Ice Level Weekend Recap: 12/6-12/7/2024
It’s the final week of a full slate before conferences and teams take a winter break, what happened in college hockey?
WRITTEN BY JAMES BLENNAU
Welcome back down to Ice Level. It’s a bit different this week, right? Well, since I happen to be an actively studying college student, I decided to try out a print edition of our weekend recap this time. Let’s not mess around though, because this is an important time to review.
ICE LEVEL LOWDOWN
As is tradition, we’re gonna hop right down the chimney into the Ice Level Lowdown and all the news of the week.
The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) is announcing its monthly awards for November, and some of these names are no surprise. Boston College forward Ryan Leonard earned Player of the Month honors. BC went 7-2-0 over the month, and don’t forget one of those losses against UConn. Leonard scored a nation-leading eight goals with four coming as game-winners, and also led with 52 shots on goal.
Image Courtesy: USCHO | From left, Ryan Leonard, Michael Hage, Kaidan Mbereko, Alex Tracy (photos: Boston College Athletics, Michigan Athletics, Colorado College Athletics, Minnesota State Athletics)
Also a familiar name to those following the game nationally, Michigan forward Michael Hage earned Rookie of the Month honors. Hage, the Montreal Canadiens draftee, scored a nation-leading 1.43 points per game among rookies, the game-winner against top-10 rivals Western Michigan, and helped lead the Wolverines to a 7-1 record across the month.
Goaltender of the Month is split between Colorado College’s Kaidan Mbereko and Minnesota State’s Alex Tracy. Mbereko put up impressive numbers across the month as the tigers Mbereko averaged 1.71 goals allowed and put up an impressive .941 save percentage for the 5-2-1 month.
Tracy on the other hand put up better numbers than Mbereko including a 1.23 GAA and a .955 save percentage, while putting up 43 saves in his only loss of the month, a 1-0 drop at Bemidji State.
Also this week, AIC’s second game against Holy Cross was canceled due to a lack of available goalies. Three of AIC’s netminders were injured, leaving the Yellow Jackets with no choice but to not play the game.
This instance is one of the first of its kind we’ve seen since the NCAA implemented its new roster limit rules, and likely rendered Eric Lang unable to call up a goalie from the school’s ACHA DII team, although nothing has been confirmed by the team.
Game of the week
Our game of the week takes us to the deep Midwest, as Omaha took on Number 9 St. Cloud State at Brooks National Hockey Center. It was an absolute doozie in the Land of 10,000 Lakes as despite the 5 power plays across both teams, all goals came at even strength. The first period started with Omaha setting the tone as Jimmy Glynn fired the first goal just about halfway through, and that would hold all the way to the second.
It wasn’t exactly more of the same the next period, as Warren Clark found the answer for the Huskies and tied it at 1-1 just four minutes in. Zach Urdahl, who Mavericks fans have known oh so well this year brought the lead back to the Mavericks with eight to go in the period, but that’s not all. Somphore star Tyson Gross took Omaha’s 2-1 lead and flipped it on its head with two goals in the final four minutes to make it 3-2 Huskies headed into the third.
The third period was back to the regularly scheduled programming with a few less goals, but Urdahl made sure this wouldn't end without a fight tying it for the Mavs just 22 seconds into the third. With both teams holding on for dear life and a massive point swing in the competitive NCHC, three periods just weren’t enough.
Overtime was intense but ended quickly as Red Wings draftee Sam Strange snuck one past James Gray just before two minutes passed and took home the massive win for his squad.
upset uproar
ON WISCONSIN! The Badgers have finally started to find their chemistry and have won four of their last six as of this weekend, including a massive 4-0 demolition of Number 1 Michigan State. Trey Augustine was not on his best game but Tyscon Dyck sure was when he sent the MadHouse mad as he scored the first goal of the game just six minutes in.
No adjustments were needed for these Badgers going into a quiet second period. In the third Islanders draftee Quinn Finley took another past Augustine, with star-powered assists from Cody Laskosky and Gavin Morrissey, on one of just two power plays in the game making it 2-0. Owen Mehlenbacher would make it 3-0, and just before the final horn Quinn Finley iced it with an empty-net goal and sealed the season-defining win in Madison.
cross-conference highlight hub
Atlantic hockey America
This week in AHA was a bit of a wild one, as you may have noticed if you followed my X posts following AIC Head Coach Eric Lang’s comments. Three goalies being injured was just about enough to cancel their game against Holy Cross on Saturday night. On top of that, five conference games were either decided by overtime or a shootout, with three of them coming on Saturday night as Bentley took down Mercyhurst, RIT squeaked past Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart survived at Canisius.
Enough about the individual games though, let’s check the conference standings.
big ten
Well, since we already went over the most impactful game from the Big Ten this week, let’s jump to some other conference games. Number 4 Minnesota swept the home weekend against Number 6 Michigan, as did Number 17 Ohio State against Penn State. It was a bit boring in the conference outside the Wisconsin-Michigan State series, which Michigan State would take the second game of in overtime on Joe Pavelski night.
These standings are always a treat to check out every week, so let’s see who’s up and who’s down in hockey’s best-built conference.
ccha
Let’s jump across I-80 and head into CCHA play. Augustana split their weekend against Alaska as they continue to journey toward the top of the conference, but that would only be hindered by the ever-present Minnesota State Mavericks. The Number 15 Mavs swept their weekend against Bowling Green, but the Falcons took Saturday night’s showdown to overtime nearly toppling the top of the conference. Michigan Tech and St. Thomas also split, with Bemidji State and Lake Superior State dittoing their series.
It’s definitely not lonely at the top, so let’s see where the CCHA teams stand this week.
ECAC HOCKEY
For schools that pretty much founded this conference, the Ivys have been struggling. Number 12 Cornell split a weekend against Colgate, Number 13 Dartmouth was swept by Number 20 Clarkson and St. Lawrence while Harvard split with the two teams, and Brown lost at Northeastern. The standings don’t make it look any better too, even after Princeton swept their weekend against Union and RPI.
Other top teams like Number 18 Quinnipiac have been inconsistent, winning only 3-1 in two games versus Union and RPI. Let’s see how things shake up headed into the conference’s winter break this week.
hockey east
Just down the street from many of our ECAC Hockey teams lies the Hockey East, which has been insane this year. Number 14 UMass Lowell took down Number 3 Boston College in a shootout on Friday in a standalone game, and if that doesn’t describe this season in the Hockey East, so help me John Buccigross. Number 10 Providence also played a massive series at Number 8 Colorado College sweeping the weekend against Kaiden Mbereko’s Tigers, and UMass destroyed Number 11 BU 4-0 in Boston.
There may be some more results coming in as I’m writing this, and that’s the way that the winter break goes for college hockey. In the meantime, here are the standings before the Monday night game between BC and Lowell.
NCHC
Go West, young man! I’m sure many of hockey’s top prospects have heard this after seeing how competitive the NCHC is this year. St. Cloud State ended up splitting their series after the overtime loss against Omaha, and Number 2 Denver found themselves splitting with Number 7 Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, winning the second game in overtime. Speaking of overtime, Number 19 Arizona State is hotter than the desert they play in, on a five-game win streak before the Desert Hockey Classic in January after sweeping Minnesota Duluth.
With some teams hot and some ice cold after an incredible start, let’s see where the NCHC’s teams stand.
celebration station
This week, I’m debuting a new segment I haven’t had the chance to before. Celebration Station is a place to highlight the highest moments across the college hockey world, and this week it’s special.
In the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, with the largest crowd in college hockey so far this season, Number 12 Cornell beat Number 18 Quinnipiac in a shootout, but we haven’t had access to this angle until Thursday. Without further adieu, I present Dalton Bancroft’s game-winner.
That goal would take revenge for Cornell’s earlier loss against Quinnipiac in Ithaca, and spark a ton of tension between the two teams for their upcoming matchup on January 18th in Hamden.
uscho poll
Three things are always inevitable in life. Death, taxes, and the number 1 team going down in the middle of the season. I present to you, this week’s USCHO Poll.
First places votes as follows: Minnesota - 38, Boston College - 6, Michigan State - 4, Maine - 2
FORECHECK FORECAST
Unfortunately, I can’t forecast every major matchup coming this winter break, but what I can do is give you the best matchups before the break starts across the country.
Wisconsin battles Number 8 Michigan on the 13th and 14th at Yost in a massive Big Ten matchup. Also in the Big Ten, Number 3 Michigan State plays at Number 1 Minnesota on the same weekend. Keep your eyes peeled for most of that conference’s schedule, it never disappoints.
In the NCHC, Number 4 Denver renews its rivalry with Number 10 Colorado College playing two games over the weekend while North Dakota takes on St. Cloud State.
Lake Superior State heads to Mankato for two games against Number 12 Minnesota State in a battle for sole possession of first place in the CCHA, and possibly a spot in the USCHO poll for the Lakers.
Usually, I put my outro here, but it’s a bit strange doing this in a print edition. Regardless, thanks for taking the time to recap this weekend in college hockey with me, and let’s grow the game together.
