College Hockey Update:. Last week presented two top-twelve matchups, and Denver edged down to #2 after visiting, tying, and losing to Minnesota-Duluth, which edged the Bulldogs up to #6; and Notre Dame edged up to #4 after hosting and sweeping Ohio State, dropping the Buckeyes down two spots to #11.  Elsewhere, Mankato State moved up two pegs to #1 after sweeping their weekend at Michigan Tech; and Cornell edged up to #3 after hosting and beating both Brown and Yale.

Massachusetts dropped down two notches to #5 after losing one game to New Hampshire; Clarkson edged up to #7 after road wins at both Union and R.P.I.; and Pennsylvania State dropped two slots to #8 after hosting and splitting the weekend with Michigan State.  North Dakota edged up to #9 after hosting and sweeping Miami-of-Ohio; Providence edged up to #10 after tying Boston University at BU, and then beating BU in Providence; and UMass-Lowell moved up two spots and into the top twelve at #12 after hosting, tying, and beating Maine.

COLLEGE HOCKEY UPDATE FEATURED PLAYER

Last weekend Notre Dame had huge help from sophomore forward Jake Pivonka, of Naperville, IL., who tallied an assist in his team’s 3-2 win Friday night, and also scored a goal in his team’s 2-1 win Saturday night, as Notre Dame hosted and swept Ohio State.  The 6’0″ 205lb. sophomore is tied for fourth on his team in goals scored, with three, and is tied for seventh on the team in assists, with three.  Before coming to Notre Dame, Pivonka spent two seasons on the National Team Development Program, scoring ten goals and adding nine assists over fifty-nine games.  He was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders, with the 103rd pick overall.  His father, Michal, played for the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Pivonka’s hometown of Naperville, IL., founded in 1831 and incorporated in 1857, is 28 miles west of Chicago, and is home to its 147,000 residents, spread out among its 40 square miles. The average high/low there in January is 30/15.  Kroehler Furniture Company was established in Naperville in 1913, becoming the largest furniture company in the world in the fifties and early sixties, before going out of business in the late seventies.  Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, while not born in there, grew up in Naperville and graduated from Naperville High School.

Saturday night thirty minutes of scoreless hockey ended when Ohio State struck to take the 1-0 lead midway in the second, and they held this lead for another nineteen minutes, until Jake Pivonka scored for Notre Dame to tie it up at one apiece, nine minutes into third.  In a highly defensive period (each team only got six shots off in the third), Cam Burke capitalized on an opportunity and scored the game winner only three minutes later, and Notre Dame was able to nurse the 2-1 lead for the next eight minutes and deliver a win to sweep the weekend.  The night before Ohio State also scored first, and Notre Dame had to come from behind — twice. The second time they came from behind, a Cam Burke goal tied it at two apiece (assist by Jake Pivonka) with only two minutes left in regulation and sent the teams into OT where Notre Dame scored four minutes into the fourth frame for the 3-2 win.

Notre Dame first fielded a varsity hockey team in 1921 and during an off-and-on existence in the next 56 years they played a total of fifty games.  A solid program was established in 1968 and played for three seasons as a DI independent; it became a member of the WCHA from 1971 to 1981, and then joined the CCHA for two seasons.  It played as a club team in 1983-84, and then became a DI independent again in 1984, and again joined the CCHA in 1992, and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004.  Jeff Jackson became the Notre Dame coach in 2005 and things there became much more serious very quickly.  In his first fourteen seasons he coached the team to two thirty-win seasons, ten NCAA Tournament appearances, four Frozen Four appearances, and two appearances in the Final Championship Game in 2008 and 2018.  Notre Dame is 7-0-1, 3-0-1 in the Big Ten, on a three game winning streak, and is ranked #4!  They have the same number of wins as their football team, but they’ve played one less game and they have no losses!  Notre Dame will play next at currently #15 ranked Wisconsin tonight and tomorrow night.

COLLEGE HOCKEY UPDATE FUN CORNER

Here’s a rarity — a video clip of a goalie scoring a goal, this one by DIII Augsburg goalie Jack Robbel (thanks to John McLean for sending this in):

Men's Hockey – Want to see a GOALIE GOAL? Here's Augsburg's Jack Robbel's goal from tonight's Auggie men's hockey team's 5-2 win at Hamline! #d3hky #AuggiePride #ESPNTop10@USCHO @StribSports @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/HJykGhegrp

— Augsburg Athletics (@AugsburgAuggies) November 10, 2019

This weekend features two top-twelve matchups, with #2 Denver hosting #9 North Dakota for two games, and #3 Cornell at #7 Clarkson Friday night for one game.

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

[table id=201 /]

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

— Tom