Friday's hockey: Michigan Tech loses to No. 1 Boston College; Howe auction underway

Michigan Tech's hockey season ended on Friday afternoon after a 6-1 loss against No. 1-ranked Boston College in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Amica Mutual Pavillon in Providence, Rhode Island.

Max Koskipirtti scored the Huskies' only goal and Blake Pietila made 32 saves.

Cutter Gauthier and Ryan Leonard scored two goals apiece for the Eagles, Connor Joyce and Oskar Jelvik added goals and Jacob Fowler stopped 23 shots.

Michigan State 5, Western Michigan 4 (OT)

No. 1 seed Michigan State advanced to the second round of the NCAA hockey tournament.

The Spartans rallied from a 4-2 deficit after two periods to beat No. 4 seed Western Michigan, 5-4, in overtime on Friday in the first round of the Maryland Heights Region at Centene Community Ice Center in St. Charles, Missouri.

Karsen Dorwart tied the game with :55 seconds left in the third period and then Jeremy Davidson scored the game-winning goal in overtime at the 8:47 mark.

David Gucciardi, Daniel Russell and Nash Nienhuis also scored goals and goalie Trey Augustine made 34 saves for Michigan State.

Sam Colangelo, Alex Bump, Zak Galambos and Matteo Costantini replied for the Broncos and goalie Cameron Rowe made 27 saves.

The Spartans led 2-1 midway in the second period, but then Western Michigan scored three straight goals to take a 4-2 lead after two periods.

The Spartans will face Michigan in the final.

Michigan 4, North Dakota 3

The Michigan Wolverines will face the Michigan State Spartans again, this time in the second round of the NCAA hockey tournament in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

A week after Michigan State beat Michigan, 5-4, in overtime for the Big Ten championship, the two teams will meet on Sunday in the Maryland Heights Region final.

The Spartans advanced earlier Friday by rallying from a 4-2 deficit after two periods for a 5-4 overtime win over Western Michigan.

The Wolverines rallied from a 2-1 deficit after two periods to defeat North Dakota, 4-3.

Dylan Duke scored twice in the third period, T.J. Hughes and Frank Nazar also scored goals, Garrett Schifsky had two assists and goalie Jake Barczewski posted the win for Michigan.

Hunter Johannes, Jackson Blake and Jackson Kunz replied for the Fighting and Ludvig Persson took the loss in goal for the Fighting Hawks.

Friday's NHL game

(At) Buffalo 5, New Jersey 2: After finding themselves in yet another first-period hole, Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres decided to stop digging this time.

By rallying from a 2-0 deficit in a 5-2 win over the Devils on Friday night, the Sabres also put a dent in New Jersey’s late-season playoff push.

Thompson capped a natural hat trick by scoring the go-ahead goal with 4:34 remaining and added an empty-netter, the second time he's scored four or more goals in his career.

The Sabres bounced back from a 6-2 loss against Ottawa on Wednesday in an outing Buffalo trailed 5-0 after 20 minutes.

“Kind of get off to a similar start, down two, and it would have been easy to kind of just fold the tent and pack it in,” said Thompson, who is now tied with JJ Peterka for the team lead with 26 goals. “I thought we responded the right way. I think that says a lot about the character in the room and the guys we’ve got here.”

Peterka, with his fifth goal in four games, also scored an empty-net goal. Alex Tuch had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games (one goal, nine assists). Devon Levi stopped 28 shots.

The loss left the Devils five points behind the Washington Capitals, who hold the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. New Jersey lost for just the third time this season – 16-2-1 – when leading after one period.

“Just another immature performance by us,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “We know that was a game we should have taken advantage. I don’t think there are any excuses. I think if you look at the game, we’ve just got to find a way to win against certain teams and we haven’t done that all year. It should not happen.”

Max Willman and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, who blew a chance to win three straight for just the fifth time this season. Jake Allen stopped 31 shots in dropping to 4-3 since being acquired in a trade with Montreal.

Buffalo, meanwhile, stayed mathematically in the race by moving into 12th in the East, a point a ahead of Pittsburgh, and six behind the Capitals.

After scoring twice in the second period, Thompson completed his sixth-career three-or-more-goal outing by batting down Rasmus Dahlin’s shot from the left point. The puck dribbled under Allen, and Thompson used his lengthy reach to sweep the puck in behind the goalie.

“Tonight it was will and drive,” coach Don Granato said of his team’s response, before praising Thompson for lifting the team. “It’s a handful when you’re the opposition and he’s going like that.”

Chicago 4, Grand Rapids 2

First-round draft pick Marco Kasper recorded his 50th career assist with the Grand Rapids Griffins in Friday's 4-2 loss against the Chicago Wolves in Rosemont, Illinois.

Kasper extended his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists), Riley Sawchuk and Matt Luff scored goals and Michael Hutchinson made 22 saves for Grand Rapids.

Howe online auction underway

More than 500 Gordie Howe memorabilia items are available now in an online auction to benefit The Howe Foundation, the official charity of Gordie and Colleen Howe.

Howe, nicknamed "Mr. Hockey", won four Stanley Cups in 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and was the highest-scoring player with 801 goals and 1,850 points until Wayne Gretzky broke Howe's record.

Here are some of the highlights of the auction, which closes Thursday, April 4:

▶ Game-worn 1976-77 Houston Aeros WHA Jerseys from each of Gordie, Mark, and Marty Howe

▶ Miniature Stanley Cup given to Howe by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch in 2008

▶ 1971 All-Star Game presentational watch

▶ Customized 1976 Texas License Plate

▶ 1953 All-Star Game gold charm

▶ Jubilee Medals from Queen Elizabeth

▶ Personalized letters from Brian Mulroney, Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon

▶ Unique artifacts include cowboy hat, fishing rods, golf shoes, ID passes, and original hockey card artwork

▶ Dozens of items signed, including gloves, skates, sticks, jerseys, photos, pucks, cards, magazines, programs, tickets, collector plates, bobbleheads, and figurines

▶ Mark and Marty Howe's items, include championship rings, Avco Cups, team-signed sticks, a Rolex watch, jewelry, game-used items, and more trophies and awards

The online auction can be found on the NHL.com auction network at https://bit.ly/howefamilyauction or via www.frozenpond.com.

Moscow goalie Fedotov joins Flyers

The process needed to extract goalie Ivan Fedotov from both his Russian military and hockey commitments and finally land him in Philadelphia – nine years after he was drafted by the Flyers – remains largely shrouded in Cold War-era type secrecy.

Flyers general manager Danny Briere stuck to silence on Fedotov's path to Philly as the goalie was introduced Friday to the team.

“We'll just leave the details out,” Briere said.

What the Flyers are willing to reveal is this: they believe the 27-year-old Fedotov was worth the arduous, complicated wait to get him and that he can make an impact down the stretch as they chase a playoff a berth.

“That's what gives us confidence he can come and help us,” Briere said at the Flyers' New Jersey complex. “He's been through a lot in his career. He's been through a lot in his personal life. It's a big part of the reason why we feel comfortable. We're excited to have him aboard.”

Fedotov was able to join the Flyers nine years after he was picked in the seventh round of the 2015 draft because he had his contract in Russia’s KHL terminated Thursday by CSKA Moscow.

CSKA announced the abrupt termination with one year remaining on it, saying it keeps his KHL rights and “the club thanks Ivan Fedotov and wishes him good luck in (his) career.”

Fedotov speaks limited English but noted several times he was thankful for the Flyers and the opportunity to play in the NHL.

“Very difficult two years,” he said. “Now I'm here and happy to be here and help the team.”

Fedotov is under contract with the Flyers this season after his initial deal, signed in May 2022, was tolled. He attempted to come to North America in July 2022, but instead was taken by authorities to a remote military base in the Arctic Circle for a year of service.

Ducks' Strome fined $5,000

Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome has been fined $5,000 for cross-checking Seattle Kraken forward Tye Kartye on Thursday.

The league’s department of player safety announced the fine Friday. The money goes to the NHL players' emergency assistance fund.

The cross-checking occurred during the third period of the Kraken’s 4-2 victory. Strome was assessed a minor penalty.

Playoff tracker

Atlantic

▶ Bruins (99)

▶ Panthers (97)

▶ Maple Leafs (91)

Metropolitan

▶ Rangers (102)

▶ Hurricanes (99)

▶ Flyers (82)

Wild card

▶ Lightning (87)

▶ Capitals (81)

(Top two wild-card teams make the playoffs)

(Not including Friday's games)

▶ Red Wings (79)

▶ Islanders (77)

▶ Devils (76)

▶ Sabres (75)

▶ Penguins (74)

If playoffs started Saturday

Eastern Conference playoff matchups

▶ (1M) Rangers vs. Capitals (WC2)

▶ (A2) Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (A3)

▶ (1A) Bruins vs. Lightning (WC1)

▶ (2M) Hurricanes vs. (3M) Flyers

Remaining games in wild-card race

Capitals (81 points)

▶ Home (5): Bruins, Penguins, Senators, Lightning, Bruins

▶ Away (5): Sabres, Hurricanes, Wings, Sabres, Flyers

Red Wings (79)

▶ Home (4): Rangers, Sabres, Capitals, Canadiens

▶ Away (5): Panthers, Lightning, Penguins, Leafs, Canadiens

Islanders (77)

▶ Home (5): Blackhawks, Predators, Rangers, Canadiens, Penguins

▶ Away (5): Lightning, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Rangers, Devils

Michigan-area hockey this week

Friday

▶ Chicago 4, Grand Rapids 2

▶ Michigan State 5, Western Michigan 4 (OT)

▶ Michigan 4, North Dakota 3

▶ Boston College 6, Michigan Tech 1

▶ NTDP U18s 5, Dubuque 4 (SO)

Saturday

▶ Red Wings at Florida, 12:30 p.m. (NHL/BSD Extra/97.1)

▶ Grand Rapids at Milwaukee, 7 p.m. (AHL/106.9/1300)

▶ NTDP U18s at Dubuque, 8 p.m.

Sunday

▶ Michigan vs. Michigan State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Thursday

▶ Hurricanes 4, Red Wings 0

▶ Madison 4, NTDP U17s 0

Wednesday

▶ Grand Rapids 5, Cleveland 2

Tuesday

▶ Capitals 4, Red Wings 3 (OT)