Oh what a wild game it was between UW-Eau Claire and rival UW-Stevens Point in a decisive mini game of a WIAC semifinal series on Saturday night.
The Blugolds had lost 4-1 to the Pointers, ranked ninth in the USCHO.com poll, in Game 2, giving up four goals in the third as their dreams were dashed of closing out the series.
But they refused to fold in the mini game, surviving a three-overtime thriller that ended when Kyle Oleksiuk scored on a penalty shot to lift the Blugolds into the championship game with a 1-0 win.
Max Gutjahr stepped up in goal, stopping several shots late to help secure the win.
The Blugolds won Friday’s game over the Pointers by a 4-3 score, leading 3-0 before having to hold on for the win. Leo Bacallo scored twice in the victory.
Eau Claire will now play for the WIAC title, hoping to lock up its first NCAA tourney bid since 2020. The Blugolds didn’t get to play in the tourney that year, though, as the pandemic canceled it.
Eau Claire is 13-15-1 while Stevens Point is 19-6-2 and will miss the championship game of the conference tournament for the first time since 2014.
Falcons stun top-seeded Yellowjackets
Don’t ever underestimate UW-River Falls. The Falcons proved as much over the weekend, upsetting No. 10 UW-Superior with a 2-1 in a mini game that decided their semifinal series.
They had lost 4-1 on Friday in the opening game but bounced back Saturday with a 2-1 win in Game 2 to force a mini game.
Arsenii Smekhnov and Alex Atwill both scored in Game 2 while Brennan Boynton made 26 saves for his 17th win of the year.
Goals by Dylan Smith and Cole Telecki gave the Falcons the win in the mini game, with Telecki’s tally serving as the game winner.
River Falls is 17-11-1 and is headed to the WIAC final for the first time since 2016.
For Superior, it’s a gut-wrenching end to a stellar year. They were riding high after Friday thanks to a hat trick by Collin Pederdson in the opening game. But they weren’t able to close things out on Saturday.
Superior won only 11 games a year ago but ends this season with a 19-5-3 record.
MIAC
Gusties punch ticket
Gustavus is in the MIAC final for the first time since 2018 after knocking off Concordia 6-2 on Saturday in a semifinal game.
The regular season champion of the conference now takes aim at its first championship since 2012 when it faces reigning champ St. Olaf.
Gustavus scored twice in each period, leading 2-1 after one and 4-2 after two.
Joey Gimberlin and Jack Suchy led the charge for the Gusties, scoring two goals apiece while Colin Androlewicz racked up 32 saves.
The win marks the third time Gustavus has beaten Concordia this season, and the Gusties have scored four or more goals in each game. Gustavus improves to 15-9-2 with the victory and are hoping to add a sixth MIAC title this coming weekend as well as as secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
It’s been a turnaround year for Gustavus, which won only 11 games last year and is in the midst of its best season since winning 16 games during the 2013-14 season.
Concordia ends its year at 12-12-3. Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe scored his team-leading 10th goal of the year and he finishes his career with 38. Dane Couture made 24 saves.
Oles return to championship game
St. Olaf will have a chance to go back-to-back as MIAC tournament champs after beating Bethel 3-1 on the road in the semifinal round on Saturday.
The Oles scored all three of their goals in the final period to secure the comeback win and advance to the title game for the third time in four seasons. They’ve won three championships in program history.
They scored all three goals in a span of 10 minutes, getting them from Nicholas Sewecke, Ben Luscko and Jonathan Panisa.
St. Olaf improved to 14-9-3 on the year and is 8-1 in MIAC playoff games over the last four years. It has been road warriors during the stretch as all of those contests have been played on the road.
For Panisa, his goal was his 16th of the year and his ninth in the last seven games. Matthew Malin made 20 saves in the final two periods to earn the win.
Bethel got its lone goal from Tyler Braccini. The Royals finish the year at 13-10-3 after losing in a game that was a rematch of last year’s MIAC final.
NCHA
Green Knights roll into tourney final
A dominant performance propelled St. Norbert toa 6-1 win over Trine in an NCHA semifinal on Saturday.
The fifth-ranked Green Knights scored four goals in the first two periods and never looked back, improving to 22-5-1. Trine drops to 20-6-2.
Hunter Garvey came through with 26 saves while Braden Lindstrom helped lead the way offensively with two goals and an assist. Logan Dombrowsky dished out a pair of assists to go along with his goal while Carter Hottman put the puck in the back of the net twice against the seventh-ranked Thunder.
St. Norbert is unbeaten in its last nine games and finish 2-1 against Trine this season.
Jack Cooper scored the lone goal for the Thunder and now hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Bulldogs bite Spartans
Adrian not only won its NCHA semifinal against Aurora, but the No. 14 Bulldogs held the second-ranked Spartans scoreless, which had not happened at all this season as Aurora features one of the top scoring offenses in the country.
Dershahn Stewart rose to the occasion with 34 saves in a 2-0 win for Adrian, which heads to the conference final. The Bulldogs were playing on the road in an NCHA semifinal tournament game for the first time.
Julien Jacob ended the scoreless tie with a goal in the second period and Ryan Pitoscia added an empty netter.
JaCob Mucitelli made 29 saves for Aurora, which is 23-4-1 and could still make the NCAA tournament.
Adrian improved to 18-9-1 on the year.
