It didn’t take No.1-ranked Michigan State long to assert itself as the dominant team Friday night. Despite a morgue-like crowd at Munn, MSU was able to capitalize on early special-teams opportunities and coast to a 5-2 win over Alaska-Fairbanks. Two of the Spartans’ three opening-stanza tallies came on the power play, and the team’s other … Read more

Ohio State head coach John Markell gave his players some simple advice as they rested between regulation and overtime in their first-round match against Nebraska-Omaha. “I told them to be patient … stay on the defensive side of the puck, and good things might happen.” And that’s exactly what the Buckeyes did, taking advantage of … Read more

Dartmouth’s hockey players gave head coach Bob Gaudet a perfect present for his birthday: a come-from-behind win over nemesis Rensselaer in the first game of the ECAC playoffs. After falling behind, 2-0, early in the game, the Big Green stormed back to score four unanswered goals — two by junior right winger Chris Baldwin — … Read more

MSU-Mankato needs to find a way to score against Colorado College. Otherwise, the Mavericks’ season will be over very soon. The Tigers defeated the Mavericks 3-0 in a first-round WCHA playoff game Friday night, utilizing strong goaltending and fortunate offensive positioning to hand Mankato its second straight shutout loss. In last Saturday’s regular-season finale, Colorado … Read more

Carl Boben led Wisconsin-River Falls with two goals and three assists in an 8-1 trouncing of visiting New England College in Game 1 of their NCAA quarterfinal series. Falcons forward Shane Fukushima (27) tries to stuff the puck past New England’s Ryan Thomson while Chris Grotnes (25) moves him out of the way. (Photos by … Read more

Trailing 1-0 late in the third period and facing elimination, UMass-Lowell used two goals in the final 5:52 of the third period to stay alive in its best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series with New Hampshire. “Tonight both goaltenders were so sharp,” said UMass-Lowell head coach Tim Whitehead. “The goals were not going to come easy, … Read more

Wisconsin-Superior weathered a flurry of shots in the third period by visiting St. John’s to hold on for a 5-4 win in the first game of their NCAA quarterfinals series. The Yellowjackets opened up a 5-2 lead on Eric Pitoscia’s second goal of the night at 7:08 of the third period as he and Jay … Read more

If you’re the Boston College Eagles, a team that boasts three 20-goal scorers including Hobey Baker candidate Brian Gionta in its arsenal of players, it might be very easy to lick your chops at the thought of an offensive explosion facing eighth seed Merrimack in the quarterfinal of the Hockey East playoffs. Think again. The … Read more

ANN ARBOR, Mich — “I was going to hit anything that moved,” Michigan defenseman Bob Gassoff said. Playoff hockey in the CCHA means lots of physical play, exactly what Ferris State wanted to try to restrain the quicker, more skilled sixth-ranked Wolverines. But after finishing the season a sluggish 1-6-1, No. 6 Michigan’s speed caught … Read more

Earlier this week, Minnesota head coach Don Lucia had concerns about his team’s readiness for the WCHA playoffs after the Gophers lost three of their last four games of the regular season. He needn’t have worried. Minnesota controlled play from the opening drop Friday night, dominating Michigan Tech en route to a 7-2 win. The … Read more

Miami surrendered a third-period lead for the first time this season, allowing Bowling Green to rattle off three unanswered third-period goals and claim the lead in the teams’ best-of-three CCHA playoff series with a 4-3 win Thursday night. An A.J. Kratofil goal, the first of the freshman’s collegiate career, had given Miami a 3-1 lead … Read more

Senior goaltender Marc Kielkucki made 40 saves as Air Force defeated Findlay, 2-1, in the play-in game at the College Hockey America tournament Thursday at the Von Braun Center. Air Force, 16-15-4 overall, advances to the semifinals against regular-season champion Alabama-Huntsville Friday at 7:05 CST. Findlay finishes its season at 10-15-2 overall. Despite being outshot … Read more

Michelle Sikich recorded a hat trick to lead Wisconsin (20-8-5) to a 5-2 win over sixth seed Bemidji State (9-24-1) at the Recreation Center Thursday. The win advances the Badgers to a second-round game with second-seeded Minnesota-Duluth (23-6-4), which defeated MSU-Mankato, 10-1. Wisconsin went up 3-0 with three goals in the first 11 minutes of … Read more

Solid forechecking and a stingy defense helped No. 5 seed Ohio State defeat No. 4 seed St. Cloud, 5-0, Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the WCHA championship at the Rochester Recreation Center. Corinne Rosen and Emma Laaksonen netted two power-play goals apiece for Ohio State, and goalie April Stojak stopped all 14 Husky … Read more

On the strength of a late second- and two third-period goals, the New Hampshire Wildcats came back to defeat the UMass-Lowell River Hawks 4-2 in Hockey East quarterfinal action at the Whittemore Center Thursday night. “Obviously I’m pleased with a good team effort,” said New Hampshire head coach Dick Umile. “I thought we played a … Read more