Sacred Heart Wins First-Ever Connecticut Ice

The inaugural Connecticut Ice hockey classic was claimed by Sacred Heart University.

Following a 6-2 victory over Yale on Saturday, the Pioneers wrapped up the title and bragging rights in the Constitution State with a 4-1 win over No. 17 Quinnipiac on Sunday. All games were contested at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., which currently doubles as SHU's home ice.

Jason Cotton paced the Pioneers with a goal and an assist in each game, while Matt Tugnutt scored one goal and set up two others. Josh Benson picked up both wins in net for SHU (16-8-2 overall), and stopped 43 of 46 shots on the weekend.

Quinnipiac (14-9-1) earned a berth in the final with a 3-2 win over Connecticut (9-12-4) on Saturday, before Yale (9-10-0) edged UConn, 3-2, in the consolation contest yesterday.

BC Tops UMass Lowell, BU in League Play

Boston College men's hockey continues to roll along.

After a split with Massachusetts last weekend that snapped a 10-game winning streak, fifth-ranked BC has now won three straight games following a 3-2 win at UMass Lowell on Friday and a 4-3 victory over visiting Boston University last night. The Eagles now stand at 15-5-0 overall in NCAA play and are in second place in Hockey East with a 9-3-0 conference mark.

Logan Hutsko scored twice in the win over BU, while David Cotton set up two goals, including the game-winner from Julius Mattila in the third period. Mattila leads BC in scoring with six goals and 28 points in 20 games so far this season, while goaltender Spencer Knight picked up both wins over the weekend and is now 14-5-0 this winter with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.

The Eagles return to action on Jan. 24-25 with two home games against Hockey East opponent Maine at Kelley Rink.

Princeton Blanks St. Lawrence at Buzzer

Luke Keenan connected with one second in overtime as Princeton edged St. Lawrence, 1-0, in an ECAC Hockey men's game at Roos Arena in Canton, N.Y. on Saturday evening. It was Princeton's first win since Dec. 10 against American International, snapping a five-game winless string, and its first road victory since the season opener on Nov. 1 at St. Cloud State.

Jeremie Forget earned his first career shutout for Princeton (3-12-4 overall, 1-8-3 ECACH), stopping 22 shots for the Tigers. Daniel Mannella made 31 saves for the Saints (3-17-3, 1-10-0), who have lost five straight contests and are winless in their last 13 outings.

Princeton is now off on its exam break until it hosts Colgate on Jan. 31. The Tigers and Saints will meet again on Valentine's Day at Princeton to close out the two-game season series.

Michigan State Routes Minnesota at Munn

Patrick Khodorenko scored one goal and set up two others, and John Lethemon made 25 saves as 20th-ranked Michigan State topped visiting Minnesota, 4-1, in a Big Ten/NCAA hockey contest on Friday night at Munn Ice Arena.

Khodorenko and Mitchell Lewandowski each tallied a goal and an assist in the first period, sandwiching their scores around a goal by Gianluca Esteves, as MSU (11-9-1 overall, 7-3-1-0 Big Ten) built a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. Sam Saliba then scored just over midway through the second stanza to put the host Spartans up, 4-0, after 40 minutes.

Jackson LaCombe broke up Lethemon's shutout bid with a power-play goal for the Golden Gophers with 6:22 remaining in regulation. Jack LaFontaine took the loss for Minnesota (7-10-4, 2-5-4-3) after stopping just six of nine shots in the opening period before being pulled from the game.

The two teams will complete their two-game conference set on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (Big Ten TV Network) at Munn.

UND's Bernard-Docker Wins Gold with Canada

Jacob Bernard-Docker (North Dakota) was the lone current collegian to win a gold medal with Team Canada at this year's IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic. Canada defeated Russia, 4-3, in the gold medal game on Sunday.

Bernard-Docker, 19, scored one goal in seven WJC games this year for the Canadians. A first-round NHL draft choice (26th overall) by the Ottawa Senators in 2018, the sophomore defenseman has tallied three goals and 14 points in 17 outings with North Dakota so far this season.

In 53 career games with UND, Bernard-Docker has posted eight goals and 23 assists for 31 points. The Fighting Hawks are currently ranked first overall in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.

U.S. Ousted at World Juniors

The United States will not medal at this year's IIHF U20 World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic.

The Americans fell, 1-0, to defending champion Finland in a quarterfinal match Thursday, despite 28 saves by Spencer Knight (Boston College). The loss snaps a U.S. string of four years worth of World Junior medals, including silver last season.

Trevor Zegras led all U.S. scorers in this year's tournament with nine points, all coming on assists, while Shane Pinto (North Dakota) tied for the American goal-scoring lead with four goals overall.

Finland moves on to the semifinal round against either Canada or Russia. The U.S. will seek to return to the WJC podium next year in Edmonton.