With three weeks left in the regular season, all eight teams in the NCHC returned to the ice over the weekend. St. Cloud State needed a weekend sweep and a Minnesota Duluth loss to capture their second straight Penrose Cup. Let’s see how everyone faired.
#8 Western Michigan at Colorado College
The struggling Broncos went on the road to CC to try and regain some lost momentum. Friday night started out slow for WMU. They traded goals early to keep the game tied at one, but CC didn’t keep it tied for long. They scored again in the first and early in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Then the teams traded goals again to send the game into the period with a 4-2 score. From there the stage was set for a Bronco comeback. Hugh McGing started the rally for WMU less than five minutes into the third off a one-timer. Then two minutes later things were tied up thanks to Austin Rueschhoff. The game went to OT where McGing was the hero. Scoring the game winner to complete the comeback.
WMU was looking to finish the sweep on Saturday night. After bad splits in their previous two series, the Broncos really needed to finish this one off. Unfortunately for them, the Tigers went up 2-0 midway through the first period and never looked back. The Broncos were able to tie the game at two early in the second but the Tigers rattled off six unanswered goals to give them a dominant 8-2 win. Ben Copeland of CC scored four goals making him the conferences third player to ever score four goals in a game. The Broncos stretch of poor play continues for a third series. They’ll need to figure things out quickly with #1 St. Cloud State coming Lawson Arena this weekend.
Miami (OH) at #7 Denver
The Redhawks traveled to Denver with an upset on their minds. This showed when after three minutes in the first period they were already up 1-0. Ryan Siroky scored the first goal and the second early on in the second 20 minutes. A 2-0 lead on the road against a top 10 team is good, but Karch Bachman thought a 3-0 lead was better and found the back of the net to extend the lead. Denver scored once in the third period but it didn’t matter. The Redhawks had completed part one of a weekend upset. Goaltender, Ryan Larkin was the difference maker for Miami. He stopped 47/48 shots he faced on the night earning a new career high.
Not wanting to be swept at home by an unranked opponent, Denver came into Saturday’s game fired up. The Pioneers took a 1-0 lead in the first and the Redhawks tied things up in the second. The tie held going into the third period which was poised to be an aggressive one. Denver scored two goals within 20 seconds of each other to go up two but Miami scored once again to cut the lead to one. Denver wasn’t done though and added two more goals to win 5-2. Avoiding the sweep at home and likely keeping their top 10 ranking.
#3 Minnesota Duluth @ North Dakota
The Bulldogs entered this series trailing St. Cloud State in the conference standings by 11 points with 16 points still available. The Bulldogs almost needed to win out and then get some help from SCSU opponents.
North Dakota wasn’t looking to give UMD any help Friday night. The Eagles poured in three goals in the first period and kept their foot on the gas. Only allowing one first period goal to the Bulldogs, the Eagles were able to keep the score at 3-1 until they dumped in an empty netter in the closing minutes of the third period. This loss did not do UMD any favors and put SCSU in position to lock up the regular season title if they could sweep Omaha.
The Bulldogs couldn’t afford to drop another game and came into Saturday night playing with a sense of urgency. They quickly went up 1-0 in the first but North Dakota was able to answer to tie things up again. After 20 minutes the game was still tied at one. UMD pressed on the gas in the second, scoring two goals early on to take a 3-1 lead. Their defense held tight only allowing one more goal and they got out of the Dakota’s with a split.
#1 St. Cloud State at Omaha
With the UMD loss on Friday night, SCSU had the opportunity to finish off their second straight regular season conference championship. The odds were in their favor with Omaha being the last place team in the conference.
SCSU made quick work of the Mavericks on Friday night. The Huskies scored two goals in the first and then added two more in the second, including Ryan Poehlings second of the night. Omaha was able to get on the board in the third but it was too little too late. The Huskies rolled and looked to capture the Penrose Cup on Saturday.
Saturday night was no different. The Huskies worked this easy and continued building their lead through the third period. Two goals in the first, one in the second, and two more in the third secured the shutout and their second straight Penrose Cup.
NCHC Players of the Week
Offensive: This one was a no brainer. Colorado College’s Ben Copeland won the award with a five goal weekend. His four goals Saturday night made him the second D1 player to reach that mark this season and only the third player in conference history to do so.
Defensive: Hobey Baker finalist, Jimmy Schuldt took home defensive player of the week. Schuldt anchored an SCSU defense that gave up one goal all weekend while also dishing out two assists. he lead the charge on the penalty kill, killing all five penalties.
Rookie: Mark Senden of North Dakota earned freshman of the week. He scored the opening goal on Friday night while dishing out an assist in each game.
Goaltender: Dávid Hrenák earned honors for a 52/53 weekend and a .981 save percentage.
Weekly Rankings
This weeks USCHO poll saw five teams in the top 20 including four in the top 10. SCSU remained at #1 and UMD held tight at #3. Denver moved up one spot to #6 while WMU dropped two spots to #10. North Dakota was able to slip in at #20 following strong performances against WMU and UMD.
Three weeks remain in the regular season and all eight teams are back in action next weekend. Follow us on Twitter for all your college hockey coverage @StudentUHockey.
