NFL
By Jason Gulden
Attention NCHC supporters, the time has arrived once more. This past weekend in the NCHC was remarkable. On Friday night, a notable event occurred: the home teams combined for a 14-0 score, an outcome rarely seen before. On the other hand, Saturday night, multiple road teams rebounded and salvaged the split.
Let’s look back on all those games and look ahead to this coming weekend, as well as the rankings, standings, the players of the week, and the NCHC Hobey Baker nominees.
Last weekend’s results
As I said in the opening paragraph, we had a Friday of shutouts by the home team across the NCHC. St. Cloud State handed Minnesota Duluth their first Friday night loss of the season by the score of 6-0. Miami (OH) took care of Omaha 3-0. In round one of the top two teams in the NCHC, North Dakota took the game 5-0.
Saturday night was a different story. Miami (OH) would be the only home team to get the sweep with its 6-2 victory over Omaha. Minnesota Duluth rebounded against St. Cloud State by winning 5-3. Denver secured a much-needed win over North Dakota, 3-2. In the final regular-season non-conference game, Colorado College took care of Simon Fraser 8-3 in an exhibition game.
Players of the Week
It’s fair to say that freshmen took center stage this weekend. This week, freshmen received three out of four awards.
The Forward of the Week goes to Freshman Cole Reschny from North Dakota. It was his second time this season that Cole won the Forward of the Week. This weekend, he had 2 points each night against Denver. On Friday evening, he recorded both a goal and an assist. Saturday night, he had helpers on both of North Dakota’s goals in the 3-2 loss.
The Defenseman of the Week goes to the non-freshman, Senior Max Smolinski from St. Cloud State. It’s Max first NCHC weekly honor of his career. Friday night, he assisted on the Huskies’ fourth and fifth goals of the night. Saturday night, Max broke a 2-2 tie with his 4th goal of the season.
The Goalie of the Week goes to Yan Shostak of St. Cloud State. It’s his first 2nd weekly award from the NCHC this season; however, it’s his first Goaltender of the Week honor, as he won Rookie of the Week earlier this season. Friday night, Yan stopped all 42 shots he faced on his way to his second shutout of the season. On Saturday night, he made 24 saves out of 28 shots, but his team suffered a 5-3 defeat.
The Rookie of the Week had the award wrapped up on Friday night. Miami (OH) freshman David Deputy would put on a show Friday Night. He would have a hat trick (3 goals in one game), all coming on special teams. His first and third goals came on the power play for Miami, and his second goal came while Miami (OH) was shorthanded on the penalty kill.
Hobey Baker Nominees
Every year, the NCAA hands out the Hobey Baker award. It’s the hockey version of the Heisman Trophy. This season, there is a total of 87 NCAA Men’s players nominated. Of those 87 players, 18 are from the NCHC. The NCHC nominees are as follows:
- Owen Beckner, Colorado College, So., F
- Boston Buckberger, Denver, Jr., D
- Austin Burnevik, St. Cloud State, So., F
- Matteo Giampa, Miami, Jr., F
- Tyson Gross, St. Cloud State, Jr., F
- Barrett Hall, St. Cloud State, Jr., F
- Ty Hanson, Minnesota Duluth, So., D
- Simon Latkoczy, Omaha, Sr., G
- Jake Livanavage, North Dakota, Jr., D
- Cruz Lucius, Arizona State, Sr., F
- Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College, Sr., G
- Owen Michaels, Western Michigan, Jr., F
- Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth, So., F
- Zam Plante, Minnesota Duluth, So., F
- Eric Pohlkamp, Denver, Jr., D
- Bennett Schimek, Arizona State, Sr., F
- Grant Slukynsky, Western Michigan, Jr., F
- Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan, So., G
Fans can start voting on this award now by going to https://www.hobeybaker.com/vote
The first phase runs through March 8th. The second phase will begin on March 18th, after the Top 10 finalists are announced, and run through March 29th. The final 3 will be announced on April 2nd, and the winner will be announced on April 10th during the NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas.
The Hobey Baker award is named after Hobey Baker himself. Hobey was a legendary hero in American history. He was a World War 1 fighter pilot. During his college career at Princeton University, Hobey excelled in hockey and football.
Let’s aim for a third NCHC player to win the award since the league began in 2013.
Rankings
Western Michigan would stand pat at #3. North Dakota would move up one spot to #4. Minnesota Duluth would drop one spot to #7, and Denver would stand pat at #9. Once again, those are the only four teams ranked in the USCHO Top 20, as well as the only four NCHC teams projected to make the NCAA tournament, according to the Bracketology Xtra Podcast on USCHO.com.
Standings
As we head into the final 6 weeks of the regular season, the standings are going to be very important in the race to the Penrose Cup. Consequently, with there being no more non-conference games until the NCAA tournament, things can change quickly.
Reminder of a couple of things. By February 28th, the team in ninth place will see its season end. Regulation wins count as 3 points. Overtime or shootout wins count as 2 points. Overtime or shootout loss counts as 1 point. The top 4 teams will host the first round best-of-3 series, while the bottom 4 teams will travel to one of those sites.
The top four teams going into this weekend are as follows. North Dakota has played 14 games and has 32 points. Denver has also played 14 games and has 27 points. Minnesota Duluth has also played 14 games and has 24 points. The final home team, as it currently stands, is Western Michigan, which has played 12 games and has 23 points.
The bottom 4 teams going into this weekend are as follows. St. Cloud State has played 14 games and has 17 points. Arizona State has played 12 games and has 17 points. Miami (OH) has played 14 games and has 16 points. Omaha has played 14 games and has 12 points.
Accordingly, Colorado College would be sitting at home come Feb. 28th as they would fail to qualify for the playoffs. As of right now, they have played 12 games and have 12 points.
Each weekend offers teams an opportunity to earn up to 6 points, so the standings can shift rapidly.
Will anything change in the standings following the games this weekend? Only time will tell.
Weekend’s Games
The NCHC has 9 teams, so one team sits out each conference week. With only conference games left, there will be four games on Friday and four on Saturday night.
After getting swept by Omaha earlier this season at home, Colorado College travels to Omaha in hopes of returning the favor to the Mavericks. The Tigers are looking to get out of 9th place, while Omaha looks to stay in the playoffs and potentially move up in the standings with some victories this weekend.
North Dakota gets to leave the cold air up in Grand Forks and head to the nice, warm climate of Tempe, Arizona, as they travel to face Arizona State. These two teams faced off earlier in the season in Grand Forks, with both winning a game. Does North Dakota extend its lead for the Penrose Cup, or does Arizona State move up to number 5, if not 4th place, after this coming weekend?
Denver welcomes St. Cloud State to Denver this weekend. These two teams also faced off previously this season. Right before the holiday break, they played up at St. Cloud, with both teams earning wins. Denver hopes to close the gap with North Dakota, while St. Cloud State aims to maintain its position at number 5 or even rise to number 4 this weekend.
Minnesota Duluth hosts Western Michigan in Duluth for a key matchup between the top 10 USCHO and top 4 NCHC teams. Earlier in Kalamazoo, the teams split their series. With only one point separating them in the standings (Duluth holds two games in hand), both aim to gain ground on North Dakota and widen the gap over 5th place.
Closing
Well, NCHC fans, things are getting exciting in the league. We have 6 weekends remaining before the playoffs. What will things look like when we talk again next week? Only time will tell.
Grab your favorite snacks, beverages, and get comfy in your favorite chair, and enjoy some NCHC hockey this weekend and cheer your favorite team on to victory, like I will be doing with my Colorado College Tigers. Stay safe and warm this weekend, and I will talk to you all next week. Take care.
