College hockey kicked off in some form this weekend and here is how the Men’s teams around the state of Minnesota faired:
SUNDAY OCTOBER 8:
The Huskies got revenge from an opening day loss with a goal by Sophomore Adam Ingram, (drafted by Nashville 83rd overall in 2022). The Tommies did outshoot the Huskies 33-19 but could not get one past goaltender Dominic Basse. (Drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 167th overall in 2019)
Augustana had a tough opening weekend however coach Garret Raboin is very excited about the future of his program. Wisconsin would outshoot the Vikings 44-18 in this 3-0 win.
Minnesota’s young stars showed up in this exhibition game vs the Bemidji State Beavers. Oliver Moore got the Party started with his first two college hockey goals, Rhett Pitlick would also score two goals and Bryce Brodzinski would add one. Scoring for the Beavers was Jere Vaisanen and Carter Jones. Minnesota skater Mason Nevers would leave the game after taking a big hit at center ice, hopefully he is ok. Former Minnesota High School hockey player Zach Wiese would see his first college playing time in net for the Gophers, he would allow 2 goals on 14 shots to secure the win for the U of M.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 7:
St. Cloud State 4
University of St. Thomas 5
This was a fun season opening game for both teams, Barrett Hall (Gentry Academy) would get his first college Hockey goal for the Huskies in the overtime loss. Other scorers for the Huskies were Dylan Anhorn, Zach Okabe, and Veeti Miettinen. The goal scorers for the Tommies were Jake Braccini (Buffalo MN), Cameron Recchi, Luke Manning, Matt Gleason (Cretin Derham Hall) and the overtime game winning goal was scored by Ryder Donovan (Duluth East Minnesota) This was a huge opening night win for the Tommies and they are going to be a team to keep an eye on in College Hockey.
Michigan Tech 2
University of MN Duluth 2
Michigan Tech heads into the regular season ranked 13th overall and they are one of the favorites to win the CCHA. UMD would score first when Luke Loheit (Minnetonka Minnesota) would put them up 1-0 after the first period. Michigan tech would tie it up in the 2nd period and each would score again in the 3rd, (Anthony Menghini North Star Christian Academy in Alexandria MN) This game would end up a 2-2 tie.
Minnesota State Mankato 0
Omaha 1
This was a relatively quiet game with just 1 goal scored by Omaha. Minnesota State will be an interesting team to watch this season as they continue to rebuild with new head coach Luke Strand. The Mavericks will play St. Cloud State University next weekend.
Wisconsin 4
Augustana 0
Wisconsin impressed in head coach Mike Hastings debut. Hastings comes across the boarder from Minnesota State Mankato where he built a very successful hockey program.
