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D-III West Hockey NCAA Quarterfinal Wrap-up – March 20, 2022

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Adrian skated to a win over Hobart in a national quarterfinal game Saturday to advance to the Frozen Four. Photo courtesy of Adrian Athletics

Ranked No. 1 in the country most of the season, Adrian moved one step closer to finishing the season on top after putting away Hobart 7-4 Saturday night in an NCAA Division III quarterfinal game at home.

The Bulldogs scored four goals in the second period to take control and punch their ticket to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2017.

Cameron Gray stayed unbeaten in goal, stopping 24 shots. He has won 21 games this season as the goaltender of the Bulldogs.

Zach Goberis got the home crowd of 1247 energized when he scored in the opening period to put the Bulldogs ahead 1-0.

Adrian went into the second period tied at 1-1 before Alessio Luciani scored to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage. Adrian never look back and went on to stretch its winning streak to 29 games.

Matus Spodniak scored twice in the win and Goberis tallied three assists to give himself a four-point night.

Zachary Hentz dished out three assists while Luciani recorded an assist to go along with his goal as Adrian, the No. 1 team in the DCU/USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll,  improved to 20-6-2 on the season.

Hobart saw its season end at 20-6-2. Ranked seventh nationally, the Statesmen got goals from Jake Gresh, Matthew Iasenza, Aaron Maguyon and Brenden Howell.

Four other players recorded a point while Liam Lascelle made 14 saves.

Hobart held a 28-26 advantage in shots and its senior class of Gresh, Lascelle, Maguyon, Chase Bell, Mark Benemerito, Blake Coffey, Joe Halstrom, PA Martineau, Dan Sliney and Zach Tiney saw their college careers end Saturday. Those seniors won 61 games while at Hobart.

Auggies headed to Frozen Four

It’s been more than 20 years since Augsburg last played in the Frozen Four. That wait ended Saturday night as the Auggies skated past St. Norbert 4-1 in an NCAA quarterfinal game to punch a ticket to Lake Placid.

The Auggies (25-4), who finished as the runner-up in the MIAC tournament after winning the regular-season crown, dominated the third period to secure their win.

They scored three times in the period to beat the Green Knights for the third time this season and advance to the national semifinal round for the first time since 1998. It will be Augsburg’s third appearance overall as it also advanced there in 1984. Both times the Auggies finished fourth.

Fourth-ranked Augsburg had never beaten St. Norbert in the NCAA tournament, losing in its previous four appearances against it, but the storyline played out much differently this time around in what has been a special first season for Augsburg under the direction of first-year head coach Greg May.

It appeared, though, early in the game that perhaps St. Norbert would get the job done again. It led 1-0 after one period of play before Augsburg tied the game in the second.

Austin Dollimer gave the Auggies the lead for good at the 14:01 mark of the third and insurance goals by Erik Palmqvist and Austin Martinsen finished off the win. 

Samuel Vyletelka made 22 saves for the Auggies for his 11th win of the year.

Tim Nicksic scored the lone goal for the Green Knights and Colby Entz made 22 saves. St. Norbert, ranked sixth nationally, ends its year with a 24-7 record. 

Up Next: It will be an all-west region matchup in a 2 p.m. national semifinal Friday afternoon in Lake Place as Adrian will battle Augsburg for the right to move on and play for the national title. This will be the second meeting of the year for the two teams. They last played on Dec. 30, with Adrian coming away with a 5-2 win at home. Geneseo and the University of New England will play in the other national semifinal game.

D-III East Hockey NCAA Quarterfinal Wrap-up – March 20, 2022

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UNE’s Billy Girard stymied the Utica offense making 38 saves in a 2-0 win advancing the Nor’easters to their first ever Frozen Four next week in Lake Placid (Photo by Dave Ambrose)

The top four seeds finally got to host the quarterfinal round this past weekend. While Hobart traveled west to face the No. 1 seed from Adrian, No. 2 Geneseo and No. 3 Utica hosted Babson and the University of New England respectively in two exciting contests that determined half of the Frozen Four field headed to Lake Placid. My peer from the west, Brian Lester will recap the weekend battles for the other half of the bracket but here is the wrap-up from the east:

University of New England (8) v. Utica (2)

At this point of the season all the teams are here for the fact they play good hockey. That said UNE faced a massive task in facing the No. 2 seed from Utica in a Saturday matinee. The first period was scoreless with both netminders playing solidly with some good chances for both teams. In the second period, the game remained scoreless until Utica went on the power play at 11:55 on a holding call to UNE’s Chad Merrell. The scoring would come shorthanded for the visitors as Aaron Aragon sprung Daniel Winslow on a breakaway, and he beat Sean Dickson through the five-hole for a 1-0 lead that stood through the end of the period. The Pioneers created some momentum in the final two minutes of the middle frame and that carried over to the third period as they continued to have chances that Girard denied. Two more power play opportunities were killed by a smothering Nor’easter penalty kill and Dickson was pulled in the final minute to use the extra-attacker in search of the tying goal. Again, it was Aragon who made the critical play, getting the puck to Tyler Seltenreich who buried the empty-net goal for a 2-0 lead with just 25 seconds remaining in regulation. Girard was at his best in the final period stopping 20 of his 38 saves as the Pioneers outshot UNE 20-7 for the period and 38-16 for the game. With the victory, UNE moves on to its first ever Frozen Four.

“Obviously it is a pretty special moment for our team,” said UNE head coach Kevin Swallow. “It’s the first time we are headed to the Frozen Four in our program’s history. The last two NCAA tournaments weren’t held because of COVID. The first time we made the tournament we lost in the first round, the second time we made the Elite 8 and this time to the Frozen Four. We are really excited to Lake Placid and play next weekend and these guys [Daniel Winslow and Billy Girard IV] had a huge role in making that happen for us. Daniel had the game-winning goal and Billy played incredible in net for us.”

Geneseo celebrated their fourth Frozen Four appearance with a 3-2 win over Babson on Saturday night (Photo by Angelo Lisuzzo)

Babson (5) v. Geneseo (3)

Much like the afternoon game, goals were hard to come by for either team in the first period, but Geneseo had a marked shot advantage (13-4) in the first 20 minutes but couldn’t solve Babson goaltender Brad Arvanitis with any of their 13 shots. In the second period Justin Cmunt finally broke the ice. After a pair of Knight shots hit posts on a power play, Cmunt went top shelf as the extra-man advantage expired to give Geneseo a 1-0 lead after two periods of play. The Knights again had a wide advantage in shots (14-6),but Arvanitis yielded only the one goal through 40 minutes of play. The third period is where things got crazy starting with a power play goal by Tyson Gilmour in the first 30 seconds of play in the period. Cmunt also assisted on the goal that gave the Knights some breathing room with a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Nathan Poolman extended the lead just three minutes later, but Babson was not going down that easy. Mike Egan scored for the Beavers at 8:34 and Wyatt George would score on a power play with less than five minutes remaining in regulation to close the gap to 3-2. That would be the last goal Matt Petizian (15 saves on 17 shots) would surrender as Geneseo survived the Babson comeback to advance to their fourth Frozen Four in school history.

“I think the better team won,” said Babson coach Jamie Rice. “Geneseo played a great game – they came out with a lot of jump. I think they came out like a team determined to make it to Lake Placid, not that we weren’t, but they came out with a lot of energy and hemmed us in for large stretches of the first 30 minutes of the game. Brad Arvanitis played great – weathered the storm a little bit but then we get the back-breaker to start the third period on the man-down for us, power play for them and it was good execution for them. So disappointed because if we could have got it tilted a little the other way like we did in the final ten minutes of the period as opposed to giving up two goals in the first three minutes of the period it could have been a different game. Credit to Chris and his program they played hard and clean. They are well coached, and they won tonight.”

“It was exactly how I thought it was going to be,” said Geneseo head coach Chris Schultz. “I didn’t expect to get out to a 3-0 lead, but it was a good thing we did. They had a lot of pushback. That first goal they scored gave them some jump. I expected a game that was maybe going to go to overtime with to teams that play pretty similarly. I really respect the job that Jamie [Rice] does with his team. I love the structure that he plays with, and he gives his team an opportunity to win every night. I was really looking forward to playing Babson. Our team was really looking playing them with how they get up and down the ice. It was exactly what I thought the game was going to be.”

Three Biscuits

Billy Girard IV – University of New England – stopped all 38 shots he faced to backstop UNE to a stunning upset of Utica, 2-0, earning their first ever trip to the Frozen Four.

Liam Darcy – University of New England – picked up assists on both UNE goals in their 2-0 win over Utica on Saturday afternoon.

Justin Cmunt – Geneseo  – scored the first goal of the game and added an assist on the eventual game-winning goal in Geneseo’s 3-2 win over Babson on Saturday night.

The Frozen Four is now set with the semifinal match-ups on Friday including the University of New England playing Geneseo while Adrian faces Augsburg leading to an east v. west title game on Saturday.

Special thanks to Mr. SUNYAC, Russell Jaslow for the post game presser quotes from the Babson v. Geneseo game and to the NCAA for post-game quotes from the UNE vs. Utica game.

NCHC, Xcel Energy Center extend partnership for Frozen Faceoff three years through 2024-25 season

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St. Thomas hosts St. Cloud State in a nonconference matchup at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul back on Oct. 3, 2021 (photo: Jim Rosvold).

The NCHC and Xcel Energy Center announced Saturday that they have agreed to a three-year extension for the facility to remain the home of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.

The partnership will keep the NCHC’s championship weekend in Saint Paul through at least 2025.

“We are thrilled to keep the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. Xcel Energy Center is one of the finest NHL and hockey arenas in the country, providing our student-athletes a great experience and the perfect venue to crown our postseason champion. We’re proud to have our NCHC student-athletes competing at the highest levels in college hockey,” said Dr. Andy Armacost, president of the University of North Dakota and chair of the NCHC board of directors, in a statement. “Along with that, the city of Saint Paul in the State of Hockey offers our fans a destination location they can plan to attend annually to watch what we believe is the best college hockey in the nation.”

Home to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, Xcel Energy Center has also been home to the Frozen Faceoff since 2018. However, the 2022 tournament is only the third Frozen Faceoff held in Saint Paul due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Frozen Faceoff has traditionally seen four of the best teams in college hockey compete for the NCHC tournament title, including this year’s field, which featured four top-10 teams, all of which will play in the 2022 NCAA tournament. In addition, fan events have been held around the Frozen Faceoff, including a fan skate on Xcel Energy Center ice and fan fest hosted by Visit Saint Paul, which have enhanced the fan experience.

“The NCHC and its member institutions are appreciative of Xcel Energy Center, the Minnesota Wild and city of Saint Paul for their past and now continued great support of the conference and Frozen Faceoff,” said NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton. “Our conference has been focused on providing great experiences for student-athletes and fans since its inception and the experience of the Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center is one of the best in all of college hockey. We are extremely excited to announce this partnership extension.”

Regarded as one of the finest arenas in the world, Xcel Energy Center is a one-of-a-kind, multi-purpose sports and entertainment facility located in downtown Saint Paul, home to more than 150 sporting and entertainment events and roughly 1.7 million visitors each year.

Final Bracketology: Our pick for the 2022 NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament

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Denver and Minnesota Duluth are part of the 2022 NCAA tournament field (photo: Jim Rosvold).

Well, after the wildest and craziest ending where Northeastern thought it was in the NCAA tournament, then not sure, then in again, we’ve finally gotten to the point where we can assemble our final bracketology.

You’ll see that in the end, things worked out really simple. Only one small tweak was needed once we put together the full bracket with bracket integrity.

Will there be a bit of griping? Yes. Once Harvard won the ECAC Hockey title in overtime and earned its autobid, four eastern teams — in fact four teams from Massachusetts — are in the fourth seed band. Thus there isn’t a ton you can do to keep eastern teams close to home.

And, if you’ve been reading for the last month, all four No. 1 seeds are from the west, so two (really three) of them will have a lot of travel ahead.

All that said, let’s get one to our final bracket:

Albany
Michigan
Quinnipiac
Notre Dame
American International

Worcester
Minnesota State
North Dakota
Massachusetts
Harvard

Allentown
Western Michigan
Minnesota
St. Cloud State
Northeastern

Loveland
Denver
Minnesota Duluth
Michigan Tech
UMass Lowell

How did we get here? Let’s see:

As usual, let’s start out by putting everyone into bracket integrity. That means:

1 Michigan
8 Quinnipiac
9 Notre Dame
16 AIC

2 Minnesota State
7 North Dakota
10 St Cloud State
15 Harvard

3 Western Michigan
6 Minnesota
11 Massachusetts
14 Northeastern

4 Denver
5 Minnesota Duluth
12 Michigan Tech
13 UMass Lowell

Now let’s will check for intra-conference matchups. We have North Dakota vs. St. Cloud State. We swap St. Cloud State and Massachusetts.

1 Michigan
8 Quinnipiac
9 Notre Dame
16 AIC

2 Minnesota State
7 North Dakota
11 Massachusetts
15 Harvard

3 Western Michigan
6 Minnesota
10 St. Cloud State
14 Northeastern

4 Denver
5 Minnesota Duluth
12 Michigan Tech
13 UMass Lowell

Now I will start placing the brackets into regionals.

Loveland — Denver bracket because Denver is the host.

Albany — Michigan bracket because of Quinnipiac and AIC

Worcester — Minnesota State bracket because of Massachusetts and Harvard

Allentown — Western Michigan bracket

The Allentown attendance could be real tough here. But switching teams from another regional won’t help.

So that’s our bracket. Integrity and maximizing attendance as best as we can.

Michigan scores four straight goals, Wolverines hang on to edge Minnesota for Big Ten tournament crown

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Michigan will be the top seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament after winning the Big Ten championship Saturday night (photo: Michigan Photography).

Michigan took advantage of Minnesota miscues Saturday night in scoring four straight goals and registering a 4-3 victory to capture its second Big Ten tournament championship before a packed house at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The win moves Michigan to the top seed in next week’s NCAA tournament.

Michigan goalie Erik Portillo was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after allowing one goal through the first 59 minutes of the game in front of a hostile crowd.

“To find a way to win this game in a tough building says a lot about their character. And we got a goalie,” remarked Michigan coach Mel Pearson.

“When we really need to, we play so hard in front of the net and in front of me. I really appreciate the guys,” added Portillo.

Dylan Duke scored a critical goal midway through the third extending Michigan’s lead to 3-1. The goal came in transition off a Gopher turnover in the neutral zone. Mackie Samoskevich drew the goalie (Justen Close) and fed Duke for the one timer.

“I was just trying to get to the back post,” Duke said. “Playing on the line with Samoskevich, he has so much skill and a lethal shot. I think he fooled the goalie. Kinda got him down and he was able to get it over to my backhand.”

“Once it was 2-1, we needed to clamp down,” Minnesota coach Bob Motzko said. “We turn the one over and that was not a good turnover by us that you can’t do against Michigan.”

Another miscue by the Gophers swung the momentum in the Wolverines favor late in the first when a centering pass from Samoskevich deflected off Minnesota defender Mike Kosterstick over the shoulder of Close.

“It happens to everyone. You just have to shake it off and keep playing. Just a bad bounce,” said Minnesota defenseman Jackson Lacombe.

The scoring started with a flurry as both teams tallied on their first shot on net, Minnesota 32 seconds in and the Wolverines just 45 seconds later.

Minnesota’s Jaxon Nelson open the scoring finishing a partial breakaway. Nelson had cheated into the center of the ice and LaCombe found him. The play turned him around. He recovered the puck and lifted a backhand over Portillo.

Brendon Brisson tied the game also on a backhand after receiving a pretty pass from the left-side wall from Matty Beniers, who fought off a defender and located Brisson in front of the net. Brisson, moving laterally, beat Close to the far side on a backhand.

“You get scored on the first shift,” Duke said. “I just remember thinking when Beniers, Kent (Johnson) and Brisson went out, I was thinking that would be huge if they scored right here.”

“Incredible atmosphere. We get the first one and the building lit on fire and then we made a couple mistakes. One went off our stick, we turn one over in the neutral zone, which you can’t do against Michigan,” noted Motzko.

“We didn’t start the way we wanted to,” added Pearson. “We talked about getting through the first five minutes and trying to take the crowd out of it and then play. This team has been resilient all year. Found a way to come back and that goal was so big.”

“I trust my teammates ability to score goals. I was not really worried about that,” commented Portillo.

The game turned ugly in the third as Minnesota fans became unruly regarding the officials’ calls on the ice. When a five-minute major was called for boarding on Nelson, the fans threw bottles and cans onto the ice. The fans were warned that any more items on the ice would result in a delay of game penalty on Minnesota.

After the ice was cleaned up, Michigan was on an extended 5-on-3 power play, including the five-minute major. They did not capitalize with the extra attacker.

The fans’ frustration started early in the game every time a Gopher found his way to the ice. The officials definitely were letting both teams play. When calls started to come and they were all against the Gophers, it incensed the crowd.

The Gophers added two power-play goals of their own in the final minute to make the game look closer than it was.

Both Minnesota and Michigan will play in next week’s NCAA tournament. Minnesota is the sixth-rated team in the final PairWise Rankings and may find themselves playing out east.

“It’s going to make us better. We needed a game like that, kind of get the cobwebs off from sitting around for a while,” concluded Motzko.

Minnesota State’s OT goal waved off after CCHA trophy presented; Mavericks win again after game resumed

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Bemidji State’s Ross Armour and Minnesota State’s Brendan Furry set for a faceoff during a game in 2020-21 (photo: BSU Photo Services).

By Karson Buelow

MANKATO, Minn. — In what will go down as one of the most controversial games in college hockey history, Minnesota State was able to be on the winning side of things.

Behind senior goaltender Dryden McKay’s NCAA Division I record-setting 35the win of the season and senior defenseman Jack McNeely’s second goal of the season, MSU was able to secure the Mason Cup with a 2-1 victory over Bemidji State in overtime on Saturday.

The Mavericks celebrated twice. The first time was 3:02 into overtime after sophomore forward Josh Groll took the puck by himself with a full head of steam and beat Mattias Sholl with a beautiful move.

Minnesota State was awarded the Mason Cup by CCHA commissioner Don Lucia. Not long after both teams left the ice, word spread that the goal was being looked at carefully to see if it had entered the net legally.

Nearly an hour since Groll’s overtime winner, the official call was made by the CCHA that the puck went underneath the goal frame and was therefore not a goal. While fans scurried to get back into the building, both teams were faced with adversity in needing to get redressed and refocused to finish the hockey game.

“We had an indication that there were better replays available,” Lucia said. “We felt that the puck had gone underneath the net when the goalie slid and hit the pipe. Ultimately I thought the most important thing was that we get the call right.”

The teams were given five minutes to warm up and do any sort of pregame preparation that was necessary before play resumed. The overtime period continued at 9:48 p.m., over an hour since Groll’s goal occurred.

The Mavericks picked up right where they left off, controlling much of the opening minutes since the game resumed. At 5:11, McNeely walked right down the slot and beat Sholl glove-side to secure the game-winning goal after an hour’s worth of controversy.

Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings talked briefly about the message that was delivered to his team prior to the game. “We talked about controlling what we need to control and we knew it was going to be a close game,” Hastings said. “We knew that they’d bring it and that they didn’t want their season to end.”

The Mavericks, who had been recently crowned as CCHA regular season champions, had already secured their spot in the NCAA tournament, while Bemidji needed to win to keep its playoff hopes alive.

The game began long before puck drop as the rowdy Minnesota State student section was completely full roughly an hour until start time. Bemidji State athletic director Tracy Dill kicked off the action with a ceremonial puck drop, which commemorated the inaugural season of the CCHA.

Despite the thunderous noise from the sold-out crowd at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, Bemidji State was able to control much of the first period, registering five shots before MSU was able to tally one. The Mavericks found offensive pressure late in the first, but Sholl was able to deny any shots that came his way ending the period at zeros.

Almost halfway through the second period, Bemidji had its first grade-A scoring opportunity of the game denied by McKay. Seconds later, senior forward Alex Adams deflected a shot past McKay at 9:17 to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead.

Bemidji didn’t carry the momentum for much longer as a cross-checking penalty gave Mankato its first power play of the game. Junior forward Brendan Furry went top shelf at 17:16 to tie the game 1-1 heading into the final frame.

Sholl continued his dominant performance for the Beavers early in the third, denying senior forward Julian Napravnik from point-blank range. Minnesota State was playing quality hockey during the first 10 minutes but was unable to convert on key opportunities.

The final few minutes saw both teams getting good looks, but nothing strong enough to cross the line. The CCHA championship headed to overtime at 1-1.

Minnesota State will find out who it will play in the first round of the NCAA tournament during Sunday’s selection show at 5:30 p.m. Central on ESPN.

Middlebury completes perfect season with OT win against Gustavus Adolphus for NCAA Division III women’s title

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Middlebury celebrates its 2022 NCAA championship (photo: Will Costello).

Middlebury was less than a second away from completing a perfect season in regulation of the NCAA Division III women’s championship game on Saturday.

Gustavus Adolphus’ late tying goal was only a delay in the celebration.

Ellie Barney scored 13:17 into overtime to give Middlebury its fourth NCAA championship with a 3-2 victory in Middlebury, Vermont. The Panthers (27-0) became the first Division III women’s team to finish a season undefeated and untied.

Molly McHugh sent the game to overtime by scoring with less than a second remaining in the third period.

The Panthers won three straight championships from 2004 to 2006 but hadn’t won a title since.

Middlebury’s Sophie Merageas made 29 saves and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Clara Billings joined McHugh in scoring power-play goals for the Golden Gusties (25-4-2).

Madie Leidt put Middlebury ahead with 2:47 remaining in the third period but Gustavus had an answer.

Plattsburgh 3, Elmira 2

Annie Katonka scored with just over five minutes remaining to break a tie as the Cardinals (26-3-1) took third place with a victory against the Soaring Eagles (25-4-1).

Coronato delivers ECAC Hockey championship, NCAA bid for Harvard in overtime

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Overtime goal scorer Matthew Coronato holds the Whitelaw Cup after Harvard defeated Quinnipiac on Saturday (photo: Rob Rasmussen).

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Harvard forward Matthew Coronato is only a freshman, but he’s already a part of a recent ECAC Hockey championship tradition.

Coronato scored 9:18 into overtime to give the Crimson a 3-2 win over Quinnipiac before a crowd of 4,478 at Herb Brooks Arena. It was the fourth consecutive ECAC Hockey championship that has ended in overtime.

The Crimson, who also won the Whitelaw Cup in 2015 and 2017, entered the weekend needing to win out in order to make the NCAA tournament.

Coronato’s goal concluded an impressive weekend for third-seeded Harvard. The Crimson scored three third-period goals to beat No. 2 Clarkson on Friday before knocking off the top-seeded Bobcats on Saturday. Harvard won the league tournament after the school didn’t play hockey last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Not being the top seed didn’t really put too much pressure on us,” Crimson goalie Mitchell Gibson said. “No one really expected us to really even get to this point. We’re just happy to be here. We knew what it was like when it got taken away from us. I didn’t see [captain] Nick [Abruzzese] for I don’t know how many months there. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.”

Harvard led 2-1 entering the third period, but Jayden Lee’s power-play goal pulled Quinnipiac even 13:44 into the period. The Bobcats outshot Harvard 18-1 in the third and 49-16 in the game. Gibson (47 saves) was up to the task, making several big saves in the third period and overtime. That help set up Coronato’s game winner, a quick shot from near the left circle that came off the rush.

“Ian Moore made a great little drop pass and I just tried to get it off my stick as quick as I could,’ Coronato said. “The puck kind of had eyes and found the back of the net.”

Coronato, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after scoring three goals on the weekend, was one of 15 Harvard players who entered this season having never played a college hockey game.

“I think more so, then anything, our guys would have been most disappointed not to not be able to play with each other and not have the same group,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “I think that’s really what the motivating factor was. Certainly there’s a lot of pressure knowing that if you don’t win your season’s over. This is a group that has stuck together. There is some really talented guys that have grown up and developed right in front of our eyes. It’s been really fun to watch the chemistry of the group.”

With Harvard up 2-1 midway through the third period, Gibson came up with a couple big glove saves to keep the Crimson ahead. The Harvard junior reached to his left to snag Lee’s shot through traffic at 9:26, and then denied Griffin Mendel at 10:14.

But the Bobcats tied it later in the period. Harvard’s Alex Gaffney was called for high sticking at 13:40. Quinnipiac pulled goalie Yaniv Perets (14 saves) in favor of the extra skater on the ensuing power play and it paid off when Wyatt Bongiovanni won the faceoff and Lee ripped a shot past Gibson.

“We generated offense and forechecked and had a lot of zone time,” Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold said of the third period. “We’ve got to find a way to score more goals. Gibson was excellent; he made some big saves.”

It was the second straight year that Quinnipiac lost in overtime in the league championship game and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

The Bobcats played without sophomore forward Ty Smilanic, who is tied for second on the team with 13 goals.

“We don’t discuss injuries,” Pecknold said. “Obviously, he’s a goal scorer; it would have been nice to have him out there tonight.”

The teams traded goals early in the first period. Ryan Siedam beat Perets from the right circle to put Harvard up 1-0 at 1:07. But the Bobcats responded when TJ Friedmann got a pass from Joey Cipollone near center ice and skated past three Harvard players before snapping a shot into the back of the net at 5:24.

Harvard had a chance to go ahead in the opening minute of the second period. A Quinnipiac turnover in the neutral zone set up a scoring opportunity for the Crimson, but Perets slid to his right to rob Abruzzese.

The Crimson took the lead later in the period on Moore’s power-play one-timer at 9:11.

Both teams will learn their respective NCAA opponents Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on the tournament selection show, which will air live on ESPNU.

Fanti’s second straight shutout backs Minnesota Duluth’s NCHC Frozen Faceoff title

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Minnesota Duluth’s Ryan Fanti dives to make a second-period save against Western Michigan on Saturday (photo: Jim Rosvold).

The Minnesota Duluth team that is so dangerous in the postseason is back and ready to make some noise in the NCAA tournament.

Ryan Fanti made 25 saves for his second shutout in as many days, and the Bulldogs became the first NCHC team to win three Frozen Faceoff championships with a 3-0 victory against Western Michigan in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday.

Duluth, which defeated Denver 2-0 on Friday after sweeping St. Cloud State on the road in the quarterfinals last week, scored in each period to deny the Broncos their first NCHC championship.

“I’m really proud of this group because there were times in the second half where we weren’t sure where we were going,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. “We’ve seen a lot of good things with this team. Consistency was maybe not quite there. But we went into St. Cloud last weekend, it felt different and we got two wins. And I thought we carried a lot of that same type of play and mentality into this weekend. So hopefully we can keep that going.”

The Bulldogs are going into their sixth straight NCAA tournament on a roll after they were 6-9-3 in the second half of the regular season. They’ll be seeking their fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance as a No. 2 seed when the brackets are announced Sunday.

Fanti made a spectacular save in the second period, diving to his left with his glove to deny Max Sasson’s rebound try. It was such a good opportunity at a mostly open net that Western Michigan players put their arms up and the goal horn went off.

“I don’t really think I had time to recover and get a get a push and really slide over there. … It’s just one of those ones where you just throw something at it and just hope. I’d definitely say it’s more of a lucky save than anything.”

Said Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler: “That’s an incredible save. He just dives back and puts the glove out. If the game’s 2-1 there is it a different game? Does it build confidence, does it fuel our offense a little more? Maybe we’d see. But the timeliness of the saves were very important tonight, I thought.”

The Bulldogs goalie made 14 saves in the third period and defenseman Wyatt Kaiser made it 3-0 midway through the frame.

“His game speaks for himself, honestly,” Kaiser said. “You don’t have to say a lot. You watch him out there, he’s making big saves, he’s making the saves he should, he’s playing the puck. He’s doing everything for us back there.”

Western Michigan defeated North Dakota 4-2 in the semifinals on Friday but couldn’t add a second playoff championship to its resume. The Broncos won the 2012 title in the old CCHA.

Still, they’re a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

“We have to shift our focus to next week now and have a great week of practice,” forward Josh Passolt said. “It’s a new season starting next week. … I think we’re playing really good hockey.”

Dominic James beat Broncos goalie Brandon Bussi high to the short side on a drive up the left side to put Duluth up 1-0 in the first period.

A power-play goal made it 2-0 in the middle frame. Koby Bender kept the puck in at the blue line, setting up a Casey Gilling from above the right circle that deflected in off Broncos defenseman Michael Joyaux.

AIC blanks Air Force for third straight Atlantic Hockey tournament title as five different players score to back Calvaruso’s shutout in net

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AIC celebrates its third straight Atlantic Hockey tournament title (photo: Dylan Bellinger).

Neither Air Force coach Frank Serratore (7-0) or American International coach Eric Lang (2-0) had lost an Atlantic Hockey championship game.

Something had to give.

It was Lang’s Yellow Jackets that came out on top 7-0, thanks to goals by five different players and an 18-save shutout by goaltender Alec Calvaruso.

“I’ve been here a lot of times, but I’ve never had to give that speech (after a loss) before,” said Serratore. “Never had to do that.”

It’s the third consecutive playoff title for the Yellow Jackets, tying a record set by Air Force from 2007 to 2009.

“You’ve got to embrace moments like this,” said Lang. “It’s a long journey. We’re picked preseason number one. Got off to a 3-10 or 3-9 start, and we’re 20-3 since coming back from (winter) break. Just really proud of the guys.”

As Serratore is fond of saying, winning in the postseason requires good goaltending and special teams. AIC had both.

“We’ve got to give all the credit in the world to AIC,” said Serratore. “They were better than us in all facets of the game.

“I’m captain obvious with the score 7-0, but they were better in every way, shape or form.”

The Yellow Jackets were 4 for 8 on the power play. Air Force was 0 for 2.

AIC’s seven goals were bookended by Julius Janhonen, who opened the scoring 5:16 into the contest. After Blake Bennett caused a turnover, Janhonen’s shot from the right face-off dot found the back of the net through traffic in front of goaltender Alex Shilling.

“‘Juli’ and (Brian) Rigali were both forechecking hard, and I saw the lane their defenseman was going to pass,” said Bennett. “I took the risk and thought he was going to do that, and picked it off at the blue line.”

That was the only goal of the first period, but AIC extended its lead to 4-0 with three goals before the midway point of the second. Jake Stella made it 2-0 at 1:37, banking a shot from a tight angle off of Shilling’s pad.

Chris Dodero and Zak Galambos then scored 2:24 apart to put the game out of reach. Dodero’s shot glanced off of Shilling’s stick and into the net, and Galambos went short-side for his fifth of the season at 9:56.

The Yellow Jackets put the game way with three special teams’ goals in the third, a shorthanded tally by Dodero and two on the power play from Bennett and Janhonen.

Air Force could only muster five shots on Calvaruso in the third, and he stopped them all for his second career shutout.

“He played great,” said Bennett. “He’s got to be feeling really confident, and we’re confident in him.”

Bennett’s goal was his fourth of the weekend. He was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.

“We were the most outstanding team,” he said. “No one person deserves this honor. It’s a team honor.”

“It doesn’t get old,” said Dodero, a fifth-year senior who’s been a part of four regular season and three playoff championships. “It’s a great feeling. We’re going to enjoy this one. But there’s more to do.”

“It’s as fun a year as I’ve had coaching,” said Lang. “There’s 10 or 11 guys, all they have done since they walked on campus is win hockey games. Win regular-season championships and playoff championships.”

The Yellow Jackets will go from favorites to underdogs as they play in their third consecutive NCAA tournament.

“It’s going to be a relief to not have the burden of being the hunted,” said Lang. “Now we get to do the hunting.”

All-Tournament Team
F Blake Bennett, AIC
F Will Gavin, Air Force
F Chris Dodero, AIC
D Brandon Koch, Air Force
D Zak Galambos, AIC
G Alec Calvaruso, AIC

Most Outstanding Player: Blake Bennett, AIC

Bohlinger comes through in OT as UMass captures second straight Hockey East tournament championship with win over UConn

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UMass celebrates the 2022 Hockey East title Saturday night at TD Garden (photo: Rich Gagnon).

If Aaron Bohlinger scores a goal, there’s a 100 percent chance Massachusetts will hoist a championship trophy at the end of the game.

Less than a year after scoring the game winner in the NCAA championship game for his first career goal, Bohlinger scored his second career goal in overtime to lift UMass to a 2-1 win over Connecticut in the Hockey East final Saturday night before a crowd of 12,049 at TD Garden.

“He told me after the game, he only scores in championship games,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “He was really good this weekend. (Our) defense was outstanding and Bohlinger, that’s the best he’s played.”

Bohlinger’s shot from high in the slot deflected off a UConn defender and ended things at 3:06 of the final frame. The win handed the second-seeded Minutemen their second straight tournament championship and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

“We knew we had them on our heels,” Bohlinger said. “We just did the right things. It was a great pass — put it on net and good things happened.”

UMass improved to 21-12-2 overall and finished league play with a 17-8-2 mark. The 16-team NCAA tourney field will be announced Sunday evening.

“It’s awesome to defend this trophy,” said UMass senior forward Bobby Trivigno, who earned back-to-back tourney MVP honors and scored the Minutemen’s first goal of the night at 16:06 of the second period. “We earned these two wins the past two days.

“Coming here was the best decision of my life,” Trivigno added. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

UConn opened the scoring early when Vladislav Firstov scored his 12th of the season to put the Huskies up 1-0. Unfortunately for the Huskies, that would be their last goal of the season, which is likely over at 25-16-0 (16-11-0 league). The Huskies were seeking their first Hockey East tournament title.

“We fought, we clawed and we hung in there,” UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “We gave ourselves a chance to get to overtime and win our first title. But it just wasn’t meant to be tonight.”

Carvel had high praise for Bohlinger’s defensive performance the previous night in a 3-1 semifinal win over UMass-Lowell. On Saturday, Carvel was happy to see the sophomore defenseman have his moment in the spotlight.

“He’s been beat up all year and he’s found his game,” Carvel said. “He’s a really effective player when he’s moving and controlling the game with the puck.”

One night after scoring a highlight-reel goal in Friday’s semifinal, Trivigno scored in similar — if not quite as spectacular — fashion on Saturday when he beat UConn goalie Darion Hanson (31 saves) through the 5-hole with a wrister from the left wing.

“I don’t think we were playing bad up to that point,” Trivigno said. “But when they scored, (we knew) we had to get something going here. I got lucky on that goal. I was just waiting for the puck to settle and literally just shot it on net and got lucky that it went in.”

UMass goalie Matt Murray had 19 saves, his load lightened by a Minuteman defense that made 16 blocks and held UConn to three shots in the first period and only two in the third.

“That’s our game plan, every game — defense first,” Bohlinger said. “Good defense leads to offense. (We) know that going in and that’s something we take pride in. We take care of that and games generally tend to go our way.”

The atmosphere on Saturday was a far cry from a year earlier, when UMass beat rival Lowell for the Hockey East title on their own ice in front of zero fans due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Obviously a championship’s a championship, and we’ll take it any way we can get it,” Bohlinger said. “But it definitely made it a little more special to have fans and supporters here. We’re pretty thankful and grateful for that.”

Trivigno agreed.

“The crowd brings good energy, especially when we got a good UMass following here,” he said. “It was huge to have them in the building.”

Two more wins for the Minutemen will bring them right back to Garden for the Frozen Four, with a large UMass contingent certain to be in the house.

Here are the 16 teams who’ll be in the 2022 NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament

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Luke Hughes and Michigan have the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament (photo: Michigan Photography).

Our final Bracketology will be posted soon but until then here are the 16 teams that have earned spots in the 2022 NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament, broken down by seed.

1. Michigan
2. Minnesota State
3. Western Michigan
4. Denver

5. Minnesota Duluth
6. Minnesota
7. North Dakota
8. Quinnipiac

9. Notre Dame
10. St. Cloud State
11. Massachusetts
12. Michigan Tech

13. UMass Lowell
14. Northeastern
15. Harvard
16. American International

Here are the six conference champions:

Atlantic Hockey: American International

Big Ten: Michigan

CCHA: Minnesota State

ECAC Hockey: Harvard

Hockey East: Massachusetts

NCHC: Minnesota Duluth

With four NCAA tournament spots open, here’s what’s at stake in Saturday’s conference title games

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Harvard’s only way into the NCAA tournament is to win the ECAC Hockey championship game against Quinnipiac (photo: Rob Rasmussen, ECAC Hockey).

With six conference championship games left to play Saturday, things are fairly simple in terms of which teams will get into the Division I men’s NCAA hockey tournament.

You can check out all the possibilities with our PairWise Predictor.

But first, a rundown of the games that are being played Saturday night:

Atlantic Hockey: Air Force vs. American International, 7:30 p.m. ET.

Big Ten: Michigan at Minnesota, 7 p.m. CT.

CCHA: Bemidji State at Minnesota State, 6 p.m. CT.

ECAC Hockey: Harvard vs. Quinnipiac, 7:30 p.m. ET.

Hockey East: Connecticut vs. Massachusetts, 7 p.m. ET.

NCHC: Minnesota Duluth vs. Western Michigan, 7:30 p.m. CT.

Who’s in?

Seven of the 12 teams playing Saturday are already guaranteed a spot in the tournament even if they don’t gain the automatic bid: Minnesota State, Michigan, Western Michigan, Minnesota, Quinnipiac, Minnesota Duluth and UMass.

Five other teams also are in: Denver, North Dakota, Notre Dame, St. Cloud State and Michigan Tech.

Who can still get in as an at-large team?

Three teams are waiting on Saturday’s results to see if their spot in the PairWise is good enough to get in: UMass Lowell (13th), Northeastern (14th) and Ohio State (15th).

How do championship games impact the teams waiting?

Four spots are open. One will be taken by the Atlantic Hockey winner, Air Force or AIC. The three others depend on the results of the CCHA, ECAC Hockey and Hockey East championship games.

The only way in for Bemidji State, Harvard and UConn is to win the championship and get the automatic bid.

If one of them wins, Ohio State is left out. If two win, Ohio State and Northeastern are left out. If all three win, Ohio State, Northeastern and UMass Lowell are left out.

What about the No. 1 seeds?

Minnesota State, Michigan and Western Michigan have three of the four No. 1 regional seeds locked up.

The fourth will be either Minnesota or Denver. It’ll be the Gophers if they win the Big Ten championship. Otherwise, it’ll be the Pioneers.

Glover nets pair of goals for Western Michigan as Broncos double up North Dakota, will play for NCHC title

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Western Michigan players celebrate one of the Broncos’ four goals Friday night against North Dakota (photo: Jim Rosvold).

Western Michigan used two gritty goals from Ty Glover and big saves from netminder Brandon Bussi to notch its first NCHC win at the Frozen Faceoff with 4-2 victory Friday night over North Dakota.

The win also solidified a No. 1 seed for the Broncos in next week’s NCAA tournament.

“Just playing my game, getting behind their ‘D,’ being hard on pucks, getting to the front of the net,” said Glover on his pair of goals. “It seems that is where all the goals are scored these days.”

“We talk about our veterans leading the way and stepping up,” added WMU forward Drew Worrad. “It takes an entire team to win a hockey game. We had our goalie making huge saves for us at the end there.”

Bussi made a highlight real save at the midpoint of the third on a back-door shot from Connor Ford to keep the Broncos ahead 3-2 before Max Sasson sealed the deal on an empty-net goal at 18:27 when a North Dakota player mishandled the puck at the blue line.

“They played hard, they checked well,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said. “They got some key saves at key times from their goaltender and that was the difference in the game.”

It was a back-and-forth heavyweight contest that featured a game of bounces.

North Dakota had a near goal on a shot by Cooper Moore that just trickled inches wide of the net on the far side.

“They were the Penrose Cup champions, and we came out to battle,” WMU coach Pat Ferschweiller said. “It was just a man’s hockey game all over the rink. It was a good battle by us.”

The game almost turned on a five-minute major for boarding on Griffin Ness from North Dakota at 2:24 of the third. It was originally ruled a minor on the ice. The Hawks managed to kill the five-minute major and gathered momentum for a strong third period.

“I thought we were making a good push there at the end, getting opportunities. Just didn’t play well defensively,” commented North Dakota forward Mark Senden.

The second period ended in fireworks with both teams scoring in the final 31 seconds. The sequence played a critical role in the game.

Western notched a goal for a short-lived two-goal lead at 19:29 on a two-on-one fast break where the defender stayed with the skater and Worrad delivered a perfect pass to Hugh Larkin for a one-timer past UND goalie Zach Driscoll.

Just 24 seconds later, Nick Portz tallied a goal as he took a shot from atop the left faceoff circle that beat Bussi just inside the pipe over his right skate allowing the festive pro-North Dakota crowd a sigh of relief to end the period.

North Dakota opened the scoring at 11:45 of the first when Judd Caulfield picked up a loose puck in front and lifted a backhand past Bussi.

The Broncos responded quicky at 13:38 when Glover slid the second rebound under Driscoll. Ronnie Attard started the play with a shot from the blue line that Driscoll kicked out front. Sasson put the puck back on net, finding Driscoll’s right pad. Glover was lurking on the edge of the right crease and finished the scoring play.

“He is a great big excitable ball of energy; that’s what he is,” said Ferschweiller of Glover. “He just walks in the locker room smiling every day. He brings a work ethic and just a presence of love for the game about him. It’s really infectious in the locker room.”

The goal was reviewed for potential goalie interference by Glover. Driscol was able to re-engage the play after the contact and the goal stood as called on the ice. The best theater of the night then took place when the ref went to center-ice and declared “No goaltender interference on the play.” The North Dakota crowd heard “No goal” and started cheering as the ref pointed to center-ice to their confusion.

With the loss, North Dakota is now locked in as the sixth or seventh overall seed in next week’s NCAA tournament. They will be the No. 2 seed in a regional, with a strong possibility of being in the same bracket as Western Michigan or Denver.

“We going to be sharp through the next three or four days of practice,” said Berry. “We will get to a regional and we know it’s one and keep moving or one and done.”

Middlebury, Gustavus Adolphus earn spots in NCAA Division III women’s championship game

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Middlebury’s pursuit of a perfect season will go down to the final day.

The Panthers improved to 26-0 with a 3-2 victory against Elmira on Friday in an NCAA Division III women’s semifinal in Middlebury, Vt.

Kyle Quinlan’s second-period goal put Middlebury ahead for good. Madie Leidt made it 3-1 in the third period before Elmira’s Holley Riva scored to cut the lead to one.

Sophia Merageas made 16 saves for the Panthers. Leonie Kuehberger stopped 29 shots for the Soaring Eagles (25-3-1), who had a winning streak end at 15 games.

Gustavus Adolphus 5, Plattsburgh 1

The Golden Gusties advanced to their first NCAA championship game thanks to a goal and two assists each from Kristina Press and Hailey Holland.

Plattsburgh went ahead 1-0 on a goal by Emma Killeen 81 seconds into the game but Molly McHugh and Holland answered later in the opening period for Gustavus (25-3-2).

“A lot of alumni have paved the way for the girls,” Gusties coach Mike Carroll said. “Our coaches did a good job and the girls hung with it and I couldn’t be happier for our school. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow.”

Harvard scores three in the third period to down Clarkson, earn berth in ECAC Hockey championship game

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Harvard and Clarkson played a physical game in the second ECAC Hockey semifinal Friday night (photo: Rob Rasmussen).

A year after not playing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Harvard is one win away from being ECAC Hockey champions.

The third-seeded Crimson scored three third-period goals to beat No. 2 Clarkson 5-3 in the second semifinal of the night Friday at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid.

Harvard will face No. 1 Quinnipiac in the ECAC Hockey championship game Saturday at 7:30 p.m., while Clarkson’s season comes to an end with the loss.

Friday was the third time in a row that the Crimson and Golden Knights played in the league semifinals; Clarkson won the previous two matchups in 2018 and 2019. It was also the sixth consecutive time that Harvard made the ECAC Hockey semifinals in a full season, a streak that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the college hockey season to an abrupt end in 2020.

Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League schools then made the decision not to play the following year.

“It means a lot,” Harvard captain Nick Abruzzese said of making it to the league title game. “Two years ago, we were playing some of our best hockey down the stretch and getting it cut short really burned. But being back here now and having gotten through the last two years, we’re really excited that we got to play tonight and that we get to play tomorrow.”

The Crimson’s top line of Abruzzese (two goals, two assists), Sean Farrell (goal, two assists), and Matthew Coronato (two goals, two assists) combined to score all five Harvard goals. Alex Campbell had two goals for Clarkson.

It was an impressive showing by a Crimson team that had a lot of new faces at the start of the season. Now, Harvard will attempt to win its first Whitelaw Cup since the school won two titles in a span of three years during the 2015 and 2017 seasons.

“At the start of the year, we were really excited with the group that we had,” Farrell said. ‘We went through some growing pains, but we fully expected to be here and put ourselves in this position. Throughout the year, we’ve been getting better and better and we’ve kind of hit our stride and our playing good hockey right now.”

The Crimson were the only team among the four teams in Lake Placid that didn’t play last season. Harvard coach Ted Donato said captains Casey Dornbach and Abruzzese deserve a lot of credit for getting the Crimson ready to play.

“When you think that over half of your lineup has never played college hockey before…now granted a lot of coaches would like that have the talent that we have in the locker room.” Donato said. “For us, we had to learn how to play and how to have success. Obviously, we’ve got guys who can get up and the ice make plays, but at this time of year you’ve got to be able to defend, manage the puck, and play with discipline. I thought we showed a level of maturity tonight that we’ve been building upon all year.”

Clarkson led 3-2 heading into the final intermission thanks to second-period goals by Campbell and Zach Tsekos.

Abruzzese put Harvard up 2-1 at 10:59 in the second, but Campbell scored his second power-play goal of the game 13:11 into the period to tie the score at two.

Clarkson took the lead less than four minutes later when Ayrton Martino forced a turnover behind the Harvard net and found Tsekos on the right post, who beat Mitchell Gibson (24 saves) to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 16:52.

But Harvard tied it on Abruzzese’s second of the game 4:23 into the third, when the Crimson junior pounced on a rebound that had Clarkson goalie Ethan Haider out of position (29 saves) to make the stop.

The Crimson went ahead for good when Coronato took a pass off the rush from Abruzzese and rifled it past Haider at 15:06. Coronato sealed the win for Harvard with an empty-net goal at 19:49.

“To have a lead in the third period and to give it up was disappointing,” Clarkson coach Casey Jones said. “The last couple weeks, I haven’t felt us to be extremely sharp defensively and playing the right way. It was one of those situations where we were turning pucks over and giving them numbers. We were trying to outscore them instead of negating what they were going to get and counterpunching that way.”

Harvard took a 1-0 lead on Sean Farrell’s goal 8:40 in the opening period. Campbell’s power-play goal pulled Clarkson even at 14:47 in the first.

But the Crimson were able to come through in the third period and now have the chance to play for a championship.

“I think as a coach you know there is going to be some learning moments for a young team,” Dontato said. “I’ve been pleasantly pleased with how they have operated as a group. They work every day and never get down on each other. It’s been a really fun group. Tomorrow, we have a chance to do something special and I think it’s because of the chemistry within the locker room.”

NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey: Ohio State advances to first-ever national championship game with 2-1 win over Yale

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University Park, Pa — The top seeded Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Yale Bulldogs 2-1 in the national semifinal on Friday night to advance to their first-ever NCAA title game. 

They will face fellow WCHA team Minnesota Duluth for the national championship at 4 pm Eastern on Sunday. The Bulldogs will be playing in their seventh title game and looking for their sixth overall championship.

It is believed the title game will feature teams with all-female coaching staffs for the first time since 2003, when Shannon Miller’s UMD defeated Katey Stone’s Harvard.

Yale played the game they hoped to play, said coach Mark Bolding, particularly since they scored first. Ohio State took control for a short stretch in the second period, but his team had chances and were in as good a position as they’d hoped as the game wound down.

“Not only did we show up, we may make some noise and I’m very thankful for their efforts and it’ll give us momentum for the future. We played them hard,” said Bolding.

The Bulldogs scored early in the second period when Tabea Botthof put back a rebound that was sitting unseen just outside the crease. Grace Lee carried the puck up the boards and put a shot on net. OSU goalie Amanda Thiele made the initial save, but as both Yale and Ohio State players crashed the net, it seemed no one saw the puck. Botthof came up from the blue line and pushed it in.

But Ohio State would be able to respond quickly, taking advantage of their first power play of the night. Coach Nadine Muzerall said her team switched up their power play unit to try and confuse the Bulldogs and it was successful. Paetyn Levis was able to drifts into the center of the ice while the defenders were watching the puck as it was passed around the perimeter. Liz Schepers hit her with a perfect pass that she was able to one-time into the back of the net.

Just a few minutes later, Jenn Gardiner took the puck nearly coast to coast, picking up speed to beat defenders before dragging the puck and roofing it to score what would prove to be the game-winner. She said she was employing the team’s ideals of being fast, physical and fierce when she nabbed the puck behind the mid line and took off towards net.

Despite being outshot, Yale had plenty of opportunities on net and Thiele was a crucial part of the Buckeye win. The sophomore, who took over starting duties when Andrea Brandli went to Beijing to play with Team Switzerland in the Olympics, had not relinquished the role since.

“She’s been lights out for us lately. it’s so important to have your goalie playing good and she’s been unbelievable for us and bailed us out a lot of times. So we’re really grateful that she is playing the way she is,” said Gardiner. 

Ohio State will play in their first-ever title game against a familiar foe in Minnesota Duluth, who will be looking to win their sixth title. The teams split their regular season meetings, each winning and losing a game at home. They have not played since January and both have matured as the season has progressed, but Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall said that at this point in the season, the game will be less about maneuvering on the ice and more about how the players handle the game mentally.

It was a tough loss for a Yale team that did not take the ice last season and were playing in their first-ever Frozen Four. Despite the sting of their season ending this way, Greta Skarzyski and Gianna Meloni said they were proud of the legacy this team would be leaving behind at Yale.

Bolding echoed the sentiment, saying that this team set a new standard for what can be expected and achieved at Yale. Their 29-win season is particularly impressive when contrasted with the fact that this team did not qualify for the ECAC playoffs when the seniors were sophomores.

 

Defending champion Minutemen back to Hockey East title game after scrappy win over rival UMass Lowell

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UMass’ Scott Morrow gets the TD Garden crowd going in the Minutemen’s win over UMass Lowell Friday night in the second Hockey East semifinal matchup (photo: Rich Gagnon).

It was ugly and sometimes even a little bloody, but UMass is on its way to the Hockey East championship game for the second straight season.

The Minutemen rode a two-goal spurt in less than two minutes of the first period Friday night as a springboard for a 3-1 win over intra-state rival UMass Lowell before a crowd of 13,106 at TD Garden.

“We got some gutsy kids,” Minutemen coach Greg Carvel said. “Really gutsy kids. Colin Felix, what he did at the end of the game — he made a huge block, huge hit. He has a huge cut on his face, and he’s still playing with a broken finger. That’s why you win, kids like that.”

The UMass defense recorded 21 blocks, taking a good chunk of pressure off of Minuteman goalie Matt Murray, who made 22 saves.

“To have the guys put their bodies on the line, especially when they’re not wearing the gear I do, it shows their character,” Murray said. “It shows how determined they are. I have so much respect for all the guys in front of me, especially when they step in front of those kinds of pucks. I wouldn’t be able to have success without those guys.”

The second-seeded and defending Hockey East and NCAA champion Minutemen (21-12-2, 16-8-2 Hockey East) will face No. 4 UConn (20-15-0, 16-10-0) in Saturday night’s final (7 p.m.). UConn was a 4-1 winner over top seed Northeastern in the first of Friday’s two semifinals.

“I didn’t feel like we had a lot of momentum tonight, but I thought we did a good job preventing them from doing what they wanted to do,” Carvel said. “They had the puck a lot, but they didn’t have it in opportunistic areas.”

No. 3 Lowell fell to 21-10-3, 16-9-1 in the league, and now must wait for the NCAA tournament committee to do its work and see if it earns an at-large bid to the national tournament. The 16-team field will be announced Sunday evening.

“I like this group a lot and I hope we get to play another game,” Lowell coach Norm Bazin said. “I think we have a better game than what we showed here tonight.”

The prettiest goal of the night came off the stick of Hockey East Player of the Year Bobby Trivigno. Picking up a pass from senior forward Garrett Wait at the Lowell blue line, Trivigno carried the puck across the slot to the opposite side of the net and fired a nifty wrister past River Hawks goalie Owen Savory (16 saves) for a 2-0 Minuteman lead at 14:10 of the opening frame. The goal came just 1:43 after Wait opened the scoring with his 12th of the season.

“Waiter made a really good play, hustled for the puck, chipped it out,” Trivigno said. “I felt like I had some space up top as soon as I entered across the blue line to cut across and bring the puck to my forehand. (No) one really went to me. Waiter did a tremendous job working from the D-zone all the way to the front of the net, took away Savory’s eyes. I just placed it into the net. I was fortunate enough to score the goal, but it was pretty much all Waiter’s hard work there.”

Carvel had high praise for his defensive unit, especially sophomore Aaron Bohlinger and the aforementioned Felix.

“I thought Bohlinger was one of the few guys on the team who had poise with the puck,” Carvel said. “He held on to it, he skated with it, he broke pucks out himself. And Colin Felix is just the ultimate warrior for us.”

Lowell cut the lead to 2-1 with the only goal of the second period, off the stick of Matt Crasa at 16:37. Unfortunately for Crasa, however, Amherst’s third goal was the direct result of Crasa whiffing on an attempted clear and instead sending it right into the River Hawks’ net for a 3-1 UMass lead at 13:00 of the final frame. UMass’s Jerry Harding was credited with the unassisted goal, his first of the season.

“Matt Crasa’s had an excellent year,” Bazin said. “It was a bad bounce. He’ll recover.”

Air Force off to Atlantic Hockey championship game after one-goal victory over RIT in conference semifinals

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Jacob Marti and Air Force held off RIT in the second Atlantic Hockey semifinal Friday night (photo: Dylan Bellinger).

Frank Serratore has seen a lot of glory in his 25 seasons behind the Air Force bench.

Those accolades include seven conference titles in addition to a 14-2 record in the Atlantic Hockey final four coming into tonight’s semifinal with Rochester Institute of Technology.

But after dispatching Army West Point in this year’s Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals, Serratore said that this year’s Falcons team might be his favorite.

After a 4-3 win over RIT tonight to put Air Force into the championship game, it’s understandable why he feels that way. But when asked about it, his response was measured.

“It’s like naming your favorite child,” he said. “You love them all differently. I just have a tremendous amount of respect for this group. They are young, young, young, when the rest of college hockey is old, old, old.”

The Falcons never trailed, but RIT fought to tie the contest three times before Brandon Koch got the game-winner, his second of the night, with 10:07 to play.

“The game was how it was expected to be,” Serratore said. “I said early on that I would be surprised if it wasn’t an exciting, entertaining game. And that’s exactly what it was.”

“I thought we played a real good game,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “We competed really hard. We had some really good opportunities, but whenever we scored, they responded.”

Air Force’s Will Gavin opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period. The sophomore netted his 16th goal of the season, breaking down the left wing and putting a shot past RIT net minder Tommy Scarfone, who finished with 22 saves.

RIT got on the board at 10:04 of the second period when Aiden Hansen-Bukata pounced on a rebound at the size of the net, tying the game at 1-1.

A turning point came in the final minute of the second. With RIT’s Spencer Berry in the box for tripping, Tiger forward Carter Wilkie was sprung on a shorthanded breakaway, but couldn’t get a good shot on Falcons goaltender Alex Shilling. Air Force converted on an Andrew DeCarlo goal on that same power play with 35 second left in the period.

“That was big,” said Wilson. “A two-goal swing.”

That set up a wild third period that saw three goals scored in a span of 1:26. Dan Willet tied the gamed for the Tigers at 4:15 before Koch’s first goal of the night again staked the Falcons to a lead. But Grady Hobbs tied the game for RIT again 37 seconds later.

After Koch’s second of the game midway through the period, Air Force held off a furious attempt by RIT in the closing minutes.

“To win in the postseason, you need special teams and goaltending,” said Serratore. “It also comes down to scoring the first goal. I don’t believe we ever trailed. When they did catch up, we responded.”

“When we get scored on, it’s just steady,” said Air Force defenseman Luke Rowe, who had three assists. “No ones’s got their head down. We know we can get the next one.”

That next one was eventually Koch’s game winner.

“I’ve always been a pass-first person,” said Koch of his second goal. “I threw one back door to Clay(ton) Cosentino, who got a shot off, got the pass back from Rowe, and we had a really good screen up front.”

Shilling, the lone senior on the team, made 24 saves for his 14th win of the season.

“Shilling has the ability to be good when he wants to be,” said Serratore. “He’s a cool customer. He has a great mentality for a goalie. He’s got a short memory. It’s all about the next shot. When you let one in that you weren’t proud of, you better forget it, because you can’t let the next shot go in.”

“He’s our rock,” said Rowe. “He plays like a stud. So calm, so cool. Next shot mentality.”

Air Force will go for its eighth Atlantic Hockey title tomorrow night against American International. The Falcons are 7-0 in AHA championship games, but remain the underdog.

Serratore knows this, but says his team doesn’t.

“This shouldn’t be happening,” he said. “Thank God they didn’t get the memo.”

NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey: Rogge’s goal in 2OT sends UMD to national championship game

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University Park, Pa — Noami Rogge’s wrister with fewer than two minutes to go in the second overtime sent Minnesota Duluth to their first national title game since 2010 and their seventh in program history.

McKenzie Hewett put pressure on Maddie Mills in the neutral zone as Mills tried to break out. Élizabeth Giguère picked up the loose puck and quickly fed it to Rogge, who had room in the center of the zone. She took a touch to gather the puck and put it through Skylar Fontaine’s legs. That seemed to be enough to fool Aerin Frankel, as the puck snuck under her arm at about waist height and into the net.

“You know when you’re in a double overtime game and people are getting tired and just wearing each other down, that something good is gonna happen. You just don’t know what side it’s going to be on. We were very happy that the puck wound up on Rogge’s stick from Giguère making a great pass and she had a fantastic finish,” said Minnesota Duluth coach Maura Crowell.The win was all that much sweeter for the Bulldogs, who were ousted from last year’s semifinal in overtime by this same Northeastern team.

“This is probably the best moment I’ve ever had in my career,” said Crowell.

It was a demanding, hard-fought game with a lot of back and forth and plenty of chances for both teams. The low score is a testament to the stellar goaltending on display. Two-time Goalie of the Year Frankel made 48 saves for Northeastern while UMD’s Emma Soderberg stopped 46.

Northeastern coach Dave Flint was effusive in his praise for Frankel.

“She gives us a chance to win every night. They play looser in front of her knowing that.
I’ve coached teams that didn’t have confidence in their goalie and they go in and play poorly. Not only does she stop a lot of shots, but she allows us to play the style of game we want,” he said.

Both teams did a great job of neutralizing their opponents’ top lines. Northeastern was able to keep Giguère to the outside and did a great job keeping a defender on her at all times. UMD were great with their sticks, poking the puck away, clearing the zone and not letting pucks get in on Soderberg. The Bulldogs also racked up 30 blocks. Patty Kazmaier top-ten finalist Alina Müller finished the game with just one shot.

After a scoreless first period, Northeastern freshman Skylar Irving scored her sixth goal of the year, but second goal of the tournament to put her team on the board first. Northeastern entered the zone with speed in a three on two. Katy Knoll carried it in and dropped it to Maddie Mills, who put a shot on net from the top inside of the left faceoff circle. Soderberg came out a bit to cut the angle and took the puck off the chest, but was not able to catch it. Mills nabbed her own rebound further out to the left and put the puck back towards the crease, behind Soderberg who was now out of position. Lizi Norton blocked that and then the next shot from her knees, but the rebound fell to Irving, who poked it in.

The Bulldogs withstood a flurry of pressure from the Huskies to close out the second and that might have been the difference in the game. Northeastern used goals in the waning seconds of the period to help propel both their NCAA quarterfinal and Hockey East championship wins.

Minnesota Duluth scored midway through the third on a tremendous shot from Taylor Anderson, who had six goals coming into the game, was able to settle an active puck in the slot and simply backhand it through traffic and over Frankel’s shoulder to tie the game. Naomi Rogge won the faceoff to the left of the net and the bounding puck went from her to McKenzie Hewett to Anderson for the goal.

Crowell called Anderson a Frozen Four killer – she scored one of her four goals last season in the semifinal against Northeastern.

Minnesota Duluth advances to face the winner of the second semifinal between Ohio State and Yale. The National Championship game is at 4 pm Eastern on Sunday, March 20 and will be televised on ESPNU.

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