St. Lawrence scored three goals in four minutes late in the first period and then their defense and Emma-Sofie Nordström stood strong to carry the Saints to the NCAA quarterfinal. First, Abby Hustler cleaned up a loose puck to make it a 1-0 game. Just 15 seconds later, Kennedy Wilson forced a turnover and her ensuing shot from the slot quickly made it a 2-0 game. With under two to play in the period, Hustler scored with a rocket from the circle while on the power play to send SLU to the locker room with a 3-0 lead. After a scoreless second, Penn State cut into the lead with a power play goal from Kendall Butze to make it 3-1. But the Nittany Lions could not complete a comeback and Kristina Bahl’s empty-netter secured the 4-1 win for St. Lawrence.
(8) St. Lawrence vs. (2) Ohio State
An early major penalty gave St. Lawrence a long power play and Aly McLeod took advantage quickly, scoring to put the Saints up 1-0. Sloane Matthews tied the game later in the frame and a quick rush in transition had Makenna Webster putting the Buckeyes up 2-1 before the first intermission. The second period was scoreless despite OSU outshooting St. Lawrence 22-1. Emma-Sofie Nordström was spectacular for the Saints, matching her career high of 43 saves in the game. The Buckeyes kept pushing in the second and broke through, scoring four goals in the final 10 minutes to close out the game, earn a 6-1 win and advance to their fifth straight Frozen Four. OSU will play Cornell in the first semifinal at 4 pm central on Friday.
Ithaca, NY regional
Sacred Heart vs. (6) Minnesota Duluth
It took the Bulldogs a little time to get on the board on Thursday, but Clara Van Wieren scored late in the first and that seemed to shake things loose for UMD. In the second, Danielle Burgen scored twice and Olivia Mobley lit the lamp once to extend the lead to 4-0. Grace Sadura extended the lead to 5-0 before Sacred Heart ruined the shutout when Kate Helgeson lit the lamp to make it 5-1. Mobley’s late goal secured the 6-1 win for Minnesota Duluth.
(6) Minnesota Duluth vs. (3) Cornell
A program record crowd of program record of 3,135 spectators saw the Cornell Big Red earn a trip to their fifth-ever Frozen Four thanks to a wrap around goal from Alyssa Regalado early in the third. Minnesota Duluth had a late power play, but waited a bit to pull their goalie and could not capitalize to tie the game and force overtime. Annelies Bergmann made 28 saves in the game while Ève Gascon made 20. Cornell will face Ohio State at 4 pm central time in the first national semifinal.
Minneapolis regional
(5) Colgate vs. (4) Minnesota
Hannah Murphy made 41 saves for Colgate in the loss.
Ohio State players celebrate a goal during the Buckeyes’ Big Ten semifinal win Saturday night (photo: Ohio State Athletics).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll of March 10 fared in games over the weekend of March 14-16.
No. 1 Boston College (26-7-2)
03/15/2025 – Northeastern 3 at No. 1 Boston College 1 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 2 Michigan State (25-6-4)
03/15/2025 – Notre Dame 0 at No. 2 Michigan State 1 (Big Ten Semifinal)
No. 3 Western Michigan (28-7-1)
03/14/2025 – St. Cloud State 2 at No. 3 Western Michigan 6 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/15/2025 – St. Cloud State 2 at No. 3 Western Michigan 6 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 4 Maine (22-7-6)
03/15/2025 – No. 19 UMass Lowell 1 at No. 4 Maine 7 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 5 Minnesota (25-10-4)
Did not play.
No. 6 Denver (28-10-1)
03/14/2025 – RV Colorado College 3 at No. 6 Denver 1 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/15/2025 – RV Colorado College 3 at No. 6 Denver 6 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
03/16/2025 – RV Colorado College 2 at No. 6 Denver 9 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 3)
No. 7 Providence (21-10-5)
03/14/2025 – No. 7 Providence 1 at No. 8 Connecticut 3 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 8 Connecticut (21-10-4)
03/14/2025 – No. 7 Providence 1 at No. 8 Connecticut 3 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 9 Boston University (21-12-2)
03/15/2025 – No. 14 Massachusetts 2 at No. 9 Boston University 3 (OT, Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 10 Ohio State (24-12-2)
03/15/2025 – No. 11 Penn State 3 at No. 10 Ohio State 4 (OT, Big Ten Semifinal)
No. 11 Penn State (20-13-4)
03/15/2025 – No. 11 Penn State 3 at No. 10 Ohio State 4 (OT, Big Ten Semifinal)
No. 12 Arizona State (21-13-2)
03/14/2025 – Minnesota Duluth 3 at No. 12 Arizona State 4 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/15/2025 – Minnesota Duluth 5 at No. 12 Arizona State 6 (OT, NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 13 Quinnipiac (24-10-2)
03/14/2025 – Brown 1 at No. 13 Quinnipiac 4 (ECAC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/15/2025 – Brown 0 at No. 13 Quinnipiac 4 (ECAC Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 14 Massachusetts (20-13-5)
03/12/2025 – Vermont 1 at No. 14 Massachusetts 2 (Hockey East Opening Round)
03/15/2025 – No. 14 Massachusetts 2 at No. 9 Boston University 3 (OT, Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 15 Minnesota State (26-8-3)
03/15/2025 – Bemidji State 0 at No. 15 Minnesota State 4 (CCHA Semifinal)
No. 16 Michigan (18-15-3)
Did not play.
No. 17 North Dakota (21-14-2)
03/14/2025 – No. 17 North Dakota 3 at No. 20 Omaha 2 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/15/2025 – No. 17 North Dakota 3 at No. 20 Omaha 2 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 18 Clarkson (23-11-3)
03/14/2025 – Harvard 2 at No. 18 Clarkson 3 (ECAC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/15/2025 – Harvard 3 at No. 18 Clarkson 2 (OT, ECAC Quarterfinal Game 2)
03/16/2025 – Harvard 1 at No. 18 Clarkson 2 (OT, ECAC Quarterfinal Game 3)
No. 19 UMass Lowell (16-16-4)
03/12/2025 – RV New Hampshire 2 at No. 19 UMass Lowell 3 (OT, Hockey East Opening Round)
03/15/2025 – No. 19 UMass Lowell 1 at No. 4 Maine 7 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 20 Omaha (18-17-1)
03/14/2025 – No. 17 North Dakota 3 at No. 20 Omaha 2 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/15/2025 – No. 17 North Dakota 3 at No. 20 Omaha 2 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
Hunter Garvey and St. Norbert topped Gustavus to advance in the NCAA tourney. (Photo Credit: Patrick Ferron/St. Norbet Athletics
St. Norbert set a record for most wins in NCAA Division III tournament history by beating Gustavus 3-2 in the opening round Saturday night.
The Green Knights now have 35 wins, the most ever by a program. This their 22nd appearance in the tourney.
Leading 2-0 after two, the Gusties battled back and got within a goal after Wilmer Svensson found the back of the net but could never come up with the equalizer.
An empty-net goal by Bryan Gilman with under two minutes to play sealed the deal as the Green Knights advance to play Utica next weekend in a quarterfinal game.
Curtis Hammond led the way for St. Norbert, scoring a goal and dishing out an assist while Hunter Garvey made 21 saves. Logan Dombrowsky also scored in the win, tallying his 17th goal of the year and 50th point of his career.
The Green Knights, ranked third in the country in the USCHO.com poll and back-to-back champs of the NCHA, improved to 24-5-1 and are unbeaten in their last 11 games.
For Gustavus, which was in the tourney for the first time since 2012 after winning its first MIAC crown since that season, ends the year at 16-10-2. They won five more games than they did all of last year.
The Gusties lost their top defenseman, Jack McCarthy, to injury in the first minute of the game but refused fold without a fight.
Hunter Newhouse scored with 34 seconds to play to try to spark a last-ditch rally. It was his 13th goal of the year. Colin Androlewicz made 26 saves.
Spartans moving on
Aurora made its first NCAA tourney appearance a memorable one as it defeated UW-Eau Claire 3-2 in the opening round on Saturday.
Jackson Kirk and Keaton Lipsett staked the No. 5 Spartans to a 2-0 lead. Kirk’s goal was his 12th of the year.
But the unranked Blugolds cut the lead to one on a goal by Leo Bacallao in the third. Eau Claire tried to even the score but fell short in that quest.
Juliano Santalucia then added an empty-netter with less than a minute to play to make it 3-1. Jadon Reimer answered for Eau Claire, scoring with 17 seconds to play to keep hope alive of potentially tying the game in the final seconds.
JaCob Mucitelli made 24 saves for the Spartans, who are 24-4-1. Their win total is the highest in program history. The Spartans are 14-1-1 in their last 16 games and now face Geneseo at home in the next round.
Eau Claire ends the year at 14-16-1. The Blugolds won the WIAC and were playing in their first NCAA tournament since 2013 when they won the national title. They qualified in 2020 but didn’t get a chance to play because of the pandemic.
Max Gutjahr stopped 34 shots, holding his own against one of the nation’s top scoring offenses.
Eau Claire won six of its final nine games as it got hot at the right time to win the conference title and earn a bid to the tourney.
Trine Time
The Thunder scored two goals in the second period and went on to knock off Oswego 4-1 in the opening round of the NCAA tourney.
Trine was making its first ever trip to the NCAA tournament and had the luxury of playing at home, where it has not lost all season, sporting a 13-0 record. The seventh-ranked Thunder are now 21-6-2. The 21 wins are the most program history.
Drew Jeffers and Brendan Finn put the Thunder up 2-0 after two and stretched their lead to 3-0 after Sean Henry scored. Tyler Fox scored an empty-net goal for Trine’s final tally of the night.
Roman Petrucci stepped up in goal, making 26 saves, and he got plenty of help from the defense, which came up with 13 blocked shots.
Trine was playing in its first game in two weeks after losing in the NCHA tournament two weeks ago. The Thunder face a tall order next weekend as they will take on top-ranked Hobart in the quarterfinal round.
Northeastern is all smiles after beating No. 1 Boston College 3-1 Saturday night to clinch a berth in the Hockey East semifinals. (Photo: Northeastern Athletics)
Hockey East tournament
Northeastern 3, No. 1 Boston College 1
Northeastern shocked No. 1 Boston College 3-1 on Saturday night to advance to the Hockey East semifinals and to become the first No. 9-seed to make the semifinal round in league history.
After a scoreless first period, the Huskies struck twice in the second to carry a 2-0 lead into the final frame. With his seventh career goal against BC, Cam Lund broke the scoreless deadlock when he buried a snipe from the slot at 14:11. Jake Higgins and Jack Williams assisted.
Only 2:09 later Northeastern doubled its lead when Joe Connor cleaned up a rebound for his seventh goal of the season.
Northeastern held a two-goal lead until the 17:26 mark in the third when BC’s James Hagens scored after goalie Jacob Fowler was pulled for an extra attacker goal to make it 2-1. Ryan McGuire scored on an empty net with two seconds remaining to put the game away for Northeastern.
Maine will be the opponent on Thursday night at TD Garden.
No. 4 Maine 7, No. 19 UMass Lowell 1
Behind seven goals from seven different players, No. 4 Maine cruised to a 7-1 win over UMass Lowell in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal before an announced crowd of 5,043 on Saturday night at Harold Alfond Sports Arena.
With the win, the Black Bears advance to the Hockey East Tournament semifinal on Thursday at TD Garden in Boston, where they will face Northeastern.
After a scoreless first period, the Black Bears found the back of the net three times in the middle frame. Maine scored twice in the final three minutes for a 7-1 final.
Maine’s seven goals were its most in a Hockey East postseason game since scoring seven Lowell in 2005. Albin Boija made 27 saves and is now 2-1 in the Hockey East Tournament.
The Black Bears advanced to their consecutive Hockey East Tournament semifinal, marking back-to-back trips for the first time since going in 2005 and 2006.
No. 9 Boston University 3, No. 14 Massachusetts 2 (OT)
Freshman Cole Eiserman scored 2:59 into overtime to lift No. 9 Boston University to a 3-2 win over No. 14 UMass in a Hockey East quarterfinal contest on Saturday night before a crowd of 5,563 at Agganis Arena.
BU led by a goal on two separate occasions, but UMass twice equalized, including with 8:43 remaining in regulation to force overtime. After Mikhail Yegorov made the final of his 36 saves, freshman Sascha Boumedienne cleared the rebound off the crease and sent Eiserman on a 2-on-1 with senior Jack Hughes. Eiserman skated into the left circle before ripping a shot under Minutemen goalie Michael Hrabal’s pads for his team-leading 21st goal of the season.
Sascha Boumedienne scored his third goal of the season and joined Eiserman as Terriers with multiple points. Shane Lachance got BU on the board first with his 11th goal of the season while Hughes, sophomore Tom Willander and Ryan Greene each had an assist. For Greene, the assist marked the 100th point of his career.
BU will face UConn in the Hockey East semifinals on Thursday at TD Garden.
B1G tournament
No. 2 Michigan State 1, Notre Dame 0
Isaac Howard scored 19 seconds into the third period, and that was all No. 2 Michigan State needed for a 1-0 win over Notre Dame in the B1G semifinals on Saturday before a crowd of 6,555 in East Lansing, Mich.
For the second straight season, the Spartans will host the conference championship game. Ohio State will be the opponent on Saturday.
Hobey Baker Award and Richter Award contender Trey Augustine posted an 18-save shutout.
It was the first shutout in a postseason game by Michigan State since the 2013 CCHA quarterfinal series against Miami, which was a 3-0 win in Game 1. It was also Michigan State’s first postseason win by a 1-0 score since Jeff Lerg shut out New Hampshire in the first round of the 2006 NCAA tournament.
Notre Dame goalie Owen Say had 45 saves, matching his 45 stops against the Spartans in the final game of the regular season in South Bend, Ind.
No. 19 Ohio State 4, No. 11 Penn State 3 (OT)
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine’s game winner at 14:31 of overtime propelled No. 19 Ohio State into the B1G championship game, giving the Buckeyes a 4-3 win over Penn State.
The Buckeyes’ opponent will be Michigan State on Saturday.
It was Fontaine’s second goal of the game and 16th of the season. Riley Thompson and Davis Burnside assisted. Nathan Lewis and Patrick Guzzo also scored. Logan Terness had 31 saves.
NCHC tournament
No. 3 Western Michigan 6, St. Cloud State 2
Western Michigan closed the NCHC quarterfinals with a 6-2 win over St. Cloud State on Saturday night at Lawson Arena for their NCAA-leading 28th win of the season.
With a pair of 6-2 wins, the Broncos advanced to the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn., next weekend.
Western Michigan led 2-0 after two periods, and outscored St. Cloud 4-2 in the third to seal the win. Tim Washe and Alex Bump scored twice for the Broncos. Hampton Slukynsky made 18 saves in net to earn his 13th win of the season.
No. 6 Denver 6, Colorado College 3
Denver was a 6-3 winner over rival Colorado College on Saturday night, evening their NCHC quarterfinal series at a game apiece. A decisive third game will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. MDT.
After the teams skated to a 2-2 tie in the first period, Denver outscored the Tigers 3-1 in the middle frame.
Zeev Buium led the Pioneers with two goals.
Matt Davis had 19 saves in net.
No. 12 Arizona State 6, Minnesota Duluth 5 (OT)
Ryan Kirwin scored at 6:08 of overtime to earn Arizona State a 6-5 win over Minnesota Duluth on Saturday night, giving the Sun Devils a sweep of their NCHC quarterfinal series.
Arizona State advanced to the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn., next weekend.
Artem Shlaine scored twice for Arizona State, which trailed 3-0 after the first period. The Sun Devils tied the game after a three-goal flurry in the first 5:01 of the middle frame. Duluth led 4-3 after two stops. Bennett Schimek tied the game 5-5 at 13:21 of the third period.
Luke Pavicich and Gibson Homer combined for 44 saves in net for Arizona State.
No. 17 North Dakota 3, No. 20 Omaha 2
Down by a pair of goals entering the third period, No. 17 North Dakota rallied for a 3-2 win over Omaha in Game 2 of the NCHC quarterfinals, earning the series sweep.
The Fighting Hawks advanced to the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn., next weekend.
Carter Wilkie and Cade Littier each scored in a 29-second span of the third period to tie the game. Jayden Jubenvill broke the deadlock with just 96 seconds remaining in regulation.
Goalie T.J. Semptimphelter finished with 32 saves to earn the second postseason victory of his career.
ECAC tournament
No. 13 Quinnipiac 4, Brown 0
No. 13 Quinnipiac is heading back to Lake Placid, N.Y., and the ECAC’s championship weekend after finishing off a dominant sweep of Brown. The Bobcats took the second game of the best-of-3 by a 4-0 final behind a standout performance from Matej Marinov (34 saves) and a two-goal outing from Tyler Borgula.
Mason Marcellus and Victor Czerneckianair also scored for Quinnipiac.
It’s the fifth consecutive ECAC semifinals for Quinnipiac, which seeks its second Whitelaw Cup. Quinnipiac has outscored its opposition 35-10 in its last eight home playoff games.
Harvard 3, No. 18 Clarkson 2 (OT)
Harvard forced a Game 3 in its ECAC semifinal series with Clarkson, rallying from two goals down to win 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night.
Casey Severo scored the winning goal for the Crimson at 6:09 of the extra frame. Severo has now scored two overtime goals in the last three weeks.He has goals in two of three playoff games this season and is up to 16 on the year.
The first minutes of the second period featured a flurry of goals. After Clarkson went up 2-0 less than a minute into the frame, Zakary Karba and Mason Langenbrunner responded less than a minute later with two goals in 2:10 to tie the game 2-2.
The two-goal comeback was Harvard’s first in the postseason since Game 1 of the 2022 ECAC quarterfinals.
Cornell 3. Colgate 0
Cornell shut out Colgate 3-0 to sweep the best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series at the Class of 1965 Arena Saturday night.
Dalton Bancroft (goal, assist) and Michael Suda (two assists) led the Big Red in scoring, while Ian Shane had 21 saves to move past Ken Dryden for the fourth-most shutouts in program history with 14.
Sullivan Mack and Charlie Major scored for Cornell, which will be make the trip to Lake Placid, N.Y., for the third consecutive season and the sixth time since 2017.
Colgate’s Andrew Takacs made 19 saves for the Raiders, who were held without a goal for the first time since 2022, snapping its NCAA-leading 100-game scoring streak.
Dartmouth 7, Union 2
Dartmouth scanned its QR code to the ECAC semifinals with a 7-2 win over Union on Saturday to complete the sweep.
Emmett Croteau made 28 saves for his 13th win of the season.
A baker’s dozen different players recorded at least one point for Dartmouth, with Luke Haymes and Nate Morgan scoring two goals each.
Dartmouth has now defeated Union seven straight times. The Big Green advanced to the ECAC Semifinals for the second straight season. It is the first time since the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons that Dartmouth has advanced to the ECAC Semifinals in back-to-back seasons.
CCHA tournament
No. 15 Minnesota State 4, Bemidji State 0
CCHA Player of the Year Alex Tracy posted his fifth shutout of the season with 27 saves as Minnesota State defeated Bemidji State 4-0 in the CCHA Mason Cup semifinals Saturday night at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Adam Eisele scored two goals. The Mavericks advance to the conference championship, where they will try to hoist the Mason Cup for the third time in team history on Friday against St. Thomas.
With St. Thomas ineligible for the NCAA tournament, Minnesota State clinched the league’s automatic berth. The Mavericks have won four straight games and are unbeaten over their last 10, dating back to a Jan. 31 loss to the Tommies.
St. Thomas 3, Bowling Green 2
Red-hot St. Thomas is heading to the CCHA championship game for the first time in program history after a 3-1 win over Bowling Green. It was the Tommies’ eighth straight win.
Liam Malmquist and Cooper Gay each scored, each earning a share of the school record for goals in a season with 19. Casy Laylin also scored. Jake Sibell made 32 saves on 33 shots to extend his win streak to 12 games. He is now the single season program record holder in wins with 12.
The Tommies will visit Minnesota State for the Mason Cup on Friday.
AHA tournament
Holy Cross 5, Army West Point 1
Holy Cross beat Army 5-1 in Game 2 of the Atlantic Hockey America semifinals at the Hart Center Saturday night to earn the right to host the championship game next weekend.
Goalie Thomas Gale recorded 29 saves, extending his win total to a team-record 24.
With a goal and a pair of assists, Liam McLinskey became the first Crusader to hit the 50-point mark in a season since Tyler McGregor in 2005-06.
Holy Cross will host Bentley Saturday night for the AHA’s automatic NCAA tournament berth.
Bently 3, Sacred Heart 0
Bentley will play for a championship for the first time since 2006, after a 3-0 win over Sacred Heart to clinch a series sweep on Saturday night in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals.
The Falcons will play at Holy Cross in the final Saturday night. It will be only the second AHA final appearance for Bentley.
Goalie Connor Hasley recorded his 11th shutout of the season and third in four postseason games. Hasley, who made 26 saves, is now tied for the second most shutouts in a single season in NCAA history.
Ethan Leyh bookended the goals by scoring 56 seconds into the game and an empty netter with 16 seconds remaining in regulation.
Minnesota State earned the first automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA men’s hockey tournament Saturday, six days before the CCHA playoff championship will be decided.
The Mavericks are the only team left in the CCHA tournament that’s eligible to compete in the NCAA tournament this season.
Minnesota State’s 4-0 win over Bemidji State in the CCHA semifinals on Saturday, coupled with St. Thomas’ 3-1 win over Bowling Green earlier in the day, meant the Mavericks and the Tommies will play for the championship in Mankato on Friday.
St. Thomas isn’t eligible for the NCAA tournament until 2026 because it’s still in a transition period from Division III to Division I. That was moved up from 2027 because of an NCAA rule change in January changing the delay in tournament eligibility from five years after the program’s move to Division I to four years.
The Tommies can win the CCHA championship by defeating Minnesota State but the Mavericks are going to get the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament either way.
MADISON — The top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers staged another come-from-behind win to defeat Clarkson and advance to their program’s 16th Frozen Four Saturday afternoon.
As has been the case over the past few weeks, the Badgers went down early as Clarkson scored on a Nicole Gosling wrister from the top of the circle that beat UW goalie Ava McNaughton top self 4:59 into the game to give the Golden Knights 1-0 lead.
Wisconsin controlled play for much of the game, but Clarkson was spectacular at disrupting everything the Badgers tried to do. The Golden Knights lifted sticks, were strong with poke checks, blocked passes and shots and generally made it difficult for the home team to complete a play.
“I was really happy with the effort that our players put forth today. I thought we played the way we needed to to give ourselves a chance to win this game,’ said Clarkson coach Matt Desrosiers.
The Badgers were frustrated and trying to find a way through the stout Clarkson defense. They finally broke through with 8:24 left in the second when Ava Murphy cheated up from the blue line into open ice in the far faceoff circle and received a pass from Casey O’Brien from below the blue line. Murphy went down to one knee and one-timed the shot past Clarkson goalie Holly Gruber to tie the game.
“I saw an opening down low, so I decided to jump into it, and I saw Casey O’Brien had the puck, and she’s obviously a very talented player, so I knew she could get it to me. I just kind of put everything into it that I had and I was lucky enough it went in,” said Murphy, who was the player in the box when Clarkson scored and also broke up a 2-on-1 opportunity for the Golden Knights in the third period.
Gruber was outstanding for the Golden Knights, stopping 34 shots, several at point blank range. She was helped by a team in front of her willing to sacrifice everything to keep the puck away from the net. They were credited with 15 blocks, but that number does not capture the work they put in to stop the Badgers at nearly every turn.
“We came in with a game plan. I think we executed that to the best of our ability. Our game plan was just to shut them down defensively and defense leads to offense. We knew they were going to be high in shots. We knew we might only have limited chances, but that was our plan coming in and we obviously didn’t end up on the right side of the scoreboard, but we’re happy with our play for the most part,” said Clarkson defender and co-captain Gosling.
It looked like Clarkson might have some momentum to start the first and they quickly doubled the four shots they’d managed in the opening frame, but got no more on net after the midpoint of the game and had just three shot attempts over the final 10 minutes.
Wisconsin took the lead when Kelly Gorbatenko scored what would prove to be the game winner with just more than two minutes left in the second. Wisconsin lost possession of the puck trying to move into the zone, but Gorbatenko followed the play and muscled through some traffic to pick up the loose puck. She quickly angled in towards the net and flipped a backhander up and over Gruber’s shoulder to give Wisconsin the 2-1 lead. The goal was scored just as a Badger power play expired and counted as even strength.
“I saw K.K. (Harvey) go drive wide earlier, so I was like, OK, I’ll try that too. I just drove on the net and was able to get away from the first defender. I was just trying to get a shot on net, and I was a little surprised myself a little bit there that it went in, but I was just so excited for our team because we had a couple of shifts before that and we were in their offensive zone the entire time, so it was good just to kind of capitalize on a great team effort there,” said Gorbatenko.
The Badgers outshot the Golden Knights 29-8 over the first two periods, but Clarkson returned the pressure more in the third. The Badgers struggled to adjust to their opponents offensively, often trying to make too many passes and losing possession of the puck. Clarkson had a 12-9 advantage in shots in the third, but couldn’t seem to find the answer. Wisconsin killed two penalties and extended their lead on the power play when Laila Edwards put a Kirsten Simms pass in the net to make it 3-1.
The Golden Knights pulled Gruber with about four minutes to play and got a late power play that put them up 6-on-4, but the Badgers were able to hold them off and Lacey Eden was awarded an empty-net goal with 32 seconds left on the clock when she was tripped at the goal mouth to complete the 4-1 win for Wisconsin.
Depth has been a hallmark of the Badgers’ season and the players have all talked about how much trust they have with one another. Coach Mark Johnson noted that it was some of his less-touted players that had the biggest impact on Saturday.
“It’s fun to watch some of the players that don’t always get talked to or their names in the paper or interviewed have an impact. As we all know, it takes the entire group for us have success at different points in the season. If you go back with every play we’ve had, they’ve had an impact on a game and they’ve done something in a real positive way. That’s why we’re in the position we are, because we’ve had a team that’s been able to have different contributions from a lot of different people,” he said.
Wisconsin advances to the Frozen Four where they will face familiar foe Minnesota, who won their quarterfinal game over Colgate Saturday afternoon 3-1.
Hassan Akl leads a high-flying Spartan offense into the NCAA tournament against Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Steve Woltmann/Aurora Athletics)
Here we are at the final three weeks of game action that will determine the 2024-25 national champions. Fourteen teams have made the cut for this year’s tournament and not without some surprises in the mix. Kudos to the NCAA (don’t say that often) for opening up the checkbook and spending some money to set the all-important travel schedules that align best with the seeding and regional alignment. The Frozen Four will be held at a yet to be determined site based on bids received from teams in the field so we will likely have a scenario like 2023 where Endicott was awarded the final rounds following the quarterfinal results. Could be interesting to see where the final games of the season will be played for the national championship trophy.
My picks last Saturday went 6-3-0 (.667) for the conference championship weekend with my Cinderella picks failing to find the glass slipper fit. My final season numbers stand at 137-63-10 (.676) which were overall pretty good but not at the 70% success rate I targeted way back in October, 2024.
As has been the tradition over the past several seasons, the final picks will be a competition between East (Tim Costello – TC) and West (Brian Lester – BL) for bragging rights to end the season. The competition has been pretty close over the past seasons with many other interested parties like D-III Hockey News, Let’s Go Knights, NESCAC Hockey and, of course, Mr. SUNYAC chiming in as competitors to our USCHO challenge – feel free to play along and see how you do as compared with the USCHO pundits. First round action is set for twelve teams on Saturday and the matchups are terrific. Here is how Brian and I see the outcomes for the first round:
Saturday, March 15, 2025
NCAA First Round
Oswego v. Trine
TC – The youthful Lakers have matured quite a bit in the second half including their capturing the SUNYAC title. The Thunder lost early in their conference tournament so have been waiting for the chance to get back on the ice and play for the season’s biggest trophy. The atmosphere will be electric in Angola, Indiana but the team that has been playing each weekend will end up finding the winning formula in a game where overtime is needed – Oswego, 4-3
BL – The Thunder are making history as they head to the NCAA tourney for the first time. And the experience is even better because they get to play at home. Ranked seventh nationally, they face a Laker team that is No. 14 in the country.
The Thunder didn’t win their conference tournament, but they are a tough team to beat and are battle tested. And keep in mind they are unbeaten at home, sporting a 12-0 record.
Oswego won the SUNYAC title and are led by Brandon Cohen, who has tallied 19 goals. This will be the first trip out west this season for the Lakers and it will be interesting to see how they handle it – Trine, 5-4
Hamilton v. University of New England
TC – Two teams that on paper and ranking appear to be very evenly matched will face-off in Biddeford, Maine. The Continentals are fresh off their first ever NESCAC title and have the sensational goaltending of Charlie Archer anchoring them. UNE hasn’t seen a competitive game since the semifinal round of the CNE tournament where they lost to Endicott. ENG creates final margin in a dogfight that goes to the visitors – Hamilton, 4-2
BL – It’s a matchup featuring eighth-ranked Hamilton and ninth-ranked UNE.
The Continentals come in with 20 wins on the season and have won their last three. They average nearly four goals per game and allow under two an outing. Luke Tchor leads the way offensively with 16 goals and 17 assists.
The Nor’easters have been tough at home, going 8-3 and they are putting up just over four goals per game. Drew Olivieri leads the way with 11 goals and 24 assists. They haven’t played in nearly two weeks, so it will be interesting to see how they handle the time off – UNE, 4-3
Stevenson v. Geneseo
TC – The Mustangs took out Wilkes to win the MAC and are very familiar with playing games in New York and playing low-scoring playoff style hockey. The Knights have been known for their fast starts and a strong first period on Saturday catapults the new UCHC champions to the quarterfinal round with a less than comfortable win on home ice – Geneseo, 4-2
BL – Fourth-ranked Geneseo battled unranked Stevenson in this one. The Ice Knights are UCHC champs and Filip Wiberg is one to watch after being named the tourney MVP. He has 15 goals and 15 assists on the year. Geneseo is in the tourney for the eighth straight season.
Stevenson is making its first NCAA tourney appearance and hoping to keep this historic season going. Ford DeLoss is tough in goal. He was the MAC tourney MVP – Geneseo, 5-2
Fitchburg State v. Utica
TC – This game features two teams that really can’t be coming from more opposite mental states. The Falcons have been on fire through the MASCAC playoffs and goaltender Max Macchioni has been sensational through their recent win streak. The Pioneers are pressing the reset button for the national tournament having been routed in the UCHC title game by Geneseo. Something has to give and the Pioneers take advantage of special teams to eke past a determined and aggressive FSU squad – Utica, 5-3
BL – Ranked sixth in the USCHO.com poll, Utica is looking to capitalize on home ice advantage. The Pioneers are hoping to shake off the sting of a tough 7-3 loss in the conference final against Geneseo. That’s not always an easy thing to do.
Fitchburg has won its last four but is just 6-5 on the road this year. The Falcons have a solid goalie in Max Macchioni and he’ll be key if Fitchburg is going to pull off a win on the road – Utica, 5-3
Gustavus Adolphus v. St. Norbert
TC – The champions of the MIAC and NCHA play a first round game with the Green Knights having an unbeaten record against the Gusties in past NCAA action. Logan Dombrowsky and Liam Fraser are among the premier offensive talents in the country, and they lead the home team to a solid win over a pesky opponent – St. Norbert, 4-2
BL – The third-ranked Green Knights have been one of the best teams in the nation all year. They are the back-to-back NCHA champs and are in the NCAA tourney for the 22nd time in program history, the second-most ever.
They have two of the best scoring threats in Liam Fraser and Logan Dombrowsky, and when that duo is on, the Green Knights are tough to stop.
Gustavus won the always interesting MIAC and is in the tourney for the first time since 2012. The Gusties have nothing to lose and would love nothing more than to pull off an upset here. They are certainly capable of doing it – St. Norbert, 4-2
Wisconsin – Eau Claire v. Aurora
TC – The regular season champions from the NCHA are appearing in their first NCAA tournament and face an UW – Eau Claire squad that got hot at the right time of the season to win the WIAC. The Spartans have never beaten the BluGolds but Hassan Akl and Landry Schmuck will have a lot to say about the outcome as these prolific scorers help the home team to their first NCAA tournament win with bonus hockey included – Aurora, 3-2
BL – The Spartans have had a year to remember and have been one of the nation’s top teams all season. This will be their first game against Eau Claire since 2016. The Spartans are 0-2 against the Blugolds.
Eau Claire has won six of its last eight and has momentum on its side right now after punching a ticket to the tourney for the first time since 2020. Though Eau Claire didn’t get to play in it that year due to the pandemic. Max Gutjahr has been impressive in goal, and he’ll be key against an Aurora team that has put up 134 goals – Aurora, 4-3
By Saturday night or maybe even early Sunday morning we will know who has advanced to the quarterfinals where the six winning teams will join Curry and Hobart with a chance to reach the Frozen Four. Everything is on the line now to advance or call an end to the 2024-25 season – “Drop the Puck
Eamon Powell again wears the ‘C’ for Boston College during the 2024-25 season (photo: Brody Hannon).
Hockey East has announced its 2024-25 men’s all-star teams as voted by the league’s 11 head coaches.
First-Team All-Stars
G: Jacob Fowler, Boston College *
D: Eamon Powell, Boston College
D: Cole Hutson, Boston University
F: Ryan Leonard, Boston College *
F: Gabe Perreault, Boston College
F: Cole O’Hara, Massachusetts * unanimous selection
Second-Team All-Stars
G: Albin Boija, Maine
D: Tom Willander, Boston University
D: Guillaume Richard, Providence
F: Quinn Hutson, Boston University
F: Joey Muldowney, UConn
F: Hudson Schandor, UConn
Third-Team All-Stars
G: Michael Hrabal, Massachusetts
D: Brandon Holt, Maine
D: Alex Gagne, New Hampshire
F: Ryan Greene, Boston University
F: Jake Richard, UConn
F: Cam Lund, Northeastern
Alex Tracy has been a wall in net this season for Minnesota State (photo: Minnesota State Athletics).
The CCHA has announced that Minnesota State junior goaltender Alex Tracy is the conference’s 2024-25 player of the year.
A Mike Richter Award semifinalist, he has been one of the top netminders in college hockey this season.
Tracy played in 25 of Minnesota State’s 26 conference games, going 17-5-3 with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage, which all led the league. He turned away 640 shots in 1514:48 minutes, picking up two shutouts.
Overall, he is 24-8-3 with a 1.45 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage, with four shutouts. A two-time CCHA and national goaltender of the month, he currently leads the nation in wins, GAA, SV% and was one of three finalists for CCHA goaltender of the year and a contender for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top player in collegiate men’s hockey.
Voting for the 2024-25 CCHA year-end awards was conducted by the nine head coaches at each CCHA school, based on CCHA conference games only. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Aurora is in the NCAA tournament for the first time. (Photo Credit: Steve Woltmann/Aurora Athletics)
It’s a special time of year as the NCAA Division III men’s hockey tournament begins today.
This is what every team has been shooting for since the season began back in November, and for five teams from the west region, they will get their shot to hit the ice in the national tournament.
Gustavus, St. Norbert, UW-Eau Claire, Trine and Aurora are all in. Two teams are assured of advancing as the Gusties play the Green Knights and the Blugolds face the Spartans. A total of three teams could advance, however, as Trine plays Oswego.
For Gustavus (16-9-2), it’s the Gusties’ first tourney appearance since 2012. The Gusties won the MIAC and what a story it has been for a program that won only 11 games a year ago. Tyler Walsh has taken Gustavus to the tourney in year one and that in itself is impressive. He’s guided the team to 16 wins this year.
Though unranked in the national poll, Gustavus has one of the top offenses in hockey, averaging nearly four goals per game. Jack Suchy has played a huge role in that success, scoring 15 goals and dishing out 14 assists.
The Gusties face a St. Norbert team that started out the season like it might never lose. The Green Knights won their first 12 games and have been on a roll again as of late, having not lost a game since January.
They are the champions of the NCHA, going back-to-back, and they are in the tournament for the 22nd time. In other words, NCAA trips are the norm for the Green Knights (23-5-1)
They are putting up more than four goals per game and allowing just two goals per outing. There is no doubt the Green Knights are one of the best all-around teams in the country. And they are currently third nationally in the USCHO.com poll.
Liam Fraser has been impressive, scoring 21 goals while also dishing out 21 assists. Logan Dombrowsky has scored 16 goals and dished out 33 assists. Hunter Garvey has won 18 games in goal.
These two teams have met twice in the tourney before, not since 2012. The Green Knights are 2-0 against the Gusties in tournament play.
While NCAA tournament trips aren’t anything new for St. Norbert, they are new for fifth-ranked Aurora and seventh-ranked Trine. Both squads are making their first ever trip.
Aurora has won 23 games this season, sporting a 23-4-1 record. The win total is the most in the 11-year history of the program. And it gets to play its tourney opener at home, where it has lost only once all year.
The Spartans have dominated offensively, cranking out close to five goals per game. Leading the charge are Hassan Akl and Landry Schmuck. Akl has dished out 39 assists while also scoring 13 goals. Landry Schmuck has put the puck in the net 30 time and has also tallied 12 assists.
Aurora has lost only once in its last 15 games and is one of the teams many believe have a shot of going all the way to the title game.
As for Trine, the Thunder have won 20 games this season, tying for the most wins in program history. They are 20-6-2 on the season.
One of the best things for Trine is that it gets to host its first round game. That’s huge because Trine hasn’t lost at home this season, sporting 12-0 record.
Trine doesn’t have one player who is just putting up eye-popping stats, but the Thunder have thrived with a balanced attack. Logan Fustenau leads the team with 11 goals. Sam Antenucci and Tyler Blanchard have scored nine goals apiece.
But boy does Trine share the puck. Michael DiPietra, Alexander Babich, Drew Welsch and Jack Cooper all rank in the top 15 in the NCHA in assists. DiPietra has 17 assists. The other three have 16 assists.
As for Eau Claire, the Blugolds weren’t expected to win the WIAC. But here they are. They have gotten hot at the right time and have won six of their last eight overall. They might be under .500 from a record standpoint (14-15-1) but they are not a team you can look past.
Eau Claire, after all, has one of the top goalies in the game in Max Gutjahr, who ranks second in the country in shutouts with six, including a shutout win over River Falls in the WIAC title game.
For the Blugolds, this is technically their first time playing in the tournament since 2013 when they won the national title. But Eau Claire earned a tourney berth in 2020. The pandemic robbed the Blugolds of a chance to play in it. That won’t happen this time.
And that might be the best thing of all for NCAA D-III hockey in general. Five years ago, we had no postseason hockey in March. Five years later, we have a chance to watch teams compete for a national championship, including the five teams out of the west who come in with high hopes and high expectations.
Western Michigan’s Tim Washe celebrates his goal in the second period of a 6-2 win over St. Cloud in the NCHC quarterfinals on Friday night in Kalamazoo, Mich. (Photo: Western Michigan Athletics)
NCHC tournament
No. 3 Western Michigan 6, St. Cloud State 2
Western Michigan opened the NCHC quarterfinals with a 6-2 win over St. Cloud State on Friday night at Lawson Arena for their NCAA-leading 27th win of the season.
Matteo Costantini and Iiro Hakkarainen each scored two goals, while Tim Washe and Alex Bump scored once. Hampton Slukynsky made 25 saves in net to earn his 12th win of the season.
Colorado College 3, No. 6 Denver 1
Swept by the same team just one week earlier, Colorado College opened the NCHC quarterfinals with a 3-1 win at Denver in the first game of a best-of-three series on Friday night at Magness Arena.
Brady Cleveland’s first career goal and Kaidan Mbereko’s 33 saves led the Tigers to the win. Ty Gallagher scored to open the third period, the first of three unanswered goals. Noah Laba added an empty-net goal.
No. 12 Arizona State 4, Minnesota Duluth 3
Anthony Down scored the only goal of the third period to stake No. 12 Arizona State to a 4-3 win over Minnesota Duluth in the first game of the NCHC quarterfinals on Friday night at Mullett Arena.
Ryan Kirwan and Charlie Schoen scored for Arizona State as the Sun Devils led 2-1 after the first frame. The game was tied 3-3 after two stops. Bennett Schimek had the other Arizona State goal.
Arizona State goalie Luke Pavicich had 28 saves.
No. 17 North Dakota 3, No. 20 Omaha 2
It wasn’t pretty, but No. 17 North Dakota skated to a 3-2 win over Omaha in the opening game of the NCHC quarterfinals at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.
North Dakota built a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes before being outshot by a 17-0 margin in the third period. It was North Dakota’s first win on the road in an opening game of a conference quarterfinal since 1995 at St. Cloud State.
Goalie T.J. Semptimphelter finished with 31 saves to earn the first postseason victory of his career.
Jayden Perron scored his 10th goal of the season to give him double-digits for the second straight year. Cade Littler notched a pair of goals. Jackson Kunz and Caleb MacDonald had two assists apiece.
Hockey East tournament
No. 8 Connecticut 3, No. 7 Providence 1
Eighth-ranked Connecticut is headed to TD Garden for the first time since 2022 after beating No. 7 Providence 3-1 on Friday night in the Hockey East quarterfinals.
Joey Muldowney scored two goals for the Huskies, while Hudson Schandor provided the other. Tyler Muszelik made 32 saves in net.
Providence’s Guillaume Richard opened the scoring just 3:44 into the game to give the Friars a 1-0 lead.
The Hockey East semifinals will be held Thursday in Boston.
ECAC tournament
No. 13 Quinnipiac 4, Brown 1
No. 13 Quinnipiac is one win away from punching its ticket to Lake Placid, N.Y., following a 4-1 win over Brown in Game 1 of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals at M+T Bank Arena on Friday night.
It was the seventh straight postseason win on home ice for the Bobcats, who scored in each of the first two periods before potting a pair in the final 20 minutes.
Victor Czerneckianair, Jeremy Wilmer, Andon Cerbone and Chris Pelosi all scored for Quinnipiac, while Matej Marinov had 20 saves in net.
Quinnipiac has outscored its opposition 31-10 in its last seven home playoff games.
No. 18 Clarkson 3, Harvard 2
Ryan Bottrill scored a pair of goals in the third period, including the game winner with only 27.6 seconds left, as No. 18 Clarkson twice came back from a goal down to earn a 3-2 win over Harvard in Game 1 of the ECAC quarterfinals Friday night at Cheel Arena.
The Golden Knights moved to within one win of a trip to Lake Placid, N.Y, improving to 22-10-3 on the season while Harvard dipped to 12-16-3. Game 2 is set for 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.
Ellis Rickwood scored the other Clarkson goal and Ethan Langenegger had 15 saves in net.
Cornell 4, Colgate 1
Two-point nights from Kyler Kovich (two assists), Kyle Penney (goal, assist) and Charlie Major (two assists) helped lead the Cornell to a 4-1 win at Colgate at the Class of 1965 Arena on Friday night in the first game of a best-of-three quarterfinal ECAC playoff series.
Joining Penney in the scoring column were Jack O’Leary, Sullivan Mack and Jonathan Castagna. Goalie Ian Shane stopped 21 of 22 shots for the Big Red.
It was the 171st meeting between Cornell and Colgate as the Big Red increased their lead in the series to 91-63-17.
Dartmouth 3, Union 2
With a goal in each period, Dartmouth opened its best-of-three ECAC quarterfinal series with a 3-2 win over Union on Friday night.
The Big Green twice erased one-goal deficits. Nikita Nikora, Braiden Dorfman and Sean Chisholm each scored for Dartmouth.
Emmett Croteau made 23 saves in net.
AHA tournament
Holy Cross 3, Army West Point 2 (OT)
Devin Phillips scored 3:15 into overtime to give Holy Cross a 3-2 win over Army West point and a 1-0 lead in the Atlantic Hockey America quarterfinals on Friday night at Hart Center Rink.
It was Phillips’s second goal of the night. Matthew Kursonis also scored for the Crusaders.
Thomas Gale recorded a career-high 45 saves in net. With his 23d win of the season, Gale also broke the Crusaders’ single-season wins record.
Bentley 5, Sacred Heart 2
A.J. Hodges scored a natural hat trick in the third period as Bentley won Game 1 of the Atlantic Hockey semifinals over Sacred Heart, 5-2.
The Falcons trailed 2-0 just past the midway point of the second period but scored five unanswered goals to rally for the win.
Oskar Bakkevig and Nik Armstrong-Kingkade each scored for Bentley while Connor Hasley made 20 saves in net to earn his 19th win of the season.
Senior goaltender Charlie Archer helped the Continentals to the NESCAC title and now focuses on an NCAA matchup with UNE (Photo by Joshua D. McGee)
It’s a good thing the games are played on the ice because a look at paper with statistics and rankings such as national rank, NPI and tournament seeding has the NESCAC champions from Hamilton and CNE semifinal round losing UNE almost in a dead-heat in a head-to-head comparison. While the Nor’easters have been away from game play since their overtime loss to Endicott, they do have the advantage of home-ice which should create an electric atmosphere for the home team that has seen strong results on the national stage in recent years.
“We’ve been in pressure packed games for weeks now and our boys have no fear of those situations,” noted Hamilton head coach Rob Haberbusch. “We’re No. 8 in the polls and they’re No. 9. They are No. 8 in the NPI and we are No. 9. It can’t get any closer. I am sure it’s going to be a great game – we are excited to play.”
The visiting Continentals weathered the gauntlet of the NESCAC tournament with wins over Conn College, a double overtime win over Middlebury in the semifinal round and a 3-0 shutout of Tufts in the title game. NESCAC goaltender of the year, senior Charlie Archer (20GP – 1.37 goals-against average – .943 save percentage – 5 shutouts) has made scoring very difficult for the opposition all season while conference player of the year, sophomore Luke Tchor (16G – 17A – 33 Pts) and linemates sophomore Devon deVries (7G – 16A – 23 Pts) and junior Jackson Krock (14G – 14A – 28 Pts) have made scoring a habit both at even-strength and on the power play.
While the Nor’easters have been out of game action for a spell, they have a playoff game pedigree and a roster that tasted the atmosphere of the Frozen Four just a couple of seasons ago. Senior forward Ryan Kuzmich (20G – 14A – 34 Pts), sophomore forward Drew Olivieri (11G – 24A – 35 Pts) and sophomore forward Dominic Murphy (16G – 18A – 34 Pts) can create offense at any time on the ice. A strong defensive group transitions to offense well in front of goaltender Stefan Carney (14GP – 1.83 goals-against average – .926 save percentage – 3 shutouts) who has split time in the crease for the Nor’easters with senior Joey Stanizzi (14GP – 2.44 goals-against average – .917 save percentage – 4 shutouts).
The two teams face-off at Harold Alfond Forum in Biddeford, Maine on Saturday, March 15 at 7 PM. The winner with move on to a quarterfinal date with top-seeded Curry on Saturday, March 22.
Geneseo’s senior forward Peter Morgan looks to lead the Knights past MAC champions Stevenson on Saturday night (photo By Ben Gajewski)
In a battle featuring the UCHC champions from Geneseo hosting the MAC winners from Stevenson, the game showcases teams built for playoff hockey led by coaches who have winning reputations when it comes to the post-season in Geneseo’s Chris Schultz and Stevenson’s Dominick Dawes. Both teams secured their conference titles by defeating the no. 1 seed in their respective tournament as the road team and now look to parlay their strong play last week into winning hockey on the national stage.
“One game at a time,” noted Schultz. “Every team right now is feeling good about themselves. Every team has pretty good momentum heading into the tournament. We have to stick to our process and play to our strengths.”
The Knights strengths include a 12-1-1 record in the comfortable confines of the Ira S Wilson Rink and an experienced group of players including senior goaltender Adam Harris (19GP – 2.50 goals-against average – .916 save percentage), and senior forward Zach Purcell (16G – 11A – 27 Pts) along with sophomore forward Filip Wiberg (15G – 15A – 30 Pts) and sophomore defensive stalwart, Sean Melso (8G – 16A – 24 Pts.) The Knights have depth upfront and on the blue line and play a pressure game that challenges any team for the full 200-feet of the rink.
For Stevenson, their current five-game win streak has been led by a strong offensive attack featuring senior forward Liam McKinney (15G – 12A – 27 Pts) and junior forward Blake Benson (17G – 8A – 25 Pts). Add in the clutch performances of Even Beers (4G – 14A – 18 Pts) and Dylan Florit (4G – 14A – 18 Pts) and Stevenson has the tools to physically challenge the Knights on their home ice. Junior goaltender Ford DeLoss (24 GP – 2.24 goals-against average – .917 save percentage – 4 shutouts) has been stellar in goal for the Mustangs, especially in the MAC tournament where he surrendered just two goals in wins against Neumann and Wilkes.
“Our guys are excited,” said head coach Dominick Dawes. “They earned the right to be here. Playing in upstate New York is nothing new for us. We need to focus on our game and the things that have helped build the program up to this point.”
The Knights and Mustangs face-off on Saturday night at 7 PM with the winner advancing to a quarterfinal date against the winner from the Aurora v. Wisconsin Eau Claire first round game.
Utica defenseman Brian Scoville leads a Utica squad looking to return to the Frozen Four and facing a red-hot Fitchburg State team in the first round on Saturday (Photo by Kaleigh Sturtevant – Utica Athletics)
The somewhat surprising Fitchburg State Falcons, winners of the MASCAC tournament will travel to play Utica on Saturday in the first round of the national tournament with both teams coming into the game in very different places. The Falcons are on a five-game win streak including three conference tournament victories that claimed their fist MASCAC title since 2018, so their confidence level is very high coming into the tournament. Meanwhile, Utica suffered a 7-3 loss to Geneseo in the final of the UCHC tournament and are looking for a post-season rebound having received an at-large bid based on their overall record during the regular season,
Fitchburg State has been led in their recent run by the sensational goaltending of junior Max Macchioni (9GP – 2.18 goals-against average – .940 save percentage) who took the crease down the stretch for the Falcons and surrendered just five goals in the three games of the conference tournament. In the semifinal against Salem State, Macchioni record seventy-six saves in a 4-3 3OT win over the Vikings. Offensively, the sophomore grouping of Hunter Dunn (12G – 15A – 27 Pts), Elowan Orme Lynch (8G – 15A – 23 Pts), and his twin Matteo Orme Lynch (6G – 16A – 22 Pts) have been opportunistic in the post-season leading the Falcons attack.
“We are excited for the opportunity, said long-time head coach Dean Fuller. “We are focused and ready to go.”
For Utica, the difference in one week is the size of the prize and the need to re-set following an ugly loss to Geneseo last weekend.
“The pressure is on us,” stated Pioneer head coach Gary Heenan, “Facing a team that is riding high while we are coming off a sub-par performance. This is when we lean on our leaders.”
Key performers whom the Pioneers relied upon all season have included graduate student Brian Scoville (4G – 16A – 20 Pts) on defense along with graduate student forward Jakob Breault (15G – 17A – 32 Pts) and graduate student forward Johnny Mulera (16G – 10A – 26 Pts). A deep roster will challenge the Falcons on every shift while Utica looks for first-year goaltender Ryan Piros (15GP – 2.06 goals-against average – .922 save percentage – 3 shutouts) to rebound from last week’s loss where he surrendered four goals in the opening period against Geneseo.
Utica will play host at the Adirondack Bank Center on Saturday, March 15 with puck drop scheduled for a 1 PM matinee with the winner advancing to face the winner of the St. Norbert v. Gustavus Adolphus game in a quarterfinal matchup.
Oswego travels to Indiana to face-off against No. 7 Trine in the opening round of the NCAA D-III Men’s Hockey Championship tournament (Photo by Taylor Streiff)
The newly crowned SUNYAC champion Oswego State Lakers will travel to Indiana to face nationally-ranked Trine on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA D-III National Championship tournament. The Thunder received an at-large bid following an excellent regular season and semifinal loss to St. Norbert in the NCHA conference tournament back on March 1.
Oswego showcases a very youthful lineup that has grown up over the course of the season and found their complete game throughout the SUNYAC tournament winning their first title since 2011. Led by first-year forwards Ryan Burke (11G – 28A – 39 Pts) and Brandon Cohen (19G – 14A – 33 Pts), the Lakers boast nine players with more than twenty points on the season. Junior goaltender Brandon Milberg (24 GP – 2.22 goals-against average – .907 save percentage and 3 shutouts) has given the Lakers a chance to win and will need to continue his strong play against Trine on Saturday.
“Our young guys have been a work in progress all season,” said head coach Ed Gosek. “They still are this weekend which will be a great experience for them. I am excited for our guys and for the matchup with a really good Trine team – east vs. west matchups are always fun.”
Trine returns to the ice after a two-week layoff following their loss in the NCHA tournament but take the ice this week with new excitement about an opportunity to compete on the national stage. The Thunder did not play Oswego this season but were very successful against other SUNYAC teams winning a pair of games from both Fredonia and Buffalo State on the road during the regular season in non-conference action.
The Thunder showcase a deep roster with five twenty point plus players and a total of twelve players with more than ten points on the season. First-year Alexander Babich (6G – 16A – 22 Pts) and sophomore Logan Furstenau (11G – 10A – 21 Pts) pace the Thunder attack with Furstenau being particularly effective on the power play, netting six goals on the man advantage. In the crease, the Thunder have had success from three different goaltenders over the course of the season with first-year Ronnie Petrucci (9GP – 1.78 goals-against average – .918 save percentage –1 shutout) playing down the stretch for the Thunder in the conference playoffs.
The Thunder recorded twenty wins during the regular season and are playing in their first NCAA tournament and hosting a first round game in their inaugural appearance.
Puck drop is set for 7 PM on Saturday, March 15 with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals and a matchup with defending national champion, Hobart on March 22.
USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly), Dan Rubin (@DanRubin12) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) look at money lines and over/under for three conference semifinal rounds and three quarterfinal games on March 14-15, 2025.
Bentley +145 @ Sacred Heart -188; over/under 4.5
Army +250 @ Holy Cross -345; o/u 5.5
Notre Dame +325 @ Michigan State -475; o/u 5.5
Penn State +105 @ Ohio State -135; o/u 6.5
Bowling Green +135 @ St. Thomas -175; o/u 5.5
Bemidji State +250 @ Minnesota State -345; o/u 5.5
UMass +150 @ Boston University -195; o/u 6.5
Cornell -125 @ Colgate -105; o/u 5.5
St. Cloud State +325 @ Western Michigan -475; o/u 5.5 (our “pizza money” game)
This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four, April 10 and 12 in St. Louis. Get your tickets now at ncaa.com/frozenfour
MADISON — The Clarkson Golden Knights advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season on Thursday night, jumping out to an early lead over Hockey East tournament champ Boston University and never looking back.
Anne Cherkowski opened the scoring five minutes in on a break into the zone down the right side. She picked her spot and sniped a shot to the far post to make it a 1-0 game.
“They gave us a lot of time to skate on the breakout. I was able to gain a little bit of speed into the neutral zone and we were just trying to attack their defense as much as possible and put pucks on net,” said Cherkowski.
BU took a body checking penalty seconds later and Clarkson capitalized on the power play on a gorgeous passing play from Cherkowski to Sena Catterall to Rhea Hicks, who tapped the puck in to make it a 2-0 game just 31 seconds after the first goal.
Boston University looked a little rattled and their game never really seemed to settle in. They struggled with puck possession and completing passes and got drawn into committing penalties. After a postseason stretch where they rarely led but managed to come back and win in overtime, their magic seemed to run out in Madison.
“Their fore check was effective, and their defenders are so talented. They were shutting down plays. We’re really strong in transition, but I don’t feel like we got a lot of entries clean. I think we fought pucks a little bit all night,” said BU coach Tara Watchorn.
Goalie Callie Shanahan was a bright spot for the Terriers, particularly on a point blank save late in the second to keep the game close. Her defense did work in front of her, amassing 22 blocks.
A Terrier power play midway through the third looked to be an opportunity for BU, but the Clarkson defense, who had eight blocks of their 15 blocks over the final 15 minutes of the game, tightened up and kept Boston University from getting much dangerous on net.
“We knew how important that penalty kill was going to be in the third period. BU was starting to make a little bit of a push there. We wanted to make sure that that wasn’t a momentum builder for them,” said Desrosiers
BU broke through late, ending the shutout with 4:01 left in the third after pulling their goalie for an extra attacker. Lindsay Bochna cleaned up a loose puck after a scrum in front of the net to cut the lead to 2-1.
But the Terriers couldn’t find an equalizer and Sena Catterall’s empty-netter closed out a 3-1 win for the Golden Knights.
“I think just defensively as a team, we do a really good job picking up players. We pressure as soon as teams start coming down, we pressure. Everyone’s reloading hard. And I think we just do a really good job of not giving much up, so that kind of allows me to know that I can be aggressive and challenge,” said Clarkson goalie Holly Gruber.
Clarkson coach Matt Desrosiers was happy with his team’s play to start the game, but felt there were things to clean up as time went on.
“In the first period, I thought we did a great job just moving our feet and attacking and putting some pressure on them. We forced them into some turnovers. We weren’t allowing them to attack off the rush too much,” he said.
“In the second and third period, there were moments where I thought maybe we weren’t taking proper angles. We weren’t pressuring as much as we should have. We weren’t moving our feet to reload, which allowed them to attack off the rush a little bit and get into our defensive zone.”
It was a special game for Gruber, who is a native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, about two hours away from Madison.
“A lot of my family was able to come up. I had a lot of extended family who’s honestly never seen me play an NCAA game, so it was really special to have them here and get the win,” Gruber said.
Clarkson will face top-seed Wisconsin on Saturday at 2 pm central. The teams have met three previous times in the NCAA Tournament, with Wisconsin holding a 2-1 advantage. They beat the Golden Knights 3-1 in the first round of the tournament in 2022 and won a semifinal against them 5-0 in 2019 en route to a title. Clarkson won their first meeting, beating Wisconsin 3-0 for the National Championship in 2017. Overall, Wisconsin owns the series between the two teams 5-1-1.
Brett Chorske played a steady game up front this season for Colgate (photo: Brian Miller).
ECAC Hockey has announced its all-rookie team and three all-conference teams for the 2024-25 season.
ECAC Hockey First Team
Ayrton Martino,* F, Clarkson, Jr.
Ellis Rickwood, F, Clarkson, Sr.
Brett Chorske, F, Colgate, Sr.
Trey Taylor, D, Clarkson, Jr.
CJ Foley,* D, Dartmouth, So.
Ethan Langenegger, G, Clarkson, Gr. *Denotes unanimous selection
ECAC Hockey Second Team
Dalton Bancroft, F, Cornell, Jr.
Mason Marcellus, F, Quinnipiac, So.
Jack Ricketts, F, Quinnipiac, Gr.
Tristan Sarsland, D, Clarkson, Jr.
Tommy Bergsland, D, Colgate, Sr.
Lawton Zacher, G, Brown, So.
ECAC Hockey Third Team
Tyler Kopff, F, Brown, So.
Brendan Gorman, F, Princeton, Jr.
Brandon Buhr, F, Union, Jr.
Tim Rego, D, Cornell, Sr.
John Prokop, D, Union, Jr.
Kyle Chauvette, G, Union, Jr.
ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team
Brian Nicholas, F, Brown, Fr.
Mick Thompson, F, Harvard, Fr.
Ben Muthersbaugh, F, Union, Fr.
Michael Neumeier,* D, Colgate, Fr.
Tate Taylor, D Clarkson, Fr.
Ben Charette, G, Harvard, Fr. *Denotes unanimous selection
Evan Murr was an all-CCHA second team pick and CCHA rookie of the year a year ago (photo: Bill Prout/Center Ice View).
Three Minnesota State players have earned year-end CCHA awards for the 2024-25 season.
Evan Murr is defenseman of the year, Alex Tracy is the goaltender of the year and Rhett Pitlick is the forward of the year.
Murr paced CCHA blueliners with 22 points in 26 CCHA games, scoring five goals with 17 assists. Amassing a plus-11 rating, he recorded 53 shots and 23 blocks defensive, with four power-play tallies and one game winner. He notched six multi-point games in conference play was assessed only three minor penalties. Overall, he has six goals and 19 assists for 25 points.
Tracy played in 25 of Minnesota State’s 26 conference games, going 17-5-3 with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage, which all led the league. He turned away 640 shots in 1514:48 minutes, picking up two shutouts. Overall, he is 24-8-3 with a 1.45 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage, with four shutouts. A two-time CCHA and national goaltender of the month, he currently leads the nation in wins, GAA, SV% and is a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award.
Pitlick produced a CCHA-best 30 points on 10 goals and 20 assists in 26 league contests, posting a plus-22 rating, with 68 shots and 12 blocks defensively. He collected two power-play markers and two game winners in conference play. Overall, he has 13 goals and 24 assists for 37 points, including five game-winning goals, which rank 10th nationally. He earned CCHA forward of the month honors in October.
Voting for the year-end awards was conducted by the nine head coaches at each CCHA school, based on CCHA conference games only. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Sacred Heart players celebrate a recent goal in AHA play (photo: Maddie McCall).
After a wild quarterfinal round that saw seven of 11 games decided by a single goal, including four in overtime, the final four is set in Atlantic Hockey America: Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Bentley and Army West Point.
Three of the four reaming teams have never won an Atlantic Hockey title.
Recapping the quarterfinals:
– The only series that didn’t go three games was between Bentley and Canisius, with the Falcons posting a pair of shutouts, 4-0 and 2-0. They were the ninth and tenth shutouts of the season for Bentley goalie Connor Hasley, tying him for third all-time in a Division I single season (Niagara’s Greg Gardner holds the record at 12 in 1999-2000).
– Holy Cross was taken to the limit by American International, with the Yellow Jackets fighting to extend their program by another week. Eric Lang’s team gave the top seed all it could handle, finally falling 4-3 in overtime on Sunday. The teams played three one-goal games culminating in Michael Abgrall’s goal 51 seconds into OT of Game 3.
– Sacred Heart bested Air Force in three games, with a wild two-overtime marathon won by the Falcons sandwiched between a pair of Pioneer victories. Air Force had advanced out of the first round with a double-overtime win as well. Saturday’s game was the longest in Air Force history at 93:27.
– Army West Point pulled off the only upset of the Quarterfinals, defeating host Niagara in three games. Both of the Black Nights’ wins came in overtime, with Mac Gadowsky getting the game-winner in double OT on Friday and Barron Woodring sending Army on to the semifinals with the game-winner on Sunday. Friday’s game was the fourth-longest in Army West Point history.
Previewing the semifinals
It’s no coincidence that the remaining semifinalists have the top four goalies in Atlantic Hockey: Army’s J.J. Cataldo, Bentley’s Connor Hasley, Holy Cross’ Thomas Gale, and Sacred Heart’s Ajeet Gundarah.
No. 5 Army West Point at No. 1 Holy Cross
The Black Knights will again look to extend the coaching career of coach Brian Riley, who is retiring after 21 seasons as head coach.
Army West Point last made it to the semifinals in 2021. The Black Knights advanced to the championship game once before, in 2007 when they lost to Air Force.
This is the third straight season that the Crusaders have made the semifinal round. Holy Cross’ last title was in 2006, when the Crusaders went on to a historic upset of Minnesota in the NCAA tournament.
Holy Cross took two of the three meetings between the schools in the regular season.
No. 3 Bentley at No. 2 Sacred Heart
This is the fifth postseason meeting between the schools and the first since 2017. It’s Sacred Heart’s third straight appearance in the semifinals and Bentley’s first since 2009. Bentley has reached the conference final once before, in 2006 when it lost to Holy Cross.
Bentley’s 20 wins this season is the most in the school’s Division I era and ties for the most victories in program history.
Sacred Heart’s 21 wins ties for the most in program history. Like Bentley, the Pioneers have never won an Atlantic Hockey title, coming close in 2010 when they lost to RIT in the championship game.
The teams battled three times in the regular season, with Bentley winning two of them.
The Rubies
My buddy Dan Rubin and I used to split Atlantic Hockey columnist duties, and Dan would jokingly refer to our picks for end of season awards as “The Lerchies” (update: he’s still doing it in his ECAC Column).
Therefore, I present to you, the “Rubies”. Here’s our choices for all-league. Our picks for the all-rookie team were posted last week.
Atlantic Hockey First Team
F Ethan Leyh, Gr., Bentley
F Liam McLinskey, Sr., Holy Cross
F Matthew Wilde, So., RIT
D Nick Bochen, Gr., Bentley
D Mac Gadowsky, So., Army West Point
G Ajeet Gundarah, Fr., Sacred Heart
Atlantic Hockey Second Team
F Trevor Hoskin, Fr., Niagara
F Jack Stockfish, So., Holy Cross
F Felix Trudeau, Jr., Sacred Heart
D Mikey Adamson, Jr., Sacred Heart
D Chris Hedden, Jr., Air Force
G Connor Hasley, Jr., Bentley
Atlantic Hockey Third Team
F Jay Ahearn, Sr., Niagara
F Tyler Fukakusa, So., RIT
F Matteo Giampa, So., Canisius
D Mack Oliphant, Jr., Holy Cross
D Michael Craig, So., Robert Morris
G Thomas Gale, Sr., Holy Cross
