Thursday, October 17, 2024

Men’s Notes: MTU’s Vayrynen Emerges Post-Pietila

Junior G Off to Fast Start Replacing All-American

Replacing a legend in sports is never easy but if the (very) early returns are any indication, life after Blake Pietila will be just fine for Michigan Tech.

Junior G Max Vayrynen (Espoo, Finland), Pietila’s understudy for each of the last two seasons, opened the year with a pair of 2-1 wins over visiting Alaska last weekend, stopping 44 of 46 shots (.957 save percentage) across the two games.

Vayrynen played sparingly as a freshman and sophomore – he only appeared in four games each season – while Pietila was cementing himself as the most statistically dominant netminder in Tech history. But Pietila, a two-time All-American and three-time Mike Richter Award finalist, graduated last spring, opening the door for Vayrynen to take over in 2024-25.

So far, so good. On Monday, Vayrynen was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week to cap off his first weekend as the incumbent.

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

Noah’s Arc:

Arizona State defenseman Noah Beck (Gr., Richmond Hill, Ontario) has made an immediate impact for the Sun Devils.

A fifth-year transfer from Clarkson, Beck has already racked up eight points in ASU’s first four games, good enough to put him on top of the national scoring charts. It’s also just one point away from matching the nine he totaled all of last season.

Producing offense is nothing new to Beck, who had 20-plus points in each of his sophomore and junior seasons with Clarkson, but his fast start to the 2024-25 campaign – including a team-best plus-6 rating – suggests he’s regained that touch.

The 2020 St. Louis Blues draft pick ignited a rally Saturday against Michigan, scoring his first goal as a Sun Devil to cut ASU’s deficit to 3-2 with 59 seconds left in regulation. Cullen Potter squared the game 15 seconds later to earn an overtime tie with the Wolverines.

“It was amazing,” Beck said of his goal. “Obviously at home, too, with a great atmosphere, I was very excited, and I think it showed a little bit but it was just nice to come out with that tie.”

Fowl Play:

When sophomore G Jacob Fowler (Melbourne, Fla.) led second-ranked Boston College to a 3-0 win at No. 3/4 Michigan State in Friday’s season opener, he achieved something no goaltender was able to do all of last season: shut out the Spartans.

Fowler turned aside all 24 shots he faced to earn his fourth career shutout, becoming the first netminder to blank Michigan State since Notre Dame did it during the 2023 Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (3/3/23).

MSU bounced back the following night with a 4-3 win over Fowler and the Eagles, resulting in a series split between the two national heavyweights.

We Were Merely Freshmen:

When Western Michigan opened the regular season Friday with a 4-1 win over in-state rival Ferris State, all four Bronco goals were provided by freshmen making their NCAA debuts.

Iiro Hakkarainen (Espoo, Finland) and Joona Väisänen (Kirkkonummi, Finland) staked the Broncos to a 2-0 lead in the first period, and Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Zach Nehring (Minot, N.D.) added third-period insurance tallies.

WMU’s roster features 10 freshmen, a total topped only by Northern Michigan (16), Alaska (13), LIU (11) and Minnesota Duluth (11).

Fit to Print:

“I’m happy for our university. Maybe a lot of people outside of our locker room didn’t give us a chance, but that’s what happens when you believe in each other and go out and pay the price. It was a super-exciting weekend for our program”

— Lindenwood head coach Bill Muckalt on Friday’s 4-2 win at No. 9 Wisconsin, the Lions’ first-ever victory over a nationally-ranked opponent (source: 101ESPN.com).

NHL Note of the Week:

Colorado F Matthew Stienburg (Cornell, 2019-23) was in the lineup for the Avalanche Wednesday night, becoming the eighth NCAA alumni in the first eight days of the National Hockey League season to make his NHL debut.

Stienburg, Colorado’s third-round pick in 2019, spent three seasons with the Big Red and was a second-team All-ECAC performer as a sophomore.

Other former college hockey players to have made their NCAA debuts in 2024-25 include Seamus Casey (Michigan), Macklin Celebrini (Boston University), Patrick Giles (Boston College), Andre Lee (UMass Lowell), Victor Mancini (Omaha), Rutger McGroarty (Michigan) and Will Smith (Boston College).

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

Omaha junior G Simon Latkoczy (Trencin, Slovakia) was named Ice Breaker Tournament Most Outstanding Player last weekend in Las Vegas after registering OT wins over UMass and Minnesota. Latkoczy stopped 77 of 80 shots on the weekend, including a 53-save effort against the Golden Gophers … New Hampshire opened its 100th season of varsity hockey Saturday with a 2-1 overtime win over Bentley. Sophomore F Nick Ring (Hingham, Mass.) tallied the game-winner … Nine different RPI skaters registered a multi-point effort in either game of the Engineers’ road sweep of Canisius. In all, 18 players hit the scoresheet for RPI over the weekend … Merrimack freshman G Max Lundgren (Angelholm, Sweden) logged a 27-save shutout in his NCAA debut Friday, a 1-0 win over Minnesota State … Miami’s Anthony Noreen (Wisconsin-Stevens Point ’07) picked up his first NCAA win as a head coach when his RedHawks edged Alaska Anchorage 3-2 last Friday. Miami added a 4-1 win the next night for the program’s first sweep in a full calendar year (Oct. 13-14, 2023 vs. Canisius) … Arizona State has already scored an NCAA-leading three short-handed goals in its first four games. Air Force led the country with nine shorties in 2023-24.

Longest Active Point Streaks:

4 games, D Noah Beck (Arizona State)
- 1-7—8, began Oct. 4 at Air Force
4 games, F Colby Ambrosio (Miami)
- 2-5—7, began Oct. 4 at Ferris State
4 games, F Jake Richard (UConn)
- 4-2—6, began Oct. 4 vs. Colgate
4 games F Michael Hage (Michigan)
- 3-3—6, began Oct. 4 vs. Minnesota State
4 games, F Dylan Jackson (Arizona State)
- 2-3—5, began Oct. 4 at Air Force
4 games F Boris Skalos (Mercyhurst)
- 1-3—4, began Oct. 4 vs. Bowling Green
4 games, D Jack Budd (Canisius)
- 0-5—5, began Oct. 5 at Clarkson

Longest Active Goal Streaks:

3 games, F Aydar Suniev (UMass)
- 5-1—6, began Oct. 5 at Bentley
3 games, F Michael Hage (Michigan)
- 3-1—4, began Oct. 5 vs. Minnesota State

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

Did you know? 93% of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degree!