The excitement continued into the quarterfinal round with two more overtime games and another major upset as the nation’s No. 1 team, Utica, was stunned in overtime by the University of New England for the second year in a row. Adrian also escaped with an overtime win over Wisconsin – Stevens Point while Hobart and Endicott advanced in slightly less dramatic fashion to end the season for Curry and Norwich respectively. We are now down the Frozen Four next weekend, and it will be Endicott College hosting the final weekend of the season at the Raymond J Bourque Arena with the semifinals scheduled for Friday, March 24 and the championship game on Sunday, March 26. But before we get there, here is the summary of Saturday’s quarterfinal action:
NCAA Quarterfinal Round
(10) University of New England v. (1) Utica
The 2023 re-match saw both teams come out for the first period ready to play as UNE’s Billy Girard IV and Utica’s Bryan Landsberger made some key saves early for a scoreless opening twenty minutes of action. In the second period, Buster Larsson scored on the power play to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead that had the crowd going wild. The lead was short-lived as UNE’s Anthony Sciucco tallied a shorthanded goal just 18 seconds later to start a string of four unanswered goals for the Nor’easters that was capped off with Logan DiScanio’s goal just 45 seconds into the third period for a 4-1 lead. Utica had been firing a ton of shots at Girard and in the third period, the Pioneers began their rally with Justin Allen scoring to make it a 4-2 game with over fourteen minutes to play. Brandon Osmundson cut the deficit to one-goal with just under two and a half minutes remaining in regulation time and Larsson tied the game just 42 seconds later that put the fans in a frenzy with a 4-4 tie game heading to overtime.
The Pioneers continued their strong play into the extra session as they fired nineteen shots at Girard who saved them all. With just under seven minutes remaining in the overtime period, an awkward save by Landsberger on a shot from Daniel Winslow eluded the Pioneer goaltender’s possession into the corner behind the goal. Daniel Sciucco retrieved the puck and flipped a shot from below the goal line that banked off Landsberger and into the goal for the game-winner. Girard finished with 58 saves on 62 Pioneer shots in the game while Landsberger stopped 23 of 28 in the 5-4 loss.
The University of New England returns to the Frozen Four where they will face the defending national champions from Adrian in one semifinal on Friday.
(7) Curry v. (2) Hobart
The Statesmen and the Colonels battled in the sold-out Cooler and the first period saw patient and smart play from both sides but no goals for either team through the opening twenty minutes of action. The visitors took advantage of a power play with Tarek Paranica scoring just under nine minutes into the period for a 1-0 lead. That goal seemed to spark Hobart into another gear and in just a 35 second span, the Statesmen found the back of the net three times. Brenden Howell leveled the game at 1-1 and just 23 seconds later, Cooper Swift’s blast eluded goaltender Reid Cooper for a 2-1 lead. Twelve seconds later Kahlil Fontana put the game out of reach to end the second period at 3-1. Tanner Daniels scored early in the third period for a comfortable 4-1 advantage before Ignat Belov iced the game with an empty-net goal for the 5-1 win. Damon Beaver stopped 17 of 18 shots in goal for Hobart while Cooper finished with 30 saves on 34 shots for the Colonels.
“I thought both teams kinda felt each other out in the first period,” said Hobart head coach Mark Taylor. “Certainly you can’t give the good players opportunities. They executed and started the scoring going and I thought we did a real good job – it was a kick we needed to start playing our type of hockey. Once we got our game going, we got them hemmed in a bit in their D-zone, then things would break for us.”
“The first goal was probably like the momentum they got with the first goal and the second one was real good momentum for us. It was relief and momentum. Your down one, you feel some pressure and you get one – it is a breath of fresh air and excitement more than anything else and I think there is a push to your back after that.”
Hobart advances to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2019 and will face Endicott College in one semifinal on Friday, March 24.
(9) Norwich v. (4) Endicott
The re-match of the opening game of the season looked like it might go the way of the Cadets again as they came out flying and peppering Endicott’s Atticus Kelly with 13 shots in the first period. Kelly was equal to the task as was Norwich’s Drennen Atherton who helped on his side to keep the game scoreless for the first forty minutes. In the third period, Ryan Willett with assists from Jackson Sterrett and Andrew Kurapov finally got the puck past Atherton for a 1-0 Gulls lead. Late in the period, Noah Strawn and Cam Speck would add goals just nineteen seconds apart to put away the Cadets with a 3-0 victory. Kelly finished the game with 25 saves earning the shutout win.
With the win, Endicott earned the right to host the Frozen Four next weekend. The Gulls are appearing in their first Frozen Four and will face Hobart in a semifinal on Friday.
(6) Wisconsin – Stevens Point v. (3) Adrian
The Pointers took on the defending champions from Adrian in a game that saw special teams play a key role in deciding the outcome of the overtime contest. Alessio Luciani would score twice for the Bulldogs including one goal on the power play as the teams exchanged goals in the first two periods for a 2-2 tie heading to the third period. Goaltender Nic Tallarico was a key element for Adrian as he stopped 15 shots in the first period to hold the Pointers in check. Neither team could score in the third period and overtime would ultimately decide the contest for the home team. Matus Spodniak with assists going to Ty Enns and Jaden Shields decided the game on the power play to advance Adrian to the Frozen Four and an opportunity to defend their title.
Brian Lester will have all the details in a separate article so make sure to check it later today. Adrian will face the University of New England on Friday in semifinal action.
Three Biscuits
Brenden Howell – Hobart – scored one goal and added an assist in the 5-1 win for the Statesmen over Curry in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.
Atticus Kelly – Endicott – made 25 saves including 13 in the opening period to backstop the Gulls to their first ever Frozen Four with a 3-0 shutout win over Norwich.
Billy Girard IV – University of New England – made 58 saves including 19 in the overtime session to backstop the Nor’easters to a 5-4 overtime upset win over No. 1 ranked Utica on Saturday.
It now comes down to just four teams – Adrian, Endicott, Hobart, and the University of New England playing for the D-III national championship next weekend in Beverly, Massachusetts on the campus of Endicott College. There is just one more weekend and the level of competition has continued to ramp up through each of the rounds leading to what should be an entertaining and exciting semifinal round and championship game next weekend.
Quotes from Hobart v. Curry game courtesy of Russell Jaslow – Mr SUNYAC.
