ROUNDUP: Green’s four points lift Merrimack past UConn

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David Green had a pair of goals and also a pair of assists in Merrimack’s 5-4 win over UConn at home on Friday night. (Photo: Merrimack Athletics)

David Green recorded four points as No. 16 Merrimack rallied for a 5-4 home win vs. No. 17 Connecticut in Hockey East action Friday night at Lawler Arena.

Green scored the game-winner at 16:14 of the third period with Ty Daneault and Nolan Flamand earning the assists. Green scored his first collegiate goal at 18:26 of the second period, which tied the game 3-3 heading into the third.

“He’s adjusted to college hockey very, very quickly,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “(It) was really good to see the confidence he played with tonight.”

Flamand and Daneault also scored for Merrimack, as did Justin Gill. For UConn, Ethan Gardula, Joey Muldowney, Jeremy Loranger and Mike Murtagh scored.

In net, Merrimack’s Linards Feldbergs had 19 saves while UConn’s Kam Hendrickson had 27 saves. The two teams complete the series on Saturday night.

No. 3 Denver 2, Omaha 1

Johnny Hicks returned to the lineup in net for No. 3 Denver, and provided 20 saves in a 2-1 win vs. Omaha on Friday night in the NCHC opener for both teams.

Kristian Epperson scored the winning goal for the Pioneers at 13:53 of the third period.

Omaha’s Jack Pridham opened the scoring just 1:32 into the contest on a goal assisted by Kieran Cebrian and Ryan Lin. After a scoreless second period, Vincent Desjardins of Omaha tied it on a goal assisted by Maxime Pellerin and Sean Tschigerl.

William Lacelle had 37 saves for the Mavericks. The teams conclude the series Saturday night.

No. 20 Massachusetts 4, Harvard 2

No. 20/19 Massachusetts hockey scored twice in the final frame to beat Harvard 4-2 at the Mullins Center on Friday night in Hockey East action.

“That was a real solid 60-minute game for us,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “That’s a big win. We needed that. (I) think we took a big step forward. It might be a game when we look back at the end of the year that might be a bit of a turning point.”

Jack Musa and Larry Keenan provided the third-period goals.

Harvard drew first blood when Aiden Lane fired a shot through traffic that found the back of the net at the 3:12 mark. UMass responded just under three minutes later when Egor Barabanov and Jack Musa set up Samu Alalauri for a one-timer from the high slot for his first collegiate goal.

UMass took a 2-1 lead at 15:27 of the middle frame on a goal from Melvin Novotny, but just 24 seconds later, William McDonough caused a turnover at Harvard’s defensive blueline and took the puck the opposite way for the equalizer that knotted the score at 2-2.

For UMass, Jackson Irving logged 35 saves in his first start of the season and Rudy Guimond posted 25 stops for the Crimson.

No. 15 Cornell 5, Sacred Heart 2

No. 15 Cornell opened its season with a 5-2 win over Sacred Heart on Friday night.

Ryan Walsh scored the first two goals of the night for Cornell, with Caton Ryan, Ivan Zadvernyuk and Ryland Randle also scoring. Matis Rousseau had 17 saves for the Big Red while Nils Wallstrom had 31 saves for Sacred Heart.

The teams conclude the two-game nonconference series on Saturday.

No. 11 Augustana 12, Northern Michigan 0

Brett Meerman, Nace Langus and Heath Nelson each scored twice as No. 11 Augustana romped at home over Northern Michigan by a 12-0 score in CCHA action on Friday night.

Also scoring for Augustana were Landon Fandel, Hunter Bischoff, Siamion Marshchanok, Leonid Bulgakov, Cole Burtch and Owen Baumgartner. Mathis Langevin had 19 saves.

For Northern Michigan, Jack Fuller had 22 saves and Max Wellandt had 14 saves. The series wraps up Saturday night.

No. 14 Boston University 7, No. 19 Maine 2

Seven different Terriers scored a goal and all 12 Terrier forwards recorded a point as No. 14 Boston University beat No. 19 Maine 7-1 in Hockey East action on Friday night at Agganis Arena.

BU scored on its first three shifts of the game to grab a 3-0 lead just 1:31 into the game. The Terriers added another goal at the 4:49 mark to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Maine got a goal back moments later but the Terriers tacked on two more goals in the second period and one more to open the third.

Freshmen Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Viktor Nörringer and Xavier Villeneuve recorded their first collegiate goals. Conrad Fondrk and Ben Merrill scored a goal and had one assist apiece. Tynan Lawrence Brandon Svoboda also scored.

Maine got goals from Tanner Klimpke and Max Scott and 28 saves from Albin Boija. Mikhail Yegorov had 28 saves for the Terriers.

BU goes for the sweep Saturday night at Agganis.

No. 6 Western Michigan 7, LIU 4

No. 6 Western Michigan rallied from two goals down in the first period for a 7-4 win vs. LIU on Friday night at Lawson Arena, completing a two-game series sweep.

Zaccharya Wisdom scored twice in the third period for the Broncos, and Adam Benák finished with a goal and two assists. Iiro Hakkarainen recorded two assists, with the second one on Wisdom’s late goal, marking the 50th point of his career. Quentin Miller made 14 saves to improve to 6-1-0 on the season.

Sam Huck, Cole Crusberg-Roseen and Bobby Cowan all scored for Western Michigan. Lukas Renaud had 30 saves in net for LIU.

No. 2 Wisconsin 7, Notre Dame 1

No. 2 Wisconsin scored early and often in a 7-1 rout over Notre Dame in B1G action Friday night before a crowd of 8,525 at Kohl Center.

Brent Solomon scored twice, while Zach Wooten, Gavin Morrisey, Ryan Botterill, Finn Brink and Luke Osburn also scored. Alexis Cournoyer had 27 saves for the Badgers, while Patrick Quinlan made 33 saves for the Irish.

The two-game series concludes tonight.

No. 7 Minnesota Duluth 1, No. 9 Colorado College 0

Ty Hanson scored the game’s only goal at 17:04 of the third period to lift No. 7 Minnesota Duluth to a thrilling 1-0 win at No. 9 Colorado College on Friday night in NCHC action.

It was Hanson’s seventh goal of the season, assisted by Jayson Shaugabay.

In goal, Carl Axelsson earned the shutout for Duluth with 20 saves, while Colorado College’s Jackson Unger had 19 saves.

Penn State 1, No. 18 Minnesota 1 (OT, Penn State wins shootout)

Penn State skated to a 1-1 tie at No. 18 Minnesota on Friday night at Mariucci Arena, and won the ensuing shootout to pick up the extra point in the B1G standings.

Javon Moore scored at 7:33 of the first period to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. Justin Poirier of Penn State tied it at 9:03 of the third.

In goal, Penn State’s Joshua Fleming had 35 saves, while Minnesota’s Luca Di Pasquo stopped 28 shots.

The two teams go at it again on Saturday night in the Twin Cities.