Minnesota skates past UNH

Minnesota broke a third-period tie by scoring four unanswered goals and the fourth-ranked Golden Gophers skated away with a 6-2 win over No. 5 New Hampshire last night in Minneapolis.

The game was shaping up as a repeat of Friday night's 2-2 tie when the Golden Gophers erupted in the third period.

Ryan Stoa broke the tie with a shorthanded goal at 4:42. Minnesota (5-0-3) then broke it open by scoring three times in a span of 2:24 late in the period to secure the win.

"The third goal was obviously the catalyst," said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. "We've had good, strong third periods all year long, and I just tried to reinforce that [between periods]."

After Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, UNH (4-2-3) came back to tie it, getting goals from Mike Sislo with three seconds left in the first period and James van Riemsdyk at 18:33 of the second.

But it was all Minnesota in the third. After Stoa struck for the winner at 4:42, the Wildcats kept it a one-goal deficit until 13:43, when Ryan Flynn beat Brian Foster. Taylor Matson (15:44) and Flynn (16:07) then put it out of reach with goals 23 seconds apart.

"We lost our composure," said coach Dick Umile. "They took it to another level, and we took it the other way."

Union 3, Harvard 1 - The Dutchmen (4-2-1, 1-1-0 ECAC) scored twice on six second-period power plays and made the lead stand up in knocking off the No. 18 Crimson (2-2-0, 2-2-0) in Schenectady, N.Y.

Matt Cook and Lane Caffaro scored Union's man-advantage tallies, and Luke Cain added a third-period goal. Freshman Alex Killorn registered his first career goal for the Crimson, who also got 29 saves from freshman Matt Hoyle.

Merrimack 3, UMass 1 - Andrew Braithwaite made 34 saves - including 14 in the final period - to help the Warriors upset the 19th-ranked Minutemen in North Andover.

Jesse Todd, Rob Ricci, and Karl Stollery scored for Merrimack (3-4-1, 1-3-0 Hockey East), while Brian Keane scored the lone goal for UMass (4-2-1, 2-1-1).

Cornell 0, Quinnipiac 0 - Nick Pisellini made 23 saves for the host Bobcats (2-3-1, 0-1-1 ECAC) and Ben Scrivens made 25 for the No. 17 Big Red (1-0-1, 1-0-1) as the teams combined to go 0 for 15 on the power play in a scoreless tie.

Notre Dame 4, Providence 1 - Garrett Regan scored twice and the 12th-ranked Fighting Irish (6-3-0) edged the host Friars (2-5-1) for their fourth straight win.

Vermont 3, UMass-Lowell 1 - Brayden Irwin and Viktor Stalberg each had a goal and an assist, leading the 16th-ranked Catamounts (4-2-2, 1-2-1 Hockey East) past the River Hawks (3-4-0, 1-2-0) in Lowell.

Brown 2, St. Lawrence 2 - Sean McMonagle scored at 13:33 of the third period to tie it and Dan Rosen made 35 saves as the Bruins (0-3-1, 0-1-1 ECAC) escaped with a tie against the host Saints (4-2-1, 1-0-1).

Yale 3, Clarkson 2 - Sean Backman scored twice, including the winner at 4:44 of the third period, helping the Bulldogs (2-1-0, 1-1-0 ECAC) edge the host Golden Knights (2-2-2, 1-1-0).

Dartmouth 5, RPI 2 - Joe Stejskal and Scott Fleming each scored twice, pushing the Big Green (2-2-0, 2-1-0 ECAC) past the host Engineers (2-6-1, 1-2-0).

Holy Cross 4, Mercyhurst 3 - Jordan Cyr scored a pair of goals - including the winner 54 seconds into overtime - and Brodie Sheahan had three assists to lift the host Crusaders (2-4-1, 2-3-1 Atlantic) over the Lakers (1-7-0, 1-1-0).

Army 3, AIC 1 - Owen Meyer had a goal and an assist and the host Black Knights (2-4-1, 2-3-1 Atlantic) shut down the Yellow Jackets (1-7-0, 1-5-0).

Women's soccer

Ivy League - Lizzy Nichols scored on a penalty kick with nine seconds left in the second overtime to lift Harvard to a 2-1 win over visiting Columbia for its first league championship since 1999.

The win gives the Crimson (10-3-4) a berth in the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2004.

Christina Hagner got Harvard on the board first, beating Rebecca Taylor (seven saves) at 26:01. Columbia tied it at 49:24 on Ashlin Yahr's goal.

America East - Corie Halasz and Mara Osher scored and Boston University (15-5-1) downed visiting Stony Brook, 2-1, to win its second straight conference title and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Men's soccer

America East - Patrick Alonis and Jordan Crasilneck scored first-half goals and Roger Scully made nine saves to help host Vermont top Hartford, 4-1, and advance to the semifinals. In the other quarter, Binghamton (11-5-3) knocked off UNH, 3-1.

Field hockey

Big East - Lauren Aird scored a pair of goals and Connecticut downed Louisville, 4-1, to advance to the conference championship game for the seventh straight season. The Huskies (17-2) will go after their fifth straight Big East title when they meet top-seeded Syracuse in today's final.

Atlantic 10 - Mary Shea scored in the first half, Cher King added a second-half tally, and Alesha Widdall made three saves as Massachusetts blanked Richmond, 2-0, in the conference final in Philadelphia.

Division 2 - UMass-Lowell scored five unanswered goals to erase a 3-1 deficit in the second half and eliminate Southern Connecticut, 6-3, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game in Lowell. Sammy Macy scored a pair of goals to lead the River Hawks (18-4), who will take on Bentley in the Northeast Regional semifinal Friday in Bloomsburg, Pa.