Bemidji State (17-15-2) vs. Minnesota State (16-14-4)

Winning five of their previous six games, Bemidji State looked to keep their strong form alive against Minnesota State to claim the No. 1 seed and win the MacNaughton Cup, with the Mavericks looking to spoil the party after taking home the cup the previous six seasons. 

A scoreless first period in game one was followed by what was likely Bemidji State's best period of hockey all season, as the Beavers scored five goals off 16 shots to lead 5-0 after two. It was a period to remember for Prior Lake's Jackson Jutting as he factored in on four of the five goals, scoring the first two before assisting on two of the next three. Only 2:02 into the third period, Adam Flammang added goal No. 6, and the Beavers would go on to win 6-0, with Mattias Sholl posting a 28-save shutout. The win clinched the MacNaughton Cup for Bemidji State, marking the second time the Beavers were regular season champions in program history. 

Game two followed suit of game one and went scoreless through one, with Andover's Mitch Wolfe opening the scoring 3:15 into period two. That goal marked Wolfe's first collegiate goal scored after 61 games played for the Beavers. Goaltender Gavin Enright kept everything out the rest of the way, and Bemidji State added a late empty netter to win 2-0, with Enright's 22-save shutout helping the team sweep the Mavericks. 

The top-seeded Beavers will host the No. 8 seed Ferris State (10-22-2) in round one of the playoffs, with Minnesota State claiming the No. 4 seed and remaining at home to face Northern Michigan (12-14-6). Both teams will start at 7:07 PM on Friday, 3/8, with game two on Saturday at 6:07 PM and Sunday (if necessary) at 5:07 PM. 

No. 8 Minnesota (20-9-5) vs. No. 16 Michigan (18-13-3)

Facing the Wolverines for their final series of the regular season, Minnesota found themselves down 1-0 midway through the first when Luke Mittelstadt scored his first goal of the season to tie it. Just three minutes later, the Gophers took a 2-1 lead off a goal from Jaxon Nelson, but Michigan made it 2-2 late in the period, with Andover native Garrett Schifsky firing home a shot from the top of the slot. It was all Minnesota in the middle frame as the Gophers went 3-for-3 on the power play, with Oliver Moore scoring two and Jaxon Nelson adding his second goal of the night.

A 5-2 lead in the third was brought to 6-2 off a Rutger McGroarty turnover, with Jaxon Nelson intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and then going in alone to score and complete his hat trick. Justen Close made 19 saves in the 6-2 victory, which clinched third place and home ice for the Gophers in round one of the Big Ten tournament. 

In Saturday's rematch, the Gophers started horribly and fell behind 3-0 after period one, with the team outshot 15-5 and Justen Close's night over in net. After a scoreless second period, the Gophers scored on their first shift of period three to cut the deficit to 3-1. Behind 4-1 with 12:02 left in regulation, Minnesota went on to score three unanswered goals in a span of six minutes to tie the game at 4-4, with Brody Lamb, Jaxon Nelson (his fifth goal of the weekend) and Aaron Huglen scoring in the comeback.

Michigan retook the lead with 3:24 to go in regulation, but the Gophers were not done yet, as Luke Mittelstadt activated nicely from the blue line to tie it at 5-5 with 1:39 to go. Minnesota took a poor penalty at the end of regulation, leading to Michigan winning in overtime with a man advantage, with Seamus Casey firing a quick one-timer to win it 6-5. 

Earning the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, Minnesota will face the No. 6-seed Penn State (15-16-3) in the quarterfinals this weekend, with a best-of-three series starting Friday at 6:00 PM. 

Minnesota Duluth (10-18-5) at Colorado College (19-10-3)

Entering their series against Colorado College on a six-game losing streak, Minnesota Duluth opened the scoring 1:49 into period two of game one off a goal in close from Anthony Menghini, his eighth goal this season. Then, with 6:25 remaining in the period, the Tigers' Gleb Veremyev fired home a snapshot before the team's leading goal scorer, Noah Laba, scored at the end of the period to put Colorado College ahead 2-1.

Five minutes into period three, a 2-on-1 opportunity presented itself for UMD, and Connor McMenamin buried it to tie the game. Neither team could claim the win in regulation or overtime, and the Bulldogs would go on to win the shootout and claim two conference points in the tie. 

In game two, Chaska's Max Burkholder opened the scoring only 2:22 into the game to put the Tigers ahead, with Matthew Perkins responding for the Bulldogs later in the period to tie it up. Down 2-1 to start the third, UMD was only able to muster three shots on net and eventually lost 4-1, with Burkholder adding his second goal of the night before Drew Montgomery added a late empty netter. 

Remaining in the No. 7 spot in the NCHC standings, the Bulldogs will close the regular season against the No. 15 St. Cloud State Huskies at home this weekend, with the conference playoffs kicking off the following weekend on 3/15. 

No. 15 St. Cloud (15-12-5) vs. No. 5 Denver (23-8-3)

In a fight for conference tournament placement, Denver came to St. Cloud ready to play and jumped out to a 3-0 lead only 10:40 into game one. Freshman Sam Harris knotted the first and third goals with Minnesota Wild draft pick Rieger Lorenz scoring the second. Carrying that three-goal cushion into the second, Denver's Miko Matikka added further punishment 8:08 into the period to make it 4-0 Pioneers after two.

The Huskies ended the shutout bid 3:19 into period three off a goal from Adam Ingram, but St. Thomas Academy's Jared Wright responded soon after to regain a four-goal lead for Denver. Both teams added an additional goal, with Denver skating to a comfortable 6-2 victory. 

Looking for a response in game two, St. Cloud outshot the Pioneers 10-5 in the opening frame but fell behind 1-0 off a late-period goal from Aidan Thompson. Things would not improve in period two as Denver doubled their lead early before Sean Behrens made it 3-0 halfway through the period.

In the third, the hurt continued, as Denver scored three additional goals to extend their lead to 6-0 and officially put the game out of reach. St. Cloud mustered two late-period goals from Mason Salquist and Veeti Miettinen in what ended a disappointing 7-2 loss and sweep on home ice. 

Falling one spot to No. 3 in the NCHC standings and No. 14 in the Pairwise, St. Cloud will look to rebound against Minnesota Duluth on the road this weekend on 3/8 and 3/9. 

St. Thomas (14-18-2) at Michigan Tech (15-14-6)

The Tommies entered the weekend on a 0-5-1 run over their past three series and looked to close out the regular season on a high note against Michigan Tech. 

Game one in Houghton, MI, was a low-scoring affair through most of the game, with St. Thomas breaking the deadlock with one minute left on the clock in period two off a goal from Liam Malmquist. The Tommies went on to carry that goal lead through to the waning seconds of regulation when Matthew Gleason added an empty net goal to help St. Thomas win 2-0. Aaron Trotter had an outstanding 36-save performance in the shutout, with that win securing home-ice advantage for the Tommies in round one of the CCHA playoffs. 

After being held off the scoreboard the night prior, Michigan Tech came out seeking revenge in game two and led 2-0 only 4:16 into the game. In the second, the Huskies kept their foot on the gas and extended the lead to 4-0 off goals from Chase Pietila and Isaac Gordon, marking the end of Jake Sibell's night in net after making 12 saves on 16 shots. The goaltender change did not elicit the spark Coach Blasi was hoping for, as the Tommies would go on to allow two additional third-period goals in the 6-0 rout. St. Thomas was outshot 33-18 and went 0-for-4 on the power play in the loss. 

Even with the poor finish to the season, St. Thomas was still able to lock down the No. 2 seed in the CCHA playoffs and will face the No. 7 seed, Lake Superior State (15-18-1), in round one. The best-of-three series will kick off this Friday at 7:07 PM.