College Hockey Update:  What a weekend — last week presented 6 top-twenty matchups with twelve of the top twenty teams involved, and Denver held at #1 after hosting and sweeping Boston College, knocking BC down four spots to #10; Mankato State held at #2 after they hosted, settled on a tie, then beat North Dakota, and the Screaming Hawks held at #16 on the weekend.  Massachusetts edged up to #3 even after losing a game at Northeastern on Tuesday the 15th, as they went on to host and sweep Union College (Northeastern moved up four pegs to #11 in the poll after then tying Holy Cross Saturday night); and Wisconsin shot up thirteen notches to #6 after hosting and sweeping Minnesota-Duluth, which knocked UMD down five slots to #8.

Providence jumped up six spots to #7 after wins at St. Lawrence and at Clarkson, knocking Clarkson down three pegs to #13; and Bowling Green entered the top twenty at #17 after sweeping a home-and-home series against Western Michigan, knocking the Broncos down four notches to #18.  Elsewhere, Quinnipiac edged down to #9 after hosting and splitting with Maine; Pennsylvania State dropped down three slots to #12 after hosting and splitting with Alaska-Fairbanks; Ohio State dropped down three spots to #15 after hosting and splitting with Nebraska-Omaha; and Minnesota entered the top twenty at #20 after hosting and sweeping Niagara.  An idle Cornell edged up to #4; idle Notre Dame moved up two pegs to #5; idle St. Cloud State dropped three slots to #14; and idle Harvard held at #19.

COLLEGE HOCKEY UPDATE FEATURED PLAYER

Last weekend Mankato State had huge help from senior defenseman Edwin Hookenson, who scored a goal Friday night in his team’s 4-4 tie, and scored another goal Saturday night in his team’s 2-1 win, both at home against North Dakota.  Saturday night North Dakota scored eleven minutes into the first period for the 1-0 lead, and that’s how the first ended.  But Marc Michaelis scored for Mankato only 26 seconds into the second to knot it at one apiece, and only five minutes later Edwin Hookenson scored what proved to be the game winner, as Mankato prevailed 2-1.  In the third, North Dakota clearly heard the alarm, as they out-shot Manakto 14-3 (and 35-22 for the game), but Mankato goalie Dryden McKay was up to the task, and recorded 14 saves in the period, and 34 saves on the night.  In Friday night’s game Mankato had scored first, but North Dakota netted three unanswered goals to go up 3-1, before Edwin Hookenson scored to bring Mankato back into the game at 3-2 (note:  he also scored this goal five minutes into the second; weird, huh?).  North Dakota scored again in the second to extend the lead, 4-2, and then Mankato scored twice in the third to knot it at four apiece.  Neither team could get over the hump in OT.

The 6’0″ 195lb Hookenson hails from Lampman, Sask., and is tied for second on his team with two goals, and has not recorded an assist yet this season.  His two goals come from only four shots — note to coach:  have this guy take a lot more shots!  As a junior he recorded three goals and seven assists, and as a sophomore he recorded two goals and six assists.  His hometown of Lampman is a smaller town, with a population of 735.  That’s not a typo.  It was founded in 1910, and elevated to the status of a town in 1963.  Located in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan, its claim to fame is that it is only thirty miles northeast of Estevan.  That’s a town, not a guy; population there is 11,000.  Lampman is home to Gerry’s Grocery Store, The Harvest Cafe, an Esso Filling Station, Picture Perfect Painting Truck and Car Wash, Extreeme Limousine, The Lampman Curling Club, Source Energy Services, Max’s Bar and Restaurant, Lampman Meat Market and Locker, Carson Safety Services, LAB Oil Field Equipment Rentals, Spectra Credit Union, Lampman Recreation, the Lion’s Club Chilren’s Playground, a post office, The Lampman School, and the Lampman Cottages Motel.  I list all of that because I thought it was surprising that this many things existed in a town of only 735.  None of the businesses named paid any fee in exchange for being listed.

Mankato State, founded in 1868, is located in Mankato, of all places.  It enrolls 13,000 undergraduates and 1,800 graduate students.  The town of Mankato, founded in 1852, is home to its 43,000 residents.  Mankato State started its NCAA Hockey Team in the 1969-70 season, as a Division II team until 1984; they competed as a DIII team from the 1984-85 season until 1992, returning to DII from the 1992-93 season until 1996.  Mankato State became a DI team in the 1996-97 season, and have been in the WCHA since the 1999-2000 season.  Mike Hastings is in his eighth season as coach of Mankato State.  His teams have compiled a record of 186-80-22, and have earned five NCAA Tournament berths during his tenure.  Mankato State, ranked #2, is 3-0-1, and travels to play two at Alabama-Huntsville this weekend.

This weekend features 3 top fifteen matchups, as #6 Wisconsin hosts #13 Clarkson for two games; #7 Providence visits #10 Boston College for one game Friday night; and #11 Northeastern visits #14 St. Cloud State for two games.

This provides the top twenty teams, rankings, records, and last week’s results:

[table id=198 /]

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom