NFL
By Jason Gulden
Hello, NCHC fans. Welcome to the 1st weekend of conference play in the NCHC. 24 weeks of grueling action will determine the Penrose Cup champion. Last season, North Dakota won the conference. Will they keep the Cup in Grand Forks, or will another team take it this season? It all starts this weekend.
Before we get into the games, we need to talk about the Players of the Week for October 19th– 25th.
Players of the Week
The Forward of the Week goes to Colorado College Carmelo Crandell. Over the past weekend, in a crosstown sweep of rival Air Force, Crandell scored 3 goals and assisted on another. He posted a +3 plus/minus rating and had 7 shots on goal.
The Defenseman of the Week goes to Minnesota Duluth Ty Hanson. Over the weekend against Bemidji State, Ty had 3 goals and an assist. He posted a +4 plus/minus rating and faced 6 shots. He helped the Bulldogs’ penalty kill go 4-for-4.
Goaltender of the Week goes to Minnesota Duluth goalie Carl Axelsson. In the series sweep of Bemidji, Carl stopped 48 of 49 shots. Saturday night, he earned his second shutout of the season. He improved his record to 4-0-2 and tied the NCAA lead with two shutouts.
The Rookie of the Week goes to Miami (OH) defenseman Cal Huston. Cal scored his lone goal of the weekend in overtime on Saturday, 20 seconds in. He provided 2 assists on Friday night. Huston finished the weekend with a +2 plus/minus rating. He has 2 goals and 2 assists for the season, leading Miami (OH) defensemen.
Congrats to all four winners on an outstanding weekend. Who wins the award this weekend? Check back next week to find out.
Thursday Night
The only non-conference series this weekend starts Thursday night. Long Island plays an NCHC team again. They face Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. Earlier this season, Minnesota Duluth swept Long Island.
Friday Night
Game two of the Long Island/Western Michigan series will conclude. The rest of Friday night’s games will be conference games. To learn how the conference standings work, stay tuned; we’ll cover that in a couple of sections.
St. Thomas makes its NCHC league-play debut when it travels to Miami (OH) to take on the Red Hawks. Arizona State will try to get off to a hot start in league play after missing the playoffs last season as they travel to St. Cloud State to take on the Huskies.
Omaha will travel to Denver to face the Pioneers. Can the Pioneers get back on track after struggling over the past two weekends? The only matchup this weekend that features two ranked teams in conference play will take place in Colorado Springs. The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs travel to Colorado College to take on the Tigers.
Scott Sanderson, Minnesota Duluth’s head coach, is close to a milestone. He enters the week with 498 career wins. Only 23 Division I coaches have reached the 500 club, and just nine have done so at the same school. Hobey Baker winner Max Plante will miss this weekend’s series again due to an upper-body injury.
Saturday Night
Arizona State will finish off its series in St. Cloud State. St. Thomas will finish its first conference action weekend with a series at Miami (OH). Omaha finishes with Denver up at Magness Arena. Minnesota Duluth finishes the big weekend against Colorado College.
Special Saturday Night Game
The other game this weekend will be in Austin, Texas. This season, Michigan State takes on North Dakota in the US Hockey Hall of Fame Game. This will be North Dakota’s 15th appearance, with their last in 2024, when they beat Providence 3-2. They are 8-5-1 in their previous 14 games.
Michigan State is 0-3-0 in the game, with their last appearance in 2013, when they lost to Ferris State 2-0. This will be the 8th straight season that the NCHC has played in the game.
As we enter conference play, here’s a refresher on how points work in the NCHC. Each conference game is worth 3 points. A regulation win earns 3 points. A win in overtime or a shootout earns 2 points. 1 point for an overtime loss or shootout loss. A shootout occurs if the game remains tied after 5 minutes of 3-3 overtime.
Now that we have entered league play, if you haven’t subscribed to NCHC.tv yet, there’s no better time than now. With the weather changing and nasty weather coming, you can stay home, stay warm, and watch all the action across the NCHC each weekend. REMEMBER THERE ARE NO BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS.
Closing
As we finish October and the first month of the NCHC season, we have already seen some amazing action across the conference. I don’t expect much to change now that the race to the Penrose Cup starts this weekend. What team gets the upper hand after the 1st weekend of conference play? The only way to find out. Check back next week for my recap.
Now, NCHC fans, it’s time. You all know the drill. Grab your favorite beverage and snack, head to an arena, or sit in your favorite chair and cheer your favorite NCHC teams to victory this weekend. Until next week, everyone, have a great, safe Halloween weekend, and we will talk to you all early next week to recap this weekend’s game action.
