Photo Courtesy of MGOBLUE.com
By Pat White
@patwhite9126
There was shifting atop the USCHO.com polls after a busy weekend of college hockey, with two Big Ten teams leading the pack.
Minnesota remains on top of the polls as the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the country. The Gophers retain the top spot while sitting idle this weekend.
Michigan hops up two spots to No. 2 after losses by Notre Dame and Providence. The Irish dropped to No. 4 after a 2-1 loss to a surging Vermont team. Providence lost its first game of the season, blowing a 3-0 lead to Boston University and losing in overtime.
The biggest change in this week’s polls is St. Cloud State jumping six spots to No. 3 after a weekend sweep of National Collegiate Hockey Conference foe, North Dakota. The Huskies remain undefeated with a 5-0-1 record. Nic Dowd had himself a three point weekend, including the game-winning goal on Saturday.
On the other side of the ice, North Dakota drops six spots to No. 11 with a 2-3-1 record. North Dakota has lost three of its last four games.
Miami’s flaunted its second ranked power play unit in a weekend sweep of Canisius. The No. 7 Red Hawks scored four goals on 10 opportunities on the weekend. Junior Austin Czarnik and sophomore Riley Barber continue to be on a tear, leading the NCAA with 14 points each. Czarnik scored two goals and had one assist while Barber had two assists. Blake Coleman also had a big weekend with a goal and three assists.
Big Ten Recap
Penn State, 2-3-1
After going winless in its last four games, Penn State got back on the winning track with a 5-4 victory at Robert Morris.
This game went almost exactly as I predicted it would. The game was decided by the man-advantage with 13 power play combined. Penn State made the most of its opportunities with three power play goals, including one from Casey Bailey who finally found the back of the net for the first time this season.
“It’s really appropriate because hes really pressing a lot,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “He had 12 shots on net last game and nothing happened…He just kept on battling and fighting. I like to see that. He has a lot of perseverance and it paid off.”
David Glen was a healthy scratch for the game. Gadowsky may have been sending a message to his alternate captain after back to back games with a game misconduct. He shifted his lines and Bailey found himself on a line with Dylan Richard and David Goodwin. He was glad to finally get on the scoresheet.
“Its a weight off the shoulders for sure,” Bailey said. “I was getting a lot of chances at the net, I knew it would come eventually. To finally put that one in it felt great especially the situation it was in.”
Coming into the game, slowing down Cody Wydo was going to be a big factor in the game. Penn State was able to escape with a win despite Wydo scoring four goals including one penalty shot goal.
Penn State goalie Matt Skoff returned home to Pittsburgh and played a strong game, making a career-high 48 saves in the win. Skoff’s calmness in net is what makes him a special goalie that can end losing streaks..
Mike Williamson scored his first goal and Max Gardiner tallied his first assist of the season.
Penn State starts a five game homestand when it hosts Sacred Heart on Friday.
No. 2 Michigan 6-1-1
As previously mentioned, Michigan moved up to No. 2 in the USCHO. com polls this weekend. The Wolverines took both games at Yost Arena against Michigan Tech.
Ann Arbore, Mich. native Andrew Copp played hero on Friday night with a game-winning goal 3:26 into overtime to give Michigan a 3-2 lead. Michigan had a 2-0 lead midway through the second period before Michigan Tech made a comeback to tie the game.
Copp netted another goal on Saturday, his fourth of the season, to give Michigan the early lead. Justin Selman scored his first goal of the season that proved to be the game-winner in Michigan’s 2-1 victory.
Yes, Michigan has moved up in the polls, but the lack of offensive production has to be a cause for concern for Red Berenson. The Wolverines are tied for 28th in offense with 2.75 goals per game. Aside from scoring seven goals against RIT, Michigan has failed to score more than three goals all season. Nolan De Jong, JT Compher and Mac Bennett are all yet to score this season. How is Michigan possibly winning with this lack of offense? A phenomenal freshman netminder.
Zach Nagelvoort has looked like anything but a freshman. He currently ranks tied for second in the NCAA in save percentage (.948) and goals against average (1.47 GAA). Nagelvoort is 4-1-1 and is the backstop for a Michigan defense that is third in the country in team defense, allowing 1.75 goals per game.
Michigan is stacked on defense and Nagelvoort is looking like he could be staple in net for the Wolverines this season. If and when the young forwards find the scoring touch, the sky is the limit for Michigan in the Big Ten.
The Wolverines next game is Nov. 15 when they visit Nebraska-Omaha.
Michigan State 3-3-0
The Spartans are such a hard team to dissect. One game, they blow a 2-0 and a 5-1 lead to hang on for a 5-4 victory. Two days later, they shutout an inferior American International team 4-0.
Dean and Jake Chelios-son of former NHL defenseman Chris Chelios-chipped in with a combined three assists from the blue line. The seniors are important cogs on the MSU blue line. Jake Hildebrand and Will Yanakeff have been question marks so far in goal for the Spartans. Greg Wolf scored two more goals to up his total to five this season. Highly anticipated freshman Mackenzie MacEachern added two goals of his own.
The Spartans visit Michigan Tech for a weekend series.
No. 13 Wisconsin 3-2-1
The Badgers saw flashbacks to last weekend in Boston where they lost to Boston College 9-1 and Boston University 7-3. Lake Superior State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 4:09 of the game on Friday night. Michael Mirsch stopped the bleeding with a power play goal before going into the first intermission. Nic Kerdiles recorded an assist on the play to extend his points streak to 17 consecutive games. Wisconsin goalie Landon Peterson faced 13 of 22 shots in the first period. He settled in after a rough first stanza.
After a scoreless second period, Wisconsin found some life offensively. The Badgers peppered LSSU goalie Kevin Kapalka with 18 shots. At 11:18 Mark Zengerle fired a shot that was deflected by Tyler Barnes past Kapalka. Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves pulled Peterson at the 18:38 mark. Barnes struck again when he found the puck in space and nodded the game at 3-3. It was a gutsy performance by a team that was scratching and clawing for a win. If Wisconsin rights the ship and rips off some consecutive victories, this comeback will be a major turning point in the season.
The win definitely re-ignited the fire in the Wisconsin dressing room. After a tough three game stretch, the Badgers finally looked like the preseason No.3 team in the country. Last season’s third leading scorer Mark Zengerle finally found the back of the net to start the scoring.
Joseph LaBate scored a goal and added two assists while Joe Faust added three assists in the game. Seven Badgers scored a goal in the victory. Kerdiles netted two goals to extend his point streak to 18 games.
After that stretch of blowouts, getting Peterson settled in goal is a big boost for the Badgers. Junior goaltender Joel Rumpel remains sidelined with a reported ankle sprain. Wisconsin would like to get back on the winning track until Rumpel can return to re-take the crease as the team’s starting goaltender.
Wisconsin is idle this upcoming weekend.
Ohio State 4-4-0
The Buckeyes were the lone Big Ten team to lose a game last weekend. The Buckeyes welcomed No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth to Columbus. The Bulldogs ran out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Kyle Osterberg and Steve Spurrell. Head coach Steve Rohlik said his team played one of its most complete games of the year, but still came up short. The Buckeyes were not able to solve Aaron Crandall, who made 28 saves on 29 shots. Tyler Lundey scored the lone OSU goal in the 3-1 defeat. The loss snapped a three game winning streak for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes turned the tides on Saturday night. Alex Szeczechura and Lindley gave Ohio State a 2-0 lead in the first period. Max McCormick extended the lead to 3-0 in the second. The Bulldogs would get one goal back, but captain Ryan Dzingel added an empty netter to give the Buckeyes a 4-1 win. Ohio State goalie Matt Tomkins made 39 saves.
Ohio State will host Niagara next weekend for two games.
No. 1 Minnesota 5-0-1
The Gophers travel to South Bend, Ind. for a weekend matchup with Notre Dame. Minnesota won the only matchup last season 4-1 at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota and Notre Dame were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively when they met last season.
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