Here’s a recap of Friday’s results, updated standings and a link to the latest Pairwise rankings.
No. 6 Minnesota Duluth 4, No. 16 CC 3 OT
DULUTH — Sophomore right winger J.T. Brown made sure of that with a one-time blast off a faceoff exactly three minutes into overtime to send the Bulldogs to a 4-3 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory before a crowd of 6,346 at AMSOIL Arena.
“(The game-winning goal) felt good,” said Brown, who returned to the lineup after missing last weeken’d series at Minnesota State-Mankato with an upper-body injury. “We had a big lead and then they got a couple clutch goals, but we did what we needed to do to close this one out.”
The Gazette explains how the loss hurts, but does not scuttle the Tigers’ chance at home playoff ice.
But another loss Saturday would force the Tigers to win its first Final Five tournament title in order to advance to the NCAA Tournament, judging from the latest Pairwise rankings.
No. 4 Minnesota 3, Nebraska Omaha 2 OT
OMAHA — Sophomore defenseman Jake Parenteau scored his first goal of the season 1:46 into overtime to lift Minnesota to a 3-2 victory against Nebraska Omaha on Friday night CenturyLink Center.
The loss keeps the Mavericks tied with CC for fifth place.
No. 12 North Dakota 4, No. 9 Denver 3
DENVER – No. 12 North Dakota started fast and held on for a 4-3 win over No. 9 Denver in front of a sellout crowd of 6,119 Friday night at Magness Arena.
The Fighting Sioux jumped out to a 4-0 lead on goals by Corban Knight, Danny Kristo (penalty shot), Carter Rowney (power-play goal) and Stephane Pattyn, and held off a late three-goal flurry from Denver. North Dakota dominated much of the game and Brad Eidsness made 32 saves as the Fighting Sioux improve to 18-11-3, 14-10-1 WCHA.
The win moves North Dakota into fourth, one point behind the third-place Pioneers.
Wisconsin 4, Bemidji State 2
BEMIDJI — Sophomore forward Michael Mersch scored a goal and added an assist while sophomore forward Mark Zengerle handed out a pair of assists as Wisconsin skated to a 4-2 win against Bemidji State on Friday at Sanford Center.
St. Cloud State 5, Michigan Tech 2
HOUGHTON — Freshman forwards Joey Holka and Joe Rehkamp each collected a goal and an assist to help lift St. Cloud State to a 5-2 win against Michigan Tech on Friday night at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Cheyenne Mountain High School graduate Corson Cramer came on in relief in net after SCSU’s fifth goal and made four saves.
Here’s more details.
Alaska Anchorage 5, Alaska Fairbanks 2
ANCHORAGE — Sophomore goaltender Chris Kamal made 27 saves and the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves rode a three-goal second period to a 3-2 victory against the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks on Friday night at Sullivan Arena.
Minnesota State Mankato is idle this weekend.
CURRENT STANDINGS
|
WCHA Games
|
|
Overall
|
|
GP
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
Pts
|
GF
|
GA
|
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
GF
|
GA
|
|
Minnesota
|
25
|
18
|
7
|
0
|
36
|
82
|
50
|
|
22
|
11
|
1
|
124
|
71
|
|
Minnesota Duluth
|
25
|
15
|
6
|
4
|
34
|
94
|
66
|
|
21
|
7
|
5
|
123
|
85
|
|
Denver
|
25
|
13
|
8
|
4
|
30
|
85
|
74
|
|
18
|
11
|
4
|
114
|
91
|
|
North Dakota
|
25
|
14
|
10
|
1
|
29
|
72
|
66
|
|
18
|
11
|
3
|
98
|
87
|
|
Colorado College
|
25
|
13
|
11
|
1
|
27
|
86
|
79
|
|
16
|
13
|
2
|
101
|
90
|
|
Nebraska Omaha
|
25
|
11
|
9
|
5
|
27
|
79
|
76
|
|
14
|
13
|
6
|
101
|
96
|
|
St. Cloud State
|
25
|
11
|
11
|
3
|
25
|
79
|
67
|
|
14
|
15
|
4
|
105
|
92
|
|
Michigan Tech
|
25
|
10
|
11
|
4
|
24
|
80
|
78
|
|
13
|
16
|
4
|
97
|
100
|
|
Bemidji State
|
25
|
9
|
13
|
3
|
21
|
63
|
80
|
|
15
|
15
|
3
|
88
|
92
|
|
Wisconsin
|
25
|
9
|
14
|
2
|
20
|
67
|
78
|
|
14
|
15
|
2
|
92
|
91
|
|
Minnesota State
|
26
|
8
|
16
|
2
|
18
|
71
|
95
|
|
12
|
20
|
2
|
95
|
115
|
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
26
|
5
|
20
|
1
|
11
|
55
|
104
|
|
9
|
20
|
2
|
75
|
115
|
Former Tiger Jaden Schwartz could prove to be a real boon for AHL Peoria if he falls short of making the very deep Blues’ NHL roster.
