Paul Jerrard has been an assistant with Omaha since the 2018-19 season and came to the Mavericks with NHL experience (photo: Mark Kuhlmann).
Omaha announced Thursday the passing of assistant coach Paul Jerrard.
He was 57.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of assistant coach Paul Jerrard,” Omaha head coach Mike Gabinet said in a statement. “Paul had been quietly fighting a long-term battle with cancer. Our program will be forever indebted to PJ for his countless positive impact. PJ attacked each day with a team-first attitude, vibrant enthusiasm, and an unmatched willingness to help grow and develop our young men. Knowing PJ first as my coach in pro hockey, and now having had the chance to work alongside him each day, I am beyond grateful for the lessons he shared and the loyal friendship we forged.
“There were no small jobs for PJ, and he never had a bad day, he made the people around him better and we will forever miss his presence in our locker room and lives. He was a man who lived his life with great integrity, class, and the desire to always be the best role-model and citizen he could be. He was my coach, mentor, colleague and, most importantly, friend who will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Cheryl and daughters Catherine and Meaghan.”
A native of Winnipeg, Jerrard’s playing career started with Lake Superior State in 1983. A four-year defenseman for the Lakers, Jerrard totaled 40 goals and 73 assists for 113 points in 156 games. His 14-year professional and collegiate playing career was highlighted by a stint in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars, the Hershey Bears in the AHL, and Colorado Rangers, Kalamazoo Wings, Albany Choppers and Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL. A professional journey that carried 661 career games played, Jerrard ended his playing time a champion of the AHL, raising the Calder Cup with the 1996-97 Hershey Bears.
“This is a tough day for Maverick hockey,” said Omaha executive associate athletic director and hockey sport administrator Mike Kemp said. “Paul Jerrard has been a big part of the success of Omaha hockey for the past five years. His positive outlook, bright personality and immense faith made a huge impact on everyone. He brightened every room that he entered. The players who worked under his tutelage were extremely fortunate to have learned and been mentored by Paul. He will be deeply missed by all.”
Jerrard was an integral part of Omaha hockey since May 2018 when he joined the Mavericks. A veteran and titan of the hockey community, Jerrard spent 23 years behind the bench as an assistant coach in the NHL, AHL, and NCAA. His coaching career began exactly where his playing career did. Jerrard joined Laker Superior State for four of the first five seasons of his coaching profession. Before joining the Mavericks, he spent two seasons with the Calgary Flames from 2016 to 2018. Among his other NHL campaigns, Jerrard spent two years with the Dallas Stars and one season with the Colorado Avalanche.
“The UNO community mourns the loss of coach Paul Jerrard,” said Omaha vice chancellor and director of athletics Adrian Dowell. “Despite his difficult battle over the past year, he remained remarkably positive, loyal, and always willing to help others, especially the student-athletes under his care. Paul was the ultimate example of a servant leader, and the legacy of his character will live on through his incredible family, our department, and the countless number of student-athletes and coaches he impacted along the way.”
A pioneer of the sport as a player and a coach, Jerrard strived to make the game of hockey more inclusive and diverse. To learn more about the impactful work by Jerrard to make hockey more diverse, equitable and inclusive, read a feature story on him from the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Paul is survived by his wife Cheryl and two daughters, Catherine and Meaghan.
Elmira goes undefeated 17-0-0 in the NEHC and will host Salem State this weekend in the quarterfinal round (Photo by Doug Page – Elmira College Athletics)
We’re getting closer and closer to playoff time! This weekend marks the start of various conference tournaments while some begin next weekend, but we’ve made it. It seems once the first semester break ends, the regular season goes extremely quick and before you know it, it’s over. We look back at this past weekend where more teams clinched home-ice and others are battling away.
Elmira goes undefeated in the NEHC
Elmira’s season (19-5-0 overall) has been an interesting one as I’ve alluded to and pointed out on various occasions. I’m sure Head Coach Jake Bobrowski wouldn’t mind me saying that after their 7-0, 6-0, & 6-3 losses (non-conference) midway through the season, there was some cause for concern in terms of where this season was headed and what the team was capable of. Well, they answered the bell and here we are, they’ve gone undefeated in the NEHC regular season to claim the #1 seed and host #8 Salem State this upcoming Saturday (2/18) in the quarterfinal round. Before we move on, take a gander at the photo below, not many can pull off a suit like Coach Bobrowski, a truly dapper display from the prized Minnesota native.
Head Coach Jake Bobrowski of Elmira Women’s Hockey (Photo by Doug Page – Elmira College Athletics)
Finishing with a perfect record of 17-0-0 (game vs Plymouth State on 2/4/23 was canceled, so only 17/18 conference games were played) they lead 2nd place Norwich by 7 points (51-44) even with one less game played. The Soaring Eagles ended the season on a 10-game winning streak including big wins over (USCHO rankings) #7 Norwich twice, winning 3-2 & 3-1, and #12 Nazareth 3-2 in OT. This team has really come together after some rough losses and struggles faced throughout the season, which is understandable with such a young team.
Most recently, they won a pair of road games at New England College 8-1 & Norwich 3-1. Point leaders on the weekend were Morgan Mordini (2 goals, 2 assists), Holley Riva (1 goal, 2 assists), Katie Manning (3 assists), & Erika Goleniak (1 goal, 2 assists). Goaltender Leonie Kuehberger made 27 saves on the weekend allowing only one goal, she played the full 60 minutes vs Norwich and only 40 minutes vs New England College as the team had a 5-0 lead entering the 3rd period.
It’ll be an interesting NEHC tournament. By the looks of it in terms of pairwise, there’s only going to be one team coming out of this conference for the NCAA tournament and it’ll have to be by the automatic bid granted to the conference tournament winner. Elmira could possibly slide in with an at-large, but it’s not likely, Norwich doesn’t have any chance at an at-large bid, their only way in is via the auto-bid.
Cortland’s Mia Hlasnick makes program history
Sophomore Forward Mia Hlasnick of Cortland made program history this past weekend, setting the record for single season assists as she tallied her 19th (previous record was 18, set by Julie Ellis, back in 2004) in the 5-0 win over Potsdam on Saturday 2/11. Mia currently has 31 points on the season, 54 for her career total as she had 23 her freshman year. She’s off to an impressive start midway through her college hockey career and on pace to join the 100-point club.
Cortland’s Mia Hlasnick sets the program single-season record for assists in the 5-0 win over Potsdam (Photo by EDL Photography)
Cortland most recently picked up a pair of shutout wins over Oswego and Potsdam, winning 2-0 & 5-0. They face Canton on the road this weekend and host Potsdam to conclude their regular season in which they’ll then host Oswego next weekend 2/25 in the NEWHL semifinal matchup. Sitting with a record of 17-6, ranked #10 pairwise, they’re in an interesting spot. Sitting just outside of the at-large bid window, there’s a chance they could receive one if they do not win the NEWHL conference tournament (Plattsburgh has won every NEWHL title since being established) depending on what happens above them. If they pull off the upset and win the NEWHL, then the NCAA tournament will feature two NEWHL teams for the first time ever as Plattsburgh will receive a bid no matter what occurs from here on out.
UCHC Showdown this weekend
This weekend we’ve got the biggest UCHC matchup so far, what a way to end the regular season than with a two-game series between #1 Utica & #2 Nazareth (UCHC Standings). Utica sits atop the conference holding a record of 17-0-1 (53 points), whilst Nazareth is creeping behind in 2nd place at 17-1-0 (52 points), the next closest is Manhattanville with 36 points.
Utica heads to Nazareth for a two-game series this weekend as they look to lock up the #1 seed in the UCHC (Photo by Maxwell LeBuis – YSM Media)
This series is a massive one for both teams as Utica only needs to win one game out of the two to win the UCHC conference title for the first time ever. This would mean both the Utica Men’s & Women’s teams would win the regular-season conference titles and receive home-ice throughout their conference tournaments. Both teams have been dominant in and out of conference, here’s an impressive stat starting with Utica: GF-GA (goals for – goals against) in-conference: 104-11, overall: 118-19, for Nazareth: 91-9 in-conference, 100-24 overall.
This weekend and the UCHC tournament in general will have huge NCAA tournament implications because Nazareth needs to win the UCHC conference tournament if they want to be in the NCAA tournament as they currently sit at 17th in pairwise, which is too low at this point in the year. Utica on the other hand, is in an intriguing spot, sitting at #12, hypothetically, one-two wins over Nazareth this weekend and then a loss in the UCHC finals, they may still have an at-large bid chance, but an outside one. It would be a real shame to see Utica not receive an at-large bid with the amazing record and season they’ve had thus far, but they can fix that by winning the UCHC title.
Lynden Breen has been solid up front for Maine, netting 16 goals this season for the Black Bears (photo: Maine Athletics).
New Hampshire coach Mike Souza has had a front-row seat to the rivalry between his school and state-line rival Maine for the better part of three decades, both as a player and a coach.
Going back to the 1999 season as a player, when Maine and UNH were the toast of Hockey East, if not the entire nation, Souza fondly remembers the chase for the conference regular-season title coming down to a weekend series against the Black Bears (UNH won both games by scores of 6-1 and 4-1).
He also remembers the next meeting between the two schools, which came in the NCAA championship in Anaheim, Calif., with Maine winning a 3-2 overtime thriller.
“I would have just as well lost that (regular-season) weekend and won a few weekends later out in California,” Souza said. “But for me, that (season) was a lot of fun.”
Together the iconic programs have combined for seven Hockey East regular-season championships and 10 conference tournament titles. Each team has beaten the other once in the tourney final.
Since then, the programs have fallen on hard times. Each has suffered six losing seasons since 2014, and neither has made the NCAA tournament field in a decade, with UNH’s last appearance coming in 2013 and the Black Bears’ in 2012.
Lest fans of either school become needlessly depressed, however, there have been signs — especially since the calendar turned to 2023 — that the tide is turning at both universities after slow starts to the season.
A pair of losses at Union of ECAC Hockey to close out 2022 left the Wildcats reeling at 4-16-1, and still without a conference win. Since then, UNH is 7-2 with six wins against teams ranked at the time in the USCHO.com poll. The Wildcats (11-18-1, 6-13-1 Hockey East) have won four straight, including a home sweep of No. 14 Connecticut by scores of 4-1 and 3-2 (OT).
The Black Bears (currently 13-13-3, 7-9-2) were also crying the blues on the last day of 2022 with a shootout loss at Colgate (ECAC Hockey). That put Maine at 6-9-2. In 2023, Maine is 7-4-1 and unbeaten in four of its last five, including a weekend sweep at home of Providence, ranked 17th at the time. The Black Bears are coming off a weekend where they beat Boston College 3-1 at Conte Forum then skated to a 1-1 tie at UMass-Lowell before losing a shootout.
The decades-long rivalry between UNH and Maine will add another chapter this Friday and Saturday night as they meet for a pair of games at the Whittemore Center. Both are set for a 7 p.m. puck drop with Friday night’s game airing on NESN.
“When UNH and Maine are good, I think it’s good for our league,” Souza said. “It’s certainly good for college hockey.”
Souza said his team’s precarious position in the standings is his focus, not necessarily the rivalry with Maine.
“I want to make sure our guys are ready to go,” Souza said. “That’s my sole focus.”
The Wildcats and Black Bears are separated by five points in the Hockey East standings and are jockeying for home ice in the rapidly approaching opening round of the conference tournament, a single-elimination affair that begins March 8.
The Black Bears now sit seventh, six points back of Providence with two games in hand, while UNH is ninth, one spot out of home-ice advantage in the first round.
“I think it’s going to be as hard-fought a series as we’ve played all year,” Maine coach Ben Barr said this week in an interview with WZON radio. “(UNH) is very similar to us — the first half of the year, they lost games they probably should have won. (They’re) a good hockey team. They’re playing their best hockey. This is going to be every bit as hard as any game we’ve played on the road this year.”
Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings, talking the Mavericks and their mid-season turnaround, coming off a bye week, the CCHA, and the upcoming series at Bemidji State.
This podcast is sponsored by the NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four, April 6th and 8th, 2023 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Secure your seats at NCAA.com/mfrozenfour
Noah Serdachny has compiled two goals and six points in 17 games this season for CC (photo: Casey B. Gibson).
The longer a hockey season goes on, the less that coaches of teams in the bottom halves of their leagues look for perfection on game day.
If something’s working, pretty or not, let it work.
Such was the case Saturday for Colorado College in its shootout win at No. 16 Omaha, following a 2-2 tie inside Baxter Arena.
CC, which had entered 2023 looking firmly like a potential surprise top-half finisher in the NCHC, lost its last six games before Saturday, including a 3-2 loss Friday. Tigers coach Kris Mayotte wasn’t about to say his team’s response in the rematch was a work of art, but a 40-save showing from freshman goaltender Kaidan Mbereko, Noah Laba’s tying goal with 17 seconds left in regulation and shootout goals from Ryan Beck and Noah Serdachny helped put CC back in the right direction.
“We found a way,” Mayotte said in a postgame interview. “It wasn’t our best, really at any point. The only time I really felt like we were able to push or sustain anything was in the last five minutes of the third.”
Omaha had led twice through goals from Ty Mueller and Jack Randl, but Beck tied the game at 1-1 shortly after the midway point of the second period, and Laba’s 10th goal of the season forced overtime. The Tigers got there despite getting zero power plays in regulation, whereas UNO had five.
“At no point was it easy,” Mayotte said. “At really no point were we feeling good about how we were playing, or what we were able to get accomplished, but we found a way to get it done. Kaidan Mbereko was special again tonight (following a 36-save performance Friday in a 3-2 CC loss), you look at Laba scoring, you look at Beck scoring. We had guys step up. Our PK found a way to keep us in it, Berkie being a part of that, but once we kind of made a push in the last six minutes, the belief, the chatter, the talk was getting there, and they don’t ask how.
“We’ve had performances where we felt we were better than our result. Quite honestly, tonight we weren’t very good at any point, but to come out of this building (with a shootout win) against that team, with how they’re playing, it’s a huge confidence booster for our guys.”
Mbereko was named as the NCHC’s goaltender of the week for his performances at Baxter. He and fellow freshmen Beck, Laba and Serdachny helped lighten the load of junior forward Hunter McKown, the Tigers’ top scorer with 16 goals. He’s also the only CC player to reach the 20-point mark so far this season.
“He finished the game with six shots, so he was certainly impactful, but some other guys were able to pick up a little bit of the slack. Our ‘D’ corps battled hard, and it’s nice to see guys getting on the score sheet and finding a way to contribute. That’s going to help them build in their belief in what they can help us do.”
CC is 10 points back from fourth place in the NCHC standings and would visit third-place St. Cloud State if the playoffs started this weekend. Instead, the Tigers have remaining regular-season sets at Western Michigan this week, at home to North Dakota on Feb. 25-26, and a home-and-home series March 3-4 against Denver.
Devon Levi has seen the bulk of time in net this season for Northeastern (photo: Jim Pierce).
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced the semifinalists for this year’s Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey since 2014.
Nine goaltenders from a watch list of 41 were singled out by a panel of voters from across the hockey community.
There is a distinct international feel to the semifinalists with three each from Canada and the United States, two from Sweden, and one from the Czech Republic. Five are seniors, two are juniors, and two are sophomores. Four were semifinalists last year.
Three finalists will be announced in early March and the winner of this year’s Mike Richter Award will be announced in April during the NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa. Last year’s recipient, Devon Levi of Northeastern, is again a semifinalist.
Five NCAA Division I conferences are represented among the semifinalists with the Big Ten boasting three goalies, followed by ECAC Hockey and Hockey East with two each and the CCHA and the NCHC with one each.
Past Richter Award Recipients: 2014 – Connor Hellebuyck, UMass Lowell; 2015 – Zane McIntyre, North Dakota; 2016 – Thatcher Demko, Boston College; 2017 – Tanner Jaillet, Denver; 2018 – Cale Morris, Notre Dame; 2019 – Cayden Primeau, Northeastern; 2020 – Jeremy Swayman, Maine; 2021 – Jack LaFontaine, Minnesota; 2022 – Devon Levi, Northeastern.
Semifinalists for the 2023 Mike Richter Award
Ryan Bischel, Notre Dame (Big Ten)
(SR – Medina, MN)
Magnus Chrona, Denver (NCHC)
(SR – Stockholm, Sweden)
Babson’s Ryan Black and Endicott’s Conor O’Brien were leaders on their respective teams last season and shared the 2022 Joe Concannon Award (photos: Babson Athletics/Endicott Athletics).
The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has announced the 33 semifinalists for the 22nd Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III hockey player in New England.
The award was established in 2001 shortly after the passing of the longtime writer for the Boston Globe, who had a great passion for the game of college hockey while always advocating strongly for amateur athletics.
“This year has truly been the most dynamic and competitive at the DII/III level in many seasons” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello in a news release. “The competitiveness from top to bottom and the number of outstanding individual efforts throughout the season have made this year’s group of nominees the deepest and most diverse the committee has seen in the history of the award. The 33 semifinalists represent our largest field in the 22-year history of the Concannon Award, and it was very difficult to get it down to that number. We expect to see the field sort itself out in the course of the final weeks of the regular season, conference championship tournaments and the NCAA title chase in March.”
A total of 25 schools are represented in the slate of candidates that includes five players from the NEHC, six from the Northeast-10, six from the MASCAC, eight from the NESCAC, and six from the CCC. Two independent programs, Anna Maria and Albertus Magnus, also have nominees this season.
The list of nominees includes 20 forwards, nine defensemen and four goaltenders. No school received more than two nominees, reflecting the balance across the DII/III hockey landscape in New England. Babson, Colby, Norwich, Plymouth State, St. Anselm, Trinity, Wesleyan, and the University of New England each have two nominees.
The following is the complete list of semifinalists, by team, with statistics reflecting games through Feb. 13, 2023:
Albertus Magnus: Tim Manning, sophomore forward from Concord, OH (11G – 10A – 21 points; +10)
Anna Maria: Cam Tobey, senior defenseman from Falmouth, MA (8G – 10A – 18 points; +10)
Assumption: Colin Philippon, senior forward from Salem, NH (9G – 17A – 26 points; -3)
Babson: Thomas Kramer, junior forward from Bridgewater, MA (8G – 16A – 24 points; +7); James Perullo, senior defenseman from Revere, MA (5G – 9A – 14 points; +14)
Bowdoin: Andy Stoneman, senior forward from Arrowsic, ME (8G – 12A – 20 points; +14)
Colby: Andy Beran, junior goaltender from St. Paul, MN (1.93 goals-against average, .934 save percentage); Jack Sullivan, junior defenseman from Elmhurst, IL (5G – 13A – 18 points; +8)
Framingham State: Dylan Marty, sophomore forward from New Richmond, WI (7G – 15A – 22 points; -3)
Franklin Pierce: Conor Foley, junior forward from Nahant, MA (16G – 18A – 34 points; +5)
UMass Dartmouth: Jake Maynard, senior defenseman from St. John, IN (2G – 18A – 20 points; +6)
Norwich: Drennen Atherton, senior goaltender from Winter Haven, FL (1.36 goals-against average, .947 save percentage); Clark Kerner, sophomore forward from Kansas City, KS (8G – 11A – 19 points; +15)
Plymouth State: Myles Abbate, junior forward from Norwell, MA (9G – 21A – 30 points; +16); Brendahn Brawley, senior goaltender from Morton, PA (2.22 goals-against average; .930 save percentage)
Post: Nick Weber, freshman forward from Woodbury, MN (14G – 11A – 25 points; +3)
Salem State: Erik Larsson, junior forward from Lake Tahoe, CA (14G – 12A – 26 points; -11)
Salve Regina: Johnny Mulera, junior forward from Rockville, MD (10G – 14A – 24 points; +4)
Southern Maine: Curtis Judd, senior forward from Newton, MA (15G – 10A – 25 points; +8)
St. Anselm: Matt Hayes, senior forward from Salem, NH (7G – 16A – 23 points; +12); Jack Murphy, senior defenseman from Marshfield, MA (3G – 18A – 21 points +4)
St. Michael’s: Jeremy Routh, senior forward from Hampden, CT (10G – 16A – 26 points; +9)
Trinity: Gerard Maretta, junior forward from Brick, NJ (13G – 6A – 19 points; +14); Devon Bobak, freshman goaltender from Northwood, OH (1.27 goals-against average; .939 save percentage)
Tufts: Sam Miller, junior defenseman from Milwaukee, WI (7G – 12A – 19 points; +4)
Wesleyan: Wiggle Kerbrat, senior forward from Laguna Niguel, CA (15G – 10A – 25 points +12); Jake Lachance, senior defenseman from Andover, MA (6G – 16A – 22 points; +3)
Western New England: Shane Miller, junior defenseman from Succasunna, NJ (5G – 14A – 19 points -8)
University of New England: Jake Fuss, junior forward from Fairfield, CT (9G – 19A – 28 points; +17); Alex Sheehy, senior defenseman from North Salem, NY (1G – 12A – 13 points +12)
The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Frozen Four on March 24-26.
In 2022, co-winners were named as Ryan Black (Babson) and Conor O’Brien (Endicott) took home Concannon honors.
Jackson Arcan and his Oswego teammates are looking to take one of the top two spots for the upcoming SUNYAC playoffs but will need wins this weekend to earn it (Photo by Oswego Athletics)
It is officially playoff season as the NEHC quarterfinals take place on Saturday while elsewhere the battles for first place and home-ice seeding continue in the final week of the regular season across the CCC, NE-10, SUNYAC and NESCAC conferences. Last week’s super-sized picks rebounded nicely at 10-2-1 (.808) which now brings my season total up to 109-50-12 (.673). It is time to finish strong going starting with a number of key games and all the NEHC quarterfinal matchups. Here are the picks with some pivotal battles on the schedule:
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
(7) Plattsburgh v. Morrisville
The Cardinals have already clinched a top-two spot but would prefer all the playoffs to run through their building and a win over the Mustangs will help to secure the No. 1 seed. Too much on the line in their last regular season game not be out front early and cruising to a win – Plattsburgh, 5-2
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Plymouth State v. Framingham State
The Panthers are on the verge of something special if they can win their final two regular season contests and go 18-0-0 on the season heading into the conference tournament. They won’t look past a pesky Rams team that can surprise with some quick strike offense. Closer than the visitors would like but a road win is attained – Plymouth State, 5-4
Friday, February 17, 2023
Salve Regina v. (9) University of New England
The Nor’easters have found their game but so too have the Seahawks so look for a goaltender duel between Anthony Del Tufo and Billy Girard IV with the home team finding some late offense to keep them in the hunt for the second seed – UNE, 3-1
Southern New Hampshire v. Assumption
The Greyhounds were swept at St. Mike’s last weekend and a third loss in a row could be problematic for avoiding a quarterfinal game. The Penmen have been much better lately in league play and continue their winning ways to further complicate the NE-10 standings – SNHU, 4-3
Wesleyan v. (14) Trinity
The Cardinals are sitting six points in arrears of their travel partner and need wins on both ends of the home-and-home series to contend for the top spot. The Bantams know how to close things out and take care of business on home ice to secure the regular season title – Trinity, 3-2
Buffalo State v. (15) Oswego
The Bengals have been a tough out for pretty much all the teams positioned above them, and the Lakers need this game (and Saturday vs Fredonia) if they want to win the top seed for the SUNYAC playoffs. Expect this one to go down to the wire and dare I say, some bonus overtime hockey before the home team prevails – Oswego, 3-2
Nazareth v. Chatham
The final two games could very well decide which team is heading into the playoffs with some really great momentum. Expect this contest and the one on Saturday to play like playoff games, well, because they all are at this point of the season. Visitors eke out a surprise win – Nazareth, 3-2
Saturday, February 18, 2023
NEHC Quarterfinals
Castleton v. (2) Hobart
The Statesmen took both games in the regular season by 4-1 and 5-1 scores. There is no way the upset bug hits Hobart in their pursuit of winning the NEHC title. Start fast and finish strong is exactly what happens at The Cooler – Hobart, 5-1
New England College v. (5) Norwich
The Pilgrims are going to have to do something they didn’t manage in the regular season against the Cadets if they want to have a chance of winning – they need to score. 1-0 and 6-0 wins showed Norwich’s dominant play and Drennen Atherton and company make it a troika of shutouts in the quarterfinals – Norwich, 3-0
Massachusetts-Boston v. Babson
The regular season series was split one win each on home ice. These former travel partners are very familiar opponents but Babson always seems to find a different level come playoff time and an abundance of players who emerge for big moments. A big moment needed here in a close contest that sees the Beavers advancing – Babson, 2-1
Skidmore v. Elmira
The season series went to Elmira but this league has a history of lower seeds advancing and winning the championship such is the depth of the conference. Neither team had the second half it wanted so it’s redemption time and the Thoroughbreds won’t drop a third game to Elmira. My upset special – Skidmore, 4-3
Fitchburg State v. Worcester State
The Lancers have already achieved a lot of firsts in conference play including surpassing the ten win plateau. Nothing says you have arrived as a contender like knocking off one of the perennial contending teams heading into the playoffs. Lancers find a way to down the Falcons – Worcester State, 4-3
(1) Utica v. Arcadia
The Pioneers are on a roll and will want to build off their continued strong play before the hunt for the UCHC title begins in earnest. Lots of depth and contributions from everyone wearing the orange and blue – Utica, 5-1
Brockport v. (12) Geneseo
The Knights can only control what they do on the ice and a win against Brockport at least gives them a chance to finish in the top two in the conference. Home ice always helps with a supportive crowd but a game to build consistency heading into post-season action is what the Knights need – Geneseo, 5-2
(6) Curry v. (3) Endicott
The Colonels need points in their battle for the No. 2 seed with UNE and would love to remove the Gulls from the conference unbeaten ranks in the process. Reid Cooper is going to need to be exceptionally good and he is good enough for the Colonels in an OT win – Curry, 4-3
It is already the playoffs and for contested conference races going right to the final weekend, those are playoff games too. Lots still to play for as teams look to set themselves up for post-season just a week away – “Drop the Puck!”
Keaton Mastrodonato dons the ‘C’ this season for Canisius (photo: tomwolf.smugmug.com).
A massive snowstorm hit Buffalo back on Dec 23-24, shutting the city down for days.
That prevented Canisius from flying to Air Force for a two-game series scheduled for Dec. 30-31.
With no free weekends left for either school, much less the same one for both, Atlantic Hockey was faced with choosing the least terrible of several terrible options, which included canceling the series and basing the standings on winning percentage.
“We wanted to play these games, if possible,” said AHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio. “This seemed to be the fairest option.”
The fairest option was to have the Air Force host Canisius on Monday, Feb. 13, and Tuesday, Feb. 14. Each team flew to Colorado Springs on Sunday – the Falcons after a weekend split at Sacred Heart and the Golden Griffins after a sweep at Mercyhurst.
Both teams are on the playoff bubble. Air Force is outside looking in, seven points behind Canisius for the final playoff spot. But Canisius needs points not just to keep Air Force in the rearview mirror, but to move up the standings. The Griffs are eight points out of home ice with two games in hand. Those two games are being played at Air Force this week.
Four games in five days is something college hockey players aren’t used to. The closest is a best-of-three series that goes the distance. But those are all at one location.
But Canisius coach Trevor Large says his team is prepared. I reached him Monday morning after he and his team had flown Saturday night to Cleveland, and then to Denver on Sunday.
“We’ve got a roster of players that say they’re ready,” he said. “We’ve researched to find the best recipe possible to get the guys prepared for the travel and altitude.
“(The players) know their bodies and what they need to do. My job is to provide them with every resource possible.”
Coming off a sweep of Mercyhurst, Canisius is playing some of its best hockey of the season.
“Our special teams have come on,” said Large. “We’re much better in that area in the second half of the season.”
Last weekend against Mercyhurst, Canisius was two for four with the man advantage, and was perfect on the penalty kill, stopping all three Lakers attempts.
You have to go back to Jan. 14, a stretch of nine games, to find the last time Canisius surrendered a power-play goal.
Canisius will be facing an Air Force team that has been in playoff mode for a month already, looking to move into a postseason slots. The Falcons have won four of their last five,
“Both teams are playing well right now,” said Large. “I look forward to a good series, It’ll be two teams getting after each other.”
As far as the playoff implications of the series, Large says he doesn’t have to dwell on it.
“We’re aware of it,” said Large. “We’re focused on our opponent and our next game.”
Note: This interview was conducted prior to the Monday/Tuesday series between Air Force and Canisius. On Monday, despite a career-high 52 saves from Canisius goaltender Jacob Barczewski, Air Force defeated Canisius 2-1. The Golden Griffins’ lead over Air Force for the final playoff position dropped to four points.
What we know
After Tuesday’ Air Force-Canisius game, all ten Atlantic Hockey teams will have four games remaining. Not much has been decided yet, but we’ll start to see teams lock into playoff positions this coming weekend.
Here’s where we are as of Tuesday, Feb. 14:
– Rochester Institute of Technology: The Tigers can clinch the regular season title with two wins, or two losses by Sacred Heart, or one win and one loss by SHU. RIT can finish no lower than second, so it has clinched home ice in the first round.
– Sacred Heart has clinched a playoff spot and can finish anywhere from first-sixth.
– American International can finish between second-ninth.
– Army is currently tied for fourth with Niagara but holds the tiebreaker. It can finish between second and tenth.
– Niagara can finish between second and tenth.
– Holy Cross can finish between second and tenth.
– Mercyhurst can finish between third and tenth.
– Canisius can finish between second and tenth.
– Air Force is currently out of the playoff picture by four points but can finish as high as third.
– Bentley is six points below the postseason cutoff but can still finish as high as fourth with a lot of help.
Akito Hirose has been a consistent contributor all season from the Minnesota State back end (photo: Terry Ballard).
It always feels like this.
In the 10 years I’ve spent covering the old WCHA, then the new WCHA, and now finally the new CCHA, it can often feel like I’m writing the same story every year at the season’s end: Nothing is decided, and everyone is pretty close.
Michigan Tech leads Minnesota State by two points in the title race. Bowling Green, Bemidji State and Ferris State could all still finish third, or they could be out of home-ice contention. Both Northern Michigan and St. Thomas could also technically gain home ice for the playoffs.
While that seems almost too good to be true – like someone is writing a script – let me just reiterate: It’s always been like this. There’s only been three seasons since realignment when the winner of the MacNaughton Cup did so before the final two weeks of the season. More often than not, it’s close right up until the end for the league title, not to mention for things like home ice.
At this point, the only thing that has actually been clinched is Michigan Tech’s home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Nearly everything else is still up for grabs.
“It’s a weekend that, this time of year, these are huge weekends for everybody,” Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore said during his weekly press conference prior to Beavers taking on Minnesota State at home this weekend. “Everybody has something at stake right now. Mankato wants to win a championship, we want to get home ice, things are tight between Tech and Mankato, it’s tight between us and Ferris State and Northern Michigan right now… so I mean, there’s just so much on the line right now.”
With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to run down where we’re at with two weeks left.
The way I see it, there are three bands of competition.
The title race Michigan Tech (47 points), Minnesota State (45 points)
With apologies to Bowling Green (41 points), but for them, the math (as they say) ain’t mathin.’
The Huskies lead the Mavericks right now, but because the CCHA schedule has been so fluky – it seems like nobody has ever played the exact same amount of games all season – MSU has two games in hand. The Mavs travel to Bemidji State this weekend while the Huskies are off. Last week, it was reversed. The Huskies split with Bowling Green and took the lead in the conference, but only because the Mavericks were on their bye week.
Of course, when I talked about “script writers” earlier, what I actually meant was “schedule-makers.” Whoever finalized the league schedule this year did a fantastic job, as the Mavericks host the Huskies in Mankato next week in what essentially will amount to a winner-take-all series.
Third place Bowling Green (41 points); Bemidji State (34 points); Ferris State (33 points)
With regards to BGSU: The Falcons are technically six points behind Tech and four behind Mankato, but they have two things against them. The first – the little fact that Mankato and Tech play head-to-head – wouldn’t be so bad if not for the second – the fact that the Falcons are also on a bye this week.
Meanwhile, Bemidji and Ferris just met head-to-head last weekend and… nothing changed. The Bulldogs beat the Beavers on Friday to briefly pull ahead in the standings but stayed there for less than 24 hours, as BSU won the series finale.
Although BSU and FSU are eight and nine points, respectively, behind the Falcons, both could sweep this weekend and actually put themselves in contention to pass them. This is easier said than done, especially since the Beavers have to play Minnesota State this weekend, but it’s very possible that both teams could secure home ice and leave the Falcons on the outside looking in.
The “Still-not-out-of-it-for-home-ice” teams Northern Michigan (27 points), St. Thomas (26 points)
A pair of longshots who technically still have a chance to clinch home ice should other results go their way.
NMU, as noted, plays Ferris State this weekend and could move into a tie for fifth if they sweep the Bulldogs. If that happens, St. Thomas could also close in with a sweep of Lake Superior – a team the Tommies have already swept once this year.
The Wildcats then close out with Bowling Green – the team they opened the season against on the very first weekend of the season – while the Tommies host Bemidji State.
On the bottom Lake Superior State (17 points)
The Lakers’ chances of escaping the cellar are slim, but it’s still possible if they win out and results go their way. The only thing we know for sure about them is that they are the only team in the league out of the running for home ice. The more likely question is this: Will they be visiting Houghton or Mankato in the first round of the playoffs?
Alaska currently sits 19th in the PairWise (photo: Alexis Friedman).
Fans can (and do!) argue endlessly about which team has the country’s toughest schedule.
And while the Pairwise, RPI and KRACH have largely rendered these discussions moot (there’s math involved!) what’s not up for dispute of this: No team in college hockey has it tougher travel-wise than the Alaska Nanooks.
Just take a gander at this late-season swing: The Nanooks played Arizona State in Fairbanks for a Friday-Saturday series before leaving three days later for New York, where they played two afternoon games at an NHL practice rink in Long Island on a Friday and Saturday, only take another redeye back to Fairbanks in order to play the exact same team twice more. Then they hop on another plane to play Arizona State once again before returning to Fairbanks one final time to play Lindenwood in their final games of the regular season.
Ah, the glamorous life of an NCAA hockey independent. Playing on the road so often, and being without a conference as the Nanooks are, can be tough on the bodies and the minds. But despite this, head coach Erik Largen says there are also benefits to being away from home so much.
“Sometimes being on the road and being away from some of those things and just being with your teammates ends up being a benefit,” Largen said last week. “Sometimes the travel can be a little tough with the distance and things like that, but overall I think our guys play pretty well on the road. They eat well, they sleep well and should be prepared to play on a given weekend.”
If playing on the road so much troubles the Nanooks, it’s certainly not showing in their play. At 16-10-2 overall, Alaska has played themselves into the conversation of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Although those hopes took a bit of a hit this past weekend when the team split with LIU, it’s still mathematically possible for the Nanooks provided they win the rest of their six games and have a lot of help from teams around the country. The Nanooks are currently No. 19 in the Pairwise rankings.
“If somebody said they weren’t looking at that, they’d be lying,” Largen said. “We all want to keep playing, we all want an opportunity to play in the national tournament, play in the national championship. We know that every game is so important for us. We don’t have the luxury to play in a conference tournament. (These games are) critical. We have to do a pretty darned good job, and we have some tough opponents on the schedule.”
If the Nanooks did get a bid, it would be the first time an independent team received a bid to the tournament since 2019 when Arizona State made it. Before that was in the early 1990s when UAF’s rival Alaska Anchorage made it as an independent from 1990 to 1992.
“We play Long Island this weekend, and we know if we lose two games that dream’s just about done,” Largen said last week before the road portion of the extended four-game home-and-home. The Nanooks didn’t lose two – they won 5-3 on Friday but lost 3-1 to the Sharks on Saturday – so there’s almost certainly no chance of the Nanooks making it if they lose again. “We have to take care of what we can control, and that’s just playing the best we can in these last games and being as prepared as possible.
“If we can take care of business and have a good finish, you never know what could happen at the end of the year.”
Regardless of how the end of the season plays out, the Nanooks likely surprised some people with their overall resume and the wins they’ve been able to get. They beat Denver, Omaha and Notre Dame – all on the road – and have only been swept twice this season, by Michigan Tech and Penn State.
“Against Penn State, I felt like we played really good hockey,” Largen said. “We didn’t maybe get rewarded with wins but that second night I thought we outplayed them and probably deserved a better fate,” Largen said. “It was good to see we weren’t just reliant on goaltending or special teams. I think our game on 5-on-5 has really evolved. Fast forward a month or so and we got a chance to play Notre Dame and Denver, and we felt like we played really good hockey in all four of those games.
“Getting a split in those places is not the easiest thing to do, so we’re starting to see that we can play with anyone in the country.”
The Nanooks were a passable 14-18-2 a season ago, but considering they were not able to play at all during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season and lost many key players because of it, their resurgence as an independent is all the more impressive. Largen pointed to Max Newton, who left for Merrimack was one of Hockey East’s top scorers a year ago, and Chris Jandric, who transferred to North Dakota and currently leads the NCHC in scoring for defenseman.
Largen isn’t going to play the what-if game, though: His current team is plenty good, too. A trio of sophomores – Payton Matsui, Brady Risk and Chase Dubois – are leading the team in scoring, and a couple of transfers – forward Johnny Sorenson from Minnesota and goaltender Matt Radomsky from Holy Cross – have helped propel the program forward.
Anton Rubtsov handles the puck with an Arizona State’s Ty Jackson in pursuit during a recent game (photo: Miles Jordan).
“That ’19-20 year, we had home ice and lost to a pretty good Bowling Green team that year, and I thought we could maybe make another pretty good run at it and I thought we were set up for a good year. That COVID year made us take a step back, but as we got into the second half of that 20-21 season, I thought we were playing good hockey and were getting some good results with it. From a program perspective, that hasn’t taken a dip. I just feel like Alaska’s a great place to play, we have fantastic facilities and great support and that hasn’t changed from COVID.”
The biggest challenge? Playing without a conference. Hence why the Nanooks are playing just 13 home games as opposed to 21 on the road. And why they have played rivals Alaska Anchorage six times.
With six independent programs out there playing right now, Largen said games against all these teams have become nearly as important as they would be if they were in a league like the old WCHA.
Largen said there have been discussions about possibly forming an official conference with the remaining independents. In the past, those discussions didn’t get very far because the NCAA was thinking about putting a hold on the formation of single-sport conferences, but it appears that is no longer the case.
“If there’s a way for us to get an AQ, it’s a no-brainer, because I think there are some good teams and I think it would help elevate everybody’s programs,” Largen said. “Obviously there are hurdles with that, but I think it’s possible.
“I know now everyone is very inward-looking, which is understandable with COVID and costs and the state of NCAA athletics, but it would be nice to have a conference that welcomes newcomers and maybe encourages expansion and maybe allow some teams to know they have a landing spot and a built-in schedule right off the bat.”
For now, though, the Nanooks will have to play the schedule in front of them: Six games against fellow independents that might not “mean” much for the other programs but are huge for the Nanooks’ shot at the NCAAs. Largen, however, dismissed the talk of “meaningless” games.
“Last year, we didn’t necessarily have anything to play for, but our guys played so hard against all these teams,” he said. “When you drop the puck, the game’s the game, and guys are going to play hard. Guys are excited to play the game, regardless of what’s on the line. These guys love playing, and whether you’re 1-31 or 31-1, you’re still going to be playing hard these last few games of the year.
“At the same time, it’s great to play meaningful hockey this time of year. There’s only so many teams that get a chance to make the tournament through an at-large bid, and for us to still be playing for that is a good accomplishment. But we’d love the ability to finish strong and give ourselves the best opportunity to do that.”
The NEWHA announced on Tuesday a one-game suspension for LIU’s Bri Eid, effective for the Sharks’ next game.
The suspension is a result of Eid’s major penalty for boarding and game misconduct, which occurred at the 16:23 mark of the third period on Feb. 11 against Sacred Heart. Upon further review, the infraction was deemed to warrant a suspension.
The next scheduled game for LIU is this Friday, Feb. 17, at Franklin Pierce. Eid is eligible to return for Saturday’s high-noon contest at Franklin Pierce, the regular-season finale for the Sharks.
St. Olaf scores the game-winning overtime goal vs Saint Benedict to win 3-2 and clinch the Ole’s a spot in the MIAC playoffs for the first time since 2012 (Photo by Peter Sidmore)
We were treated to another good weekend of women’s hockey out west. We saw St. Olaf clinch a MIAC playoff spot for the first time since 2012, another Gustie made a mark in the record books, notching her 100th career point, a game-winning-goal scored with just 0.1 seconds left in the 3rd period, and we also had an upset in the NCHA!
St. Olaf #UmYahYah | #OlePride
St. Olaf (and their set of legendary social media hashtags) have clinched a playoff spot for the first time since the 2012 season where they finished 11-12-2. After this weekend, they’re 14-7-2 and have the most single season wins since the 2009-2010 season where they finished 14-11-2. Most recently, the Ole’s split the weekend series with Saint Benedict, winning 3-2 in OT and falling 3-0. The 3-2 victory was the only one they needed to secure themselves a postseason spot.
A few weeks ago, I discussed how the program had been in shambles for years until their most-recent head coach was hired, (who should be in consideration for a specific award at the end of the year if I may add). Just as a reminder, for those of you who say some programs are hopeless and only the big schools can get the good players and win, I’ll remind you what St. Olaf was in recent history:
2018-2020: 0-45-5
2013-2020: 21-137-17
3rd year Head Coach Tracy Johnson has got the Ole’s back in the playoffs (Photo by St. Olaf Athletics)
3rd year Head Coach Tracy Johnson has certainly made a massive turnaround within the program, but her first year she went 0-23-2, when I asked her about her idea of the rebuild process and if she thought it would take longer than 2-3 years, she said:
“It was challenging to put an exact number to it, so I tried to remain focused on the rebuilding process, but at the time I also set a longer-term outcome goal that by the 23-24 season we’d be in the playoffs. I heard a lot of ‘no’s’ that first year so I have been fortunate to have incredible colleagues and mentors around me that have supported me in being patient with the process!”
In her first year as mentioned, the Ole’s went winless, a .040 win %, they now hold a .652 win % just two years later:
“I had a hunch we wouldn’t be waiting too long for a turnaround based on how extremely fortunate we are to be at St. Olaf where you have a great academic institution, beautiful campus, and the (when I started) new, on-campus arena. I am beyond proud of the hard work our staff and players have put in to see the results we have so far this season and the reaction within the program has been to pull some confidence from those favorable results while also continuing to work towards the things we haven’t done ‘yet’. The reaction from those around us has been so uplifting and supportive, which has been crucial as we continue into the last stretch of the year.”
I asked Coach Johnson about the feeling after the game winning goal was scored as they had a large crowd on hand that night, you can view the game winning goal here, as well as the team reaction in the locker room after, knowing they clinched a MIAC playoff spot. She responded:
“It feels very energizing and motivating to reach a goal our team set from the beginning of the year. We knew it would not be an easy road, but from the start we were ready to tackle it together. The crowd during the OT win was absolutely electric. We are very grateful for our campus community, athletic department, and families for making our home crowd the best atmosphere to play in front of!”
St. Olaf ends the regular season this weekend with a two-game home/away series vs #2 nationally ranked (#1 MIAC) Gustavus.
Another Gustie hits the 100 mark
Gustavus Senior Hailey Holland tallied six points over the weekend, one of which was her 100th career point, she now has 102 career points after the weekend (Photo by Amanda Markert)
Gustavus Senior Forward Hailey Holland notched her 100th career point on Saturday, just one of her six points on the weekend. Her first goal on Saturday vs Concordia (Minn.) was the milestone point, she then added two more points later in the game, finishing the weekend with 102 overall. She becomes the 14th Gustavus player to reach no. 100 and she achieved this in only 87 games. She ranks 12th in program history for points and is the second active 100-point Gustavus player, beside Tina Press, to reach this career mark. With her 102 points in 87 games, she currently averages 1.17 points-per-game.
Aurora jabs back after a heartbreaker
#5 Adrian (20-3-0) visited Aurora (18-4-1) this weekend for a pair of games. Adrian took game one 2-1 & Aurora punched back and won 5-1 the following night, but game one was wild. After a scoreless 1st period, Adrian’s Tia Lascelle opened up the scoring at the 8:24 mark of the 2nd period to make it a 1-0 game heading into the 3rd period. Peyton Elliott wasted no time out of the locker room, scoring 1:08 into the period to tie it up 1-1. Chaos would then pursue: both teams took timeouts in the last few minutes to try to draw something up, neither resulted in a goal, but as they say, play until the buzzer sounds.
Aurora splits the weekend series with #5 Adrian, losing 2-1 & winning 5-1 (Photo by Steve Woltmann)
There was then a cluster in front of the Aurora net, and it looked almost as if some players thought the game was over on the Aurora side or it was assumed the puck wasn’t going to come their way. Well, the puck was tossed towards the Spartan net and Adrian’s Une Bjelland scored at the 19:59.9 mark of the period (yes one-tenth of a second was left on the clock)… Which obviously won the game as essentially no time was left. We saw something similar in the national championship last year when Gustavus scored extremely late with tenths of a second left on the clock vs Middlebury to send it to overtime.
After that wild string of events, Aurora pulled the upset, winning 5-1 (2 empty-net goals). Darci Matson, the current point leader in the country with 56 points (27 goals, 29 assists) through 23 games, averaging 2.43 ppg (points-per-game), scored two goals and added an assist in the win to build on her already impressive individual season. I’ll point out that 24 of her points are against three teams (Finlandia, Northland, & Lawrence) with a combined record of 5-62-1 (yes, 5 wins, 62 losses, and 1 tie), so make of that what you may, but still an amazing season considering the numbers she’s been able to rack up thus far. She’s currently at 97 points through a mere 49 career games, expect her to hit the 100 mark in the quickly-approaching NCHA playoffs.
Luke Hughes celebrates his overtime winner for Michigan over Michigan State last Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit (photo: Michigan Photography).
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Dan: Happy Tuesday, everyone.
Well, we’re back for another week, and it’s safe to say that the end of the season is getting wild. Incredibly wild. So wild that I don’t know that we can cover everything…but we’ll at least try to do what we can.
There’s the matter of the Beanpot on Monday between Northeastern and Harvard, but as we log this conversation on a Monday, we don’t know the outcome in the first-ever championship meeting between the two teams in the tournament’s long, storied history. Because we don’t know the outcome, I’m going to avoid the conversation… for now.
That’s because we have A LOT to unpack in the Big Ten, starting with Michigan-Michigan State, where the two teams received 91 penalty minutes largely due to a couple of altercations, largely in the second period.
NINETY-ONE.
There were literally two two-minute minors called in the first period, but the second period got real weird. Ethan Edwards got himself ejected, and Adam Fantilli and Nash Nienhuis got involved in a situation that you can’t have in college hockey. By the end of the third period, we had multiple game misconducts and an abuse of officials penalty. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing someone probably got charged with the Kennedy assassination.
Reading the game story in the Detroit News after the game, Michigan coach Brandon Naurato was quoted as saying, “They can’t play with us unless they goon it up.” His captain, Nolan Moyle, said, “We hate these guys, and we always say you can’t beat these guys good enough.”
Ed, you saw the video before I did. It was wild. What’s your take on it?
Ed: Well, with all due respect to Naurato, there seems to have been plenty of gooning it up to go around.
(And having been present at one of the mothers of all college hockey fights, with a combined 54 penalties and 251 minutes – and a bucket load of multi-game suspensions – it’s honestly not really up there too far on my list.)
It’s good to have a hated rival. What this does tell me is that the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry is back. The Spartans have had a couple of down years which has put a little damper on things. With two new head coaches who are both alumni of their teams, and with both teams really competitive, I look forward to continued heated games, and perhaps even a Big Ten playoff series this year.
Even though the term “instant classic” is bandied about too much, Saturday’s last second overtime game-winner from Luke Hughes capped a game that will go down as one of the best between these two programs. That more than 18,000 fans were at Little Caesar’s Arena bodes well for college hockey in Detroit, perhaps even including a Frozen Four.
While we’re talking Big Ten, Notre Dame got itself right back into the mix by picking up five-of-six points at home against Ohio State, including a shootout win in a 2-2 tie that saw Ryan Bischel make 49 saves for the Fighting Irish.
Minnesota’s split with Wisconsin meant that the Golden Gophers have yet to clinch first place. In fact, no team has clinched any of the six conferences yet.
You’re on the ECAC beat this season for us, Dan. Only Quinnipiac and Cornell have locked up a first-round bye. What’s that playoff race looking like, especially with St. Lawrence and Colgate vying for that fourth bye?
Dan: I wish I could sit back and tell you that the standings are exactly what we thought they were, but with two weeks left in the season, it’s probably going to look more like the Atlantic Hockey postseason races that we grew accustomed to during the 2010s.
Look at Union. Two weekends ago, the Dutchmen went up to Colgate and Cornell and beat the Raiders on Friday night before giving up 10 goals to Cornell on Saturday. They then returned home and swept Yale and Brown. Just like that, a team that was on the road in the first round moved up to seventh with a one-point differential separating it from sixth. There’s a seven-point difference between Union and a first round bye, which seems like a lot, but this weekend is sending them to Harvard and Dartmouth before returning home for Quinnipiac and Princeton.
That’s the same Princeton team that was once in third but is now sitting in eighth, though I think it was in third because it played more league games than anyone else. There’s a three-point difference back to ninth and RPI, which is Union’s travel partner. All of those teams have seven league wins, meaning if they don’t hold a head-to-head tiebreaker, we could be looking at cumulative points against the top four as a tertiary tiebreaker.
Given that Quinnipiac, Harvard, and Cornell are sitting atop the league, the whole dynamic is going to change depending on which team gets into that fourth spot. St. Lawrence, for example, swept Union and RPI at the start of the year but lost to Union in regulation and RPI in overtime in January. Colgate beat Union but lost to RPI in January, then lost to both in February. Considering what happens this weekend with Harvard, these are all critical tiebreaker points.
There is literally no way to predict what’s going to happen. A couple of weeks ago, I would’ve sat back and had Brown penciled into one of those home games after the Bears beat Harvard. Then Mathieu Caron went out, and the Bruno gave up 12 goals to St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Then they beat RPI. Then they lost to Union.
Nothing really makes sense, which makes it feel like Atlantic Hockey’s typically-recognized postseason.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that not all of us can enjoy the view from the top like you, Ed.
Ed: Yes, but the view has gotten less lofty.
Atlantic Hockey is also coming down to the last two weekends, and despite the public statements of its commissioner and the private druthers of its coaches against it, the bottom two teams will be eliminated from the postseason. Every other conference includes every team. Any conference with an unbalanced schedule should include everyone. (Jot that one down on new commissioner Michelle Morgan’s to-do list. Next year’s schedule will be even more unbalanced with teams playing each other four, three, or two times.)
Rochester Institute of Technology, which came out sluggish on Thursday and which has been abysmal on the man advantage in 2023, got swept on the road at Niagara last weekend, precluding the Tigers from locking up the top seed. Meanwhile, Sacred Heart split with Air Force and American International, now precluded from higher than second place, salvaged two points at Bentley.
A surging Air Force and a hanging-on Bentley face the biggest risk of elimination – with Bentley needing help to finish eighth – while only Sacred Heart and RIT have clinched the first round. It’s down to a two-horse Tigers and Pioneers race. Both teams of Falcons have series at RIT, while Sacred Heart has a road pair at Canisius and home-and-home with AIC. Every team other than the top two can still finish out of the playoffs as of Monday.
Before we head back out west, there’s even more uncertainty in Hockey East. Nobody has secured a first-round bye. Providence can still win the league or finish in 10th; Maine can get the second overall seed or drop to last place. Who’s likely to prevail in that conference, Dan?
Dan: Hockey East, to me, is a two-team race at this point, with the popular assumption being that Boston University is going to win.
I think the Terriers are the more likely option, and removing the Beanpot loss to Northeastern, they haven’t lost a league game since that weird 9-6 game on Jerry York Night at Boston College. They dropped 14 goals on Maine – which included another weird 9-6 outing – and beat up BC pretty good in a home-and-home. The Beanpot loss didn’t count, and truthfully, as much as the tournament has its great storylines, that’s the key thing for a lot of teams at this point.
BU has a super manageable schedule over the rest of the season. It plays BC in the Beanpot consolation game, but a home-and-home with Merrimack comes against a team that hasn’t been playing its best hockey. Vermont is the last place team, and the race could be over by the time Providence rolls around, especially the Saturday road matchup.
It’s a one-point difference to Northeastern, but the Huskies have to go through UMass and UMass Lowell with a single game at Vermont. It’s a much different, much more difficult schedule, even though UMass is tied for ninth in the conference because it’s just been a bad year in Amherst.
That’s the one thing about Hockey East, though. Teams that we didn’t expect to compete are in the top half of the league, and BC and UMass are lurking at the bottom of the conference. Given their cumulative success, it’s hard to think someone won’t score a major upset along the way, no matter how poorly the perception is of those teams. To me, that’s probably the definition of wide open.
I’ll let you wrap up out west with the CCHA and NCHC, if you’ll indulge me, largely because I want to cycle back to one last thing that’s been pointed out multiple times over the course of the weekend.
Ed: While nothing is settled mathematically in the NCHC, the top four are pretty much set. Denver, Western Michigan, St. Cloud and Omaha all control their own destiny into home ice in the first round as we head into the last three weeks of the NCHC season. The jockeying will be for position in that round, but nobody is going to be an easy out. A 4-5 matchup between Omaha and either Minnesota Duluth or North Dakota would be a fun series.
Denver can lock up at least home ice on Friday with a win or overtime vs. UMD. No other team can clinch on Friday.
In the CCHA, despite a split with Bowling Green, Michigan Tech became the first team to clinch home ice. Minnesota State, idle last weekend, can move ahead of MTU with at least a split against Bemidji State this coming weekend while the Huskies have a late-season bye week. Don Lucia’s conference has brilliantly scheduled a pair of games between Michigan Tech and Minnesota State for the final weekend with the conference title in play. Bowling Green can catch Michigan Tech in its last weekend of play hosting Northern Michigan but would need to sweep the Wildcats in regulation and the Mavericks to sweep the Huskies without OT.
It’s great to see every league still in play this late.
Dan, you’ve got some “bonus” TMQ, I take it?
Dan: Just one last thing, and I know you mentioned it in the USCHO Monday 10 – and it’s been mentioned several times over – but Atlantic Hockey announced this weekend that its regular-season championship trophy would be renamed in honor of current commissioner Bobby DeGregorio.
I say this as someone who has been with Atlantic Hockey as a broadcaster, journalist, fan, and all of the above, but it’s been a real thrill seeing how the conference evolved over the past 20 years. That Holy Cross victory in the 2006 NCAA Tournament is considered the greatest upset in college hockey history, and it’s because the league was, at the time, a cost containment structure designed to allow teams to play into Division I without having to invest the same resources as the bigger programs. Wins by AHA teams are now more commonplace, and though the league is still fighting for respect, the wins by AIC, Air Force, and others – even the Frozen Four run by RIT – isn’t so much of an upset anymore.
Much of that is because of Bobby’s diligence and commitment to the league. He’s been a friend and colleague in college hockey for a number of years and talking to him about things not related to hockey made me really enjoy my affiliation with Bentley and the league. I’m very excited for the future, but it’s worth noting that none of this happens without his commitment to growing the product. He’s not done in hockey, and i refuse to believe that he’s going to quietly retire to Florida to play golf (even though that’s my retirement dream). I think we’ll see him again, very soon, with some other project, but I know that this is a very different viewpoint to Atlantic Hockey.
A lot of leagues have respect for their commissioner, but I truly felt like we all worked with Bobby to build the AHA. All of us who had a hand in covering the league worked with him, and that’s why it’s “our league.” He had a big hand in steering that ship, and even though I’m excited to see what Michelle Morgan brings to the table (I’m actually beyond excited for the future and what I’ve been told about what she’s bring to this conference), I’m also going to miss my occasional phone call to Bobby just to check in. This is a brilliant honor, and it’s a great parting gift from a conference that wouldn’t exist without him.
Northeastern’s Gunnarwolfe Fontaine celebrates one of his two goals in regulation as the Huskies captured their fourth Beanpot in five years over Harvard. It was the first tournament featuring NU and Harvard in the final and first that required 3-on-3 overtime and a shootout to determine the win (Photo: Jim Pierce/ NU Athletics)
BOSTON — It was an historic matchup in the 70th edition of the Beanpot Championship, so why not have an historic moment to end the tournament.
With Harvard and Northeastern facing off in the championship game for the first time in the 70-year history of the famous in-season tournament, it required 3-on-3 overtime and, eventually, the first-ever tournament shootout. Northeastern’s Aidan McDonough scored the only goal to propel the Huskies to the title, its four championship in five years and eighth all time.
Devon Levi, who made 32 saves through regulation and overtime, stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout to claim the title. Levi was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and also received the Eberly Award, presented annually to the goaltender who plays both games who has the highest save percentage. Levi finished with a .956 save percentage, the third-highest in tournament history.
To get to overtime and the shootout the teams played to a 2-2 tie. Northeastern jumped to a 1-0 in the second period on Gunnarwolfe Fontaine’s first of two goals of the game. Harvard’s Matthew Coronato answered before the end of the middle frame with his 17th and 18th goals of the season.
That, though, was all Levi would allow. He stopped 14 shots in the third and two more in overtime – including a point-blank bid by Coronato with less than a second left in the extra frame. Fontaine tied things with 15:03 remaining in regulation.
Monday’s final was the first Beanpot game to be decided in a shootout. The NCAA rules committee recently changed rules to prohibit all regular-season games, including in-season tournaments, to proceed beyond a five-minute overtime. Last Monday’s opening semifinal game between Harvard and Boston College was the first to be decided in 3-on-3 overtime as the Crimson scored with 1.5 remaining to prevent the shootout.
Previously, the NCAA required a five-minute overtime be played to determine the result of the game as a tie before proceeding to unlimited 20-minute overtimes that could determine a winner. And prior to that, unlimited 20-minute OTs began immediately after regulation ended.
For purposes of each team’s overall record, the game will be recorded as a tie.
THIRD PLACE GAME: Boston College 4, Boston University 2
Andre Gasseau scored with 11:17 remaining in regulation to break a 2-2 tie as Boston College earned a 4-2 victory in the Beanpot third-place game over Commonwealth Avenue rival, Boston University.
Gasseau’s goal came just 27 seconds after Jay O’Brien had tied the game for the Terriers at 8:16 of the third period. Trevor Juntar tacked on an empty-net goal with four second remaining.
Boston College jumped to a 2-0 lead early as Nikita Nesterenko scored his seventh goal of the season at 1:52 and Eamon Powell added a power play at 11:45 of the opening frame. Ryan Greene pulled BU within a goal before the end of the first.
Mitch Benson earned the victory for Boston College, making 21 saves.
The victory gives Boston College its 25th third-place finish in the event, while BU finishes fourth for just the eighth time, though its fifth in the last 12 tournaments.
St. Cloud State remains sixth, Penn State is up one to No. 7, Western Michigan is up one to No. 8, Harvard moves up one to No. 9, and Ohio State tumbles three to No. 10 in this week’s poll.
Just one previously unranked team enters the poll this week, with Notre Dame coming in at No. 19.
In addition to the top 20 teams, nine other teams received votes.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.
Fletcher Anderson and the Pointers won the WIAC title over the weekend. (Photo Credit: Rachel McCulloch)
Two regular-season conference titles were secured over the weekend as UW-Stevens Point and Adrian both sealed the deal on a championship.
UW-Stevens Point won its 16th crown on Friday with a 2-1 road win over UW-Superior behind a pair of goals from Fletcher Anderson and will be the top seed in the upcoming WIAC tournament.
For Adrian, the reigning national champion and third-ranked team in the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll, it cliched its 14th title in 16 years with a 6-1 win on the road over rival St. Norbert Friday. The Bulldogs scored the first six goals of the game on their way to capturing the NCHA’s Peter’s Cup.
The MIAC title is now the last one to be decided as far as regular season play is concerned. And its setting up to be a thrilling finish as Augsburg will face league frontrunner St. Scholastica for the crown next weekend.
Here’s a closer look at those games and more in our weekly weekend recap.
Pointers sweep Yellowjackets
UW-Superior had an opportunity to win the title heading into this series. But the Pointers would not be denied.
Anderson put his team ahead 1-0 at the 7:29 mark of the opening period but the Yellowjackets tied the score at 1-1 near the midway of the third on a goal by Jordan Guiney.
A minute later, Anderson scored again and the Pointers went on to take the win.
Ryan Wagner made 21 saves, including 11 in the second period. Dylan Meiulun stopped 27 shots for UW-Superior, which ends the regular season at 14-9-2 overall and 9-5-1 in the conference.
The Pointers have won their last three games and are 16-5-4 overall and 12-2-1 in the WIAC. They won all three games against the Yellowjackets this season, including Saturday’s 4-0 victory to close out the series.
Matthias Smith recorded his first career shutout in goal while Andrew Poulias tallied two goals. Smith finished with 15 saves. Myles Hektor made 40 saves for UW-Superior.
Bulldogs on top again
Adrian was on top of its game in Friday’s win over 14th-ranked St. Norbert, clinching the NCHA regular-season title for the ninth consecutive season.
Sam Ruffin helped lead the way as he scored a pair of goals and also dished out two assists. Ty Enns pushed a couple of pucks into the net as well for the Bulldogs as they dominated the Green Knights. Zachary Heintz came through with three assists and Ryan Pitoscia tallied two assists.
The Adrian Bulldogs won the regular-season NCHA title over the weekend. (Photo Credit: Adrian Athletics)
Adrian scored five goals over the final two periods on their way to their sixth consecutive win, including their third in a row over a nationally ranked opponent. Nic Tallarico recorded 28 saves in goal.
The lone goal for St. Norbert was scored with under five minutes to play in the game as Adam Stacho netted one to help the Green Knights avoid the shutout.
St. Norbert flipped the script on Saturday in a 6-1 victory.
Bradley Somers gave Adrian an early 1-0 lead but the Green Knights dominated the rest of the way, holding the Bulldogs to their lowest goal total of the season.
St. Norbert scored three times in the second period and three more in the third as it closed out the regular season on a high note and earned the third seed in the NCHA tournament.
Carter Hottmann, Curtis Hammond Ben Schmidling, Michael McChesney, Brock Baker and Stacho all scored for St. Norbert.
The Bulldogs end the regular season with a 19-4-2 overall record and a 13-4-1 mark in the conference. The Green Knights are now 15-8-2 overall and 12-5-1 in the NCHA.
Saints suffer first MIAC loss
St. Scholastica’s unbeaten run in the MIAC came to an end Friday with a 7-4 loss. The Saints had won six consecutive games prior to the loss to the Cardinals, who remain in the hunt for a conference tourney playoff berth.
Brady Lindauer picked a good time to have his first collegiate hat trick. He paved the way for an offense that scored seven goals for the second consecutive game. Lindauer scored the final three games in the win, including the go-ahead goal that put Saint Mary’s ahead 5-4 heading into the final period. AJ Rushowski made 21 saves for the Cardinals.
St. Scholastica remains atop the MIAC standings with a 15-6-2 overall record and 12-1-1 mark in the conference after closing out the weekend with a 4-1 win over the Cardinals.
Carsen Richels scored a goal for the fifth consecutive game and Filimon Ledenkov tallied a goal and an assist. Jack Bostedt made 31 saves.
The Cardinals go into the final weekend sitting in fifth place in the conference standings. They are 11-11-1 overall and 7-7 in the MIAC.
Auggies surging at right time
Augsburg has positioned itself to potentially win the regular-season MIAC crown after sweeping Hamline this past weekend. The Auggies won 7-0 and 4-2 over the Pipers to move into second place in the standings.
They have won their last five games and go into their final series of the year against St. Scholastica with a chance to win the crown. They’ll finish no worse than second.
Three third-period goals allowed the Auggies to close out the series against the Pipers with a win.
Jarod Blackowiak scored twice while Daniel Chladek added a goal and an assist. Samuel Vyletelka racked up 18 saves and won his 10th game of the year for the Auggies, who are MIAC-tourney bound for the 21st time in program history.
Augsburg (14-8-1, 10-4) dominated Hamline (11-11-1, 4-10) in Friday’s series opener, scoring a season-best seven goals in a shutout win.
Fourteen Auggies figured into the scoring and it marked the 10th time this season that Augsburg has scored four or more goals. Fritz Belisle helped pave the way as he scored twice, the fifth time he’s recorded a multi-goal game.
Nick Woodward and Erik Palmqvist both tallied a goal and an assist while Austin Dollimer dished out four assists, tying for the most in his career in a game. He leads the team with 15 on the season. Jack Robbel started in goal and made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season.
Johnnies clinch tourney berth
After playing St. Olaf to a 2-2 tie on Friday, Saint John’s came through with a 3-2 win over the Oles Saturday, punching a ticket to the MIAC tournament for the fifth consecutive year.
Jackson Sabo tallied a goal and an assist for the Johnnies (13-9-3, 9-5-2), who held off a rally attempt by the Oles (11-10-2, 5-8-1), who are currently on the outside looking in as far as the MIAC tournament is concerned.
The Oles got within one on a goal by Spencer Light early in the third and had a chance to tie with under a minute to go but had the opportunity taken away for having a player in the crease that led to Bailey Huber having his feet taken out from underneath him. Humber made 17 saves for his 11th win of the year.
Blugolds sweep Blue Devils
Quinn Green’s heroics in the series finale against UW-Stout sealed the deal on a second-place finish in the WIAC for UW-Eau Claire.
Green scored the game-winner just under a minute and a half into the overtime period, lifting the Blugolds toa 4-3 win.
UW-Eau Claire trailed 2-1 after two periods of play but tied the game less than two minutes into the third period on a goal by Ty Readman.
UW-Stout went back in front 3-1 on a goal by Peyton Hart, but Readman scored again with less than six minutes to play in regulation to tie the game and force OT.
Max Gutjahr stopped 20 shots for his 15th win of the year. The Blugolds improved to 16-8-1 overall and 9-5-1 in the WIAC.
UW-Eau Claire snapped a two-game losing streak on Friday with a 4-0 win. Green, Readman, Leo Bacallao and Willy Stauber all scored goals.
The Blue Devils are 15-9-1 and 6-8-1 in the WIAC and have dropped four consecutive games. Still, they end the regular season nearly doubling their win total from a year ago when they won only eight games.
Spartans survive wild finale against Raiders
A five-goal third period proved to be the difference for Aurora in a 7-6 come-from-behind win over MSOE on Saturday.
The No. 10 Spartans trailed 5-2 heading into the final period before heating up and closing out the regular season with a second-place finish in the NCHA.
Adam Keyes scored a pair of goals for the Spartans (17-6-2, 13-3-2) and also dished out two assists while Jack Jaunich tallied a goal and pair of assists.
Gio Procopio and Derrick Budz also scored goals while Procopio came through with a pair of assists. Budz had one assist.
A goal by Juliano Santalucia tied the game for the Spartans and Matt Weber delivered the game-winning goal.
Kolby Thornton made 36 saves in the win and Tanner Marshall tallied 10 for the Spartans, who won Friday’s opener by a 4-1 score.
Gramm McCormack tallied a goal and an assist for MSOE (14-11, 9-9) while Kevin Paganini and Christian Sabin came through with two assists apiece. Stuart Harley dished out two assists as well.
Thunder are on a roll
Trine heads into the NCHA tournament riding the high of a five-game winning streak. The Thunder (17-7-1, 12-6) swept Lawrence 3-0 and 3-1 to keep momentum rolling in their direction. They have given up just four goals during their win streak.
In the finale on Saturday, Trine scored twice in the opening period and never looked back. Kyle Kozma racked up 20 saves, including 11 in the final period. Bobby Price, Garrett Hallford and Thad Marcola all scored for Trine in the win.
Falcons are in
On the final day of the regular season, Concordia secured an NCHA tournament berth with a shootout win over Finlandia.
The Falcons, who are winless in their last three games, are 4-18-2 overall and 3-14-1 in the conference heading into the tourney.
Noah Roitman led the way with a goal and two assists. He also scored a goal in the shootout. In fact, it was the only goal scored by either team in shootout action. Gabe Rosek made 31 saves in goal.
Concordia will be the eighth seed in the tournament and face reigning national champion Adrian this weekend in the tournament.
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger look at the games of the past weekend and the news of the week in this D-I college hockey podcast.
This podcast is sponsored by the NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four, April 6th and 8th, 2023 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Secure your seats at NCAA.com/mfrozenfour
Topics include:
Minnesota falls to Wisconsin; Quinnipiac goes perfect in North Country
Michigan sweeps Michigan State but the two teams played an absolute instant classic on Saturday
Strange scheduling week – five of the top 20 teams were idle
Tonight’s Beanpot final is first ever meeting between Northeastern and Harvard in a final
A look at all six conference races
Does Alaska still have a shot after splitting with LIU?
Hobart’s Luke Aquaro helped the Statesmen to the NEHC regular season title with wins over Norwich and New England College this weekend (Photo by Kevin Colton)
While Hobart added their name to the list of regular season winning teams with a big win over Norwich on Friday night and Endicott and Plymouth State also secured the top seeding for the upcoming CCC and MASCAC tournaments respectively, SUNYAC, NESCAC and the NE-10 are all going to see the races and final positions resolved in the final week of the regular season. It really doesn’t get much better than this heading into the “win-or-go-home” season on the horizon as this past weekend’s results continued to create chaos in several conferences with multiple teams getting statement wins. Here is the wrap-up for a most interesting weekend of hockey in the east:
CCC
In a battle of ranked teams on Friday night, the University of New England tried to remove Endicott from the ranks of the unbeaten in CCC play. While the Nor’easters secured a shootout win, the 2-2 overtime tie kept the Gulls unbeaten at 16-0-2. In the game the Gulls took one-goal leads twice only to see UNE respond with Daniel Winslow’s shorthanded tally late in the third period proving to be the game-tying goal. Billy Girard IV stopped 46 of 48 shots for the visitors who dropped a point to Curry in the race for second place. On Saturday the Gulls dispatched Suffolk 9-2 behind two goals each from Noah Strawn and Jackson Sterrett. The Nor’easters also secured a lopsided win with a 7-0 shutout of Nichols. Joe Stanizzi made 15 saves in the shutout while Jayden Price led the offense with two goals.
Curry did what they needed to do to stay in the hunt for second place with a pair of wins over Wentworth and Western New England. On Friday night, Kevin Pitts scored twice while Eelis Laaksonen and Gage Dill each chipped in with a goal and an assist in a 6-0 shutout of the Leopards. Reid Cooper stopped all 23 shots he faced to pick up his 15th win of the season. On Saturday, Dill scored two goals, including an empty-net goal to provide the final margin in a 4-2 win over the Golden Bears. Curry has a slim one-point lead for the second spot over UNE with just two more games on the regular season schedule.
Independents
Rivier faced a pair of local rivals on the weekend starting with Southern New Hampshire on Friday night. The teams exchanged goals in both of the first and second periods before Jon Tavella and Cormac Hayes gave the Raiders a two-goal cushion that goaltender Andrew LoRusso made stand up for a 4-3 win over the Penmen. LoRusso stopped 37 shots of 40 shots. On Saturday, the Raiders faced another cross-state rival in a game against St. Anselm. The Raiders took a 2-0 lead into the third period only to see the Hawks answer with a pair of power play goals to tie the score at 2-2 at the end of regulation. In the extra session, Luke Mix gave the visitors a 3-2 overtime win.
MASCAC
Plymouth State remained unbeaten in MASCAC play by knocking off second place Worcester State, 5-1 on Saturday. The Panthers were paced by freshman Wil Redick’s hat trick and senior Myles Abbate’s three assists as PSU moved to 16-0-0 entering the final week of the regular season.
Salem State extended their win streak to three games with a pair of one-goal wins including an overtime thriller over Westfield State on Thursday night. Cooper Board’s goal in the third period gave the Owls a 4-1 lead before the Vikings rallied with three unanswered goals to force overtime. Erik Larsson took just 29 seconds to give the visitors a dramatic 5-4 win. On Saturday, Larsson again was the offensive star, scoring two goals including the game-winner early in the third period of a 3-2 win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth.
NE-10
St. Michael’s rebounded from last weekend’s sweep at the hands of St. Anselm with a pair of home-ice victories over Assumption. On Friday, the Purple Knights four different players found the back of the net while goaltender Marshall Murphy was outstanding with 41 saves in a 4-0 shutout win over the Greyhounds. On Saturday, Murphy was again terrific in goal making 41 saves on 44 shots and Zach Taylor’s shorthanded goal midway through the third period broke a 3-3 tie for the 4-3 win that moved St. Michael’s to 10-7-1 in NE-10 play.
NEHC
In the final weekend of conference play, the marque matchup was at The Cooler on Friday night where Hobart hosted Norwich, looking to clinch the regular season title in a battle of top-five ranked teams. Luke Aquaro, Brenden Howell, and Tanner Hartman got the Statesmen going with a three-goal first period and Damon Beaver made the offense stand up in a 3-2 win to secure the regular season title. On Saturday, Aquaro again got the Statesmen off to a fast 2-0 start over New England College on the way to a 4-1 win. The win over NEC moved Hobart to 23-2-0 on the season establishing a new season best for victories.
Norwich bounced back with a 3-2 overtime win over Elmira on Saturday with Joe Nagle’s goal providing the Cadets with a split of the weekend games in New York. The Elmira loss combined with Babson’s 6-2 win over Southern Maine helped decide the final seeding next week’s quarterfinal NEHC tournament games. The Beavers held the tiebreaker with Elmira and earned the No. 3 seed.
Next week’s quarterfinals find No. 1 Hobart hosting Castleton; No. 2 Norwich hosting New England College; No. 3 Babson hosting Massachusetts-Boston and No. 4 Elmira hosting Skidmore.
NESCAC
The battle for the top spot and placements all down the standings is going to come down to the final weekend but Trinity helped themselves immensely with a pair of road wins over Colby and Bowdoin this past weekend to extend their unbeaten streak to 13 games and their point lead over rivals Amherst and Wesleyan. On Friday, second period goals from Paul Selleck and Kyle Tomaso broke a 2-2 tie and goaltender Devon Bobak made eleven third period saves in a 4-0 win over the Mules. On Saturday, a goal from Andrew Troy and two from Riley Prattson broke open a one-goal game en route to a 4-0 shutout win over the Polar Bears.
Tufts rebounded from last week’s losses against Connecticut College with a pair of wins over Amherst and Hamilton. On Friday, Tyler Sedlak and Clark Bolin provided all the scoring that goaltender Durand Peyton needed making 41 saves in a 2-0 shutout win. On Saturday, the Jumbos took a 2-1 win over the Continentals with Harrison Bazianos breaking a 1-1 tie in the third period. Peyton was terrific again between the pipes stopping 36 of 37 shots.
Travel partners Middlebury and Williams played a home-and home series and Friday’s game may have been the craziest finish of any game this season. With the score tied at 2-2, Bret Pastor fired a shot from the top of the left face-off circle that found its way through a crowd and past Evan Ruschil in goal for the winning tally with one-tenth of a second remaining on the clock. On Saturday there was much less drama as the visiting Ephs scored four unanswered goals to break open a 1-1 game in a 5-1 win to earn a split of the two game series.
SUNYAC
While Plattsburgh has clinched one of the two top spots, first place remains to be decided heading into the final weekend of the SUNYAC regular season. On Friday, the Cardinals earned their position with a 5-3 win over Potsdam. Mitchell Hale, Paul Bryer and Jake Lanyi’s second of the game broke a 2-2 deadlock to help down the Bears.
With Oswego’s 6-0 win over Morrisville earlier in the week, Geneseo was looking to take advantage of their game in hand with games against Buffalo State and Fredonia. On Friday, the Knights came out flying and surged to a 4-0 lead in the first period on the way to a big 6-0 win over the Bengals. Justin Cmunt was the offensive star scoring two goals and adding an assist. On Saturday. The Knights were looking to sweep the Westen New York trip but Fredonia had other ideas. Ryan Bailey, Brendan Dempsey and Jake Blackwell scored all the goals goaltender Logan Dyck would need in a 3-2 upset for the Blue Devils. Dyck made 34 saves including 24 over the final two periods to help Fredonia secure a playoff berth.
UCHC
Utica remained undefeated in conference play with a weekend sweep of Alvernia by 6-0 and 4-1 scores. A Lucas Herrmann hat trick led the way in the Friday night win over the Golden Wolves while late goals from Remy Parker and Buster Larsson helped break open a 2-1 game in Saturday’s 4-1 win.
Stevenson and Wilkes played an important weekend series with the Mustangs earning some valuable points. On Friday, Liam McCanney provided all the offense in a 2-1 overtime win. McCanney’s goals helped move Stevenson to 12-6-1 in UCHC play. The win also secured the 2022-2023 MAC title for Stevenson and earned head coach Dominick Dawes his 200th career victory. On Saturday, McCanney netted the game-tying goal that established a new season record for the Mustangs with his 21st of the season in a 3-3 deadlock with the Colonels. No winner was decided in overtime, but the Mustangs did take the shootout 1-0 for the extra point.
Three Biscuits – overtime edition
Erik Larsson – Salem State – scored the overtime winner in a 5-4 come-from-behind win over Westfield State on Thursday night. Larsson also scored the game-winner in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Saturday.
Joe Nagle – Norwich – scored the overtime winner for the Cadets in a 3-2 win over Elmira on Saturday afternoon.
Luke Mix – St. Anselm – scored the overtime winner for the Hawks in a 3-2 win over in-state rival Rivier on Saturday.
Overtime biscuit
Liam McCanney – Stevenson – scored both goals including the overtime game winner in a 2-1 win over UCHC rival Wilkes on Friday night.
It is almost playoff time and that means some probable overtime decisions coming soon that advance one team and send the other guys home for the season. Have to clutch with the biscuit on your stick in overtime and we are already seeing guys that want the puck in that setting. More great hockey ahead.
Notre Dame earned a win and a shootout win over the weekend on home ice over Ohio State (photo: Notre Dame Athletics).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1) Wisconsin earns a split with Minnesota
It seems we can’t go many weekends without the No. 1 in the USCHO Men’s Division I poll getting at least one loss. After a 4-1 loss to the visiting No. 1 Golden Gophers on Friday, the Badgers came back to split the series 3-1 on Saturday.
Minnesota scored first, but a late first-period goal by Cruz Lucius and goals by sophomore Daniel Laatsch and junior Carson Bantle four minutes apart in the second gave the Badgers the victory in front of a season-high 11,705 fans at the Kohl Center.
Minnesota still needs at least a point against Penn State next weekend to clinch the Big Ten.
2) Quinnipiac sweeps in ECAC hockey’s North Country
The longest road trip the Bobcats have in the ECAC each season is to northern New York to face Clarkson and St. Lawrence. No. 2 Quinnipiac not only swept the weekend, but didn’t give up a goal.
The Bobcats followed a 3-0 win at Clarkson on Friday with a 5-0 victory over St. Lawrence on Saturday.
It’s the first time the Bobcats have swept shut out opponents on a weekend this season. Yaniv Perets’ eighth shutout ties him for second with Michael Garteig’s 2015-16 total but the sophomore has Quinnipiac’s single-season record with 11 last season. But his 19 career shutouts now matches Garteig’s career record.
The Bobcats have clinched a first round bye in the ECAC playoffs and can cement first seed next weekend.
3) A thriller at Little Caesars
Michigan picked up five of six points against Michigan State in games at Munn on Friday and in downtown Detroit on Saturday, keeping the Wolverines still in the hunt for the top spot in the Big Ten.
After a 4-2 Michigan win on Friday, in a game in which the Spartans outshot the visitors 32-28 and the two teams combined for 105 penalty minutes, it would take 4:59 of overtime on Saturday for things to be settled in the “Duel in the D.”
The teams had returned to four-on-four after a pair of penalties had expired in OT before Luke Hughes buried a shot that went in and out of the net.
Michigan travels to Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center before the teams play outdoors on Saturday in Cleveland for the “Faceoff On The Lake.”
4) Nothing is mathematically settled in the NCHC
Despite 5-3 and 5-2 wins over North Dakota over the weekend, Denver still hasn’t clinched a top-four home-ice spot in the standings in the NCHC, though at least a point this coming Friday against Minnesota Duluth will guarantee at least fourth.
Denver opened up a 3-0 lead on Saturday with three consecutive powerplay goals.
“It was good to win games in two different ways,” said Denver coach David Carle after Saturday’s game. “Last night our five-on-five really excelled, and tonight, obviously, our special teams did.”
Western Michigan and St. Cloud were idle over the weekend.
5) Notre Dame takes five of six points
The Fighting Irish have been just outside the pile-up in the middle of the Big Ten standings and needed a strong weekend to get back into the mix for home ice. A 2-1 win over visiting Ohio State and a shootout win after a 2-2 tie Saturday have put Notre Dame into a three-way tie for third with Michigan State and the Buckeyes, though Ohio State and idle Penn State, a point behind, have a couple games in hand.
Per 3 | We're back for period three but wanted to look back at this goal from the second, courtesy of Nick Leivermann!
Nick Leivermann got the equalizer on Saturday while Notre Dame goalie Ryan Bischel made 49 saves.
6) After 70 years, finally Northeastern and Harvard
Northeastern and Harvard face each other for the first time in the Beanpot final tonight, and it only took until the 71st Beanpot final to get that matchup.
Northeastern comes into the game after a Friday 3-3 tie and shootout win over Providence in Hockey East, while Harvard picked up a 6-3 win at Dartmouth.
DraftKings has Harvard (-130) as a slight favorite over Northeastern (+100) with an over/under of 5.5 goals.
7) Elsewhere in Hockey East
Things are still not clinched for home ice in Hockey East, but three teams can get there next weekend, Boston University, Northeastern, and Merrimack.
BU and Merrimack, both idle over the weekend, face each other in a home-and-home series, while Northeastern has a single game at Vermont on Saturday.
UMass Lowell capped the weekend with a 1-1 tie and shootout win over visiting Maine, but it was a spectacular save by Maine’s Victor Ostman that preserved a tie.
8) First seed still up for grabs in the CCHA, but MTU clinches home ice
Michigan Tech’s weekend split with Bowling Green while Minnesota State was idle has clinched no lower than the second seed in the CCHA for the Huskies, while only Lake Superior State has been eliminated from a top-four spot.
Highlights from No. 12 @mtuhky's 4-2 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday night at MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Huskies clinch top-two finish in #CCHA.
Rochester Institute of Technology came into its Thursday-Saturday weekend at Niagara with a chance to clinch the top seed, but fell short with a 4-3 loss in the first game and 4-1 on Saturday. The Tigers still need either two wins, a win and a Sacred Heart loss, or a pair of losses by the Pioneers to clinch first seed.
Sacred Heart came out of a three-game slide with a win over Air Force on Saturday, ending the Falcons’ four-game winning streak, while American International picked up two points with a shootout win in the backend of a home-and-home with Bentley, but can finish no higher than second in the conference.
RIT has Bentley and Air Force at home the next two weekends, while Sacred Heart travels to Canisius and AIC flies out to Air Force before the Pioneers and Yellow Jackets end the regular season with a home-and-home series.
With two weekends left, only Bentley has been eliminated from a top-four finish. Bentley and Air Force are battling against elimination, as only the top eight make the playoffs.
10) A trophy for Bob
Last Thursday, Atlantic Hockey announced that it was naming its regular-season trophy for retiring commissioner Robert DeGregorio.
I’ve known Bob for almost that whole tenure, and there’s something about him that critics who think the league hasn’t moved quickly enough probably don’t realize. DeGregorio has had to balance often differing interests between member institutions who wanted to stand pat – especially in the eastern part of the league – and those who wanted to move forward. A commissioner serves at the pleasure of the schools that make up the conference, and it’s no small task to navigate that.
Atlantic Hockey wouldn’t have 18 scholarships or several new or improved buildings were it not for the efforts of Bob DeGregorio. He leaves having seen the league grow from cost-containment to contender, and where Atlantic Hockey goes from here is only because a great foundation has been set.
