MSU Tops UND in 2026 U.S. HHOF Game

Anthony Romani scored two goals, and Cayden Lindstrom notched the game-winner with less than three minutes left in the third period to lift fourth-ranked Michigan State to a 5-3 victory over No. 8 North Dakota in the 2026 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game on Halloween night in Austin, Texas.

Romani staked the Spartans to 1-0 and 3-2 leads, before Cooper Simpson tied the contest for the Fighting Hawks on a power-play goal with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. Lindstrom then put MSU ahead for good just 19 seconds later, before Tommi Männistö salted matters away for the Spartans with an empty-net tally in the final minute of play.

Joshua Ravensbergen stopped 27 shots in net for MSU, while Caleb Heil had 28 saves for UND, which finished 2-for-7 on the power play. The Spartans (5-1-0) overall will now face visiting Boston University in NCAA non-conference action on Nov. 6-7, while UND will begin NCHC play at home against Western Michigan that same weekend. 

Hockey Halloween 2026

 

Michigan Still No. 1 in Polls

Michigan remains the number one team in NCAA Division I men's hockey, according to the two national polls.

Michigan is pacing the nation so far in both total goals (39) and goals per game (5.6), and it also leads NCAA Division I with a 16.3 team scoring percentage. The Wolverines also boast the NCAA's top two scorers in senior forward Jayden Perron and junior forward Michael Hage.

The Wolverines (7-0-0 overall) visit Big Ten rival Ohio State this weekend for some Halloween hockey. 

Former NCAA Netminder Romeo Passes Away

Former NCAA netminder Sean Romeo (Ohio State) has passed away at the age of 31.

The Cary, N.C. native split his college career between Maine and OSU, fashioning an overall record of 37-30-8 with a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts. His best campaign came in 2017-18 in his first year at OSU, when he went 22-10-5 with a 2.06 GAA in 37 games and backstopped the Buckeyes to their first NCAA Frozen Four in 20 years.

He played 30 games over two years in the ECHL afterwards, with seven different clubs, winning 10 games and posting two shutouts before retiring. A product of Youngstown (USHL), he appeared in 100 games over four seasons with the Phantoms, notching 43 victories and six shutouts, after prepping withe Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. 

Devils Acquire Hellebuyck from Jets

It happened last week, and largely seemed to come out of nowhere. Some might still not believe it's real.

U.S. Olympic goaltending hero Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) is now a New Jersey Devil, after being traded last week from the Winnipeg Jets after a dozen largely-successful seasons in Manitoba, including AHL time.

Which Hellebuyck will New Jersey be getting, the one who dominates the NHL regular season, or the one who plateaus in the postseason? More on that topic here. 

Hellebuyck, a 2012 Jets' draft choice from Commerce, Mich., played at UML from 2012 to 2014. He backstopped the River Hawks to both the 2013 Hockey East championship and the 2013 NCAA Frozen Four as a freshman, and went 38-12-2 (1.60, .946) in 53 career appearances.

Maryville Tops Princeton in Exhibition

NCAA Division I men's hockey newcomer Maryville recorded an exhibition victory at Princeton on Saturday at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink in the first-ever meeting between the visiting Saints and the host Tigers.

After Seamus Latta staked Princeton to a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal eight minutes into the first period, independent Maryville responded with goals just over two minutes apart from Adam Cavallin (power play) and Anthony Hall to close out the scoring. Hall also assisted on Cavallin's game-tying goal. Princeton outshot, Maryville, 36-15, overall as Bruno Bruveris, a Rensselaer transfer, made 35 saves in all for the Saints, while Conor Callaghan led all three Princeton goalies on the night with nine saves. 

As an exhibition, team and individual statistics will not count in either school's official totals, and the game result will also not be included in their overall records. The two teams also played a three-on-three overtime session, where neither scored, and then contested a shootout, where Princeton tallied two goals to Maryville's one. 

Powers Out, Hakstol in at Arizona State

The Greg Powers era has ended at Arizona State University. Former North Dakota and NHL head coach Dave Hakstol is now in charge of Sun Devils hockey.

ASU welcomed Hakstol to the bench with a pair of NCAA non-conference wins at UMass Lowell this weekend, 5-4 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday, both at Tsongas Center. Samuel Urban stopped 75 of 81 shots in goal for ASU in picking up both victories against the host River Hawks.

Following a bye, the Sun Devils (4-2-0 overall) will open NCHC play at St. Cloud State over Halloween weekend.