Don't Mess With The Metro

Waterloo Blackhawks @ University of Vermont

UVM took their exhibition match over Waterloo 6-1 on Sunday. It was a dominating effort as they outshot Waterloo 49-21. Sophomore goaltender Stefanos Lekkas (UFA) had 13 saves on 14 shots through 2 periods of play while freshman goaltender Tyler Harmon (UFA) went a perfect 7 for 7 in the 3rd. Sophomore Forward Ross Colton (TBL) had a goal and 3 assists in the rout and sophomore defenseman Matt O’Donnell also notched 2 goals and an assist. It was a dominating performance as expected, including UVM going 3-8 on the PP. Waterloo got their only goal shorthanded.

USNTDP @ #8 University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame won their exhibition match over the U18 United States National Team Development Program. Sophomore forward Cam Morrison (COL) got the Irish on the board first with a 2-on-1 goal at 7:42 of the first on a feed from senior captain Jake Evans (MTL). USNTDP did strike back though and took a 2-1 lead in the second. ND struck back with a Dello slap shot from the point, then 2 goals less than two minutes apart put the Irish up 4-2. Mattias Samuelsson notched an extra attacker goal but it was too late as ND held on. Oliver Wahlstrom, Jon Gruden and Mattias Samuelsson all scored for the USNTDP, while the Irish got tallies from sophomores Morrison (COL) and Dello (UFA), junior Joe Wegwerth (FLA) & freshman Colin Theisen (UFA). Sophomore goaltender Cale Morris (UFA) started and stopped 13 of the 15 shots he faced in 30:48 of play while freshman Dylan St. Cyr (2018 draft eligible) played the final 29:07 and turned aside 10 of 11 shots to earn the win.

Acadia @ #5 UMass Lowell

A big night (1 Goal and an Assist) from Ryan Lohin (TBL) led the 5th Ranked River Hawks to a 4-2 exhibition win over Acadia. Goalies Chris Hernberg and Tyler Wall (NYR) combined for 14 saves on 16 Acadia shots. UML dominated play outshooting Acadia 27-16 and Out-Attempting Acadia 55-29. Acadia was able to block 16 shots limiting the RIver Hawks chances. In the End the River Hawks were too dominant and an empty net goal by Nick Master sealed the deal.

St. Francis Xavier @ UConn

Led by 2 Shutout Periods from Adam Huska (NYR) the Huskies took down St Francis Xavier 2-1. Uconn took 11 penalties but great Goaltending made the mistakes irrelevant. Although St. Francis led 38 to 27 in the Shot Department Huska’s 27 Saves bailed out the Huskies defense. Goals from Kasperi Ojantakanen and Karl El-Mir gave the Huskies a comfortable 2-0 lead, St. Francis made it interesting with a 6 on 4 goal in the last minute but it was too little too late. The Huskies start their season in Maine on Friday.

University of Alberta @ #3 University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota doesn’t usually face off against Canadian universities like most schools do before the season, but they did tonight for the first time in three years, using the strength of a four-goal third period to beat the University of Alberta, 6-2. The game marked the highly-anticipated collegiate debut of Sabres first-rounder Casey Mittelstadt, and he certainly did not disappoint, posting a goal and three assists. Mittelstadt is expected to be an instant contributor for the Gophers, but he wasn’t the only one with a standout performance against the Golden Bears. Junior Gates (ANA), Rem Pitlick (NSH), Scott Reedy (SJ), and UFA senior Mike Szmatula each finished with multi-point games, while Tommy Novak (NSH) and UFA senior Leon Bristedt added third-period tallies. The three goalies split time, but likely starter and UFA junior Eric Schierhorn was the busiest goalie, with ten saves in the first period. Minnesota will open up their season on Friday against Minnesota Duluth as part of the Ice Breaker tournament. Despite having 13 draft picks on the roster, only one Gopher, Tyler Nanne (NYR), has his rights held by a Metro Division team.