College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

Air Force junior goalie Jason Torf was named to the Jewish Sports Review’s Division I All-America team. 

He is joined by  Lake Superior State junior defenseman Zach Sternberg and junior forward Dan Radke;  Princeton junior forward Andrew Calof, Robert Morris freshman forward David Friedmann and senior goaltender Eric Levine,  and Bentley sophomore defenseman Steve Weinstein.

Blues forward and former Tiger Jaden Schwartz had a short stay with Team Canada for the 2013 IIHF World Championships.The Canadians lost in the quarterfinals only a day after Schwartz arrived.

Schwartz previously participated in IIHF competition at the 2011 and 2012 World Junior Championships.

In 45 games this season, Schwartz scored seven goals and six assists for the Blues (13 points). He had a plus/minus rating of -4 and registered four penalty minutes. Schwartz was drafted by the Blues in the first round (14th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft. The  tournament ends May 19.

Here is a roundup blog post on Minnesota-Duluth captains, team awards and 2013-14 schedule.

Minnesota State renovations include shrinking its ice sheet from Olympic size to a hybrid close to the NHL.

The Maverick fans should be thankful their coach search went so well. The school also announced its 2013-14 schedule.

The lawsuit involving former Alaska-Anchorage coach Dave Shyiak has been ‘exaggerated’ according to the player hit in the incident.

The USHL Sioux City coach is moving on to work for Ohio State.

Sioux City forward Jake Guentzel, younger brother of former Tiger Gabe and a Nebraska-Omaha signee, was named the 2012-13 USHL Rookie of the Year after finishing sixth in league scoring and tying a USHL Tier 1 era (2002-present) record with a 21-game point streak.

Amarillo beat Wenatchee 5-0 in the NAHL Robertson Cup championship game less than a day after losing 7-0 in pool play to the same Wild. You may recall some accusations were flying that the Bulls threw that earlier game. The Wild have since announced they are moving to Hidalgo, Texas to become the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

Midwest regional

No. 4 St. Cloud State 5, No. 1 Notre Dame 1

Freshman forward Joey Benik scored two goals and added an assist and senior forward Ben Hanowski had a goal and an assist to help pace St. Cloud State to a 5-1 win against Notre Dame on Saturday in the NCAA Midwest Regional at Huntington Center.

SCSU scored three in the second period to pull away for a 4-0 lead. The Huskies take on No. 2 Miami, which downed Minnesota State 4-0, a 2 p.m. MT on Sunday.

No. 2 Miami 4, No. 3 seed Minnesota State 0

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Minnesota State Mavericks were defeated by the Miami RedHawks, 4-0, in NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal action on Saturday at Huntington Center in Toledo. Four different players scored for Miami.

West regional

No. 4 Yale 4, No. 2 North Dakota 1

GRAND RAPIDS — Senior forward Corban Knight scored a goal but North Dakota surrendered four goals in the third period and was defeated by Yale, 4-1, in the NCAA West Regional final at Van Andel Arena.

Yale’s Josh Balch scored just his third goal of the season to get the Bulldogs on the board with 7:35 remaining in regulation, and Jesse Root – who scored the overtime winner against Minnesota in Friday’s other semifinal – notched the eventual winner on the power play with just 4:56 remaining.

A goal by Stu Wilson with 2:21 left put Yale up 3-1, and Kenny Agostino rounded out the scoring with an empty netter at the 19:00 mark.

UND opened the scoring 7:22 into the game on senior center Corban Knight’s 16th goal of the season , beating Bulldogs’ goalie Jeff Malcolm (24 saves), who benefited from three goal posts hit by UND.

UND junior Clarke Saunders made 35 saves against an aggressive Yale team that out shot UND 39-25, including a 28-17 edge over the final two periods. It could have been worse if not for 16 blocks by North Dakota.

Here is a look at the Northeast regional which involves three Colorado Springs-area players. A record five CS players, including UMass-Lowell junior Josh Holmstrom, pictured, play in the NCAAs on Friday.

Here is the Post’s Denver-New Hampshire preview, how the Pioneers followed the same practice schedule they used in 2004; a look at the success of putting brothers Nick and Quentin Shore on the same line; and Post writer Adrian Dater returns to his home state.

Here is the TV/video stream schedule for this weekend.

The West regional is previewed and here are five players in Grand Rapids, Mich. to watch.

Here are plenty of  links to articles on North Dakota and its first-round opponent Niagara. Here are the beat writer’s article, which includes worries about poor attendance in Grand Rapids wit no Michigan teams in the NCAAs this year . Western Michigan finished No. 16 in the Pairwise rankings and missed because of the Canisius AQ. Michigan fell short of an AQ in the final CCHA championship game to Notre Dame. It is the first time in 22 years the Wolverines are not in the NCAAs.

The Midwest regional is previewed. Boston College has a smooth path ahead of it at the East regional.

USCHO produced some thorough regional previews: East, Northeast, Midwest, and West.

Here is the Mankato Free Press’ look at first-round foe Miami and a larger piece on coach Mike Hastings.

Ten storylines to look for this weekend. Here are some predictions: Goal Gophers,

The annual call for NCAA Tournament games at the top seed’s home arenas is made. Here is a look at the trend of regionalization for the NCAA now affecting hockey.

Here are the pairings:

The dates, sites, times and pairings with WCHA teams bolded follows:

Northeast Regional, March 29-30
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire

Friday, March 29, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time
No. 1 Massachusetts-Lowell (26-10-2) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (22-12-7)

Friday, March 29, 8 p.m. 
No. 2 New Hampshire (19-11-7) vs. No. 3 Denver (20-13-5)

Men’s Frozen Four, April 11 and 13
CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Thursday, April 11, 4:30 and 8 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN (order of games TBD)
East Regional Champion vs. Midwest Regional Champion
Northeast Regional Champion vs. West Regional Champion

Saturday, April 13, 7 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN/WatchESPN

National Championship

The NCAA Tournament field was announced Sunday night and six WCHA teams made the field as expected with five at-large bids (Denver, Minnesota, Minnesota State, North Dakota and St. Cloud State) and automatic qualifier Wisconsin. That is a heck of a way for the current league configuration to go out.

The NCAA selection committee did not strictly follow the Pairwise rankings, instead, opting for some regionalization to help boost attendance.

Here are more reactions to the pairings: Goal Gophers,  Mankato Free Press (with video), Western College Hockey Blogs includes regional preview capsules.

The dates, sites, times and pairings with WCHA teams bolded follows:

Northeast Regional, March 29-30
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire

Friday, March 29, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time
No. 1 Massachusetts-Lowell (26-10-2) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (22-12-7)

Friday, March 29, 8 p.m. 
No. 2 New Hampshire (19-11-7) vs. No. 3 Denver (20-13-5)

Men’s Frozen Four, April 11 and 13
CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Thursday, April 11, 4:30 and 8 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN (order of games TBD)
East Regional Champion vs. Midwest Regional Champion
Northeast Regional Champion vs. West Regional Champion

Saturday, April 13, 7 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN/WatchESPN

National Championship

The following conferences and teams received automatic qualification:Atlantic Hockey Association, Canisius; Central Collegiate Hockey Association, Notre Dame; ECAC Hockey, Union; Hockey East Association, Massachusetts-Lowell; Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Wisconsin.

On Saturday, the WCHA unveiled a new logo.

Here are a few details about next season in the WCHA, including tournament locations.

Wisconsin took off after freshman Nic Kerdiles joined the team following his 10-game suspension.

WCHA Final Five Tournament

Friday semifinals

No. 1 St. Cloud State (23-14-1) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (20-12-7), 1:07 p.m. MT

Season series: tied 1-1

Notes: Badgers enter Friday’s game against SCSU on a four-game winning streak that began with a 3-2 win over the Huskies. …. At No. 16 in the Pairwise rankings, UW needs to win to garner an NCAA berth. … The first line of Nic Kerdiles, Mark Zengerle and Tyler Barnes accounted for three of Thursday’s seven goals.  … Joel Rumpel made 38 saves in the quarterfinal win.

Leaders:  UW,  Michael Mersch, jr. F (23g, 13a); Mark Zengerle, jr. F (9g, 22a); Nic Kerdiles, fr. F (8g, 20a); Tyler Barnes, jr. F (13g, 15a); Joel Rumpel, soph. G (14-8-4, 1.87 gaa, .933 saves). SCSU, Drew LeBlanc, sr. F (13g, Division I-best 37a); Nic Dowd, jr. F (14g, 24a); Jonny Brodzinski, fr. F (21g, 11a); Kalle Kossila, fr. F (15g, 17a); Ryan Faragher, soph. G (22-12-1, 2.27 gaa, .916 saves).

No. 2 Minnesota (26-7-5) vs. No. 6 Colorado College (17-18-5), 6:07 p.m. MT

Season series: Minnesota leads 1-0-1

Notes: Senior goalie Joe Howe returned to his freshman while the Tigers’ penalty kill went 6-for-6 against a potent North Dakota power play. Alexander Krushelnyski scored his third shorthanded goal for CC to win the special teams battle. … All three UND goals came at even strength. … Minnesota has the nation’s top offense (3.61 goals) and power play (25.16 percent). … CC scored three goals in the third period to forge a 4-4 tie last time the teams played.

Quote:  “(Minnesota is) big and strong and will be good on a smaller sheet,” Tigers coach Scott Owens said. “We’re just going to stay with our deal and see if we can make some good things happen. We respect them a ton, they’re No. 1 in the country, but because of the schedule we played we’re not really intimidated by anybody.”

Leaders:  CC,  Rylan Schwartz, sr., C (18g, 32a); Alexander Krushelnyski, jr., LW (15g, 26a); William Rapuzzi, sr., RW (15g, 20a); Mike Boivin, sr., D (14g, 14a); Scott Winkler, sr., C (13g, 14a); Archie Skalbeck, jr. F (12g, 11); Eamonn McDermott, jr. D (3g, 19a); Joe Howe, sr., G (13-11-4, 3.08 goals against, .912 saves percentage). UM, Erik Haula, jr. F (16g, 33a); Kyle Rau, soph. F (15g, 24a); Nick Bjugstad, jr. F (21g, 15a); Zach Budish, jr. F (13g, 22a); Adam Wilcox, fr. G (25-6-5, 1.84 gaa, .923 saves). Wilcox is profiled by College Hockey News.

Here are the game stories from Thursday night’s semifinal: Colorado Springs Gazette; Grand Forks Herald; USCHO and College Hockey News.

A state lawmaker wants to give Minnesota $800,000 to maintain its rivalry with North Dakota. A sold-out Mariucci Arena is not incentive enough?

Here are the game stories from the Wisconsin win:the Wisconsin State Journal; Mankato Free Press;  USCHO, and College Hockey News. Of note, four Mavericks were injured in the loss.

Air Force’s McKenzie garners league honor

Air Force junior Adam McKenzie is the Atlantic Hockey Association Defenseman of the Year as voted by the league’s coaches.

McKenzie was named the AHA Player of the Week on March 4 as he scored five points (1-4-5) as the Falcons swept the 13^th-ranked Purple Eagles in the final regular-season series. He had a career-high four points (1-3-4) in the win on March 2.

A first-team all-AHA selection this season, McKenzie is third Falcon to win the AHA Defenseman of the Year award, joining Greg Flynn (2008-09) and Tim Kirby (2011-12).

The Petaluma, Calif., native finished with 20 points (12 assists), including 11 points over the final nine games, including a career-high two goals in the season-ending loss to Canisius for Air Force (17-13-7).

Other AHA major awards:  Niagara coach David Burkholder was named Coach of the Year, Niagara junior goaltender Carsen Chubak was selected as the Player of the Year while Purple Eagle senior forward Marc Zanette was named Best Defensive Forward.

The improved play of two CC freshmen– Cody Bradley, Hunter Fejes –  give the Tigers two more reasons to hope headed into the WCHA Final Five.

Here is the WCHA’s Final Five press release which contains plenty of preview notes for all the series.

The Grand Forks Herald weekly video show focuses on the Final Five this week.

Hobey Baker hopeful Corban Knight is featured in these videos produced by North Dakota athletics.

North Dakota’s Nick Mattson weighs in on the significance of the Final Five to him.

UND leading scorer Danny Kristo started playing baseball with the neighbor kids at the age of 3. It was then that his parents realized he had a rare competitive drive. Not much has changed for Kristo, who has grown into one of the best college hockey players in the nation through his intense competitive drive.

Former Tiger Richard Bachman won in his first AHL game since being sent down to Texas.

Tim Hall performed well in his recent return to ECHL play after a preseason concussion.

Here is a look at the CCHA semifinals, which includes future NCHC team Miami.

WCHA Final Five Tournament

Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.

Thursday quarterfinals

No. 5 Minnesota State (24-12-3) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (17-12-7) 1:07 p.m.

Season series: 2-2; both teams recorded road sweeps

Leaders:  MSU, Matt Leitner, soph. F (17g, 28a); Eriah Hayes, sr. F (19g, 16a); Jean-Paul LaFontaine, soph. F (9g, 24a); Zach Lehrke, jr. F (8g, 17a); Stephon Williams, fr. G (21-10-2, 1.84 gaa, .929 saves). UW,  Michael Mersch, jr. F (23g, 12a); Mark Zengerle, jr. F (9g, 21a); Nic Kerdiles, fr. F (7g, 19a); Tyler Barnes, jr. F (11g, 14a); Joel Rumpel, soph. G (13-8-4, 1.87 gaa, .932 saves).

Quote No. 1: “It should be a whale of a game; it’s a whale of a field,” Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said.

Quote No. 2: “We’re looking forward to playing one of the top teams in the country over the last three-four months,” MSU coach Mike Hastings said. “They’re hard to play against.”

No. 6 Colorado College (16-18-5) versus No. 3 North Dakota (21-11-7), 6:07 p.m. Thursday,

Season series: split, 2-2

Leaders: CC – Rylan Schwartz, sr., C (17g, 31a); Alexander Krushelnyski, jr., LW (14g, 26a); William Rapuzzi, sr., RW (15g, 19a); Mike Boivin, sr., D (14g, 14a); Scott Winkler, sr., C (13g, 14a); Archie Skalbeck, jr. F (12g, 11); Eamonn McDermott, jr. D (3g, 19a); Joe Howe, sr., G (12-11-4, 3.09 goals against, .912 saves percentage). North Dakota – Danny Kristo, sr. F (24g, 26a); Corban Knight, sr. F (15g, 33a); Rocco Grimaldi, fr. F (13g, 21a); Carter Rowney, sr. F (10g, 16a); Clarke Saunders, jr. G (13-7-4, 2.20 gga, .920 saves); Zane Gothberg, fr. G (8-4-3, 2.55 gaa, .918 saves).

Note:  North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said Michigan Tech gave his team “one of the toughest first-round series we’ve had since I’ve been here. It was a great series that pushed us to be better.” Tech took UND to three games.

Friday semifinals

MSU/Wisconsin winner vs. No. 1 St. Cloud State (23-14-1), 1:07 p.m.

Season series: SCSU 2-0 vs. MSU; 1-1 vs. Wisconsin

SCSU leaders:  Drew LeBlanc, sr. F (13g, Division I-best 37a); Nic Dowd, jr. F (14g, 24a); Jonny Brodzinski, fr. F (21g, 11a); Kalle Kossila, fr. F (15g, 17a); Ryan Faragher, soph. G (22-12-1, 2.27 gaa, .916 saves).

Quote: “Our fans are fired up for this tournament,” Huskies coach Bob Motzko said. “We’re truly excited.”

CC/UND winner versus No. 2 Minnesota (26-7-5), 6:07 p.m.

Season series: UM 1-0-1 vs. CC and UND

Minnesota leaders:  Erik Haula, jr. F (16g, 33a); Kyle Rau, soph. F (15g, 24a); Nick Bjugstad, jr. F (21g, 15a); Zach Budish, jr. F (13g, 22a); Adam Wilcox, fr. G (25-6-5, 1.84 gaa, .923 saves).

Quote: “I think we could play this tournament three or four times in a row and have three or four winners,” UM coach Don Lucia said.

Broadmoor Trophy championship game, 6:07 p.m.

Semifinal winners

Tickets remain available for all three games for the WCHA playoff series between Colorado College and Denver. Keep in mind most CC fans sit in sections 5, 6 and 7. There is no TV for the series but it is available on Pioneer Vision.

CC’s seniors leads Division I with 65 goals; the most for any senior class. Here is the breakdown: Rylan Schwartz (15 goals), William Rapuzzi (15), Mike Boivin (14), Scott Winkler (13), Andrew Hamburg (6) and Joe Marciano (2).

Here are preview notes for the six WCHA playoff series this weekend.

Click on the school’s name (bolded) to go to its article:

No. 7 seed Nebraska-Omaha at No. 6 Minnesota State

No. 8 Colorado College at No. 5 Denver. Here are Three Things to Watch about that series.

No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth  at No. 4 Wisconsin

No. 10 Michigan Tech at No. 3 North Dakota

No. 11 Bemidji State at No. 2 Minnesota, which also debuts its video series “Pride on Ice.”

No. 12 Alaska-Anchorage at No. 1 St. Cloud State.

Here is the TV/video stream availability for all six WCHA playoff series.

The All-WCHA honors will be coming out soon. Here are some sample ballots from bloggers on how they would have voted: Goon’s World, Western College Hockey Blog and Bucky’s 5th Quarter.

Air Force hosts Canisius in the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals. Here are the Falcons’ preview notes, 3 Things to Watch and the Gazette preview.

The 2012-13 CCHA All-Conference Teams were announced Wednesday.

I bolded players from Miami and Western Michigan since those teams will be CC opponents in the NCHC next season.
First Team

Position        Name, Year, School      First   Totals

Forward Austin Czarnik, SO, Miami       8       46

Forward Anders Lee, JR, Notre Dame      7       44

Forward Riley Barber, FR, Miami 5       40

Defense Jacob Trouba, FR, Michigan      8       43

Defense Dan DeKeyser, JR, Western Michigan      6       36

Goaltender      Brady Hjelle, SR, Ohio State    6       39

Second Team

Position        Name, Year, School      First   Totals

Forward Tanner Fritz, SO, Ohio State    2       32

Forward Ryan Carpenter, SO, Bowling Green       1       22

Forward Andy Taranto, SR, Alaska        2       20

Defense Luke Witkowski, SR, Western Michigan    3       26

Defense Bobby Shea, SR, Bowling Green   2       25

Goaltender      Frank Slubowski, SO, Western Michigan   4       27

Vote Values: 1st place = 5, 2nd place = 3, 3rd place = 1

Honorable Mention (next six point totals, regardless of position with first team-votes in parentheses): Ryan Dzingel, SO, F, Ohio State, (2) 17; Domenic Monardo, SR, F, Lake Superior, (2) 16; Kyle Bonis, SR, F, Ferris State, (1) 16; Matthew Caito, FR, D, Miami, (1) 15; CJ Motte, SO, G, Ferris State, 14; Bryan Rust, JR, F, Notre Dame, 11.

Others receiving votes:

Forwards – T.J. Tynan, JR, Notre Dame, (1) 8; Chase Balisy, JR, Western Michigan, 8; Cody Kunyk, JR, Alaska, (1) 6; Matt Thurber, SR, Northern Michigan, 4; Dane Walters, SR, Western Michigan, 4; Cristoval Nieves, FR, Michigan, 1; Reed Seckel, SO, Northern Michigan, 1; Garrett Thompson, JR, Ferris State, 1.

Defensemen – Robbie Russo, SO, Notre Dame, (1) 9; Mac Bennett, JR, Michigan, (1) 8;  Colton Parayko, FR, Alaska, 8; Jason Binkley, SO, Ferris State, 6; Simon Denis, SO, Ferris State, 6; Craig Dalrymple, FR, Ohio State, 4; Steven Spinell, SR, Miami, 4; Trevor Campbell, SO, Alaska, 3; Scott Macaulay, SR, Northern Michigan, 3; Curtis Gedig, JR, Ohio State, 1; CJ Ludwig, JR, Northern Michigan, 1.

Goaltenders – Andrew Hammond, SR, Bowling Green, 8; Jared Coreau, JR, Northern Michigan, 6.

Here is Western College Hockey’s take on the top 50 NHL prospects in the CCHA and WCHA.

CC’s Alexander Krushelnyski comes in at No. 49 while Mike Boivin and Rylan Schwartz just missed the cut. Michigan Tech freshman forward Jujhar Khaira, an Oilers draft pick, is rated 19th and teammate Blake Pietila is 35th.

Here is a Gophers-centric look at the MacNaughton Cup race.

Mankato must take advantage of its opportunity to win the WCHA now, not a year or two down the road like most expected, the Mavs beat writer opines.

A Boston University goalie is out indefinitely with a collapsed lung.

The final Western Collegiate Hockey Association game at World Arena is one Tiger fans would like to forget.

Too many penalties, several in a row at times, eventually caught up to Colorado College as No. 9 Minnesota State-Mankato scored three power-play goals in 50 seconds late in the second period en route to a 7-2 win.

“It is a game you definitely want to forget,” said Tigers coach Scott Owens. “We are one of the least-penalized teams in the league. This was a real aberration. We need to learn from it.”

The decisive spurt came after CC (13-16-5, 10-12-4 WCHA) killed off a season-best 14 power plays in a row, including two 5-on-3s, to keep the game scoreless.

After CC senior Rylan Schwartz scored with 2:46 remaining during 4-on-3 action to make it 2-1, MSU (21-10-3, 15-10-1 WCHA) went back on a 5-minute power play.

Matt Leitner scored with 1:03 and 13 seconds left with a goal by Josh Nelson in between to take a 5-1 lead.  With that final score, Leitner recorded a hat trick, all in the second period, and pushed the Mavs into a tie with Wisconsin for fourth with two games left in the regular season.

“This is the time of year you need seniors to be seniors,” Mavs coach Mike Hastings said.

Four of the seven Maverick goals came with the man advantage, a night after CC shut down Division I’s third-rated power play (33 percent). MSU finished 4-for-16 on the night and 4-for-19 for the series.

Johnny McInnis’ goal with 8:09 left in the third was the first goal during 5-on-5 play followed by CC freshman Peter Maric’s first tally as a Tiger with 3:07 left for the final margin.

For the rest of this game story, please go to gazette.com/sections/sports/cchockey/

NOTES

National honors announced

St. Lawrence forward Greg Carey is the Hockey Commissioners Association national player of the month for February. North Dakota senior Danny Kristo garnered honorable mention. The HCA rookie of the month is RPI goalie Jason Kasdorf. St. Cloud State’s Jonny Brodzinski earned honorable mention as a rookie.

Minnesota State leadership turns tide of program

A new coach and strong senior leadership has Minnesota State-Mankato enjoying one of its best seasons in the school’s Division-I era. The Mavericks’ 20 wins entering Friday’s game marks the third time during the DI-era and the first time achieved during the regular season.

“They are putting us in a position where we can win every night,” said assistant coach Darren Blue. “They have done a great job keeping us on the right track. When things haven’t gone well, the guys have played within themselves and within the system instead of trying to do it all themselves. That’s leadership.”

Slap shots

More Oklahoma City players – freshman Taylor Herndon and sophomore Chase Grant – are on the Minnesota State roster than from Wisconsin (junior Josh Nelson). … Freshman Teddy Blueger (Latvia) was the first Mav to play in the World Junior Championships. … MSU’s No. 7 ranking in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll is the program’s best. The previous high was eighth during the 2002-03 season. … Sophomores Jean-Paul Lafontaine, Matt Leitner and Zach Palmquist are MSU’s active leaders in terms of consecutive games played at 72.  The sophomores have not missed a game.

WCHA roundup

No. 16 Wisconsin 6, No. 13 Nebraska-Omaha 3

OMAHA — Junior forward Michael Mersch had two goals and two assists and junior forward Mark Zengerle added a goal and two assists to lead Wisconsin to a 6-2 victory against Nebraska Omaha on Saturday night at CenturyLink Center. The road sweep pushes UW into a tie for fourth with Minnesota State.

No. 2 Minnesota 5, No. 10 Denver 1

MINNEAPOLIS — Junior Zach Budish had two goals and two assists and junior forward Erik Haula added three assists to lead Minnesota to a 5-1 victory against Denver on Saturday night at Mariucci Arena. The loss dropped DU into seventh place.

Michigan Tech 5, No. 7 St. Cloud State 1

ST. CLOUD — Alex Petan had a goal and two assists while Riley Sweeney and Tanner Kero added a goal and an assist each to help lift Michigan Tech to a 5-1 win against St. Cloud State on Saturday at National Hockey Center. The loss and UM win prevented SCSU from clinching the MacNaughton Cup.

No. 6 North Dakota 2, Bemidji State 2 OT

GRAND FORKS — Freshman defenseman Jordan Schmaltz scored at 8:37 of the third period to lift North Dakota into a 2-2 tie against Bemidji State on Saturday night at Engelstad Arena. The tie keeps North Dakota in a tie for second place with Minnesota.

Minnesota-Duluth 4, Alabama-Huntsville 0

DULUTH — Aaron Crandall stopped 23 shots while Austin Farley and Tony Cameranesi had a goal and two assists apiece to help Minnesota Duluth to a 4-0 nonconference win against Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday night at AMSOIL Arena. The Bulldogs are in ninth place, three points behind CC.

Alaska-Fairbanks 3, Alaska-Anchorage 1, early third

ANCHORAGE – The visiting Nanooks looked ready to win the Governors’ Cup for the fourth year in a row.

No. 9 Minnesota State 7, Colorado College 2

Minnesota State            0          5          2          — 7

Colorado College         0          1          1          — 2

First period – No scoring. Penalties — CC, Young, cross-checking, 5:20; MSU, Lafontaine, roughing, 14:04; MSU, Leitner, roughing, 17:25; CC, Marciano, unsportsmanlike conduct, 17:25; CC, McDermott, 5-minute contact to the head, 10-minute game misconduct, 17:56; CC, Boivin, roughing, 5-minute facemasking, 18:55; MSU, LaFontaine, slashing, 18:55; MSU, Nelson, roughing, 18:55.

Second period – 1. MSU, Knowles (Nelson, Gervais) 6:07; 2. MSU, Leitner (Elbrecht, Stern) 15:54;  3. CC, Schwartz (Stoykewych) 17:14 (PP); 4. MSU, Leitner (Lafontaine, Hayes) 18:57 (PP); 5. MSU, Nelson (unassisted) 19:27 (PP); 6. MSU, Leitner (Jutzi, Nelson) 19:47 (PP). Penalties — MSU, Thauwald, roughing, 4:43; CC, Rapuzzi, tripping, 4:52; MSU, Mosey, hooking, 11:15; MSU, Gervais, tripping, 11:40; CC, Marciano, holding, 15:07; MSU, Lehrke, holding, 15:18; CC, Young, 5-minute checking from behind, 10-minute game misconduct, 15:54; MSU, Hayes, charging the goalie, 16:42; MSU, Palmquist, unsportsmanlike conduct, 17:27; CC, Stoykewych, unsportsmanlike conduct, 17:27; CC, Collett, slashing, 20:00.

Third period – 7. MSU, Lehrke (Nelson) 7:49 (PP); 8. MSU, McInnis (Grant) 11:51; 9. CC, Maric (unassisted) 16:53. Penalties — CC, Stoykewych, hooking, 3:15; MSU, hayes, roughing, 3:57; CC. Schwartz, boarding; 6:43; CC, Collett, elbowing, 7:07; MSU, Moesy, tripping, 8:57; MSU, Thauwald, charging, 12:19.

Power-play – MSU 4-16, CC 1-8. Shots on goal – MSU 14-20-11 – 45; CC 9-4-15 – 28. Saves-minutes – MSU, Williams 9-3-14 – 60:00; CC, Howe 14-15 – 40:00, Thorimbert 2-20:00. Referees – Sterns, Bokai. Linesmen – Keltie, Staudte. Attendance – 7,052.

Updated WCHA standings

Saturday’s lines

Not too many changes from the previous night.

Sophomore defenseman Ian Young is in for rookie Russell Finch for the only CC change. Charlie Thauwald is in for freshman Dylan Margonari, who scored MSU’s only goal Friday.

Thauwald, who is making his first appearance this season after seven as a rookie, is the younger brother of former Tigers captain Scott Thauwald (2003-08).

Minnesota State-Mankato

LW-C-RW

Grant-Leitner-McInnis

Gervais-Blueger-Hayes

Knowles-Lafontaine-Gaede

Herndon-Lehrke-Thauwald

LD-RD

Elbrecht-Mosey

Stern-Palmquist

Nelson-Jutzi

Goalies – Williams, Cook

Colorado College

LW-C-RW

Krushelnyski-Schwartz-Taft

Skalbeck-Winkler-Hanson

Fejes-Bradley-Rapuzzi

Maric-Collett-Hamburg

LD-RD

Stoykewych-Boivin

Harstad-McDermott

Young-Marciano

Goalies – Howe, Thorimbert, Lockwood

With Friday’s 5-3 win over Michigan Tech, St. Cloud State was the first WCHA team to clinch home ice in the playoffs.

This is the second straight season the Huskies earned home playoff ice.  The Huskies’ first round opponent will be determined by the results of the remaining regular season contests.

Here is the game recap from the St. Cloud Times.

No. 16 Wisconsin picked up a big bounce-back win at No. 13 Nebraska-Omaha.

Here are all the links you’ll ever need on North Dakota’s home win over Bemidji State.

No. 10 Denver’s penalty kill was impressive in its 2-0 road win over No. 2 Minnesota.

Attendance was poor for Minnesota-Duluth’s 4-2 home win over Alabama-Huntsville.

Alaska-Fairbanks scored in overtime to deflate the Alaska-Anchorage seniors’ hopes of winning the Governors Cup for the first time.

Here is the full game story on CC’s 4-1 home win over No. 9 Minnesota State. Air Force also picked up a big league win but did not clinch second place just yet.

Keep in mind that Saturday is CC’s Senior Night with a pregame ceremony planned honoring the seven seniors. Fans are asked to arrive 10-15 minutes early. Tickets remain available.

It promises to be a crazy final night for the CCHA’s last  regular season:  Miami, Western Michigan and Notre Dame are all still vying for the regular-season title, while Bowling Green, Michigan, Lake Superior and Northern Michigan are still in contention to host a first-round playoff series.

Former Tiger Jaden Schwartz, pictured, took advantage of playing St. Louis’ top line by recording a goal and assist for his first multi-point NHL game.

Here are the updated WCHA standings: