Michelle Morgan has a distinguished career thus far in NCAA athletics (photo: provided by Atlantic Hockey).
On Feb 2. Atlantic Hockey announced the selection of Michelle Morgan as its new commissioner, beginning April 17.
She will succeed Bob DeGregorio, who is retiring after 20 years at the helm, dating back to the foundation of the conference.
She will also replace DeGregorio as the commissioner of the women’s College Hockey America conference.
Morgan is currently the senior Athletic Director at John Carroll University in Cleveland Ohio. A native of Brookfield, Ill, a former player for St. Thomas and part of two MIAC title teams, Morgan says she’s looking forward to getting back into the hockey world.
“It’s a great opportunity,” she said. “Hockey has always been my first love. I’m very thankful that I was able to parlay that love into a career, first with the (Chicago) Blackhawks and the (Minnesota) Wild.”
Morgan worked for those organizations in roles in marketing and corporate sponsorships. That led to positions in the athletic departments at John Carroll University. She has served on several NCAA committees, including chairing the Division III Management Council since 2019.
“I ultimately ended up on a college campus helping students to develop and grow, especially from an administration and governance standpoint,” she said. “I hope to put those skills to use as commissioner.”
She joins the college hockey world at a time of upheaval and new blood in the commissioner ranks. Longtime administrators like Joe Bertangna (23 years at Hockey East), Steve Hagwell (18 years at ECAC Hockey) and DeGregorio have or will retire this season. The most tenured Division I commissioner next season will be Hockey East’s Steve Metcalf and the CCHA’s Don Lucia, who each come on board in 2020.
Morgan says she sees bright possibilities ahead for her conferences.
“Coming from the outside, I did my due diligence,” she said. “There’s good bone structure. There’s great hockey that’s being played. The goal is to find the best ways to elevate our storytelling ability in the marketplace and community, to make sure people are aware of what we are doing.”
Morgan says her top priority is clear.
“I’m looking forward to serving these student-athletes,” she said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to use my skill set to help advance the conference and the players’ experience. It’s a toolbox I’m very comfortable with.”
Morgan, who plans to relocate to Boston this summer, says the response to her appointment has been overwhelming.
“So many people have reached out (since the announcement). I look forward to meeting them in person.
“I’m looking forward to getting to work. I’m excited about the possibilities.”
A tough six points
All 10 Atlantic Hockey teams were in conference play last week, and each took at least one point in their respective series. This has been the norm for the league, especially since the calendar turned to 2023.
To date, there have been 48 conference series completed, and in just a third (16) of those did a team capture all six points with two regulation wins. As expected, first-place Rochester Institute of Technology has the most, sweeping four times. Every team except for Air Force has been able to do it at least once.
Things have tightened up even more in the last month or so, with just three of 19 series since Jan. 1 awarding maximum points.
Most teams have just three series left to jockey for playoff seedings, and, for teams near the bottom of the standings, to stave off elimination.
What a difference
Average attendance for Sacred Heart’s nine games played this season at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport: 707.
Average attendance for Sacred Heart since moving to its new on-campus facility, the Martire Family Arena: 4,222 through four games.
The Pioneers went from 56th in attendance out of 61 Division I programs to 18th.
Gustavus’ goaltender Katie McCoy became the record holder for career shutouts in program history (Kate Murray – Gustavus Sports Information)
Another week, another career milestone reached. We also look ahead at some intriguing matchups that can play huge roles in the pairwise and conference tournaments. Speaking of the pairwise, we also discuss that briefly and the effect these upcoming games can have on it.
Gustavus’ Katie McCoy
Gustavus has yet another player breaking records, this time it’s goaltender Katie McCoy who’s having a stellar season thus far. Holding a record of 17-3 with a .943 save-percentage. Most recently she recorded her 25th career shutout victory, passing Danielle Justice (2004-2008) for the most in Gustavus program history and ranks 5th all-time in NCAA D-III Women’s hockey history. Currently, she’s 2nd in career shutouts for active D-III women’s goalies, trailing only UW-Eau Claire’s Stephanie Martin who currently has 27 in her illustrious career.
Gustavus hosts Concordia (Minn.) this weekend for a pair of games on February 10/11 at 7pm/2pm CT where the Gusties will be celebrating Senior Day on Saturday.
Looking Ahead
As the season comes to a close, that means these games can have more weight to them in terms of conference seeding and pairwise rankings since there’s less and less you can do to improve your RPI (ratings percentage index) once the games become scarcer. These last two weeks out west we have some massive conference matchups that can mean so much for certain programs depending on the result.
NCHA
To start, let’s look at the NCHA who’s had a coming out party as of the past few years, having multiple teams hold relatively high rankings nationally and one being consistently top-5. This weekend, #5 Adrian (19-2) visits Aurora (17-3-1) for a two-game weekend series which will hold big NCHA implications as Aurora will have completed all of their conference games. Aurora would lock up the #2 spot behind St. Norbert if they were to sweep Adrian, but Adrian needs to win only one game to then challenge St. Norbert for the top spot in the conference.
Adrian visits Aurora this weekend for a must-win series if they look to win the NCHA regular season title (Telegram Photo By John Discher)
For Aurora, this series isn’t necessarily a must-win, they’ll have at worst the 3-seed and sitting at #18 in pairwise, they have a very little, if any, chance of getting an at-large bid when things are all said and done. Adrian on the other hand, wanting revenge against the Spartans after they eliminated them in the NCHA semifinals last season, look to gain momentum for the end of the year showdown with current top-seeded St. Norbert.
Norbert (17-3-3 overall, 13-0-1 conference), currently five points ahead of Adrian and four of Aurora, needs to only win one game vs Adrian to win the regular season title; if Adrian wins out or splits with Aurora and sweeps SNC, they’ll win the NCHA regular season title. Adrian visits SNC for a two-game series the last weekend of the regular season February 17-18. Adrian is nearly a lock for an at-large bid even if disaster strikes, Aurora will need to win the conference tournament, and St. Norbert is on the border for an at-large considering what remains in front of them. It should be a fun two weeks.
WIAC
Now we have the WIAC, which unfortunately their conference tournament means nothing in terms of an automatic bid, but for a team like UW-Eau Claire, it’s a necessity as they need to get as much pairwise credit as possible. Currently, UW-River Falls (20-2) holds command of an at-large bid, sitting at #3 in pairwise. Meanwhile, UW-Eau Claire (17-3-1) is fighting for a bid, sitting at #11 in pairwise, needing to win their next two games before their two-game, home/away, season series finale vs UW-River Falls. If the Blugolds can split the series with UWRF, then meet them in the title game of the WIAC and it’s not really known whether a win would be needed to secure an at-large bid or whether they could obtain one by winning 1 of 3 games vs RF. It’ll be interesting to see considering UWEC’s RPI will go up significantly just based on the fact they’ll have three games vs the #3 ranked pairwise team added to their resume late in the year.
UW-River Falls has an at-large bid locked up, meanwhile UW-Eau Claire is looking to climb up the pairwise ladder, these two will meet 2-3 times before the season ends (Photo by Jenna Stockinger)
It’ll be an interesting last few weeks as UW-River Falls has an at-large bid locked up, meanwhile UW-Eau Claire’s fate is in their hands as they’re getting a trio of games vs UWRF which can project them into the NCAA tournament field.
MIAC
Gustavus (18-3-0 overall, 13-1-0 conference) has the regular season title in their sights, four league games remaining, holding a five-point lead over Augsburg and seven over St. Olaf. In the MIAC, unless a team other than Gustavus wins the conference title, Gustavus will be the only team headed to the NCAA tournament and no at-large bids will come from this conference as in the pairwise rankings, the next highest team besides the Gusties is Augsburg at #16 which at this point in the year is too low for them to make a charge up considering who’s in front of them.
I’m not saying the MIAC is decided, but I’m saying the regular season title is going to Gustavus and anything can happen in the tournament, but I’d still bet on Gustavus to be the lone MIAC team in the NCAA tournament.
Zak Galambos has been a steady force on the Western Michigan blue line this season (photo: Ashley Huss).
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.
Ed: Before we jump into some of what’s happening on the ice, Paula, this season is marking sort of a change in eras for the D-I men’s hockey conferences as Bob DeGregorio retires from Atlantic Hockey and Steve Hagwell does likewise at ECAC Hockey. That will leave Hockey East’s Steve Metcalf and CCHA’s Don Lucia as the longest-tenured D-I hockey single-sport commissioners in only their third season.
The next commissioner of Atlantic Hockey – and women’s College Hockey America – was announced last week, John Carroll University senior athletic director Michelle Morgan. Her selection is being characterized as “outside the box” around the sport, but for Atlantic Hockey, this seems like just the right choice. It reminds me of Josh Fenton’s 2013 selection as the second commissioner of the NCHC. Like Fenton, someone who was maybe not on everyone’s radar, but who has a resume of broad experience and a background in hockey along the way – in Morgan’s case working with two NHL teams and playing college hockey at St. Thomas.
In 20 seasons, DeGregorio has taken Atlantic Hockey from eight scholarships to a full 18, has seen the growth of the conference, and has led as league members have improved their programs and facilities. Morgan seems to me to be poised to continue this progress and in areas that are especially important today. I hear nothing but glowing reports and am looking forward to recording an interview with her later this week for USCHO Spotlight. What’s your reaction to the choice of Morgan?
Paula: Ed, for many reasons, I’m delighted that Michelle Morgan is the new AHA and CHA pick. I’ll get the obvious one out of the way first: it’s nice to see yet another crack in the glass ceiling of sports management.
When Cammi Granato became the assistant GM for the Vancouver Canucks last year, there was a big sense of ‘well, duh’ from many in the hockey world because she obviously has a resume that should make her hire a no-brainer, and yet there was still talk – infuriating talk – of her being some sort of token. The idea that a competent, qualified woman is any kind of token hire in any field whatsoever is mind-boggling, and yet there will be pushback against women candidates in management and coaching of men’s sports until even more organizations begin to realize the talent they’re ignoring.
That the reaction to Morgan’s hire is so overwhelmingly positive is very encouraging and another reason to be happy to hire. And as you say, her resume shows that she’s an excellent choice for the next chapter of both AHA and CHA. The hiring committee thinks she’s the person for the job, which is enough for me and should be enough for anyone in the hockey world. Bob DeGregorio was perfect for his tenure. I’m looking forward to Morgan making her mark on Atlantic Hockey, College Hockey America and college hockey in general.
This brings to mind something that’s been sitting with me a lot recently, the kinds of positive cultural changes that are happening in college hockey that will (imo) positively impact the game itself. The Big Ten hired two coaches this year that come from the player development side of the game, and both – Michigan State’s Adam Nightingale and Michigan’s Brandon Naurato – appear to have approaches that have helped their teams weather off-ice storms while translating into on-ice success.
That leads me to jump back into the discussion of on-ice happenings, Ed. I know I am a broken record this season, but holy cow what’s happening in B1G Hockey is wild.
Ed: Let me follow up on your first point, Paula, player development. A recurring theme among head coaches I’ve talked to over the last few years is a change toward a more one-on-one, personal interaction with players. Some of that comes from a generational change among student-athletes who want to know why they are being asked to do something, and then give a full-hearted buy-in when they get the full picture. Some of it comes from getting to know individuals as young men and women and not just as hockey players. All of that is augmented by technology that allows players to see video of their shifts and analytics that allow a coaching staff to break things down into more individual detail.
So there is a shift, not just at the college level, but in the pro ranks, too. As a western New York guy, I’m delighted to see the progress of the Buffalo Sabres, and it’s in large part because of Don Granato’s approach to the team.
Now to the Big Ten. A four-way tie for second? Are you kidding me (a hackneyed sports talk or screaming play-by-play guy would say)? Michigan is putting on a late-season surge and scoring like crazy, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see any of those teams challenge Minnesota for the league title. And even the thought of a Gophers-Wolverines championship game at Mariucci sounds amazing and – unlike a few years back – sold out. But again, I’m not counting anybody out. That conference – before Monday night’s Beanpot results are included – has five teams in at-large range in the PairWise, with Notre Dame knocking at the door.
A lot of eyeballs have been on Naurato this season. He’s still got the interim tag on him and it would surprise me not to see him have that removed after this campaign. Nightingale’s Spartans have been a pleasant surprise. While they had a tough stretch after the semester break, last weekend’s sweep of Notre Dame has them right in the mix.
We usually like to touch upon every league when space permits, so I’d like your thoughts about the CCHA. It’s very close to a two-horse race for that conference right now, with Michigan Tech just a point behind Minnesota State. But the Huskies are sitting at No. 10 in the PairWise, a position that by the end of regular-season play in a couple weeks usually portends almost a lock for the post-season. We’ve told people in print and on our podcasts since the fall not to sleep on MTU and coaches tell me they are seriously legit.
Paula: Michigan Tech is consistent as well as legit – and it’s that consistency this season that has me watching the Huskies and their post-season chances. While the Huskies haven’t been the most prolific scoring team this season, in their last four games they’ve outscored opponents 12-3. After showing all season their ability to win close games, being able to pick up some offensive steam heading into the final weeks of the regular season will give Michigan Tech confidence.
And it is their consistency that has impressed me the most and has positioned the Huskies higher than the Mavericks in the PWR. There was that six-game stretch from Nov. 18 to Dec. 3 when Minnesota State went 1-4-1 that had me wondering about whether the Mavericks were poised to have a down year. Minnesota State recovered with an impressive 9-1-0 run since then, but with the exception of an early season loss to Ferris State followed by an exhibition loss to the National Development Team, Michigan Tech hasn’t lost two in a row this entire campaign.
There’s one point between Minnesota State and Michigan Tech, and the Huskies play the Mavericks in Mankato the last weekend of the regular season. That certainly makes things interesting. The two teams behind the Mavericks and Huskies – Bowling Green and Bemidji State – can, in theory, finish in first place, but all it takes is one loss for either the Falcons or Beavers to be out of contention, even with the Beavers having two games in hand on all three teams ahead of them.
I love a good horse race, and because I do, I can’t take my eyes off of Hockey East and the NCHC. As good as Boston University is, the Terriers are only three points ahead of Northeastern in the standings and only seven points separate fourth-place Connecticut from first-place BU. There are five points between first-place Denver and fourth-place Omaha in the NCHC.
Any predictions, Ed? What are you watching closely as the regular season winds down?
Ed: Paula, I absolutely love close races at the end, especially if things are still up for grabs on the final night of the season. I’ll tell you what I’m watching in the last three leagues you mentioned, but I’m admittedly too chicken to predict anything.
Hockey East is going to really be a scramble, as only two teams are inside the PairWise bubble, and that means an even greater incentive to win, or at least go very deep, in the conference playoffs. I guess two teams that I’m watching in that league are UMass Lowell and Maine. The RiverHawks have two or three games in hand against most of the league, and could be in a battle for the top. Meanwhile the Black Bears have shown steady improvement as the season has gone on under second-year head coach Ben Barr, going 6-4 in 2023 and 10-5-1 since Thanksgiving. Maine travels to Lowell on February 12.
Things are tight at the top in the NCHC, but only Miami has been eliminated from home ice in the quarterfinal round. Denver is the only team controlling its destiny for the top of the league, with two games in hand vs. Western Michigan and St. Cloud State. It’s looking like the top three are pretty well set, but North Dakota still can win its way into the top four, with the final series at home against Omaha with that last home ice position on the line. Meanwhile, up-and-down Minnesota Duluth and an improving Colorado College need help to host the NCHC quarterfinals.
ECAC Hockey has multiple races going on at once. The top four teams get a first-round bye, and the next four get home ice in a one-game playoff. So you have teams trying to get into the top four and teams trying to avoid the bottom four. Plus the top four will be gunning for the highest seed.
Right now Quinnipiac, Cornell, and Harvard have a little room at the top. The Big Red are red hot and are going to contend for No. 1. They’re the team I’m watching most closely in that conference. But Harvard is within a weekend of falling out of the top four, with Colgate and St. Lawrence not far behind. Home ice in round one is looking the same way, with everyone still mathematically in the hunt, though it’s going to need near perfect play from Yale and Dartmouth.
The final night of the regular season is going to be great.
We forgot to mention Alaska. The Nanooks are still in the hunt for an NCAA berth, but will need some help to get there. Still, if they can run the table, or very nearly do so, they’ll be watching ten-thousandths of RPI points and hoping for no upsets on conference championship night.
Paula: I’m really looking forward to conference playoff hockey. While I love the NCAA tournament and every Frozen Four is exciting in its own way, the conference playoffs are just the best hockey all season.
In addition to the automatic NCAA berth that’s at stake, the amount of pride on the line in each conference is something that can’t be described. Every team dreams of winning a national championship, but the conference title is personal. Some league championships see long-standing rivals face off while some may see new, unexpected contenders – and everyone has a grudge of some kind. Okay, so that may be a bit overdramatic, but in my decades of covering college hockey, some of the best, most exciting games I’ve covered have come during conference playoffs.
This year, too, there are so many programs in several conferences that are good yet currently outside of the PWR or on the bubble that we may see some significant upsets in the playoffs.
You mention Alaska, but I’m also thinking of RIT – who may be a bubble team that misses the NCAA tournament after an outstanding season if the Tigers fail to capture the AHA playoff title – and teams like Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Omaha, all so good and yet so close to being out. Even Minnesota State’s fate isn’t sealed.
I’m not too chicken to make one prediction, but it’s a pretty easy one unless there’s a momentary glitch in the alignments of the hockey planets: Minnesota will take the regular-season Big Ten title. Beyond that, though, I’ve got nothing. These next few weeks will be a lot of fun for fans of the game.
The Adrian Bulldogs swept Aurora over the weekend in a battle of nationally ranked teams. (Photo Credit: Adrian Athletics)
Adrian made a statement Friday and Saturday in a battle of two nationally ranked NCHA teams, reigning supreme in a pair of wins over Aurora.
Third-ranked Adrian swept the then No. 7 Spartans, winning the opener 8-4 before closing things out with an 8-2 win.
The Bulldogs have now won four consecutive games and returns to the top of the conference standings on the strength of their latest wins.
They closed out the series with a dominant third period, putting up five goals on their way to the series sweep and their fourth consecutive win.
Riley Murphy paved the way as he recorded a hat trick while Matius Spodniak struck for a goal and an assist as he continues to lead the nation in scoring.
Connor May added a goal and two assists while Ryan Pitoscia tallied two assists as Adrian improved to 18-3-2 overall and 12-3-1 in the conference. Aurora, which fell to 12th nationally, drops to 15-6-2 overall and 11-3-2 in NCHA play. Nic Tallarico came through with 23 saves for the Bulldogs. Carson Riddle and Derek Budz both scored for the Spartans.
Adrian actually took over first place on Friday with its series-opening win. Spodniak scored twice and Mathew Rehding dished out five assists, tied for the second-most in a game program history. Alessio Luciani and Ty Enns both scored twice as well.
The Bulldogs are now just one win away from securing the Peters Cup. They play against St. Norbert this coming weekend to close out the regular season.
Thunder rolls to series sweep
Trine played an impressive brand of hockey Saturday night in its series finale against Lake Forest, rolling to a 7-0 victory.
Outside the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll last week, the Thunder check in at No. 15 this week while improving to 15-7-1 overall and 10-6 in conference play. Lake Forest falls to 9-10-4 and 6-7-3.
Sam Antenucci led the offense with a pair of goals and Garrett Hallford dished out four assists. He also scored a goal for a five-point night.
Three of Trine’s goals came off off the power play and Kyle Kozma registered 33 saves in goal for his second shutout of the season and career.
Trine opened the weekend with a 2-1 win on the road over the Foresters. The Thunder scored both of their goals in the second period.
Thad Marcola tied the game at the 9:50 mark of the period and Hallford came through with the game winner less than three minutes later. Griffen Sanom scored Lake Forest’s lone goal.
Kozma tallied 22 saves for his fifth win of the year.
Green Knights hold off Raiders
St. Norbert has won its last two games after sweeping MSOE over the weekend. The Green Knights won the opener 5-2 and closed things out with a 4-3 victory.
Liam Fraser’s hat trick on Saturday was the difference in the finale. That effort included the game-winning goal as he put the Green Knights up 3-1 just 23 seconds into the second period. Fraser added an assist to his point total for the night as he helped St. Norbert improve to 14-7-2 overall and 11-4-1 in conference play.
Brendan Aird added two assists and Curtis Hammond scored a goal for the Green Knights, who need a win and an overtime game against Adrian to claim the Peters Cup title.
St. Norbert scored three goals in the second period on Friday to seal the deal. Those goals came over a six-minute stretch.
Fraser and Michael McChesney both tallied a goal and an assist in the win. Johnny Roberts made 21 saves.
Falcons soar in sweep of Blugolds
Burke Simpson scored in overtime to lift UW-River Falls to a 4-3 win and series sweep of UW-Eau Claire. Simpson scored just 23 seconds into OT and also scored the game-tying goal that forced OT. HE also dished out an assist in the win.
Connor McGrath came through with a goal and two assists for the Falcons, who improved to 9-13-1 overall and 3-9-1 in the WIAC. Dysen Skinner tallied 18 saves as UW-River Falls snapped a two-game losing streak.
In Friday’s 1-0 victory, the lone goal of the game was scored in the opening period by Valentino Passarelli. Skinner came up with 25 saves for his fourth shutout win of the year.
Lumberjacks just miss out on win
Northland didn’t come away with a victory over nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point in regulation or overtime, but they did get a shootout win thanks to goals by Luke Hartge and Conor Taylor.
Josh King scored with 16 seconds left in regulation to force OT. Brock Weiner scored his fifth goal of the season, tied for the most on the team. Chris Curr tallied 33 saves as the Lumberjacks ended a nine-game losing streak. Curr made six of those saves in OT.
Northland wasn’t as fortunate on Saturday as the Pointers rolled to a 6-0 win. Andrew Poulias scored a goal and dished out an assist. Dawson Sciarrino tallied two assists.
The Pointers are ninth nationally and are 13-5-4 overall and 9-2-1 in the WIAC. Northland is 1-19-2 and 1-10-1 in conference play.
Yellowjackets sting Blue Devils
UW-Superior controls its own destiny heading into the final weekend of WIAC play after beating UW-Stout 3-1 on Friday night.
The Yellowjackets face UW-Stevens Point this coming weekend and go into that series with a chance to claim the regular-season title. They are riding a four-game win streak.
Colton Friesen scored his first goal since Dec. 29 and it marked his 10th of the year. Gavin Rasmussen and Conor MacLean also scored goals in the win. Myles Hektor made 31 saves, including 24 in the final two periods of play. The win was his third of the year.
Cardinals dominate Johnnies
Saint Mary’s avenged Thursday’s 2-0 loss to Saint Johns with an impressive 7-3 win over the Johnnies on Saturday.
It’s the third consecutive series where the Cardinals have earned a split. Saint Mary’s is 10-10-1 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
Laudon Poellinger, Colin Tushie, Warner Young and Thomas Magnavite all tallied a goal and an assist in the win. Kellen Tharaldson dished out two assists, as did Jack Campion.
Saints still in first
St. Scholastica remains the top team in the MIAC after sweeping Bethel to stretch their win streak to six games.
The Saints are 14-5-2 overall and 11-0-1 in the MIAC.
After opening the weekend with a 6-4 win on Friday, the Saints earned a 5-3 win on Saturday.
Carsen Richels scored twice for the Saints in Saturday’s game and finished with five points in all in the series.
Jacob Seitz dished out a pair of assists and Arkhip and Filimon Ledenkov both scored a goal as the Saints remained the only unbeaten team in conference play.
Jack Bostedt was once again impressive in goal as he made 38 saves.
On Friday, Richels and Nathan Adrian each scored twice for the Saints. One of the interesting things about that game was neither team had a penalty.
Auggies on a roll
Augsburg is in the midst of a late-season surge as it stretched its win streak to three gams with a sweep of Concordia in MIAC play.
The Auggies won 4-3 on Friday and then wrapped up the series with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Samuel Vyletelka recorded his seventh career shutout to set a new record for shutouts in a season. He stopped 34 shots in the win. It’s the fifth game of the year where he has made 30 or more saves in a game.
Jack Blackowiak scored the lone goal of the game for the Auggies, who were outshot 34-24. Augsburg had outshot its opponent in its previous seven games.
Augsburg is now 12-8-1 and 8-4 in the MIAC.
Ten different players factored into the scoring in Friday’s win, including goal by Blackowiak.
Both Harvard and Northeastern advanced to the 2023 Beanpot final for the first time in the tournament’s history. The two will face-off next Monday at TD Garden (Photo: Rich Gagnon)
It has been a long road for the Beanpot’s two largest underdogs – Harvard and Northeastern – but for the first time in the 71-year history of the tournament the two teams with the most difficult history – Harvard and Northeastern – will play for a championship.
Matt Coronato scored twice for Harvard but Marek Hejduk netted his second goal of the game with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime as the Crimson defeated Boston College, 4-3.
The victory spoiled a late comeback from the Eagles where Nikita Nesterenko scored with 3:41 remaining and Cutter Gauthier added an extra-attacker goal with 1:31 left.
In the nightcap, Northeastern dominated, taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Aidan McDonough, his 18th, and Jakov Novak.
Though Matt Brown answered for BU with 1:51 remaining, Hunter McDonald sealed the victory, a 3-1 win, with an empty net goal.
Harvard and Northeastern will meet in the title game for the first time in the tournament’s 71-year history. Harvard has won the tournament 11 times, most recently in 2017. Northeastern has won the event seven times but most recently had a three-peat from 2018 through 2020.
UMass’ Bobby Trivigno earned the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Walter Brown Award (photo: Rich Gagnon).
The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Monday that 25 men’s NCAA Division I players are semifinalists for the 71st Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.
The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team ever to win the World Championship Tournament. Brown coached the Rangers to the title in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where the team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.
“This is a superb field of semifinalists, and we’re looking forward to following them closely as the three Eastern leagues head down the stretch toward the playoffs,” said committee chairman Tim Costello in a statement. “In recent years, the semifinalist lists were dominated by forwards and goalies. But with eight defensemen in the running this year, we feel that this list reflects the evolution of the game of hockey.
“Ever since Bobby Orr arrived on the scene, defensemen have become much more mobile, offensive-minded, and in charge of the game, much like quarterbacks in football and point guards in basketball.”
Twelve teams are represented in the slate of candidates that includes 16 forwards, eight defensemen, and one goaltender. Fifteen semifinalist nominees are from teams in Hockey East, eight nominees are from ECAC Hockey, and two are from Atlantic Hockey.
Boston University leads the way with five semifinalists, Harvard has four, Quinnipiac three, and Boston College, UMass, Merrimack, and Northeastern each have two. American International, Connecticut, Dartmouth, Providence, and Sacred Heart each have one nominee.
The following is the complete list of semifinalists, by team, with statistics through Feb. 5:
American International: Senior forward Blake Bennett (Grand Island, NY) 17-10-27.
Boston University: Senior forward Matt Brown (Woodridge, NJ) 12-25-37; junior goalie Drew Commesso (Norwell, MA) 2.67 GAA, .909 save pct.; senior defenseman Domenick Fensore (Thornwood, NY) 8-11-19; freshman defenseman Lane Hutson (North Barrington, IL) 9-26-35; freshman forward Jeremy Wilmer (Rockville Center, NY) 9-12-21.
Connecticut: Junior defenseman Andrew Lucas (Alexandria, VA) 2-19-21.
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:
• Top teams fare pretty well, including Quinnipiac, Boston University, Michigan, and Denver, while St. Cloud State has a blip at Miami
• Cornell, Michigan Tech, Western Michigan, Michigan State and Alaska have strong weekends
• Atlantic Hockey chooses its next commissioner
• The NCAA committee clarifies Stonehill’s status, stirring up mild some social media controversy
• And in D-III, Utica puts up 96 shots on goal in a 6-2 win vs. Kings
Minnesota last played two weekends ago, sweeping Michigan State on home ice (photo: Minnesota Athletics).
Minnesota did not play last weekend, but the Gophers picked up 36 first-place votes to remain No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.
Quinnipiac stays No. 2 with six first-place votes, while Boston University is again No. 3, getting eight first-place votes in this week’s rankings.
Denver retains the No. 4 spot, Michigan is up one to No. 5, flip-flopping with St. Cloud State, Ohio State stays seventh, Penn State moves up one to No. 8, Western Michigan is up one to No. 9, and Harvard falls two spots to No. 10.
The only teams unranked last week in this week’s poll, Alaska and Northeastern, tied for No. 20 this week.
In addition to the top 21 teams in this week’s poll, nine other teams received votes.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.
Goaltender Ralston Ismael from King’s stopped 90 of 96 shots in a tough 6-2 loss to No. 1 Utica on Saturday (Photo by Megan Mundy Fultz)
While Utica has clinched the UCHC regular season title and Plymouth State (MASCAC) and Endicott (CCC) seem very close to doing so, races in SUNYAC, NESCAC and NEHC only got tighter as the gaps are just a couple of points leaving little margin for error in the upcoming weekends in the regular season. Things are going to be very interesting up and down the standings as teams battle for playoff position and possible home ice seeding. Wow, things are getting even more interesting for the next couple of weeks, if that is possible. Here is this week’s wrap-up with some surprise results and individual performances:
CCC
While Endicott and curry have been battling at the top for the balance of the season, the defending champions from the University of New England seemingly have worked through their mid-season issues to enter the battle among the top two spots. On Friday, goals from Mike Tersoni, Ryan Kuzmich and Logan DiScanio combined with 33 saves from Joe Stanizzi were enough for a 3-1 road win over Suffolk. On Saturday, the Nor’easters hosted Curry with an opportunity to move into second place and spotted the Colonels a 1-0 lead on a power play goal from Eelis Laaksonen. A three-goal second period gave UNE a 3-1 lead going into the third period which Billy Girard IV made stand-up surrendering only a late goal in the final 15 seconds for the 3-2 win. The win extended the Nor’easters win-streak to six games.
Endicott remained unbeaten in CCC action with a weekend wins over Western New England and Wentworth. In Friday’s 6-2 win over the Golden Bears, a three-goal third period broke open a 3-2 game with Andrew Kurapov chipping in with a goal and an assist. On Saturday, Kurapov again led the offense with a pair of goals but the Gulls needed two goals in the third period by Connor Beatty and Connor Amsley to seal a 4-2 win over the Leopards.
Independents
Albertus Magnus closed out their final season as an Independent team with a win and a loss. Friday’s game was decided by a late Cameron Weitzman goal for a 2-1 win over Anna Maria. The win was the 17th of the season for the Falcons which set a new season high. On Sunday, Alvernia denied the Falcons the chance to extend the record with a 4-3 come-from-behind win. Third period goals from Hunter Alden and Vincent Servizzi erased a 3-2 deficit and ended the Falcons season at 17-7-1 overall. Albertus Magnus moves on to the NEHC for next season.
MASCAC
Plymouth State remained unbeaten in MASCAC play with a pair of runaway wins over Westfield State and Massachusetts-Dartmouth. On Thursday, seven different players scored goals in a 7-1 win over the Owls. On Saturday, Brendahn Brawley recorded his third shutout of the season in a 6-0 win that extended the Panthers’ win streak to 14 games.
Worcester State moved to 9-4-1 in MASCAC play with a 4-1 win over Westfield State on Saturday by a 4-1 score. Mikey Wilson was the offensive start with a hat trick to pace the Lancers who leveled their overall record at 10-10-1.
NE-10
Put two rivals together like St. Michael’s and St. Anselm together and you get some very interesting and highly competitive hockey that usually has an impact on the NE-10 standings. On Friday, the Hawks started fast with two first period goals just 35 seconds apart and took advantage of 26 saves from Nick Howard in a 5-0 win. On Saturday, things were far closer the teams traded goals in each of the three regulation periods to send the game to overtime tied at 3-3. In the extra session, defenseman jack Murphy took possession of the puck along the right boards and cut to the front of the goal to deke the goaltender and score the overtime winner for the Hawks. The goal was Murphy’s second of the game and moved the Hawks to 11-5-2 in NE-10 play.
Southern New Hampshire found their game in a two-game sweep over Franklin Pierce. The Penmen received two goals each from George Thurston and Dustin Lynch in Friday’s 8-4 win over the Ravens. On Saturday, Thurston again chipped in to pace the offense while Nathan Loisel made 36 saves to record the 4-0 shutout win.
NEHC
With just one weekend remaining in the regular season, Hobart and Norwich both swept their weekend games to keep the gap at just two points heading into Friday night’s showdown between the Cadets and the Statesmen. Hobart downed Skidmore on Friday with Damon Beaver recording another shutout for the Statesmen. On Saturday, Jonah Alexander scored two goals to help Hobart to a 5-1 win over Castleton. Norwich kept pace with a 3-1 win over Southern Maine on Friday night. The Cadets needed three goals in the third period to ease past the Huskies. On Saturday, second period goals from Patrick O’Neal and Alex Lewis were enough for Drennen Atherton who made 31 saves in a 2-1 win over rival Babson.
Massachusetts-Boston leveled their NEHC record at 8-8-0 with a pair of wins of travel partner Johnson & Wales. On Friday, five different goal scorers paced the Beacons to a 5-1 win. On Saturday, an Andy Walker hat trick paced the Beacons to a 6-3 win and weekend sweep. Darius Bell made 19 saves to pick up the win on Saturday.
NESCAC
Trinity earned wins over Williams and Middlebury to remain atop the NESCAC standings. On Friday, goals from Spencer Korona, Casey Rhodes and Gerard Maretta were enough for a 3-1 win over the Ephs who held a 1-0 lead after the first period. On Saturday, the Bantams faced a determined Middlebury team that tied the game 1-1 on a Matt Myers goal in the third period. The Bantams couldn’t get anything else past Jake Horoho in regulation but Jax Murray scored the overtime winner in the first minute to give Trinity a 2-1 win. The win was Matt Greason’s 200th as head coach at Trinity.
Amherst lost a little ground to Trinity with a 1-1 tie against Bowdoin on Friday night but matched the Bantams with a 2-1 OT win over Colby on Saturday. The Mules and Mammoths exchanged power play goals in the second period but it took Matt Toporowski’s overtime goal to give the home team the win and move them to 11-2-1 in NESCAC play.
It took awhile but Connecticut College finally broke into the NESCAC win column with a sweep of travel partner Tufts over the weekend. On Friday, the Camels needed an overtime goal from Devan Newhook to down the Jumbos, 4-3. Returning home on Saturday, the Camels took advantage of three power play goals, two by Rocco Testa-Basi, to take a 6-4 win.
SUNYAC
First place Plattsburgh had no trouble with Fredonia on Friday night downing the Blue Devils 10-3. Thomas Maia scored a hat trick and added an assist in the runaway win. On Saturday, the Cardinals ran into an hot goaltender as Buffalo State’s Emil Normann made 52 saves to backstop the Bengals to a 4-1 win. Joe Glamos, Michael McCosh and Anrew Logar scored in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and move Buffalo State to 8-4-0 in SUNYAC play.
Geneseo took advantage of the Cardinals stumble with a pair of big wins over Oswego and Cortland. On Friday, goalie Matt Petizian was the hero making a career high 53 saves as the Lakers held a 56-25 shot advantage over the Knights. Jumping out to a 3-0 lead, Geneseo saw Oswego tie the score in the third period on goals from Matt McQuade, Daniel Colabufo and Quinn Warmuth sending the contest to overtime. The Lakers had several early chances before Geneseo scored on their only shot of the extra session with Stefan Miklakos scored the game winner for the Knights. Returning home on Saturday to face a Cortland team that has given them problems, the Knights broke a 2-2 tie on a goal by Cooper Fensterstock and added an empty-net goal from Bryan Zurowski for the 4-2 win.
UCHC
Utica clinched the UCHC regular season title with a weekend sweep of King’s. On Friday, Regen Cavanaugh recorded a hat trick as the Pioneers cruised to an 11-1 win. On Saturday, the Pioneers certainly kept the pressure on the Monarchs with a hefty shot advantage of 96-20. Ralston Ismael was outstanding in the Monarch’s goal making 90 saves including 33 stops in the second period alone. Remy Parker and John Moncovich scored twice while Cavanaugh added his fourth goal of the weekend in the 6-2 win.
Stevenson extended their win streak to four games with a sweep of Neumann. On Friday, two power play goals and a shorthanded tally got the Mustangs off to a quick start that led to a 4-1 win over the Black Knights. On Saturday, every goal in the game was scored on special teams as the Mustangs’ Liam McCanney scored three power play goals for a natural hat trick to seal a 5-2 win.
Three Biscuits – Goalie edition
Matt Petizian – Geneseo – recorded a career high 53 saves on 56 shots in Geneseo’s 4-3 overtime win over Oswego on Friday night.
Ralston Ismael – King’s – stopped an amazing 90 of 96 shots against Utica on Saturday night in a 6-2 loss to the Pioneers. Ismael stopped 28 shots in the first period, 33 shots in the second period and 29 shots in the third period.
Nick Howard – St. Anselm – stopped all 26 shots he faced to backstop the Hawks to a 5-0 shutout win over St. Michael’s on Friday night.
If this past weekend was indicative of how things are going to play out for the rest of February then I think we are all going to be dealing with a lot of twists and turns. Goaltending as we saw this past week can be the difference and a “hot tendie” can steal a game for his team on any given night.
After feeling each other out for the better part of the opening period, Peyton Hemp put Minnesota up 1-0. In the second, Abigail Boreen scored 49 seconds in and Abbey Murphy added a power play goal to put the Gophers up 3-0. Gabby Rosenthal got one back for the Buckeyes before the second intermission and Jenn Gardiner made it a one-goal game 16 seconds into the third with a power play goal. But Murphy lit the lamp once more to seal the 4-2 win for Minnesota. It was a different story on Saturday as Ohio State handed the Gophers their first loss at home all season and broke their 13 game win streak. Madeline Wethington’s early goal had Minnesota on top 1-0, but that would be all the offense the Gophers could find and Ohio State reeled off five unanswered goals to take a 5-1 victory. Sloane Matthew, Hadley Hartmetz, Rosenthal, Kenzie Hauswirth and Paetyn Levis all lit the lamp for the Buckeyes in the win.
(2) Yale at Union
Charlotte Welch and Jordan Ray each tallied a hat trick and an assist while Emma Seitz added two goals and a helper as the Bulldogs racked up a 10-1 win. It was the most goals by Yale in nine years. Carmen Merlo scored for Union in the loss.
(2) Yale at RPI
Yale extended their win streak to 15 games with a 4-2 win over RPI. Elle Hartje, Carina DiAntonio and Emma Seitz scored in the first to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. Taylor Zahirnyi got one back for RPI midway through the game to make it 3-1 after two. In the final frame, Jordan Ray extended the lead to 4-1 before Ellie Kaiser’s power play goal brought it to 4-2.
(4) Colgate at St. Lawrence
Kaitlyn O’Donohoe and Dara Greig scored 10 seconds apart late in the first period and that would be enough to get Colgate the win. Abby Hustler scored for St. Lawrence midway through the third, but the Raiders defense kept the Saints from a further comeback and Colgate took a 2-1 win.
(4) Colgate at (9) Clarkson
The Raiders clinched home-ice advantage in the ECAC tournament with a 2-0 win over Clarkson on Saturday. Colgate swept the Golden Knights in the season series. Kaitlyn O’Donohoe and Sammy Smigliani scored in the win.
New Hampshire at (5) Northeastern
With their 4-1 win on Thursday, Northeastern secured their fourth consecutive Hockey East regular season title. It was also coach Dave Flint’s 400th career win. Chloe Aurard scored twice and Megan Carter and Taze Thompson each lit the lamp in the win. Emily Pinto scored for UNH in the loss.
(6) Quinnipiac at Dartmouth
Eight different Bobcats scored to lead Quinnipiac to a 8-0 win on Friday. Maya Labad led the team with a goal and three assists and Jess Schryver added a goal and two assists.
(7) Minnesota Duluth at Minnesota State
The Mavericks jumped out to a 3-1 lead by midway through the second thanks to goals from Claire Butorac, Kelsey King and Charlotte Averick. Gabby Krause’s power play goal put UMD on the board. But the Bulldogs began to chip away. Mary Kate O’Brien made it 3-2 before the second intermission. In the final few minutes, Gabbie Hughes collected a turnover to tie the game and force overtime. Mannon McMahon cleaned up a rebound from a Clara Van Wieren shot to win the game for the Bulldogs. With Saturday’s 0-0 tie and shutout win, UMD clinched home ice in the WCHA tournament. Emma Soderberg did not allow a goal through the shutout. The game was not without controversy, as a Minnesota State goal was called back for goalie interference after UMD challenged the call on the ice.
(14) St. Cloud State at (8) Wisconsin
The Huskies spoiled Wisconsin’s Fill the Bowl event by treating their 14,430 fans to a 1-0 loss. Jenniina Nylund scored the only goal of the night to give St. Cloud State the win. On Saturday, SCSU got on the board first with a goal from Courtney Hall. But Wisconsin responded with three straight goals to make it a 3-1 game early in the second period. Jesse Compher, Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards all lit the lamp for the Badgers. Taylor Lind scored a short-handed goal late in the third to make it a one-goal game, but Wisconsin shut down the attempted comeback and earned a 3-2 win and weekend split.
(13) Cornell at (9) Clarkson
Goals from Anne Cherkowski and Brooke McQuigge in the second period powered Clarkson to a 2-1 win over the Big Red. Gillis Frechette scored for Cornell in the third.
(10) Penn State at Syracuse
Kiara Zanon scored her nation-leading 22nd goal of the season and Oliva Wallin lit the lamp twice to lead the Nittany Lions in an 8-0 win over the Orange on Friday. In the second game of the series, Penn State secured their second-ever CHA regular season title with a 4-1 win. The game was scoreless into the third period, before Mallory Uiehlein, Tessa Janecke, Eleri MacKay and Zanon each found the back of the net. Mae Batherson scored late for Syracuse, but it was not enough as Penn State took the win.
Merrimack at (11) Vermont
Catamount Jim Plumer earned his 300th career victory on Friday as Vermont held firm to second place in Hockey East thanks to a 6-2 win over Merrimack. Lily Humphrey scored in the final minute of the first to put UVM up 1-0 and then Hailey Burns, Natálie Mlýnková and Corinne McCool built it up to a 4-0 lead in the second. Allison Reeb and Alyssa Pongo tried to mount a comeback for the Warriors with goals late in the second to make it 4-2. In the third, Maddy Skelton and Theresa Schafzahl put the game away to earn the 6-2 victory.
(12) Providence at Boston College
The Friars out-shot BC 42-28, but Abigail Levy stopped every one of Providence’s shots and Abby Newhook scored twice – including her first career shorthander – to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 win. Gaby Roy also scored for Boston College in the win.
(13) Cornell at St. Lawrence
Julia Gosling’s highlight-reel five-hold goal in overtime gave St. Lawrence a 3-2 win on Saturday. Gillis Frechette had Cornell up 1-0 after the first. In the middle frame, McKenna Van Gelder sniped a shot on a breakaway to give the Big Red a 2-0 lead. But the Saints regrouped in the second. Chloé Puddifant put away Gosling’s rebound to cut the lead in half and Kristina Bahl’s slapshot tied the game and forced overtime, where Gosling got the game-winner.
(15) Connecticut at Boston University
The Terriers are on a six-game unbeaten streak thanks to late goals by Brooke Disher and Catherine Foulem forced the game to overtime. Ava Rinker and Riley Grimley had put the Huskies ahead 2-0 before BU tied it up. Overtime couldn’t decide a winner and Foulem won the shootout for Boston University.
Yaniv Perets picked up his sixth shutout of the season over the weekend (photo: Rob Rasmussen),
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1) Bobcats over Crimson in key ECAC battle
In one of the most anticipated games of the weekend, second-ranked Quinnipiac shut out No. 8 Harvard, 3-0 on Friday at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
The Bobcats were led by goaltender Yaniv Perets, who made 25 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and 17th of his career.
Skyler Brind’Amour, Cristophe Tellier, and TJ Friedmann scored for Quinnipiac, which swept the season series from the Crimson.
Quinnipiac followed that up with a come-from-behind, 4-2 win at Dartmouth on Saturday, allowing the Bobcats to maintain their five-point lead in the ECAC Standings over second-place Cornell.
Perets currently leads men’s Division I in goals against with a 1.72 GAA. His save percentage of .921 is tied for 12th nationally.
2) Logjam in Big 10
Michigan’s sweep of Wisconsin, coupled with Ohio State’s split with Penn State and Michigan State’s sweep of Notre Dame has set up a four-way tie for second in the Big Ten standings.
The sixth-ranked Wolverines and No. 7 Ohio State have two games in hand on No. 9 Penn State and No. 17 Michigan State.
Rookie sensation Adam Fantilli had a goal and four assists for Michigan on the weekend, extending his scoring streak to eight games. He leads the nation with 45 points. Michigan has now won five games in a row.
Top-ranked Minnesota was idle last weekend and holds a 13-point lead on the four teams tied for second.
Wisconsin dropped its fifth game in a row. The Badgers have not won a conference game on the road since Oct. 29, 2021, a span of 20 games.
3) Golden weekend for Denver
No. 4 Denver played just one game last weekend, but it was a big one. The Pioneers defeated state rival Colorado College, 4-1 in Colorado Springs.
A third-period penalty shot by CC’s Hunter McKown on DU goaltender Magnus Chrona snapped a shutout streak by Chrona against Colorado College of 350 minutes and 11 seconds that included five consecutive shutouts.
McKown’s goal was a beauty:
McKown with the moves 🕺
The junior converts the penalty shot to cut the @CCTigerHKY deficit in half
With the victory, the Pioneers clinched possession of the Gold Pan for the fourth consecutive season. The Pan is awarded to the winners of the season series between the two schools. Denver now leads so far this season, 2-0. Since the Pioneers currently hold the trophy, they only needed to split the four-game series to retain it.
The teams play their remaining pair of games against each other on March 3-4.
4) Cornell’s power play was powerful
Cornell defeated Union 10-1 at Lynah Rink on Saturday to cap off a six-point weekend for the No. 11 Big Red.
The double-digit total included six power-play goals by Cornell, its most since 1977. Four came on a major power play midway through the first period, with four goals scored in a span of just 54 seconds including one just after the penalty expired.
In all, Cornell was six for seven with the man advantage. The Big Red power play now leads all Division I men’s teams at 32.47%
With the weekend sweep of Rensselaer and Union, the Big Red moved into sole possession of second place in the ECAC standings.
5) Here come the Huskies
Michigan Tech picked up a road sweep of Bemidji State, 2-0 and 3-2. The No. 12 Huskies have won four in a row and are undefeated in their last six, now a single point behind first-place Minnesota State in the CCHA standings.
“To come in here and win two games is huge. They’re a good team, and they play well on their home ice,” said MTU coach Joe Shawhan. “It was a great game, and I thought we played and competed well. (Goaltender) Blake (Pietila) played tremendous for us like he always does, and that’s a huge win for us for a lot of reasons.”
Pietila, who posted a shutout on Friday, stopped 62 of 64 shots in the series.
Bemidji continues to struggle, now 2-7-1 since Jan 1.
6) WMU stays hot
Western Michigan took five points from host Minnesota Duluth to move into second place in the NCHC, tied with St. Cloud State and two points behind first-place Denver.
On Friday, Duluth’s Quinn Olson scored an extra-attacker goal with a minute remaining in regulation to force overtime, but WMU’s Max Sasson won it 2:43 into the extra period.
Saturday’s game didn’t need overtime, as the Broncos never trailed in a 4-1 win. Junior Chad Hillebrand scored the opening and closing goals for the 10th-ranked Broncos.
WMU’s Cameron Rowe made 57 saves in the series.
The Broncos have won nine of their last 10 games, allowing more than two goals only once in that span.
7) Beanpot prep
With the 70th Beanpot tournament about to kick off, the four combatants each played a single game this weekend.
Besides the previously mentioned Harvard loss to Quinnipiac, No. 3 Boston University defeated Maine, 5-3 in Orono on Friday for its seventh straight victory.
Also on Friday, Boston College tied UMass Lowell 2-2 with the River Hawks prevailing in the shootout for the extra league point. BC is now winless in its last six games.
And finally, Northeastern fell in overtime to Connecticut on home ice on Friday, 4-3. Hudson Schandor’s winning goal came with 16 seconds left in OT.
Matchups for the first round of the Beanpot are Northeastern-Boston University and Boston College-Harvard, which leaves the door open for something that has remarkably never happened in the 70-year history of the tournament: a Harvard-Northeastern championship game.
8) Sweeps are hard to come by in Atlantic Hockey
No. 18 Rochester Institute of Technology extended its lead in the Atlantic Hockey standings by a point with a win and overtime loss to Canisius.
RIT is up by nine points over second-place Sacred Heart, which split the weekend with third-place American International. It’s the second-largest lead in the six Division I conferences (Minnesota leads by 13 points in the Big Ten). The Tigers, who have not lost a conference game in regulation since Oct. 20, can finish no lower than third.
All ten AHA teams took at least one point last weekend, which has been the norm with six-point sweeps hard to come by. Of the 19 league series played since January 1, it’s been done just three times.
With all that parity, you’d expect many games to be close, and that was the case last weekend. Of the nine Atlantic Hockey conference games played, five needed overtime, one was decided with 8 seconds to play, and another was tied until the final five minutes.
9) History repeats
That Canisius win over RIT was the second time the Golden Griffins had beaten the Tigers in the extra frame this season, both times coming at RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center, with both goals scored by Canisius senior captain Ryan Miotto. Miotto did it previously back on Dec. 2.
Miotto’s overtime goal was his third game-winning goal of the season. He’s tied for the team lead in goals (nine) and points (19).
10) You don’t see that every day
With 2.8 seconds remaining in the second period of Friday’s contest between Union and Colgate, the Raiders decided to pull goaltender Carter Gylander for an extra attacker with a faceoff coming in the Union zone.
That strategy rarely works, but what resulted was even more bizarre.
Union’s Owen Farris cleanly won the draw back to defenseman Nick Young, who one-timed it down the length of the ice into the empty Colgate net with .5 seconds on the clock.
Blake Pietila earned his fourth straight Friday night shutout as No. 12 Michigan Tech defeated Bemidji State 2-0 at the Sanford Center on Feb. 3 (photo: Michigan Tech Athletics).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of Jan. 30 fared in games over the weekend of Feb. 3-4.
Michigan had plenty of reason to celebrate on Saturday scoring seven times in a 7-4 victory that completed a Big Ten weekend sweep of Wisconsin (File photo: Jim Rosvold)
It might seem like catching Minnesota in the B1G is a tall task, but the battle for second place (and third, fourth and fifth) got a whole lot closer on Saturday as Michigan earned a 7-4 victory and series sweep over Wisconsin to move into a four-way tie for second with Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines each have two games in had on the Spartans and Nittany Lions.
Eric Ciccolini scored twice of Michigan and T.J. Hughes added a goal and three assists in the victory. Tyson Jugnauth scored twice and added an assist in the loss for Wisconsin.
It was a crazy third period that ended with host UMass Lowell recording a total of 44 shots on goal but that wasn’t enough as Chase Steven scored twice in 15 seconds for New Hampshire as the Wildcats upset the River Hawks.
GOAL!!! Another goal from Chase Stevenson 16 seconds after his first!
Combined with an overtime win over No. 15 Merrimack on Friday, New Hampshire posts a five-point weekend to move to ninth place in Hockey East, just four points out of a first-round home ice playoff spot.
UNH jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first on goals by Cy LeClerc and Damien Carfagna. But Lowell dominated the second, tying the game on goals by Carl Berglund and Scout Truman while also holding the Wildcats with a single shot on goal.
After Lowell grabbed the lead on a goal by Filip Fornaa Svensson, the Wildcats responded with three goals in less than five minutes to grab a 5-3 lead. Lowell pulled with one on a Jon McDonald goal but goaltender Tyler Muszelik finished the night with 40 saves, 17 in the final period.
No. 5 St. Cloud State 1, Miami 1 (F/OT, SCSU wins shootout)
For the second straight night, Miami, sitting at the bottom on the NCHC standings, took St. Cloud State to the brink, earning a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime.
John Waldron scored an extra-attacker goal with 32.3 seconds remaining in regulation to earn the tie.
Similar to Friday’s 3-3 tie, the Huskies won the shootout to earn a four-point weekend and maintain a tie for second in the NCHC standings with Western Michigan, which defeated Minnesota Duluth, 4-1, on Saturday. Denver, bay virtue of a 4-1 win over Colorado College, remains two points ahead of both teams and still has two games in hand in NCHC play.
Holy Cross 3, Bentley 2 (F/OT)
Holy Cross, a team picked to finish last in Atlantic Hockey prior to the season, continued its impressive second-half run on Saturday, earning a 3-2 overtime win over Bentley finishing off the weekend sweep of the Falcons.
The two points for the overtime win move the Crusaders into a tie for the fourth and final home ice spot in Atlantic Hockey with Mercyhurst. There are six games remaining for each team.
Jack Ricketts scored a shorthanded, unassisted goal with 1:04 remaining in the overtime session for the victory.
Skyler Brind’Amour scored the only goal that Quinnipiac needed on Friday, as the No. 2 Bobcats skated to a 3-0 victory over No. 8 Harvard (File photo: Rob Rasmussen/Quinnipiac Athletics)
It was billed as the game of the weekend with No. 2 Quinnipiac traveling to No. 8 Harvard. But in the end, Quinnipiac’s stifling defense was too much of rate Crimson as Skylar Brind’Amour’s game early the second was all the Bobcats needed in a 3-0 shutout.
The Bobcats sweep the season series of Harvard and send the Crimson into Monday’s Beanpot on a losing note.
Brind’Amour scored on the power play 53 second into the middle frame. Christophe Fillion then tallied an insurance marker midway through the third. TJ Friedmann scored into an empty net with four seconds remaining.
First-place Minnesota State suffered an overtime loss at the hands of upstart St. Thomas, 3-2, as Mack Byers tallied 57 seconds into the 3-on-3 extra session. Combined with Michigan Tech’s win over Bemidji State, 2-0, the Mavericks lead in the CCHA has slipped to just a single point as each team has just five regular-season games remaining.
The Tommies scored a late third-period goal to force overtime as Luc Laylin tallied on a two-man advantage with 2:29 remaining.
It was Laylin’s second goal of the game after he opened the scoring in the first period also on the power play.
Minnesota State fought back with two third-period goals by Andy Carroll and Christian Fitzgerald just 1:12 apart. But it was the Tommies who had the fleer for the dramatic, pulling off the win in the opener of the two-game series.
New Hampshire 3, No. 15 Merrimack 2 (OT)
Damian Carfagna’s goal at 1:19 of overtime gave host UNH a 3-2 upset of No. 15 Merrimack. It is the fourth win in six games for the Wildcats.
WILDCAT WIN!!
Damien Carfagna scores the game winner in overtime! Your 'Cats return to the Whittemore Center on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 PM to go up against UConn on Tropical Night.
UNH never trailed, jumping to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Nikolai Jenson and Stiven Sardarian. But the Warriors rallied. Alex Jefferies pulled within a goal with 12 seconds remaining in the second. And Filip Forsmark found the equalizer on the power play at 8:43 of the third.
But Carfagna’s third goal of the season sent the fans – and Wildcat players – home happy as David Fessenden earned the victory making 29 saves.
No. 10 Western Michigan 3, Minnesota Duluth 2 (OT)
Max Sasson poked home the rebound of his own shot 2:17 into overtime as Western Michigan survived a late comeback by host Minnesota Duluth, winning 3-2.
OT winner! 🚨
Sasson strikes in the extra session to give @WMUHockey the extra point
Sasson’s goal prevented Western Michigan from falling victim to the Bulldogs in Duluth. A weekend ago, Minnesota Duluth earned a home sweep of then-No. 1 St. Cloud State.
The Broncos never trailed, jumping to a lead on Jason Polin’s nation’s best 24th goal of the season. But Minnesota Duluth was pesky all night. Ben Steeves tied the scored at 12:19 of the first. And after Luke Grainger gave Western Michigan a 2-1 lead in the second, Quinn Olson netted the equalizer with 1:00 remaining.
Aurora hits the road for a big series with Adrian this weekend. (Photo credit: Aurora athletics)
February is underway and it’s hard to believe we are just about at that time of the year where conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament are just around the corner.
Conference leaders are trying to maintain their success while those below them in the standings are jockeying for the best position possible before the regular season ends.
No series is bigger than the one between Adrian and Aurora as two nationally ranked teams with title aspirations square off on the ice.
Check out my weekend picks below.
Friday and Saturday
Concordia (9-9-1, 6-4) vs. Augsburg (10-8-1, 6-4)
The Cobbers are one of the hottest teams in the league, winning four consecutive games, and have an opportunity to potentially put themselves in the top three in the MIAC standings with great weekend against the Auggies.
Look for Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe to play a key role for the Cobbers. He had a goal and an assist in each of the Cobbers’ wins over St. Olaf last week.
The Auggies have two of the top goal scorers in the conference in Austin Dollimer and Gavin Holland. They have 10 goals apiece on the year. This should be a fun series to watch. It will be a surprise if either teams sweeps the series. Concordia, 5-4; Augsburg, 4-3
Bethel (10-10-1, 5-6-1) vs. St. Scholastica (12-5-2, 9-0-1)
The Royals face a huge test against the lone unbeaten team in the MIAC. The Saints have won four in a row and remain atop the conference standings.
Defense will be key for Bethel, which features Austin Ryman, who is one of only 16 goaltenders in the country to have multiple shutouts on the season. Travis Ryan has also seen quality minutes in goal.
The Saints, of course, have two of the best offensive players in hockey, with Arkhip Lendenkov and Filimon Ledekov. Arkhip has scored a team-best 16 goals while Filimon has tallied nine goals to go along with a league-leading 23 assists. Arkhip is second in assists with 18. St. Scholastica, 5-2 and 4-3
UW-Eau Claire (14-6-1, 7-3-1) at UW-River Falls (7-13-1, 1-9-1)
Momentum is on the side of the Blugolds at the moment as they have won three in a row. The Falcons are trending in the opposite direction, losing their last four games.
The Blugolds have two of the top five goal scorers in the conference with Ryan Green and Quinn Green scoring 11 and 10 goals, respectively. UW-River Falls has its work cut out for it, especially with a young team where close to 40 percent of the scoring has come from its freshman class. UW-Eau Claire, 4-1 and 5-2
Aurora (15-4-2, 11-1-2) at Adrian (16-3-2, 10-3-1)
The seventh-ranked Spartans are atop the NCHA and are having a special year. They now gear up for a huge test against the reigning national champs who are currently third in the country in the USCHO NCAA Division III poll.
Both teams can score goals at will. The Bulldogs have cranked out 106 goals on the season. The Spartans have scored 87. Adrian and Aurora have also gotten the job done defensively, holding teams to 51 and 57 goals, respectively.
Should be fun to see how things go with Matius Spodniak of Adrian and Jack Jaunich of Aurora on the ice. Spodniak leads the league in points (37) and Jaunich is tied for fourth (27). Aurora, 6-4; Adrian, 5-4
Trine (13-7-1, 8-6) at Lake Forest (9-8-4, 6-5-3)
Both teams are assured of a spot in the conference tournament. Trine has won two of its last three and riding the high of a big win over nationally ranked St. Norbert last week.
This is a Trine team that has played really well away from home, sporting a 6-1-1 road record. The play of Cristian Wong-Ramos in goal will be key. He owns a 2.14 goals against average on the year. The Foresters come into the series on a roll, having won three in a row. The streak includes a win over nationally ranked Adrian. Trine, 5-3; Lake Forest, 4-3
MSOE (14-7, 9-5) vs. St. Norbert (12-7-2, 9-4-1)
It’s a big test for the Raiders as they take on the 14th-ranked team in the country. The Green Knights have a balanced offensive attack, anchored in part by by Ben Schmidling, who has dished out 20 assists to go along with 10 goals. MSOE has won two in a row and will need to make this as much of a defensive game as possible to have a shot at an upset. St. Norbert, 5-3 and 4-1
Friday
UW-Superior (13-7-2, 8-3-1) at UW-Stout (15-6-1, 6-5-1)
The Yellowjackets have already beaten the Blue Devils once this week, winning 3-0 on Wednesday. It is impressive that UW-Superior blanked UW-Stout in the first game of the series considering the Blue Devils lead the conference in goals scored (80).
Then again, UW-Superior has set a school record for shutouts in a season, pushing that total to seven. Both teams have a lot to play for as they get set to battle one more time. Don’t be surprised if the Blue Devils bounce back. UW-Stout, 3-2
Saturday
Saint John’s (12-8-2, 8-4-1) at Saint Mary’s (9-10-1, 5-6)
The Johnnies opened the series Thursday with a shutout win and hope to complete the sweep to remain within striking distance of first-place St Scholastica. Saint John’s goes into the weekend just one point behind the Saints.
The Cardinals need a good showing in this one to have a chance at moving into MIAC playoff contention. They are currently in seventh, but just three points out of the fifth spot.
Saint John’s has capitalized often on special teams, especially Nick Michel, who has six power-play goals this season, tied for the fifth-most in Division III.
The Cardinals won’t be an easy team to beat, though. Its younger players have shown a lot of promise, with six different players scoring their first career goal this season.
Trinity’s leading goal-scorer, Gerrard Maretta has the Bantams playing their best hockey of the season coming into critical NESCAC matchups and the conference tournament (Photo by Trinity College Athletics)
In October and November, Trinity was not playing particularly good hockey despite the return of an experienced roster and great expectations for their success on the ice. Since returning to the ice after the semester break and the calendar turning to the New Year, the Bantams have found their game going unbeaten in their last nine games in January moving to the top of the league standings. The team is playing up to expectations and focus on playing the game the right way through the remainder of the NESCAC schedule and into the conference tournament.
“We weren’t a very good hockey team in the fall,” stated head coach Matt Greason. “I think everyone thought we had so much returning that we would just go out and play and get the results we were expecting. I think the team has figured out that the important stuff does not show up on the score sheet and when we started playing a more selfless game, we started seeing the results we wanted. It really comes down to three key areas for us: better decisions with and without the puck; minimizing time in our defensive zone and really reducing or eliminating odd-man rushes that we saw one or two a period earlier in the year. It doesn’t always have to be perfect, sometimes getting the puck into the neutral zone and turning on the forecheck can be more effective than waiting for the perfect one pass breakout.”
One line has emerged as a key group in the Bantams resurgence and Gerrard Maretta (12-5-17) specifically has found his game while doing all the things his coach expects to see while getting results that do show up on the scoresheet including last Saturday’s hat trick in a 4-0 win over Amherst that moved Trinity into first place.
“Gerrard always does everything the right way,” noted Greason. “Whether it is on the ice, in the weight room or on campus, I never question his commitment, desire and lack of taking any shortcuts. He was a little slow in getting his game going but the combination of him playing with Kyle Tomaso and Paul Selleck has been very good for him and the team. Gerrard is a big player and makes the game difficult for opposing teams with his size, speed and skill. He can make other players just bounce off him and get to the areas where the puck is for scoring opportunities. It is great to see the goals coming his way and we certainly want to see that line continue its recent success.”
On the other end of the ice a first-year player has emerged as the No. 1 goaltender for the Bantams. Devon Bobek has played a dozen games with Trinity posting a miniscule 1.32 goals-against average, a.939 save percentage, a 9-2-1 record and four shutouts.
“Devon is both big and athletic which you don’t always see in goaltenders at the D-III level,” noted Greason. “We have two very good goaltenders here. JP Mella gave up one goal in the entire NESCAC tournament last spring, so we know how good he is. Devon has just come in and played exceptionally well and also has benefited from our better team defense in the past month or so. It’s exciting to see a first-year players performing so well. We have been good this month but we are going to need everyone to stay focused on the important things as we finish up the regular season schedule over the next three weeks and get ready for the conference tournament.”
This weekend the Bantams host Williams and Middlebury before road games with Colby and Bowdoin. Trinity closes out the regular season with a home-and-home series with travel partner Wesleyan looking to maintain the position in the standings they have worked so hard to attain.
“In this league you don’t get points just for showing up,” said Greason. “I think top to bottom you can go through this conference and not know whether you are going to win or lose. I do know if you don’t play well, you will get beat. We are playing well right now but have a tough stretch to finish the regular season and will stay focused on what has turned our game around in the New Year.”
Mathieu De St. Phalle has posted five goals and 16 points this season for the Badgers (photo: Ohio State Athletics).
When was the last time we had a team at odds of +240 of better? Probably Air Force when they played in the Desert Hockey Classic?
Wisconsin rests in that spot this weekend as they take on Michigan (-305) on the road. This is juicy considering the razor-thin margins that you have among each team.
And then you look at Wisconsin’s record. On the road in Big Ten play, the Badgers are miserable. In fact, since Cole Caufield left, Wisconsin has just a single road win in Big Ten play.
Value? Yes. Sensible? No.
Do you ride one with the Badgers and maybe parlay a team like Harvard along for the double upset and hopefully turn $100 in $560? Probably feels like a great value bet but the numbers don’t support it in this situation.
The best value may be riding the favorites this weekend when it seems like favorites have been pretty hot. Right now, a five-way on favorites only would turn $100 into $1,242. Yes, it’s a long shot to hit but probably a better wager than betting the Badgers.
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:
Quinnipiac (-125) at Harvard (-105); o/u 5.5
The Bobcats enter back on the right foot after losing two ECAC games a couple of weekends ago. Last week’s dramatic 4-3 win in the Connecticut Ice title game has the Bobcats back on the right road.
But that road now leads through Harvard, which is playing well having won five of its last six and seven of the last nine. When these two teams met in early January in Hamden, the Bobcats started fast, jumping to a 3-0 lead and cruising to a 4-1 win.
The over/under of 5.5 in this game seems like it could be a little high. Both teams have great goaltending in typically limit their opponents, so this feels like a low-scoring contest.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
Connecticut (+115) at Northeastern (-145); o/u 5.5
And speaking of low-scoring games, Connecticut and Northeastern have been pretty stingy of late. Devon Levi is playing his bast hockey of the season, while UConn has held its opponents to two goals or less in 12 games already this season.
That said, when these teams faced each other recently – once at Fenway Park and then for the opening of Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs – the Boston-based Huskies were able to put up four goals in each game. So bet that over/under of 5.5 carefully.
Northeastern deserves to be favorite here given two recent wins in the series, but the price of -145 is actually decent value for the hosts.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
Wisconsin (+240) at Michigan (-305); o/u 6.5
I’ve mentioned about that Wisconsin simply isn’t a good bet (thus, Dan Rubin has picked the Badgers). But what makes Michigan a good bet this weekend?
First, the Wolverines offense has come to life of late, putting up 24 goals in their last five games (hence why I love the over in this game). And though Michigan dropped a game at Wisconsin earlier this season, that came in a stretch where the Wolverines won just twice in a seven-game span.
Yes, +240 is a great value bet, but given the Badgers road record it just doesn’t make sense.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
Michigan Tech (-120) at Bemidji State (-110); o/u 5
Before the calendar turned to 2023, this looked like one of the best series in the CCHA second half. But Bemidji State has hit a rough patch and hasn’t swept a weekend since December 15-16.
The Beavers 2-6-1 mark since New Year’s Eve is disturbing. And while we at one point talked about all the games in hand the Beavers had, it goes back to the old expression – games in hand are only valuable if you win them.
Michigan Tech, on the other hand, is playing its best hockey of late. With a 7-1-1 mark in the last nine, the Huskies have put themselves back above the PairWise bubble and they are chasing Minnesota State for the regular-season title. Even on the road, you’d have to think it’s Tech’s weekend and -120 is incredible value.
Jim
Ed
John
Dan
Chris
Jack
Matt
Paula
Nat'l
Nat'l
HEA
ECAC
AHA
CCHA
NCHC
B1G
Western Michigan (-135) at Minnesota Duluth (+105); o/u 6.5
I read back to last weekend where I made a case for Minnesota Duluth to beat St. Cloud State. And then saw the final line of that section where I said something to the effect of “If you like your money, ignore everything I’ve said.”
Well, hopefully you didn’t ignore, because the Bulldogs are healthy and playing their best hockey. They’ve found a way to electrify AMSOIL Arena once again and should be considered a dangerous home underdog this weekend.
These two teams already split a series back in November when Minnesota Duluth was a little banged up. So even though Western Michigan is hot (7-1-0 in last eight), the Bulldogs value has to look attractive here.
USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly, Dan Rubin, and Ed Trefzger pick out five games among top 20 D-I college hockey teams, looking at money lines and over/under as well as a further analysis of the matchups.
This week’s games:
• Quinnipiac (-125) at Harvard (-105); over/under 5.5
• Connecticut (+115) at Northeastern (-145); o/u 5.5
• Wisconsin (+240) at Michigan (-305); o/u 6.5
• Michigan Tech (-120) at Bemidji State (-110); o/u 5
• Western Michigan (-135) at Minnesota Duluth (+105); o/u 6.5
Plus Jim and Dan give their Beanpot semifinal picks.
This college hockey 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
Conor Witherspoon has played a key role for the UW-Stevens Point hockey team this season. (Photo Credit: UW-Stevens Point Athletics)
Conor Witherspoon didn’t need much time to settle in as a key player for the UW-Stevens Point hockey team.
Transferring in from Alabama-Huntsville two years ago, the talented forward made an immediate impact for the Pointers.
In 20 games a year ago, he scored 20 goals, the second-most on the team, and he currently leads the nationally ranked Pointers in scoring this season with 10 goals and seven assists.
He defers a lot of the credit to his teammates.
“Everyone was really welcoming and it made it an easy transition for me,” Witherspoon said. “The players and coaches have treated me well and my teammates have had a lot to do with my success.”
Witherspoon spent the offseason striving to be an even better player than he was last season and it paid off. Much of his focus was on things that don’t show up in a box score.
“I worked on the details of the game, the small things that go unnoticed,” Witherspoon said. “I focused on that to help the team succeed as a whole.”
Growing up in Michigan, hockey was a natural sport to play, and he got into it at an early age. Despite spending a lot of time on the ice, Witherspoon was a multi-sport athlete.
“I played a lot of baseball growing up and did some track and field in middle school,” Witherspoon said. I zeroed in on hockey as I got into high school.”
He also played lacrosse in high school.
“A bunch of my buddies and I on the high school hockey team decided freshman year to play lacrosse. We fared well and stuck with it. It was a lot of fun,” Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon began his college career at Alabama-Huntsville during the 2020-21 season and appeared in 21 games.
Choosing UW-Stevens Point as his next stop wasn’t a tough decision to make.
“I knew they have had a lot of success, especially in recent years, and that was a big reason. I was also familiar with some of the guys on the team.”
The Pointers are having a lot of success this year. They are 13-5 overall and 9-2 in the WIAC.
“We are having a lot of fun. It’s a great group of guys to play with,” Witherspoon said. “Everyone is willing to work for each other. We are a close team.”
Eight players have 10 or more points, with Andrew Poulias ranking second on the team in goals (9) and tallying 13 points in all. Jordan Fader has dished out a team-best 13 assists and has 15 points.
Fletcher Anderson (7 goals and 9 assists), Mick Heneghan (3 goals, 9 assists) and Nicholas Aromatario (1 goal, 9 assists) are among the key contributors as well.
Hard work has helped fuel team success for the Pointers, who are 10th in the nation in the latest USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll.
“We come to work ready to give 110 percent,” Witherspoon said. “We push each other to get better and we compete hard in practice.”
Witherspoon loves playing in front of the home crowd and there is a sense of confidence on this team that gives the players the belief they can compete with any team.
On a personal level, Witherspoon is thankful to have the opportunity to play college hockey.
“Hockey has given me a lot in life,” Witherspoon said. “Being able to experience living in other states and meeting new people, it’s been great. It’s special to play this sport.”
There are three weeks left of the regular season, but many teams will either take a bye week or play non-conference opponents in that time, meaning for some teams, they have just four games in which to make their final play for seeding in postseason tournaments. There are tight races in every conference, even if the top spot might already be secured. Each conference’s home page has information on scoring and tiebreakers, but consider this a quickish guide to how things stand, how they might shake out and what teams and series will have the most riding on them.
CHA
Penn State has the top spot and eight points over both Mercyhurst and Syracuse, but Mercyhurst will play two more conference games than the other two and has what looks to be the most favorable schedule, playing Syracuse, RIT and Lindenwood, teams they are 5-0-1 against this season.
The Nittany Lions are looking for the regular season championship and top seed, but they’re also looking not to lose any ground in the Pairwise, where they are currently 10th and in place to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They’d be happier winning the CHA tournament and getting the autobid, but they’ve done their best to cover all their bases and put themselves in the best possible situation to earn their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. They can’t afford to drop any points, give up any ground or give the committee any reason to doubt their resume. Teams that advance in the NCAA’s are playing their best hockey at the end of the year. I think that’s true for Penn State right now and they need to prove it and use these final few weeks to build up and be ready to peak at the right time.
The CHA Tournament has been one of the most volatile in recent years in terms of upsets and someone other than the regular season winner taking the championship – and autobid. Syracuse is a team in transition after longtime coach Paul Flanagan retired following last season. Britni Smith has the Orange in position to be a spoiler. They’ve been a team to reckon with in the postseason for a few years now, so I’m less hung up on their regular season record or finish. If they end up third, which feels likely, and end up in the semifinals, they’ll give the top seed a tough game.
Mercyhurst can never be counted out. They’ve got strong goaltending, some very good goal-scorers and Mike Sisti has had his program in more NCAA Tournaments than the rest of the conference combined. The Lakers know the rhythm of the season and he’s been preparing them to be their best here in February. They can build momentum against teams below them in the standings, push Penn State for that top spot and all other things being equal, they are the team I’d pick in a one-off conference tournament every time because of Sisti’s experience.
ECAC
Yale has a two point lead on Quinnipiac and have a game in hand over the Bobcats. The Bulldogs are pushing for their first-ever regular season championship after setting a program record in wins last season and finishing second. Colgate has not gotten quite as much attention as the Bulldogs and Bobcats, but they’re just five points behind Yale and are actually fourth in the Pairwise at the time of publishing. They also have six games left on their schedule.
Yale and Colgate will meet each other next week, but Quinnipiac’s toughest opponent left on the schedule is Clarkson, who they’ll play to close off the season. They’ll face three of the bottom four teams and St. Lawrence before they get there. After a fully uncharacteristic 11-3 shellacking by Princeton last week, the Bobcats need to make sure they keep their focus, don’t look past anyone and figure out not just what went wrong, but how to make sure it doesn’t happen again. That loss is either going to start a slide or serve as a wake-up call for Quinnipiac.
With the strength of the bottom half of the ECAC standings, absolutely nothing is going to be guaranteed or easy for any of these teams. Yale has been the most even-keeled and steady of the three so far. Their defense has been stellar, allowing just more than a goal per game. Nothing has seemed to fluster the Elis and it certainly feels like they are on course to repeat last season’s march to the Frozen Four, though they’ll be looking to make it to the title game this season.
Clarkson and Cornell will be fighting it out to close out the season for the fourth spot in the standings and home ice in the conference tournament quarterfinals. The Golden Knights have what looks to be the toughest path to the end of the regular season, starting with Cornell and Colgate this weekend and finishing up with Princeton and Quinnipiac.
Harvard and St. Lawrence are tied and Princeton is two points back. I’m not sure any quarterfinal assignment would be preferable here, but not heading to one-loss Yale is the priority, I would think.
Hockey East
Northeastern already has the conference title wrapped up, but Vermont and Providence have outside hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, so there’s still a lot on the table in the final weeks of the regular season.
The Huskies have a game against UConn and two against Boston University on the calendar, plus The Beanpot, where they’ll face BU in the opening round. While I don’t think Dave Flint would have chosen to play a team from the bottom half of the conference so much as preparation for the postseason, there’s also a lot that can be learned in terms of mental approach and preparation that I think could put them in a good place for the postseason.
Vermont is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the Pairwise. Their loss to BU last week was a hit they couldn’t really afford. They close out the season with three straight games against New Hampshire. At this point, I think what the Catamounts are looking for is a second place finish and not having to play the Huskies until the conference tournament championship.
The Friars would be looking for that same eventuality in hunting down the two seed. The difference is their 1-1-1 record against Northeastern this season. Providence would love nothing more than a one-game shot at knocking off the top seed and they have proven themselves capable of doing so. In fact, with Hockey East’s new playoff format, which debuted last season, every team will be hoping for that one-game magic against Northeastern. All ten teams once again make the postseason, with the bottom four teams facing off in a quarterfinal round before reseeding. The whole tournament is single-elimination.
NEWHA
LIU have the lead and two games in hand over Saint Anselm, who only have four games left on their schedule. LIU has a much tougher go of it over the final weeks, with games against the teams currently sitting third, fourth and fifth, but have just one conference loss all season and need just one point out of their next six games to secure at least a share of the regular season title. Meanwhile the Hawks play the bottom two teams in the standings. Saint Anselm swept the four games they had against Post and Saint Michael’s already and while it’s never wise to count points before you earn them they should come out with enough points to force LIU to have to at least tie in order to take a share of the title. Beyond chasing LIU, the Hawks need to earn every possible point as Stonehill sits just one point back.
In their first year in the league, Stonehill is looking to follow the history of new programs making big waves. Moving up in the standings would give them a better path to the conference title game and from there, the conference’s first autobid is up for grabs.
If the Hawks and Skyhawks spend too much time looking forward, they could get caught unaware by Sacred Heart or Franklin Pierce, who are in striking distance. They each have two games in hand, giving them more of a chance to make up ground and really disrupt the way the final standings shake out. Thirteen points separate eighth place from fourth place. How the final few weeks shake out could significantly shake up those seeds.
WCHA
Never let it be said that the WCHA doesn’t like drama. A quick look back in the archive shows the folks who make the schedule in this conference are a big fan of having the top teams meetup up over the final few weeks and this year is no exception. Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin all face each other over the final three weekends of regular season play and, thanks to a Saturday/Sunday series, Wisconsin and Ohio State will face off as the final game of the regular season across DI women’s college hockey. They’re the only ones scheduled to play on February 19.
The WCHA is also one of the conferences that uses a three point system, meaning that Minnesota’s nine point lead on Wisconsin is absolutely surmountable for the Badgers. The Gophers get to play their four games against UW and OSU at home and thus far this season, they’re the team that’s given the Buckeyes a full, tough two-game weekend, taking a win and a tie with a shootout loss. I don’t think any of these teams will dominate the others. Wisconsin still has the biggest question marks, but they know their position is more precarious than they’d like and they get Ohio State at home, which I think is to their advantage.
I can’t imagine trying to predict any of the outcomes of those games. Never underestimate Nadine Muzerall, Brad Frost or Mark Johnson or the players on their teams. It’s a fool’s errand to try and hypothesize, so it’s probably best to sit back and enjoy the very good hockey fans will be treated to over the next three weeks. Minnesota and Ohio State faceoff this weekend, the Badgers head to the Twin Cities for Valentine’s and the Buckeyes and Badgers fight it out in Madison to close out the year.
We have our Pairwise rankings up and based on that information, all four of the top teams here should get into the NCAA tournament – Ohio State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth. At the moment, St. Cloud State is actually a tournament bubble team, sitting 13th in Pairwise. That would be a stretch and I’ve heard chatter that folks think it might be unlikely for the selection committee to award three at-large bids to one conference, so seeing five teams go would be pretty shocking. That being said, the Huskies have shown they can take on any team in this league. I like their chances best in a one-and-done scenario, so the goal from SCSU has to be eking out two wins in the quarterfinals. With Emma Soderberg in UMD’s net, that’s a tough ask, but honestly, not out of the realm of possibility. I love a team that has nothing to lose and if St. Cloud makes it to the Final Faceoff, things could get very interesting here.
