Monday 10: Michigan sweeps Denver, Hakstol era opens at ASU

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Michigan’s Cole McKinney, left, is all smiles during the Wolverines’ 4-3 win at Denver on Saturday night. (Photo: Michigan Athletics)

Each week, USCHO.com picks the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature

1. No. 2 Michigan takes two from Denver at Magness

In a rematch of the 2026 NCAA national semifinal, No. 2 Michigan took both nights at No. 1 Denver, winning 4-1 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. The Wolverines advanced to 6-0-0 on the season in back-to-back campaigns for the first time in program history. Michigan goalie Jack Ivankovic made 60 saves on the weekend. In net for Denver both nights was junior transfer Tyler Krivtsov, with Johnny Hicks reported to have a minor injury and expected to return next weekend against Boston College.

Denver had come back in Saturday’s contest to make it a 3-3 game in the third with Kieran Cebrian’s goal at 5:38, but Michigan took the lead for good with less than five minutes left. Asher Barnett’s shot from up top went high, but came off the back glass and bounced off both the top of the cage and a Pioneer elbow before ending up in the back of the net. Originally ruled a no-goal for a high stick, the goal was awarded after review showed that the Michigan player did not touch the puck.

Denver’s 19-game unbeaten streak extending back to January 24 ended with Friday’s defeat.

“As much as losing stings, this’ll be good for us,” said Denver coach David Carle after Saturday’s game. “We’ll find ways to get better.”

2. Hakstol era at Arizona State begins with sweep at UMass Lowell

Last Monday, Dave Hakstol’s name first popped up as a candidate — or really the candidate — for the open job at Arizona State. By Thursday, the announcement was official and Hakstol met the Sun Devils on the road at UMass Lowell that same day. Hakstol declined to answer specifics on the timing of his hiring when asked by a reporter in Friday’s postgame press conference.

ASU responded with a weekend sweep of the host River Hawks, winning 4-2 Saturday in front of Sam Urban’s 42 saves after a 5-4 win Friday.

“Tonight had its challenges,” said Hakstol after Saturday’s game. “But I sure like the way we reacted.”

Arizona State has a 13-day break before starting NCHC play at St. Cloud State on Oct. 30. Hakstol said they’ll use the time to get a system in place.

“It’s going to be a real good opportunity with with some good work days,” Hakstol said Friday. “You know, I’ve got in my mind a schedule of probably a minimum of six real good practices before we start to dial in on what we need to do against St. Cloud.”

3. Augustana stays unbeaten with home-and-home wins over Omaha

After an opening weekend with an overtime win and a tie against then-No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, the No. 15 Vikings kept rolling this past weekend with a pair of nonconference wins over Omaha.

Augustana took the home half of the series on Thursday with a 2-1 win. Nace Langus scored the winning goal with 1:12 left in the contest as his team outshot the Mavericks 42-29. Saturday’s win took overtime, with Maxwell Chakrabarti’s goal the difference in the 3-2 final.

Sophomore Leo Bulgakov scored both goals in regulation for Augustana, which overcame a 2-0 deficit to force OT. The Vikings travel next weekend to Ohio State for two.

4. No. 4 North Dakota tallies identical wins in sweep of Bentley

First-year Caleb Heil became the first North Dakota goalie to start his career with back-to-back shutouts with a pair of 5-0 wins against visiting Bentley. Heil had 14 saves in Friday’s win and 15 saves on Saturday. The Fighting Hawks are out to their first 4-0 start since the 2016-17 season.

Reigning NCHC Goalie of the Year Jan Špunar was recovering from an injury, but North Dakota coach Dane Jackson expects him to be 100 percent next weekend. The Fighting Hawks visit Minnesota in a renewal of their old WCHA rivalry.

5. No. 14 Michigan Tech improves to 5-1 with pair of wins over Alaska

Michigan Tech goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz got his first shutout of the season and fifth of his career in a 3-0 win Friday night.

The Huskies picked up the sweep with a 4-2 win on Saturday. Luke Shipley scored to give MTU a 3-2 lead with 5:49 left in the game before an empty-netter sealed it away.

“Sweeps are hard to come by in college hockey, and these wins will be important late in the season for NPI rankings,” said Tech coach Bill Muckault, whose team travels to Ferris State to start CCHA play next weekend.

6. Western Michigan takes two from Notre Dame

No. 6 Western Michigan rolled to a 6-1 win over Notre Dame on Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Lawson Arena’s final season, outshooting the Fighting Irish 51-20 and going 3-for-5 on the power play.

The teams made the 90-minute drive to South Bend from Kalamazoo for Saturday’s game, with the Broncos getting 17 saves from sophomore goaltender Quentin Miller in a 4-0 win. It was the second shutout of the season for the transfer from Denver. WMU has outscored its opponents 21-2 in its 4-0 start.

The Broncos head to Michigan on Friday before a home exhibition with Wisconsin on Saturday, while Notre Dame hosts Merrimack.

7. Niagara takes two at No. 18 Bowling Green

The Purple Eagles needed overtime on Friday to earn a 3-2 win over Bowling Green. Hunter Wallace scored with 28.5 seconds left in the extra stanza. Niagara capped off the sweep with a 2-1 win on Saturday, backstopped by Mercyhurst transfer Charles-Edward Gravel’s season-high 36 saves.

“The penalty kill was outstanding, ‘Gravy’ was great in net, and we found a way,” said Niagara coach Jason Lammers. “It wasn’t pretty, but we found a way.”

Also not pretty was a scuffle between the two squads at the end of the game, resulting in six penalties for each team. Niagara’s Ryan Humphrey received a five-minute major for leaving the bench during a fight and a disqualification.

8. Minnesota ekes out a tie after Friday blowout at hands of No. 9 Minnesota Duluth

In front of a raucous sold-out AMSOIL arena, Minnesota Duluth clobbered Minnesota 7-1 on Friday.

“There was energy in the building,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said after the win. “The students were awesome. It’s fun for the guys. It gets you into it.”

Saturday was a different affair. Duluth took a 2-0 lead early in the second, but Brodie Ziemer’s even-strength goal at 6:13 of that period and a power-play goal six minutes later knotted the game for the rest of regulation and overtime.

First-year head coach Brett Larson said his team showed growth in the tie.

“I know it’s been a little bumpy the first couple weekends, but boy, this tough stuff we’ve gone through is going to help this team get a lot better,” he said.

9. No. 3 Michigan State spoils homecoming at RIT

The last time Michigan State’s associate head coach was at Blue Cross Arena, home rink for the AHL Rochester Americans, it was RIT’s 2022 homecoming. Jared DeMichiel was being recognized as a 2022 RIT sports hall of fame inductee for a career in net that included an improbable trip to the Frozen Four for the Tigers in their fifth season at D-I.

Saturday’s homecoming game, in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,556, saw the Spartans improve to 3-0 with a 5-1 win over RIT.

Michigan State led 2-1 after two periods. Tommi Mannisto’s shorthanded goal made it 3-1 and Anthony Romani scored to open a 4-1 lead before a late empty-netter.

Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen made 25 saves for the Spartans, including 15 in the third. The two teams combined for 35 penalties and 161 minutes, helped by all 10 skaters getting roughing minors and 10-minute misconducts after a fracas in the waning moments of the game.

“Ton of respect for RIT,” Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale said. “We knew they were going to play with desperation and that’s important for our guys to see. It’s one thing to have talent but there’s a desperation and a hunger level you have to play with. I thought they really pushed us tonight.”

10. Splitsville

After an upset at the hands of host Vermont on Friday, 2-1, No. 11 Boston University needed overtime on Saturday for a 2-1 win to salvage a split.

“I thought overall we competed hard and played pretty well,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “It took us a while again (tonight) to score.”

Ohio State came back after a 5-3 loss at Sacred Heart on Friday to get a 5-1 Saturday win. The Buckeyes had three second-period goals in the victory, while rookie goaltender Jakub Milota made 17 saves on 18 shots for his first collegiate win.

Northeastern and UMass split on the weekend by identical 4-1 finals. The Minutemen won Friday’s Hockey East tilt, while the Huskies took the nonconference Saturday game.

St. Cloud was shutout 4-0 at No. 16 Boston College on Friday but earned a 5-3 win over the host Eagles on Saturday. The loss was BC’s second to an unranked team this season. Boston College travels to Denver next weekend.