Alaska Nanooks Claim Governor's Cup Again

The annual Governor's Cup has once again been claimed by Alaska (Fairbanks).

The Nanooks swept a pair of contests over the weekend at in-state rival Alaska Anchorage, by 5-0 and 3-1 counts. Michigan State transfer Pierce Charleson recorded both victories in net, including the shutout on Friday, followed by a 33-save effort on Saturday. Brady Risk paced the UAF attack with three goals and two assists for five points overall through the two games.

Coupled with an earlier pair of wins in Fairbanks on Nov. 3-4 against UAA, it means that UAF (8-5-1 0verall) has again taken possession of the instate trophy that has been awarded in the head-to-head series between the two NCAA Division I hockey schools since 1994. UAF has won the last 10 Cups, although its 2010, 2011 and 2012 titles were vacated as a result of NCAA violations against the Nanooks. Neither team played during the 2020-21 COVID season, while the Seawolves also sat out the 2021-22 campaign while re-establishing their program after it had been a victim of budget cuts. UAA (6-11-1) last earned the Cup in 2009.

The Nanook and Seawolves will wrap up their 2023-24 season series on Jan. 13 in Fairbanks and on Feb. 3 in Anchorage.

College Players Come Through for Canadiens

Wednesday evening in central Ohio was NCAA night for the Montreal Canadiens.

Alex Newhook (Boston College) and Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) scored goals for the Habs, and Mike Matheson recorded two assists in the third period for the visitors as Montreal outlasted the host Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2, at Nationwide Arena. Zach Werenski (Michigan) set up one of Columbus' two goals, as the Bluejackets fell to 7-13-4 overall and four points behind Montreal in the NHL's Eastern Conference standings. 

Montreal improved to 10-10-2 with the victory, but fell back below the .500 mark the next night after a 5-1 loss to visiting Florida. Newhook, the Canadiens' top goal scorer with seven goals so far this season, was injured in that contest and did not return. He earned a Stanley Cup ring in 2022 with Colorado, a year after helping Boston College return to the NCAA tournament.

Columbus hosts Ottawa (8-9-0) tonight, while Montreal will entertain Detroit (12-7-3) tomorrow.

Cornell Edges BU in 2023 Red Hot Hockey

This year's Red Hot Hockey showdown in Manhattan went to Cornell University once more.

The 16th-ranked Big Red outlasted longtime Eastern rival Boston University, 2-1, on Friday night before 15,289 on-lookers at Madison Square Garden. Ondrej Psenicka's first goal of the 2023-24 season, just over eight minutes into the third period, stood up as the game-winner, after Ryan Walsh had tied the contest for Cornell on a power play just under four minutes into the final frame. 

Doug Grimes scored BU's only goal, the first of his NCAA career, late in the second period to give the fifth-ranked Terriers the early lead. Ian Shane stopped 35 shots in net for Cornell (5-3-1 overall), while Mathieu Caron made 17 saves for BU (9-4-1). 

Cornell retains the Kelley-Harkness Cup, as the Big Red has now won four straight Red Hot Hockey matchups with the Terriers, in a competition that is now held every other year at MSG.

Hockey Thanksgiving 2023

 

Michigan State Sweeps Wisconsin Out of No. 1 Spot

North Dakota is the new No. 1 team in the most recent USCHO.com NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national poll, thanks to Michigan State. 

The Spartans took down last week's No. 1 team, Wisconsin, by 4-2 and 3-2 scores in Big Ten play at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich. last weekend, and became the first team in the nation to reach double digits in wins. MSU is now 10-3-1 overall, and in first place in the Big Ten at 5-0-1, with a two-game trip to conference opponent Minnesota coming up. Wisconsin fell to sixth in the poll, while MSU ascended to seventh.

North Dakota (9-2-1 overall) took over the top spot in the poll after sweeping NCHC rival Miami last week, while Boston College moved up into the second spot after sweeping Hockey East foe UConn. Defending national champion Quinnipiac (9-3-1) is third overall, but may tumble from that position in next week's poll after a 3-2 loss at No. 5 Boston University (9-3-1) tonight.

Wisconsin No. 1 in Men's Hockey Polls

Despite not playing this past weekend, Wisconsin is the new number one team in this week's USCHO.com NCAA Division I men's hockey poll. The Badgers are also first overall in the most recent USA Hockey/The Rink Live Poll. 

Wisconsin, who is 9-1-0 overall under new head coach Mike Hastings, and previously swept former No. 1 Minnesota this season, garnered 32 out of 50 first-place votes in the Nov. 13 USCHO poll to move up from third place the week before. The Badgers also earned 28 of 34 first-place votes in this week's USA Hockey/The Rink Live Poll, and it's the first time since the fall of 2006, when it was the defending NCAA champion, that Wisconsin has been ranked first overall in either poll.

Rounding out the USCHO.com top five this week are North Dakota (7-2-1), Denver (7-2-1), Boston College (7-2-1) and Providence (8-1-2), while the USA/Rink poll listed Denver, BC, North Dakota and Providence sequentially. BC fell from the top spot in both polls after two weeks, following a loss and a tie at Hockey East rival Maine last weekend.

Wisconsin returns to action this weekend with two games at No. 11 Michigan State in Big Ten play.

BU's Coyle Nets First NHL Hat Trick

Just shy of 800 career regular-season games, Charlie Coyle (Boston University) finally netted his first NHL hat trick.

Coyle, 31, a 6-foot-3 forward from East Weymouth, Mass., scored three times on Thursday night in the Boston Bruins' 5-2 win over the visiting New York Islanders at TD Garden. He tallied Boston's second, fifth and sixth goals, the first one on the power play and the final one into an empty net, as the Bruins improved to 11-1-1 on the 2023-24 season. James van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire) drew an assist on Coyle's second goal, his second assist of the night, for his own 601st career NHL point.

Drafted 29th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2010, Coyle has recorded 152 goals and 250 assists for 402 points in 798 NHL regular-season games to date with the Bruins and Minnesota Wild, and also helped Boston to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. In 12 outings so far this season, he has notched 5-7—12 points. 

A product of the South Shore (Mass.) Kings junior program, Coyle played a year-and-a-half at BU before turning pro in 2011, after registering 10-30—40 points in 53 NCAA appearances with the Terriers. He also represented the U.S. at both the 2010 and 2011 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning gold and bronze medals, respectively.