Bryan Hogan and Michigan beat Wisconsin and Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
It was a tough weekend for the nation's top teams, as none of the top eight escaped last week with a pair of victories. Top-ranked Miami faced two of its stiffest tests of the season. On Friday, the RedHawks were shut out for the first two periods, but got a pair of goals from junior forward Carter Camper in the third to tie the score against sixth-ranked Bemidji State - only to see senior forward Chris McKelvie jam home a rebound goal with less than three minutes remaining to give the Beavers a 3-2 victory. Junior defenseman Ryan Adams was plus-3 for BSU.

The Beavers could not finish off their weekend prefectly, though, as Ohio State got an overtime goal from Kyle Reed on Saturday to take a 2-1 decision over Bemidji. Miami faced the host school, No. 4 North Dakota, of the Subway Holiday Classic that same night and needed a pair of goals in the third to salvage a 5-5 draw against the Fighting Sioux. Freshman forward Danny Kristo had a pair of goals and an assist for UND, and MU freshman Reilly Smith matched that output and also finished with a plus-3 rating. All four games in the event drew over 11,000 fans each.

Elsewhere in the top five, No. 2 Denver got a pair of goals from junior forward Jesse Martin on Friday in a 5-3 win over St. Cloud State, but junior forward Tony Mosey had two goals the next night to lead the Huskies to a 3-2 upset. After rising to third in the national poll, UMass Lowell was winless in a pair of games last week. The second was a 3-1 defeat at Maine on Friday that saw junior forward Tanner House score a pair of goals for the Black Bears (who, incidentally, beat St. Lawrence 10-1 on Saturday). Fifth-ranked Colorado College got a shutout from freshman Joe Howe in a 5-0 pounding of Alaska Anchorage on Friday that ran the Tigers' winning streak to six. But on Saturday, CC needed a goal in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, and UAA freshman center Daniel Naslund scored a rebound goal in the extra session to give the Seawolves a 3-2 triumph.

The College Hockey Showcase in East Lansing produced some good hockey between four perennial powers. In the end, eighth-ranked host Michigan State was beaten twice - and has now lost three straight (following an eight-game unbeaten streak) - while unranked Michigan was the only team with two wins. On Friday, Wisconsin sophomore forward had a goal and four assists to lead the 15th-ranked Badgers to a 7-3 triumph against the Spartans. Goaltending was the story the next night, as MSU's Drew Palmisano stopped 40 shots and Minnesota's Kent Patterson made 37 saves in the Gophers' 2-1 win. Bryan Hogan helped Michigan post a 6-0 shutout of Minnesota on Friday, and the Wolverines knocked off the Badgers by a 3-2 score in their second game.

In other matchups of ranked teams, ninth-ranked Quinnipiac topped No. 10 Massachusetts in overtime by a 5-4 score, as senior Brandon Wong scored at 18:50 in the third to tie it (after UMass used four straight goals to take the lead) and then potted the game-winner in the extra session. Also, 18th-ranked Vermont edged No. 11 Yale 1-0 on Monday in a defensive battle that saw UVM senior Mike Spillane notch the shutout.

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WHAT'S IN STORE
With just two weeks left until most teams take a holiday sabbatical, we have a truly outstanding slate of games on tap this weekend. In fact, there will be a total of 11 games between nationally-ranked squds, with four of those pitting top-10 teams against each other and all of the top-four schools facing stiff tests. The marquee series of the weekend will be a WCHA home-and-home between the conference's current co-leaders: No. 2 Denver and No. 6 Colorado College. They will play on Friday at 7:37 p.m. MT in Colorado Springs and on Saturday at 7:07 p.m. in Denver. Both games will be televised by FSN Rocky Mountain. CC has held the upper hand in the series of late, taking the Gold Pan trophy in each of the last three years - though last season three of the four games ended in ties. The Tigers are unbeaten in their last six (3-0-3) against DU.

There are some other intriguing matchups, as well. The two highest-scoring teams in the nation - No. 4 Quinnipiac (4.31 goals per game) and No. 10 Yale (4.10) - will play on Friday in New Haven, while the goaltenders who are No. 1 and 2 in Division I in goals-against average - freshman Mike Johnson (1.35) from No. 14 Notre Dame and top-ranked Miami's Cody Reichard (1.59) - will have their teams face each other for two. Below is a complete listing of the matchups of ranked teams.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
Matchups Between Ranked Teams - All Times Eastern
Friday
No. 4 Quinnipiac at No. 10 Yale, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 15 Boston College at No. 9 Massachusetts, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 18 Nebraska-Omaha at No. 17 Ferris State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 1 Miami, 7:35 p.m. - TV: ONN/Comcast | Live Stats
No. 3 North Dakota at No. 12 Minnesota Duluth, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Communications | Live Stats
No. 2 Denver at No. 6 Colorado College, 9:37 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
Saturday
No. 18 Nebraska-Omaha at No. 17 Ferris State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 9 Massachusetts at No. 8 UMass Lowell, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 1 Miami, 7:05 p.m. - TV: ONN/Comcast | Live Stats
No. 3 North Dakota at No. 12 Minnesota Duluth, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Communications | Live Stats
No. 6 Colorado College at No. 2 Denver, 9:07 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats

Joe Colborne and Denver swept No. 2 North Dakota

The clash of the titans in Denver did not disappoint, but the third-ranked Pioneers were able to pull off a sweep of No. 2 North Dakota behind some outstanding goaltending from junior Marc Cheverie. On Friday, he made 34 saves and pitched his nation-leading fourth shutout of the season, while freshman forward Drew Shore provided the game's only score. North Dakota scored the first two goals on Saturday, but DU would rally thanks to a phenomenal effort from sophomore forward Joe Colborne. He scored twice early in the second and then provided the primary assist on a goal by junior forward Kyle Ostrow that would prove to be the game-winner. Colborne had several other chances and finished the game having put 11 shots on goal. UND had the apparent game-tying goal waived off with 43.9 seconds left in the game, and Denver held on for victory in a game where all five goals were scored with a man advantage. Both games drew capacity crowds of greater than 6,000.

Cheverie - a 2006 draft pick of the Florida Panthers - has been undisputedly the most-impressive goaltender in college hockey this season. He stands 7-0-0 and holds healthy leads among all DI players in both goals-against average (1.19; next best is 1.45) and save percentage (.961; next is .943).

The other series between ranked teams over the weekend saw 14th-ranked Notre Dame cool off one of the hottest teams in the country, No. 6 Michigan State. On Thursday, both defenses fluorished and the result was a 1-1 draw that eventually saw the Fighting Irish prevail in the shootout. The rivals - who played in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in both 2007 and '08 - then faced off on Sunday in one of the venues that will host an NCAA regional this season, the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. In that contest, MSU had a 28-16 advantage in shots, but Notre Dame posted a 4-1 victory that was highlighted by senior defenseman Kyle Lawson recording a pair of assists and finishing with a plus-4 rating.

Fifth-ranked Cornell had a big weekend of action and split its games against ranked squads. The Big Red scored the game's first four goals and eventually won by a 5-2 score over 19th-ranked Princeton on Friday. Senior Blake Gallagher (2-1) and junior Joe Devin (0-3) led Cornell offensively and both finished with plus-3 ratings, while senior Cam MacIntyre had both goals for the Tigers. On Saturday, No. 13 Quinnipiac took control early and survived a pair of late goals by Cornell to take a 3-2 road victory that would propel the Bobcats to a program-best national ranking of ninth this week. QU then stayed hot, scoring five times in the second period - including two markers from freshman defenseman Loren Barron - en route to a 5-1 victory against Princeton on Wednesday. It was Quinnipiac's seventh consecutive victory and gave the Tigers a four-game winless streak (0-3-1).

One team to top Princeton during that stretch was Colgate. On Saturday, the Tigers tied the game at 18:36 of the third, but junior forward Francois Brisebois netted his second goal of the game two minutes into overtime to give the Raiders a 5-4 victory. Princeton - which had won six in a row against Colgate - held a hefty 47-27 advantage in shots and got a pair of goals from Dan Bartlett. That propelled the Raiders into this week's national rankings at No. 20, but now-No. 7 Cornell scored twice in the final six minutes to earn a 4-2 win over Colgate on Tuesday night. CU, which was playing a (different) ranked team for the fourth consecutive game, took 10 more shots (30-20) than the Big Red.

Also on Tuesday, No. 10 Massachusetts trailed 18th-ranked Vermont 2-1 in the second before scoring five straight goals for a 6-2 win. Sophomore forward Casey Wellman had a hat trick, while junior forward James Marcou assisted on five of the UMass goals. On the same night, Providence upset UMass Lowell, which had moved up to No. 3 in this week's rankings, by a 4-2 score. Senior defenseman Mark Fayne led the Friars, setting up PC's first three goals and scoring its final tally to finish with a plus-2 rating.

Top-ranked Miami extended its unbeaten streak to eight in a weekend series at Western Michigan. On Friday, the RedHawks killed off all seven Western Michigan power plays, netted a pair of shorthanded goals, limited the Broncos to only 15 shots on goal and got a shutout from sophomore Cody Reichard in a 3-0 decision. The teams generated many more offensive opportunities on Saturday (73 combined shots, as opposed to 39 on Friday), but strong goaltending by both MU's Connor Knapp (29 saves) and WMU's Riley Gill (42 saves) had the game end in a 1-1 tie. Miami then took the shootout.

In another CCHA series, Northern Michigan put together a sweep of 12th-ranked Nebraska-Omaha. The Wildcats - which earned a win and a tie on the road agaisnt Notre Dame the previous weekend - got a pair of goals on Friday from sophomore forward Justin Florek en route to a 5-1 win. In the finale, the game was tied 3-3 in the third before NMU netted three straight to close out the scoring. Junior forward Mark Olver had two goals and an assist and was a plus-3.

No. 10 Alaska looked to be on its way to being swept, as well. The Nanooks lost 4-3 at Lake Superior on Friday and were down 2-0 heading into the final period the next night, but senior center Dion Knelsen scored twice in the third and junior defenseman Bryant Molle did so with 49 seconds left in OT to salvage a 3-2 win. Two other ranked teams also had to settle for splits over the weekend in conference action. No. 15 Wisconsin lost by a 4-1 score to St. Cloud State on Friday, but rebounded for a win by the same score the next evening. No. 16 Michigan lost 4-2 to Bowling Green before prevailing 4-1 in the series finale.

The entire college hockey world will be focused on Denver this weekend, as the third-ranked Pioneers (6-3-1, 4-1-1 WCHA) will play host to No. 2 North Dakota (7-2-1, 5-2-1) in a matchup of elites. Friday's game gets going at 7:37 p.m. MT and will be televised by FSN Rocky Mountain, while Saturday starts at 7:07 p.m. MT. The Fighting Sioux are 4-1-1 in their last five games against DU.

Elsewhere, No. 5 Cornell has a big weekend, as the Big Red will play host to 19th-ranked Princeton on Friday night and then No. 13 Quinnipiac on Saturday. No. 6 Michigan State and 14th-ranked Notre Dame - which played to a 1-1 draw before the Irish won the shootout on Thursday in East Lansing - will face off again on Sunday in Fort Wayne, Ind., in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, one of the sites of NCAA Championship action this season. The other game on Thursday also was exciting, as James Marcou eventually scored with just over a minute remaining in overtime to give 11th-ranked UMass a 4-3 triumph on the road against No. 9 Yale.

Drew Palmisano and Michigan State swept No. 6 Michigan last week and face No. 14 Notre Dame this weekend

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A stunning number of ranked teams finished last weekend the same way - with one win and one loss. In fact, there were just four ranked teams that posted wins in both of their games last weekend: No. 5 UMass Lowell, No. 10 Colorado College, No. 13 Michigan State and No. 20 Quinnipiac. The most-impressive, by far, of those sweeps was the one pulled off by the Spartans - who beat sixth-ranked Michigan 3-2 and 2-0 in a home-and-home series. MSU snapped a six-game losing streak against its archrival on Friday in front of a sellout crowd of 6,833 in Ann Arbor and then sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano registered a shutout the next night at home in front of a capacity crowd of 7,009. It marked Michigan State's first weekend sweep of the Wolverines since the 1997-98 season.

The other series between ranked teams ended in a split. On Friday, No. 15 Vermont and 16th-ranked Boston College were tied at 1-1 in the first period before the Eagles exploded for six unanswered goals en route to a 7-1 victory. Sophomore forward Jimmy Hayes recorded four assists, and freshman defenseman Brian Dumoulin finished with a plus-3 rating to lead BC - which was outshot 31-19. The next night it was the Catamounts that got a victory despite being outshot, as BC had a 32-25 edge in shots but UVM won 3-2.

Heading into the weekend, there were still two Division I teams that had yet to be beaten - but both of them suffered defeats. The first came on Friday in a matchup of ECAC elites, as 12th-ranked Yale topped No. 3 Cornell by a 4-2 score. Junior forward Brendan Mason scored at 15:35 in the third to break a 2-2 deadlock, and the Bulldogs then added an empty-netter. That left No. 7 Bemidji State, at 7-0-1, as the lone unbeaten, and the Beavers were trying to accomplish something they had never done before: beat Minnesota. BSU scored first on Saturday, but the Gophers would respond with four straight goals for a 4-1 home victory in front of 10,198 fans. Bemidji finally broke through the following night, though, getting a pair of goals from sophomore forward Jamie McQueen in a 6-2 triumph over the Gophers - the first for BSU in eight all-time meetings.

The nation's top two teams both had difficulty in conference action. No. 1 Miami ran its unbeaten string to six, but tied and then lost in a shootout in both of its games against Ferris State. On Friday, Blair Riley scored with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to help the Bulldogs earn a 2-2 tie. The following night, the final was 1-1 before Ferris State finally prevailed in a shootout that went 11 rounds, a CCHA record. Ferris killed off all eight MU power plays in the series. Second-ranked North Dakota finished with a conventional split, first getting a pair of goals from David Toews in a 4-2 win over St. Cloud State, before losing 3-2 the next night despite holding a 49-28 advantage in shots. Both games in Grand Forks drew crowds of greater than 11,700.

Northern Michigan came into the weekend with a 2-5-1 mark on the season, but the Wildcats got a win and a tie (shootout loss) on the road against No. 8 Notre Dame. On Friday, the Fighting Irish outshot NMU 38-18, but Northern Michigan won 3-2. The Wildcats scored the game's first two goals the next night, but sophomore right wing Billy Maday scored twice to salvage a tie for the Fighting Irish.

There were five other ranked teams that split with unranked teams over the weekend. No. 9 Alaska lost 3-1 to Bowling Green on Friday, but came back for a 5-3 win the following day. Another CCHA squad, 11th-ranked Nebraska-Omaha, rode senior goaltender Jeremie Dupont in a 4-0 shutout of Lake Superior on Friday, but the Lakers struck back in a 3-1 decision in the series finale. No. 14 Massachusetts split with New Hampshire, winning 4-3 before falling 4-2. Also in Hockey East, 17th-ranked Boston University uas knocked off by Merrimack in a 6-3 decision, but came back for a 6-4 win. No. 18 Minnesota Duluth was edged 3-2 by Michigan Tech, but then made a statement with an 8-1 victory against the Huskies. Junior winger Justin Fontaine - who leads the nation in goal scoring, with 11 - had four goals and an assist in that game.

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TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT
We are treated to a pair of big Thursday-night matchups between ranked teams this week. The team that leads Division I in victories (9) and boasts the nation's longest current unbeaten streak (6-0-1), No. 6 Michigan State, has a big home test tonight against 14th-ranked Notre Dame. The Spartans sit atop the CCHA standings and are the top scoring team in the league, while the Fighting Irish are one of just seven teams surrendering fewer than two goals per game this season (1.92). MSU features the CCHA's top scorer - junior forward Corey Tropp (9-7-16) - and the top-scoring defenseman - junior Jeff Petry (1-9-10) - while Notre Dame freshman goaltender Mike Johnson ranks fourth nationally in both goals-against average (1.61) and save percentage (.941). These teams - who will also play Sunday in Fort Wayne, Ind., at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, which will play host to an NCAA regional this season - have met twice recently in the NCAA tournament, with Michigan State prevailing 2-1 in the 2007 quarterfinals en route to claiming the national title and the Irish winning 3-1 in the same round the following year. ND has won three straight against MSU after the Spartans had been 8-1-1 in the previous 10 games in the series.

In a non-conference matchup, defending ECAC champion and ninth-ranked Yale will play host to the surprise early leader in Hockey East, No. 11 Massachusetts, in what will be the first meeting between these New England schools since 1997. It will match up two of the early national leaders in points per game, as UMass junior forward James Marcou leads Hockey East and is tied for sixth nationally at 1.56 (3-11-14 in 9 games) - while Yale junior Broc Little has eight points (5-3) in five games thus far to rank fifth in DI at 1.60.

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TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
All Times Eastern
No. 11 Massachusetts at No. 9 Yale, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 6 Michigan State, 7:05 p.m. - TV: Comcast | Live Stats

Adam Shemansky scored twice in Maine's upset of No. 10 Vermont

The marquee series of the weekend did not disappoint, as the teams favored to finish atop Hockey East this season - No. 4 Boston University and No. 9 UMass Lowell - both battled to road victories against each other. On Friday, BU sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky scored twice (including once on the penalty kill) and had a plus-3 rating to lead the Terriers, and junior blueliner Colby Cohen - who scored the overtime game-winner in last season's NCAA title game - came through with an OT goal to give BU a 5-4 win in front of 5,496 fans. The River Hawks struck back the next night in a 3-2 decision in Boston. Senior forward Paul Worthington had two assists for UML.

The Ivy League schools finally began their 2009-10 campaigns over this weekend - meaning that all 58 Division I teams have now played regular-season games. Two of the Ivies hooked up in a big early matchup on Saturday, and seventh-ranked Yale scored four times in the third to rally from a 2-1 deficit for a 5-2 victory on the road against No. 11 Princeton. Junior forward Denny Kearney had three assists and junior defenseman Mike Matczak finished with a plus-4 rating to lead the Bulldogs.

Top-ranked Miami continued to roll with a road sweep against Northern Michigan. The RedHawks scored the game's first four goals - including two tallies in 41 seconds by junior forward Justin Vaive - and held on for a 4-3 triumph on Friday. Sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard, now 5-0-1 on the season, then made 24 saves the following night to lead MU to a 2-1 win.

No. 2 Denver had to settle for three points in its home series with Minnesota State. The Pioneers got two goals and an assist from junior forward Jesse Martin in a 4-3 win on Friday. The next night, freshman forward Tyler Pitlick had a pair of goals for the Mavericks, and DU needed a late tally from junior forward Kyle Ostrow to earn a 4-4 draw. Both games drew crowds of greater than 5,300 fans.

The biggest upset of the weekend occurred on Friday in Orono, as Maine - which came into the game with a 1-5-0 record - posted a 4-1 home victory against 10th-ranked Vermont. The Black Bears scored three times on the power play - including two goals from freshman forward Adam Shemansky - and also got 31 saves from sophomore Scott Darling. The Catamounts took all three meetings with Maine last season.

Three ranked teams - No. 13 Boston College, 17th-ranked Massachusetts and No. 18 Quinnipiac - earned multiple-goal victories on Friday, but then were knocked off in the second game of the series. BC doubled Merrimack's shot toal (36-18) on Friday in a 4-3 win in its home opener, but the Warriors would strike back on home ice in a 5-3 decision. It ended a 20-game winless streak (0-16-4) against the Eagles for Merrimack - which beat BC for the first time since Feb. 15, 2003, and stands 5-0 at home this season. Merrimack junior forward Chris Barton scored his seventh goal of the season on Saturday - which puts him in a tie (with Justin Fontaine of Minnesota Duluth and Michigan State's Corey Tropp) for tops among DI players.

UMass got goals from five different players in a 5-3 road victory over Providence on Friday that gave the Minutemen their first 4-0-0 start in six years. But sophomore goaltender Alex Beaudry stole the series finale for the Friars, making a career-high 47 saves in PC's 2-1 win that saw UMass hold a 48-28 shot edge. It was the second win over a ranked team already this season for the Friars, who split a series at Notre Dame last month.

Quinnipiac dominated Robert Morris on Friday, as freshman goaltender Eric Hartzell led the Bobcats to a 5-0 victory. It would be a different story for the Colonials the next night, though, as Robert Morris got a school-record four goals from junior forward Nathan Longpre - as well as a program-record 58 saves from freshman goaltender Eric Levine in an 8-5 upset win. Quinnipiac outshot RMU 105-53 in the series, but could manage just a split.

Eighth-ranked Notre Dame and No. 12 Nebraska-Omaha both had to settle for a win and a tie in CCHA series. The Irish topped Ohio State 3-1 on Friday before tying 2-2 the next night. The Mavericks tied Bowling Green, 3-3, on Friday and won 3-1 over the Falcons the next night.

No. 14 Bemidji State came home with a road sweep to remain unbeaten (5-0-1), but it wasn't easy. The Beavers took a pair of 2-1 overtime decisions against Alabama-Huntsville. Junior forward Matt Read had three of BSU's four goals.

Eric Lampe and Quinnipiac began the season with an upset win

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Highlights from Last Night
Quinnipiac - which was chosen to finish eighth in the conference by ECAC coaches (and 11th by the media) - made a big opening-night statement, scoring three times in the third to rally for a 4-2 road upset of No. 17 Ohio State. Senior forward Eric Lampe had a pair of goals for the Bobcats. In the other Thursday game, sophomore defenseman Matt Irwin scored twice and junior forward James Marcou added four assists as UMass beat Rensselaer 5-2.

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WEEKEND PREVIEW
A Look at the Biggest Matchups
• Thirteen of the 20 teams in the USCHO/CBS College Sports rankings begin regular-season play this weekend, including five of the top six (No. 3 Boston University has an exhibition game on Saturday before playing its opener next Friday).
• A pair of top-five teams will face big challenges immediately, as top-ranked Denver welcomes No. 14 Vermont for two games and fourth-ranked Miami will play two at home against No. 15 St. Cloud State.
• The Pioneers are No. 1 for the first time since the preseason poll of the 2005-06 season. After winning NCAA championships in both 2004 and '05, DU went on to finish 21-15-3 and miss the NCAA tournament that season.
• DU will face a Vermont team that reached the Frozen Four a season ago. UVM begins this season the same way it ended the last campaign - facing the top-ranked team in the nation. The Catamounts lost 5-4 to BU in the semis.
• Both Denver and Vermont played Calgary in exhibition play and came away with 3-2 victories. The Catamounts also lost by a 3-2 score to New Brunswick in exhibition action.
• Miami - which has the best winning percentage of any Division I team since 2005-06, at .689 - is ranked first in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll, but is fourth in the USCHO/CBS College Sports listing and was chosen to finish third in the CCHA by both the league coaches and media.
• The last time Miami and St. Cloud State played, it was a thrilling game with current senior forward Jarod Palmer netting the game-winning goal in overtime in a 2-1 decision on Dec. 29, 2007, in the Ohio Hockey Classic.
• Another interesting matchup pits the defending champions of Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America, No. 19 Air Force and Bemidji State. Both squads put together great NCAA tournament runs last season, with Bemidji State advancing all the way to the Frozen Four and Air Force shutting out fourth-seeded Michigan in the opening round and losing in double-overtime in the quarterfinals.
• The game will feature a battle of brothers, as Air Force coach Frank Serratore is the older sibling of Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore. Tom holds an 18-4-2 edge in head-to-head coaching matchups with his brother.
• Air Force dominated Bemidji State in two games last season, winning at home by scores of 6-2 and 6-0, but the Falcons are just 1-13-2 all-time in Bemidji.
• Other intriguing matchups include No. 18 Minnesota Duluth playing host to Northern Michigan (the first team outside of the Top 20), as well as No. 20 Northeastern playing a pair at Colorado College.

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WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top-20 and Television Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, October 9
No. 11 UMass Lowell vs. St. Lawrence (Omaha, NE), 5:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Quinnipiac at No. 17 Ohio State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Clarkson at Michigan State, 7:05 p.m. - TV: Comcast Television | Live Stats
Lake Superior State at No. 18 Minnesota Duluth, 7:07 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 15 St. Cloud State at No. 4 Miami, 7;35 p.m. - Live Stats
Alabama-Huntsville at No. 5 Notre Dame, 7:35 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Merrimack at No. 6 North Dakota, 8:37 p.m. TV: Fighting Sioux Sports Network & Fox College Sports Atlantic & DirecTV 617 | Live Stats
No. 19 Air Force at Bemidji State, 8:35 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 Michigan vs. Alaska (Anchorage, AK), 9:07 p.m. - TV: KFXF | Live Stats
No. 14 Vermont at No. 1 Denver, 9:37 p.m. - TV: FSN Rocky Mountain | Live Stats
No. 20 Northeastern at Colorado College, 9:37 p.m. - Live Stats
Mercyhurst at Alaska Anchorage, 12:07 a.m. - TV: GCI | Free Video | Live Stats
Saturday, October 10
No. 11 UMass Lowell vs. Army or Nebraska-Omaha (Omaha, NE), 5:05 or 8:05 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 16 New Hampshire at Rensselaer, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Holy Cross at Providence, 7 p.m. - TV: Cox Sports | Live Stats
No. 15 St. Cloud State at No. 4 Miami, 7:05 p.m. - TV: Ohio News Network | Live Stats
Alabama-Huntsville at No. 5 Notre Dame, 7:05 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 19 Air Force at Bemidji State, 8:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Alaska vs. Mercyhurst (Anchorage, AK), 8:07 p.m. - TV: KFXF | Live Stats
Merrimack at No. 6 North Dakota, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Fighting Sioux Sports Network & Fox College Sports Central & DirecTV 617 | Live Stats
Bowling Green at Minnesota State, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter | Live Stats
No. 14 Vermont at No. 1 Denver, 9:07 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 20 Northeastern at Colorado College, 9:37 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 Michigan at Alaska Anchorage, 11:07 p.m. - TV: GCI | Free Video | Live Stats
Sunday, October 11
Northern Michigan at No. 18 Minnesota Duluth, 7:07 p.m. - Live Stats

We got our first look at many teams over the last several days, even though they were only playing exhibition games. Still, let's take a look at some of the more noteworthy results since there will be no more action before the puck drops for the regular season on Thursday.

Alaska Anchorage began the exhibition season with a 9-0 victory over SAIT Polytechnic. The Seawolves found the net on 36% of their 25 shots and scored six power-play tallies. Jon Olthuis and Bryce Christianson combined in goal to give UAA the shutout.

Holy Cross and Northern Michigan both exploded offensively in their victories. The Crusaders scored seven times on the power play and got a hat trick from Rob Linsmayer in a 12-3 victory over Royal Military College. The Wildcats gave up the game's first goal, but then dominated the rest of the way in an 11-2 triumph over Ryerson. Kory Kaunisto netted a hat trick for NMU.

Brady Hjelle and Kenny Reiter combined for one of just three shutouts across the country, as Minnesota Duluth beat British Columbia 4-0. Three UMass Lowell goaltenders - Carter Hutton, Nevin and Michael Heffron - combined to blank Acadia in a 3-0 decision.

Denver - which is ranked No. 1 in the USCHO/CBS College Sports preseason poll (we'll take a closer look at the listing tomorrow) - took a three-goal lead against Calgary before giving up a pair of late markers in a 3-2 victory. Rhett Rakhshani had three assists for the Pioneers.

Five schools suffered exhibition defeats, and two more had to settle for ties. New Brunswick had a perfect weekend playing spoiler, first using three first-period goals en route to a 3-2 win over UMass on Saturday before scoring with 30 seconds remaining in overtime for a 3-2 upset of No. 14 Vermont on Sunday. Ohio State allowed the game-winner in the third period in a 3-2 loss to Western Ontario. Both Sacred Heart and Ferris State held huge shot advantages in their games, but end up losing. The Pioneers outshot St. Thomas 41-23, but fell 5-3, while the Bulldogs had a 56-26 edge in shots against Wilfred Laurier in a 3-1 defeat. On Saturday, Rensselaer scored twice late to salvage a 3-3 tie with PEI and defending NCAA champion Boston University tied 2-2 against St. Francis Xavier - though the Terriers had a 53-16 edge in shots and did not give up a goal while top goaltender Kieran Millan was between the pipes.

Jared Tuton and Alaska Anchorage play the exhibition opener tonight.

Hello everyone and welcome to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey blog! From now until the 2010 national champion is crowned in Detroit in April, I'll be providing previews of upcoming matchups, reviews of the biggest action, analysis and breakdowns of the rankings, as well as highlighting milestones and accomplishments and pointing out news and notes.

The exhibition season gets underway tonight at 7:07 p.m. AT, with Alaska Anchorage taking on SAIT Polytechnic in Wasilla. There are 18 more exhibition games scheduled tomorrow, plus 16 on Sunday and three on Monday. The first regular-season contests are set for next Thursday, as Ohio State plays host to Quinnipiac and Rensselaer travels to UMass.

Defending NCAA champion Boston University faces St. Francis Xavier on Saturday in the first of two exhibition games for the Terriers, who begin the regular season on Oct. 16 at Massachusetts. Among the early tests for BU will be home games against Notre Dame (Oct. 20) and Michigan (Oct. 24).

Last year's NCAA runner-up, Miami - which is ranked No. 1 in the preseason USA Today/USA Hockey poll - will play its only exhibition game on Saturday against Windsor before opening the regular season next weekend with two home games against 13th-ranked St. Cloud State. Among the other great matchups next weekend are a pair of games between No. 2 Denver and 15th-ranked Vermont.

Over the next few weeks, we'll take a look at the preseason national rankings, the preseason predictions in each conference, some offseason changes across the country, as well as a detailed look at which former collegians made NHL opening-day rosters. But for now, enjoy the first weekend of the return of college hockey ... even if they are just exhibition games.