Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1) Western Michigan sweeps Denver in top-10 series
Defending national champion and current No. 6 Western Michigan is now on a seven-gameheater, after the Broncos took both games of a high-profile road series over the weekend at No. 7 Denver.
Liam Valente scored 59 seconds into Friday’s opener, a 4-1 WMU win, and Broncos goaltender Hampton Slukynsky kept Denver from getting on the board in the game’s first 40
minutes. Boston Buckberger got the Pioneers on the board in the third period, after an earlier would-be DU goal was washed out due to goaltender interference. Valente later scored on a penalty shot to make it 3-1.
A three-goal burst in Saturday’s second period then helped Western to a 6-2 win. Denver led after just 35 seconds on a James Reeder goal, but the Broncos answered in the first through William Whitelaw and Owen Michaels, before Michaels scored again 7:09 into the frame.
2) No. 1 Michigan takes 2 from Notre Dame
Top-ranked Michigan should remain so this week, after the Wolverines took both games of a Big Ten weekend series against Notre Dame.
Three second-period goals Friday helped Michigan to a 5-2 win, with Kienan Draper burying theeventual game-winner right at the halfway point of the contest. Michigan came out on top again Saturday, 7-4, after another busy second period. Notre Dame twice pulled within a goal in that frame, only for Michigan to answer twice and carry a 5-3 lead into the third.
Nick Moldenhauer played an important role in the series for Michigan, scoring an insurance goal Friday before bagging Saturday’s winner in the second period.
3) Providence takes 2 at home over No. 12 Maine
No. 18 Providence picked up two big wins, beating No. 12 Maine 6-1 and 3-0 in Hockey East action at Schneider Arena.
Roger McQueen scored twice in Providence’s blowout win Friday, with freshman classmate Julius Sumph posting a career-high three assists. Jack Parsons, another Friars freshman, made 26 saves at the other end.
Parsons then made 20 saves Saturday for his first collegiate shutout. Three different Providence skaters scored, and the Friars went ahead on their first shorthanded goal of the season, 9:21 into the second period, after Tanner Adams scored on a breakaway set up by a Maine turnover on a busted zone-entry attempt.
4) Michigan State held to road split
Second-ranked Michigan State slipped on Saturday for only the fifth time this season, as the Spartans were held to a split at unranked Ohio State.
Michigan State produced a season-high six goals Friday in winning the series opener 6-2. Four points, including two goals, from freshman Porter Maloine set the pace Friday in a game where the Spartans went 2 for 4 on power plays, while going 5 for 6 on penalty kills. Buckeye captain Davis Burnside scored the go-ahead goal in Saturday’s third period, after the teams were tied at 1-1 through 40.
5) Badgers hold serve against Alaska Anchorage
Third-ranked Wisconsin, one of four teams receiving at least one first-place vote in last week’s USCHO.com D-I Men’s Poll, took both games of a home non-conference series against Alaska Anchorage.
Four third-period goals broke open Friday’s series opener, as Wisconsin won 5-0. Badgers freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser made 16 saves in the shutout victory, on a night when five of his teammates scored.
Wisconsin started hot in Saturday’s rematch, then eked its way to a 3-2 win over the Seawolves. Quinn Finley’s shorthanded goal in the second period, after Wisconsin scored twice in the first, stood up as the game-winner.
6) Fourth-ranked North Dakota splits at Colorado College
Similar to how Michigan State fared on its travels, No. 4 North Dakota had to live with a road split last weekend in conference play against unranked Colorado College.
The host Tigers won Friday’s opener, 3-2 in overtime, as Philippe Blais-Savoie scored two minutes into the extra frame and Kaidan Mbereko posted a season-high 37 saves at the other end. Also among Tiger scorers Friday was Drew Montgomery, a former Grand Forks (N.D.) Red River high school hockey standout.
Mats Lindgren scored the first and last goals of Saturday’s rematch for Colorado College, but the Tigers fell 5-2. A three-goal third period for North Dakota, including two coming 1:59 apart by Tyler Young and Abram Wiebe, helped put the game away for the Fighting Hawks.
7) Quinnipiac takes pair in milestone weekend
On a weekend celebrating its 50th anniversary as a program, No. 8 Quinnipiac gave its fans even more reason to cheer with home wins over ECAC Hockey rivals Union and RPI.
A seven-goal run Friday helped the Bobcats to a 7-2 win over Union. Ethan Wyttenbach, Aaron Schwartz and Markus Vidicek had two points apiece.
Vidicek then scored with 17 seconds left in overtime Saturday, as Quinnipiac won 4-3 over RPI. The Bobcats have now won four straight and 11 of their last 10.
8) UConn splits with UMass Lowell
No. 10 Connecticut could slip in this week’s poll, after the Huskies split a home-and-home series against Hockey East rival UMass Lowell.
Lowell scored three goals in the second period of Friday’s game in Hartford, Conn., and the River Hawks led 4-1 entering the final period before Jay Ahearn scored into an empty net.
The tables were then turned Saturday in Lowell, as UConn won 5-1. Huskies goaltender Kam Hendrickson bagged his first collegiate win, in a game where Joey Muldowney and Kaden
Shahan both scored twice for the visitors.
9) Augustana blanks Northern Michigan twice at home
Consecutive shutouts from Augustana goaltender Josh Kotai helped the 17th-ranked Vikings to a pair of home wins against Northern Michigan, helping to put Augie in a tie with St. Thomas for first place in the CCHA standings.
Kotai stopped all 18 shots he faced in Augustana’s 3-0 win Friday, when the Vikings scored a power-play goal, an even-strength goal and an empty netter following a scoreless first period. Northern Michigan then dropped to 1-23 on the season after falling 2-0 on Saturday. Kotai was busier in the rematch but was even better in making 27 saves.
Meanwhile, in other CCHA action, St. Thomas provided a mild upset Saturday, winning 4-2 at No. 15 Minnesota State. The Tommies have now won six straight.
10) Bentley sweeps at Air Force
Over in Atlantic Hockey, Bentley is now on a three-game winning streak after winning twice last weekend at Air Force.
Five different Bentley players scored Friday in a 5-1 victory. This came after eight different Falcons scored in Bentley’s previous game, an 8-3 win at Holy Cross on Jan. 3.
Saturday’s rematch didn’t see Bentley record its first shot on target until eight minutes into the game, but the visitors heated up and won 3-1 after scoring three unanswered. Jake Black scored twice for Bentley, and finished the weekend with three goals and two assists.