with an extra-attacker goal in the final 66 seconds of regulation time.
It is clear that January is already off to a fast start and things are only going to heat up as the remaining weekends dwindle across the second half schedule. More conference games on the horizon as teams ramp up in pursuit of conference regular season titles and playoff seeding for upcoming tournaments that will determine the NCAA tournament participants.