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This past weekend was the final full weekend of the first semester in college hockey. There are a smattering of games next weekend, but this wrapped up the first half for all intents and purposes.
ECAC
Clarkson, picked to finish last in the ECAC by both the coaches and media in the preseason, continued to prove doubters wrong with a weekend sweep of archrival St. Lawrence. The Golden Knights won, 5-4, in Potsdam on Friday night before completing the sweep with a 4-3 victory in Canton a night later.
Union was another big winner in the ECAC, albeit not quite as surprisingly. The Dutchmen have become one of, if not the premier team in the conference over the past four seasons. Rick Bennett's team now sits in a tie for first place after shutting out Princeton, 3-0, on Friday and defeating Quinnipiac, 6-4, on Saturday.
Hockey East
Boston College bounced back nicely from a tough two-game stretch that saw the Eagles get blown out at Maine and then inexplicably lose on home ice to Holy Cross. Jerry York's team swept New Hampshire with a 6-2 win at Conte Forum and a 2-1 win a night later at the Whittemore Center in Durham.
Maine jumped into fourth place in Hockey East with a big 4-2 victory over UMass-Lowell at Alfond Arena on Sunday. Three power play goals and some key saves by Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Martin Ouellette were the difference for Red Gendron's team.
Merrimack finally broke into the win column in league action with a 3-2 triumph over Boston University on Friday night at Lawler Arena. The Warriors and Terriers skated to a 1-1 tie a night later at Agganis Arena. The weekend also signaled the return of Mark Dennehy's star player, Mike Collins.
Northeastern jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Providence, including a goal by freshman Michael Szmatula just seven seconds after the opening face-off. However, the Friars came charging back with three goals in the third period to salvage a point at Matthews Arena. NU still showed something with the ability to hold off a very good PC club through 40 minutes.
Atlantic Hockey
In Atlantic Hockey, three teams are on a roll. Mercyhurst swept Sacred Heart by a combined score of 11-2 to improve to 9-7-1 on the year. The Lakers occupy first place with a record of 7-1-0 in league games. Rick Gotkin's team has won four consecutive games and is 8-2-0 over its past ten contests. The turnaround has been prompted by an offense scoring at an average of 3.76 goals per game and the emergence of Jimmy Sarjeant in net with his .926 save percentage.
Bentley swept visiting Robert Morris, 4-1 and 7-2, to bring the Falcons into second place in the league. Brett Gensler became the school's all-time scoring leader with three assists in Friday's victory.
RIT swept American International to move its winning streak to five games after a 1-7-2 start. The Tigers are 5-3-0 in league play, good for fifth place. What's the difference? Freshman goaltender Mike Rotolo, a local boy, has started the last five games after watching junior Jordan Roby for the first 10. The former Cedar Rapids RoughRider has a .935 save percentage on his so far unblemished college record.
WCHA
Ferris State further proved itself to be the class of the new WCHA. The Falcons swept Lake Superior in Sault Ste. Marie. Bob Daniels' squad is 11-0-2 over its last 13 contests after starting the season 2-2. Junior goaltender C.J. Motte is undefeated on the season with a record of 13-0-2.
Minnesota State, the team picked to win the WCHA, got off to a slow start, but the Mavericks have picked it up of late. Mike Hastings' squad swept Northern Michigan this weekend to improve its season-high winning streak to five games.
NCHC
St. Cloud State further legitimized its team as a serious contender to return to the Frozen Four with a weekend sweep of Minnesota-Duluth in the twin ports. The Huskies have lost just once in 14 games. Bob Motzko's team will face a stiff challenge this weekend with a visit from Union.
It's too early to say North Dakota is back on track, but Dave Hakstol's team swept Western Michigan in Kalamazoo to earn its second and third consecutive victories. Another Michigan directional school is the opponent this weekend as Northern Michigan comes to Grand Forks.
Colorado College finally snapped its losing skid with a win and tie over previously-hot Nebraska-Omaha. The Tigers hadn't won since opening night until Friday's 4-2 victory over UNO. Scott Owens' club had scored just 17 goals in 13 games before this weekend. CC scored seven in two games this weekend.
Check out Matt Christians' full recap of the weekend that was in the NCHC here.
Big Ten
Minnesota picked up a win and a tie (shootout loss) against Michigan State in East Lansing this past weekend while Wisconsin easily took care of business against an overmatched Penn State squad. The series might have been a costly one for Minnesota who lost defenseman Jake Parenteau to injury.
College Hockey Scores and Recaps - Friday, Dec. 6
| Atlantic Hockey | ||||||
| Canisius | 8 | at | Army | 2 | F | |
| Robert Morris | 1 | at | Bentley | 4 | F | Recap |
| Air Force | 2 | at | Holy Cross | 2 | F | |
| Sacred Heart | 1 | at | Mercyhurst | 7 | F | |
| American International | 2 | at | RIT | 3 | F | |
| Niagara | 2 | at | Connecticut | 3 | F | |
| Big Ten | ||||||
| Minnesota | 2 | at | Michigan State * | 2 | F/OT | Recap |
| Penn State | 1 | at | Wisconsin | 7 | F | Recap |
| ECAC | ||||||
| Harvard | 1 | at | Brown | 2 | F | |
| St. Lawrence | 4 | at | Clarkson | 5 | F | Recap |
| Quinnipiac | 3 | at | RPI | 3 | F/OT | |
| Princeton | 0 | at | Union | 3 | F | Recap |
| Dartmouth | 4 | at | Yale | 1 | F | |
| Hockey East | ||||||
| Providence | 3 | at | Northeastern | 3 | F | Recap |
| New Hampshire | 2 | at | Boston College | 6 | F | Recap |
| Boston University | 2 | at | Merrimack | 3 | F | Recap |
| Massachusetts | 3 | at | Notre Dame | 5 | F | Recap |
| NCHC | ||||||
| North Dakota | 3 | at | Western Michigan | 2 | F | |
| Denver | 3 | at | Miami | 1 | F | |
| St. Cloud | 4 | at | Minnesota-Duluth | 2 | F | |
| Nebraska-Omaha | 2 | at | Colorado College | 4 | F | |
| WCHA | ||||||
| Alaska | 2 | at | Alaska-Anchorage | 3 | F | |
| Northern Michigan | 2 | at | Minnesota State | 3 | F | |
| Ferris State | 5 | at | Lake Superior | 3 | F | Recap |
| Bemidji State | 2 | at | Michigan Tech | 2 | F/OT | |
| Alabama-Huntsville | 0 | at | Bowling Green | 3 | F |
College Hockey Scores and Recaps - Saturday, Dec. 7
| Atlantic Hockey | ||||||
| Canisius | 0 | at | Army | 2 | F | |
| Robert Morris | 2 | at | Bentley | 7 | F | |
| Air Force | 3 | at | Holy Cross | 3 | F/OT | |
| Sacred Heart | 1 | at | Mercyhurst | 4 | F | |
| American International | 2 | at | RIT | 5 | F | |
| Niagara | 1 | at | Connecticut | 2 | F | |
| Big Ten | ||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | at | Michigan State * | 2 | F | Recap |
| Penn State | 3 | at | Wisconsin | 4 | F | Recap |
| ECAC | ||||||
| Dartmouth | 2 | at | Brown | 3 | F | |
| Clarkson | 4 | at | St. Lawrence | 3 | F | |
| Quinnipiac | 4 | at | Union | 6 | F | |
| Princeton | 2 | at | RPI | 5 | F | |
| Colgate | 2 | at | Cornell | 2 | F/OT | |
| Harvard | 2 | at | Yale | 2 | F/OT | |
| Hockey East | ||||||
| Boston College | 2 | at | New Hampshire | 1 | F | |
| Merrimack | 1 | at | Boston University | 1 | F/OT | |
| Massachusetts | 3 | at | Notre Dame | 2 | F | |
| NCHC | ||||||
| North Dakota | 3 | at | Western Michigan | 2 | F | |
| Denver | 2 | at | Miami | 4 | F | |
| St. Cloud | 5 | at | Minnesota-Duluth | 1 | F | Recap |
| Nebraska-Omaha | 3 | at | Colorado College | 3 | F/OT | Recap |
| WCHA | ||||||
| Alaska | 5 | at | Alaska-Anchorage | 4 | F | |
| Northern Michigan | 0 | at | Minnesota State | 3 | F | Recap |
| Ferris State | 3 | at | Lake Superior | 1 | F | |
| Bemidji State | 2 | at | Michigan Tech | 2 | F/OT | |
| Alabama-Huntsville | 4 | at | Bowling Green | 3 | F/OT |
College Hockey Scores and Recaps - Sunday, Dec. 8
| Hockey East | ||||||
| UMass-Lowell | 2 | at | Maine | 4 | F | Recap |
