Northeastern Claims Fifth Beanpot in Six Seasons

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored with 27 seconds remaining in overtime to lift Northeastern to a 4-3 win over third-ranked Boston University in the men's Beanpot championship game on Monday night at TD Garden. The Huskies have now won five of the last six battles for Boston's college hockey bragging rights, in the tournament's 71st edition. Northeastern's women's team won its own Beanpot title last month, also at TD Garden.

NU battled back from three one-goal deficits last night, the last on Jack Williams' power-play tally midway through the third period, with the secondary assist going to Fontaine. Cameron Whitehead finished with 33 saves for the Huskies (13-12-2 overall), who were outshot, 36-17, in claiming their ninth men's Beanpot title all-time. BU fell to 19-8-1 on the season.

In the consolation game, top-ranked Boston College blanked Harvard, 5-0. Ryan Leonard had a goal and two assists for the Eagles (21-5-1), while Jan Korec made 19 stops for his first career NCAA win and shutout. Harvard dropped to 4-15-4.

MSU Wins 2024 Duel in the D

Karson Dorwart's late second-period goal stood up as the game-winner as Michigan State defeated rival Michigan, 3-2, on Saturday at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit to claim the annual "Duel in the D." It was the first time that MSU had won the annual regular-season meeting in the Motor City since 2016 when it was contested at the now-demolished Joe Louis Arena. 

The win, which also featured 36 saves from MSU's Trey Augustine, also clinched home ice in the Big Ten conference tournament for the ninth-ranked Spartans (20-7-3 overall), who took three of four games this regular season from No. 11 U-M (14-11-3) for the first time since 2009-10. That included Friday night's 5-1 victory in Ann Arbor in which five different Spartans scored goals.

MSU will host Ohio State for a pair of games this weekend at Munn Ice Arena, while U-M will visit Penn State.

NU, BU to Meet in 2024 Beanpot Final

It'll be an all-canine final affair again in the annual battle for Boston bragging rights.

Northeastern outlasted Harvard, 3-2, in overtime of the first semifinal of the 71st Beanpot tournament on Monday night at TD Garden, while third-ranked Boston University held on to edge No. 1 Boston College, 4-3 in the nightcap. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored just over a half-minute into the extra session to lift NU, while Ryan Greene's early third-period goal stood up as the game-winner for BU.

Northeastern has won four of the last five men's Beanpots, after last winning in 1988 prior to its current run. BU, which has won a record 31 Beanpots, last raised the trophy in 2022 when it defeated NU, 1-0, in the final. Monday's final will pit NU against BU for the Beanpot title for the 16th time in tournament history. The consolation game earlier that day will feature Harvard against BC for the first time since 2022.

R.I.P. Blaine Lacher

Former NCAA and NHL netminder Blaine Lacher (Lake Superior State) passed away late last month at the age of 53.

A native of Medicine Hat, Alta., Lacher backstopped Lake Superior to its most recent national title in 1994, the same season in which he set a still-standing NCAA shutout streak record at 375 minutes and one second. In three seasons with the Lakers, he recorded 49 wins along with a 2.45 goals-against average, eight shutouts and five assists. 

Lacher played two seasons in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, compiling a 22-16-4 overall record in 47 regular-season outings with a 2.80 GAA and four shutouts. He also played for Providence (AHL) and Cleveland (IHL) before finishing his professional career with expansion Grand Rapids (IHL) in 1996-97.

He leaves behind his father, two sisters, and a son.

Princeton Edges Army West Point, 4-3, in OT

Adam Robbins' goal with 27 seconds remaining in three-on-three overtime was the game-winner, as Princeton edged visiting Army West Point, 4-3, in a non-conference contest on Monday night at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. 

Army's Joey Baez had tied the game with just five seconds remaining in regulation, with goaltender Gavin Abric (25 saves) pulled for an extra attacker, before Robbins won it. Princeton's Ethan Pearson finished with 27 stops, including a spectacular diving glove save on a 2-on-1 rush to keep the host Tigers ahead at the time by a goal.

Princeton's Kevin Anderson opened the scoring early in the first period with his first career NCAA goal, before Brent Keefer tied it less than five minutes later. Jack Cronin connected on a power play late just four seconds before the first intermission to put the Tigers back on top, before Rick Lyle tied it again early in the second stanza for the Black Knights (7-18-1 overall). Kai Daniels then scored on a partial breakaway less than four minutes later to make it 3-2 for Princeton (7-11-2), and the score remained unchanged until Baez tied it on a one-timer from the left circle with time winding down.

Princeton defenseman Noah de la Durantaye finished with two assists, as did Army blueliner Mac Gadowsky, son of former Princeton and current Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky. The Black Knights outshot the Tigers, 30-29, but finished 1-for-7 on the power play. Princeton, which snapped a six-game losing streak with the victory, went 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

No. 2 BC Tops No. 1 BU, 4-1

In the first meeting between the current first and second-ranked teams in NCAA Division I men's hockey, it was the latter who came out on top.

Ryan Leonard tallied a goal and an assist, and Jacob Fowler made 26 saves as No. 2 Boston College upended No. 1 Boston University last night at BC's sold-out Conte Forum. The two Green Line rivals will rematch tonight at BU's Agganis Arena. Also in Hockey East last night, No. 10 Providence routed host UMass Lowell, 7-2, thanks to two goals and two assists from Bennett Schimek, in the first game of their two-game series.

In other top 10 results from Friday, No. 14 Michigan routed No. 3 Wisconsin, 5-1, as Frank Nazar III scored two goals and set up another for the Wolverines. Also in the Big Ten, No. 8 Michigan State got a shorthanded goal from Karson Dorwart with just under five minutes remaining in regulation to tie the game, before Daniel Russell scored with four seconds left to lift No. 8 Michigan State over No. 9 Minnesota, 3-2.

No. 5 North Dakota defeated No. 4 Denver, 5-2, in their NCHC match-up as the host Fighting Hawks got goals from five different skaters. The two will play again tonight at UND's Ralph Engelstad Arena Marson. Out east, Mason Marcellus' first-period goal stood up as the game-winner as No. 7 Quinnipiac blanked crosstown rival Yale, 1-0, in Hartford in the first round of the Connecticut Ice tournament. Quinnipiac will play UConn tonight for the title, while Yale will face Sacred Heart in the consolation.

ADDENDUM: BC, UND and Providence all completed sweeps, with BC moving to first in the national polls and UND taking over the second spot. Minnesota and Wisconsin gained splits in their respective series, while Quinnipiac won Connecticut Ice for the third straight season.

DU Pair Gets NHL Hat Tricks on Same Day

It was quite a day for two former University of Denver skaters on Saturday in NHL action.

Logan O'Connor tallied his first career hat trick, scoring the first and final goals of the contest, as the visiting Colorado Avalanche defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-4. The Missouri City, Texas native now has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in 45 games this season, and 33-46—79 points in 215 career NHL regular-season outings to date, all with the Avalanche. A member of Colorado's 2022 Stanley Cup championship team, O'Connor, 27, played for Denver from 2015 to 2018, notching 16-27—43 points over three seasons while winning an NCAA title with the Pioneers in 2017.

Danton Heinen, a former DU teammate of O'Connor's, notched his own three-goal effort on Saturday, including a power-play goal to end the game, as the Boston Bruins routed the visiting Montreal Canadiens, 9-4. The Langley, B.C. native has 8-9—17 points in 37 games with the Bruins so far this season, in his second stint with the club, and has accumulated 78-115—193 points in 450 career NHL regular-season appearances to date with Boston, Anaheim and Pittsburgh. Heinen, 28, collected 36-57—93 points in two years with DU (2014-16), and helped the Pioneers to the NCAA Frozen Four in his second and final collegiate campaign.