HAMDEN, Conn. -- Fourth-ranked Union (N.Y.) saw its unbeaten streak halted at 10 games as seventh-ranked Quinnipiac posted a 2-1 victory at the High Point Solutions Arena. With the loss – the first on the road in 2013-14 – Union dropped out of first place in the ECAC Hockey standings. It was the Dutchmen's first loss since Nov. 8.
The Bobcats (16-3-5, 7-2-3 ECACH) struck first at 6:48 of the second period when Tim Clifton won a faceoff to Jordan Samuels-Thomas in the slot, who snapped a wrister past goaltender Colin Stevens. The loss was the first for Stevens in his last 10 starts.
Held scoreless for two periods for the first time this season, Union (12-4-3, 8-2-0 ECACH) evened the contest at 4:01 of the third as Mark Bennett deflected Jeff Taylor's shot from the point.
Union had little time to savor the goal, as Quinnipiac answered 56 seconds later. Samuels-Thomas had his hand in another goal, winning a faceoff back to defenseman Alex Barron, who lifted a shot from the blueline that found the back of the net through a maze of players.
Quinnipiac's NCAA-leading power play unit (92.2%) killed all four Union power-play attempts. The Dutchmen also came up on the short-end of faceoffs (20-48).
No. 2 St. Cloud State 6, No. 17 Denver 3
DENVER -- No. 2 St. Cloud State (12-2-3, 7-1-1-0 NCHC) continued its winning ways on the road with a big 6-3 victory at No. 17 Denver (10-7-4, 4-4-1-1 NCHC) on Friday.
The victory was SCSU's ninth consecutive road win of the 2013-14 season, which sets a new team record for most consecutive wins on the road. The Huskies' previous best was an eight-game road run during the 2001-02 season.
The win also kept the Huskies on top of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with 22 points, while North Dakota stands in second place with 18 points.
Denver broke the ice early with a goal by Will Butcher at 1:44 of the opening period on a solo assist from Gabe Levin. The Huskies tied the contest at 7:31 of the first period when Jimmy Murray scored his second goal of the season with assists from Joey Benik and Nic Dowd.
In the game, Denver outshot the Huskies 32-31. SCSU netminder Ryan Faragher made 29 saves in the contest and his season record moved to 11-2-2 thanks to the victory. DU goalie Sam Brittain (10-6-3) had 25 saves in the nets for the Pioneers. The six goals were the most allowed by Brittain in a game during the 2013-14 season.
No. 3 Ferris State 1, Michigan Tech 0
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- Ferris State returned to home ice for the first time in nearly two months and scored a big third-period goal en route to a 1-0 shutout win against visiting Michigan Tech on Friday night before a sellout crowd at the Ewigleben Ice Arena.
The Bulldogs resumed Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) action and opened the weekend series by beating the Huskies in the first contest between the two teams since 1995. A crowd of 2,490 fans were on hand as FSU remained unbeaten in WCHA play this season.
Senior forward Garrett Thompson scored on a slapshot 8:25 into the third period to break the scoreless tie and account for the only goal of the night as Ferris State moved to 14-1-3 in its last 18 outings this season. Senior captain Scott Czarnowczan and junior defenseman Travis White picked up the helpers on the game-winning goal. The goal was Thompson's team-leading 11th of the campaign.
No. 5 Boston College 5, No. 6 Providence 2
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- No. 4 Boston College won its sixth consecutive game against second-place Providence in dominating style, skating by the No. 6 Friars 5-2 in front of a soldout Kelley Rink on Friday night. Junior Johnny Gaudreau headlined the night once again with a four-point performance while seniors Kevin Hayes and Bill Arnold notched their 100th-career point and 50th-career goal, respectively, in the victory.
The Eagles and Friars were tied 2-2 after two periods of play before a three-goal final frame iced the game for Boston College. Senior Patrick Brown, in his 100th-career contest, notched the game-winning power play goal 37 seconds into the third period.
No. 14 Wisconsin 5, No. 8 Michigan 2
MADISON, Wis. -- Senior forward Michael Mersch scored two late goals for No. 14 Wisconsin (12-6-1, 3-2-0-0 Big Ten) to complete his first career hat trick, and more importantly, seal a 5-2 victory against No. 8 Michigan (10-5-1, 2-1-0-0 Big Ten) at the Kohl Center on Friday night.
Senior forward Jefferson Dahl posted his first career four-point game with a goal and three assists. Senior forward Michael Mersch posted UW’s first hat trick since Justin Schultz on Nov. 27, 2010, against Michigan State in the final game of the old College Hockey Showcase that involved Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota.
Sophomore defenseman Kevin Schulze had two assists for his first career multi-point game. Junior goaltender Joel Rumpel made 27 saves to improve to a national-beat 9-1-0.
