As far as statements go in NCAA Division III hockey, Aurora made a big one over the weekend.
The Spartans completed a sweep of the No. 2 Bulldogs Saturday with a 4-2 victory on the road. They won the opener on Friday by a 4-1 score.
Not that the sweep is a complete surprise. Aurora came into the weekend ranked 11th.
Four different players scored in Saturday’s win for Aurora, which is 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the NCHA.
Chase Broda tallied a goal and an assist to help lead the way while JaCob Mucitelli racked up 39 saves.
In Friday’s win, the Spartans scored three times in the third, with Landry Schmuck scoring twice, as the Spartans secured a 4-1 win.
Jason Kirk also scored twice while Lukas Sedlacek and Simon Diaz each tallied two assists. Mucitelli made 30 saves.
Aurora has scored four or more goals in every game it has played in this season.
Green Knights survive Sabres
St. Norbert held off Marian in overtime Saturday, winning 4-3, to cap a sweep of the Sabres. Liam Fraser scored the game winner 36 seconds into the OT.
The Green Knights are now 7-0 and 4-0 in the NCHA.
St. Norbert held a 52-19 advantage in shots. Grant Adams made 16 saves.
Logan Dombrowsky stepped up in a big way, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists for the fifth-ranked Green Knights.
Jack Christen scored a goal and had an assist while Dayton Delcs finished with a goal and assist.
On Friday, St. Norbert scored twice in the third to finish off a 3-0 win.
Fraser scored the 62nd goal of his career in the victory, tying him for fifth all-time in school history. He’s eighth in career points with 133.
Dombrowsky dished out two assists to help pace the offense.
Trine stays unbeaten
The Thunder came away with a tie and a win in its weekend series with Dubuque.
The No. 14 team in the nation finished off the series with a 3-1 win. scoring all three goals with a man advantage.
Aleksa Babic and Josh Wright each tallied a goal and assist. Michael DiPietra dished out two assists. Kyle Kozma made 22 saves.
Trine improved to 5-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 in the NCHA.
In the opener, Trine outscored the Spartans 3-1 in the third to secure a comeback victory. The Thunder then won the shootout 2-1.
Babic came through with three assists, DiPietra dished out two assists and Sam Antenucci finished with a goal and assist.
Zach Burfoot, Jack Paweski and Owen Hardy all tallied a goal and assist for Dubuque, which led 2-1 going into the third.
Dubuque is 0-5-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the league but continues to be competitive in its second year. Dubuque has two one-goal losses.
Cobbers clutch again
Concordia scored twice in the third period to pick up a 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Friday.
It’s the fourth time this season Concordia has scored more than one goal in the final period.
Tai Halliday and Hanson O’Leary scored the third-period goals in Friday’s victory. Dane Couture finished with 29 saves for his fourth win. It’s the third time in five games he’s given up just one goal.
Concordia ended the weekend with a 1-0 loss to UW-River Falls and is 4-2 on the year.
Falcons grind out a win
On the road against one of the better teams in the MIAC, No. 15 UW-River Falls earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Concordia.
The Falcons are now 4-1 on the season after a game-winning goal from Alex Atwill. He scored in the third and the goal was the first of his career.
Great goaltending did the rest as Brennan Boynton made 27 saves on his way to his first career shutout with the Falcons.
The teams had a combined nine power play chances but neither converted. UW-River Falls won despite being outshot 27-16.
In the win column
Gustavus held off St. Olaf 6-5 on Saturday to not only salvage a sweep with the Oles but also earn its first victory of the year.
The win is the first for head coach Tyler Walsh at the helm of Gustavus.
Jack Suchy helped lead the way as he came through with a hat trick. Marko Belak racked up 18 saves.
Gustavus improved to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC. St. Olaf won the opener of the series by a 3-1 score.
Rivalry win over Yellowjackets
UW-Superior and St. Scholastica are no strangers to each other. They used to be conference rivals and they still play each other every year.
Friday’s game marked the 145th time the two teams have met, and the night belonged to the Yellowjackets, who prevailed 2-1.
Justin Dauphinais scored the game winner for Superior with 1:04 to go and Jack Boschert helped seal the deal with 26 saves over the final two periods. He made 29 saves in all.
Evan Axell scored a goal and dished out an assist, marking his second consecutive multi-point game.
Superior is 2-1-1 on the year after losing 4-3 to Bethel Saturday.
Big night for Blugolds
Leo Bacallao stepped up big time for UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, recording a hat trick as the Blugolds topped Augsburg 5-1 for their first win of the year.
Bacallao scored twice in the final 10 minutes to help Eau Claire seal the deal.
Max Gutjahr came up big in goal, stopping 24 shots for his first win of the season. Eau Claire is now 1-2-1 on the year.
Cardinals sweep Pipers
Saint Mary’s won both games in its MIAC series with Hamline, winning the finale 3-1.
Collin Tushie tallied a goal and an assist to help lead the way offensively and AJ Rushkowski made 17 saves.
Saint Mary’s won the opener 6-1 on Friday as six different players scored in the victory. The Cardinals are 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the MIAC.
