WCHA Weekend in Review

Here is the WCHA weekend roudup from the WCHA

MADISON, Wis. – Minnesota, Colorado College and Wisconsin were the big gainers in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play over the Dec. 11-12 weekend and all three teams earned their respective successes on the road. The Golden Gophers gained four big points in the standings with a pair of 3-2 wins at Michigan Tech, the Tigers picked up three points with a 4-4 (ot) tie and 4-1 victory at St. Cloud State, and the Badgers came out of Grand Forks with three points against North Dakota in a 3-3 (ot) tie and 4-3 win.
In the one other conference series contested, host Minnesota Duluth came back from a 3-2 loss to Denver on Friday to hand the Pioneers a 6-3 setback on Saturday to gain a split.

In non-conference play, Minnesota State, Mankato recorded back-to-back road victories at Bemidji State of College Hockey America with a 5-1 triumph on Friday and a 3-2 decision on Saturday, boosting the WCHA’s 2009-10 non-conference mark to an impressive 24-12-2 (.658).

Through games of Dec. 13, and at the halfway point of the league’s 28-games per team WCHA schedule, just four points separate the top five teams. Pre-season favorite Denver (11-5-2, 9-3-2 WCHA) enters the break in first place with 20 points, Colorado College (11-4-3, 8-3-3 WCHA) is second with 19 points, Wisconsin (11-5-2, 8-4-2 WCHA) is third with 18 points, Minnesota Duluth (11-6-1, 8-5-1 WCHA) is fourth with 17, and St. Cloud State (8-7-3, 7-5-2 WCHA) is fifth with 16 points. Defending MacNaughton Cup champion North Dakota (9-6-3, 6-6-2 WCHA) is in sixth place with 14 points, Minnesota State (9-8-1, 5-8-1 WCHA) is eighth with 11 points, Alaska Anchorage (6-12-0, 4-10-0 WCHA) is ninth with eight, and Michigan Tech (3-13-0, 2-12-0 WCHA) is 10th with four. Seven WCHA-member teams own winning records overall.

At John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton on Saturday night, visiting Minnesota completed a WCHA sweep of Michigan Tech with another one-goal, 3-2 triumph before 2,376 as center Mike Carman scored the game-winner at 17:11 of the second period. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period before the Golden Gophers tallied twice in the second, including a go-ahead goal by center Taylor Matson at 11:41. For the Huskies, left winger Malcolm Gwilliam had a goal and an assist while Kevin Genoe had 28 saves in nets.
At the National Hockey Center on Dec. 12, visiting Colorado College skated to a 4-1 WCHA triumph over St. Cloud State before a sellout crowd of 6,053 as the line of left winger Stephen Schultz (2a), center Andrew Hamburg (1g, 1a) and right winger Mike Testwuide (1g, 1a) led the way. Testwuide’s goal at 1:22 of the second period staked the Tigers to a 2-0 lead and held up as the game-winner. For the Huskies, winger Jared Festler had an unassisted tally at 7:09 of the second that closed the gap to 2-1.

At Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks on Saturday night, Wisconsin claimed a 4-3 conference victory over North Dakota before a sellout crowd of 11,760 as the Badgers received 31 saves from goaltender Scott Gudmandson, the game-winning goal from defenseman Brendan Smith (1g, 1a), and converted on 3-of-8 power-play attempts. For the host Sioux, first period goals from right winger Brett Hextall (2g) and center Chris VandeVelde game them a 2-1 lead entering the second stanza before the UW scored three unanswered goals, including a go-ahead tally by left winger Ben Street at 7:55 of the second. Also for the UW, center Derek Stepan had two assists, including one on Smith’s GWG.

At the DECC in Duluth on Saturday evening, host Minnesota Duluth erupted for three third period goals, including the game-winner from right winger Kyle Schmidt (1g, 1a) at 9:20, to break open a tie game and roll on to a 6-3 WCHA triumph over league-leading Denver before 4,568. The Bulldogs, who also scored three times in the first period, received two goals and an assist from center Jack Connolly and three assists from linemate and winger Mike Connolly while winger Rob Bordson and center Travis Oleksuk each added a goal and an assist. For the Pioneers, center Tyler Ruegsegger had a goal and an assist and defenseman Matt Donovan added two helpers.

And at John Glas Fieldhouse in Bemidji on Dec. 12, the WCHA’s Minnesota State gained a second straight non-conference victory over host Bemidji State with a 3-2 triumph before 2,359, despite being outshot 31-14. Left wingers Kael Mouillierat and Michael Dorr led the way for the visiting Mavericks with a goal and assist each, with Dorr’s first goal of the season at 7:34 of the third period proving to be the winner. Also scoring for MSU was right winger Eriah Hayes while in goal, Austin Lee had 29 saves for the win.

This Week in the WCHA
Results of Friday, December 11: Colorado College 4 at St. Cloud State 4 ot (WCHA); Denver 3 at Minnesota Duluth 2 (WCHA); Minnesota 3 at Michigan Tech 2 (WCHA); Wisconsin 3 at North Dakota 3 ot (WCHA); Minnesota State 5 at Bemidji State 1 (nc).
Results of Saturday, December 12: Minnesota 3 at Michigan Tech 2 (WCHA); Colorado College 4 at St. Cloud State 1 (WCHA); Denver 3 at Minnesota Duluth 6 (WCHA); Wisconsin 4 at North Dakota 3 (WCHA); Minnesota State 3 at Bemidji State 2 (nc).

Next Week in the WCHA
Games for Friday, December 18: Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan (nc), 7:35 pm ET; Nebraska-Omaha at Minnesota State (nc), 7:37 pm CT.
Games for Saturday, December 19: Minnesota State at Nebraska-Omaha (nc), 7:07 pm CT; USA Under-20 Team at North Dakota (x), 7:07 pm CT.