Adrian wins its first NCAA Division III men’s hockey championship, defeating Geneseo
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The Adrian Bulldogs are the 2022 NCAA Division III men’s national champions after they defeated the Geneseo Ice Knights 5-2 on Saturday.
“I’m proud of this group,” Adrian coach Adam Krug said. “It’s been a long time coming. We went through a bit of a culture shift the past three years. We really understood what it took to get this program to the next step.”
If you give the Bulldogs an opportunity, they are the best in the country at taking advantage of it.
That major moment came almost five minutes into the game when Geneseo was called for a five-minute major for contact to the head. The initial call was no call, but upon review, Nicolas Elia was sent off the ice for a game misconduct.
“Initially it looked clean from the bench. I thought it was a good hit,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “But the video review doesn’t lie. It set us back. You can’t put Adrian on the power play. They are going to capitalize.”
“It was a big hit,” Krug said. “Any time in the year 2022, a big hit typically looks like there could be something there. I thought it was a little bit high. We looked up to our eye in the sky, and he gave the thumbs up for a challenge. We made the call and it warranted a five-minute penalty.”
Three goals were scored on that penalty as the teams alternated power play and short-handed tallies, with Adrian taking a 2-1 lead when it was all over.
First, Adrian immediately received a minor penalty, so it took two minutes before it could enjoy the extra man. When it did, Sam Ruffin slapped a one-timer from the left dot.
Twenty seconds later, Geneseo took advantage of Adrian overcommitting four players in its defensive zone, leaving Matthew Doran wide open in the high slot. The puck was kicked out to him, and he wristed it in.
Adrian wasn’t fazed. It resumed the pressure, and Alessio Luciani stuffed home a rebound in the crease.
Geneseo never recovered from that chain of events.
Geneseo handed another opportunity to Adrian, and as usual, the Bulldogs took advantage of it increasing their lead to 3-1. The Ice Knights fell under intense forechecking pressure which forced a turnover. Mathew Rehding quickly passed it to the slot where Trevor Coykendall scored on a quick one-timer.
The second period saw Geneseo with the opportunities as it outshot Adrian 12-5.
“I think they gave us a lot of opportunities, too,” Schultz said. “They just did a better job at capitalizing. We played downhill quite a bit today. There were a lot minutes where they were back on their heels. Five-on-five, I think we played a heck of a hockey game.”
“Geneseo put us on our heels at times,” Krug agreed. “I was happy with our pushback. When you have a lead, they are going to keep coming.”
Geneseo did come out with a goal in the middle period to cut the lead to 3-2. Levi Wunder who only had one goal this season, skated into the zone on the left side and shot a simple wrist shot from the top of the circle which found its way in.
However, Geneseo did not take advantage of its powerful power play, being shut out in five opportunities.
“Our penalty kill was phenomenal,” Krug said. “Our guys did a great job shutting them down. We like to push down walls and get their guys to go to their backhands. We stayed in our lanes and tried to make sure we had good stick detail and beware of the middle guy, (Dan) Bosio tonight.”
Ryan Pitoscia put the dagger in, taking advantage of another opportunity Geneseo handed to Adrian on a silver platter. Goaltender Matt Petizian went behind the net and misplayed the puck. Trevor Coykendall stole it away, fed it to Pitoscia, who easily put it into the open net as Petizian could not scramble back in time.
Ruffin added an empty-net tally to finish the game off.
Geneseo ended its season at 24-4-1 with their best finish in a national tournament.
“I thought we played a pretty good hockey game,” Schultz said. “I’d like to see the outcome without that five minute (major). I think we gave the best team in the country a really good run.”
Adrian won the school’s first national championship in any sport and won its 31st consecutive game, finishing 31-1-0. Goaltender Cameron Gray finished with a perfect 22-0-0 record.
“This is something we’ve been working toward for four years,” senior captain Sam Ruffin said. “I’m so proud of his group. We push each other every day, and it came to fruition today.”
Krug said: “This one is a big one for our school, for our program, for our community, for our alums, for our athletic director.”
One goal enough as Minnesota State gets back to the Frozen Four by holding off Notre Dame
ALBANY, N.Y. — With two defensive-minded teams like Minnesota State and Notre Dame squaring off for the Albany Regional title, it came as no surprise that it was a hard-fought, low-scoring battle. Or that a couple of bounces one way or the other would be the difference.
Minnesota State’s Nathan Smith scored on a rebound from Brendan Furry with 16 seconds left in the first period. It ended up being the only goal of the game, advancing the Mavericks to the Frozen Four in Boston.
The goal came on a faceoff to the stick side of Notre Dame goalie Matthew Galajda.
“Furry won the draw back,” said Smith. “He’s a pretty good man on the draw so I expected that.
“I just tried to get a quick shot on net but there were like four guys in the lane and somebody was going to block it,” said Smith. “[Furry] found it and just put it off the pad and it bounced right to me.”
Smith leaned around the stacked Notre Dame defense in front of Galajda and wristed it in.
“It was a bounce here, a bounce there,” said Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings. “We found a way to score a goal at the end of a period and Dryden [McKay] and the rest of the guys did a really good job of managing the game from there.”
Notre Dame had a few bounces of its own on a scramble in front of the Minnesota State net with 6:24 left in regulation.
Nick Leivermann took a shot that deflected off Minnesota State’s Benton Maass and chaos ensued.
“I think he shot it, it hit his shin pad, skipped four or five times, skipped over my defenseman, skipped over my pad and hit the post and then Andy Carroll swept it off the goal line,” McKay said. “I was just trying to take up as much space as I can, I didn’t know where it was. There was like five guys in the crease. It was just one of those plays where you just take up space and don’t accidentally knock it in your own net.”
“We’ve won a lot of one-goal, two-goal games and he’s a huge part of that,” Smith said of McKay. “We strive to be strong defensively in front of him. But we have a huge amount of confidence that if we get up one or two goals that we have him behind us.”
Notre Dame kept the pressure on through the final four minutes of the game.
“We can talk about a little bit of a game plan here and there but at the end of the day, the heart and soul and the grit of the guys out there — you look at over those last four minutes, I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m going to guarantee you, we probably had to lay down and block six or seven shots so they didn’t get to Dryden,” said Hastings. “And the ones that got there, he did a really good job of cleaning up the mess.”
Notre Dame also limited Minnesota State’s chances, blocking 14 shots to the Mavericks’ 15.
“Our philosophy is to defend well and then transition from it. The problem tonight is that we didn’t get a lot of transition opportunities,” said Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson. “We’ve got guys who are willing to sacrifice. … When things break down that’s when you need guys that are willing to pay the price, to deny second chances, and to get in a shot lane.”
“We had to earn it this weekend,” McKay said. “Tonight was a battle all the way from the first shift. If you’re going to make it to the Frozen Four, you’re going to have to earn it, you’re going to have to do something extra. I think we had that kind of extra effort tonight that got us through.”
McKay earned his 10th shutout of the season and extended two records, a career 34 shutouts and the single-season NCAA record for victories to 37.
Notre Dame ended its season at 28-12-0. Minnesota State (37-5-0) awaits the winner of Sunday’s Worcester Regional final between Western Michigan and Minnesota in a Frozen Four semifinal April 7 in Boston.
Albany Regional All-Tournament Team
F — Brendan Furry (Minnesota State)
F — Graham Slaggert (Notre Dame)
F — Nathan Smith (Minnesota State)
D — Akito Hirose (Minnesota State)
D — Adam Karashik (Notre Dame)
G — Dryden McKay (Minnesota State)
MVP -– McKay
Athletic director salutes NCAA title-winning Adrian coach Krug: ‘One of the best coaches I had’
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Notes from the NCAA Division III men’s championship game on Saturday, Adrian’s 5-2 victory against Geneseo.
The overseer
Adrian athletic director Michael Duffy has been with the school for 38 years. He started as a football coach for 22 years before transitioning to athletic director 16 years ago. He guided the school from 16 programs to 50 programs, including hockey.
“What a great group of guys,” Duffy said of his men’s hockey team. “[Coach] Adam [Krug] is a class act. Probably one of the best coaches I had as an administrator. I have to give some kudos for Ron Fogarty. He started the program and got us rolling. He built something special and then went to Princeton. Adam took over and never missed a beat. We knocked on the door a few times and we finally got our opportunity this year.”
Duffy also played football for Adrian.
The retiree
Meanwhile, on the runner-up side, Geneseo’s athletic director Mike Mooney is retiring this year. He started at the school 35 years ago as the men’s soccer coach, making it as far as the national semifinals in 2004.
Mooney was hoping for the best retirement gift from the men’s hockey team, but will have to settle for Geneseo’s best finish as runner-up.
Staying home
Both coaches played at the school they are currently coaching.
Adam Krug originally went to Wayne State but when its program disbanded, Krug transferred to Adrian for his junior and senior years, the first two years of the Bulldogs’ program. Fogarty originally recruited Krug for Bowling Green before Krug decided on Wayne State. Eventually, the two paired up and became two key figures in Adrian’s rise to national champion.
Chris Schultz played for Geneseo and eventually came back to coach his alma mater.
A first timer either way
Both schools were playing for their first national championship.
Adrian won its first in any sport. Both the men’s (2011) and women’s (2017) hockey teams made it as far as national runner-up, before the men finally broke through Saturday.
Geneseo has won a national championship in women’s cross country in 2005. For the men’s hockey team, the runner-up spot it had to settle for this year is as far as it has gone.
Renovations
The Lake Placid Olympic Center and surrounding facilities are going through a major revitalization. The speed skating oval updated its refrigeration unit and built a new support building. Whiteface and the ski jumps have been updated.
The hockey rinks are going through major updating, including renovation in all of the 1980 and 1932 hockey locker rooms, replacing all of the seating, public restrooms, renovating concessions stands, hospitality suites and renovating the general concourse area of 1980 Herb Brooks Arena. There is still a lot of work being done as many areas were cordoned off.
For hockey fans, there were two noticeable changes. The original, historic scoreboard has finally been replaced with a modern style which includes video boards. More importantly, the ice rink now has the capability to move the boards to convert it between Olympic size and NHL size. For the NCAA Division III men’s hockey national championship, it was set up for NHL size. It’s the first time this tournament has been held on the traditional NHL size in Lake Placid.
All of this work is geared towards 2023 when Lake Placid hosts the World University Winter Games from Jan. 12-22.
All-tournament team
Forward/Most Outstanding Player: Sam Ruffin (Adrian)
Forward: Trevor Coykendall (Adrian)
Forward: Dan Bosio (Geneseo)
Defense: Matt Eller (Adrian)
Defense: Matthew Doran (Geneseo)
Goaltender: Cameron Gray (Adrian)
Minnesota State clinches second straight Frozen Four berth by beating Notre Dame for 17th straight win
ALBANY, N.Y. — Dryden McKay earned his 10th shutout of the season and extended two records, a career 34 shutouts and the single-season NCAA record for victories to 37 as Minnesota State advanced to its second consecutive Frozen Four with a 1-0 win over Notre Dame in the Albany Regional final Saturday night.
Nathan Smith scored the game’s only goal with 16 seconds left in the first period, picking up the rebound of Brendan Furry’s shot from low on the left side. Smith leaned around the Notre Dame defense in front of goalie Matthew Galajda and wristed it in.
The Fighting Irish had some opportunities late and kept pressuring through the remainder of regulation, pulling Galajda with 2:14 left in regulation.
Notre Dame went 0-for-3 on the power play while Minnesota State was scoreless on its only opportunity. Minnesota State outshot Notre Dame 33-23.
Minnesota State (37-5-0) awaits the winner of Sunday’s Worcester Regional semifinal between Western Michigan and Minnesota in a Frozen Four semifinal April 7 in Boston.
Notre Dame ended its season at 28-12-0.
Full story to come.
Denver’s Savoie lands last punch in ‘heavyweight bout’ with Minnesota Duluth for spot in Frozen Four
Denver’s Carter Savoie is known for timely and pretty goals. Saturday’s game winner in the NCAA Loveland Regional Final was definitely the former, not so much the latter.
The sophomore forward will take it.
Savoie tipped a bouncing puck into the net for the Pioneers late in the third period, and top seed Denver hung on for a 2-1 win over No. 2 Minnesota Duluth on Saturday in Loveland, Colo.
“Yeah, I mean, lucky bounce,” Savoie said with a grin. “Obviously it hit him (Duluth goalie Ryan Fanti) in the back. Just right place, right time.”
Denver (29-9-1) will head to Boston for its first Frozen Four appearance since 2019, in search of its first national championship since 2017.
Just before the Pioneers struck for the go-ahead goal, Sean Behrens scooped up the draw on a faceoff to the left of Fanti (21 saves) and fired it from just inside the Duluth blue line, his shot wide right by about 18 inches. The puck then caromed off the boards and hit the back of Fanti’s left leg, his motion then carrying it across the goal mouth where it bounced off the inside of the far post. Savoie was right there to poke it back off the right pad of a sprawling Fanti and into the net for a 2-1 lead at 13:44.
Duluth (22-16-4) saw its streak of four straight Frozen Four appearances snapped. The Bulldogs were looking for their first NCAA title since 2019, when they won the second of back-to-back titles.
“Came down to a bounce,” Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said. “There’s things in the game you can control and things you can’t, and they got the break and that was the difference.”
Except for a span of just over three minutes of the opening frame, the first two periods were low-scoring affairs. Duluth got on the board first at 14:41 of the first when Darian Gotz crossed the blue line and scooped a pass from Kobe Roth on the right wing and one-timed a screaming slap shot into the net to the glove side of Denver goalie Magnus Chrona (24 saves). It was one of just two shots in the frame for the Bulldogs.
“The first period was definitely tough,” Chrona said. “Two shots — I think that’s probably the lowest amount of shots I’ve had in a period. I kind of set myself mentally for the second. (The) whole team was playing great. (I) feel like I really had to do my job to keep us in the game.”
Denver got that goal back shortly thereafter. Cole Guttman intercepted an attempted clear by Duluth defenseman Louie Roehl and fired it from high in the slot, where it went off the leg of teammate Matt Anderson and past Fanti’s right pad at 17:24.
“I thought we had a really good period all the way up until that,” Guttman said. “Pucks just weren’t going in. So I just wanted to throw it on net and it was nice to see it go through.”
There was no scoring in the second period, but there was plenty of excellent defensive play by the Pioneers. Antti Tuomisto and Guttman were sent off for minor penalties just 1:12 apart, giving Duluth a two-man advantage for 48 seconds. Chrona made three saves while his teammates were killing the penalty. Denver outshot Duluth 21-13 through the first two periods, and held a 34-25 advantage in shots for the game.
“It was a heavyweight bout,” Denver coach David Carle said. “I don’t think there was a passenger among our group tonight, and that was the most exciting thing to see. Excited to be going back to Boston.”
It was the sixth meeting of the season between the two NCHC rivals. After splitting four regular-season contests, Duluth was a 2-0 winner in the conference semifinals.
Denver will open the Frozen Four April 7 at TD Garden vs. the winner of Sunday’s regional final between No. 2 Quinnipiac (32-6-3) and No. 1 Michigan (30-9-1).
“This weekend was a great experience,” Carle said. “We’ll be ready to go come whatever it is — eight, 10 days from now? We’re really excited to get out to Boston and start preparing for whoever comes next.”
Harvard captain Abruzzese signs with NHL’s Maple Leafs, forgoes senior season with Crimson
Harvard junior captain Nick Abruzzese has signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Abruzzese, a fourth-round selection (124th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft by Toronto, will forgo his senior season at Harvard.
“We would like to congratulate Nick on his signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato in a statement. “After playing for Team USA in the Olympic Games and being an important part of our Ivy League and ECAC Hockey championship season, it has been a heck of a ride for Nick.”
Abruzzese followed up his first year with Harvard in 2019-20 with another standout season this year, earning first team all-ECAC Hockey and Ivy League player of the year honors after putting up 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) in 28 games to lead the team in per game scoring (1.18 points per contest).
A native of Slate Hill, N.Y., Abruzzese (along with sophomore Sean Farrell) represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where he recorded four points (goal, three assists) in four games.
Two years ago, Abruzzese had a standout first-year season in 2019-20, leading all NCAA rookies in scoring with 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) in 31 games. He was named ECAC Hockey rookie of the year earned first team all-ECAC Hockey and all-rookie team honors.
“We would also like to thank Nick for all his contributions both on and off the ice,” Donato said. “As one of our co-captains this year, Nick showed great character and leadership. We are thrilled for him and wish him the best of luck as he fulfills his dream and starts his professional hockey career.”
Savoie’s goal gives Denver a spot in the Frozen Four with victory against Minnesota Duluth
After three years away, Denver is headed back to the Frozen Four.
Carter Savoie scored the winning goal for the Pioneers at 13:44 of the third period, and Denver hung on for a thrilling 2-1 win over Minnesota Duluth in the regional final Saturday in Loveland, Colo.
Sean Behrens scooped up the draw on a faceoff to the left of Duluth goalie Ryan Fanti and fired it from just inside the Duluth blue line, his shot wide right by about 18 inches. The puck then caromed off the boards and hit the back of Fanti’s left leg, his motion then carrying it across the goal mouth where it bounced off the far post. Savoie was right there to poke it back off the right pad of a sprawling Fanti and into the net for a 2-1 lead.
Except for a span of just over three minutes of the opening frame, the first two periods were low-scoring affairs. Duluth got on the board first at 14:41 of the first when Darian Gotz crossed the blue line and scooped a pass from Kobe Roth on the right wing and one-timed a screaming slap shot into the net to the glove side of Denver goalie Magnus Chrona.
Denver got that goal back shortly thereafter. Cole Guttman intercepted an attempted clear by Duluth defenseman Louie Roehl and fired it from high in the slot, where it went off the leg of teammate Matt Anderson and past Fanti’s right pad at 17:24.
There was no scoring in the second period, which was highlighted by excellent defensive play by the Pioneers. Antti Tuomisto and Guttman were sent off for minor penalties just 1:12 apart, giving Duluth a two-man advantage for 48 seconds. Chrona made three saves as Denver killed the penalty. Denver outshot Duluth 21-13 through the first two periods.
Denver (29-9-1) is back in the Frozen Four for the first time since 2019 and will shoot for its first national championship since 2017. Duluth (22-16-4) saw its streak of four straight Frozen Four appearances snapped. The Bulldogs were looking for their first NCAA title since 2019, when it won the second of back-to-back titles.
It was the sixth meeting of the season between the two NCHC rivals. After splitting four regular-season contests, Duluth was a 2-0 winner in the conference semifinals.
Denver will open the Frozen Four April 7 vs. the winner of Sunday’s regional final between No. 2 Quinnipiac (32-6-3) and No. 1 Michigan (30-9-1).
D-III NCAA Championship Hockey Game Pick – March 26, 2022
It’s down to the final day of the season and the national championship is on the line. Adrian downed Augsburg 5-1 to move on to the championship game while Geneseo dispatched the University of New England 8-3 to move on and play for the national championship. The battle between the two USCHO writers finds the east winning over the west regardless of the final game outcome but bragging rights are still on the line. So, after the semifinal round it is Tim at 8-2 and Brian at 6-4. And while TC has clinched the post-season picks, it all comes down to wanting to pick the title game right with the Frozen Four championship at stake on Saturday night. Here are the final picks of the 2021-22 season:
Saturday, March 26, 2022
NCAA D-III Championship Game
Geneseo (3) v. Adrian (1)
TC – Both teams are on a mission and certainly are looking to cap off terrific seasons by hoisting the NCAA trophy at center ice in Herb Brooks Rink. While Adrian is looking to extend their incredible 30-game win streak, the Knights are the local team even if not wearing the home colors. Both teams can get up and down the ice in a hurry but it’s the structure and discipline that keep this one close throughout. It really wouldn’t be the game we all want if there wasn’t a “golden goal” and it may take more than one OT to see it happen for a Geneseo team that wins its first ever national championship.– Geneseo, 3-2
BL – Geneseo (24-3-1) v. Adrian (30-1)
As the win streak as rolled along this season for Adrian, it’s been hard not to think it isn’t capable of winning it all. The Bulldogs last played for the title in 2011, falling short against St. Norbert. This time, Adrian gets it done and caps what has been nothing short of a remarkable and memorable year for the program. Adrian, 4-2
So, both Brian and I are going with our respective regional representative with both teams looking to become D-III national champions. We finally get to see a title decided on the ice after three years so let’s celebrate the season with a fabulous game to finish it all off. Congrats to all the teams, players, coaches and fans on an amazing season. Hail to the champions – “Drop the Puck!”
Stay tuned next week as Brian and I will wrap-up the D-III season with our annual All-USCHO selections including teams, Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.
Quinnipiac holds on to get past St. Cloud State but Bobcats ‘need to clean things up’
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — It was a back-and-forth battle between third-seeded St. Cloud State and second-seeded Quinnipiac in the second semifinal of the 2022 NCAA Allentown Regional at the PPL Center, but in the end the higher seed broke through as the Bobcats pulled out a 5-4 triumph.
They took leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 5-3 but were forced to hold off the Huskies each time to advance as St. Cloud outshot Quinnipiac 34-16 on the night
“We need to play better,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “We did not do that tonight, and it was very uncharacteristic. There was a little bit of panic, but St. Cloud was also excellent tonight, and we need to clean things up.”
Shortly after an early St. Cloud power play expired, Quinnipiac blueliner Brendan Less got off a shot from the left point that went in to put the Bobcats on the board just 4:37 into the game.
Quinnipiac then increased its advantage with just 2:34 left in the opening period. TJ Friedmann made it 2-0 for the Bobcats after he skated left to right between the circles, then wristed a shot back the other way that beat Huskies goaltender Jaxon Castor on the stick side.
“He just elevates in big games,” Quinnipiac forward Michael Lombardi said of Friedmann. “He’s a do-it-all guy and a great teammate.”
St. Cloud jumped right back into the game following the first intermission. Nolan Walker, who had missed on a backhand attempt in close in the opening period, worked a give-and-go with Sam Hentges in the Quinnipiac zone before Walker slammed home a return pass at the left post at 1:08 for his 30th career goal.
Just over six minutes later, Walker fired a shot on net that Quinnipiac goaltender Yaniv Perets stopped. Hentges, standing in front of Perets, turned and collected the rebound, than waited out the freshman netminder before sliding the puck past Perets’ outstretched left pad to tie the game.
“They (Walker, Hentges) have a lot of speed, and they use it to their advantage,” said St. Cloud forward Easton Brodzinski. “They’re very talented hockey players, and we lean on them heavily.”
Lombardi’s seeing-eye shot from the right circle then put Quinnipiac back on top at 10:12 of the second stanza.
“It’s a play we’ve run all year,” said Lombardi. “I tried to take it to the net, and I was lucky it went off a shin and got a good bounce.”
The Huskies, however, responded once again on Kyler Kupka’s deflection just over two minutes later that made it 3-3. St. Cloud’s Micah Miller then had a couple of chances in close with one minute left, but couldn’t convert.
“We never got off our game,” said St. Cloud head coach Brett Larson. “We played disciplined, played hard throughout and got contributions from each line, whether they scored or not. I think it was one of our best 60-minute games of the year.”
The Huskies outshot the Bobcats 17-4 in the middle session but it was Quinnipiac that scored on the first shot of the third period. A wrister from the left point by Denver transfer Griffin Mendel found the back of the net just 27 seconds in to make it a 4-3 game for the Bobcats. Jayden Lee then made it 5-3 when his shot from the right circle through a partial screen beat Castor high on the glove side at 8:37.
David Hrenak, who had played most of the season in net for the Huskies after leading them to last year’s NCAA title game, was recovering from pneumonia and had been cleared by team doctors only for emergency usage.
St. Cloud’s Kevin Fitzgerald hit the crossbar with a backhand in tight with six minutes remaining in regulation, as the referee situated on the goal line signaled no goal, The Huskies pulled Castor for a sixth skater with under three minutes left and got an extra attacker goal from Walker with 1:16 remaining when he picked off a puck and fired it home from the right circle.
SCSU continued to press afterwards, but couldn’t get the equalizer as time ran out.
Perets finished with 30 saves for the Bobcats in a game that featured only one penalty. Quinnipiac, which allowed more than three goals for the first time this season, improved to 32-6-3 overall. St. Cloud ended its season at 18-15-4.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” said Larson. “Just really proud.”
The Bobcats will meet top-seeded Michigan on Sunday in the regional final, with the winner of that contest to advance to the Frozen Four in Boston next month.
“I loved the way we responded, and we’re excited to be moving on,” said Pecknold.
Meyers caps Minnesota’s rally in overtime as Gophers get past UMass in NCAA first round
WORCESTER, Mass. — Minnesota coach Bob Motzko knows that college hockey games in March aren’t easy, especially when the defending national champions are sitting on the other bench.
It took overtime in Friday night’s second Worcester Regional semifinal at the DCU Center, but the Gophers ensured that a new champion will be crowned in two weeks’ time in Boston as they clinched a 4-3 win over Massachusetts.
Senior captain Ben Meyers scored at 8:31 of the extra session to win the game and advance Minnesota (25-12-0) to Sunday’s regional final against top-seeded Western Michigan.
“I’m really proud of our group because we battled tonight,” Motzko said. “… The only way you beat UMass is to match their grit. We like a little prettier hockey, but we’ve got to learn to win games like that. We’re growing as a team. … We kind of adapted to the game as it went on.”
Stationed in the slot, Meyers took a pass from freshman linemate Aaron Huglen in the right corner and sent a one-time shot over the shoulder of UMass graduate goaltender Matt Murray (20 saves) for the deciding tally.
The goal was Meyers’ fifth game-winner and second in overtime this season. It followed goals by Ryan Johnson, Tristan Broz and Matthew Knies; the latter had a power-play strike at 13:17 of the third to send the game to overtime.
“He’s a really smart player,” Meyers said of Huglen, who was a new addition to his line. “I thought he played great all game, but to set up that play at the end was great. I thought our line played well.”
The win took a come-from-behind effort as UMass swung the game open with two goals in a 56-second span in the first period.
Reed Lebster scored twice, Minnesota transfer Garrett Wait added a power-play marker and Ryan Ufko and Cal Kiefiuk had two assists apiece to help the Minutemen take 2-0 and 3-1 leads.
UMass ended its season with a 22-13-2 record and a second straight Hockey East championship.
“I don’t feel like we lost momentum in the game,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “If you would have asked me just how our team played, would I be happy with it? 100 percent. I thought we played a really good hockey game and played well enough to deserve to find a way to win.”
Lebster scored on a delayed penalty at 14:09 before former Minnesota skater Garrett Wait doubled the MInutemen advantage on the ensuing power play. The goals beat Justen Close, who finished with 20 saves, including four in overtime.
“Obviously, it was ideal (to take an early lead),” UMass senior Anthony Del Gaizo said. “We were super opportunistic and got ahead 2-0 there. It was exactly what we wanted to do.”
Johnson got one back for the Gophers with 1:58 left in the first. Murray made a save on his one-timer, and the rebound caromed in off UMass defender Colin Felix.
“I think the message was that there’s a lot of game left,” Meyers said. “Obviously it was unfortunate, but one goal happened 6-on-5 and the other was on the power play. We felt like we could really do some damage 5-on-5 and we stuck to that.”
After Lebster corralled a loose puck to extend the UMass advantage 1:24 into the second, Minnesota turned up the pressure — posting 10 of their 24 total shots in the period — and Broz made it a one-goal game for the second consecutive intermission. Broz redirected Jaxon Nelson’s pass at the 17:09 mark.
Knies snapped off the game-tying goal on the power play, beating Murray into the top right corner from the left dot.
“That goal that Knies scored, it’s ridiculous,” Carvel said. “He looked like Auston Matthews. He grabs the puck and drops it into the top shelf. What do you do?”
Knies and Meyers had a goal and an assist apiece. Nelson had two helpers.
Bosio, Morgan post two goals apiece as Geneseo downs University of New England, earns berth in national D-III college hockey title game
Nothing like playoff hockey.
Team defense. Tight checking. Hot goaltending. Thrilling endings.
Just don’t tell that to Geneseo and University of New England after their NCAA Division III men’s hockey semifinal game Friday night at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. That was an up-and-down, run-and-gun, red light burning-out type of playoff game.
The goals came fast and furious as Geneseo won 8-3 to move on to the national championship game tomorrow evening against Adrian.
All-Americans Dan Bosio and Peter Morgan scored two goals each while five other players tallied a goal.
“The game plan was to keep it a tight scoring game. Let’s not get into a run-and-gun style,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “And sure enough, the opposite happened. It’s unlike how we play. We had to adapt to the style of play UNE was playing.”
UNE’s coach Kevin Swallow agreed, saying, “We played them a few years ago in the Norwich tournament. It was a very similar game. That was not our game plan going in. We were hoping to play really good team defense tonight. We didn’t play great team defense. They are such a good team, they made us pay for every mistake.”
The first period saw five goals. Bosio led it off one timing a drop pass from the slot. Daniel Winslow tied it receiving a pass down low at the post.
The Geneseo Ice Knights then scored two quick power play goals – Bosio again followed by Chris Perna from the high slot. Peter Morgan finished the period off picking up a loose rebound in the slot, turning to shoot it in.
Morgan converted a two-on-one to expand the lead to 5-1 early in the second. Most felt, the game was done and dusted at that point. But not UNE.
“There was no point where we thought this one was over. We had so many comeback victories this year,” Swallow said.
UNE got their own extra man tally from the backdoor thanks to Jared Christy. Following that goal, it appeared the comeback could possibly happen when Chris Jones cut the deficit to two. However, a video review revealed the play starting out offsides.
“We were pretty high on the bench when we scored that,” Swallow said. “Then we saw it went into review. That was a downer.”
It was an even bigger downer when Geneseo opened the third period scoring 10 seconds after the faceoff. Tyson Gilmour knocked in an unseen loose puck behind the goalie to make it 6-2.
The Nor’easters refused to give up. Anthony Sciucco found himself in front alone with the goalie. He went to his backhand and flipped it in.
For Geneseo goalie Matt Petizian, it was not the typical game he was used to which is a disciplined defense in front of him.
“It was a little adjustment at first. In any case I have to make those big saves,” he said.
Forty-three seconds later, Matthew Doran scored with the Ice Knights two men up. Alex Wilkins finished it up with a one-timer, just his second goal of the season, and third of his career for the junior defender.
“We were trying to expose the soft ice areas as much as possible,” Schultz said.
The very un-playoff game scoring barrage was over.
“It’s an emotional game,” Schultz said. “Both teams wanted to win really badly. When that happens, often times you can get outside of what you are used to.”
For UNE, this was their most successful season, finishing at 23-4-1, the CCC championship, and a trip to the national semifinals.
“Most fun I ever had playing hockey,” said Jones, also Geneseo’s captain. “We put our program on a national scale.”
Geneseo now stands at 24-3-1 with one more game to play.
“They played a great hockey game tonight. They deserved to win,” Swallow said of Geneseo. “They’re going to represent the east well in the national championship game. Adrian is a very good team. Geneseo is a very good hockey team. It should be a great final.”
Just don’t expect another run and gun game.
“We’ll rely on our process,” Schultz said. “We can’t think too much about them. I’m more concerned making sure our guys are ready to play our style of hockey, which is defending, blocking shots, good goaltending.”
Exactly what you expect a “normal” playoff game to be.
Quinnipiac holds off late St. Cloud State push as Bobcats advance to NCAA second round
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Quinnipiac is moving on to the 2022 NCAA Allentown Regional final after a 5-4 win against St. Cloud State on Friday night at the PPL Center.
Brendan Less opened the scoring less than five minutes into the contest for Quinnipiac, before TJ Friedmann made it 2-0 for the Bobcats late in the first period. Nolan Walker got St. Cloud back within a goal just 68 seconds into a wild second period, before Sam Hentges, who set up Walker’s goal, got one of his own just six minutes later. Quinnipiac regained the lead just under three minutes later on a goal by Michael Lombardi, only to have St. Cloud’s Brendan Bushy tally the tying goal shortly afterwards.
Griffin Mendel scored 27 seconds into the third frame for the Bobcats to make it 4-3, before Jaden Lee connected some eight minutes later for a two-goal advantage. The Huskies got an extra-attacker goal from Walker with 1:16 left and continued to press, but couldn’t get the equalizer.
Quinnipiac will face Michigan, the top seed in this year’s tournament, in Sunday’s regional final to decide who will head to the Frozen Four next month in Boston.
Full story to come.
Meyers’ OT goal caps Minnesota’s rally past UMass in NCAA first round
WORCESTER, Mass. — Ben Meyers roofed Aaron Huglen’s pass from the right corner at the 8:31 mark of overtime to lift Minnesota to a 4-3 win over defending national champion Massachusetts in Friday’s second semifinal at the Worcester Regional.
The captain scored his 17th goal of the season off a pass from his freshman linemate, and Justen Close made 20 saves to lift the Gophers to Sunday’s regional championship game against Western Michigan at 4 p.m. Eastern.
UMass swung the game open with two goals in a 56-second span in the first period. Lebster scored on a delayed penalty at 14:09 before former Minnesota skater Garrett Wait doubled the Minutemen advantage on the ensuing power play. Ryan Johnson got one back for the Gophers with 1:58 left in the first.
After Lebster corralled a loose puck to extend the UMass advantage 1:24 into the second, Minnesota turned up the pressure and Tristan Broz made it a one-goal game for the second consecutive intermission by redirecting Jaxson Nelson’s pass at the 17:09 mark.
The Gophers knotted the score 13:17 into the final frame when Matthew Knies sent a rocket home on the power play.
Full story to come.
Adrian off to national Division III college hockey title game after knocking off Augsburg in semifinal matchup
Give a dog a bone, and he may not give it back.
Give a bulldog a bone, and he’ll chew it to smithereens and spit out the remains.
Give the Adrian Bulldogs a bone, and they will end your season.
Adrian’s mode of operation in the playoffs, whether NCHA or NCAA, has been to score in bunches in a short burst.
For the NCAA Division III men’s semifinal game Friday night at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y., Adrian only needed two goals for the bunch and 1:26 for the burst. This enabled the Bulldogs to defeat Augsburg 5-1 as two empty-net short-handed goals finished off the Auggies.
“Augsburg likes to slow the pace down,” Adrian coach Adam Krug said. “They even used a trap for a short period of time. We got those two scores in the first period which made the difference.”
“Hats off to Adrian,” added Augsburg coach Greg May. “Tough to spot them a 2-0 lead and then try to chase.”
Despite outshooting Augsburg 13-4 in the first period, it took till the 17:07 mark to begin the burst. Sam Ruffin, after skating away from the net, turned a shot it from the top of the left circle. It eluded Samuel Vyletelka, who may have been partially screened.
“It always starts by skating with hard work,” Ruffin explained. “Then we like to go to the low play. I got the puck back out to me and then I shot it to the net.”
Trevor Coykendall made it 2-0 in short order. This one came from the right circle. Once again, it appeared the goalie was partially screened.
“Tough to say. I may have had men in front,” a disappointed Vyletelka said. “On the first goal, the defender was skating in front. On the second, there was also a defender who was skating across.”
Though there was no scoring in the second period, Adrian came the closest. Just as they killed off a penalty, they had multiple chances in front of the Auggies net, but Vyletelka came up big.
Augsburg came on strong in the final period, using the inspiration from the time they played Adrian earlier in the season. In that game, Adrian took a 3-0 lead before Augsburg scored twice.
“We didn’t change much,” May said of today’s game. “We were just trying to stick with our game plan. We remembered what we did last time against them.”
Krug added, “We knew there was going to be a push from them. We stood tall.”
The push came when Augsburg checked Adrian off the puck at center ice. The resultant turnover propelled Austin Dollimer on a semi-breakaway down the right side. At the dot, he fired it into the opposite side to cut the lead to 2-1.
A few other odd man rushes and prolonged pressure in the zone gave Augsburg hope, but Cameron Gray was up to the task in the Adrian net. In total, he made 20 saves.
After Adrian weathered the storm, Zach Goberis restored the two-goal lead. Left unattended, he slapped it right down the middle from above the circles.
“I give credit to my teammates,” Goberis said.
Augsburg went on the power play with 2:42 remaining. They called a time out, but when they came out, they did not pull their goalie at that time.
“I have a lot of faith in my team,” May said. “I asked them, ‘Do you want to just go on the power play or pull the goalie now?’ They said they wanted to stick with the power play, which is very strong for us.”
When that didn’t create a goal immediately, Vyletelka was pulled. That was when Adrian scored their two empty netters. The first from their own zone; the second from their own end line.
Augsburg’s season ends at 25-4-0.
Adrian will play for the school’s first national championship tomorrow night against the winner of the Geneseo-University of New England game.
The Bulldogs often play eastern teams more so compared to their western counterparts.
“We do have some familiarity with the eastern style of play,” Krug said. “We’ve played Geneseo before, so I know Chris Schultz’s style of coaching. We haven’t played UNE, but I know their coach is very good.”
Adrian lost the first game of the season. Since then, the Bulldogs have won 30 in a row. Whichever eastern team plays Adrian, it’s highly suggested they don’t give the Bulldogs a bone.
Otherwise, it will be 31 wins in a row and a national championship for the Michigan school.
Start proves critical as No. 1 overall seed Michigan gets past American International in NCAA tournament
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — After missing out on last season’s big dance due to COVID complications, this year’s top-ranked team didn’t waste any time making its presence known in its return to the NCAA tournament.
Big Ten playoff champion Michigan, with a lineup featuring no less than a dozen NHL draft choices, defeated 16th-seeded American International 5-3 in Friday’s first semifinal contest of the 2022 NCAA Allentown Regional at the PPL Center.
“We got off to a good start,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson said. “We were ready to play and it was the first NCAA experience for a lot of our guys.”
Garrett Van Wyhe opened the scoring for the Wolverines just 3:37 into the contest when he corralled a deflected puck in the slot and beat AIC netminder Alec Calvaruso up high. Just 39 seconds later, Matty Beniers came up with the puck in the right corner of the AIC zone and passed across to Ethan Edwards, who dropped down uncontested from the left point and wristed home a shot on Calvaruso’s stick side.
Michigan continued to dominate possession time as the first period wore on, outshooting AIC 10-3 at one point, before the Atlantic Hockey champion Yellow Jackets got going offensively.
Blake Bennett was sprung on a breakaway from center ice with just under eight minutes left in the opening stanza, but his backhand attempt was stopped by Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo. Less than half a minute later, AIC regained the offensive zone, with Portillo forced to make a save on a Zak Galambos shot from the left point. The rebound, however, caromed around the crease area until it was knocked home by Brian Rigali, with the other assist going to Bennett.
“We talked about just staying in the fight,” AIC coach Eric Lang said. “I’m as proud today as I was at any game we won this year.”
A penalty for interference on AIC’s Brian Kramer at the end of the first period, however, set the stage for Michigan to regain its two-goal lead. Just 43 seconds into both the power play and the second stanza, No. 1 NHL draft choice Owen Power fed Brendan Brisson in the right circle for a one-timer and a 3-1 lead on Brisson’s 20th goal of the season.
“Special teams are so important, and we’re confident in our power play and our penalty kill,” said Brisson.
Exactly two minutes later, Brisson and Kent Johnson teamed up to set up Beniers for his 20th goal on a back-door tap-in that made it 4-1 for Michigan.
“You give them a power play on a fresh sheet of ice, they’re going to make you pay,” said Lang.
AIC refused to go away, however, and cut the lead in half again when Justin Young picked up a loose puck in the left circle, cut across the crease and put the puck between Portillo’s pads at 6:15. The Wolverines, however, responded just 28 seconds later when Power set up Dylan Duke for a short shot inside the left post to make it 5-2, with the goal holding up following a subsequent official review.
The Yellow Jackets couldn’t convert on overlapping power plays late in the second period and were still down three goals before Bennett connected on a man advantage with 6:12 remaining in regulation for the only score of the third period.
“Benny came up big for us and I’m proud of him,” said AIC forward Justin Cole.
It was AIC’s last hurrah even as the Yellow Jackets outshot Michigan 32-31, including 25-16 over the final two periods.
“I want to compliment AIC,” said Pearson. “They gave us some fits. They’re really good, and they proved it tonight. … Erik (Portillo) made a difference in this game.”
Calvaruso, who was pulled for an extra attacker with just over two minutes left, finished with 26 saves in goal for AIC, which was playing in its third straight NCAA tournament and concluded the season at 22-13-3.
“Alec kept us in the game,” said AIC forward Luka Maver. “He’s my roommate and one of my best friends, and it was an outstanding performance by him.”
Portillo finished with 29 stops. He and the Wolverines improved to 30-9-1. Michigan will meet the winner of Friday’s nightcap between Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State in the regional final on Sunday for the right to go to the Frozen Four in Boston in two weeks.
“Congratulations to Mel and Michigan,” said Lang. “You may be looking at one of the best college hockey teams ever assembled.”
Early goals set tone as Michigan downs American International in Allentown Regional opener
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Michigan, the top seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, struck first and fast in the opening Allentown Regional semifinal Friday at the PPL Center in ringing up a 5-3 victory over American International.
Garrett Van Wyhe and Ethan Edwards staked the Big Ten playoff champion Wolverines to a 2-0 lead with goals just 39 seconds apart early on, before Brian Rigali cashed in on a rebound for the Yellow Jackets later in the opening period.
Brendan Brisson (power play) and Matty Beniers made it 4-1 for the Wolverines in the second session, with each scoring his team-best 20th goal of the season. AIC’s Justin Young and Michigan’s Dylan Duke traded goals less than a half-minute apart.
The Atlantic Hockey champion Yellow Jackets couldn’t convert on overlapping power plays late in the period and were still down three goals before Blake Bennett connected on a power play with 6:12 remaining in regulation, but that was AIC’s last hurrah.
Michigan (30-9-1) will meet the winner of Friday night’s Quinnipiac-St. Cloud State contest in the regional final on Sunday. AIC finished its season at 22-13-3.
Full story to come.
