By Nate Ewell

Timely Fasching – Minnesota started the Big Ten season 2-0-0 thanks to overtime goals both nights against Ohio State, with junior Hudson Fasching (Burnsville, Minn./U.S. NTDP/BUF) scoring the first and assisting on the second. Fasching, who has an inspiring family story, returns to his home away from home this weekend for a series at Michigan. He spent two years at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor and won a silver medal at the Under-18 World Championship.
Friday’s game is on BTN; Saturday’s game is on ESPNEWS and TSN3

Must Read/See/Hear Material

DRIVN: What’s the rush?
N.Y. Times: Connecticut hockey’s hottest ticket: Quinnipiac vs. Yale
Denver Post: Gambrell leads fab-five freshmen for DU
Watertown Daily Times: Hagen becomes valuable contributor for SLU
St. Cloud Times: Morley’s goals have gone from 1-100
IIHF.com: Winning friends in Belfast | Marchin revels in college hockey
College Hockey News: Renyard the right fit for UMass

Five More Storylines No One Should be Without

The next Mike Condon? – While Mike Condon makes headlines leading the Montreal Canadiens, his successor as starting goaltender at Princeton, junior Colton Phinney (Chatham, N.J./Islanders HC-EJHL), is also impressing. Phinney’s .948 mark last weekend led the Tigers to their first sweep since Feb. 8-9, 2013 (Condon's senior year). Phinney has stopped an average of 36.4 shots per game, easily leading the nation in that category. The Tigers put their modest win streak on the line at Penn State (against former head coach Guy Gadowsky) and vs. USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program this weekend.

Bug’s life – A five-game winless streak has transitioned quickly to a five-game unbeaten streak for Minnesota Duluth, which hosts No. 4 North Dakota this weekend. Senior Austin Farley (Niles, Ill./Fargo-USHL) has three two-goal games in that time to lead the offense and match seven other players for the most multi-goal games this season. The diminutive Farley’s size, at 5-foot-8, and tenacious style of play earned him the nickname “Bug” – his Twitter handle is @DaBugz11. His continued success could earn the Illinois native looks from NHL teams as an undrafted free agent.

Players With 3 Multi-Goal Games (Most Nationally)
Drake Caggiula, North Dakota
Austin Farley, Minnesota Duluth
Ryan Fitzgerald, Boston College (BOS)
A.J. Fossen, Clarkson
Max French, Bentley
Austin Ortega, Omaha
Andrew Poturalski, New Hampshire
Andrew Sturtz, Penn State

CT's hockey family – Connecticut snapped an eight-game losing streak in impressive fashion last weekend, sweeping UMass Lowell, and hosts No. 19 Merrimack on Friday. Draft eligible forward Tage Thompson (Orange, Conn./U.S. NTDP) led the way last weekend with three tallies and is one of three freshmen among the Huskies’ top four scorers. Tage’s father, Brent, is a former NHLer who now coaches the New York Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, less than an hour from where the Huskies play their home games in Hartford. Brent’s team will play in Hartford’s XL Center on Saturday, 24 hours after UConn’s game against Merrimack.

RIT’s O from the D – RIT posted a 6-3 upset of Robert Morris Saturday thanks in part to a pair of assists from senior defenseman Gregory Amlong (O’Fallon, Mo./Cedar Rapids-USHL), who ranks second on the team in points (9), tied for first in goals (5) and first in shots (42). A transfer from UMass Lowell, Amlong had a positive impact for RIT last season, but rarely at the offensive end – he posted just 3 assists in 26 games. Now the senior has added an offensive dimension as he pursues a fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.
Friday’s game will be tape delayed on TSN2 (11 p.m. ET)

Time to Shine – Penalties have plagued Northern Michigan junior Dominik Shine (Pinckney, Mich./Lincoln-USHL) at times this year – he leads the Wildcats with 41 PIM – but he was on the right side of one to produce the game-winning goal Friday at Alabama-Huntsville. Shine, a two-year captain in the USHL and wearing an “A” for NMU, scored on a penalty shot with just 17 seconds remaining to complete the hat trick and lift the Wildcats to a 4-3 win. Now 4-4-4 in WCHA play (5-5-6 overall), fifth-place NMU hosts fourth-place Ferris State for two games this weekend.

NHL Note of the Week

The last three goaltenders to go 3-0-0 in their first three NHL decisions are Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell), Mike Condon (Princeton) and Andrew Hammond (Bowling Green).

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

Union practiced in Lake Placid Tuesday to prepare for its visit to Massachusetts and the Olympic-sized ice at Mullins Center … Three big in-state (or in-city) rivalries drop the puck this weekend: Alaska at Alaska Anchorage, Brown at Providence and Dartmouth at New Hampshire … With a light schedule next weekend (eight games), this notebook will return to preview the holiday tournaments that begin Dec. 28.