Minnesota State players mob Ryan Sandelin after his OT winner knocked out Quinnipiac in a 4-3 win Saturday night (photo: Minnesota State Athletics).
LOVELAND, Colo. — A goal by Ryan Sandelin 11:13 into overtime capped a dramatic comeback as Minnesota State defeated Quinnipiac 4-3 to advance to the West Regional final against the winner of Minnesota versus Omaha.
The Mavericks trailed by two goals with less than six minutes left in the game before mounting their comeback win.
On the winner, Sandelin picked up a loose puck in the crease and lifted it over Quinnipiac goaltender Keith Petruzzelli’s right pad. Brendan Furry started the play with a hard drive toward the net down the right side, getting off a shot from the slot that Petruzzelli stopped, but he lost sight of the puck, leading to Sandelin’s goal.
“Furry made a great move cutting to the middle,” said Sandelin. “Reggie (Lutz) made a great play to just throw it to the front and I was thinking hopefully it would just pop out. Luckily it went off a guy’s skate right onto the netminder’s pad. All I had to was kind of jam it in. Pretty great play by Furry to get it to the middle and just get a puck to the net; that’s kind of the name of the game in OT.”
The Bobcats started well, scoring just three minutes into the game on a goal by Odeen Tufto, who picked up a rebound on the right side of the slot and shifted the puck to his backhand to beat goaltender Dryden McKay. Peter DiLiberatore made it 2-0 at 15:36, finishing off a two-on-one by tapping the puck into an open net off a perfect cross-crease pass by Guus van Nes. Quinnipiac outshot Minnesota State 13-6 in the period.
“I don’t want to say we’re a young team, but we’re a little bit all over the map at times, and unfortunately you can’t do that when you’re playing a top five team nationally,” said Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold. “Great first, tough second, good third, and then tough in the overtime, but again a lot of the credit has to go to Minnesota State and how good they were and how they controlled the play at times.”
Minnesota State rebounded and outplayed the Bobcats in the second, getting numerous chances and outshooting Quinnipiac 14-5. It seemed like the Bobcats would keep their two-goal lead headed into the third, but Jake Jaremko scored at 18:09 on a tip of a Julian Napravnik shot to bring the Mavericks back within one.
“Wasn’t looking good is an understatement,” said Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings. “I said let’s push all the chips in and play. I thought we were playing tentative and didn’t have much rhythm and we were throwing pucks around, and they took advantage of it. We talked about it in the locker room about going back and trying to get our ground game going a little bit, and I thought once we did that we gained some confidence.
The third period was more evenly played, but Quinnipiac got its two-goal lead back when CJ McGee scored at 8:54. McGee beat McKay short side with a bomb of a snap shot from the top of the left circle. It was his first career goal.
Time was working against Minnesota State when the rally started with a goal by Nathan Smith from about 30 feet out at 14:54. The Mavericks kept pushing for the equalizer, but Petruzzelli held firm.
The Mavericks pulled McKay at 1:15 for the extra attacker, and it almost immediately paid off as Cade Borchardt notched the equalizer just 13 seconds later, finishing off a play set up by a great pass by Jake Livingstone.
St. Cloud State was all smiles as Easton Brodzinski broke a 2-2 tie in the second and added a second goal in an explosive third period as the Huskies beat Boston University, 6-2, in the Albany Regional (photo: Rich Gagnon)
ALBANY, N.Y. — Easton Brodzinski had two goals and an assist to lead St. Cloud State to a 6-2 victory over Boston University in the semifinals of the Albany Regional played at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y..
The game featured a wild second period during which four goals, three by the Huskies, were scored in a 3:44 span with St. Cloud emerging with a 3-2 lead that it would add to with three more unanswered goals.
It was St. Cloud’s first opening round win since 2015. The Huskies had lost three times in regional semifinals since then, including twice as the No. 1 overall seed.
“The third time’s the charm I guess,” said SCSU’s Jami Krannila, who scored the Huskies’ fourth goal on a shorthanded penalty shot. “We stuck to our game plan. In years past we got away from that.”
The Huskies carried play in the first period, outshooting the Terriers 14-10, but they couldn’t solve BU goaltender Drew Commesso. The freshman made several key saves, including nine when St. Cloud was on a major power play after BU’s Dylan Peterson was ejected after a hitting-from-behind penalty.
Boston University struck first just eight seconds into the second. St. Cloud won the opening face-off of the period, but a good forecheck by Logan Cockerill caused a turnover, and Wilmer Skoog was able to put a shot past St. Cloud State goaltender David Hrenak.
Twelve minutes later, the Huskies got on the board on a strange goal scored by Micah Miller. With the puck behind the BU net, Nolan Walker lifted the puck high in air, and most players on the ice lost sight of it, including Commesso. The puck landed in the slot for Miller, who shot it into the open net before Commesso could react.
“One of the strangest goals I’ve ever seen,” said St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson.
“Their first goal was one for the ages,” said BU coach Albie O’Connell. “One of the strangest goals that you’ll see. Their guy in centerfield just swatted it in.”
The fluke goal gave St. Cloud the momentum, and the Huskies scored again less than two minutes later. It was more bad luck for BU, as a clearing attempt hit an official to keep the puck in the Terrier zone. Nick Perbix’s shot hit two players in front of the BU net, sailing past Commesso to give St. Cloud its first lead of the game.
BU responded almost immediately on the power play when junior Jake Wise got his first goal of the season, firing a perfectly placed shot off a pass from Luke Tuch to tie the game 2-2.
Just 32 seconds later, St. Cloud regained the lead on Brodzinski’s first of the game. The senior’s 12th goal of the season, assisted by Nolan Walker, turned out to be the game-winner.
The Terriers looked to take the momentum back after St. Cloud State’s Brad Chase was assessed a major penalty for contact to the head. But Krannila was tripped on a shorthanded breakaway chance, and a penalty shot was awarded.
Krannila made no mistake, ripping a wrist shot past Commesso to make it a 4-2 game.
“I’ve seen Easton (Brodnzinski) use the same move in practice probably 100 times, so I thought I would try that too,” said Krannila.
“Their fourth goal turning point in the game,” said O’Connell. “That was the difference. I thought it was a good play by our guy. I can understand the trip, but not the penalty shot.”
“Jami’s goal gave us a boost of confidence,” said Brodzinski. “We just needed to stick to our game from there.”
Brodnzinski scored his second goal of the contest midway through the third period to make it 5-2, and Veeti Miettinen’s tally with 4:58 put the game away.
The Huskies advance to play Boston College in the regional final tomorrow.
“I was proud of our team,” said Larson. “We had some adversity getting scored on eight seconds into the second period. But we were able to rally.”
Larson says there’s no time to celebrate this one, with regional top-seed Boston College waiting in the wings.
“We’re hitting the reset button,” he said. “We’ll have to play the right way to have any chance (against BC). The work will start about five minutes after we get out of here.”
Northeastern senior goalie Aerin Frankel makes a save in the national championship game. Photo: NU Athletics
Northeastern senior goaltender Aerin Frankel has been awarded the 2021 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The honors were presented live on NHL Network this year as the in-person Patty Kazmaier Ceremony was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The award, which is in its 24th year, is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey by the USA Hockey Foundation.
Frankel is the third winner from Northeastern University, joining Kendall Coyne, who won in 2016 and Brooke Whitney, who won in 2002. Frankel was selected from a group of three finalists that included senior forward Daryl Watts (University of Wisconsin) and senior forward Grace Zumwinkle (University of Minnesota).
Having already been named the inaugural Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association Goalie of the Year in 2021, Frankel is also the fourth goalie to be given the award, joining Wisconsin’s Ann-Renée Desbiens (2016) and Jessie Vetter (2009) and Brown’s Ali Brewer (2000).
She led all goalies this year in goals against average (0.81), save percentage (.965), win (20) and shutouts (9). Her goals against average is good for third best in NCAA history. Despite playing far less games this season, she is just one shutout shy of her single-season record of 10 set last season.
The two-time First-Team All-American shattered league and program records. Her 28 career shutouts and 26 Hockey East shutouts, 78 career wins and 6,315 career minutes played are all records. A three-time Hockey East Goaltender of the Year and MVP of the Hockey East Championship, Frankel’s career save percentage .947 is tied for second all-time in NCAA history.
Wisconsin sophomore Cole Caufield leads the NCAA with 30 goals this season. (photo: Tom Lynn).
The NHL’s Montreal Canadiens announced Saturday that the team has agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract with Wisconsin sophomore forward Cole Caufield that will begin with the current 2020-21 season.
Caufield finished as the Big Ten’s leading scorer in 2020-21 with 52 points (30 goals, 22 assists) in 31 games with the Badgers, also leading the NCAA in goals.
Also the Big Ten player of the year, Caufield represented the United States at the last two World Junior Championships, helping his country win gold in 2021 with two goals and three assists in seven games.
“I’m really, really proud of him,” Badgers coach Tony Granato said in a statement. “He was fun to be around and fun for us to coach as a coaching staff for these two years. I asked a lot of him this year and everything I asked of him, he went above and beyond. Cole had as good of a year as I’ve ever seen any college player have. His competitiveness, his hunger, his character as a kid blossomed and helped our team become an elite team. We all know Cole can score goals, and now he showed that he can make his teammates great, as well.
“I can’t wait to watch him as a pro. We’ll be cheering for him and looking forward to him having an impact for Montreal in the near future.”
Last season, the Stevens Point, Wis., native also led the Badgers in goals (19) and points (36). Caufield was also named the Big Ten rookie of the year.
Caufield, originally selected in the first round (15th overall) by the Canadiens in the 2019 NHL Draft, will join the AHL’s Laval Rocket after a required quarantine period.
Jasper Weatherby celebrates one of North Dakota’s five goals Friday night against AIC (photo: Russell Hons).
FARGO, N.D. — After a slow start in the first six minutes against upset-minded American International, North Dakota scored four times inside an eight-minute span to cruise to a 4-0 lead and an eventual 5-1 win from Scheels Arena.
Jasper Weatherby and Collin Adams each scored twice to pace the offense while Adam Scheel made 24 saves to send the Fighting Hawks into the Midwest regional final against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.
AIC took an early advantage in play thwarting the Fighting Hawks in the neutral zone while creating some early chances that Scheel handled easily. At 6:52, AIC’s Parker Revering took a minor penalty for interference and UND went to work on the power play. Shane Pinto had two excellent chances stopped by goaltender Stefano Durante, but the offensive momentum carried over for Weatherby’s first goal of the night on a rebound off the back boards at the far post just six seconds after the penalty expired.
Less than three minutes later, Weatherby stripped a pirouetting and off-balance Nico Somerville at the AIC blueline and fired a wrist shot past Durante on the blocker side for a 2-0 lead.
After Louis Jamernik failed to knock a bouncing puck into the open net behind Durante off a shot from Brendan Budy at 12:43, Grant Mismash took advantage of a great screen from Pinto in front of Durante and rifled the puck past the AIC goaltender for a 3-0 lead.
The first period siege was complete when Collin Adams drove the net and took a pass from Riese Gaber before firing the puck past Durante high on the blocker side for the 4-0 lead after the first period of play.
“They move the puck so well as a team,” said AIC captain Brennan Kapcheck. “They got some momentum going and the crowd was going and that affected us in the first period.”
The second period saw Jake Kucharski relieve Durante in goal for AIC and he was tested early. The period saw three power plays as a result of UND penalties but Scheel and the penalty kill unit kept AIC off the board to maintain their 4-0 lead after two periods of play.
North Dakota coach Brad Berry noted after the second period that he wasn’t pleased with the number of penalties and was looking for his team to finish out the game strong.
“We have to look at the final period in five-minute increments,” said Berry. “We need to take each five minutes and build momentum and dominate the third period to close it out”
The third period saw AIC with a great opportunity to get on the board but a scramble in the crease around a fallen Scheel saw the puck dribble away to the right and cleared by North Dakota.
The Fighting Hawks did as their coach outlined between periods as they built momentum as the period progressed including some great offensive zone time and quality chances that Kucharski managed to keep out of the net.
Late in the period, a UND penalty on defenseman Tyler Kleven led to a power-play goal from Tobias Fladeby, who fired the puck from the slot from a heavily screened Scheel to get the Yellow Jackets on the board at 17:47 of the third period
Just 28 seconds later the margin was restored to four as Adams cashed in from the top of the crease off a perfect goal-line feed from Jordan Kawaguchi for the 5-1 final score.
“We did a pretty good job managing the 60 minutes,” said Berry. “I liked our energy. I liked our short pass support. I liked that all four lines and all six defensemen were going. We were fortunate enough to get a few goals in the first period. I thought we played the game we wanted in the first period through our identity.”
“Tonight, we are going to enjoy the night and rest up and relax and have all our energy saved up for tomorrow. We are look forward to the opportunity to play tomorrow and playing our game.”
Filip Lindberg finished with 30 saves as UMass toppled Lake Superior State 5-1 Friday night in Bridgeport, Conn. (photo: Matt Dewkett).
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — For a man whose team advanced to an NCAA regional championship game with a 5-1 win, UMass coach Greg Carvel gave a frank, negative assessment of the Minutemen’s performance.
“In a grinding game, there were a lot of odd-man rushes and that is not good,” said Carvel of the win over Lake Superior State. “We’ll take them, but we’re not supposed to give them. I didn’t like that fact. I thought we had the game backwards. When we had the puck we were slow. When we didn’t have the puck, we were checking aggressively and we needed to flip that.
“I thought we were better in the third, but for two periods, I wasn’t overly happy with the way were playing and again. We were off tonight.”
After the first period ended in a 1-1 tie, the Minutemen scored twice at even strength less than two minutes apart in the second period and added both a power-play tally and the empty-net goal in the third. Even after outshooting Lake Superior State 18-12 in the second and coming away with a two-goal lead, Carvel said he let his team know how he felt about their play in the second intermission.
“I didn’t say anything,” said Carvel. “I yelled it. I was not happy after two periods. I think we were ahead 3-1 but we were sloppy. We gave up many odd-man situations.”
Carvel was especially unhappy with the number of penalties UMass took, including interference and hooking penalties in the third period.
“We took interference penalties because we cheated the game,” said Carvel. “When you cheat the game, that’s what happens. We didn’t take five penalties in three [Hockey East] playoff games. We did certain things well and the kids compete hard and they scored from in front of the net, which was key to the game, but we’re not going to win more games at this level at this time of the year playing like we did tonight.”
Jake Gaudet let the Minutemen with two goals tonight, the first at 10:07 in the first to give UMass the early 1-0 lead and the second on the power play at 10:49 in the third. They were the senior captain’s fourth and fifth goals of the season, and Carvel had something to say about that as well, referencing junior Bobby Trivigno’s team-leading 10 goals.
“Trivigno can’t carry us every single game,” said Carvel. “We need other guys to step up and Gaudet’s got three goals in the last two games and the way he should be scoring, around the net, owning space, being a big player. Happy for him. We needed that. I didn’t think we had a lot of guys going tonight and he was, luckily.”
Josh Lopina and Carson Gicewicz had the second-period goals for the Minutemen and Anthony Del Gaizo found the empty net with 4:13 remaining in regulation, when the Lakers had pulled goaltender Mareks Mitens early for the extra attacker.
Junior Ashton Calder had the lone goal for Lake Superior State at 17:14 in the first period. Both goaltenders worked this one. Mitens made 32 saves on the 36 shots that he faced. For Massachusetts, Filip Lindberg allowed one goal on 31 shots.
“I’ve not given Filip Lindberg lot of credit down the stretch, but he deserves it all tonight,” said Carvel. “He was outstanding when we were not great.”
This is the second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the Minutemen, who lost the national championship game to Minnesota Duluth in 2019. The Lakers, though, are a different story. The last time Lake Superior State played an NCAA tournament game was in 1996.
“It won’t be 25 years before you see us again,” said LSSU coach Damon Whitten. “We’ll be back.”
The Lakers captured the WCHA playoff championship title and finish the season with a record of 19-7-3.
“You can’t take the sting out,” said Whitten. “It hurts. We came in expecting to win a game, win a couple of games and move on. We’re champions. We’ve restored a lot of pride in the program with what we’ve done.”
The Minutemen (15-5-4) advance to play Bemidji State (16-9-3) in the East Regional championship game Saturday. The No. 4 seed Beavers upset No. 1 Wisconsin 6-3 in the first semifinal game.
Bemidji State captain Ethan Somoza scored twice and added an assist as the Beavers pulled the major upset, knocking off Bridgeport Region top seed, Wisconsin, 6-3 (photo: Matt Dewkett)
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The last time the Wisconsin Badgers faced Bemidji State in the NCAA Tournament, they defeated the Beavers as the first step in their 2006 national title. Friday afternoon, the Beavers flipped the script, scoring twice in each period en route to a 6-3 win in the opening game of the East Regional at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.
Captain Ethan Somoza led the way, scoring twice from the left side of the slot. His first came off a feed from winger Aaron Miller 14:42 of the second period and the second came 6:05 into the third off a pass from center Brendan Harris.
“We stuck to what we have been doing the whole year,” said Somoza. “Our focus is being a really aggressive forecheck, and causing turnovers, keeping things really simple in the defensive zone. Any time the puck comes out of the offensive zone, (we want to put it) right back into their (defensive) zone.”
The Beavers, who wanted to pressure the Badgers throughout the game, struck first just 6:33 into the contest.
The Badgers tried to clear the puck out, but defenseman Elias Rosen corralled the puck at the blue line. He quickly fired a shot from the right point towards the net, the shot hit a Badgers defender in the high slot, bounced up high and then dropped just shy of goaltender Robbie Beydoun. Center Ross Armour outmuscled a Wisconsin defender and knocked the puck under and past Beydoun for the goal.
The Badgers nearly evened things up on the next shift when Dylan Holloway drove down the ice and beat Beavers goaltender Zach Driscoll with a wrist shot. Unfortunately for the Badgers, the puck did not beat the post to Driscoll’s left.
Wisconsin (20-10-2 overall) killed off a pair of Beavers power plays to keep within striking distance until the final seconds of the opening frame when Rosen helped extend Bemidji State’s lead.
With Harris skating across the front of the net, Rosen, who gathered up a puck at the right point, fired a shot that beat Beydoun over the right shoulder at 19:44.
“We just wanted to attack,” said Beavers coach Tom Serratore. “The word all week was attack. We just wanted to attack, attack, attack and apply pressure all over the rink.”
Badgers coach Tony Granato admitted his team struggled to deal with the Beavers’ attack.
“Bemidji came out and made the plays early in the game to get the lead,” he said. “Once they got the lead, (they had) confidence in the way they play.”
In the second period, the Badgers caught an early break as both Lukas Sillinger and his brother, Owen, took penalties just 14 seconds apart. During the two-man advantage, Holloway was not able to take advantage of his drive to the slot, but shortly after that chance, winger Linus Weissbach did cash in with a wrist shot that beat Driscoll at 2:38.
With the remainder of the one-man advantage, the Badgers kept the pressure on, but could not find another way to beat Driscoll. Just seconds after the penalty ended, Owen Sillinger took a lead pass out of the penalty box and forced Weissbach to take a penalty. keeping him away from Beydoun’s net.
The Badgers had a golden opportunity to cut the Beavers’ lead in half with 2:45 left in the middle frame. However, it was the Beavers who found a way to get another goal on the board when Beydoun made a mistake during a dump-in by the Beavers (16-9-3 overall). He went behind his net with a pass, but instead of having a defender back there, Owen Sillinger was there. Sillinger wrapped around the net to his backhand for a shorthanded goal – a dagger – at 18:39.
Badgers winger Cole Caufield scored the Badgers’ second goal of the night 8:19 into the third period. He struck again at 14:56.
Harris added an empty-netter with 1.2 seconds left to seal the win.
The NCAA and the men’s D-I ice hockey committee announced Friday afternoon that Michigan has withdrawn from the NCAA tournament.
The Michigan-Minnesota Duluth game scheduled for Friday at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota, will now be considered a no-contest. The Bulldogs will advance to take on the winner of Friday’s North Dakota-American International first-round game.
According to the NCAA, the decision was made in consultation with local public health authorities and because of “privacy issues,” no further information will be provided.
From left, Spencer Knight, Jack LaFontaine, Dryden McKay.
The Hockey Commissioners Association announced Friday the final three candidates for this year’s Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey since 2014.
Boston College sophomore Spencer Knight, Minnesota senior Jack LaFontaine, and Minnesota State junior Dryden McKay are the three finalists.
The winner of this year’s award will be announced in April during the Frozen Four.
A similar award to recognize the top female goalie in the NCAA was launched this season and the inaugural recipient was Northeastern University senior Aerin Frankel.
Knight was chosen Hockey East player of the year and is a Hobey Baker finalist. His GAA (2.13) and save percentage (.933) reflect his talents, as did his leading Team USA to a gold medal at the World Junior Tournament in January.
Goaltender of the year in the Big Ten, LaFontaine takes phenomenal numbers into the NCAA Regionals: a 1.74 GAA and a save percentage of .936. He was on the Big Ten First Team and is a Hobey Baker finalist.
Named WCHA player of the year, McKay was also named to All Decade Team by the WCHA. His 1.40 GAA and .930 save percentage helped the Mavericks to the WCHA regular-season title and into the NCAA tournament. He is a Hobey Baker finalist.
Minnesota players celebrate a goal during a game in November 2020 against Penn State (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Loveland Regional, March 27-28 Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo.
Saturday, March 27, 5 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN
No. 2 Minnesota State (20-4-1) vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac (17-7-4)
Saturday, March 27, 10 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 1 Minnesota (23-6-0) vs. No. 4 Omaha (14-10-1)
Sunday, March 28, 8 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN
Loveland Regional Championship
MINNESOTA
Season record: 23-6-0, (16-6-0 Big Ten, 2nd in Big Ten)
Playoffs to this point: Won Big Ten tournament (beat Michigan State in the quarterfinal, Michigan in the semifinal and Wisconsin in the championship game)
Top players: Junior forward Sampo Ranta (18-11-29), senior forward Sammy Walker (13-15-28), junior forward Blake McLaughlin (12-15-27), senior forward Scott Reedy (10-17-27), sophomore forward Ben Meyers (11-15-26), senior forward Brannon McManus (9-16-25), sophomore defenseman Jackson LaCombe (4-16-20)
Top goalie: Senior Jack LaFontaine (21-6-0, 1.74 GAA, .936 SV%)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: A few weekends have brought them back down to earth, but the Gophers have been one of the hottest teams since the puck dropped this season. After the Big Ten Tournament, it really looks like Minnesota is flying high.
Ben Meyers has collected 11 goals and 26 points this season for the Gophers (photo: Minnesota Athletics).
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: Omaha is a tough four seed to draw, as is whichever team the Gophers would face in the next round. The NCAA tournament alone is a new experience for this group, and when you add COVID protocols keeping focus might be a challenge.
Minnesota had not made the NCAA tournament since 2017 and Bob Motzko knew he was brought to campus to change that fact.
“This program, it’s expected here,” Motzko said on Sunday. “We knew we’d get back there. We’re there, really that’s really all that matters, we’re there now and we earned our way in. We’re excited, we are excited to be there. None of our guys have been there. The senior class, they get to hang a banner and now they get to get in the NCAA tournament and all you hope is you’re just playing your best when you get in that thing.”
Minnesota put itself in a good spot with a great regular season, narrowly missing out on the title to Wisconsin, and had a strong showing in the Big Ten tournament beating the Badgers for the title.
The Gophers are the third overall seed in the tournament and will play Omaha in Loveland, Colo., on Saturday evening. Motzko, speaking while the selection show was still happening, said he had to do some video work on the Mavericks and added that the tournament adds another wrinkle because you have to scout three teams ahead of time.
“You’re on edge, I can tell you that,” he said. “Ninety percent, though, of our concentration is going to be on how we play and how we get our team ready to go.
“What a difficult job for the NCAA committee. I think they’re all going to be happy to get out of this year and go back to the numbers.”
Though none of Minnesota’s players have tournament experience, Motzko said he wasn’t worried about how they’d perform under the bright lights.
“I like our makeup, we’ve got enough grit and determination, and our league battle tests us,” he said. “This was the best our league’s been in my three years. The Big Ten, this year, was four and five teams deep.”
Though it’s his first time as the head man at Minnesota, Motzko took St. Cloud State to the tournament eight times during his 13 years. That included a Frozen Four run in 2013, but, it also included a massive upset by Air Force days before he took the Gophers job.
“I’ve had some high highs in this tournament, and I’ve had some low lows, but the bottom line is you’ve been in it a lot and that’s what you’re going to have,” Motzko said. “If you’re in it 10 times you’re going to have high highs and you’re going to have low lows. You’ve just got to just keep plugging away.”
— Drew Claussen
MINNESOTA STATE
Season record: 20-4-1 (13-1-0 1st in WCHA)
Playoffs to this point: Defeated Ferris State in the WCHA quarterfinals, lost to Northern Michigan in the semifinals
Top goalie: junior Dryden McKay (19-3-0, 1.40 GAA, .930 SV%)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: Simply put, the Mavericks will go as far as McKay can take them. The junior netminder was named WCHA player of the year and goaltender of the year while also finding himself on the All-Conference first team. The third-year starter has the best GAA in the NCAA.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: The Mavericks’ loss to Northern Michigan in the WCHA semifinals, at the Verizon Center in Mankato, Minn., was troubling, to say the least, especially when considering that slow starts continue to plague them.
Minnesota State goalie Dryden McKay has put up video game-like stats this season for the Mavericks (photo: SPX Sports).
The Wildcats were playing without junior forward Griffin Loughran, and yet they scored four goals on their first 11 shots of the game. Goals by WCHA leading scorer Andre Ghantous, Alex Frye, Joseph Nardi, and A.J. Vanderbeck in the game’s first 31:05 exposed concerns with the Mavericks’ defense.
“I thought we let the game get away from us and didn’t react real well to adversity,” said Mavericks coach Mike Hastings after the loss. “Without putting into simpler terms, (Northern was) hungrier.”
The Wildcats only had 17 shots through the first two periods and managed to only get three more through in the third period. However, that was more than enough as they chased McKay after Vanderbeck’s goal at 11:05 of the second period.
While the Wildcats struck only once in the first period and three times in the first half of the second, Hastings feels that his team’s starts continue to be an issue.
“Until you get burned by something, you don’t know how hot it is,” he said. “We’ve discussed it. We’ve tried to address it.”
McKay will be a big key if the Mavericks’ early-game struggles continue.
“In the near past, we’ve been able to overcome a slow start because Dryden McKay has allowed us to by keeping the puck out of our net, giving us a chance to get our feet underneath us,” Hastings said.
With little time to prepare before they face Quinnipiac Saturday, Hastings wants his team to learn the lesson now.
“We have to move on,” he said. “Slow starts or adversity is something that you are going to face. We haven’t faced a lot of it, so we have to learn from it quickly.”
— Daver Karnosky
OMAHA
Season record: 14-10-1 (fourth in NCHC)
Playoffs to this point: Lost to Denver in the NCHC quarterfinals
Top players: defenseman Brandon Scanlin (2-14-16), forwards Chayse Primeau (9-14-23), Tyler Weiss (7-14-21) and Taylor Ward (11-9-20)
Top goalie: Isaiah Saville (12-10-1, 2.86 GAA, .912 SV%)
Omaha goalie Isaiah Saville was in net for 12 of Omaha’s 14 wins during the 2020-21 season (photo: Omaha Athletics).
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: It’s been a while, but in 2015, the last time Omaha got into the NCAA tournament, the Mavericks made their first Frozen Four appearance. Minnesota, Minnesota State and Quinnipiac make for a bear of a regional field to have to play against, but any of those teams could get to Pittsburgh if they heat up at the right time.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: Omaha was a bubble team right up until the tournament selections were announced, and the Mavericks hadn’t a consensus pick from prognosticators to get in. They also went one-and-one out in the NCHC tournament, so while they’ll come into Saturday’s game rested, they might need to start fast against a very good Minnesota team.
Saturday night’s first-round game between Omaha and No. 3 Minnesota will provide a landmark moment for the Mavericks, making their first NCAA tournament appearance under fourth-year coach Mike Gabinet.
Making the 16-team field was far from guaranteed, though, for a UNO team that finished fourth in the NCHC regular-season standings and then lost to fifth-seeded Denver in the first round of the NCHC tournament. The Mavs then had a week off before learning on Sunday that their postseason run wasn’t done yet.
“Lots of nervous energy, I think, all of last week leading up to (the regional first-round pairings being announced), where you’re kind of on pins and needles a little bit, but the guys were excited,” Gabinet said.
“You could tell that this is a group that wants to play. This isn’t a group that is just happy being a good team. They want to play the game, and those are the types of guys that we recruited here, and those are the types of guys you want playing.”
And they’ll be playing against at least one formidable foe in Loveland, although Gabinet feels the Mavericks are ready for that challenge. Playing in the meat-grinder of the NCHC, Gabinet feels, brings out a lot in a team with postseason aspirations.
“I think that’s one of the benefits and one of the negatives of playing in our conference,” Gabinet said. “As a coach, you don’t get too many nights off of just feeling comfortable going into the weekend, and with (UNO’s) nine one-goal games this season, lots of very close games against extremely good competition.
“I think our players can draw on that, and I think our staff can draw on that. We’ve experienced the best of the best and we know what we have to do to be successful against those opponents.”
— Matthew Semisch
QUINNIPIAC
Season record: 17-7-4 (10-4-4 ECAC Hockey, first)
Playoffs to this point: Lost to St. Lawrence in the ECAC Hockey title game
Top players: Forward Odeen Tufto (7-38-45, leads nation in faceoff percentage), forward Ethan de Jong (14-15-29), forward Ty Smilanic (14-7-21), defenseman Zach Metsa (5-21-26), defenseman Peter DiLiberatore (5-14-19)
Top goalie: Keith Petruzzelli (17-7-4, 1.82 GAA, .927 save percentage)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: Quinnipiac hasn’t been dominant in any one area but is a well-balanced team.
The Bobcats are 11th in the country in scoring, sixth in team defense, fifth in both power play and penalty kill, and second in faceoff percentage.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: The Bobcats enter the national tournament on a two-game losing streak. That includes a loss to St. Lawrence in the conference championship, a game where Quinnipiac did not play well for lengthy stretches. Quinnipiac only faced three teams with a winning record all season and finished 4-4-2 against Bowling Green, AIC, and Clarkson.
It was an anxious 24 hours for Quinnipiac after losing to St. Lawrence in the ECAC Hockey Championship Saturday, but the Bobcats are back in the NCAA tournament for the second time in as many eligible seasons.
The Saints beat Quinnipiac 3-2 in overtime Saturday to claim the conference’s auto bid. The Bobcats seemed likely to get an at-large bid, but even that was uncertain due to the absence of the PairWise rankings this season.
Quinnipiac captain Odeen Tufto returned for his senior season with the Bobcats in 2020-21 and has rattled off 45 points in 28 games (photo: Rob Rasmussen).
“It seems like we were given a little bit of a gift and we’ve got to use that to our advantage,” Tufto said. “We’ve got a great opportunity here this upcoming weekend.”
Tufto is one of three Hobey Baker finalists who will play in Saturday’s game: McKay and Petruzzelli are the others.
Tufto has helped drive the Bobcats puck possession game this year. He leads the nation in faceoff winning percentage and is a dominate force in all three zones.
But it’s going to take more than just having the puck for Quinnipiac to win, as it found out last weekend against St. Lawrence.
“We’ve got to realize how hard playoff hockey is,” Bobcats associate coach Joe Dumais said. “It’s extremely tough and you have to make sacrifices. It’s physical; they don’t call a lot of penalties, which [goes] both ways. It’s hard to get to the net. You have to be willing to sacrifice bodies to get to the net.”
That applies on defense too. Petruzzelli has had an outstanding season, but Quinnipiac’s inability to box out rebounds on their net resulted in two Saints goals last weekend.
“We didn’t box out twice and it was in the back of our net,” Dumais said. “The little things matter at this level.”
Quinnipiac did get a boost last weekend with the return of forward Wyatt Bongiovanni to the lineup. The junior hadn’t played since December due to injury but scored his fifth goal in eight games this season Saturday. Head coach Rand Pecknold said last week that Tufto could have had 60 points this season if Bongiovanni was healthy.
Boston College players celebrate a goal during its home-and-home sweep over Merrimack in mid-January (photo: John Quackenbos).
Albany Regional, March 27-28 Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y.
Saturday, March 27, 1 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNews/WatchESPN
No. 2 St. Cloud State (17-10-0) vs. No. 3 Boston University (10-4-1)
Sunday, March 28, 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN
Albany Regional Championship
St. Cloud State/Boston University winner vs. No. 1 Boston College (17-5-1)
NOTE: Notre Dame was selected to be the fourth seed in this regional and was to open play against Boston College Saturday but was removed from the tournament on Thursday due to COVID-19 protocols.
BOSTON COLLEGE
Season record: 17-5-1 (17-5-1 HEA, first)
Playoffs to this point: lost to UMass Lowell in Hockey East semifinal
Top players: forwards Matt Boldy (10-20-30), Marc McLaughlin (10-14-24), Nikita Nesterenko (8-11-19), Jack McBain (6-13-19)
Top goalie: Spencer Knight (16-3-1, 1.99 GAA, .937 SV%)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: Well, they are a favorite. Everyone knows how dominant Knight is in net — except against UMass Lowell, apparently — and Matt Boldy is playing like one of the best underclassmen in the league.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: The Eagles are not immune to spurts of poor performance.
They blew a third-period, three-goal lead to UMass Lowell before falling in overtime, but also dropped a game to BU freshman goalie Vinny Dupelesiss in his first ever game, and they had an overtime loss to a far inferior New Hampshire squad.
The Eagles are supposed to be here, so nothing is a terrible surprise.
The loss to UMass Lowell was. The River Hawks went on a run where they topped two tournament teams in BU and BC before an ultimate 1-0 to another tournament squad, UMass, in the Hockey East championship.
The River Hawks are out though and the Eagles are in, and that semifinal loss is behind them.
“As a coach, you need to have amnesia. Watching the film (against Lowell) we played better than I thought we played,” BC coach Jerry York said. “It was a well-played game. I don’t think people understand how strong Lowell is. Certainly, we would have liked to have won it, but there’s one real shiny trophy and that’s the one right in front of us.”
That was a 6-5 loss in overtime in a game the Eagles led 4-1 in the third period. Certainly not something that can be expected again.
What can be expected from the top regular season team in Hockey East, however, is consistency. Boldy’s 30 points and McLaughlin’s consistent two-way play leads a forward group that’s simply deeper than most teams.
Of course Knight in net is an advantage no one else in the country has. What happens in front of him though — he hadn’t given up four goals all season until Lowell — is the difference maker.
Matt Boldy led BC in scoring this season with 10 goals and 30 points over 21 games for the Eagles (photo: Rich Gagnon).
The Eagles lost back-to-back games only once, and they were almost a month apart. They were also sandwiched between three overtime games. The Eagles have learned how to compete in any kind of game in front of them — even the wacky ones.
For the most part, they tore through a good conference all year and are a reasonable favorite. Once they get to regionals, though, if a BU squad that’s beat them and taken them to overtime is in front of them, it gets real interesting.
— Marisa Ingemi
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Season record: 10-4-1 (10-4-1 HEA, second)
Playoffs to this point: lost to UMass Lowell in Hockey East quarterfinal
Top players: forward Jay O’Brien (8-8-16); defenseman David Farrance (5-11-16); forwards Luke Tuch (6-4-10), Logan Cockerill (5-4-9)
Top goalie: Drew Commesso (6-2-1, 2.68 GAA, .924 SV%)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: The talent is deeper than perhaps anyone expected. David Farrance is having a player of the year kind of season, Jay O’Brien has been as solid as hoped and Luke Tuch has looked great when he’s been in the lineup. They have a tendency to rattle off a bunch of wins in a row, too.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: When the Terriers lose, it’s been pretty bad and at bad times.
First, their loss to Merrimack on February 26 which affected their conference seeding, then the 2-1 loss to the River Hawks in the quarterfinal was one of the worst games they played all season. There’s no room for performances like that on the road to the Frozen Four.
Just when the Terriers picked up some momentum, they were stopped once again.
Not momentum winning games, per se, but getting consistent playing time. The Terriers struggled to stay on the ice all year, eventually getting in 15 games, and had the latest start of any team in Hockey East, not getting underway until January.
Then they started winning.
“It was difficult,” BU coach Albie O’Connell said. “Our school did a good job of putting us in the best situation to play and staying healthy. From from our president to our administration, they didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”
Boston University defenseman David Farrance is a difference-making, high-end player for the Terriers (photo: Rich Gagnon).
The Terriers won five in a row following a 7-3 blowout loss on opening night against Providence. It didn’t take long for them to rebound, and to do so in style.
They didn’t lose again until February 5, an overtime loss at Boston College, then they won another four in a row.
That came before another pause in the middle of the season, too.
“We did have some moments where we were paused, but we did have some moments where we needed to be paused (to keep) everyone healthy,” O’Connell said. “There were some unfortunate times when other teams were paused when we had the opportunity to play. It was a lot of ups and downs, and the mental grind of it was hard.”
The Terriers have been a resilient group and they have some real nice wins on their resume. They just can’t afford clunkers like the one against the River Hawks now that it really counts.
— Marisa Ingemi
ST. CLOUD STATE
Season record: 17-10-0 (2nd in NCHC)
Playoffs to the point: Lost in NCHC championship game to North Dakota, 5-3
Top players: Freshman forward Veeti Miettinen (10-13-23), sophomore forward Jami Krannila (10-10-20), junior defenseman Nick Perbix (6-14-20), sophomore forward Zach Okabe (6-14-20)
Top goalie: Dávid Hrenák (14-9, 2.60 GAA, .906 SV%)
Why they will make it to Pittsburgh: The Huskies have a balanced, yet dynamic, scoring attack, and their special teams are strong, with a 22.47% success rate on the power play and 84.85% success rate on the penalty kill.
This season, St. Cloud State goalie Dávid Hrenák has gone 14-9-0 with a 2.60 GAA, a .906 save percentage and a pair of shutouts (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Why they won’t make it to Pittsburgh: Hockey players are a superstitious lot. Historically, St. Cloud hasn’t done well in the NCAA tournament, with a 5-15 overall record, and last won an NCAA tournament game in 2015 against Michigan Tech. They have lost their last four NCAA tournament games and last three first-round games. Also, the last time they played Boston University in the NCAA tournament, they lost 5-3 in 2000.
St. Cloud State has played in five NCHC championship games, more than any other team in the conference. When it comes to closing the deal however, they’ve only managed it once. Last weekend’s 5-3 loss to North Dakota stings all the more because St. Cloud led 2-1 going into the third before giving up three goals in just over a two-minute span.
Even after the loss, Huskies coach Brett Larson felt there were important things for his team to take into the NCAA tournament.
“The best thing for your young guys is playing under the bright lights in huge games; there’s nothing that prepares you better for the NCAA tournament than playing in an atmosphere and a game like this,” Larson said. “That felt like a Frozen Four game. You’re playing against one of the best teams in the country, you’re toe to toe with them all night.
“Certainly, you’d like five minutes of the game back that didn’t go your way, but the only way to learn and grow is going through things like that, and I think is really going to help this group continue to grow and continue to get better and be ready for next week.”
Perhaps the need to stay out of the box was drilled home by that experience, as two of those goals came when St. Cloud was a man down.
Offensively, the Huskies are paced by NCHC rookie of the year Veeti Miettinen, who has 23 points so far this season. He’s a dangerous player who will be counted on to get points at key times. Senior Easton Brodzinski leads the Huskies with 11 goals this season; while his point production is down, he helps lead the team in other ways.
In net, the Huskies will look to Dávid Hrenák, who played 23 of the team’s 27 games this season and earned a 2.60 GAA and .906 SV%. He’ll need to be at his best this weekend to go through Boston University and then either Boston College or Notre Dame.
In an interview on The Rink Live, Larson seemed pleased with traveling to Albany and thinks it might help his team.
“I kind of like getting away (from the Midwest) and playing some different teams and kind of eliminating the distractions from home,” Larson said.
Regional fourth seed Bemidji State upset first seed Wisconsin to advance to the Bridgeport regional final (photo: Matt Dewkett).
Owen Sillinger’s late second-period shorthanded goal proved to be the game winner as Bemidji State upset Wisconsin 6-3 in Friday’s early game at the NCAA D-I men’s ice hockey Bridgeport regional.
The Beavers never trailed in the contest and outshot the Badgers 40-33.
Bemidji State awaits the winner of the UMass-Lake Superior regional semifinal.
North Dakota enters the NCAA tournament as the top overall seed (photo: Russell Hons).
Fargo Regional, March 26-27 Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D.
Friday, March 26, 4 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 2 Minnesota Duluth (14-10-2) vs. No. 3 Michigan (15-10-1)
Friday, March 26, 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN
No. 1 North Dakota (21-5-1) vs. No. 4 American Int’l (15-3-0)
Saturday, March 27, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
Fargo Regional Championship
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
Season record: 15-3-0 (11-1-0, 1st in Atlantic Hockey)
Playoffs to this point: Won Atlantic Hockey tournament (beat Niagara in semifinals, beat Canisius in title game)
Top players: senior defenseman Brennan Kapcheck (0-18-18), senior forward Tobias Fladeby (9-8-17), senior forward Justin Cole (9-7-16), senior forward Chris Dodero (7-11-18), junior forward Chris Theodore (4-14-18)
Top goalie: senior Stefano Durante (9-3, 2.17 GAA, .907 SV%)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: Why not? In 2019, AIC stunned top-seeded St. Cloud in the first round. Since 2015, Atlantic Hockey teams have won four of their five opening games, including three victories over the overall No. 1 seed. The Yellow Jackets enter the tournament with the best winning percentage in the field at .833 (15-3-0) and the longest winning streak (seven games).
Defenseman Brennan Kapcheck and AIC won the Atlantic Hockey playoff title, but enter the NCAA field as the No. 16 seed (photo: Kelly Shea).
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: As the No. 16 seed, AIC has the toughest road to the Frozen Four, starting off with top-seeded North Dakota. The Fargo regional looks especially challenging, with Michigan and two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth also in the mix.
American International enters the NCAA tournament the way it did in 2019, and the way all but one Atlantic Hockey team has since the league’s inception in 2003 – on a winning streak. With the exception of Niagara in 2013, it’s been only the winner of the conference tournament that has made the NCAA tournament.
That’s fine with AIC coach Eric Lang, whose Yellow Jackets face off against top-seeded North Dakota.
“I think there’s something to playing your way in,” said Lang. “To do that, you have to show resilience. You’re going to be battled tested for this tournament, because here, you’re one and out.”
The Yellow Jackets showed plenty of resilience in the Atlantic Hockey tournament. Prior to its semifinal game against Niagara, AIC had gone a stretch of 49 days without playing due to various COVID protocols, which included Bentley having to bow out of a quarterfinal series against Lang’s team on short notice.
AIC had to come from behind to win against Niagara in the semis, and again against Canisius in the championship game.
“I was worried (about the layoff) but not really worried,” said Lang. “We had great practices, intense practices. And the layoff gave us a chance to watch a lot of video on ourselves and learn a lot about ourselves.”
In 2019, AIC upset top-seeded St. Cloud in Fargo, 2-1, thanks to a 33-save performance by Zackarias Skog. Eight current Yellow Jackets saw action in that game, while current starting goaltender Stefano Durante watched from the bench.
AIC will need a stellar performance from Durante against the Fighting Hawks.
“He’s always prepared,” said Lang. “He’s not physically imposing but he’s a winner. He’s won every place he’s been. He’s got a confidence about him that gives our whole group confidence.”
AIC will need that against an imposing Fight Hawks team playing close to home.
“I ruined my Sunday watching (video of) them”, said Lang. “North Dakota is a great, great team.”
It might have been different for AIC had St. Lawrence not had to pull out of the tournament. The Yellow Jackets would probably have been the No. 15 seed, and headed to nearby Albany to face off against Boston College.
But instead, it’s North Dakota in Fargo.
“We’re going to go wherever they tell us to go and put our best foot forward,” said Lang. “People on that committee work hard and do a deeper dive than we have and I respect that. There are no easy games this time of the year.”
One advantage – the Yellow Jackets will be able to play in front of some fans at Scheels Arena, most likely around 1,500 based on current occupancy rules.
“That will matter to our players and I think they deserve it,” said Lang. “There won’t be a lot of people screaming for AIC, but they’ll get to hear applause, boos, everything. It’s really exciting.”
— Chris Lerch
MICHIGAN
Season record: (15-10-1, 11-9-0-0 Big Ten, third)
Playoffs to this point: Beat Ohio State B1G quarterfinal, lost in overtime to Minnesota in the Big Ten semifinal
Top players: Forwards Thomas Bordeleau (8-22—30), Kent Johnson (9-18—27), Matty Beniers (10-14—24), Brendan Brisson (10-11—21); defensemen Cam York (4-16—20), Owen Power (3-13—16)
Top goalie: Strauss Mann (11-9-1, 1.89 GAA, .930 SV%)
Michigan sophomore defenseman Cam York was the captain of Team USA in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship that brought home gold (photo: Michigan Photography).
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: The Wolverines are loaded with talent and are deep in every position. They play disciplined hockey and they’re fast. With their youth and relative inexperience compared to everyone else in their bracket, no one expects them to advance. They have nothing to lose or to prove – and they’re good enough to go.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: Their youth is a double-edge sword. While they have experienced players with Frozen Four experience, Michigan is led in scoring by a freshman class that’s never played anyone but Big Ten opponents.
“Oh, wow.” That was Michigan coach Mel Pearson’s reaction to where the Wolverines landed in the NCAA tournament.
“You’ve got two teams that won both their regular season and their playoff championships in North Dakota and AIC,” said Pearson, “and then you’ve got the two-time defending national champions in Duluth.”
While it’s a bit daunting on paper, said Pearson, the Wolverines are the proverbial we’re-just-happy-to-be-here team, and not only because it’s NCAA tournament time.
“We’re just really thankful and happy to be in the tournament because you never know how it’s going to turn out,” said Pearson. The Wolverines were forced to pause from Jan. 23 until the end of the first week in February along with the entire Michigan athletic department because of a local surge in in the British COVID-19 variant known as B.1.1.7. Even though no one in the hockey program tested positive, everyone was in isolation.
“I thought our young men handled it great,” said Pearson. “There was no practice. There was no facility use. They couldn’t go to another building.
“We weren’t the same team when we came back from that and we realized that not only as a staff, but I think our team did. It took us a good two to three weeks.” The Wolverines were 5-1 through January before that pause. Since returning to play, Michigan has gone 5-4-1. “You just can’t take 14 days there and almost 23 days between games,” said Pearson. “It’s hard to take that much time off.”
Much has been made of Michigan’s youth this season, and rightly so. The Wolverines’ top four offensive threats are freshman forwards and a sophomore and rookie defenseman round out Michigan’s top half dozen scorers. This is a team, though, that’s led in other ways by a senior class that went to the Frozen Four in 2018.
And those talented rookies “have been around,” said Pearson.
“They know what it takes to win, they’ve done a lot of winning there, so we have to play our game,” said Pearson. “I think that’s biggest thing. We have to put pressure on them, we have to use our speed, we have to play well defensively like we have all year. Everybody talks about our offense and our skill and our young guys but you know what? We play pretty good defense, too.”
How good? How about top in the Big Ten and fourth-best in the nation? Michigan scores 3.50 goals per game but allows just 1.96. This team may be young in many ways, but it’s disciplined around the puck.
And that youth, said Pearson, can be a real advantage.
“I’ve been in maybe 26 NCAA tournaments,” said Pearson. “I’ve had a lot of experience. I’ve seen teams that are really good but they’re so uptight. You build the game up to something and you just don’t play. Then I’ve been around teams that are young and loose and they don’t know any better. They just go play. Sometimes it’s okay to have those young guys.”
— Paula C. Weston
MINNESOTA DULUTH
Season record: 14-10-2 (3rd in NCHC)
Playoffs to this point: Lost in NCHC semifinal to St. Cloud State, 3-2
Top players: Senior forward Nick Swaney (13-14-27), junior forward Jackson Cates (10-16-26), senior forward Kobe Roth (13-10-23), junior forward Cole Koepke (13-8-21)
Top goalie: Ryan Fanti (10-7-2, 2.39 GAA, .905 SV%)
Why they will make it to Pittsburgh: Minnesota Duluth has played in the last three national championship games, winning the last two. Coach Scott Sandelin knows how to get the most out of his players in the postseason.
Minnesota Duluth’s Noah Cates celebrates one of his 14 goals during the 2019-20 season (photo: Terry Cartie Norton).
Why they won’t make it to Pittsburgh: The Bulldogs stumbled down the stretch and have only won two of their last seven. Further, the players who were the backbone of the stingy defense that got the Bulldogs their last two championships, defenseman Scott Perunovich and goalie Hunter Shepard, are gone.
Minnesota Duluth has been one of the most consistent teams in the NCAA tournament over the last decade. The Bulldogs have a current national best six straight NCAA tournament appearances, and since the beginning of the regional format, the Bulldogs are a perfect 10-0 in first-round tournament games. Coach Scott Sandelin’s .786 winning percentage in the NCAA tournament is the best among active NCAA coaches.
UMD will play Michigan in the first round; assuming their perfect record continues, they will likely have to go through North Dakota in the quarterfinals, a tall task. They can at least be thankful it’s not St. Cloud, whom they went 2-5 against this season. This is the first time the Bulldogs have played Michigan since defeating them in overtime in the 2011 NCAA championship game in St. Paul.
The Bulldogs are the two-time defending NCAA champions for a reason: Sandelin knows how to get the best out of his team in the playoffs. Before COVID-19, the Bulldogs were one of the favorites to make the NCAA title game again last season. UMD has won three national championships in the last decade and played in four title games.
While the Bulldogs have been strong this season offensively, notching the fourth-highest goal total with 90, their defense has at times let them down, and it’s one reason they stumbled down the stretch, losing five of their last seven.
However, both of UMD’s NCHC tournament games were classic playoff games, one-goal affairs decided by a timely bounce. In the quarters, the Bulldogs got the bounce in OT, while in the semis, a wraparound by Chase Brand eluded Ryan Fanti and gave St. Cloud a win, ending the Bulldogs’ 13-game postseason win streak.
“We lost a one-goal game; the streak’s come to an end, got to start a new one,” said Sandelin after the loss,
Fanti has played well this season in the shadow of the two Hunters, Shepard and Miska, who took the Bulldogs to the last three NCAA championship games. The Bulldogs clearly miss defenseman Scott Perunovich, who departed for the pros after his junior season.
“We have two goalies who can play well; you might see a different one if we play again,” said Sandelin after the St. Cloud game. “We have confidence in both of them.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs look like they have in most of the last decade; no super producers, but a lot of players who can put the puck in the net. Cole Koepke was huge for UMD in the game against Western Michigan, while Nick Swaney has been a leader both on the ice and in the locker room.
— Candace Horgan
NORTH DAKOTA
Season record: 21-5-1 (first in NCHC)
Playoffs to this point: Defeated Miami, Denver and St. Cloud State to win NCHC championship
Top players: Defenseman Matt Kiersted (3-18-21), forwards Jordan Kawaguchi (9-25-34), Collin Adams (11-20-31) and Shane Pinto (15-15-30)
Top goalie: Adam Scheel (19-3-1, 1.81 GAA, .928 save percentage)
Adam Scheel has been a rock between the pipes this season for North Dakota (photo: Mark Kuhlmann).
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: You probably wouldn’t find a single North Dakota fan, player or coaching staff member who thinks the Fighting Hawks wouldn’t have made the Frozen Four last season if the NCAA tournament had gone ahead. UND was 26-5-4 and looked not only set to end a two-year NCAA tourney hiatus, but also make serious waves. Nearly all of UND’s biggest weapons from last season are back, and they’ve been firing.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: UND has been so consistent in its results this season, that Hawks fans could be tempted to see this as a UND-versus-the-field scenario. It isn’t. American International will be more than happy to play the No. 16 role in Fargo — ask St. Cloud State — and playing an hour down the road at Scheels Arena doesn’t guarantee UND anything, either. In 2017, UND crashed out of the NCAA tournament there in the first round, falling in double overtime against Boston University.
Outsiders had high expectations for North Dakota entering this season, and the Fighting Hawks have been as good as advertised.
Is this the season that UND, which was great last season too in a pandemic-shortened campaign, wins its ninth national title? It’s possible, but Hawks coach Brad Berry doesn’t want to hear about that. He and his team are too busy living in the moment, at the business end of a second consecutive season that has been affected by COVID-19.
“I think we were all kind of holding our breath this year, going through the regular season and the NCHC postseason playoffs and just kind of not knowing what the future looks like,” Berry said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “Now, we’re another day closer to Friday as far as certainty of playing in the NCAA regional here, and our guys are truly excited about that after last year.”
Berry then put the spotlight on his seven-man senior class, headlined by a Hobey Baker Award finalist in Shane Pinto but highly talented across the board.
“This is one of only two teams that have ever came through their freshman year through their senior year and played all four years here with 100 percent returning players in that field, and they’re truly excited about it. We’re playing for our team this year, but we’re also playing for the seniors that didn’t get a chance at playing in the postseason last year.”
UND received a plum draw insofar as the Hawks are the overall No. 1 seed playing very close to home, but this is a tough regional draw. First of all, No. 1 losing to No. 16 is very much a thing in the recent history of this tournament. Furthermore, Minnesota Duluth won the last two national championships, in case anyone has forgotten, and we know better than to underestimate Michigan in the postseason.
That said, Berry feels his battle-tested team is ready for the challenges that will come in Fargo.
“Somebody asked me the other day about, ‘Well, now it’s on to the NCAA regionals and you guys haven’t played in it in a while.’ I don’t think it really matters,” Berry said. “To me, when you go through the NCHC regular-season gauntlet, it’s playoff-type mentality every game on a Friday and Saturday night, and then you go to the NCHC playoff pod in Grand Forks where you play three games and it’s single-elimination, do-or-die situation, that’s (like the) NCAA regionals right there.
“It’s game on, and our guys have played that through the whole year here.”
Due to COVID protocols, Notre Dame has been removed from the 2021 NCAA regional in Albany, N.Y. Boston College advances to the regional final in a “no contest” (File photo)
Due to positive COVID-19 test results within its Tier I testing group and in accordance with University of Notre Dame policies, the NCAA and the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee, the Notre Dame hockey team will no longer participate in the 2021 NCAA Championship. This decision was made in consultation with the Albany County Public Health Department and the NCAA Medical Advisory Group.
As the No. 4 seed in the Albany Regional, Notre Dame was slated to take on No. 1 seed Boston College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 27 at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. The game will now be ruled a no contest.
“It’s an unfortunate situation and I feel for our guys, especially our seniors,” Head coach Jeff Jackson said. “The team was excited about returning to the NCAA tournament and ready to continue competing after earning the opportunity. But with the multiple positives and subsequent contact tracing it became clear that for the safety of our team and the others in the tournament we could not proceed.”
USCHO has learned that more than one Notre Dame player tested positive during in-person testing in Albany. With contact tracing for those players and existing injuries for the Irish combined, the team could not field enough players to compete.
Boston College will now take on the winner of Saturday’s Boston University-St. Cloud State semifinal, originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. That game will now be played at 1 p.m. ET.
Wisconsin’s offense – including its top line of Ty Pelton-Byce, Cole Caufield and Linus Weissbach – will be tough to contain in the upcoming NCAA tournament (photo: Wisconsin Athletics).
Bridgeport Regional, March 26-27 Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Conn.
Friday, March 26, 1 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN
No. 1 Wisconsin (20-9-1) vs. No. 4 Bemidji State (15-9-3)
Friday, March 26, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 2 Massachusetts (16-5-4) vs. No. 3 Lake Superior State (19-6-3)
Saturday, March 27, 5 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
Bridgeport Regional Championship
BEMIDJI STATE
Season record: 15-9-3 (8-5-1, 4th in WCHA)
Playoffs to this point: Beat Michigan Tech in two games in WCHA quarterfinals before losing to Lake Superior State 5-1 in WCHA semifinal game
Top goalie: senior Zach Driscoll (14-9-3, 2.27 GAA, .924 SV%)
Zach Driscoll emerged as the No. 1 goalie in the Bemidji State net this season (photo: BSU Photo Services).
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: Just to prepare you for a discussion you’re going to hear a lot during Friday afternoon’s broadcast, I will remind you of four numbers: 2009.
Bemidji State was also a No. 4 seed during the 2009 tournament. Remember them? The Beavers beat No. 2 overall seed Notre Dame in the first round then toppled Cornell to make it to their first Frozen Four.
It only takes two wins to make it, and the Beavers have arguably an easier path this season — Wisconsin is good, but they are beatable, and a potential rematch with conference foe Lake Superior State (a team the Beavers beat twice this year) is possible in the regional final.
Also, the Beavers are arguably a much better team than the 2009 edition. They have pretty good scoring depth, but their defensive corps in front of Driscoll is also underrated.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: If they can’t stop Cole Caufield, things might get dicey. The probably Hobey Baker winner has scored 28 goals in 30 games this season. No one else in the country is even close. The entire team has 115 — nearly 4 goals per game. If Wisconsin gets ahead early, I think it will be tough for the Beavers to hang with them goal-for goal.
At one point during Sunday night’s NCAA tournament selection show, the ESPN graphic misspelled “Bemidji.” (How many Wisconsin fans out there now think the Badgers are playing “Bimidji State”?)
Some coaches might get worked up about “disrespect,” but Tom Serratore took it in stride. He is not that kind of coach.
“You know what, at least it wasn’t ‘B-e-r-m-i-d-j-i’ like it usually is,” Serratore joked Monday. “Burr-midji.”
Serratore had every right to be in a good mood.
His team received its first NCAA tournament bid since 2010, and did so, ultimately, without drama. Despite needing to wait until the final bracket was revealed to confirm their appearance, the Beavers weren’t the last or even the second-to-last team in the tournament. They were comfortably in as the No. 13 overall team.
“We have a committee made up of hockey people and our body of work was strong,” Serratore said. “When I looked at our body of work and then looked at everyone else’s, I just said, ‘How can you not pick the Beavers?’ But I’m not going to sit here and say I wasn’t concerned (until the end).
“There was a couple teams that we thought we were going to be ahead of, which we ultimately ended up being ahead of, the way it played out, and you do think, what’s going on here. But it all played out the way we thought it was going to play out. We felt that where they had us is where we probably belong, and I think the committee did a heck of a job.”
That means the Beavers get a crack at the Big Ten champion Badgers and their high-octane offense which features presumptive Hobey Baker favorite Cole Caufield.
Serratore knows Caufield will be a handful.
“Obviously, he’s dangerous. You’re going to have to play close attention when he’s on the ice. He just has an uncanny way of getting open,” Serratore said. “We know how good he is and we know how good their hockey team is.
“Teams who are No. 1, they don’t just fall from the sky and become a No. 1. You know they’ve got depth, they’ve got high-end players, they’ve got a dangerous power play… they have a lot of different attributes.”
Still, the Beavers aren’t going to be daunted by bright lights and a No. 1 draft pick. Bemidji State’s schedule is always filled with top-ranked teams and explosive offenses. These are the kinds of games the Beavers seem to love to play. Being a No. 4 seed against a No. 1 seed isn’t much of a concern.
“Since 2008-09, there’s been a lot of four seeds who have won, and there’s been a lot of four seeds who have gone to the Frozen Four,” Serratore said. “So we’re excited to go compete and let it play out. I mean, it’s not like we haven’t played these teams before. Every year we play a tough schedule.”
Serratore noted that this season the Beavers played 21 games against teams with a .500 or better record.
“We had the strongest schedule in the country this year,” he said. “We’re battle tested and we’re ready to compete.”
— Jack Hittinger
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
Season record: 19-6-3 (9-5-0 2nd in WCHA)
Playoffs to this point: Won the WCHA tournament (defeated Alabama Huntsville in the quarterfinals, defeated Bemidji State in the semifinals, defeated Northern Michigan in the title game)
Top players: junior forward Ashton Calder (15-13-28), junior forward Pete Veillette (13-13-26), sophomore forward Louis Boudon (8-11-19), senior forward Hampus Eriksson (6-13-19), senior defenseman Will Reidell (6-11-17)
Top goalie: senior Mareks Mitens (13-5-0, 1.85 GAA, .912 save percentage)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: The Lakers’ top line of Ashton Calder, Pete Veillette and Louis Boudon have been the Lakers’ leaders all season offensively. Night in and night out, they have found ways to be leaders. Calder has size and speed. Veillette sees the ice very well and can find Calder with speed. Boudon just plays a strong all-around game. They proved effective in all three zones Saturday in a win over Northern Michigan to win the WCHA playoff title.
Louis Boudon has helped Lake Superior State to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 25 years (photo: LSSU Athletics).
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: Inexperience in the national tournament.
The Lakers have not been to the NCAA tournament since 1995-96, or back when Jeff Jackson was the head coach.
“My office overlooks the rink, and every day I look out at many banners,” said LSSU coach Damon Whitten. “That’s the expectation. It’s been a long time, but we still have fans and alumni who know those championship days very well, and we want to get back to that level. We share that goal.”
For Whitten, a big part of the challenge has been to recruit the right types of players who can step in and help usher the tradition of Lake Superior State while also adding their own touches.
“I think it’s a really good challenge,” Whitten said. “When you’re recruiting with that history, and that tradition, that’s big. You can come to Lake State (and) win a national championship, win a league championship.
“We’ve got an unbelievable history of putting guys in the NHL, certainly a lot of distinguished alumni in other fields as well. But when you look at the hockey side of it, that’s all a really positive thing to use. I think it’d be challenging with some of the perception of fans or people who have been around in those championship years.
“They get a little spoiled, and they want it every year, expect it that way. So, there’s a challenge there, but I think that’s a really positive thing to have. That versus the other side, where you lack history, lack tradition, I will take this nine times out of 10.”
The Lakers have been through a lot over the last three seasons, trying to get to this point. They won 23 games two seasons ago before taking a step back last season. Whitten feels that his upperclassmen learned a very valuable lesson over that stretch, but there is still a lot his team needs to learn as they move forward.
— Daver Karnosky
MASSACHUSETTS
Season record: 16-5-4 (13-5-4 Hockey East, third)
Playoffs to this point: Defeated Northeastern 4-1, in Hockey East quarterfinals, defeated Providence 5-2, semifinals, defeated UMass Lowell 1-0 in championship game
Top players: Forward Bobby Trivigno (10-20-30), forward Oliver Chao (4-17-21), forward Carson Gicewicz (13-7-20), forward Josh Lopina (8-12-20), defenseman Matthew Kessel (9-11-20)
Top goalies: Filip Lindberg (7-1-4, 1.48 GAA, .940 SV%), Matt Murray (9-4-0, 2.01 GAA, .913 SV%)
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: This might be one of the deepest teams in the NCAA field.
They don’t rely on one forward or one line to score as all four lines are dangerous. Four of their six defensemen (Kessel, Zac Jones, Marc Del Gaizo and Colin Felix) could be the top defensemen on most teams. And though both goaltenders are high quality, Lindberg is healthy and carrying the water with a stingy goals against.
Marc Del Gaizo has been a solid player on the back end for UMass during the 2020-21 season (photo: Rich Gagnon).
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: If teams can find a way to shut down the UMass offense, that could be a bump in the road for the Minutemen. They’re certainly confident but they haven’t competed against a team like Wisconsin and their potent offense this year. Should those two meet in the regional finals, that could derail this UMass team.
The last time the NCAA tournament was played, UMass was one of the final two teams standing, ultimately losing 3-0 to national champion Minnesota Duluth.
That night, though, was so unfamiliar to the Minutemen. Not just the players, but the coaching staff. Coach Greg Carvel, though, isn’t the only one teaching his players how to prepare this time. The junior and senior classes have no problem passing along the knowledge this team gained in the 2019 NCAA tournament run.
“The last time we went through the whole NCAA championship, we had zero experience and it really showed in the championship game,” said Carvel. “We watched [defending champion Minnesota] Duluth do everything right. That had obviously been there. We were just going where we were told to go instead of doing what we thought we should be doing.
“Knowing how we played the last time we were in the NCAAs, those [upperclassmen] are preaching to the how we needed to elevate our game and how we’re going to elevate again. That will be critical.”
In a way, UMass has already shown that they’ve grown. Two years ago, the Minutemen fell short in the Hockey East tournament despite being the prohibitive favorite. This season, as the third seed, UMass marched through the tournament with surgical precision, taking advantage of opponent’s mistake, playing solid defense and, ultimately, hoisting the Lamoriello Trophy last Saturday night.
“I really like the way our teams play throughout the playoffs,” said Carvel. It was really good defensive hockey.”
That defense is becoming the staple of this team (“it’s the defense and special teams that have led our team this year,” said Carvel). And while the back end is strong and stingy, you have two blueliners in Matthew Kessel and Zac Jones who are among the top four goals scorers on the team.
Up front, Bobby Trivingo is having an elite season. He was somehow overlooked as a Hobey Baker finalist but did earn the Walter Brown Award, college hockey’s oldest award, presented to the top American born player in New England.
Trivigno’s season to date is a bit of a bounceback after scoring 28 points (13 goals) in 39 games as a rookie, his production dipped a year ago (nine goal, 20 points in 34 games). Carvel challenged Trivingo to work harder and get stronger, despite his diminutive 5-foot-8 frame.
It paid off.
With 30 points in 25 games, including 10 goals, is 10th nationally in total point and points per game.
Carvel looks forward to a regional with two WCHA teams his team rarely sees as well as a Wisconsin club that could set up a monster matchup in the regional final, should both teams advance.
Before that point, though, Carvel has a job to get his team off of cloud nine after capturing the program’s first Hockey East title.
“I’ll ground them this week,” said Carvel. “We beat BC a few weeks ago and then we lost in a shootout to Maine. I learned a lesson. I don’t care if the players did, I learned a lesson.
“It’s very similar. You win the championship, you get a little too high. If you don’t get back under soon, you’re going to pay for it.
“Believe me, I’ve got a plan to ground them and when we ground them, they’re a good team.”
— Jim Connelly
WISCONSIN
Season record: 20-9-1 (17-6-1-0 Big Ten, first)
Playoffs to this point: Beat Penn State in B1G semifinal, lost to Minnesota in the Big Ten championship game
Top players: Forwards Cole Caufield (28-21—49), Linus Weissbach (11-29—40), Dylan Holloway (11-23—24), Ty Pelton-Byce (12-17—29); defenseman Josh Ess (2-5—7)
Wisconsin senior Linus Weissbach has posted 11 goals and 40 points in 30 games this season for the Badgers (photo: Paul Capobianco).
Why they will advance to Pittsburgh: The Badgers have an outrageously talented offense led by the top scorer in the nation, Cole Caufield. It would be an overstatement to say that Caufield is the only reason for Wisconsin’s success, but it is also impossible to overestimate his value to the Badgers. He elevates the play of everyone on the team and he’s nearly impossible to keep in check.
Why they will not advance to Pittsburgh: Wisconsin’s one weakness is inconsistency, especially defensively. The Badgers know they can score and are, therefore, a little looser sometimes than they should be in other areas of the game. Wisconsin’s goaltending duo is good, but the Badgers have occasional lapses in team defense.
After chasing Minnesota in the Big Ten standings all season, the Badgers edged out the Golden Gophers for their first regular-season conference championship since 2000, when they last captured the WCHA title. Then they faced off against Minnesota in this year’s Big Ten playoff championship game and found themselves chasing the Gophers once again.
Down 2-1 in the second period of that game, the Badgers saw the Gophers explode for three goals within a three-minute span in the second half of the period. In spite of scoring three goals themselves in the third, the Badgers lost that game 6-4. It still stings.
“The loss against Minnesota was disappointing,” said coach Tony Granato. “We really wanted to win a second trophy and win the Big Ten playoffs. Minnesota was great that night and they deserved to beat us. We had a little bit of a hiccup there in the second period that cost us a game, but you saw how we played in the third period to come close. We had them off-balance there for the whole period and almost came back and put ourselves in a position to win that game.
“That’s been our fight all year.”
After going 5-5-0 in their first 10 games of the season, the Badgers have had few hiccups since Jan. 1, amassing 16 wins with no back-to-back losses since the start of the calendar year.
“Our goal at the start of the year was to get to this tournament,” said Granato. “Our goal was to continue to get better as a team, to pull together as a team as the year went along. We’ve accomplished that, so I think we’re set up for success based on how we played all year.”
Twice in the early part of the season, the Badgers had to pause for COVID protocols, once before competition began and then again in early December. Wisconsin was also without several marquee players for the IIHF World Junior Championship.
With his entire squad at his disposal, Granato’s team improved steadily in the second half and the Badgers may be peaking right now – thanks, said Granato, to the tough competition Wisconsin has faced in the Big Ten.
“In our conference, all of these games have helped us get ready for this opportunity,” said Granato. “All we’ve done this year and the places that we’ve gone and the challenges that we’ve had, we’ve answered the bell.”
Granato said that he knows that Wisconsin’s first opponent, Bemidji State, is physical and can “grind it out pretty good,” but that the Badgers are approaching the weekend as they do as they have all season.
“We try to not sit back and watch,” said Granato. “We try to get on the attack and make them have to defend us, so we’ll have that same mentality.”
Aarne Talvitie registered seven goals and 13 points in 21 games this season for Penn State (photo: Mike Miller/Big Ten Hockey).
Penn State junior forward Aarne Talvitie will forgo his senior season with the Nittany Lions after agreeing to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils on Thursday morning.
Talvitie’s deal is set to begin with the 2021-22 season. He has signed an AHL contract for the remainder of the 2020-21 season and will report to Binghamton once his quarantine period is complete.
“Aarne has been a great student, a great player, and a great leader for us these past three seasons,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said in a statement. “We will greatly miss him as a person and for his example of quality toughness. We are proud that he is a Penn Stater and look forward to seeing all his success with the Devils.”
Originally drafted by the Devils in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, the Espoo, Finland native served as an alternate captain this past season appearing in 21 games and finished fourth on the team with seven goals while adding six assists for 13 points.
In his career, Talvitie appeared in 68 games, scoring 18 goals with 30 assists for 48 points.
“My time at Penn State was more than I could’ve ever hoped for,” Talvitie said. “The experiences I had will last a lifetime and I’m so glad that I chose to be a Nittany Lion. All the support from the staff, my teammates and the whole Penn State community has helped me to take this next step in my career. I’m sad to leave Penn State behind but I know that I have learned how to be a better player and a better person.
I’m honored to say that I will always be part of the Penn State family. We are.”
Senior Matt Creamer opened the scoring for Conn College on Senior Night in their 2-1 upset win over Norwich (Photo by Helen Fulmer)
Like many teams striving to find a way to play competitive hockey this season, Connecticut College found strength in its administration and its players and coaches to make a partial season possible. What has ensued has been a planful approach to celebrating the seniors and preparing a young roster for what will hopefully a fast start in the 2021-2022 NESCAC season.
“First I have to thank the great efforts by the administration here at the school,” noted head coach Jim Ward. “From the President to the Head of Student Life and our Athletic Director, everyone was focused on keeping our student athletes safe but giving them a chance to play. None of this happens without their support along with the sacrifices the players have made to get on the ice and keep everyone safe so we can play. From the first road trip for the exhibition at Norwich our focus has been on making this season special for our seniors and our second goal has been to help our young players learn the culture, systems and gain valuable experience that will set us up for a fast start for next season. So far, I would say we have been successful with both.”
After dropping a 6-2 exhibition game to Norwich, the Camels then went 3-0-1 with a sweep of Albertus Magnus and a win and a tie with Becker. The re-match with Norwich would take place at home and have the added ceremony of Senior Night to recognize the efforts of the core group and their contributions to the school and program. The script was set, and the Camels delivered with a stunning upset of the Cadets, winning a hard-fought 2-1 game to remain unbeaten and hand the visitors their first loss since December of 2019.
“It was a great hockey game,” said Ward. “We are thrilled with the win against a really good team. It was great that it happened on Senior Night and that both our seniors and new freshmen figured prominently in the outcome. Matt [Creamer] has been the heart and soul of this team and scoring the first goal of the game was a big lift for the squad. Add in the freshmen performances with Seth [Stadheim] picking up the game winning goal in the third period and Cam [Fernandez] making big saves to preserve the win, it was everything we wanted for the season in a single game. Great for the seniors and great for the team going forward with confidence into next season.”
Like any team that is truly the sum of its pieces, Ward and his staff have certainly had to mange the program differently this season which ironically includes no formal team meetings. Practices have been shorter and crisper and video work has been modified to support the distancing aspects for the players. Additionally, coach Ward and assistant coach Joe Giordano have leveraged the leadership of two juniors on the roster: Chris Adamsons and Kyle Shero.
“Chris already wears an “A” for us this season,” stated Ward. “We are looking forward to next year about with these two guys, but we have leaned on them to help fill some of the gaps that the “inconvenience of Covid” has created for us. I guess our bust trip to Northfield for the could technically count as our first and only in person team meeting but working through some of the requirements and inconveniences has shown us different ways to be successful as a group.”
As one of only two NESCAC schools to play competitive games (Colby is the other) this season, Connecticut College will close out this most different of all seasons with three games against NESCAC rival Trinity. The Bantams have been delayed in their return to the ice due to COVID challenges with scheduled opponents and will face a confident Camel squad in a home-and-home series this weekend followed by a single game at Trinity on April 3.
“It is always a big rivalry when we play Trinity,” noted Ward. “With all of the challenges of the season we have tried not to put too much of the schedule out there because we have had changes and needed to be flexible and realistic during this pandemic-influenced season. We certainly hope to continue to evolve our game against another skilled team like Trinity as we continue to recognize our senior class and create meaningful on-ice experiences for our developing players.”
Seth Barton anchored the UMass Lowell blue line in 2020-21, picking up two goals and 11 points in 20 games (photo: UMass Lowell Athletics).
The Detroit Red Wings announced Wednesday that they have signed UMass Lowell junior defenseman Seth Barton to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2021-22 season.
Barton will give up his senior year with the River Hawks.
“We are excited for Seth,” said UML coach Norm Bazin in a statement. “He is a quality person that has developed and improved significantly over the past three seasons. He has represented UMass Lowell well both on and off the ice, and has worked hard for this opportunity. We wish him well and are excited to watch his continued development.”
In 2020-21, Barton tied for the team lead among defensemen and for fifth overall on the team with 11 points (two goals, nine assists) and four penalty minutes in 20 games and helped the team advance to the Hockey East championship game.
As a sophomore in 2019-20, Barton tied for seventh on the River Hawks with a collegiate career-high 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) and 20 penalty minutes in 30 games, also ranking 10th among all Hockey East blueliners in points.
Overall, Barton totaled 36 points (seven goals, 29 assists) and 49 penalty minutes in 83 games at UML.
Barton was originally drafted by the Red Wings in the third round (81st overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
