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Saturday roundup: Sweep completed as Notre Dame defeats No. 1 Minnesota, 2-1; No. 3 BC survives, 2-1, against Merrimack; WMU sweeps No. 4 St. Cloud State

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A cutout of coach Gordon Bombay seems to approve as Notre Dame took it to No. 1 Minnesota for the second straight night, sweeping the Gophers in a road series, winning Saturday, 2-1. The Fighting Irish are now 3-1-0 since the start of 2021 (Photo: Jim Rosvold)

This Week in Hockey East: Inconsistent schedule ‘can be weird at times,’ freshman players ‘ready for anything’

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This hockey season is likely the weirdest time ever for a freshman to begin their collegiate hockey career.

With tons of regulations, inconsistency on the schedule, and some teams having 10 more games than others, it’s a lot to sort through. For anyone entirely new to college hockey, they have the luxury of not knowing how normal things felt in the before times to compare to.

This Week in WCHA Hockey: Alabama Huntsville establishing identity by ‘willing to change and do things a different way’

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College hockey didn’t start back up again until November, and even then, Alabama Huntsville was on the road for its first six games.

So last Friday and Saturday’s games were a cathartic experience for the Chargers: a sweep of Ferris State in their first home games in almost 11 months.

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Miami earns first conference road sweep in five years as RedHawks ‘trying to learn how to win’

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Ever since Miami’s last NCAA tournament appearance in the NCHC’s second season, the RedHawks have struggled to have success.

Since the 2014-15 season, when Miami finished second in the regular season and then won the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, Miami has yet to post a winning record, and in the last four seasons Miami has finished seventh twice and eighth twice in the eight-team league.

This Week in WCHA Hockey: Calder’s ‘big impact’ continuing to help Lake Superior State stay effective

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By this point last season, Lake Superior State was coming off a split with Alaska Anchorage that included its seventh win of the season in their 26th game of the season.

However, that win was part of a second-half turnaround of their fortunes that saw them win seven more times, including a win to force a third and deciding game in the WCHA quarterfinals.

A big reason for that turnaround, then-sophomore Ashton Calder scored a goal and added an assist in the 5-3 win over the Seawolves. The 6-foot-1 forward added seven more goals over the Lakers’ run, helping propel them into the playoffs and force that third and deciding game.

This Week in Hockey East: Heavy conference representation at World Juniors, with U.S. coming away with gold

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Tuesday night was a night for the ages in the United States as the U.S. Under-20 team upset its rival to the north, Canada, for World Junior gold.

Certainly there was impact from Hockey East in the game as Northeastern’s Devon Levi entered riding an historic streak in goal for Team Canada and former Boston University forward Trevor Zegras skated through the tournament at a wild clip, eventually finishing with a point total that matched the largest ever for a U.S. player.

But there was one team that was loaded with great storylines on both sides of the puck: Boston College.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Canisius navigating new season, new-look schedule with focus on new strategy

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The frenetic pace in college hockey is, in some ways, building one of the strangest and most enthralling years for fans, analysts and observers.

The chaotic nature and arbitrary scheduling drop pucks virtually every night, and those willing to embrace the unknown are losing themselves in moments that likely won’t happen ever again. The lack of structure is creating new narratives, and the discussion is as interesting as anything in any sport.

Canisius was one of those teams taking part in the chaos.