Statements Made
As February gets underway, things are really starting to get interesting across the NCHA. In a highly-anticipated battle between a pair of Top-10 teams, Adrian made a big statement Friday night. In addition to the Bulldogs, St. Norbert kept pace and now the top of the standings on the men’s side just keeps getting tighter.
As it stands, just one point separates the top two spots and six points is the slim difference between first and fifth place. The race is on with three games left!
On the women’s side, St. Norbert continued to roll – staying unbeaten at 12-0-1 after taking care of Trine; with Aurora doing what they needed to in order to keep pace with the Green Knights. Five points (37-32) is the difference as the regular season continues to unfold.
The Bulldog men flip-flopped the top spot with Aurora in convincing fashion, making a splash with an impressive 8-4 victory to open that vital series. Offense was the story at Arrington Ice Arena, with AC piling on three goals in the second and three more in the third to break open what was a 2-2 tie after the first period. In the end, four different players lit the lamp twice each, led by a five-point night from Matus Spodniak (2G/3A). In addition, three teammates posted two goals (Riley Murphy, Alessio Luciani, and Ty Enns) and Mathew Rehding was huge with a 5-assist performance.
The SNC men got three goals in a stretch of almost six minutes which proved to be the difference in a 5-2 win over MSOE, seeing five different players find the back of the net.
On the women’s side, the Green Knights posted an eye-popping 68-9 advantage in shots but didn’t put the game away until a four-goal explosion in the third period. Lexi Bonfe led the way with a 2-goal/2-assist evening. Aurora claimed its fifth straight victory as well, getting a goal and assist from both Darci Matson and Erin Campbell. Matson’s offensive onslaught continues, as she has now stacked up an NCAA-leading 52 points on 24 goals and 28 assists so far this season.
NCHA MEN
Adrian 8 v. Aurora 4
Marian 5 v. Finlandia 1
St. Norbert 5 v. MSOE 2
Trine 2 v. Lake Forest 1
Concordia Wis. 5 v. Lawrence 1
NCHA WOMEN
St. Norbert 6 v. Trine 1
Aurora 5 v. Marian 2