Welcome to our weekly college hockey roundup looking back at the world of Division I hockey around the state.
This will be where you can find St. Cloud State, UMD, Minnesota State, and Bemidji State men’s hockey results and analysis each week throughout the college hockey season.
Last time we came to you, Bemidji State had gone down at the hands of Minnesota State, and this time around, the other two teams we cover in this weekly segment meet.
NCHC ST. CLOUD STATE/MINNESOTA-DULUTH: SCSU hasn’t swept a series since taking two from UMD in early December, but the Huskies once again got the better of their conference for this past weekend.
The No. 6 Huskies dominated the Bulldogs early Friday, building a four-goal lead before UMD clawed back to make the scoreline look respectable.
Ryan Faragher made 37 saves in net for a St. Cloud State side that was outshot on the day 40-31, while UMD had to go to their bench early, pulling Aaron Crandall from net after he gave up four goals in the first 14 shots he faced.
Saturday, Crandall was back in net for No. 16 UMD, but he would once again get touched for four goals, the last of which was a backbreaker of the stick of Jonny Brodzinski with 1:49 left in the game to seal a 4-3 win.
The Huskies go on the road to face Miami (OH) next weekend, before returning home for a huge series against UND. The Bulldogs 11 game unbeaten streak was snapped with their results this weekend, and they’ll try to get the train back on the tracks against aforementioned North Dakota this weekend in Duluth.
WCHA BEMIDJI STATE: Facing a massive task this past weekend, the Beavers will surely take the result of their series with No. 4 Ferris State, a split thanks to BSU claiming a Saturday win.
Bemidji State entered the weekend having taken just four wins out of their previous 16 games, and after a 4-1 loss Friday, not much hope was held out for the Saturday rematch.
But goalie Andrew Walsh stopped 32 shots, allowing only a first period Cory Kane goal, and the Beavers won 2-1.
The result greatly helped the Beavers in the WCHA standings, as they sit just two points behind Alaska, Bowling Green, and Michigan Tech for fourth-place.
WCHA MINNESOTA STATE: The Beavers upset of Ferris State also helps the Mavericks, as they have now pulled into a tie atop the WCHA with their sweep over Alabama-Huntsville this past weekend.
A pair of 4-0 wins came courtesy of five special teams goals on the weekend from MSU, and a defense that surrendered just 27 shots over the two wins, making an easy weekend for the goalie combination of Cole Huggins (Friday) and Stephen Williams (Saturday).
34 points apiece for the Mavericks and Ferris State as they jockey for the WCHA regular season crown, though FSU has a series in hand, one they’ll play this coming weekend against Alaska-Anchorage.
The Gophers sweep of Michigan can be found here, and we’ll see you next week for a shorter version of this piece, as the WCHA teams covered here are both off.
