Alina Mueller has been an offensive catalyst for Northeastern this season (photo: Jim Pierce).
Hockey East announced Wednesday the 2022-23 all-rookie team and five other season-long awards as voted by the women’s league’s 10 head coaches.
The 2022-23 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team consists of seven players and includes defenders Casey Borgiel (Holy Cross) and Brooke Disher (Boston University) and forwards Lara Beecher (Vermont), Reichen Kirchmair (Providence), Lily Shannon (Northeastern), Lilli Welcke (Maine) and Luisa Welcke (Maine).
Also recognized for their efforts in the 2022-23 campaign and named defender of the year are Northeastern senior Megan Carter and Vermont’s Sini Karjalainen. It marks the second straight year that a Husky and Catamount share the award after Skylar Fontaine and Maude Poulin-Labelle did so in 2021-22.
Providence graduate student Sara Hjalmarsson has been honored as the best defensive forward during the regular season. She is the first Friar to win the award since its inception in 2009-10.
New Hampshire senior forward Annie Berry was awarded the conference’s sportsmanship award. Berry has played 123 games in a Wildcat sweater and taken just 36 penalty minutes in conference play.
Two statistical awards were also formally announced as Northeastern’s Alina Mueller was crowned the league’s top scorer (15 goals, 25 assists, 40 points) for the third time (2019-20, 2020-21). Mueller ends her Hockey East career as the league’s all-time leading point-getter, amassing 175 points on 68 goals and 108 assists in 111 league games.
Boston College netminder Abigail Levy earned the three stars award, accumulating the highest total of points from first-, second-, and third-star accolades during Hockey East league games over the course of the regular season.
The 2023 Hockey East women’s tournament begins tonight with the opening round at Boston University and New Hampshire at 7 p.m. All games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and the title game will air nationally on ESPNU.
Hockey East will announce the 2022-23 all-star teams on Friday at 10 a.m. ahead of the quarterfinals on Saturday. The league will then announce finalists for the player, rookie, and coach of the year awards on Monday at 10 a.m. The winners of those awards will then be revealed prior to the semifinals on March 1.
Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by The Rink Live hockey writer Jess Myers to look at the Big Ten as that league heads into the last weekend before conference playoffs.
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
Omaha assistant coach Paul Jerrard (left) served as a coaching inspiration to Mavericks head coach Mike Gabinet (photo: Omaha Athletics).
Omaha’s players unexpectedly had Tuesday afternoon free.
That wasn’t Mavericks coach Mike Gabinet’s idea, but one of his assistants might have had something to do with it.
“A puck hit the sprinkler system when guys were just shooting around, so we couldn’t practice,” Gabinet said. “A guy hit the crossbar and the puck went up and hit a sprinkler head, so it started gushing water all over the rink. Maybe PJ was saying from above, ‘It’s a day off today.’”
“PJ” is how friends and colleagues referred to Paul Jerrard, an Omaha assistant coach of five years who died Feb. 15 following a lengthy cancer battle. He was 57.
It’s been a tough last week for everyone in Jerrard’s orbit, including in the hockey world. The former Lake Superior State defenseman played professional hockey for a decade before going into coaching and was an assistant with the American Hockey League’s Iowa Stars when Gabinet played for them in 2006.
Jerrard went on to become an assistant with the NHL’s Calgary Flames from 2016-18, and when he looked toward the college ranks, Gabinet was glad to bring in a personal mentor.
“He’s a great human being who really cares about the athletes, but still has a great way of demanding a lot from them in terms of development, and a way of helping them get to a potential they maybe didn’t realize they could get to,” Gabinet said. “For me personally, especially as a young coach, he has so much experience and such an understanding of how to support a head coach, and that’s what I’ll really take away from it.
“A lot of times, you hear first-time coaches in interviews talking about, ‘I thought I knew what the job was about, but then I realized there’s a difference from an assistant to a head coach,’ and he helped navigate the good times and navigate adversity, and he reminded you how important family is. He was a calming, steady influence that really helped mold me as a head coach, and I’m really grateful for that.
“He really got it,” Gabinet continued. “He understands the pressures that come with the job, that nobody else really knows about. A lot of times, he had a really good way to understand what you’re going through, and really support you. He didn’t have an ego, and when you don’t have an ego, and you have the work ethic he had, you can be a mentor at certain times and an unbelievable assistant coach, too. There was no job too big or too small, and I think that’s what made him so valuable to the team and the staff, that he could do all those different things.”
Omaha players will wear helmet decals and jersey patches in honor of late assistant coach Paul Jerrard (photos: Omaha Athletics).
UNO honored Jerrard during last weekend’s series at Miami through helmet decals showing Jerrard’s initials. Sweater patches with his initials arrived Tuesday.
Gabinet called Jerrard, an enthusiast for road bikes, golf and general exercise, “just a person you want to be around,” and who spoke glowingly of his family. Jerrard is survived by his wife Cheryl and two daughters, Catherine and Meaghan.
A visitation and funeral service for Jerrard are being held Wednesday in Omaha. The funeral is being streamed for public viewing at Baxter Arena, where a reception and celebration of life in his honor are to be held this afternoon.
During his time at UNO, Jerrard was an NCHC representative for the College Hockey for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Initiative members from around the country met regularly to share their stories and ideas for making college hockey a safe place that respects people’s differing backgrounds.
“I asked him about it quite frequently, and just asked about stories of his growing up,” Gabinet said. “When he was with the Flames, he was I think the only coach of color in the NHL and was of a minority growing up playing the game. He conducted himself with a lot of class, and he credits his mom a lot for how he was brought up, and how he was taught to handle certain situations.
“He’s a real inspiration in that department, and people are getting more of an appreciation for what somebody like that goes through, and for PJ as a trendsetter who really forged a path throughout his career. His DEI work is important to us, and we’ve been fortunate at Omaha here to have a lot of people of different backgrounds in our program. That’s close to us, and I want to make sure we continue to honor the groundwork PJ did.”
Jerrard’s impact in hockey will be remembered long into the future, far and wide.
“I’ve had coaches pop up to see me and pass along their regards, and it’s a lot of similar comments about, ‘Hey, I was an up-and-coming coach who had a guy with NHL experience come up, introduce himself and make me feel comfortable and part of the coaching fraternity,’” Gabinet said.
“That’s what Paul did, making people feel comfortable and helping them out. There’s not many people in the game like him, where any time you run into people he’s known, they always ask, ‘How’s Paul doing?’ It’s neat to see how many people whose lives he’s touched.”
Sacred Heart is looking forward to home ice in the upcoming AHA playoffs (photo: Meg Stokes).
After 15 years of holding the semifinals and finals of the Atlantic Hockey tournament at neutral sites, the conference is moving all tournament games on campus this season.
The format will be as follows:
Quarterfinals March 3-5 Best-of-three series
#8 seed at #1 seed
#7 seed at #2 seed
#6 seed at #3 seed
#5 seed at #4 seed
Semifinals March 10-12 Best-of-three series
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed
Second-lowest remaining seed at second-highest remaining seed
Championship Game March 18
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed
Unlike past tournaments, there isn’t a “Final Four” at a single site. Instead, the semifinals will be best-of-three series and held at separate on-campus locations.
With the semifinals and finals on different weekends, in order to hold the tournament over three weekends as usual, something had to give. The league’s Athletic Directors voted to cut the field down from all ten teams to 8 and eliminate the first round as well as byes for the top teams.
That means the bottom two teams (three next year when Robert Morris rejoins the league) will have their seasons end this weekend. We already know that it will be Bentley and Air Force missing the postseason.
Not a popular idea
I polled Atlantic Hockey coaches throughout the season on the new playoff format, and their response was unanimous among the ones I talked to: a hard no.
“We’re supposed to be about the student experience,” said Army West Point coach Brian Riley. “And here we’re leaving 60 or so guys out of that.”
“The playoffs are something that every player looks forward to,” said Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin. “I don’t like it.”
Besides the impact to players, several coaches brought up the unfairness of leaving anyone out when teams are playing an unbalanced schedule.
“Leaving teams out if you’re not playing the same schedule is not equitable,” said Sacred Heart coach CJ Marottolo. “It’s not a level playing field.”
And while there currently is an eight-point gap separating Bentley and Air Force from the rest of the pack, both teams have had respectable wins over the top teams in the league. Air Force and Bentley have each beaten regular season champions Rochester Institute of Technology as well as second-place Sacred Heart.
Who’s to say that couldn’t happen in the postseason?
Unfortunately, we’ll never know.
The final stretch
With one weekend to go in the regular season, the top and bottom positions in the standings have been determined, but there’s still a lot to be decided.
What we know:
– RIT has won the inaugural DeGregorio Cup as regular-season champs and is the top seed. The Tigers will host the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinals.
– Sacred Heart and American International will host quarterfinal series.
– Holy Cross, Army West Point, Canisius and Niagara are still in contention for home ice in the quarterfinals.
– Mercyhurst will be on the road in the quarterfinal round.
– Bentley and Air Force have been eliminated from postseason contention.
After this weekend’s games, expect tiebreakers to come into play to determine tournament seedings. They are:
1. Head-to-head winning percentage (note: this is different from points won as overtime wins count as wins and shootouts count as ties regardless of the outcome).
2. Conference wins (note: includes overtime wins).
3. Head-to-head goal differential.
4. Goals allowed in head-to-head competition.
5. Head-to-head winning percentage in games against teams starting with the No. 1 seed down to the No. 10 seed.
6. Goal differential in games against teams starting with the No. 1 seed down to the No. 10 seed.
Here’s my take on possible outcomes this weekend. Any errors in calculations are mine.
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Currently: First
Games remaining: Home vs. Air Force (2)
Possible seed: Has clinched first
Outlook: The Tigers have wrapped up their first regular season title since 2011 and are the inaugural winners of the DeGregorio Cup.
SACRED HEART
Currently: Second
Games remaining: At AIC, home vs. AIC
Possible seed: Second-Third
Outlook: SHU leads American International by two points heading into its final series with the Yellow Jackets. The Pioneers need three points in the two games to clinch second. In any case, SHU will host a quarterfinal series.
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
Currently: Third
Games remaining: Home vs. Sacred Heart, at Sacred Heart
Possible seed: Second-Fourth
Outlook: The Yellow Jackets saw their streak of four straight regular season titles come to an end but are in the hunt for their fourth consecutive playoff crown. Their series this weekend with Sacred Heart will determine the No. 2 seed. AIC has clinched home ice in the quarterfinals.
HOLY CROSS
Currently: Fourth
Games remaining: Home vs. Canisius (2)
Possible seed: Third-Seventh
Outlook: Five points will ensure home ice in the quarterfinals for the Crusaders, who hold a two- or three-point lead over the rest of the pack still in the running for the fourth seed.
CANISIUS
Currently: Tied for fifth
Games remaining: At Holy Cross (2)
Possible seed: Fourth-Eighth
Outlook: The Golden Griffins can clinch home ice with five points against Holy Cross and Army getting less than five points against Bentley.
ARMY WEST POINT
Currently: Tied for fifth
Games remaining: At Bentley (2)
Possible seed: Fourth-Eighth
Outlook: The Black Knights need to finish a point better than Holy Cross and with at least as many points as Canisius and Niagara to end up fourth.
NIAGARA
Currently: Seventh
Games remaining: At Mercyhurst, home vs. Mercyhurst
Possible seed: Fourth-Eighth
Outlook: Niagara has a (very) distant shot at home ice but has qualified for the postseason.
MERCYHURST
Currently: Eighth
Games remaining: Home vs. Niagara, at Niagara
Possible seed: Fifth-Eighth
Outlook: The Lakers can finish no higher than fifth, so they will be on the road for the quarterfinals.
BENTLEY
Currently: Ninth
Games remaining: Home vs. Army West Point (2)
Possible seed: Ninth-Tenth
Outlook: The Falcons are eliminated from postseason contention and will play their final games of the season this weekend.
AIR FORCE
Currently: Tenth
Games remaining: At RIT (2)
Possible seed: Ninth-Tenth
Outlook: Air Force is also eliminated and can’t be spoilers as its final opponent, RIT, has already locked up first. Pride will be on the line this weekend.
MTU’s David Jankowski and Minnesota State’s Connor Gregga battle for position during the teams’ game on Nov. 25, 2022 (photo: Michigan Tech Athletics).
Head-to-head, winner-takes-all matchups between the top two teams in the conference in the regular season’s final weekend don’t happen all the time.
But when they do, they should be savored.
In the past decade, we’ve seen this happen once before in the race for the MacNaughton Cup. The last time it happened – the 2019-20 season – Minnesota State had clinched at least a share of the title entering the final series but needed to sweep second-place Bemidji State to clinch outright. Instead, the Beavers won 3-1 in Bemidji and the season came down to Saturday’s finale – a 4-1 MSU win.
That was the penultimate year of the old WCHA, a season cut unceremoniously short by the pandemic. You’d be forgiven for forgetting the details of how that season played out. Luckily, we haven’t had to wait long for another similarly-exciting end-of-season series.
This weekend’s CCHA series between first-place Minnesota State and second-place Michigan Tech in Mankato – in the midst of a late-winter blizzard raging across much of southern Minnesota – has all the hallmarks of an instant classic. Either team could win the MacNaughton Cup outright, adding to the intensity of the occasion.
“I think if you looked at the voting at the beginning of the year, everybody in our league, maybe we didn’t know who, but we just knew that at the end of the day, it would be close,” MSU coach Mike Hastings said. “It’s following that script. At the beginning of that year, you hope you’re in that situation. Our first goal is to get home ice, and then your second goal is to hopefully be competing for the league championship and we’re in that position now.”
The Mavericks (20-11-1, 15-8-1 CCHA) currently lead the Huskies (21-8-4, 14-6-4 CCHA) by two points in the league standings. A regulation win on either day will clinch the MacNaughton outright for the Mavs, while the Huskies need five points to take it for themselves. A four-point weekend for Tech — say, a win and an overtime loss — and the teams share the cup.
Tech already took four points from the Mavericks earlier this season in Houghton, which the Huskies say gives them some confidence going into this weekend.
“My previous freshman and sophomore years, we didn’t really get a sniff against Mankato, (so knowing we’ve already beat them once), there’s a mental side of things, thinking and knowing we can do it,” Michigan Tech captain Brett Thorne said. “This year, we have a really deep team, and we know we can compete with some of the top teams in the nation like BU and Michigan State, teams like that, and obviously Mankato is right up there. So I think we’re a little more confident this year, so we can bring that mental game to what we bring to the ice and see what happens.”
Both teams seem to be playing their best hockey down the stretch in 2023: Michigan Tech is 9-2-1 while Minnesota State is 10-2. And both have been getting superb goaltending in Keenan Rancier and Blake Pietila.
Everyone knows about Tech’s Pietila. He’s a Mike Richter Award finalist with eight shutouts on the season, has a 1.98 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
“Blake is the best goalie I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with,” Thorne said. “His work ethic is insane. Playing in front of Blake, knowing you have a goaltender that’s so reliable and able to win you games by himself, it increases the confidence of the D core and the forwards in front of us. Knowing we can make mistakes and he’s going to be there. Us on the D core have talked about it, we want to play for him. He has a really good chance of winning that award this year, and I think he should win it. We have a lot of respect for Blake and what he’s been able to accomplish.”
Rancier, on the other hand, has been a revelation since the calendar turned to 2023. He struggled in the first half of the year but has started every single game for MSU in the season’s second half. His goals-against is No. 4 nationally at 1.89 and has a respectable .912 save percentage.
“If you don’t have (good goaltending) you can do a lot right and not find ways to win hockey games,” Hastings said of Rancier. “If you do have that, it provides you some flexibility in your game, whether it’s more survival, more confidence, and he has been that guy for us. There’s been some peaks and valleys from the start of the second half until now, but not nearly as many as there were in the first half. And I think that’s been a big difference for us (in the second half). We’ve defended better, he’s done a really good job between the posts for us, and that combination has allowed us to garner a little bit more confidence.”
So what should we expect this weekend?
“We’ve done a good job to get ourselves in opposition to possibly take home first place at the end of the season,” Thorne said. “So mentally, it’s a bit different this week. We know what’s riding on this weekend, but in the room, we are basically doing the same thing that’s brought us success over the past couple months. If we just stick to our game and do stuff the right way, I think we’re going to get a good outcome.”
Whatever happens, both teams know this isn’t the end of the journey. In most ways, it’s just the beginning. Both MSU and Tech have home-ice advantage for the first round of the CCHA’s Mason Cup playoffs, and both are on the Pairwise bubble.
“We want to enjoy the opportunity, but understand that it’s just the next step,” Hastings said. “Whether we do or we don’t, our season isn’t over, nor is Tech’s. Is it important, absolutely. But we’ve got hockey ahead of us also.”
In the playoffs a hot goaltender can steal a game and carry his team a long way as Cortland’s Luca Durante looks to do in the SUNYAC tournament starting on Wednesday against Buffalo State (Photo by Darl Zehr Photography)
This week is all about the conference tournaments as we enter the official win-or-go-home portion of the 2022-23 season. I will be doing this week’s extensive picks in two parts starting with the quarterfinal rounds taking place Tuesday through Thursday and re-calibrating for the weekend’s quarterfinal and semifinal rounds across the conferences. Last week’s volume-based picks showed playoff caliber excellence at 14-1-0 (.933) which now brings my season total up to a robust 123-51-12 (.694). It is time to pick the winners that will contend for the conference titles but if the season was any indication, expect some upsets among these games too. Here are the early week picks for the quarterfinal rounds:
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
NE-10 Quarterfinals
Post v. Assumption
February has not been a good month for the Greyhounds as they dropped from first in the standings to third over the final weeks of the regular season. If you are going to do a reset, no time like the playoffs to get your game back with everything to play for. Home ice is the one-goal difference here – Assumption, 3-2
Franklin Pierce v. Southern New Hampshire
The Penmen have been playing their best hockey over the past several weeks including a pair of sweeps that helped them capture home-ice for the opening round of the playoffs. Looking for continued good play and some special team’s excellence that advances the home team to the semifinals – SNHU, 4-2
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
CCC Quarterfinals
Wentworth v. (9) University of New England
The Nor’easters are the defending champions but open the tournament with a quarterfinal matchup with the Leopards who will not be an easy out. Lots of experience from last year’s Frozen Four run to lean on for the home team who starts fast in route to the win – UNE, 5-2
Western New England v. Salve Regina
The Seahawks could be a dark horse with solid goaltending and the talents of Johnny Mulera and Mitch Walinski generating offense in tight playoff-style play. The Golden Bears have had a good season but will need to be at their best to upset the Seahawks and an overtime goal is what keeps the home team playing on Saturday – Salve Regina, 3-2
SUNYAC Quarterfinals
Buffalo State v. Cortland
The Red Dragons has something every team wants entering the playoffs and that is a hot goaltender. Luca Durante always has the ability to steal a win for his team but so too can Emil Normann for the Bengals. Expect an empty-net goal to provide the final margin for the home team – Cortland, 3-1
Fredonia v. (11) Geneseo
The Knights are four-time defending champions and only need to look back a couple of weeks to a loss against Fredonia that has them playing in the quarterfinal round for the first time in years. Strong motivation to win and advance to the next round – Geneseo, 5-2
UCHC Quarterfinals
Arcadia v. (1) Utica
The Pioneers are on a mission and coming off back-to-back wins over the same Arcadia team this past weekend. There will be no looking past the quarterfinal opponent as the home team looks to stay unbeaten against UCHC teams. More of the same for the Pioneers – Utica, 7-1
Alvernia v. Nazareth
The Golden Flyers worked exceptionally hard on the ice to capture the No. 2 seed but should not look past the Golden Wolves who can score goals. Home ice record has been impressive for the Golden Flyers, and they take advantage of it with a late spurt that earns a comfortable win – Nazareth, 5-2
Chatham v. Stevenson
It took a while for the Mustangs to get their game kicked into high gear but with the return of Austin Master and Ryan Kenny from the World University Games, Stevenson has all the pieces to make a run at the UCHC title. Step one achieved in a hard-fought win over the Cougars – Stevenson, 4-2
Wilkes v. Manhattanville
The Colonels have had a good second half of the season but find themselves on the road to face a resilient Valiants squad. No. 4 vs. No. 5 is always a coin toss game and in this case, it is the Colonels who pull the “upset” with an overtime thriller – Wilkes, 3-2
Thursday, February 23, 2023
MASCAC Quarterfinals
Salem State v. Fitchburg State
The Falcons have unleashed their offense in recent games which bodes well for a playoff run. Erik Larsson has taken over games for the Vikings in the past month so look for more goals than usual in a playoff game as the home team steals one late – Fitchburg State, 5-4
Massachusetts-Dartmouth v. Westfield State
These two teams wrapped up the regular season on Saturday with the Owls eking out a one-goal victory. The stakes are higher on Thursday night, but the outcome is the same with an overtime goal sealing the win for the home team – Westfield State, 4-3
It is the chance to play for the conference championship which seemed so very far away back in October and November last fall. It’s here now so time to leave it all on the ice – “Drop the Puck!”
RIT is the 2023 Atlantic Hockey regular-season champions (photo: RIT Athletics).
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: Hey everyone, and Happy Tuesday!
Well, Paula, we finally made it. The last week of the regular season (well, for some leagues). A season that started in October with hopes and dreams is now in a position to sort out its playoff stretch. This is the time of year we all live for…unless you’re one of the teams that’s out of the postseason already.
As I dive in, that’s the story here out east with Atlantic Hockey, where the league introduced a new postseason format where eight of the 10 teams make the field. This weekend formally eliminated the two that will miss – Bentley and Air Force – while RIT, which lost to Bentley on Saturday night, clinched the regular-season championship as the winners of the Robert DeGregorio Trophy.
Atlantic Hockey is the only league that eliminates teams prior to its playoffs, but the format has been in college hockey for a number of years. When Hockey East was a 10-team league, it eliminated the bottom two teams and went to an eight-team format, and a number of the women’s leagues had formats that eliminated various teams from the postseason for years. The trend in recent decades has been to include everyone, but the conference is bucking it this year with a three-weekend format that allows for the best-of-three quarterfinals and the single-elimination semifinals and championship to be played at the better seed all the way through the finals.
This brought up an age-old conversation piece for me because “every team making the playoffs” is becoming increasingly common. It’s not singular to hockey, but I know ECAC specifically made it a point of pride to include every team in its women’s postseason for the first time this year. Hockey East, the league that used to eliminate the bottom two teams, uses a format that includes everyone. Outgoing commissioner Robert DeGregorio told Chris Lerch earlier this year that he wanted to include every team.
Where do you stand on postseason formats? I see the positives and negatives of both sides, and while I’m picking on Atlantic Hockey here (and it’ll seem like sour grapes because Bentley missed the postseason), I want to make sure that we’re discussing the format more so than the league, even though I took a very longwinded way to get there.
Paula: As cold as this sounds, I like seeing some teams eliminated from playoff contention. I think that the possibility of not making conference playoffs contributes to the fan interest in regular-season play and heightens the drama, especially in the final weeks.
Let me be clear: this isn’t an anti-participation trophy rant. I’m in favor of rewarding people for participating in many different situations. Not making the playoffs is heartbreaking for players, and I’m not one who subscribes to the toughen-up philosophy of life that claims that a good knocking-down is a valued experience. My take has nothing to do with that kind of thinking.
I appreciate good stories, and from a fan’s perspective, whether or not a team is going to make the playoffs is good storytelling and I’m hooked.
I remember the days of the old CCHA, which went back and forth between including everyone and eliminating some. For most of the time I covered that league, though, everyone was included. That created some economic hardships for some schools – not just those who traveled, but those who hosted. If a league is going to expect everyone to play, there should (in my opinion) be some financial support where it’s needed.
Because the Big Ten has only seven teams, the league has arrived at the perfect solution with the top team getting a bye for its three best-of-three first-round series. This season, Minnesota ran away with that bye from early on, but determining who’s going to host that first round is going to come down to the last weekend, with four teams – Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State – all vying for home ice. One very good team is going to travel. It’s exciting.
You mention RIT winning the Robert Degregorio Trophy. Kudos to the Tigers and their first regular-season title since 2011. While RIT provides proof of how difficult it is to win a regular-season title, Quinnipiac and Minnesota each secured consecutive regular-season titles this past weekend. The Bobcats earned their third consecutive Cleary Cup and the Golden Gophers clinched their second consecutive regular-season Big Ten championship – and sixth overall, which is remarkable given that this is only the end of the 10th season of B1G play.
How do we even discuss teams like Quinnipiac and Minnesota? Are teams with sustained levels of success like their outliers? The CCHA, Hockey East and the NCHC are all shaping up to be classic photo finishes, yet the three teams that have secured regular-season titles never looked back this season. What kinds of stories do these results tell, Dan?
Dan: I like to think that both are indicators of the cross-section of college hockey’s past and present. Quinnipiac, in particular, is a program that’s built its current history by laying a groundwork foundation over time. This program hasn’t even been in ECAC for 20 years, but what it’s done with an arena, financing, institutional support, and the right coach supporting everything is a blueprint for likeminded programs. Whether you love or hate the team’s success, there had to be an emotional investment over the last 30 years that commands respect from everyone who looks on from the outside.
That’s a far cry from Minnesota, which is probably the ultimate blue blood in the sport. I say “probably” only because I’m from Boston and therefore biased against anything that isn’t from my hometown… but you gotta give credit where credit is due there.
I remember the Frozen Four last year in Boston. I can’t remember if it was Bob Motzko or Mike Hastings, but one of them talked about how Minnesota, as a state, goes mad when the Gophers are good. As someone who grew up going to BU games at Walter Brown and, to a greater degree, Red Sox games at Fenway and Bruins games at the Garden, I can relate to the sentiment. Things are way more fun when the fan base has the electric current going.
It’s a fandom that’s been passed through generations, and Minnesota has been able to sustain its greatness by simply harnessing – for decades – what makes the state’s hockey culture great among players who understand that ideal.
It’s just not as good as Massachusetts, clearly. (Smiles, winks, tongue-in-cheek)
These two teams evenly splitting first-place votes probably draws a bit of a battle line between the old school and new school into the last day of the regular season, even though the PairWise is the ultimate statement.
Paula: I think it’s interesting that you leave Michigan out of the discussion about states with strong traditions of college hockey. Minnesota is the undisputed State of Hockey, but if there is to be a discussion about regions that have long-sustained traditions that contribute to hockey culture, Michigan needs to be included.
According to College Hockey, Inc., the top three U.S. states supplying players to men’s Division I programs this season are Minnesota (219), Michigan (162) and Massachusetts (130). Those three Ms have long been among the top states for youth hockey in the U.S., so these statistics are hardly surprising.
I think your tongue-in-cheek poke at this regional rivalry goes back to the deep-rooted belief that there is a significant difference in how hockey is played between the East – which is, let’s face it, mostly New England and New York State – and the West, which is literally everything else according to most people in college hockey. In fact, I’m not sure that Western New York counts as “west” to college hockey folks closer to the Atlantic Ocean.
I don’t think that college hockey is played differently region to region. There seemed to be some distinctions when I first started covering years ago, but everyone now has access to everyone else’s video and other game/coaching resources, every coach attends the same seminars, every team values “finesse” as much as it values grit.
The differences aren’t between regions but are between schools that can attract blue-chip recruits as opposed to those who cannot – or who do not yet. Quinnipiac has two NHL draft picks on its roster this season and a total of 10 Canadian players. That tells me a lot about Quinnipiac recruiting – like how the Bobcats are able to find outstanding talent that fits their program while recruiting in an area where they’re competing against teams that have traditionally attracted those blue-chip players. Give the Bobcats another two or three seasons of this level of success and Quinnipiac will be competing against places like Boston University and Boston College for top talent.
I am not certain that voters look at Minnesota vs. Quinnipiac as old school vs. new school. I know I do not. Minnesota earned my first-place vote because I think that the Gophers’ road sweep of Penn State is a tremendous thing. That’s not to take anything away from the Bobcats’ home wins over Yale and Brown, but I see the Nittany Lions as a team that can make some noise in the NCAA tournament, and I see the Big Ten as a stronger conference this year than the ECAC. So the Gophers got my vote. I can’t speak for other voters, but I know that those factors – those perceptions – go into the thinking of lots of college hockey folks.
Dan: You bring up a great point about Quinnipiac and the number of Canadian players that the team has. There’s a deeper discussion here about how hockey has changed in the United States in general, and it’s not just based on where teams are located in the college spectrum. After your note, I went to the College Hockey, Inc. media kit and found that California has nearly 50 players playing college hockey. Yes, the state is humungous and carries major population centers up and down the West Coast, but that number was an absurdity to older generations. The fact that hockey is growing nationally is showing exactly what we’re seeing in the talent pool.
I don’t know that teams have to compete with the traditional powerhouses to find the right players anymore. I do think that we’re reaching a critical moment in college hockey where the game has grown to a greater extent than we sometimes think about. I remember being in Nashville to see a Predators game, and the state hockey tournament exhibit had something like a dozen teams. It doesn’t seem like much to someone from Massachusetts, but those dozen teams probably never existed 20 years ago.
What I guess I’m trying to get at is this – as the years go on, I don’t know that teams will have to recruit against one another in those traditional markets. Without fully referencing the Quinnipiac roster for where every player is from, I think the teams that are willing to go into those markets are going to find talent that they can build their programs with. And with that will come more growth to the game in the way of teams and opportunities.
Switching gears, as we near the end of the season, I know that I’m also looking forward to the return of the 5-on-5 overtime that goes forever. It’s a staple of playoff hockey, but as a traditionalist, I’ve never been a huge fan of the shootout and the 3-on-3 overtime, but I will throw this out there as a question. Do you have a favorite overtime memory from the playoffs, and as we near the postseason, is there anything that we can remind fans about for the next few weeks?
Paula: All three of my favorite OT playoffs memories involve the CCHA, Ohio State, and Michigan – even when they weren’t playing each other.
There’s 1998, when Michigan State beat Ohio State in overtime to win the CCHA championship at Joe Louis Arena but a week later, Ohio State beat Michigan State in the West Regional to advance to the Frozen Four. That regional was played at Yost Ice Arena – the Michigan connection – and that weekend may have been the single best weekend of NCAA playoff hockey I’ve ever covered. Michigan, North Dakota, Yale and Princeton rounded out the field and Yost was positively rocking all weekend.
Ohio State lost its semifinal game in the Frozen Four that year to Boston College in Boston, but Michigan beat New Hampshire to advance to the title game against BC. When the Wolverines tied it up late in the third, I knew that Michigan would win it all because Marty Turco was in net. Michigan won 3-2 and the locals were shell-shocked.
My single favorite college hockey playoff overtime memory is the 2004 CCHA semifinal game at JLA between Ohio State and Miami. The Buckeyes were the underdog and the semifinal game was the second contest they were playing that weekend in the (mercifully) short-lived CCHA Super Six format. Current Ohio State assistant coach, JB Bittner, scored the game-winning goal 23 seconds into OT, and the Buckeyes went on to defeat Michigan for the playoff championship.
In each of those scenarios, no one anticipated the winning outcome – and that’s what makes playoff hockey so amazing. I’ve said repeatedly in this column and elsewhere that I think conference playoff hockey is the best thing we get to witness all season. Look at how close the regular-season races are in the CCHA, Hockey East, and the NCHC. That will make for some completely unpredictable playoff outcomes in those leagues.
In B1G Hockey, Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State are among the top 10 teams in the PWR and yet one of them may wind up not hosting a first-round playoff series. In Atlantic Hockey, RIT – a team that has flirted with PWR inclusion most of this season and a team that was miles ahead of the AHA competition all season long – very likely has to win out to earn the NCAA conference autobid.
We use the word “parity” far too much in college hockey, but this season genuinely has proven that about half of the D-I field can legitimately make some postseason noise. If that results in 5-on-5 playoff OT hockey, Dan, then I am here for all of it.
Head Coach Erik Strand of UW-Eau Claire gets his 141st career victory, becoming the winningest coach of all time at UW-Eau Claire (Photo by Shane Opatz, UWEC)
The time has finally come, playoffs! This past weekend was the official end of the regular season even though we had some leagues begin their conference tournaments who finished the previous week. A lot happened out west, UW-Eau Claire has a new all-time winningest Head Coach, Adrian clinched the NCHA after a few wild weekends, and we take a look at the rest of the conference winners and seeding out west!
Erik Strand makes Blugold history!
UW-Eau Claire Head Coach Erik Strand entered this past weekend with 140 career wins, tied with former UWEC Head Coach Mike Collins (2000-2013). Strand also won the 2013 Men’s D-III National Title as an Assistant Coach of UWEC. His Blugolds had their regular-season home/away series finale with WIAC rival and #1 (USCHO) ranked UW-River Falls. Eau Claire entered the weekend with a stellar record of 19-3-1, ranked #9 (USCHO) and were in a can’t-lose situation in terms of their pairwise hopes.
Game one was wild… It was a back-and-forth game until the Blugolds throttled River Falls, scoring six of the last eight goals in the game, including four unanswered in the matter of a mere four minutes. The game featured 11 goals, oddly enough, none occurring until the 2nd period, but when the scoring started, it didn’t seem to end. It all began when UWRF’s Abigail Stow scored a quick 48 seconds into the 2nd period, UWEC’s Hallie Sheridan would answer shortly after at the 4:10 mark. Both teams added goals less than a minute apart of each other at 12:38 & 13:24 to stay tied 2-2. Then the Blugolds took over, scoring 4 goals from 13:24-17:50 to take the 6-2 lead. River Falls would get a few back, but whenever they answered, Eau Claire answered right back. Blugolds took game one 7-4 at home.
Game two was in River Falls, a less eventful game in terms of the scoreboard, ending in a 1-1 tie where River Falls won in the shootout 1-0 to clinch the WIAC regular-season title by a single point, but a regulation tie is recorded as per usual with shootouts. The goals came in the 1st & 2nd period, the lone goals of the game which eventually led to the regulation tie.
Point leaders on the weekend for UW-Eau Claire: Hallie Sheridan (2 goals, 3 assists), Sophie Rausch (2 goals, 1 assist), Sami Scherling (3 assists). Goaltender Stephanie Martin made 28 saves in the 7-4 win & 28 saves in the 1-1 tie.
Leaders for UW-River Falls: Abigail Stow (1 goal, 1 assist), Holly Eckers (1 goal, 1 assist), & Maddie McCollins (1 goal, 1 assist). Goaltender Sami Miller made 19 saves on 25 shots in the game one loss but recovered well and made 19/20 saves in the game two draw.
With Friday’s 7-4 win over WIAC rival UW-River Falls, HC Erik Strand earned his 141st victory at the helm of Eau Claire, taking over a previously struggling program and making them annual NCAA contenders (made last 4 NCAA tournaments, minus covid year).
UW-Eau Claire’s Coach Erik Strand (Photo by Bill Hoepner, UWEC)
Speaking to Coach Strand on the weekend and his career milestone, I asked him what his favorite part of his career at Eau Claire has been: “Being a part of the turnaround with the program. From day one since I arrived, our Blugolds have bought in and wanted to build something special. Every year the returners share our traditions and build on the culture making it stronger than the year prior. It’s just a lot of fun to be around and I’m grateful for each day I get to be around our Blugolds.”
Coach Strand also spoke about it being a must-win weekend and making personal history vs their WIAC rival: “This series is definitely a cat and mouse puzzle that is rarely the same game plan twice. Joe Cranston is an incredible coach and has built another phenomenal team. Going into the weekend we knew UWRF had a winning streak that was at 13 games, including big wins over Gustavus (twice), Plattsburgh, and Middlebury. So, we were excited to see how we stacked up. The win certainly felt incredible. It was one of those games where we had a lot going right for us. Every night we want each line to contribute on the scoresheet and to be able to achieve that against UWRF has given us a tremendous amount of confidence that we are trying to build on this weekend as we start our playoff push.”
There aren’t many better people in D-III hockey than Coach Strand, his players, and the people around him will attest to that. Congratulations Coach, there’s more records out there waiting for you to break.
Adrian wins the NCHA regular-season title!
Adrian swept St. Norbert this past weekend 1-0 & 3-2 to win the NCHA regular-season title (Photo from Adrian Head Coach Shawn Skelly)
#6 Adrian entered this past weekend needing to sweep #13 St. Norbert to clinch the NCHA regular-season title after splitting with Aurora the previous week. They did just that, but it wasn’t easy. Both games were in Norbert, Adrian winning game-one by a slim 1-0 & game-two by a slim 3-2 margin.
In game one, Adrian’s Gia Avalone scored the lone goal at the 0:47 mark of the 2nd period. Goaltender Sophie Goldberg recorded the 14-save shutout victory for Adrian and Brynn Waismann recorded 16 saves in the loss.
In game two, Adrian took the lead midway through the 1st period at the 10:28 mark, courtesy of Une Bjelland. There would then be no goals until a flurry in the 3rd period when Norbert’s Kelsey Ross answered back a quick 21 seconds into the period to tie it at 1. It would then go back and forth with Adrian scoring at the 3:36 mark, Norbert answering at 15:23, then Adrian’s Jocelin Hudanish scoring the winner in the last few minutes at the 17:10 mark of the game to secure the win and the NCHA regular-season title for the Bulldogs of Adrian. Sophie Goldberg made 27 saves in the victory and despite the loss, Brynn Waismann had a good night, making 30 saves.
Adrian Assistant Coach Trevor Coykendall as a player at Adrian during the 2021-2022 season (Photo by Mike Dickie)
Adrian Assistant Coach Trevor Coykendall, a member of last year’s 31-1-0 Men’s D-III National Champion Adrian Bulldogs, talked about his experience this year as a first-year assistant and winning the NCHA regular-season title as a player and now a coach: “I would say it’s hard to pick between the two because they’re both so different. Being a player, you put in so much work physically, but being a coach, you get to see progress in each player and watch them develop over the year not only as an athlete but as an individual as well. Seeing them celebrate after winning makes you happy in a way that’s very different from being a player, but still assures you that your hard work is paying off. It’s a very rewarding job and I’ve been blessed to be a part of another powerhouse program.”
Powerhouse program indeed, as Coykendall in the last 2 seasons as a player and coach (including this current season), has only lost a mere 4 games out of the 57 he’s been a part of. Also asked him about the game-winner vs Aurora with 0.1 left on the clock and what sweeping St. Norbert meant for the team: “The goal was incredible, I think the reaction was delayed a second because we didn’t actually realize it went in, but once that happened everyone went nuts, it was nice to see all the smiles after the game. Definitely one to remember. The sweep of St. Norbert was huge for our team. I don’t think we played our best during the Aurora series and that lit a fire in everyone to be better in all aspects this week. Going on the road and winning both games against a fast St. Norbert team shows how resilient our girls are and proves that when we play like we know we can, we’re one of the top teams in the country.”
St. Scholastica won the MIAC regular-season title over the weekend. (Photo Credit: St. Scholastica Athletics)
St. Scholastica has made program history in college hockey. The team to beat all year long in the conference, the Saints won their first regular-season MIAC crown with a shootout win over Augsburg Friday night.
It’s the program’s first conference title since 1975 and the title means St. Scholastica is the first team from the school to clinch the top seed in the MIAC tournament. The Saints became members of the league last season.
Carsen Richels played a pivotal role in the win, recording the first hat trick of his career. He also scored in the shootout after the two teams played to a 5-5 tie.
Arkhip Ledenkov came through with four points in the win, three off assists, and goaltender Jack Bostedt notched the win for the Saints with 22 saves.
The Saints closed out the series with a 4-1 win Saturday, finishing the regular season with an 8-1-1 mark over their last 10 games.
Four different players scored and Jack Branby, a senior, earned his first career win at the college level on senior night. He made 23 saves and has a bright future ahead as he plans to go to medical school.
St. Scholastica (16-6-3, 13-1-2) now shifts its attention to the conference tourney where it will play St. Olaf or Concordia in the semifinal round on Sunday. The Auggies (14-9-2, 10-5-1) will play Saint John’s in the semifinals.
Oles dominate defensively
St. Olaf closed out the regular season with a couple of shutout wins against Gustavus, winning the finale 3-0 on Saturday after picking up a 2-0 win Friday.
The Oles (13-10-2, 7-8-1) secured a spot in the conference tourney with the win. Thomas Lalonde stopped 25 shots in goal. Spencer Light, Ben Luscko and Noah Heisler all scored for the Oles, who came through with back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since 2010. Lalonde made 11 of his saves in the third period.
Cobbers cruise past Cardinals
Concordia kept momentum on its side as it rolled past Saint Mary’s in a key MIAC series. After rolling to a 7-1 win Friday, the Cobbers came back to finish the weekend with a 4-1 win, their seventh in their last 10 games.
Concordia (12-11-2, 9-6-1) is headed to the MIAC tournament as the fourth seed and got a solid effort from Matt Fitzgerald, who stopped 68 of the 70 shots he faced in the two games against Saint Mary’s, including 30 on Saturday.
Fitzgerald has started the last 10 games for the Cobbers, who are playing their best hockey at the right time of the year.
WIAC
Lumberjacks put up a fight
Northland didn’t make it easy on UW-Superior in the opening series of the WIAC tournament. The Lumberjacks won the opener 3-1 before falling 3-0 in Game 2. A mini game was used to decide who would advance and the Yellowjackets prevailed 1-0.
In Friday’s game, Northland (2-23-2 scored twice in the third period to seal the deal on their first win over the Yellowjackets since the 2018-19 season. It was also their first conference tournament win.
Jack Craycroft Brendan Charlton and Brock Weimer all scored for Northland.
But UW-Superior (15-10-2) bounced back the next day to move on in the series, scoring a pair of goals in the third period of Game 2 to take the win. C.J. Walker tallied a goal and assist.
Bradley Stonnell scored the lone goal of the mini game to help the Yellowjackets advance.
Blue Devils are moving on
UW-Stout didn’t go into the opening round of the WIAC tournament with a lot of momentum. In fact, the Blue Devils had dropped their last four games.
But things changed for them on Friday and Saturday as they skated to a pair of wins and advanced in the WIAC tournament.
UW-Stout won 4-1 on Friday and wrapped up the series with a 4-2 win.
In Saturday’s finale, Peyton Hart was the story of the night as he came through with a hat trick, the third of the season for Hart. He now has 18 goals on the season for the Blue Devils (17-9-1).
Tyler Masternak stopped 31 shots in the win. Dysen Skinner made 29 saves for UW-River Falls (11-15-1). Logan Severson scored both goals for the Falcons in the final game of the season for the Falcons, who came into the series riding a four-game winning streak.
As for the Blue Devils, they have more than doubled their win total from a year ago when they won just eight games.
Bulldog Power Hour
Adrian just didn’t win its final game of a quarterfinal series against Concordia Saturday. The Bulldogs dominated it.
And that might be an understatement. Adrian scored 10 times off the power play, setting an NCAA record. Adrian won the game 13-2.
The previous power-play goal record in a game was eight, which was set three times, the last in 2017. It also happened in 1996 and 2010.
The Bulldogs scored eight goals in the final period and Nic Tallarico made 15 saves for Adrian (21-4-2).
Ty Enns scored twice and also dished out two assists. Alessio Luciani tallied a goal and three assists. Jaden Shields had himself a night as well, dishing out five assists. Mathew Rehding added a goal and three assists.
Third-ranked Adrian won the opener over the Falcons (4-22-1) by an 11-1 score. The win was the 200th for head coach Adam Krug. He’s now 201-44-13 in his career at Adrian.
Green Knights sweep Sabres
Down 2-0 in the second game of a quarterfinal series against Marian on Saturday, the Green Knights scored eight unanswered goals to secure an 8-2 win and advance to the semifinals of the NCHA tournament.
St. Norbert (17-8-2) has now won 46 games in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. The Green Knights are ranked 12th in the nation in the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll.
Adam Stacho played a key role as he scored three goals and also dished out an assist. Brock Baker added two goals and an assist.
Liam Fraser scored a goal and tallied two assists while Michael McChesney came through with three assists as well as a goal. Colby Entz made 20 saves. St. Norbert, which won the opener 5-2, has won its last three games.
Spartans hold off Foresters
Aurora went the distance in its NCHA tourney series against Lake Forest, prevailing 4-0 in the mini game to punch a ticket to the semifinal round for the first time,
Playing the Foresters in Rockford, Illinois, the Spartans bounced back from a 3-2 loss earlier in the day to secure the win.
Aurora (18-7-2) got goals from Simon Boyko, Nate Keeley, Juliano Satalucia and Carson Riddle in the mini game win.
The Foresters (11-12-4) got a pair of goals from Connor Scahill to take an early 2-0 lead. Colin Bella then made the score 3-0 five minutes into the third period before the Spartans attempted a rally. Aurora, tied with St. Norbert for the No. 12 spot in the nation, had won the series opener 4-1. Keeley scored twice in that game.
Trine survives and advances
The Thunder needed overtime in a mini game to secure a 1-0 win over MSOE and advance to the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
Trine lost the series opener Friday by a 2-1 score but bounced back to even things up Saturday with a 5-3 victory. It was their seventh win in their last eight games.
Thad Marcola scored twice for the Thunder in the victory. Trine is now 18-8-1 overall and learned Monday that it was nationally ranked for the first time in program history. Trine checks in at No. 15 in the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll. MSOE finishes the year at 15-12. Christian Sabin scored the game winner in Friday’s win for the Raiders.
Postseason Notes
MIAC Tournament
While the Saints go into the tourney as the top seed, Augsburgs ends up as the No. 2 seed in the postseason. The Auggies will host third-seeded Saint John’s on Saturday in the other semifinal.
St. Olaf is the reigning champ and the fifth seed going into the tournament, a familiar position for the Oles, who were also the lowest seed a year ago going into the tourney and started their magical run with a win over Concordia.
St. Olaf was originally set to play at Concordia Thursday but will now play Friday instead due to a winter storm threat. The winner then plays St. Scholastica on Sunday.
The semifinal winners will square off March 4 for the title at the site of the highest remaining seed.
NCHA Tournament
The top four seeds held serve in the battle for the Harris Cup, with Adrian, Aurora, St. Norbert and Trine all advancing. Adrian and Trine will play in one semifinal game and Aurora and St. Norbert will play in the other semifinal matchup.
The winners play for the championship on March 4. An automatic berth to the NCAA tournament will be on the line. Adrian is the reigning national champion.
WIAC Tournament
UW-Superior advances to play at UW-Eau Claire in the semifinal round on Friday and Saturday. UW-Stout gets top-seeded UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals. The winners move on to play for the title on March 4.
And unlike in past years, the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Minnesota’s Matthew Knies celebrates a goal last weekend at Penn State (photo: Minnesota Athletics).
Both Minnesota and Quinnipiac earned 25 first-place votes in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, but the Gophers leap up one notch to the top spot in the rankings with 975 voting points to the Bobcats’ 972 points.
Quinnipiac is down to No. 2 this week.
Denver is again No. 3, as is Michigan at No. 4, while Western Michigan is up three spots to No. 5 in this week’s poll.
St. Cloud State remains sixth, Harvard is up two to No. 7, Ohio State is up two to No. 8, Boston University tumbles four to No. 9, and Penn State falls three places to No. 10.
No new teams enter the rankings this week.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 11 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.
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:
• Three conference champions crowned over the weekend: Minnesota, Quinnipiac, RIT
• Three more to go, with only one likely next weekend
• Buy or sell on teams on the PairWise Rankings bubble to make the NCAAs
• Beanpot settled by a shootout: Awful or OK?
• Ohio State beats Michigan in the Faceoff on the Lake with great atmosphere and iffy ice
Skidmore earned a dramatic quarterfinal win over Elmira in overtime and celebrated a 4-3 come-from-behind victory on Saturday (Photo by Bill Jones)
What a crazy weekend with final regular season action presenting upsets like Wesleyan’s sweep of Trinity that earned them the NESCAC title and Curry ending Endicott’s CCC unbeaten streak in the final conference game on the schedule. Plymouth State completed a perfect regular season run at 18-0-0 and Oswego emerged at the top of the SUNYAC pack with a pair of wins to close out their schedule. Two familiar names in St. Anselm and St. Michael’s earned the top two spots in the NE-10 and, oh yeah, Utica cruised to yet another UCHC regular season title. All that action and the NEHC playoffs also commenced with quarterfinal action. Here is the wrap-up for an amazing weekend of college hockey:
CCC
While Endicott had already clinched the regular season title, the marque game of the weekend would determine whether they could finish the CCC schedule unbeaten in conference play as well as whether Curry could secure the second place position and the quarterfinal bye that comes with a top two finish. The two nationally ranked teams took care of business on Friday with the Colonels securing a 5-1 win over Suffolk while Endicott ran away with a 9-3 win over Nichols. On Saturday, Curry hosted the Gulls in a game that had the look and feel of a conference championship.
The Colonels started fast with a three-goal first period on tallies from Jacob Crespo, Matt Connor and Billy Roche to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Goaltender Reid Cooper, who would finish with 33 saves on 35 shots, surrendered only Noah Strawn’s third period goal as the Colonels held on for a 3-2 win that was Endicott’s only loss in CCC play. Endicott held a 35-25 shot advantage for the game but finished 0-4 on the power play.
The CCC tournament sets up with No. 3 University of New England hosting No. 6 Wentworth and No. 4 Salve Regina facing No. 5 Western New England in mid-week quarterfinal action. The winners advance to the weekend and matchups with the top two seeds, Endicott, and Curry.
MASCAC
After goaltender Brendahn Brawley set the single season school record with his fourth shutout of the season in a 5-0 win over Framingham State on Thursday night, the Plymouth State Panthers needed a win over Salem State on Saturday to complete the regular season undefeated in MASCAC play. Myles Abbate scored a hat trick to help the Panthers to a 7-3 win to close out the regular season at 18-0-0 and positioned them as the top seed in the MASCAC playoffs beginning this week.
The second-place team which also receives a quarterfinal bye was determined with Saturday’s Worcester State v. Fitchburg State game. Each team won on Thursday night. The Lancers knocked off Salem State by a 5-2 margin with five different Worcester State players providing the offense while the Falcons dominated Westfield State, 9-3 with Anthony Ceolin scoring four goals. On Saturday, the Falcons needed a regulation win to take the second spot in the standings and rallied to a 3-3 tie in the third period on Rece Bergman’s goal with five minutes remaining in regulation. Seeking the outright win, the Falcons played with six skaters seeking the winning goal but surrendered empty-net tallies to Brendan Ronan and Kevin Drevitch in the final minute for a 5-3 Lancers’ victory.
This week’s quarterfinals setup with No. 3 Fitchburg State hosting No. 6 Salem State and No. 4 Westfield State hosting No. 5 Massachusetts-Dartmouth in a re-match of the season finale won by the Owls, 4-3. Plymouth State and Worcester State have byes and await the quarterfinal winners in semifinal action next weekend.
NE-10
Three teams had a realistic chance of securing the regular season title in the remaining games this past weekend but it was St. Anselm that emerged with the title on the strength of a sweep of Franklin Pierce on the road to secure the top spot. On Friday, the Hawks took a 5-3 win and followed that up with a 4-1 win on Saturday. Matt Hayes scored a goal and added an assist in Saturday’s season finale where the Hawks erased an early 1-0 deficit with four unanswered goals.
The all-important second place position came down to the outcomes of games for Assumption and St. Michael’s who were playing Southern New Hampshire and Post respectively. With a Greyhound loss on Friday and the Purple Knights win against Post, it all came down to the final games on Saturday.
Post raced out to a 2-0 lead against St. Michael’s before the Purple Knights rallied with four goals to take a 4-2 win. Brennan McFarland assisted on every St. Michael’s goal which helped secure the No. 2 seed for the NE-10 tournament for the Purple Knights. Assumption continued their difficult February results with a 3-2 overtime loss to SNHU, leaving them just 1-5-1 in the month of February and losers of five straight entering this week’s NE-10 quarterfinal round.
The conference tournament sets up with No. 3 Assumption looking to rebound in the playoffs against No. 6 Post while No. 4 Southern New Hampshire hosts No. 5 Franklin Pierce. St. Anselm and St. Michael’s receive byes to the semifinals and await the winners of the quarterfinal games this week.
NEHC
As the regular season had already concluded last weekend, the NEHC entered conference tournament mode on Saturday with four very entertaining games.
Top-seeded Hobart threw everything but the kitchen sink at Castleton goaltender Brandon Collett but found themselves trailing the Spartans by a 3-2 score after two periods of play. Collett had stopped 41 of 43 shots in the first 40 minutes of play to support goals by Zach Papapetros, Jackson Kobelka and Stone Stelzl that had the visitors thinking upset. In the third period, the Statesmen found their game and the back of the net as they scored five times, including two from Tanner Daniels to cruise to a 7-3 win. Hobart held a 67-17 shot advantage as Collett finished with 61 saves. Damon Beaver finished with four saves and picked up the win in relief of Mavrick Goyer.
Norwich hosted travel partner New England College in quarterfinal action and very early on the Pilgrims did something they were unable to do in the regular season by scoring a goal against the Cadets for 1-0 lead on the road. Graham Hassan scored first in the contest but the Cadets answered back on goals from Keegan Mantaro and Braedyn Aubin to close out the first period with a 2-1 lead. That would be all the scoring either goaltender would allow as Andrew Kormos and Drennen Atherton kept the game to a one-goal differential that saw Norwich prevail by the 2-1 score.
Babson faced Massachusetts-Boston in the quarterfinal round and took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from James Perullo and Brendan Kennedy. Kolye Bankauskas cut the deficit in half for the Beacons with the only goal of the second period setting up an exciting final twenty minutes. The Beavers extended their lead with goals from Max Torrez, Thomas Kramer and Danny Cavanaugh to earn a 5-1 win. Nolan Hildebrand earned the win stopping 21 of 22 shots for Babson.
The last quarterfinal game saw Skidmore facing Elmira and it is not surprising that the No. 4 v. No. 5 games always provides the most drama. The visitors secured an early 2-0 lead with goals from Will Dow-Kenny, in the first 30 seconds, and Thomas Finck before Elmira answered in the second period to tie the game at 2-2 with a first minute goal from Chance Gorman and a last-minute goal from Christian Abrams. The home team took the lead with just under four minutes remaining in regulation on a goal from Nicholas Domitrovic but that is when the drama really began. Skidmore pulled their goalie and used their timeout with just six seconds remaining on the clock. Everett Wardle won the offensive zone face-off back to the point where Devon Mussio passed it across to partner Matthew Monk for a one-time bomb that eluded Kyle Curtin and tied the game at 3-3 with just three seconds on the clock. Moving to overtime, the Thoroughbreds maintained their momentum with sustained pressure before Patrick Kaeden scored the game-winner to advance Skidmore to the semifinals with a 4-3 win.
This week’s semifinal games see No. 1 Hobart hosting No. 5 Skidmore while No. 2 Norwich faces No. 3 Babson. Both games will be played on Saturday, February 25.
NESCAC
Three teams all potentially could have won the regular season title entering the final weekend of conference play. Trinity, Amherst and Wesleyan were all mathematically in the equation with the Cardinals needing a difficult sweep of the Bantams to secure the top spot to earn the needed six points and secure the needed tie-breaker. Guess what, the Cardinals did exactly that in ending the Bantams 13-game unbeaten streak with 3-0 and 2-1 wins to take the regular season title.
On Friday night, Wiggle Kerbrat, Jake Lachance and Emmet Powell each had two assists in a 3-0 win backstopped by Erik Voloshin’s 34 saves. On Saturday, needing to complete the sweep to take first place, the Cardinals found themselves trailing at home 1-0 after the first period of play. Owen Sweet set up DJ Dixon to tie the game in the second period and in the final four minutes of the third period the combination struck again with Dixon setting up Sweet for the game-winner. Voloshin was outstanding again with 30 saves.
Amherst needed a sweep of Williams and Middlebury to leapfrog Trinity and take the second place spot but secured an overtime tie on Friday with the Ephs before cruising to a 5-0 win over Middlebury on Saturday leaving the Mammoths just one-half point in arrears of the Bantams.
Hamilton secured the final home-ice position with a 2-2 tie against Middlebury followed by a 1-0 win over Williams who finished in the eighth and final playoff position.
The quarterfinal round sets up with No. 1 Wesleyan hosting No. 8 Williams; No. 2 Trinity hosting No. 7 Bowdoin; No. 3 Amherst hosting No. 6 Tufts and No. 4 Hamilton playing No. 5 Colby.
SUNYAC
For the first time in many years the final positions amongst the top four teams were to be decided on the final weekend of conference play. Plattsburgh held serve with a mid-week 5-2 win over Morrisville in their final league contest that guaranteed the Cardinals a top-two seed but they needed help if they wanted to stay in the top spot by the end of the weekend.
Oswego controlled their own destiny needing wins over Buffalo State and Fredonia to take the regular season title. On Friday night, the Lakers broke open a 2-2 game with four unanswered goals to down the Bengals, 7-3. Shane Bull, Ryan Dickinson, and Rocco Andreacchi each recorded three points in the contest. Needing a win against Fredonia, the Lakers played maybe their most complete game of the season in a 9-0 shutout over the Blue Devils. Conor Smart scored a hat trick while Garrett Clegg and Tommy Cahill each picked up three points to pace the offense. Cal Schell finished the game with 20-saves to earn the shutout and the lakers the regular season title.
Geneseo needed a win against Brockport to secure the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC playoffs and a four-goal second period helped secure a 6-2 win over the Golden Eagles. Tyson Gilmour scored a pair of goals and added an assist for the Knights who will try to defend their four consecutive titles starting with a Wednesday quarterfinal game.
The tournament begins with No. 3 Geneseo hosting No. 6 Fredonia and No. 4 Cortland facing No. 5 Buffalo State on Wednesday, February 22.
UCHC
Utica finished UCHC play with a 20-0-0 record after a weekend sweep of Arcadia by identical 7-1 scores. The Pioneers scored three power play goals and three shorthanded goals in the two game sweep of the Knights who will face the Pioneers again in the conference quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The battle for second place came down to a tie-breaker on the basis of Nazareth finishing their campaign with a weekend sweep of Chatham. On Friday night, Logan Tobias led the way with two goals while goaltender Richard Provencher stopped 28 of 29 shots in a 4-1 win. The Golden Flyers completed the two-game sweep on Saturday by a 7-1 score over the Cougars. Tobias scored a hat trick and Joseph Schaeffer added two goals to help Nazareth secure second place and home ice in the upcoming playoffs.
Manhattanville took advantage of a two-game sweep of King’s to obtain the final home-ice berth for the UCHC conference tournament. On Friday, the Valiants saw goals by six different players in a 6-2 win over the Monarchs. On Saturday, balanced scoring again was key for the visitors but Mitchell Watson chipped in with one goal and two assists to help Manhattanville to a 5-2 win.
On Wednesday, the quarterfinal round shapes up like this: No. 1 Utica hosting No. 8 Arcadia; No. 2 Nazareth hosting No. 7 Alvernia; No. 3 Stevenson hosting No. 6 Chatham and No. 4 Manhattanville facing No. 5 Wilkes.
Three Biscuits
Anthony Ceolin – Fitchburg State – scored four goals and added an assist for a five-point night in the Falcons’ 9-3 win over Westfield State on Thursday night. Ceolin was one of three players with five points in the game for FSU.
Jake Fuss – University of New England – scored one goal and added three assists in the Nor’easters’ 5-2 win over Salve Regina on Thursday night.
Carter Breitenfeldt – Colby – recorded a natural hat trick in the second period and added a fourth goal to close out a 5-1 Mule win over Connecticut College on Friday.
Bonus Biscuits
Jason Finan – Alvernia – scored a hat trick and added an assist on Sawyer Senio’s overtime goal in a 6-5 win over Lebanon Valley on Friday night.
Patrick Kaeden – Skidmore – scored the overtime winning goal for the Thoroughbreds in their 4-3 win over Elmira in the NEHC quarterfinals on Saturday.
Ryan Pomposelli – Southern New Hampshire – scored the overtime winning goal in a 3-2 win to help the Penmen to a weekend sweep over Assumption and securing a home-ice seed in the NE-10 quarterfinals.
Connor Smart – Oswego – scored a hat trick in the Lakers’ 9-0 romp over Fredonia securing the regular season title and quarterfinal bye for the SUNYAC playoffs.
It has been absolutely the most competitive and amazing season at the DII/III level this season with exciting conference races right to the final games on the schedule and already dramatic playoff hockey to get the fan base even more enthusiastic for the battles all the way to the national championship. While playoffs begin in earnest for all the conferences this week, the teams which did not qualify for the post-season along with the teams not advancing in tournament play see their seasons come to an end. It is a tough time and to all the seniors and graduate students who will not lace them up again in a college game, please accept our thanks for your magnificent commitment to the game and your school. May you enjoy great success in whatever professional endeavor or ongoing academic challenge you take on next.
Wisconsin powered out to a 4-0 lead in the opening period thanks to two goals from Jesse Compher as well as tallies from Casey O’Brien and Britta Curl. After regrouping at the first intermission, Ohio State began their comeback. Jenn Gardiner lit the lamp in the first two minutes of the second to make it 4-1. In what would prove to be a pivotal moment, the Badgers looked like they extended the lead to 5-1, but the goal was called back for too many players. Emma Maltais scored later in the second to make it 4-2. In the third, Brooke Bink used a screen to make it a one-goal game early in the the period. Sophie Shirley broke a long scoreless streak to put the Badgers up 5-3 with about 13 to go. But Ohio State would not go quietly. Gardiner and Maltais each scored to tie the game at 5 and forceovertime. The Buckeyes held possession to start the frame, but on the Badgers’ first dangerous play in the extra frame, Gardiner was called for handling the puck and Wisconsin was awarded a penalty shot. Rookie Kirsten Simms flipped a backhander into the net to win the game for the Badgers in dramatic fashion, 6-5. Saturday’s game was a back and forth match where no one could break through until Laila Edwards crashed the net and slid the puck through Amanda Thiele and into the net to make it 1-0 Wisconsin with about 13 left in regulation. The Buckeyes were able to equalize on a power play with five minutes remaining. The game looked destined for overtime again when Madison Bizal found herself with enough open ice to pick her spot and put Ohio State up 2-1 with 55 seconds left in regulation. Wisconsin challenged the call for a hand pass, but the refs didn’t agree. The goal counted and UW was assessed a penalty for losing the challenge and having already used their timeout. On the ensuing power play, Bizal scored another wrister to earn Ohio State the 3-1 win, which also gave them the WCHA regular season championship. Wisconsin will host Minnesota State and Ohio State will host Bemidji State in the first round of the WCHA tournament next weekend.
Dartmouth at (2) Yale
Five different goal-scorers led the Bulldogs to a 6-1 win. Anna Bargman scored twice, Emma Seitz had a goal and two assists and Elle Hartje had three helpers to lead the team. Georgia Kraus was Dartmouth’s goal scorer.
Harvard at (2) Yale
Elle Hartje had a hat trick and two assists in the Bulldogs’ 11-1 blowout win over Harvard on Saturday. With the win, Yale took the ECAC regular season Championship. Anna Bargman and Claire Dalton each had a goal and three assists in the win. Unfortunately for Harvard, they head back to New Haven next weekend for a best-of-three series to open up the conference tournament.
(3) Colgate at Union
Danielle Serdachny padded her lead atop the national points leaderboard with a goal and two assists on Friday, bringing her season total to 61 points. Sammy Smigliani and Dara Greig each had a goal and an assist in Colgate’s 6-0 win.
(3) Colgate at RPI
Eight different Raiders collected two or more points and Elyssa Biederman tied the program record for points in a season by a freshman as Colgate closed their season with a 6-1 win. Marah Wagner netted a shorthanded goal for RPI in the loss. Colgate will host Princeton in the opening round of the ECAC tournament.
(4) Minnesota at St. Thomas
The Gophers out-shot St. Thomas 55-19, but the game was scoreless into the third period. Nicole Vallario scored her first of the season to give the Tommies the lead, but it lasted less than a minute as Taylor Heise scored her 24th of the season to even the score 1-1. Neither team could find the go-ahead goal in regulation, but Abbey Murphy ended it midway through the overtime period to give Minnesota the 2-1 win. In the second game, Abigail Boreen and Lotti Odnoga traded goals in the first to make it 1-1 at the first period break. Heise and Boreen added goals in the second to put Minnesota ahead 3-1. Anna Solheim cut the lead to 3-2 early in the third, but St. Thomas couldn’t find the equalizer and Murphy’s goal midway through put the game out of reach at 4-2. Over the weekend, St. Thomas goalies Saskia Maurer and Alexa Dobchuck combined to make 108 saves.
(5) Northeastern vs. Boston University (home and home)
Alina Müller had three goals and an assist and Maureen Murphy had a goal and three assists to lead Northeastern in a 5-1 win on Friday. Murphy recorded her 200th career point on an assist on Mueller’s first goal of the game. Kate Holmes scored her first goal of the season to ice the game in the third. Nadia Mattivi scored for BU in the loss. On Saturday, the Huskies earned the program’s third-ever 30-win season – and the first one that was reached during the regular season. Ten different Huskies tallied points as Mia Brown, Molly Griffin, Peyton Anderson and Katy Knoll each lit the lamp.
(7) Quinnipiac at St. Lawrence
The Saints took the lead in the second when Shailynn Snow put away the rebound on a Julia Gosling shot. But Quinnipiac responded quickly as Alexa Hoskin was stopped on her initial shot, but was able to put back her own rebound to make it a 1-1 game. Snow had the primary assist on the second goal, passing to Taylor Lum, who slid the puck into the net to make it 2-1. Not done yet, Snow tipped in Chloé Puddifant’s shot to dive St. Lawrence the 3-1 lead. The Bobcats pulled their goalie with more than three minutes left and Aly McLeod took advantage, solidifying the win with an empty-netter to make it 4-1.
(7) Quinnipiac at (9) Clarkson
The Golden Knights pulled an upset on their rival, earning a 2-1 win in the final regular season match for both teams. Jenna Goodwin and Gabrielle David scored less than two minutes apart in the first half of the opening frame and then the Golden Knights defense went to work. Quinnipiac pulled within one with a late power play goal from Lexie Adzija, but Clarkson held on to their lead to get the win.
(8) Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State
UMD coach Maura Crowell earned her 150th career win as a head coach this weekend as her team swept the Beavers to lose out the regular season. On Friday, the Bulldogs tied a program record for most team shutouts in a season with 12 and Emma Soderberg set a new program record with her 21st career clean sheet. UMD held BSU to just 12 shots on the night. Naomi Rogge and Mary Kate O’Brien scored twice and Anneke Linser and Ashton Bell each lit the lamp once to lead UMD to the win. In the second game, Reece Hunt struck for the Beavers just 37 seconds into the game to give Bemidji a 1-0 lead. Mannon McMahon evened the game up to send the teams to the locker room tied 1-1. Then the Bulldogs began to pull away. Taylor Anderson scored twice and Gabbie Hughes also lit the lamp to make it a 4-1 game. Tova Henderson scored her first as a Bulldog to close out the 5-1 win. It was UMD coach Maura Crowell’s 150th win at the helm for Minnesota Duluth.
Princeton at (9) Clarkson
The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period thanks to Sarah Fillier. But Clarkson was not ready to let the game out of their grasp. Stephanie Markowski scored midway through the second to make it 2-1. Princeton responded with a power play goal from Emerson O’Leary to make it 3-1, but Sarah Swiderski had an extra-attacker goal of her own minutes later to make it 3-2. Markowski scored her second of the game to tie it at 3 heading into the second intermission. Just :39 into the third, Maggie Connors scored a power play goal of her own to put Princeton ahead 4-3. Markowski completed her hat trick a few minutes later and a winner could not be found in regulation. Clarkson got possession on the opening faceoff in overtime and Haley Winn’s shot rebounded onto Cherkowski’s stick. Her goal just 22 seconds into overtime ended the game with a 5-4 win for Clarkson.
(10) Penn State at RIT
Eleri MacKay had two goals and an assist and Courtney Correia added three helpers to power Penn State to an 8-1 win on Friday. Jordyn Bear scored for RIT in the loss. The Nittany Lions won their 15th straight on Saturday thanks to goals from Lexi Bedier, Izzy Heminger and Kiara Zanon to lead the team to a 3-1 win. Jessie Burks was RIT’s goal-scorer. Penn State will face Lindenwood in a best of three series to open up the CHA playoffs.
(11) Vermont at New Hampshire
The Catamounts battled back from behind twice to earn a 3-3 tie on Friday and clinch home-ice in the opening round of the Hockey East tournament. Natalie Mlynkova scored the only goal in the opening frame to give UVM a 1-0 lead. But the Wildcats responded. They reeled off three straight goals to have a 3-1 lead by the opening minutes of the third period. Shea Verrier, Brianna Brooks and Lauren Martin each lit the lamp for UNH. Sini Karjalainen cut the lead in half midway through the third and Theresa Schafzahl’s power play goal late in the period forced overtime. There was still no game-winner, so it took Mlynkova’s bar down shot as the only score of the shootout to earn the extra point for Vermont. On Saturday, Vermont matched the regular season win record they set last season with a 3-1 win. Evelyne Blais-Savoie scored in the second and then Mlynkova added two more to put the Catamounts up 3-0. Emily Rickwood scored in the third to ruin the shutout.
(15) Boston College vs. (13) Providence (home and home)
In the first game, Boston College took an early 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Gabby Roy, Katie Pyne and Alexie Guay in the first. Noemi Neubauerova got one back in the second, but Abby Newhook scored two consecutive goals to put the game out of reach. Rachel Weiss added a late goal for Providence, but BC took the 5-2 win. Hannah Bilka racked up four assists for the Eagles in the win. The teams skated to a scoreless first on Saturday. But Lindsay Bocha scored in the second and third and Sara Hjalmarsson added a goal to make it a 3-0 win for the Friars.
(14) Cornell at RPI
The teams played a very even match through the first half of the game. McKenna Van Gelder scored on the power play late in the 1st to put Cornell up 1-0, but RPI’s Ellie Kaiser tied it just past the midpoint of the game to tie it at one. With Gabbie Rud’s goal a few minutes later, the Big Red started to pull away. She scored again 1:01 into the third to make it 4-1 and Gillis Frechette’s goal :59 later made it 4-1. RPI was able to cut the lead to two with a power play goal from Marah Wagner before four minutes had elapsed, but that’s as close as it would get. Lily Delianedis got the goal back in less than a minute to put the game away at 5-2 and Frechette’s late insurance goal solidified a 6-2 win.
(14) Cornell at Union
Izzy Daniel scored twice during a five minute major power play for spearing and that would prove to be the difference for Cornell. Paige Greco’s goal late in the first put Union on the board first, but Kaitlin Jockims’ tip in early in the second tied it up and then Daniels went to work to earn the 3-1 win. The Big Red will travel to Clarkson for the first round of the ECAC tournament.
Steven Bellini and Minnesota State picked up their 20th win of the season Friday night at Bemidji State (photo: Mansoor Ahmad).
While No. 1 Quinnipiac escaped this weekend unscathed, it wasn’t easy being at the top of the USCHO.com poll.
That leads this list of the top 10 things from this weekend in our Monday 10 feature:
1. Quinnipiac is scored upon – which is the closest this team is coming to finding bad news these days
The breaking news for No. 1 Quinnipac is that the Bobcats allowed goals this weekend. After back-to-back shutouts of St. Lawrence and Clarkson – not to mention three shutouts in four games – when Quinnipiac fell behind 1-0 to Yale on Friday, it felt like breaking news. From that point in the game, though, Quinnipiac scored five straight to win 5-1 and coupled with a 5-2 win over Brown on Saturday, it was yet another sweep for the Bobcats. The Friday win clinched a third Cleary Cup – the ECAC regular-season title – for Quinnipiac, as this team continues to roll towards the finish line.
2. Ohio State impresses both indoors and out
It looked as if Michigan was positioned to take the second seed in the Big Ten tournament after Minnesota was ready to clinch things heading into this weekend (and did so convincingly over Penn State on Friday), but Ohio State certainly made a statement this weekend. The Buckeyes skated to a 3-3 tie in Columbus and won the shootout on Thursday and then, in front of more than 40,000 on Saturday outdoors at First Energy Stadium in Cleveland, defeated the Wolverines 4-2. The five-point weekend in the Big Ten pulled Ohio State into a tie with the Wolverines for the second spot heading to the last weekend.
3. And about those Gophers
As mentioned, Minnesota clinched the Big Ten regular-season title on Friday, scoring the first six goals of the game before the midway point of the second en route to a 7-2 victory over Penn State. While the Nittany Lions put forth a better fight on Saturday Matthew Knies spoiled the evening in Hockey Valley, scoring the tying goal with 41 seconds remaining and the game-winner at 2:49 of overtime. Minnesota seems almost locked into the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, currently at 70 percent to land in the top spot.
4. Merrimack is back from the dead after a sweep of Boston University
Merrimack was the dark-horse darling of the first half of the season. But a 3-8-1 skid after the break, including three straight OT losses in Hockey East play heading into this weekend, had the Warriors reeling. Somehow, though, facing off against first-place Boston University gave Merrimack the life it needed. A 4-1 win at home on Friday was followed by a 4-3, come-from-behind victory with 0.1 seconds left in overtime on Saturday over the Terriers, producing a five-point Hockey East weekend. The weekend, which solidified Merrimack’s place in third in Hockey East and leaves them with a hope of a first-ever regular-season title, didn’t do much to help in the PairWise where Merrimack still remains in 19th.
5. Minnesota State moves to first in CCHA, but can’t put stranglehold on title
After Friday’s 4-1 victory for Minnesota State over Bemidji State, one might have felt that the Mavericks were ready to seize control of the CCHA standings as the season comes to a close. Minnesota State trailed Michigan Tech by a single point headed to the weekend while the Huskies were idle. The Mavericks moved two points ahead and could’ve extended that lead on Saturday before both Mankato and Tech faceoff next weekend to close the season. But a 2-1 loss to Bemidji State spoiled Minnesota State sweep and placed the Mavericks just two points ahead of Michigan Tech as the pair square off this weekend with a regular-season title on the line.
6. Cornell’s falters put NCAA bid at risk
While there were plenty of great stories from this weekend, for Cornell, Friday and Saturday may have felt like some lost opportunities. Facing Clarkson and St. Lawrence at home, the Big Red were looking for victories to further cement their position not just in the ECAC standings but, more importantly, in the PairWise. Instead, a 4-3 loss to Clarkson on Friday and a 1-0 loss to St. Lawrence a night later not only dropped Cornell to third place in the ECAC, but more importantly to the PairWise bubble. Cornell is in a three-way tie for 14th with Northeastern and Notre Dame. The tie breaker – RPI – places the Huskies higher than Cornell, but the Big Red still lead Notre Dame by .0019 percentage points in the RPI. Not a lot of room for error for the Big Red.
7. Alaska rallies for sweep of LIU to keep hope alive for NCAA bid
Independent Alaska rallied on back-to-back nights, including overcoming a 3-0 deficit on Saturday against LIU to earn a weekend sweep and keep alive the team’s hopes for an at-large NCAA tournament bid. The Nanooks, which improved to 18-10-2, have four games remaining – two on the road at Arizona State and two at home versus Lindenwood – with a legitimate hope of an NCAA bid. Currently, the odds of earning that bid are less than 20 percent, but a perfect finish and a 23-10-2 record makes things possible for the Nanooks, who currently sit 17th in the PairWise.
8. NCHC still has plenty of possibilities
For a while, it looked like Denver’s race to a regular-season title might be a foregone conclusion. But a 6-5 loss for the Pioneers on Saturday night to Minnesota Duluth places Western Michigan withing striking distance with two weekends remaining for each team. Moreover, the fact that the Pioneers and Broncos will face off against one another this weekend at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo brings in the fact that Western could actually take over the top spot in the league if they were to earn a regulation sweep. In essence, the entire NCHC standings feel up for grabs – at least the top four and spots 5-7 do. While Miami is cemented in last and it is unlikely that any of the current top four would lose home ice, nothing much feels secure in this league.
9. Will Northeastern be Hockey East’s second team?
To understand how volatile the bottom of the PairWise bubble is right now, look at the plight of Northeastern this past weekend. The Huskies began things inside the bubble on Friday morning, 15th in the PairWise. Idle on Friday, Northeastern fell all the way to 19th after Friday’s games were completed. But after a 3-0 win on the road at Vermont – a victory that maybe seems inconsequential in helping Northeastern’s RPI – the Huskies moved all the way back to a three-way tie for 14th in the RPI, holding that No. 14 spot based on the RPI tiebreaker. Why so much fluctuation? The fact that Northeastern at 14 and Merrimack at 19 are separated by .0067 in RPI has a ton to do with it. Every single game can change that number and there will be plenty of movement going forward.
10. The Beanpot overtime – and shootout – debate
It feels like it’s been weeks since Northeastern earned its fourth Beanpot title in five years over Harvard last Monday. But it was less than a week ago that much of the college hockey world exploded over social media because one of the legendary college hockey tournaments was decided by a shootout. The NCAA a few years back mandated that any in-season tournament use a five-minute overtime to decide a final score – the impetus being that teams who played lengthy overtime games during in-season tournaments didn’t want to the charged for a loss in the PairWise if they were to lose. Since that time, though, the overtime and shootout structure have overtaken the sport and the NCAA rules committee decided all in-season tournament games needed to be decided in either 3-on-3 OT or a shootout. It was less than ideal for the Beanpot, which has a legacy of great overtime battles – and heroes – that make the lore of the tournament more special. And while it is understandable that the NCAA likes uniformity, it is more important the governing body allow events such as the Beanpot, the GLI, or any other tournament the ability to find their own solution on how to crown a champion.
No. 4 Michigan (20-10-2)
02/16/2023 – No. 4 Michigan 3 at No. 10 Ohio State 3 (OT)
02/18/2023 – No. 4 Michigan 2 at No. 10 Ohio State 4 (Cleveland, Ohio)
No. 5 Boston University (20-10-0)
02/13/2023 – RV Boston College 4 vs No. 5 Boston University 2 (Beanpot third place)
02/17/2023 – No. 5 Boston University 1 at No. 20 Merrimack 4
02/18/2023 – No. 20 Merrimack 4 at No. 5 Boston University 3 (OT)
No. 6 St. Cloud State (18-9-3)
02/17/2023 – No. 6 St. Cloud State 3 at RV North Dakota 4 (OT)
02/18/2023 – No. 6 St. Cloud State 2 at RV North Dakota 2 (OT)
No. 7 Penn State (19-12-1)
02/17/2023 – No. 2 Minnesota 7 at No. 7 Penn State 2
02/18/2023 – No. 2 Minnesota 3 at No. 7 Penn State 2 (OT)
No. 8 Western Michigan (21-10-1)
02/17/2023 – Colorado College 1 at No. 8 Western Michigan 4
02/18/2023 – Colorado College 1 at No. 8 Western Michigan 2
No. 9 Harvard (19-6-2)
02/13/2023 – No. 9 Harvard 2 vs No. 16 Northeastern 2 (OT, Beanpot championship)
02/17/2023 – Union 3 at No. 9 Harvard 5
02/18/2023 – Rensselaer 0 at No. 9 Harvard 4
No. 10 Ohio State (18-11-3)
02/16/2023 – No. 4 Michigan 3 at No. 10 Ohio State 3 (OT)
02/18/2023 – No. 4 Michigan 2 at No. 10 Ohio State 4 (Cleveland, Ohio)
No. 11 Cornell (16-9-2)
02/17/2023 – Clarkson 4 at No. 11 Cornell 3
02/18/2023 – St. Lawrence 1 at No. 11 Cornell 0
No. 12 Michigan Tech (21-8-4)
Did not play.
No. 13 Minnesota State (20-11-1)
02/17/2023 – No. 13 Minnesota State 4 at RV Bemidji State 1
02/18/2023 – No. 13 Minnesota State 1 at RV Bemidji State 2 (OT)
No. 20 Merrimack (18-12-1)
02/17/2023 – No. 5 Boston University 1 at No. 20 Merrimack 4
02/18/2023 – No. 20 Merrimack 4 at No. 5 Boston University 3 (OT)
MADISON – The #1 Ohio State Buckeyes dug out of a 4-0 hole after the first period to force overtime, but #6 Wisconsin pulled out a 6-5 win thanks to a made penalty shot by freshman Kirsten Simms midway through the extra frame.
The penalty shot was called after an extended scrum in the Ohio State crease when Jenn Gardiner was called for handling the puck. Lacey Eden, Nicole LaMantia and Simms were on the ice and one had to take the shot. Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said he went with a gut feeling and called for Simms to take it, saying her performance in the teams’ shootout win over Minnesota last weekend in Minneapolis made him believe she’d be up to the challenge.
“[In Minnesota] the goalie made a nice poke check on her and she was not able to score because of it. I just felt, a young freshman had been through it once in front of a full house last weekend, let’s see what she can do with it.”
Grad student Jesse Compher said she was confident in Simms in that situation, despite her youth.
“We’ve seen those moves every day in practice. That kid works on her hands nonstop, so to see her hard work pay off, obviously we’re all super excited for her,” she said.
For her part, Simms said the fact that there was no time to think about the shot as there would be in a shootout following overtime made her rely on her instincts and just choose one of a handful of favored moves she has.
While the loss was obviously disappointing for the Buckeyes, coach Nadine Muzerall said she was incredibly proud of her team for staging a comeback and forcing the Badgers to overtime. In the short intermission between regulation and the extra frame, she said she made sure to let her team know that.
“I sat in front of them so that they could all see them and said, ‘I just want you to know, regardless of what happens here, that was unbelievable. I am proud of you.’”
The frustration with the scoring woes was palpable in the media room after Wisconsin lost a 1-0 game to St. Cloud State two weeks ago. It was a starkly different mood on Saturday after back to back, high-scoring wins over their rivals.
The outing was another massive performance for a Wisconsin team that has struggled to find their rhythm this season, particularly with scoring. When these two met back in early January, the Badgers managed just one goal in the two game series. Now they’ve scored 13 goals in the past two games against the #1 and #3 teams in the country.
“I think that we’ve known all year on paper how good of a team we can be, but we haven’t shown that. I think that we’re just starting playing our best hockey and I think that we’re coming together as a group and we’re all buying into this and we all want the same thing. And that’s to walk out of here with the National Championship,” said Compher.
Wisconsin charged out to a four goal lead thanks to goals from Casey O’Brien, Britta Curl and two from Compher. Curl and Compher each scored power play goals. Wisconsin had scored two extra attacker goals just one other time this season – September 30 against Lindenwood. They now have 15 power play goals on the year.
In the locker room at intermission, Muzerall told her team the staff believed in them. She said she reminded them that the regular season conference title is on the line in this series and told her team that they need three points and by getting this far, they’d earned one of them. But she also made clear to them that if they let this opportunity slip away, they’d think about the lost opportunity for a long time to come.
“You had the conference title, which is the hardest because it shows your body of work, sitting on your lap, you didn’t take it, you’re gonna forever regret it. They’re not going to give it to you, you have to take it. You have to take it and work for it. Dictate your future,” Muzerall said she told her team.
The speech worked. Ohio State are the top team in the country and defending national champions for a reason and they immediately started chipping away. Gardiner put OSU on the board just 1:38 into the second period.
The Badgers looked like they might be able to slow the Buckeye momentum with a goal just a few minutes later, but the goal was overturned for too many players on the ice by the Badgers. Ohio State gathered momentum from there, dominating play in the second period and outshooting Wisconsin 11-5 in the frame. Former Badger Makenna Webster fed Emma Maltais in the slot on a breakaway later in the second to make it a 4-2 game.
Brooke Bink cut the lead to one in the opening minutes of the third and it looked like there was simply too much time left in the game for Wisconsin to hold on to their lead. But the Badgers kept fighting and Sophie Shirley extended the lead to 5-3 as she crashed the net and tipped in an O’Brien pass. It was Shirley’s first goal in 14 games.
Coach Mark Johnson said no one’s smile was bigger than Shirley’s after the game, noting that she’d been playing well, but wasn’t finding the back of the net.
A Curl body-checking penalty led to a power play goal from Gardiner that slid through traffic straight into the net to make it 5-4 and in the final three minutes, Maltais pounced on a rebound UW goalie Cami Kronish left sitting right in front of her crease to tie the game at 5 and force overtime.
For his part, Johnson said he sees his team’s confidence growing over the past few weeks and sees how that has affected how they take the ice.
“You can’t play going on the ice not wanting to lose. You have to go on the ice wanting to win and there is a big difference in that.”
The two teams face off again on Sunday at 2 pm central. The game will be streamed on BTN+. Ohio State needs two points to clinch the WCHA regular season title.
Ohio State earned a 4-2 victory over Michigan in front of 45,523 fans at First Energy Stadium in Cleveland. It completed a five-point weekend for the Buckeyes over the Wolverines in Big Ten play (Photo: Ohio State Athletics)
It’s been a few years since Ohio State has earned a victory over rival Michigan on the football field. On Saturday, the Buckeyes hockey team corrected that.
In the first-ever college hockey game played at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, No. 10 Ohio State earned a 4-2 victory over the No. 4 Wolverines to cap a five-point week in the two-game Big Ten series for the Buckeyes.
The two clubs tied, 3-3, on Thursday in Columbus with Ohio State winning the shootout. The two teams are now deadlocked for second place in the Big Ten standings with two games remaining for each club.
Ohio State erupted for three goals in less than five minutes in the second period to take a 3-1 lead in the third. Despite Michigan’s Eric Ciccolini cutting the lead to a goal with 8:46 remaining, but Stephen Halliday’s response less than a minute later capped the scoring and the outcome.
No. 20 Merrimack 4, No. 5, Boston University 3 (OT)
Ben Brar scored his second goal of the game with 0.1 seconds remaining in overtime as Merrimack completed a weekend sweep of Boston University, earning five-of-six much needed points in the Hockey East standings.
Brar goal came with an extra attacker as a delayed penalty was upcoming on Boston University. Instead of allowing BU to touch the puck for a short power play as overtime expired, the Warriors kept forechecking, finally finding Brar in the slot before the final buzzer sounded.
The goal came seconds after goaltender Hugo Ollas stopped BU’s Jay O’Brien on a breakaway to extend the overtime session.
Merrimack jumped to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Matt Coppani and Mick Messner in the first. But after BU’s Matt Brown scored early in the second, a major penalty to Merrimack’s Liam Dennison translated to back-to-back power play tallies by Ryan Greene and Lane Hutson.
BU’s Sam Stevens took a penalty early in the third allowing Brar to score his first of the night and tie the game at 1:26 of the third, setting up to dramatic finish.
With Northeastern earning a 3-0 win at Vermont on Saturday, the Huskies move a point ahead of BU for first place in Hockey East with two weekends remaining.
Minnesota Duluth 6, No. 3 Denver 5
In a wild back-and-forth game, Wyatt Kaiser posted a four-point game as visiting Minnesota Duluth sweated out a 6-5 victory over Denver.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the game taking leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 5-2 before Ben Steeves scored his second goal of the night at 2:26 of the third to give Minnesota Duluth a 6-4 lead. Massimo Rizzo, who tallied two goals for the Pioneers, cut the deficit to 6-5 with 11:38 remaining, but goalie Matthew Thiessen shut things down from there, finishing the game with 29 saves.
Combined with Western Michigan’s 2-1 victory over Colorado College, Denver’s lead atop the NCHC slips to five points with four games remaining for each club. The Pioneers and Broncos face off next weekend at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo.
St. Lawrence 1, No. 11 Cornell 0
Aleksi Peltonen scored the game’s only goal with 2:45 remaining in regulation as St. Lawrence upset No. 11 Cornell, 1-0.
It was the second home loss in as many nights for Cornell, which fell to Clarkson, 4-3, on Friday. The lost weekend leaves the Big Red in a precarious position in the PairWise with just one weekend remaining in the regular season.
Cornell now sits squarely on the PairWise bubble, tied for 14th, though currently holding the tiebreaker of higher RPI over Notre Dame, which is one spot below the cut line.
The Big Red also dipped to third place in the ECAC standings with Harvard passing them after a 4-0 win over Rensselaer.
Justin Close made 35 saves as No. 2 Minnesota beat No. 7 Penn State, 7-2, in Pegula Ice Arena (Photo credit: Craig Houtz/Penn State Athletics)
One day after clinching the Big Ten regular season championship, No. 2 Minnesota delivered a statement performance with a 7-2 road win over No. 7 Penn State.
Matthew Knies had the game-winning goal 39 seconds into the second period, the first of four unanswered markers scored within a 10-minute span.
Jimmy Snuggerud scored two for the Gophers and Logan Cooley had a five-point night with four assists and the final Minnesota goal of the game late in the second period.
Justen Close allowed one goal and stopped 35 in 50:06 minutes of play. Owen Bartoszkiewicz finished the game for Minnesota, allowing a goal and saving four in his first action since Dec. 31
The Gophers secured the regular season B1G title with No. 10 Ohio State’s shootout victory over second-place No. 4 Michigan in Columbus Thursday night. This is the second consecutive and sixth total Big Ten conference championship for Minnesota since 2014.
No. 20 Merrimack 4, No. 5 Boston University 1
The Hockey East standings tighten a bit after No. 20 Merrimack beat No. 5 Boston University, 5-1. The third-place Warriors entered the weekend five points behind the Terriers and are two points back after tonight’s win.
Zachary Borgiel made 38 saves for the Warriors and Jordan Seyfert had the game-winner at 14:35 in the second. Matt Copponi opened the scoring for Merrimack in the first, and Mick Messner had two third-period goals, including an empty-netter.
BU’s lone goal was scored by Jay O’Brien on the power play at 10:37 in the third. The loss is the third in a row for the Terriers, their longest skid of the season.
No. 1 Quinnipiac 5, Yale 1
Trailing by a goal after the first, the No. 1 Bobcats rolled onto a 5-1 win over Yale, earning Quinnipiac its third consecutive ECAC regular season championship.
David Chen gave the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead at 7:08 in the first, but two late second-period goals scored less than a minute apart by Sam Lipkin tied the game and put the Bobcats ahead for good. CJ McGee added another three minutes later to make it a 3-1 game after two.
Collin Graf and Cristophe Tellier added third-period goals for the Bobcats. Yaniv Perets stopped 15-of-16 in his 25th win of the season. Chase Clark faced no shots in the Quinnipiac net in the final five minutes of the game.
Clarkson 4, No. 11 Cornell 3
With two goals each from Alex Campbell and Ayrton Martino and a 24-save performance by Ethan Haider, the Golden Knights beat the Big Red in Lynah Arena, becoming the only ECAC team to sweep their season series against No. 11 Cornell in conference play.
The score was tied 1-1 after the first and Cornell briefly took the lead on Ben Berard’s first goal of the night at 6:10 in the second, but goals by Martino and Campbell put Clarkson ahead by the end of the period. Berard’s second goal midway through the third period briefly knotted the game again, but it was Ayrton’s second goal of the night that decided it at 11:54 in the third.
The Big Red outshot the Golden Knights 27-19.
No. 3 Denver 6, Minnesota Duluth 2
The Pioneers battled from behind twice against the Bulldogs as No. 3 Denver beat Minnesota Duluth 6-2.
Jesse Jacques opened the scoring for Minnesota Duluth late in the third but Denver’s Aidan Thompson answered two minutes later on the Denver power play to tie the game 1-1 after one.
Big stop by Magnus Chrona leads to a two-goal swing as Jack Devine doesn't miss on his marker. pic.twitter.com/eb0ZW4gXm4
Luke Loheit put the Bulldogs up by one again early in the second period. Two Denver goals scored less than three minutes apart — the first by Mike Benning, the second from Jack Devine — put the Pioneers for good midway through the second period.
Devine scored another midway through the third. Jared Wright and McKade Webster added late goals for the Pioneers. Magnus Chrona made 31 saves and Jack Caruso stopped the only shot he faced as he played out the final 2:30 in Denver’s net.
St. Scholastica will try to capture the MIAC title this weekend. (Photo Credit: St. Scholastica Athletics)
It’s playoff time in the NCHA and WIAC this weekend. And meanwhile in the MIAC, the final weekend of the regular-season is here and a champion will be crowned.
Here’s at look at the big games ahead as hockey in the west region of NCAA Division III heats up to another level.
NCHA
Lake Forest (10-11-4) at Aurora (17-6-2)
These two teams get their series started Friday night and Aurora, the 10th-ranked team in the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll is the home team. This could be an interesting series. During the regular season the Foresters handed Aurora a 7-0 loss. The two teams also played to a pair of ties, with Lake Forest prevailing in the shootout both times by a 2-1 score.
So yes, the Spartans, winners of two in a row, are the favorite, but nothing is going to come easy. And it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if a mini game decided this series. Aurora, 5-4; Lake Forest, 4-3, Aurora, 2-1 (mini game)
Concordia (4-20-1) at Adrian (19-4-2)
Talk about a tall order for the Falcons, who have their hands full against the reigning national champions. Adrian produced two of its highest scoring gams of the year against Concordia in the regular season, winning 8-2 and 12-1. It’s hard to imagine things will go any different this time around. The fourth-ranked Bulldogs simply have too much firepower, especially with conference points leader Matius Spodniak (44) heading things up. He also leads the league in goals (22). Adrian, 8-1 and 7-0
Marian (11-12-2) at St. Norbert (15-8-2)
The Sabres were a thorn in the side of the Green Knights during the regular season, playing one game to a 4-4 tie and earning a 1-0 win in the other. But the No. 13 Green Knights come in having won three of their last four, closing out the regular season with a big 6-1 win over Adrian. Marian has won four of five and has to be feeling good about itself going into this series. Again, this is another series where a decisive mini game wouldn’t surprise anyone. But I think the Green Knights get it done in two. St. Norbert, 4-3 and 6-4
MSOE (14-11) at Trine (17-7-1)
Trine comes into this series as hot as anyone, rattling off five consecutive wins. And the Thunder are at home for the opening series. The Raiders have lost four in a row. These two teams played a month ago and it turned out to be an interesting series. The Thunder lost the opener 2-1 but bounced back with a 5-2 win in the finale. Here’s the tithing about Trine that is worth nothing for this series. It has allowed only four goals during its win streak. If that defense stays on point, the Thunder will be tough to beat. Trine, 4-1 and 5-2
WIAC
UW-River Falls (11-13-1) at UW-Stout (15-9-1)
The Blue Devils have had a turnaround season, nearly doubling their win total from a year ago, and now they hope to advance in the conference tournament. They don’t come into the tourney with a lot of momentum, having dropped four in a row, and offensively, they’ve struggled lately. The Falcons come in with nothing to lose and are playing well right now, rattling off four consecutive wins. Their just 2-9-1 away from home but maybe that trend changes this weekend. Let’s go with the upset here. UW-River Falls, 3-2 and 4-3
Northland (1-22-2) at UW-Superior (14-9-2)
It’s a tall order for the Lumberjacks as they take on a UW-Superior team that nearly won the WIAC regular-season crown. Yes, the Yellowjackets have dropped their last two but they are at home and they have had success against Northland this year, winning the two regular-season meetings by a combined score of 10-0. The Lumberjacks will compete hard. They always do. But look for the Yellowjackets to get it done on the scoreboard. UW-Superior, 5-1 and 4-0
MIAC
St. Scholastica (15-6-2) vs. Augsburg (14-8-1, 10-4)
A conference championship is on the line, and it wouldn’t be the MIAC if the title wasn’t decided until the final weekend of the season.
The Saints have been the frontrunner this season but the Auggies have used a late-season surge to put themselves in a position they are no stranger to as a program. Augsburg has won its last five games.
St. Scholastica has three of the top five goal scorers in the league and this is a team that always has a chance to win with Arkhip and Filimon Ledenkov on the ice together making plays.
Augsburg’s Gavin Holland and Austin Dollimer are both ranked in the top 10 in goals scored as well in the conference. This should be a fun series to watch. Both teams are capable of winning this series. It won’t surprise me if Augsburg gets it done, but the Saints are chasing history and I have a feeling they catch it. St. Scholastica, 5-4 and 4-3
Concordia (10-11-2, 7-6-1) vs. Saint Mary’s (11-11-1, 7-7)
Both teams have 20 points apiece and are tied for the fourth spot in the MIAC standings. The Cobbers and Cardinals are similar in some ways, with both teams scoring a little more than three goals a game and both teams allowing a little over three goals per game.
The Cobbers finished January on a four-game winning streak but have struggled this month, winning just once in five games. The Cardinals are 2-2 are in their last four but did get a win over St. Scholastica last weekend. Concordia, 4-3; Saint Mary’s, 4-2
UMass Lowell captain Jon McDonald and the rest of the River Hawks play a home-and-home series this weekend with Providence (photo: UMass Lowell Athletics).
We’re getting towards the end of the regular season where, as we’ve discussed in previous column, sports books are getting much better at setting lines.
Thus, finding value on a single game can often be challenging. This Friday, though, you have three home underdogs (some may argue North Dakota at +100 isn’t much of a ‘dog).
So the key in finding a real value is whether or not you can maybe find one underdog and make a two-or-more team parlay where you can increase value of a bet to +300 or better.
If you don’t understand the parlay concept, take a quick Google to understand how it works.
All that said, yes there are some juicy underdogs this week. The over/under lines also feel like you could hit one or two (Minnesota/Penn State over 6.5 seems viable).
But most importantly, there is great action to enjoy in the final weekends of the regular season.
No. 2 Minnesota (-175) at No. 7 Penn State (+140); o/u 6.5
Penn State is at home and is playing a Minnesota team that lost on the road last Saturday to Wisconsin. Shade towards Penn State?
I’m not sure. I don’t mind the Nittany Lions at home, but Penn State is 3-5-0 in its last six and is .500 at home in Big Ten play this year. Add in the fact that Minnesota can clinch the Big Ten title with a win on Friday. It seems hard to believe that the Gophers will fail to clinch twice in a row.
That said, Penn State earned a 4-2 win and fell 3-1 in the Twin Cities earlier this year. It’s not impossible, but this time of year, the trends favor the Gophers.
Over/under of 6.5 feels manageable until you realize the first two games between these two teams went under. Bet that carefully.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
Yale (+300) at No. 1 Quinnipiac (-450); o/u 5.5
Wow, look at Yale. Highest value we’ve seen in some time at +300. That’s automatically worthy of a bet, right?
Well, not so fast. The history simply won’t support that wager. Yale hasn’t won in Hamden since 2011. The Bulldogs have lost the last nine games at the Bobcats.
Now add in the fact that Quinnipiac is one of the hottest in the nation AND they haven’t lost at home this year. Honestly, you’re better off trying to win a tiny bit betting the Bobcats than trying to chase what looks like empty money in Yale.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
No. 18 UMass Lowell (-110) at Providence (-120); o/u 5
UMass Lowell hasn’t had many teams that have felt like a kryptonite in the Norm Bazin era, but one team that has had the River Hawks number seems to be Providence. The two teams split the season series a year ago, each team winning at home.
So looking at the current trends, UMass Lowell is strong since January 1, while Providence is 2-6-2 over the same span. Home ice likely means a lot in this series.
The over/under seems near perfect at 5. These two teams play to a pair of 3-2 results last year. The under does seem more likely than the over, but it is more likely this pushes.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
No. 6 St. Cloud State (-130) at North Dakota (+100); o/u 6
This is a decent NCHC rivalry of late, but both teams are equally as far apart in the league standings this season. St. Cloud is in a three-way tie for second, while North Dakota is tied for sixth. A Huskies sweep could almost certainly align a rematch of these two teams in St. Cloud in a few weeks in the NCHC quarterfinals.
Home ice used to be a near guarantee for the Fighting Hawks, but a 7-8-1 mark at the Ralph this season is hardly a guarantee (their 5-5-3 mark on the road is a tad better). St. Cloud hasn’t been excellent on the road (7-6-0), but the -130 price is pretty attractive for a Huskies team that is trying to lock up an NCAA bid as much as anything.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
No. 13 Minnesota State (-150) at Bemidji State (+120); o/u 5
When fans of these two teams look at this series, it might be easiest to remember the two-game sweep by the Beavers when they traveled to Mankato in mid-December.
Since that time, these two teams have headed in opposite directions. The Mavericks are 9-1-0 since the exam break, while Bemidji State is 3-9-1 since that weekend series in Mankato.
The Beavers certainly should believe they could beat Minnesota State, and these are two true rivals – far prior to the days of the CCHA part II. But the Mavericks seem red hot and could really position themselves well to clinch the CCHA title next weekend by gaining the majority of the points this weekend.
