A loaded schedule in men's college hockey in Friday night saw a total of 17 ranked teams in action across Division i.
Here's what you might have missed from all the action.
No. 2 Quinnipiac shuts out No. 8 Harvard
It took a little while for the game to open up, but Quinnipiac broke the stalemate in the second period before netting some critical insurance in the third period en route to the 3-0 final against the Crimson, possibly their toughest competition in the ECAC.
Brind'Amour cleaned up the front of the net to put us ahead!#BobcatNation x #ECACHockey pic.twitter.com/LkL8VsU5zk
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) February 4, 2023
Skylar Brind'amour put the Bobcats up 1-0 just 53 seconds into the middle period, putting away a loose puck in front on the power play. Christophe Fillion doubled it to 2-0 midway through the third when he one-timed a turnover in the slot, and TJ Friedmann's empty-netter with four seconds left put the game on ice. Yaniv Perets stopped all 25 shots Harvard sent his way, including 11 in the third period.
No. 9 Penn State outlasts No. 7 Ohio State
The Nittany Lions snapped a two-game skid with a 4-3 win in a crucial Big Ten matchup with the rival Buckeyes. Connor MacEachern and Kevin Wall each scored twice for Penn State, while Noah Grannan stopped 32 shots. Tate Singleton had a goal and an assist in addition to Stephen Halliday's three helpers for Ohio State.
Wall put PSU up 1-0 less than five minutes in, keeping it and shooting on a 2-on-1 after a blocked shot. MacEachern made it 2-0 late in the first, capitalizing on another odd-man rush for the Nittany Lions, but Singleton brought the Bucks within one before the end of the period.
MacEachern's second of the game made it 3-1 with eight minutes to go in the second when he one-timed Simon Mack's dump-in for an easy goal. Davis Burnside answered for OSU 1:04 later, and Jake Wise tied it 3-3 with 7:59 to go in regulation on the power play.
Wall picked the bottom right corner from distance with 2:20 to go for the game-winning goal.
Big time players make big time plays!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/TvQEM0e5g6
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 4, 2023
No. 5 St. Cloud can't get back on track against Miami (Ohio)
The Huskies went winless for the third straight game, settling for a 3-3 tie at home against the Red Hawks.
PJ Fletcher opened the scoring for Miami just 4:34 into the game, and Aidan Spellacy answered for SCSU 1:48 later with a diving effort in front. Veeti Miettinen gave St. Cloud their only lead of the night with 6:16 to go in the second on a sharp-angle shot, but Axel Kumlin tied it, 2-2, with a one-timer from the point on the power play moments later.
William Hallén gave the Red Hawks another lead 3:23 into the third on a 3-on-2 rush, putting the formerly No. 1 Huskies in danger of suffering their third loss in a row after a sweep at the hands of Minnesota Duluth last weekend. But with 6:31 left in regulation, Mason Salquist scored shorthanded to tie it 3-3 and steal at least a point, batting Jami Krannila's pass out of the air.
#SCTop10 🤯@msalquist_5's shorthanded goal ties it late in the 3rd for the #Huskies! 😤 #GoHuskies | #HuskyHockey 🏒 pic.twitter.com/QXQQKkZa5v
— St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (@SCSUHuskies_MH) February 4, 2023
After overtime came and went, Micah Miler scored top-shelf in the shootout to take the extra conference point for SCSU.
No. 10 Western Michigan survives Minnesota Duluth in OT
The Broncos avoided becoming the latest top team to fall at the hands of the Bulldogs, staying the course en route to a 3-2 overtime victory.
Duluth was in it all throughout the night. Jason Polin extended his national goal-scoring lead with his 24th less than five minutes into the game when he broke in alone on Zach Stejskal (28 saves), but Ben Steeves (one goal, one assist) stayed hot for UMD when he answered less than 10 minutes later. Luke Grainger's power play goal midway through the second period gave WMU a 2-1 lead on a wrister from the right circle, but Minnesota Duluth kept pushing. Eventually, they broke through against Cameron Rowe (32 saves) as Quinn Olson evened it up, 2-2, with one minute remaining in regulation.
With 2:43 to go in overtime, Max Sasson ended it for the Broncos when he stuffed in his own rebound, putting a stop to the Bulldogs' three-game winning streak, which included the sweep of then-No. 1 St. Cloud State last weekend.
OT winner! 🚨
— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) February 4, 2023
Sasson strikes in the extra session to give @WMUHockey the extra point
📺: @CBSSportsNet #NCHChockey // #BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/j3q4nqOn2C
No. 17 Michigan State takes down No. 20 Notre Dame
The Spartans got back on track on Friday, ending a three-game winless streak with a 3-0 shutout at home against the Irish, thanks in part to Nicolas Muller's goal and two assists.
Jagger Joshua got it started in the second period when he redirected Matt Basgall's wrist shot from the point on the power play, and Erik Middendorf extended it to 2-0 just over five minutes later when he dug the puck free in the crease and put it home. Muller added an empty-netter from the neutral zone with 52 seconds left for the 3-0 final. Dylan St. Cyr was busy throughout the night for the Spartans, especially early stopping 23 shots through the first 40 minutes en route to a 32-for-32 night.
Middendorf doubles the lead! Spartans up 2-0 at the midpoint of the second. pic.twitter.com/L3hPIoiUQ1
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) February 4, 2023
