Monday reading: UNH downs BSU, WJC, USCHO poll

New Hampshire 3, Bemidji State 2 OT

HANOVER, N.H. — Freshman forward Markus Gerbrandt and senior forward Jordan George each scored a goal but Bemidji State was defeated by New Hampshire in overtime, 3-2, in the consolation game of the Ledyard Classic on Monday at Thompson Arena.

Boston College’s John Gaudreau scores two to lead Team USA into the world junior championships quarterfinals.

In this week’s least shocking news: Minnesota is the new No. 1 in the USCHO poll.

Colorado College picked up a vote in the poll.

Sunday reading: WCHA roundup, WJC, roster moves, York

No. 9 Quinnipiac 3, No. 12/13 Nebraska Omaha 1

HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac came back to win 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at the TD Bank Sport Center for a sweep of the non-conference series. The Mavericks won the faceoff back to defenseman Michael Young who slipped a pass to Ryan Walters. He fired a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat goalie Eric Hartzell for his team-leading 12th goal.

No. 4 Minnesota 8, No. 1 Boston College 1

MINNEAPOLIS — Nick Bjugstad and Kyle Rau both scored twice and added an assist as Minnesota routed No. 1 Boston College.

The loss gives the defending champions, a night after coach Jerry York recorded his NCAA-best 925th career win, a 2-2-1 mark in their last five games.

Michigan Tech 4, No. 7/8 Western Michigan 0

DETROIT — Freshman goaltender Pheonix Copley earned his second shutout of the weekend with 32 saves as Michigan Tech won the Great Lakes Invitational for the first time in 32 years with a 4-0 win against Western Michigan on Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.

No. 18 Minnesota State 3, UConn 1

STORRS, Conn. — Junior forward Johnny McInnis scored twice to help Minnesota State earn the UConn Classic title with a 3-1 victory against Connecticut on Sunday night at Freitas Ice Arena.

UMass 4, Bemidji State 3

HANOVER, N.H. — Senior forward Brance Orban had a goal and an assist but Bemidji State was defeated by Massachusetts, 4-3, in the opening game of the Ledyard Classic on Sunday afternoon at Thompson Arena.

Team USA lost 2-1 at the World Junior Championships, falling to Canada Sunday. The U.S. must beat Slovakia early Monday  to place third in Pool B and avoid relegation.

Boston College and Brown both lost players, one to injury and another to the OHL

Here is a look at BC coach Jerry York’s extraordinary career.

A picture book on North Dakota history is reviewed.

Saturday roundup Part 2: UM downs AFA; Denver shocks BU

No. 4 Minnesota 4, Air Force 0

MINNEAPOLIS — Erik Haula, Ryan Reilly, Kyle Rau and Nate Condon scored with the hosts scoring twice in the third period to pull away despite 29 saves by AFA goalie Jason Torf.

Minnesota plays No. 1 Boston College on Sunday.

No. 14/15 Denver 6, No. 6 Boston University 0

DENVER — Senior Chris Knowlton scored his team-leading 11th goal while DU pumped in three power-play goals out of eight man advantages to rout the Terriers.

 

Saturday roundup Part 1: Tech routs Wolverines; York sets wins record

Michigan Tech 4, Michigan 0

DETROIT — Freshman forward Alex Petan scored two goals and freshman goaltender Pheonix Copley made 38 saves to lead Michigan Tech to a 4-0 win against Michigan in the opening round of the Great Lakes Invitational on Saturday.

The Huskies play No. 7/8 Western Michigan which won in a shootout over Michigan State 2-1 (1-0 shootout). The Spartans scored with 16 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and the eventual shootout to decide which team advanced.

The last time neither Michigan or Michigan State were in the GLI final was 1981. Michigan Tech last won in 1980.

No. 1 Boston College 5, Alabama-Huntsville 2

Boston College head coach Jerry York became the NCAA hockey career victory leader on Saturday, directing the top-ranked Eagles to a 5-2 win against Alabama-Huntsville in the Mariucci Classic.

The 67-year-old York is 925-558-95 in 41 seasons to move past former Michigan State coach Ron Mason for the record. In 19 seasons at Boston College, York is 458-223-61.

York downplayed the accomplishment.

“I’ve always been about the team,” York said. “When I was a player, I was like that. Since I’ve been a coach, I’ve been like that. I’ve never really sought individual goals.”

York began his career as a 26-year-old head coach at Clarkson in 1972, then took over for Mason at Bowling Green before heading to Boston College. He has won four national titles with the Eagles to go with one at Bowling Green.

York’s teams have a record 37 wins in the NCAA tournament. They have won the Hockey East tournament nine times and five Beanpot titles — including the last three in a row.

No. 18 Minnesota State 3, Brown 1

STORRS, Conn. — Sophomore forward Jean-Paul Lafontaine scored twice to help Minnesota State earn a 3-1 win against Brown in the opening game of the UConn Hockey Classic on Saturday afternoon at Freitas Ice Arena.

No. 19 Ferris State 6, Minnesota-Duluth 2

ESTERO, Fla. — Sophomore forwards Caleb Herbert and Adam Krause each scored a goal but Minnesota Duluth fell to Ferris State, 6-2, in the consolation game of the Florida College Classic on Saturday afternoon at Germain Arena.

More Saturday reading: MSU departure, Nebraska-Omaha loses

The first Mankato native to play for Minnesota State left the program to play for nearby  Gustavus Adolphus.

Early Saturday

No. 9 Quinnipiac 5, No. 12/13Nebraska-Omaha 4

HAMDEN, Conn. — ECAC-leading Quinnipiac (13-3-2, 8-0 league) extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games (10-0-1) by taking advantage of some Maverick turnovers in the UNO zone.

UNO (11-7-1) tied the game at 4-4 moments into the third period on a score by Dominic Zombo before a Bobcats goal two minutes later proved to be the eventual game-winner..

Friday night

No. 16 SCSU 2, RPI 1

ST. CLOUD, Minn.  —  No. 16 St. Cloud State (12-8) got back into the win column on Friday, Dec. 28 with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (5-7-4) at the National Hockey and Event Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

The victory helped the Huskies split the weekend non-conference series with the Engineers and it also broke a four-game win streak by RPI against SCSU dating back to the 2002-03 season.

SCSU rallied in the second period with a power play goal by Ben Hanowski at 12:54.  He tipped in a shot by teammate Drew LeBlanc, who leads Division I with 22 assists.

LeBlanc then went on to score the game-winner with 23 ticks left in the second period for his sixth goal and 125th career point as a Husky.

As of 8 a.m. Saturday morning, LeBlanc leads the country in scoring with 28 points and his career point total (125 points) moves him into 11th place on the Husky recordsheet ahead of Brian Cook (1987-91) and Brett Lievers (1990-95) – who each had 124 points during their Husky careers.

LeBlanc also owns a nine-game point streak heading into the Huskies’ upcoming series against Northern Michigan on Jan. 4-5 in St. Cloud.

Maine 1, Minnesota Duluth 0

ESTERO, Fla. — Maine came into the final weekend of 2012 with the lowest scoring offense in NCAA hockey, averaging 1.33 goals a night. The Black Bears did little to improve those numbers Friday, but they did just enough to come out with a 1-0 victory over Minnesota Duluth in the opening round of the Florida College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla.

Rookie Ryan Lomberg’s shorthanded goal off a breakaway with 6:34 to go in the second period was all the scoring Maine needed as goaltender Martin Ouelette turned aside all 31 shots the Bulldogs (7-9-3 overall) sent his way. Lomberg potted his first collegiate goal immediately after he came out of the penalty box, picked up a loose puck near the center ice, raced in all alone and then deked UMD rookie netminder Matt McNeely (5-5-1), who had his four-game winning streak snapped in the loss. He finished with 22 saves.

Saturday reading: CC, UNO, Knowlton, Serratores, BGSU, Bemidji State

The highs and lows of the first half of the season for Colorado College are touched on.

Here is a look back on the first half of the season for Nebraska Omaha, which will be without forward Brock Montpetit for three to five weeks with leg injuries sustained on Dec. 15.

This Denver Post feature does a nice job showing all the connections between Denver, CC and RPI involving Colorado Springs’ Chris Knowlton, pictured, a senior DU forward with 10 goals this season.

Here is a strong take on the Serratore family reunion on Saturday.

The Bowling Green State alumni stepped up to save the program three years ago.

Bemidji State picked up a midseason replacement at goalie.

Friday reading: WJC, SCSU, Serratores, UConn, WCHA

Russia downed Team USA 2-1 in the Americans’ second game which is detailed here. Here is video of the lone USA goal by Michigan defenseman Jacob Trouba.

An injury to Michigan Tech’s Blake Piettila (no details available yet) on a late checking from behind penalty  bears watching by WCHA fans.

Here are four keys for Team USA at the world junior championships.

RPI 4, No. 14 St. Cloud State 3

ST. CLOUD — Mark McGowan snapped a 3-3 tie with 2:12 remaining to lift RPI to a 4-3 non-conference road victory over St. Cloud State.

The Engineers (5-6-4) trailed 2-0 before scoring three times — the first by Ryan Haggerty, the other two by Milos Bubela — in the first half of the second period to take the lead.

The Huskies (9-8-0), of the WCHA, tied the game with 7:27 to play on Cory Thorson’s goal. RPI is 4-1-2 in its past seven games.

In other news, the Serratore family rivalry will pick up this weekend at the Mariucci Classic.

Here is a UConn-centric preview for the Huskies’ holiday tournament,which includes Minnesota State.

This weekend’s schedule follows:

Fri	12/28/12	Minnesota Duluth	vs Maine	7:30 p.m. ET
Fri	12/28/12	Rensselaer	at St. Cloud State	7:07 p.m. CT
Sat	12/29/12	Nebraska Omaha	at Quinnipiac	12:00 p.m. ET
Sat	12/29/12	FerrisSt/Cornell	vs Minnesota Duluth	4:00/7:30 p.m. ET
Sat	12/29/12	Minnesota State	vs Brown	4:05 p.m. ET
Sat	12/29/12	Michigan	vs Michigan Tech	7:05 p.m. ET
Sat	12/29/12	Air Force	at Minnesota	7:07 p.m. CT
Sat	12/29/12	Boston University	at Denver	7:07 p.m. MT
Sun	12/30/12	Nebraska Omaha	at Quinnipiac	12:00 p.m. ET
Sun	12/30/12	WestrnMI/Mich St.	vs Michigan Tech	3:35/7:05 p.m. ET
Sun	12/30/12	Bemidji State	vs Massachusetts	4:00 p.m. ET
Sun	12/30/12	Amer Int/Connectt	vs Minnesota State	4:05/7:15 p.m. ET
Sun	12/30/12	Boston College	at Minnesota	7:07 p.m. CT
Mon	12/31/12	New Hamp/Dartmoth	vs Bemidji State	4:00/7:00 p.m. ET

Team USA roughs up Germany, 8-0

Team USA routed Germany 8-0 in the Americans’ opener at the world junior championships in Ufa, Russia.

Here are some notes that may be of interest to CC fans:

Michigan Tech’s Blake Pietila recorded two assists while North Dakota’s Rocco Grimaldi made one assist and also had a highlight-reel backcheck to break up a German breakaway that had the Twitterverse buzzing.

Miami teammates Riley Barber registered a goal and two assists while Sean Kuraly tallied the opening and eventual game-winning goal 20 seconds into in the first period. He later added an assist. The RedHawks will be NCHC opponents for CC next season.

 

Thursday reading: Jaden Schwartz, CC assistants, predictions, WJC

Former Tiger Jaden Schwartz, pictured, is making the most of his ice time in Peoria to ready for a return to the NHL, when allowed.

The role of the CC assistant coaches is explained by the Gazette.

Here are the USCHOs WCHA predictions for the next two days and a look at Minnesota Duluth’s tournament in Florida.

Here is a story on the NCHC players on Team USA at the world junior championships and a U.S. game schedule.

Happy Holidays: Enjoy the videos

Former Tiger Noah Clarke scored to put the Belfast Giants into second place in Great Britain’s Elite Hockey League. Unfortunately for Tigers fans, the following Christmas video by the Giants was made two years ago to promote their holiday homestand  so Clarke is nowhere to be seen.

I guess we cannot get everything we want for Christmas each year.

Enjoy this video and have a joyous holiday surrounded by family and friends. The blog will resume on Dec. 27.

Here is the Vermont women’s more recent version:

And if a traditional song version is more your style, here’s the Calgary Hitmen performing Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” from earlier this month: