The second season started in ernest this weekend (the ECAC & CCHA have three weekends of playoffs instead of two like Atlactic Hockey, Hockey East & the WCHA) and today 10 of the 22 matchups will play in a decisive Game 3 to advance to their conference's championship weekend and for some teams, keep their NCAA playoff hopes alive.
Here's the breakdown:
Atlantic Hockey:
Connecticut defeated Mercyhurst 5-2 on Friday powered by junior Corey Jendras's hat trick. The Lakers would fight back on Saturday night scoring three third period goals to force overtime, but sophomore Tom Janosz would score his first goal of the season to give the Huskies the sweep.
Air Force defeated Sacred Heart 7-5 on Friday in what can only be described as a barnburner. On Saturday, both teams tightened up defensively, but the Falcons crushed them with a strong offensive attack resulting in a 4-0 win for the sweep.
RIT absolutely dominated American International with a 5-0 win on Friday and a 5-1 win on Saturday with a combined 95 shots on goal for the weekend, finding offensive success in all situations.
Holy Cross defeated Canisus 6-3 on Friday, but the Griffins battled back on Saturday to erase a two goal deficit in the third period including a goal with 4 seconds left in the third period scored by freshman Kyle Gibbons to force overtime and extend their season. He gave them another 60 minutes when he scored the OT winner to force today's Game Three. *Holy Cross won 7-3*
CCHA:
Alaska scored the first goals of both games on Friday and Saturday, but Miami scored more as the RedHawks defeated the Nanooks 5-1 and 4-1 lead by senior Andy Miele with 2 goals and three assists on the weekend.
After upsetting Northern Michigan last weekend, Bowling Green's luck ran out against Michigan as the Wolverines dominated every aspect of the games and showed the strength of their depth with goals from your not-so-usual suspects - Lee Moffie (2), Luke Moffet and Lindsay Sparks.
Ferris State surprised Western Michigan on Friday night with the 3-1 win powered by sophomore Travis Ouellette's two goals, but the Broncos responded last night with a 3-1 win of their own to force tonight's Game Three. *Western Michigan won 5-4*
Notre Dame needed overtime on Friday to defeat Lake Superior 3-2, but the Lakers responded on Saturday winning 4-3 with two goals by sophomore Fred Cassiani to force tonight's decisive game. *Notre Dame won 4-2*
Hockey East:
Merrimack squeaked by Maine 5-4 on Friday night powered by junior Elliot Sheen's two third period goals and then laid down the hammer Saturday night as junior Carter Madsen's hat trick helped them sweep the Black Bears with a 6-2 win and earn their first trip to the Garden in 13 years.
New Hampshire, bouyed by the newly reunited STD line (Mike Sislo, Paul Thompson, Phil DeSimone) combining for four goals and six assists on the weekend, easily handled Vermont by winning 3-1 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday to advance to the Garden for the first time in years.
Boston College defeated Massachusetts winning 4-1 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday for the sweep. Junior Jimmy Hayes scored a hat trick on Saturday night for four goals on the weekend.
Northeastern pulled off the upset on Thursday night against Boston University winning 4-2 powered by junior Steve Silva's two goals. The Terriers bounced back on Friday winning 5-2 with two goals from senior Joe Periera to force tonight Game Three. *Northeastern won 5-4*
WCHA:
Bemidji State continued their season long dominance of Nebraska-Omaha to earn a trip to the Final Five in their inaugural WCHA season. Despite putting up 48 shots on goaltender Dan Bakala, the Mavericks could only get two shots past him, where as John Faulkner only saw 17 shots and allowed four goals including two in the final two minutes on regulation as the Beavers won 4-2. On Saturday, the Mavs again dominated in shots (43-20), but the Beavers, powered by senior Matt Read's two goals, won 3-2 for the series sweep.
Minnesota State built a two goal lead on Friday night but Denver scored four in the third period, including two by sophomore Shawn Ostrow - his only two goals of the season - in the final two and a half minutes of regulation for the 4-2 win. On Saturday, the teams would need more than 60 minutes of play, but only 1:29 as freshman Jason Zucker scored his 21st goal to send the Pioneers to St Paul.
For the second weekend in a row, North Dakota laid the smack down on Michigan Tech as they swept the weekend with a combined score of 11-1. Junior Jason Gregoire and senior Matt Frattin both earned hat tricks on Friday night's 8-0 win.
Alaska-Anchorage built up a three goal lead against Minnesota on Friday night only to see the Gophers tie it up in the third period, but a power play goal put the Seawolves on top for the upset win. The Gophers responded with a much more disciplined game on Saturday, but allowed two goals in the third to fall 2-0 to Alaska-Anchorage and miss the Final Five for the second year in a row.
Minnesota-Duluth defeated St Cloud 4-2 on Friday night, but on Saturday the Huskies battled back to force overtime in hopes of extending their season. Forty-one minutes later, at the start of their third overtime, junior Mike Connolly scored his 25th goal of the season to send the Bulldogs to the Final Five.
Wisconsin defeated Colorado College on Friday night 3-1 off of two third period goals, but on Saturday night, they needed bonus hockey as the Tigers were looking to extend their season. Colorado College tied the game late in the third and then just under six minutes in, Jaden Schwartz was able to score on the power play to force Game Three as both teams are looking to salvage their NCAA tournament hopes. *Colorado College won 2-1*
ECAC:
St Lawrence stunned Yale by winning in overtime on Friday night 3-2 with freshman Greg Carey scoring both the game-tying and game-winning goal for the Saints. On Saturday, the Bulldogs answered back with a strong second period to give them a 4-1 lead before winning 5-2 to force Game Three. *Yale won 4-0*
On Friday night, Union's high-powered offense was no match for Colgate as the Dutchmen won 4-1, but on Saturday night, Colgate responded with four third period goals to win 4-2 and force tonight's Game Three. *Colgate won 4-3*
Cornell defeated Quinnipiac 2-1 on Friday night off senior Joe Devin's two goals, but the Bobcats bounced back on Saturday with a 1-0 win to extend their season and force tonight's Game Three. *Cornell won 3-2*
Harvard stunned Dartmouth Friday night with their 3-2 win. On Saturday, they would need overtime to determine a winner, but it took Dartmouth just 1:37 to net the winner and force Game Three and keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. *Dartmouth won 4-3*
Tonight's games should be fun! Enjoy!
Julie
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