Posted on Posted in Minnesota State Mavericks, NCHC, St. Cloud State Huskies, WCHA
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A little over 50 years ago in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the Huskies hosted the hockey team from Mankato. The southern Minnesota team we currently know as the Minnesota State Mavericks were known as the Mankato State University Indians when this game occurred. St. Cloud State games at that time were played outdoors on campus. This January 1971 game took place towards the end of the outdoor game era in St. Cloud as they moved indoors to the Municipal Athletic Complex in the early 1970s. The two teams split the series in St. Cloud during the second-to-last weekend in January that year. The accompanying photo was taken at one point during these two games. In it, Paul Oberstar skates with the puck for the Huskies as the two teams look on in front of a snowy embankment. These two programs faced each other four times in a row at this point in the 1970-71 schedule with Mankato winning three. This game took place two years prior to the designation of Divisions within the NCAA. However, both of these teams at the time were effectively Division II-equivalent programs. St. Cloud State made the leap to Division I in 1987 and Minnesota State followed suit in 1996. St. Cloud State and Minnesota State were WCHA foes for 14 seasons before conference realignment in 2013. Up until now, they have never faced one another within the NCAA Division I National Tournament. That streak will end Thursday as they face off against each other in the first semifinal game of the 2021 Frozen Four. The Huskies and Mavericks are both looking for their first Division I men’s hockey championship.

Image courtesy of the St. Cloud State University Archives.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Michigan Wolverines, Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, NCHC
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As the de facto home team in the 2011 Frozen Four, Minnesota Duluth made itself at home in St. Paul. In what is currently the most recent championship game decided in overtime, UMD won its first national title when Kyle Schmidt scored 3:22 into overtime. The Bulldogs had been less than three minutes away from winning it in regulation but Jeff Rohrkemper tied the game at 2 for Michigan. The only #1 seed that made to the Frozen Four that year was North Dakota. Both UMD and Notre Dame were 3 seeds and Michigan a 2 seed. The Wolverines shocked the crowd in the semifinals when they blanked North Dakota 2-0. UMD defeated the Fighting Irish 4-3 to stamp their ticket to the championship game. This was the first of three trophies UMD won in the 2010s. The Bulldogs’ second championship also took place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul seven years later in 2018. For the first time since this overtime thriller in 2011, Minnesota Duluth and Michigan will meet Friday afternoon in Fargo. The winner of this 2021 opening round game will face the winner of North Dakota and American International.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Boston College Eagles, Hockey East, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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Boston College and Notre Dame first met on the ice in 1969. In a rivalry that spans multiple decades and conferences, the meeting between the two Catholic schools is referred to as the Holy War on Ice. In 2008, this game’s importance vaulted to a whole new level when the two teams met on the biggest stage: the NCAA Division I men’s championship. It was the first time the two teams met in the NCAA tournament. After a scoreless first period, the Eagles jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second period. Notre Dame answered back with a goal but it wasn’t enough as Boston College added one more in the final period and won the game 4-1. It was Boston College’s third championship at the time. It also marked the first time the Fighting Irish played in the title game. The same two teams were scheduled to meet this weekend in the opening round of the 2021 NCAA tournament but Notre Dame dropped out of the tournament two days prior to the game due to COVID protocols. It would have been the first time the programs met in the NCAA tournament since this championship game in Denver on April 12, 2008.

Posted on Posted in Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, NCHC, St. Cloud State Huskies
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Two years ago on March 23, 2019, Minnesota Duluth outlasted St. Cloud State in two overtimes to become 2019 Frozen Faceoff Champions. The game set the record for the longest game in Frozen Faceoff history falling just short of the overall NCHC record for longest game played within the conference. Billy Exell tied the game 2-2 for UMD on a short handed goal with under five minutes remaining in the third period. After a scoreless extra session, Nick Swaney capped off a 2-on-1 breakaway in the second overtime period to give the Bulldogs their second Frozen Faceoff championship in three years. At the time of the game, the Huskies were ranked #1 in the country and favored to beat the #4 ranked Bulldogs. Minnesota Duluth carried over their postseason win streak to the NCAA tournament and ultimately captured the program’s first back-to-back national championship after defeating UMass in the title game.

Posted on Posted in Connecticut Huskies, Hockey East, Providence Friars
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On February 11, 2014, UConn earned the program’s first win over a top 10 team when it defeated #9 Providence 3-2. The Tuesday night upset took place at Schneider Arena in Providence, Rhode Island. In the accompanying photo, senior Billy Latta follows the puck in the net after he scores the game-winning goal in the third period. Connecticut senior Matt Grogan set a team record by making an astounding 58 saves throughout the three periods of hockey. These same two teams will meet this weekend in Storrs, Connecticut in the Hockey East Quarterfinals. UConn holds a 2-1 season series lead after a 5-3 win just last week.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Michigan Wolverines, Minnesota Golden Gophers
Michigan defeats Minnesota in Minneapolis on Jan. 6, 1951, by a score of 6-4. Photo courtesy of the Star Tribune via the Minnesota Historical Society.
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Minnesota hosted Michigan at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on January 6, 1951. In the second game of the series, the Wolverines completed the sweep by defeating the Golden Gophers 6-4. Michigan was victorious the night before when they won 5-4 in overtime. These two teams face off against each other this weekend in Minneapolis during the final weekend of the regular season. Minnesota has a chance to claim the Big Ten regular season championship for the first time since 2017. The regular season banner would also give the team a first round bye in the conference tournament. The Gophers currently lead the season series 2-0 after they swept the Wolverines in Ann Arbor in December.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes
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Michigan and Ohio State met in Cleveland on Jan. 15, 2012, during the Frozen Diamond Faceoff at Progressive Field. An attendance of 25,864 saw the #13 Wolverines defeat the #2 Buckeyes by a score of 4-1. The rivals were a part of the CCHA when this game was held; prior to the creation of the Big Ten hockey conference in 2013. This game would be the last time the teams met during the season. In the accompanying photo, Michigan players celebrate a first period goal from Chris Brown. The two teams will meet for the last time this regular season when they begin a two-game series this Friday in Columbus.

Posted on Posted in ECAC, Harvard Crimson, Hockey East, Northeastern Huskies

In a game that took place nearly three years before the first Beanpot Tournament, Northeastern and Harvard met on the ice on January 16, 1950. Harvard outlasted Northeastern 5-4. It was technically a home game for Harvard even though both teams called Boston Arena their home rink at the time. Harvard would later win the inaugural Beanpot Tournament (then known as the New England Invitational Tournament) between the four Boston teams on December 27, 1952. Northeastern has won the last three Beanpot Tournaments. The 2021 Beanpot championship game would have taken place tonight but the tournament has been cancelled due to COVID. Northeastern will look to make it four in a row in 2022. Despite there only being four teams in the tournament, these two teams have never faced each other in the Beanpot Final.

Photo courtesy of Herb Gallagher, in the Northeastern University Photography records at the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

Posted on Posted in ECAC, Harvard Crimson
Harvard Stadium hockey in 1920

During the first seven seasons of Harvard hockey, the team primarily played in a rink on Holmes Field when hosting games on campus. Prior to the start of the 1904-05 season, Harvard built two rinks on the field within the newly-created Harvard Stadium. This allowed for considerably more spectators to attend the games. Harvard also charged admission for high-profile games. The Crimson would go on to win the Intercollegiate Hockey Association of America title that year; their third of four championships in a row.

Photo Credit: Harvard Library Archives

Posted on Posted in Colorado College Tigers, Denver Pioneers, NCHC

Intrastate rivals Denver and Colorado College are shown here at the old University of Denver Arena in the 1950s. The two teams first met on the ice in 1950 during Denver’s inaugural year of fielding a team. In the game featured in this photo, Denver wore white sweaters while Colorado College wore gold. In 1993, the Pioneers and Tigers established a Gold Pan trophy to be awarded every season to the team that wins the most head-to-head regular season games between the two teams. The season series this year is currently split 1-1. However, the chase for the Gold Pan will need to wait a little longer because the series that was supposed to happen over the weekend has been postponed due to COVID. The two teams are slated to play six regular season games this year instead of the typical four due to an all-conference schedule.

Photo Credit: Digital Collections at DU