Did No. 1 Michigan's Title Hopes Take a Huge Hit with Key Injury? Puck Drop

Michigan freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic, who just helped Canada win the bronze media at the World Juniors, appeared to suffer a major injury on a collision with Notre Dame forward Danny Nelson on Saturday night. He immediately grabbed his left knee and had to be helped off the ice.

The injury occurred at 2:42 of the second period. Freshman Stephen Peck entered the game in relief and made 18 saves to get his first collegiate win, but also yielded three goals as the No. 1 Wolverines completed the 7-4 victory and weekend sweep at Yost Ice Arena. Garrett Schifsky and Aidan Park both had two goals and one assist, however, the teams combined for 173 penalty minutes, most after Ivankovic's injury.

Michigan coach Brandon Naurato told reporters after the game: “I don’t want to talk about medical stuff, but he’s gonna be out for a long time."

Ivankovic leads the nation in wins with 17, and is in the top five for both goals against average (1.92) and save percentage (.927). He had just been named the national goaltender of the month on Thursday, after leading the Big Ten with a 1.02 goals-against average and a .964 save percentage during December.

Jack Ivankovic has Michigan off to its best defensive start. Hear from the freshman netminder about his adjustment to college hockey.#GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/pkdT1qYGXT
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) November 6, 2025

How 'Sweep' it is For Western Michigan at Denver

Here's all you need to know about how No. 7 Denver's weekend went at Magness Arena. With about 12 minutes left to play, the Pioneers pulled their goaltender in a desperate attempt to try and get into the game. Instead, junior forward William Whitelaw promptly knocked the puck into the open net from the neutral zone for his second goal of the game as the reigning national champions completed the sweep with a 6-2 victory.

Sophomore Owen Michaels also had two goals for No. 6 Western Michigan, while Iiro Hakkarainen and Ty Henricks both had one. Denver did get off to a good start with sophomore forward James Reeder knocking one in off a rebound from Eric Pohlkamp's shot from the point 35 seconds into the game, and outshot the Broncos14-9 in the opening frame.

But Western Michigan zipped off five unanswered goals, including three in a matter of 4:35 in the second period to break open the game. The Pioneers did finish with a 37-30 edge in shots, however, freshman Hampton Slukynsky made a career-high 35 saves to earn the victory.

With the win, its seventh straight, WMU evened up the season series at 2-2, and both tames are 8-4 in the NCHC standings behind No. 4 North Dakota (9-3).

Yes, they actually pulled their goalie with 12 minutes left... pic.twitter.com/D4NYDX5AVt
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) January 11, 2026

Elsewhere:

• Senior Jens Richards scored two third-period goals, including the game-winner, as Vermont completed a sweep over No. 16 Northeastern with a 5-3 victory. Philip Törnqvist had a goal and an assist, while both Colin Kessler and Jax Wismer both had two assists. The young Catamounts moved into a tie with New Hampshire for seventh place in Hockey East with 15 point, one point behind Maine and Northeastern in fifth place.

• Ohio State captain Davis Burnside scored the key go-ahead goal in the third period and freshman goalie Sam Hillebrandt had 26 saves to pick up his first collegiate win as the Buckeyes upset visiting No. 3 Michigan State 2-1.

• Senior defender Payten Evans netted the game-winning goal as the Mercyhurst women's team handed No. 4 Penn State its first loss in AHA league play this season, 4-3 in overtime. Sophomore forward Regina Metzler and freshman defender Maja Alenius both had three assists.

• We're just going to have to show you what ended up being the game-winning goal by freshman Václav Nestrašil as UMass edged No 19 Boston University 2-0. Junior Michael Hrabal made 26 saves and the Minutement blocked 22 shots.

"I'm just gonna take that, thank you", Nestrasil probably 💁‍♂️#NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPN+ / @UMassHockey pic.twitter.com/kqRanFDx5E
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) January 11, 2026

Puck Drop: Monday, October 6, 2025

• Former Boston University goaltender Drew Commesso made 36 saves to get his first NHL win as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators 3-0 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

drew commesso joining some good company on this list😎 pic.twitter.com/MQN311xJJg
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 11, 2026

• Former Colorado College defenseman Jaccob Slavin returned to the ice with the Carolina Hurricanes after missing most of the season due to a pair of injuries. He had the first assist on William Carrier's game-winning goal in the third period of a 3-2 victory against Seattle. Saturday's game was just his sixth of the season.

• Break Away On SI: A look at the Midseason Favorites Emerging in Vezina Trophy Race including how former Boston University goaltender Jake Oettinger stacks up.

Men's College Hockey Saturday Scores

AHA
Army 5, Mercyhurst 0
Sacred Heart 4, Niagara 2
Bentley 3, Air Force 1
RIT 3, Robert Morris 2 (OT)

Big Ten
Ohio State 2, No. 2 Michigan State 1
No. 9 Penn State 5, Minnesota 2
No. 1 Michigan 7, Notre Dame 4

CCHA
St. Thomas 4, No. 15 Minnesota State 2
No. 17 Augustana 2, Northern Michigan 0
Michigan Tech 4, Bemidji State 3
Bowling Green 5, Ferris State 1

ECAC
Brown 4, St. Lawrence 1
Union 4, No. 20 Princeton 2
No. 8 Quinnipiac 4, RPI 3 (OT)
Clarkson 3, Yale 2

Hockey East
Massachusetts 2, No. 19 Boston University 0
No. 18 Providence 3, No. 12 Maine 0
No. 10 UConn 5, UMass Lowell 1
Vermont 5, No. 16 Northeastern 3

NCHC
Arizona State 1, Miami 0
No. 4 North Dakota 5, Colorado College 2
No. 6 Western Michigan 6, No. 7 Denver 2
St. Cloud State 2, Omaha 1

Non-Conference
No. 3 Wisconsin 3, Alaska-Anchorage 2
No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 8, Lindenwood 4
No. 14 Cornell 5, Alaska 2
Merrimack 5, Holy Cross 2

Women's College Hockey Saturday Scores

AHA
Mercyhurst 4, No. 4 Penn State 3
Syracuse 2, Robert Morris 0

ECAC
No. 13 Colgate 5, No. 11 Clarkson 2
No. 10 Cornell 5, St. Lawrence 2
Brown 0, Dartmouth 0 (SO)
No. 14 Yale 3, Harvard 2
No. 9 Princeton 4, Rensselaer 0
No. 7 Quinnipiac 5, Union 1

Hockey East
Vermont 3, Merrimack 3 (SO)
No. 5 UConn 4, Maine 3
Boston University 2, New Hampshire 1

NEWHA
Long Island 4, Saint Michael's 0
Stonehill 4, Saint Anselm 3 (OT)
Assumption 4, Post 1
Franklin Pierce 3, Sacred Heart 1

WCHA
No. 1 Wisconsin 5, No. 8 Minnesota Duluth 1
No. 2 Ohio State 5, No. 15 St. Cloud State 1
St. Thomas 4, Bemidji State 1
No. 3 Minnesota 4, No. 12 Minnesota State 3

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Men's College Hockey Sunday Schedule

Non-Conference
Long Island at Stonehill, 3 p.m. ET

Women's College Hockey Sunday Schedule

No Games Scheduled

This Date in Hockey History:

January 11, 1956: Michigan Tech center Warren Young was born in Toronto.

January 11, 1961: Wisconsin goaltender Marc Behrend was born in Madison, Wisc.

January 11, 1962: St. Lawrence defenseman Kent Carlson was born in Concord, N.H.

January 11, 1973: Brown center Ryan Mulhern was born in Philadelphia.

January 11, 1983: Former Michigan right wing Pat Hughes became the first player to break one of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL records when the scored a pair of shorthanded goals in 25 seconds to key Edmonton’s 7-5 win over St. Louis. The goals were also against different goaltenders, Mike Liut (Bowling Green) and Rick Heinz (UMD).

January 11, 1989: Former Cornell center Joe Nieuwendyk scored four time in the third period for five total to set a franchise record as Calgary downed Winnipeg 5-3.

January 11, 1990: Hall of Fame center Pat Lafontaine extended his goal-scoring streak to 11 games to break Mike Bossy’s team record with the Islanders. He also had five assists as New York won at Minnesota 8-4.

January 11, 1994: Wisconsin left wing Nicolas Kerdiles was born in Lewisville, Texas.

January 11, 1965: Minnesota right wing Tim Bergland was born in Crookston, Minn.

January 11, 1984: Former Minnesota right wing Bryan Erickson scored his first career NHL goal as the Capitals won at the Kings.

January 11, 1999: Michigan Tech forward Brian Halonen was born in Delano, Minn.

January 11, 1999: Former Vermont left wing John LeClair notched his 250th NHL goal. He scored twice as the Flyers blanked the visiting Predators 8-0.

January 11, 2003: Former North Dakota and Ferris State left wing Jason Blake scored his first NHL hat trick and had an assist as the Islanders topped the visiting Atlanta Thrashers 7-3.

January 11, 2015: The Anaheim Ducks retired their first jersey number, Teemu Selanne’s No. 8.

Hockey Quote of the Day

"Why, that dirty rat. He scored on his brother!"
Mrs. Pat Esposito on sons Phil and Tony

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We'll Leave You With This ...

UNH, where James van Riemsdyk played college hockey, may want to think about changing its nickname from Wildcats to the Dark Knights ...

James van Riemsdyk arrived in Montreal in a Batman costume to celebrate his son's fourth birthday 🥲 pic.twitter.com/yTCz9TE6dZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 10, 2026