Michigan State Sweeps LIU at Munn Arena

Michigan State improved to 4-2-0 on the nascent 2022-23 NCAA season with a sweep of visiting LIU over the weekend.

The Spartans outlasted the Sharks, 3-1, on Friday night at Munn Ice Arena, in the first-ever hockey meeting between the two schools. David Gucciardi tallied the game-winning goal early in the second stanza to break a one-all tie, while Dylan St. Cyr finished with 14 saves for the hosts. 

On Saturday evening, MSU scored the first four goals of the contest en route to an 8-4 victory. Karsen Dorwart posted four assists for the Spartans, while Jagger Joshua scored three goals and Tanner Kelly and Daniel Russell set up three goals apiece. Pierce Charleson made 23 stops for the win.

Saturday's result marked the most goals scored by an MSU team since an 8-2 triumph over visiting Princeton on Dec. 1, 2013. That win that also clinched a two-game nonconference series triumph at Munn.

The Spartans returns to Big Ten play on Oct. 28-29, with two games at Notre Dame.

ASU, Lindenwood Record Milestone Victories

It was a tale of two firsts on Friday night in men's college ice hockey.

First, independent Arizona State University christened its brand-new, on-campus, 5,000-seat Mullet Arena with a 2-0 victory over visiting Colgate. Josh Doan, son of retired longtime NHL player Shane Doan, scored the first-ever goal in the new facility, which will also house the NHL's Arizona Coyotes over the next few years. Northeastern transfer TJ Semptimphelter earned the shutout on 30 saves for the host Sun Devils, who played their first seven NCAA Division I seasons out of the 747-seat Oceanside Arena.

That same evening in St. Charles, Mo., some 1,450 miles east, fellow independent Lindenwood University earned its first-ever win as an NCAA Division I program with a 7-6 triumph over visiting Air Force. Ryan Finnegan notched the game-winning goal late in regulation, while Trent Burnham made 39 stops for the Lions, like ASU a former ACHA Division I club power.

Andy Greene Retires as NHL Player

Longtime NHL defenseman Andy Greene (Miami) has called it a career.

Greene, 39, from Trenton, Mich., signed a one-day contract this week with his original team, the New Jersey Devils, before retiring as an active player after 16 full NHL campaigns.

In 1057 NHL regular-season outings with the Devils and New York Islanders, from 2006-07 through 2021-22, Greene scored 52 goals and assisted on 212 others for 264 career points, to go along with 277 penalty minutes. A former Devils captain (2014-2020), the 5-foot-11 Greene added 5-9⁠—14 points and 42 PIM in 90 career Stanley Cup playoff contests. He helped New Jersey to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, and after being traded to New York during the 2019-20 season, helped the Islanders to both the 2020 and 2021 Eastern Conference finals.

A product of his hometown Trenton High School, Greene also played two full years of junior hockey with Compuware (NAHL) in Plymouth, Mich., earning NAHL Defenseman of the Year accolades in 2001-02 while also leading the Ambassadors to the Robertson Cup championship. He then enrolled at Miami (Ohio), where he tallied 27-87—114 points and 256 PIM over four years. He was a two-time All-America selection and a two-time CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman choice, and led the Red Hawks to the 2005-06 CCHA regular season title and two NCAA tournament appearances. He also served as Miami's captain his last two seasons.

An undrafted free agent, Greene signed with the Devils in 2006. He played 52 games with Lowell (AHL), and also skated in the AHL All-Star Game that season, before joining New Jersey for its 2007 playoff run and spending the rest of his career in the NHL. He also suited up for Team USA in the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany.

Denver Wins 2022 IceBreaker

Defending men's Division I national champion Denver is first in the national polls this week after winning the season-opening 2022 IceBreaker Invitational on home ice over the weekend. The Pioneers, who won their record-tying ninth NCAA title in April, defeated Notre Dame, 5-2, and Maine, 3-1, at Magness Arena last Friday and Saturday, respectively..

Transplanted Harvard forward Casey Dornbach scored DU's first and final goals in the win over the Fighting Irish, then assisted on both of Carter Mazur's tallies in the victory over Maine. Magnus Chrona, who backstopped DU to the national title in Boston, stopped 18 shots against UND, while Matt Davis made 24 saves versus Maine. 

It was Denver's first IceBreaker title since it defeated Providence in 1999 in DU's inaugural tournament appearance, also at home. The Pioneers also participated in 2006 and 2016.

DU (2-0-0) hits the road this weekend for a pair of contests at No. 13 UMass, which is coming off a season-opening tie at AIC. 

2022-23 NCAA Hockey Season Underway

Just under six months after Denver was crowned the Division I men's national champion in Boston, the 2022-23 NCAA hockey season is underway.

The Pioneers opened the new season on Saturday with a 10-0 exhibition victory at home over UNLV, although things actually got underway on Sept. 23 when Alaska Anchorage returned to action after a two-year hiatus with a 1-0 exhibition loss to visiting Simon Fraser, 6-0. A day later, Alaska (Fairbanks) blanked SFU, 6-0.  

In CCHA play, Bowling Green split a two-game series with Northern Michigan, while Miami posted a win and a tie against Ferris State. In Hockey East, UConn swept Vermont in a pair of contests, while Minnesota-Duluth did the same to Arizona State in non-conference action.

The Division I women's game made its season debut on Sept. 17 when Syracuse topped Union, Quinnipiac edged UConn, and Maine defeated New Brunswick. As of Oct. 3, defending national champion Ohio State (2-0-0) was in first place in the USCHO.com women's poll.