NFL
By Jason Gulden
Welcome to another recap of the NCHC weekend of games. This was the second weekend of the year, and it was the action we had seen so far this season. In the weekend preview article from last Friday, I asked multiple questions heading into the weekend. Would Colorado College bring home the Pikes Peak Trophy for the 8th straight season with a win over Air Force? Would Miami (OH) keep its winning streak alive? Would Augustana give another NCHC opponent a fit? Would Arizona State win the Ice Breaker Tournament? Let’s find out the answers to those questions, as well as take a look around the rest of the league with the results from the games scheduled from October 9th through October 12th.
The first series we are going to look at is the Ferris State and Western Michigan home-and-home series. On Thursday night, Ferris State traveled to Kalamazoo to take on Western Michigan. When the final horn blew on Thursday night, the defending National Champions and #1 team in the nation, Western Michigan, fell to Ferris State by the score of 3-2. The two teams would play again on Friday night, but this time in Big Rapids, Michigan, home of Ferris State. Western Michigan would get its revenge on Ferris State by the score of 6-4. Will that split this weekend hurt Western Michigan in the national polls? Come back on Friday to find out.
The next series of games we are going to look at will be the games that were part of the Ice Breaker tournament in Tempe, Arizona. The first game on that schedule was Alaska Fairbanks taking on Quinnipiac. Alaska Fairbanks would win the game 2-1 to clinch a spot in the championship game against the winner of the Arizona State- Notre Dame game. In that Arizona State-Notre Dame game, Arizona State would win 5-3 to set up a matchup between Alaska Fairbanks and Arizona State on Saturday night. On Saturday, Quinnipiac would take on Notre Dame in the 3rd place game and steamroll the Fighting Irish 7-2. The championship game would take place between Alaska Fairbanks and Arizona State. When the final whistle blew, Arizona State was throwing their gloves in the air as they won the 2025 Ice Breaker Tournament by the score of 5-2.
What has gotten into the Miami (OH) RedHawks this season? After a dreadful 2024-2025 season where they finished their season with a 3-28-3 record overall, through 2 weekends of play in the 2025-2026 season, they have a 4-0-0 record after they traveled up to Troy, New York, to take on RPI. On Friday night, they won 5-3, and on Saturday night, they won 5-0. Great to see what Miami (OH) is doing this season so far, but the question remains: how long does the streak go? Only time will tell for the RedHawks.
We had another home-and-home series this weekend when St. Cloud State and Bemidji State faced off against each other. Friday night, the teams would face off in Bemidji, Minnesota, and St. Cloud would come away victorious by the score of 3-2. Saturday night, they would travel to St. Cloud and once again, St. Cloud would come away victorious with tonight’s score being 4-2.
The last home-and-home series of the weekend was between St. Thomas and North Dakota. On Friday night in Grand Forks, ND, the Fighting Hawks out of North Dakota would take care of St. Thomas handily by the score of 6-2. Saturday was a travel day for both teams. They would resume their series on Sunday night as they would travel to St. Paul, Minnesota. North Dakota completed the weekend sweep of the Tommies by the score of 5-2.
The next two series, where the traditional weekend series were a team travels somewhere and stays there for both games. The first series was Augustana and Minnesota Duluth in Duluth, Minnesota. Friday night game, Minnesota Duluth got revenge for the NCHC with their 4-1 victory. Saturday night was a different story; Augustana would come out firing once again to defeat an NCHC opponent, this time by the score of 4-0. The other series took place in Omaha, Nebraska, as we had a battle of Mavericks. Minnesota State travelled to Omaha. Friday night’s battle ended in a 6-2 Omaha win, and then Saturday night, Minnesota State returned the favor for a 4-1 victory.
The final series of games this past weekend took place in Colorado, with 3 of the 4 being from the state. Denver University would travel south on Interstate 25 to the Air Force Academy. Denver came out firing the puck as they put 59 shots on Air Force goalie Carter Clafton. They were only able to score 1 goal as the Pioneers and the Falcons would skate to a 1-1 tie in the record books. Denver would win the shootout 2-1. While that game was going on, the Falcons from Bentley were playing the Tigers from Colorado College at Ed Robson Arena. Bentley would fall to the Tigers by the score of 5-2. Saturday night, those 4 teams would face off again, but with Bentley traveling to Denver and Colorado College traveling up Interstate 25 a short distance to the Air Force Academy. Denver would take care of Bentley easily by the score of 6-0. At the Air Force Academy, we had the battle for the Pikes Peak Trophy. Colorado College, which had held the title for the 7 past seven seasons, would bring the trophy with them. In front of 2,560 fans, including myself, we saw the Colorado College Tigers claim the title for the 8th straight season with a 4-2 victory.
Well, that brings this article to a close as we looked at the results of the 2nd weekend of the NCHC season. Only a couple more weeks before we hit conference play. How will your team be looking as we get closer to league play? Stay tuned to find out. Until we talk again and preview this coming weekend’s games on Friday, NCHC fans, stay safe and have a great rest of your week. Talk to you all soon.
