Alex Newhook and Boston College are again the top team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll (photo: Team Shred).
With 24 first-place votes this week, Boston College remains No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.
North Dakota stays No. 2 with 14 first-place votes while Minnesota State is again No. 3 with the remaining two first-place votes.
Minnesota retains the grasp on No. 4, Wisconsin remains No. 5, Massachusetts sits No. 6, swapping spots with Michigan, while St. Cloud State stays No. 8 and Minnesota Duluth is again ninth.
Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger review the weekend’s men’s D-I hockey conference playoffs in the Big Ten, Hockey East, NCHC, Atlantic Hockey and WCHA, and ask some questions about the results.
How did the weekend affect the fortunes of teams that lost – in particular Notre Dame, Bowling Green, and Boston University? What about Omaha and Denver? Did Penn State and Providence get boosts? Can Atlantic Hockey get two bids?
Jim and Ed also discuss what might go into the decisions to pick the last three or four teams in the NCAA field.
Mike Egan led the offense in Babson’s weekend sweep of New England College moving the Beavers to 8-0 on the season (Photo by Babson Athletics)
A couple of the regional powers, Babson and Norwich, continued their unbeaten ways while the UCHC heats up with Stevenson and Chatham starting to get their game in high gear. Here is the full wrap-up from the busiest weekend so far:
Non-Conference
Becker v. Southern Maine
On Tuesday, the visiting Hawks looked to be on the way to a road win over the Huskies behind Jason Diamond’s first period goal and the outstanding goaltending of Andrew LoRusso. Late in the third period Curtis Judd scored to tie the game and Brendan Dowler needed less than a minute into overtime to score the game winner for Southern Maine.
New England College v. Babson
Babson swept two games from New England College to move to 8-0-0 on the season. On Friday at home, the Beavers erupted with a six-goal second period on their way to a 7-0 win. Mike Egan scored a pair of goals while Ryan Black added one goal and two assists. Aidan Murphy stopped all 24 shots he faced to earn the shutout in his first win of the season.
On Saturday, six different goal scorers chipped in for Babson as they blew open a 1-1 game with a four-goal second period on their way to a 6-2 win. Brad Arvanitis stopped 30 shots to move to 5-0 on the season.
University of New England v. Franklin Pierce
Despite outshooting the Ravens by a 40-20 margin, it took a late goal from Alex Vukota to give the Nor’easters some breathing room in a 6-4 win over Franklin Pierce. Thirteen different players earned a point for UNE with Vukota and Brent Hill leading the way with three apiece.
On Sunday, the Nor’easters did Saturday one better with 14 players figuring in the scoring as UNE raced to a 5-2 first period lead and cruised to a 9-4 win for the weekend sweep. Hill, Geordan Buffoline and Aaron Aragon each chipped in with two goals each in the win.
Curry v. Suffolk
The Colonels moved to 3-0 on the season with a 4-2 win over the Rams on Saturday. Michael Curran was the offensive star for the Colonels recording a hat trick while goaltender Cody Murch made 30 saves for the win as the Rams outshot the Colonels by a 32-29 margin.
Connecticut College v. Becker
The two-game series provided a stark contrast as Friday’s game went back and forth in a 4-4 overtime tie and Saturday was a romp for the Camels. Friday saw Conn College race to a 3-0 lead in the second period only to see the Hawks score four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead midway through the third period. Chris Adamsons tied the game at 4-4 and overtime could not decide a winner. Goaltender Andrew LoRusso made 46 saves for the Hawks who were outshot 50-27.
On Saturday, the Camels surrendered a goal to Becker’s Phillip Garcia early in the second period before posting seven goals of their own in the runaway win. Jake Vaughan scored twice for the Camels while Matt Creamer picked up three assists in the 7-1 win.
Southern Maine v. Colby
The Huskies fresh off an overtime win on Tuesday won another close one behind 44 saves from goaltender Gabriel Couture in a 2-1 win at Colby. After the teams exchanged power play goals in the first period, the score remained tied until Adam Withers gave the Huskies the lead for good midway through the second period. Couture made that lead stand up with 16 third period saves.
Nichols v. Endicott
The Gulls came out flying in their first official game of the season and outshot the Bison by a 51-27 margin. The line of Jake Simons, Zach Mazur and Connor Beaty combined for five goals in the 7-1 rout of Nichols. Goaltender Conor O’Brien made 26 saves in goal while the special teams delivered three power play goals and one shorthanded marker.
Norwich v. Plymouth State
The schedule shifted the games to Norwich late last week and the Cadets took advantage of the home ice with a pair of 2-0 wins over the Panthers. Goaltender Drennan Atherton recorded his third and fourth consecutive shutouts in his first four starts stopping all 57 shots he faced in the two games.
On Saturday, Carter Cowlthorp and Noah Williams provided all the scoring Norwich would need for the win. On Sunday, it was a goaltending duel between Atherton and PSU’s Kalle Andersson for the first two periods in a scoreless tie. Norwich’s Michael Green broke the deadlock at 6:29 of the third period before Logan vande Meerakker scored a power play goal with just over three minutes remaining to provide some cushion in the 2-0 win.
UCHC
Elmira v. Nazareth
On Wednesday, forward Shawn Kennedy scored a pair of goals to help Elmira to a 3-0 lead early in the third period. Nazareth was not going to go down without a fight and tied the game on two goals from Ray Falso and one from Casey Kubara in a span of just under three minutes. But the visitors rallied back with the man-advantage and Jared Smith’s goal earned Elmira the 4-3 win.
Manhattanville v. Stevenson
On Wednesday, Mac Lowry picked up a pair of assists in the first period and then added to goals as the Mustangs built a 4-1 lead over the Valiants and cruised to a 5-2 win. Anthony Starzi also chipped in with a goal and two assists and Ryan Kenny made 18 saves for his fourth win of the season.
Chatham v. Nazareth
On Friday, Chatham fell behind the Golden Flyers early on a goal from Henry McKinney but rallied with three unanswered goals in the second period with two from Lucas Rothe sandwiching one from Michael Thamert. After Ray Falso cut the deficit to one-goal in the first period of the final period, Carson Grainer scored his first goal of the season for final margin in the 4-2 win.
On Saturday, Chatham blanked Nazareth 4-0 behind 37 saves from goaltender Ricardo Gonzalez. Matt Mood, Chad Bell, Chris Lutz and Aidan Girduckis provided all the scoring as the Cougars extended the LVC winless streak to seven games while moving to 4-2-0 in the UCHC.
Neumann v. Stevenson
On Friday, Stevenson scored a pair of goals in each period with Austin Master picking up three assists in a 6-2 win over Neumann.
Stevenson moved to 4-1-0 in the UCHC with their 4-2 win over Neumann on Saturday. After Zac Boyle gave the Knights the lead after the first period of play, the Mustangs battled back for a 3-2 lead after two period of play on goals from Matt Cappucci, Seth Bergeron and Chad Watt. Watt added an empty-net goal for the final goal in the win that moves Stevenson to 7-2-0 overall.
Elmira v. Lebanon Valley
On Sunday, Elmira handed LVC its first loss in conference play with a 4-2 win. Ryan Reifler, Jake Russo and Janis Vizbelis helped the visitors to a 3-0 lead and Nicholas Domitrovic sealed the win with his third period goal. Jeffrey Zero (maybe the perfect goalie name) picked up his first win making 18 saves for the Soaring Eagles.
Three Biscuits
Mac Lowry – Stevenson – figured in the first four goals for the Mustangs in a 5-2 win over Manhattanville. Lowry finished the game with two goals and two assists.
Drennen Atherton – Norwich – recorded a pair of shutouts in Norwich’s two wins over Plymouth State. Atherton stopped 27 shots in Saturday’s 2-0 win and added another 30 saves in Sunday’s 2-0 victory.
Jake Simons – Endicott – scored two goals and added two assists as the Gulls returned to play with a dominant 7-1 win over Nichols.
Bonus Biscuit
Michael Curran – Curry – scored a hat trick in Curry’s 4-2 win over Suffolk on Saturday that moved the Colonels to 3-0-0 on the season.
Mid-March but the excitement level continues to be high for teams playing real games and as many as they can over the next few weeks.
Niagara won the deciding Game 3 Sunday over Robert Morris to advance to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals (photo: Niagara Athletics).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. Mavericks cruise to sweep of Bulldogs
Minnesota State, having earned the top seed in the WCHA playoffs, found themselves hosting the one team that gave them fits in the second half of the season, Ferris State.
Friday night, the Bulldogs held the Mavericks off the board until the third period, falling 3-0. Saturday, the Mavericks scored twice in the third to seal the series with a 3-1 win.
Logan Stein stopped all 18 shots he faced through the first two periods Friday. It took Julian Navpravnik scoring on the power play for the Mavericks to break through at 8:49. Jared Spooner scored just 1:53 later and Walker Duehr added an insurance goal in the last five minutes to give the hosts the win.
Saturday, Duehr struck 9:03 into the second to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. Sam Morton added to the lead 2:19 into the third. The Bulldogs finally got on the board at the 13:00 when Marshall Moise found the net, but Jake Livingstone added an empty netter with 45 seconds left to send the Bulldogs home.
2. Spartans force Gophers to overtime
In their Big Ten quarterfinal matchup, Michigan State struck just 10:39 into the contest and held the lead until late in the third period before falling 2-1 in overtime to Minnesota Sunday.
Dennis Cesana got the Spartans on the board with a power-play goal off a feed from Mitchell Lewandowski. From there, Pierce Charleson shut the door until the 15:01 mark of the third when Bryce Brodzinski evened things.
In overtime, Charleson made 12 more saves, on top of the 36 he made in regulation, but it wasn’t enough as Sampo Ranta potted his 17th of the season to give Minnesota the win and the opportunity to face Michigan on Monday.
3. Lakers earn sweep in home playoff berth
Hosting Alabama Huntsville in the WCHA quarterfinal round, Lake Superior State earned a pair of victories to advance.
On Friday, they scored the game’s final four goals to earn a 6-1 win. Saturday, the Lakers struck three times in the second en route to a 4-1 win.
In Friday’s contest, Pete Veillette got the Lakers on the board just 3:14 into the contest. He later added a shorthanded goal in the second period just six seconds after the Chargers had cut the lead to 2-1. Louis Boudon added two assists in the contest.
Saturday, Boudon got things going just 18 seconds into the middle frame. William Riedell and Hampus Erickson scored the other two goals in the period for the Lakers. Brandon Puricelli scored the Lakers’ fourth goal 13:20 into the third period, putting the game out of reach.
4. Pioneers dress 16, defeat Omaha 5-4
In its quarterfinal matchup with Omaha, Denver dressed just 10 forwards and six defensemen, but the 16 skaters were plenty as the Pioneers scored three times in the third period to earn a 5-4 victory.
Hank Crone got the Pioneers on the board first just 8:25 in. The Mavericks scored the game’s next three goals to take a two-goal lead with just 5:13 left in the middle frame.
Bobby Brink sparked the comeback with a power play goal at 16:57. In the third, Mike Benning scored his second and third goals of the season 11:10 apart to give the Pioneers the lead, 4-3. After Nate Knoepke evened things at 13:10 for the Mavericks, Bo Hanson responded at 14:57 to give the Pioneers the win.
5. Purple Eagles fight back, upset Colonials in three games
On Friday night, Robert Morris needed overtime to defeat Niagara 3-2.
Saturday, the Purple Eagles responded with a 3-2 double-overtime victory, forcing a third game on Sunday. Sunday night, the Purple Eagles scored once in the first and once in the second and then held on in the third to earn a 2-1 victory in their Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series.
On Friday night, Eric Cooley scored in the first period and added an assist on the power play late in the second to help the Purple Eagles even the game at 2-2 and force overtime. Saturday night, he added another assist on Jack Billings’ goal in the first period. Billings then picked up an assist of his own on Ludwig Stenlund’s goal late in the first period before scoring the game-winner in double overtime at 7:31.
In Sunday’s matchup, Billings added another goal to get the Purple Eagles on the board just 2:59 into the contest. Walker Sommer added what stood as the game-winner 3:51 into the second period.
6. Beavers sweep Huskies, keep NCAA hopes alive
In the 4-5 matchup in the WCHA playoffs, Michigan Tech took leads both nights, but Bemidji State found ways to claw their way back to win 3-1 Friday and 4-1 Saturday.
On Friday, Lukas Sillinger, who returned to the Beavers’ lineup, picked up an assist in the first period on a goal by Alex Ierullo before scoring one of his own 11:42 into the second. Aaron Miller added the other tally for the Beavers.
Saturday, the Huskies held a 1-0 lead until the late stages of the second when Brad Johnson and Ethan Somoza scored 1:51 apart. Alex Adams and Ross Armour added empty net goals in the game’s final 2:18 to seal the series.
7. Nittany Lions find playoff magic against Fighting Irish
Thanks in large part to a three-goal second period, Penn State found a way to beat Notre Dame 6-3 on Sunday afternoon in their Big Ten quarterfinal matchup.
The Nittany Lions will face Wisconsin Monday.
The Fighting Irish struck twice in 31 seconds to hold a 2-0 lead just 2:41 into the contest. Christian Sarlo found a way to get Penn State on the board before the opening frame ended at 18:52. In the second, Connor McMenamin struck twice less than seven minutes to put the Nittany Lions up 3-2 with 9:50 left in the period. Tim Doherty then found the net on the power play to extend the lead with just over five minutes left.
Chase McLane extended the Nittany Lions’ lead again 8:20 into the third. The Fighting Irish’s Ryder Rolston answered back, but that was as close as Notre Dame would get as McLane struck for a second time into the empty net at 19:28.
8. Wildcats need third, deciding game to top Falcons
In its WCHA quarterfinal matchup against Bowling Green, Northern Michigan used four goals from four different scorers Friday in a 4-3 win, were held scoreless Saturday in a 5-0 loss, and got two goals from Mikey Colella Sunday to help earn a 5-1 win.
Colella scored his first goal of the second to break a 1-1 tie Friday night a little over halfway through the middle frame. Griffin Loughran and Brandon Schulz followed Colella with goals of their own to give the Wildcats a 4-1 lead heading into the final frame.
Saturday night, Evan Dougherty struck twice in the third period just 1:37 apart, as the Falcons turned a 2-0 lead into a 4-0 lead. Alex Barber potted an insurance goal for the Falcons just under three minutes later.
Sunday, Colella’s first goal of the game came at 17:56 of the first period and stood as the game-winner. Joseph Nardi added to the Wildcats’ lead in the second period, but the Falcons answered 1:40 later when Sam Craggs scored. Colella’s third goal of the weekend put the Wildcats back on top by three, 4-1, putting the game out of reach for the Falcons.
9. Miotto helps Golden Griffins sweep series with RIT
In the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals, Canisius struck four times in the second period to win Friday, 5-2, over RIT.
On Saturday, the Golden Griffins scored one in the first, two in the second and three in the third to earn the sweep, 6-2.
Ryan Miotto scored his first goal of the season to get the Golden Griffins on the board first Friday 13:32 into the first period. Miotto assisted on a goal from David Melaragni 8:39 into the second as the Golden Griffins took a 3-1 lead. J.D. Pogue and Austin Alger added goals in a 65-second stretch to put the game out of reach.
Saturday night, Max Kouznetsov got the Golden Griffins on the board first just 2:50 in, but they found themselves trailing the Tigers 2-1 after one period. In the second, Keaton Mastrodonato and Grant Meyer scored to help the Golden Griffins regain the lead. Miotto chipped in one of two empty-net goals Canisius scored in the final frame to seal the series.
10. Colorado College falls just short despite dressing only 16 skaters
Colorado College came into its NCHC quarterfinal game with St. Could State with only 11 forwards and five defensemen available at game time.
Despite the disadvantage, it was the Tigers who struck first just 2:08 into the second period. While they could not sustain the start, the Tigers held the Huskies to just two goals in the loss.
McKay Flanagan got the Tigers on the board. The game remained 1-0 until Zach Okabe evened things with 1:01 left in the middle frame.
The Tigers, who had seven shots through two periods, could not get another one to the net in the third. Instead, it was the Huskies who found the net as Nick Perbix helped the Huskies advance with his goal at 16:05.
Minnesota celebrates Sampo Ranta’s overtime winner Sunday afternoon against Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals (photo: Mike Miller/Big Ten Hockey).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of March 8 fared in games over the week of March 8-14.
No. 1 Boston College (17-4-1)
03/14/2021 – New Hampshire 2 at No. 1 Boston College 3 (Hockey East quarterfinal)
No. 2 North Dakota (19-5-1)
03/12/2021 – Miami 2 at No. 2 North Dakota 6 (NCHC quarterfinal)
No. 3 Minnesota State (20-3-1)
03/12/2021 – Ferris State 0 at No. 3 Minnesota State 3 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 1)
03/13/2021 – Ferris State 1 at No. 3 Minnesota State 3 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 4 Minnesota (21-6-0)
03/14/2021 – Michigan State 1 vs No. 4 Minnesota 2 (OT) (Big Ten quarterfinal)
No. 5 Wisconsin (19-8-1)
Did not play.
No. 6 Michigan (15-9-1)
03/14/2021 – Ohio State 0 vs No. 6 Michigan 4 (Big Ten quarterfinal)
No. 7 Massachusetts (14-5-4)
03/14/2021 – No. 20 Northeastern 1 at No. 7 Massachusetts 4 (Hockey East quarterfinal)
No. 8 St. Cloud State (16-9-0)
03/12/2021 – Colorado College 1 vs No. 8 St. Cloud State 2 (NCHC quarterfinal)
No. 9 Boston University (10-4-1)
03/14/2021 – UMass Lowell 2 at No. 9 Boston University 1 (Hockey East quarterfinal)
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth (14-9-2)
03/13/2021 – RV Western Michigan 4 vs No. 9 Minnesota Duluth 5 (OT) (NCHC quarterfinal)
No. 13 Bowling Green (20-10-1)
03/12/2021 – Northern Michigan 4 at No. 13 Bowling Green 3 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 1)
03/13/2021 – Northern Michigan 0 at No. 13 Bowling Green 5 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 2)
03/14/2021 – Northern Michigan 5 at No. 13 Bowling Green 1 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 3)
No. 14 Clarkson (11-7-4)
Did not play.
No. 15 Bemidji State (15-8-3)
03/12/2021 – RV Michigan Tech 1 at No. 15 Bemidji State 3 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 1)
03/13/2021 – RV Michigan Tech 1 at No. 15 Bemidji State 4 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 16 AIC (13-3-0)
Did not play.
No. 17 Providence (11-8-5)
03/14/2021 – No. 17 Providence 6 at RV Connecticut 1 (Hockey East quarterfinal)
No. 18 Lake Superior State (17-6-3)
03/12/2021 – Alabama Huntsville 1 at No. 18 Lake Superior State 6 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 1)
03/13/2021 – Alabama Huntsville 1 at No. 18 Lake Superior State 4 (WCHA quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 19 Notre Dame (14-13-2)
03/14/2021 – Penn State 6 at No. 19 Notre Dame 3 (Big Ten quarterfinal)
No. 20 Northeastern (9-9-3)
03/14/2021 – No. 20 Northeastern 1 at No. 7 Massachusetts 4 (Hockey East quarterfinal)
Northern Michigan’s Mikey Colella celebrates one of his two goals Sunday against Bowling Green (photo: NMU Athletics).
Nine conference quarterfinal games were played Sunday, with some teams eliminated from the 2020-21 season and some advancing to play another day.
WCHA
Northern Michigan 5, Bowling Green 1
Northern Michigan is off to the WCHA senifinals after a dominant 5-1 win Sunday night over Bowling Green.
Mikey Colella tallied twice for the Wildcats, while Joseph Nardi posted a goal and an assist and Ben Newhouse and Vincent de Mey added goals in the win.
Between the pipes, Rico DiMatteo finished with 39 saves to garner the win.
Andre Ghantous and AJ Vanderbeck each chipped in a pair of assists for NMU.
For the Falcons, Sam Craggs netted the lone goal and goalie Eric Dop made 29 stops in goal.
Next weekend’s WCHA championship will open with semifinals on Friday as NMU plays Minnesota State at 2:07 p.m. CST and Bemidji State plays Lake Superior State at 7:37 p.m. CST.
Friday’s semifinal winners will advance to Saturday’s WCHA title game at 7:07 p.m. CST.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Niagara 2, Robert Morris 1
Purple Eagles goalie Chad Veltri was the difference, making 44 saves as Niagara moves on to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals next week to play AIC.
Highlights ? | Niagara wins Game 3 on the road to advance to the @Atlantic_Hockey semifinals!
— Niagara University Men's Hockey (@NiagaraMHKY) March 15, 2021
Walker Sommer and Jack Billings scored for Niagara, while Randy Hernandez broke Veltri’s shutout bid with a goal in the waning seconds of the third period.
Robert Morris goalie Noah West finished with 30 saves for the Colonials.
BIG TEN
Michigan 4, Ohio State 0
Michigan used two goals and a goal and an assist from Cam York to down Ohio State 4-0.
Strauss Mann stopped 26 shots for the win between the pipes.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “Michigan State did exactly what you knew they were going to do tonight. They were going to play a good, stingy hockey game. I thought we were good, too. You find yourself in those games – we had plenty of chances, we just couldn’t get one by that goalie.
“Thank goodness Bryce (Brodzinski, 15:01 of the third period) tied it up late. I felt we deserved to win, but they were going to make it hard on us.”
Jack LaFontaine collected 22 saves in goal for the Gophers.
Dennis Cesana netted MSU’s lone goal and Pierce Charleson made 48 saves in taking the loss in goal.
HOCKEY EAST
Bobby Trivigno celebrates his goal for UMass on Sunday against Northeastern (photo: UMass Athletics).
Massachusetts 4, Northeastern 1
The Minutemen advance to the conference semifinals with a 4-1 win behind Bobby Trivigno’s goal and two assists.
UMass now plays Providence on Wednesday.
“I thought the kids did a great job today,” said UMass coach Greg Carvel. “We wanted to play a real strong defensive game. We wanted to be disciplined and stay out of the penalty box and the refs made that a 5-on-5 game today, which I think plays to our favor. Northeastern’s got a very good power play and we wanted to limit their opportunities there. We wanted to check well and I thought the kids did a really good job of that today.
“I thought we really kept the game on the outside of the ice. I thought we transitioned pretty well and got a big goal early that kind of set the tone. I thought our kids played a really good 60 minutes, good playoff-style hockey.”
Zac Jones, Philip Lagunov and Garrett Wait also scored in the win, while Filip Lindberg steered aside 25 shots for the win in the UMass net.
Jeremie Buechler scored for Northeastern and Connor Murphy finished with 24 saves.
Providence 6, Connecticut 1
Brett Berard, Nick Poisson, Uula Ruikka and Tyce Thompson all had a goal and an assist for the Friars while Jaxson Stauber made 40 saves in goal.
Parker Ford and Max Crozier added goals and Ben Mirageas tacked on a pair of assists in the win.
For UConn, Jachym Kondelik scored and Tomas Vomacka stopped 37 shots between the pipes.
Boston College 3, New Hampshire 2
The Eagles held off a comeback attempt from the Wildcats on Sunday to secure a 3-2 victory to advance to host UMass Lowell on Wednesday in a Hockey East semifinal.
Boston College stormed out to a 3-0 first-period lead, scoring three times in less than three minutes on goals from Alex Newhook, Mike Hardman and Nikita Nesterenko.
“We’re excited about the win,” said UML coach Norm Bazin. “It was a hard-fought battle. All the guys competed very hard. I thought our third period was our best period. This is a great time of year to be playing. We get to live to fight another day here, so we’ll concentrate on taking some time off and coming back on Wednesday.”
Matt Brown also scored for UMass Lowell and Henry Welsch made 16 saves in the River Hawks’ cage.
On the winning goal, Reid Stefanson chipped the puck away from the boards and over towards Andre Lee for the redirect towards an oncoming Chambers, who wound up from inside the near circle for the goal.
“When I saw the rolling puck, I just wanted to shoot it as hard as I could,” explained Chambers. “Luckily, it bounced in and that’s how it goes. It was a big goal, and I’m just pumped for my team.”
Jamie Armstrong registered the lone Terriers’ goal and goalie Drew Commesso finished with 27 saves.
The game also marked BU’s first playoff game at Walter Brown Arena since March 9, 2002.
Well, I went 4-0 in the first round, while Matthew was 2-2. It’ll be harder going forward, but we’ll give it our best!
March 15
No. 1 North Dakota vs No. 5 Denver Candace: If Denver wasn’t so shorthanded, I’d be more likely to pick the upset. However, I like North Dakota at home. North Dakota 3-2 Matthew: Denver’s come-from-behind win over Omaha was impressive considering the Pioneers’ situation entering the tournament, but I think the run ends here. North Dakota 4-1
No. 2 St. Cloud State vs No. 3 Minnesota Duluth Candace: Last weekend, St. Cloud beat Duluth in OT. I’m thinking Duluth gets the win back here. Minnesota Duluth 3-2 Matthew: St. Cloud struggled to get past a shorthanded Colorado College, and UMD caught a break in overtime against Western Michigan. This game is tough to pick, but I’ll take the maybe just about safef option with the higher seed. St. Cloud State 3-2
Four games today to determine who heads to the Hockey East semifinals. New Hampshire got a nice little upset over Maine on Wednesday and UMass Lowell took care of business with Vermont.
To Sunday’s action!
Sunday, March 14
UMass Lowell at Boston University
The endless time loop that is the Terriers and River Hawks facing off in the quarters continues. It’s the third consecutive season for these Massachusetts rivals to meet in the quarters, but it feels like 10. Terriers are the second seed and they host it at Walter Brown Arena.
Jim’s pick: UML 4, BU 3 (OT) Marisa’s pick: BU 5, UML 2
New Hampshire at Boston College
The Wildcats offense has shown spurts but that really doesn’t matter when they are up against Spencer Knight, likely the best goalie in the nation. Eagles got the best quarters draw possible here.
Jim’s pick: BC 3, UNH 2 Marisa’s pick: BC 4, UNH 1
Connecticut at Providence
The Huskies had two nice wins over Maine and Providence before this quarterfinal matchup where they tallied four goals or more on both occasions. Led by the conference’s leading scorer Jonny Evans, the Huskies might sneak up on a Friars squad that’s had a bumpy ride to the finish.
Jim’s pick: PC 4, UConn 2 Marisa’s pick: UConn 4, PC 3
Northeastern at Massachusetts
The Minutemen haven’t lost since January 17 when they dropped an overtime contest at Boston University. They’ve played like they’re on a mission since. Northeastern is yet to find a patch of consistency all season. The Huskies last won on February 20 and haven’t beaten UMass in two previous attempts this year.
Jim’s pick: UMass 4, NU 2 Marisa’s pick: UMass 3, NU 2
Marian advanced to the championship series and will play MSOE next weekend for the title. (Photo courtesy of Marian Athletics)
When the NCHA tournament championship is played next weekend, it will have a different look than what the league has become accustomed to in recent years.
Since 2013, either Adrian or St. Norbert has won the title. But that will change this coming week as the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Marian will play for the right to hoist the Harris Cup.
MSOE last won a title in 2012 and punched its ticket with a 3-1 win over top-seeded and reigning champion Adrian Saturday.
Marian is headed to the championship game for the first time since 2011 after beating St. Scholastica 5-3 Saturday in the semifinal round.
Bouncing back
On Friday night, MSOE allowed Adrian to erase a 3-0 lead as the opener of their semifinal series ended in a 3-3 overtime tie.
The Raiders made sure it kept the lead once it got on Saturday.
Nigel Nelson scored less than two minutes into the second period to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead and Matt Hanewall scored with under five minutes to play in the period to take a 2-0 lead.
Andrew Bellant cut the lead to 2-1 with his goal at the 5:17 mark of the third period. Jeff Makowski answered, though, three minutes later to give the Raiders a 3-1 advantage.
They are headed to the championship round for the first time since 2013 when it lost to Adrian in the final.
Cameron Gray made 27 saves to help the Raiders survive and advance. MSOE is 10-5-2 on the season. The Raiders take a seven-game unbeaten streak into the championship series.
Finding a way
Nothing came easy for Marian in its semifinal series against St. Scholastica. The Sabres trailed 2-1 and and 3-2 before finally getting control to punch their ticket to the final.
The score was tied at 2-2 going into the third before the Saints took the lead one last time on a goal by Nathan Adrian just 10 seconds into the period.
Ty Enns scored his second goal of the night a little over eight minutes later, tying the score at 3-3. The Sabres added two goals in the final four minutes of action to seal the deal. Brady Pupp scored the game-winner at the 16:37 mark and Parker Colley punched in an insurance goal in the final minute.
Colby Mulse made 34 saves for the Sabres, who are now set to host the championship series for the first time since 2004.
Marian, which beat St. Scholastica 6-3 in the opener of the semifinal series Friday, is 10-7 overall and has won its last four games.
During the regular season, MSOE and Marian did not play. The two teams are set to begin their championship series March 19th.
Wisconsin-Superior rallied to beat Wisconsin-Stevens Point 3-2 to win its first WIAC tourney crown since 2011. (Photo courtesy of UW-Superior Athletics)
In a year filled with more than its fair share of challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin-Superior rose above them to savor a thrilling a moment.
Facing off against one of the premier programs in the country in Wisconsin-Stevens Point, on the road no less, the Yellowjackets rallied for a 3-2 win over the Pointers to win the WIAC tournament championship at K.B. Willett Arena.
Down two goals, UW-Superior cut its deficit to one before the end of the second period and then lit up the scoreboard for two more goals in the third to capture their first tourney championship in a decade.
It is their eighth WIAC title overall and the first since 2011. They program has 17 conference crowns in all when the its years in the NCHA are included.
The title also punctuates a five-year journey to a moment head coach Rick McKenna dreamed about when he took over in 2016.
Levi Cudmore provided the game winner. Controlling the puck off a shot by Chad Lopez, Cudmore punched it in with 6:36 to play in regulation.
Neither team scored in the opening period but the Pointers ended that tie with a goal by Colin Raver. Carter Roo’s goal made it 2-0.
Coltyn Bates ended the shutout on a goal at the 11:41 mark and the Yellowjackets went into the final period trailing 2-1.
Lopez struck at the 9:12 mark to tie the game at 2-2. Cudmore assisted on the goal.
Myles Hektor did his part to help ensure the Yellowjackets would hang on for the win. He stopped 22 shots, including four in the final period. UW-Superior held a 32-24 advantage in shots. For Hektor, the win was his fourth of the year. He is unbeaten this season.
UW-Superior advanced to the final after its semifinal matchup with Wisconsin-River Falls was canceled because of COVID-19 protocol. Those two teams had split their regular-season meetings, with UW-Superior winning 2-1 on Feb. 24 and losing 4-2 on Feb. 25. That loss was the last for the Yellowjackets, who end the shortened season on a four-game winning streak.
The Yellowjackets won their opener in the tourney by a 2-1 score over Wisconsin-Stout.
With no NCAA tournament this year because of the pandemic, the Yellowjackets wrap up their season with a 7-3 record.
A Denver team shorthanded due to COVID pulled off the upset of No. 11 Omaha, 5-4, advancing the Pioneers to the NCHC semis and placing the Mavericks squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble (Photo: Russ Hons/NCHC)
Denver entered Saturday’s quarterfinal game against No. 11 Omaha as the underdog. Not just because the Pioneers had finished as the lower seed in the NCHC standings, but more so because the team only had nine healthy forward and a converted defenseman to comprise their lines.
By the time the game was over, though, Denver, behind two goals by Mike Benning and a goal and assist by Bobby Brink overcame a 3-1 deficit and knocked off the Mavericks, 5-4, to advance to the NCHC semifinals.
The Pioneers held leads of 1-0 and 4-3, but it was three goals in a span of just under 20 minutes from Jason Smallidge, Matt Miller and Tyler Weiss put Denver in a dangerously difficult hole in the second period, particularly considering the short bench.
But a late second period goal from Brink closed the gap to 3-2 and then two scores by Benning at 0:42 and 11:52 of the third gave the lead back to the Pioneers.
While Nate Knoepke tied the game at 13:10, Denver’s Bo Hanson had the winning goal answer with 5:03 remaining.
The victory keeps alive Denver’s hopes for an at-large bid. Though the Pioneers are below .500 and can’t reach that mark without winning the NCHC, which would give them an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the NCAA has suspended the criteria requiring a club be .500 or higher to qualify for the tournament.
Simultaneously, Omaha, a team that was close to an NCAA lock, now sits squarely on the tournament bubble in a year where subjectivity will be involved in selections more than ever.
NCHC Quarterfinals (single elimination)
St. Cloud State 2, Colorado College 1 (Friday)
North Dakota 6, Miami 2 (Friday)
Minnesota Duluth 5, Western Michigan 4 (OT)
Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals
Army West Point 4, Sacred Heart 3 (3OT – Army sweeps series, 2-0)
Collin Bilek’s goal at 13:20 of the third overtime ended the ninth-longest game in Division I men’s hockey history and advance Army West Point to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals, 4-3.
Sacred Heart goaltender Josh Benson finished the game with 68 saves, including 37 in overtime. Army’s Trevin Kozlowski made 42 saves to earn the victory.
After winning, 4-0, in the series opener on Friday, Army had to rally from a 2-0 deficit when the Pioneers netted power play tallies by Braeden Tuck and Austin Magera.
Army rallied to tie the game in the second on goals by Eric Butte and Mason Krueger, but Sacred Heart’s Patrick Dawson regained the lead at 18:54 of the second.
When Patrick Dawson evened the score at 12:21 of the third, no one could know the teams would play another complete 60 minutes before either team scored again.
Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals (best two-of-three)
Canisius 6, RIT 2 (Canisius wins series, 2-0)
Niagara 3, Robert Morris 2 (2OT – Series tied, 1-1)
AIC vs. Bentley (Canceled, AIC advances to AHA semifinals)
WCHA quarterfinals
No. 13 Bowling Green 5, Northern Michigan 0
A night after Bowling Green fell in the opener of the WCHA quarterfinals, Bowling Green responded in full force, shutting down Northern Michigan, 5-0, to force a third-and-deciding game on Sunday.
Evan Dougherty scored twice for the Falcons while Sam Craggs added three assists and both Max Johnson and Will Cullen each tallied two assists.
FALCONS WIN! @dop_dont_stop logs a shutout and the Falcon offense tallies 5 goals on the Wildcats. BGSU led SOG 50-23, more than doubling NMU's offensive efforts.
The victory takes Bowling Green, a seemingly safe NCAA tournament team, back into a safer area. The subjective NCAA tournament process this season could count a quarterfinal series loss, particularly by a sweep, heavily against the Falcons.
If the Falcons hope to shore those tournament hopes, a win in Sunday’s game three would go a long way.
WCHA quarterfinals (best two-of-three)
No. 3 Minnesota State 3, Ferris State 1 (MSU wins series, 2-0)
No. 18 Lake Superior 4, Alabama Huntsville 1 (LSSU wins series, 2-0)
No. 15 Bemidji State 4, Michigan Tech 1 (BSU wins series, 2-0)
Wisconsin players celebrate a goal during the 2020 Big Ten tournament (photo: Tealin Robinson/Wisconsin Athletics).
After a shortened season with heightened anxiety, we’ve finally arrived at the Big Ten tournament. First, here’s how Drew Claussen and I finished up with the regular-season picks.
Last week
Drew: 4-4-0 (.500)
Paula: 8-0-0 (1.000)
This season
Drew: 63-35-4 (.637)
Paula: 61-37-4 (.617)
A truly stunning comeback by yours truly after a rocky start to the season.
The Big Ten Tournament
In late January, the Big Ten announced that this year’s playoff tournament would be a single-elimination format held at Notre Dame’s Compton Family Ice Arena to minimize risks from COVID-19. In late February, the conference announced that the dates of the tournament would be moved to March 14-16, and that’s how we’ve arrived at this weekend’s play.
The second through seventh seeds play quarterfinal games Sunday, with regular-season champ Wisconsin having earned a first-round bye. All times are EDT and all games will be carried by the Big Ten Network.
Sunday’s quarterfinals
Penn State vs. Notre Dame, noon
Michigan State vs. Minnesota, 4:00 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Michigan, 8:30 p.m.
Monday’s semifinals
Notre Dame/Penn State vs. Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m.
Michigan State/Minnesota vs. Ohio State/Michigan, 8:30 p.m.
Here’s a little info on each team, in order of seeding.
Wisconsin (17-6-1)
The Badgers head into the tournament with a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) after capturing their first regular-season conference championship since 2000, when Wisconsin last won the regular-season WCHA title and — shockingly — just the fourth regular-season title in Wisconsin program history. Because of the uneven schedules forced by COVID-19, the regular-season championship was determined by conference win percentage, with Wisconsin (.729) edging out Minnesota (.727). Wisconsin has the third-best scoring offense nationally, averaging 3.82 goals per game and the ninth-best scoring margin nationally. The Badgers won the Big Ten playoff championship in 2014.
Minnesota (16-6-0)
With their fate in their own hands during the final weekend of regular-season play, the Golden Gophers came up just short, splitting their last series with Michigan. Minnesota plays Michigan State in the first round, and against the Spartans, the Gophers have a ridiculous all-time record of 124-5-16. Minnesota swept its four games against Michigan State this season, outscoring the Spartans 16-6 with the most recent series played Feb. 19-20. The Gophers have the fourth-best scoring offense in the country (3.81) and fifth-best defense (1.96) nationally. The Gophers are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. Minnesota is 7-7 all time in the Big Ten tournament and won the playoff championship in 2015.
Michigan (11-9-0)
Michigan faces Ohio State in the quarterfinals, having gone 3-1-0 against the Buckeyes this season. Most recently, the teams played to a split in Columbus Feb. 19-20, a 3-2 win for Ohio State followed by the Wolverines’ 6-0 thumping in the rematch. Like the Badgers and Gophers, the Wolverines are among the top 10 teams nationally in scoring offense (3.54 goals per game, eighth), and like Minnesota, Michigan is in the top 10 nationally for scoring margin (also eighth). The Wolverines are 6-3-1 in their last 10 and enter the tournament after a loss to Minnesota. Michigan won the Big Ten tournament title in 2016.
Notre Dame (12-10-2)
The Fighting Irish enter the Big Ten tournament with a 6-3-1 record in their last 10 games and a five-game (4-0-1) current unbeaten streak, and they know that their performance this weekend is an audition for the national tournament. Notre Dame is on the bubble nationally — depending on who you ask, of course, as we really don’t know how the selection committee will figure it all out, but that’s another story altogether. The Irish play Penn State in the quarterfinals after sweeping the Nittany Lions just last weekend (March 5-6), winning by a collective score of 12-3, and Notre Dame went 3-1-0 against Penn State for the season. The Irish are 24th nationally for offense (2.89) and tied for 17th defensively (2.57). Technically speaking, the Fighting Irish are the defending Big Ten playoff champions, having won the last tournament played in 2019. They also captured the playoff title in 2018 at the end of their first season in the league.
Penn State (7-11-0)
Among all Big Ten teams, the Nittany Lions had the most unusual season. They missed competition for the entire month of February, first because of COVID-19 protocols that Michigan was following in the first weekend of the month, followed by three weeks of quarantine for Penn State hockey. Now in their first Big Ten playoff game, they face Notre Dame for the fifth consecutive game, as their regular-season series against the Fighting Irish bookended that month without games. The teams split a pair of overtimes losses Jan. 28-29 before the Irish swept the Nittany Lions in their return to play the first weekend in March. Penn State's offense is 28th nationally (2.80) with a defense that's 44th (3.70). The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten playoff championship in 2017 and they were the top seed in last year's tournament.
Ohio State (6-16-0)
The Buckeyes enter the Big Ten tournament with just two wins in their last eight games, but one of those wins was over their quarterfinal opponent, Michigan (Feb. 19). Ohio State is 44th nationally in scoring (2.05) and 45th defensively (3.73). In their last 10 games, the Buckeyes have been outscored 49-22 with two shutout losses, and with the exception of two games — including an eight-goal output against Arizona State in a single game — Ohio State has scored two or fewer goals in 11 of its last 13 contests. Ohio State is one of two Big Ten teams still looking for its first playoff championship.
Michigan State (5-16-1)
When the Spartans and Golden Gophers meet in Sunday’s quarterfinal game, Michigan State will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak — and the Spartans have scored two goals total in their last five games. Michigan State’s last win against a Big Ten opponent came Jan. 24, a 2-0 shutout of Ohio State. Given those stats, it’s hardly surprising that Michigan State is near the bottom of the nation offensively, second-from-last, averaging 1.50 goals per game. The Spartans’ defense, however, is 26th nationally (2.88). Michigan State is 1-9-0 in its last 10, and that doesn’t date back to the win against Ohio State. Like the Buckeyes, the Spartans have yet to win a Big Ten playoff championship.
Our picks
It should surprise no one that Drew and I disagree about who will win the playoff championship game — or even who will advance to that game.
Drew’s tournament picks
Quarterfinals
Penn State 4-3 over Notre Dame
Minnesota 4-2 over Michigan State
Michigan 6-2 over Ohio State
Semifinals
Wisconsin 5-2 over Penn State
Michigan 4-3 over Minnesota
Championship
Michigan 4-3 over Wisconsin
Paula’s tournament picks
Quarterfinals
Notre Dame 4-3 over Penn State
Minnesota 5-1 over Michigan State
Michigan 5-2 over Ohio State
Semifinals
Wisconsin 4-2 over Notre Dame
Minnesota 3-2 over Michigan
Championship
Minnesota 3-2 over Wisconsin
Twitter!
Follow Drew (@drewclaussen) and me (@paulacweston) on Twitter for our takes on the B1G tournament. I will be covering the whole shebang for USCHO, but doing so virtually.
North Dakota’s offense scored early and often in a 6-2 NCHC quarterfinal victory over Miami on Friday. Collin Adams finished the night with two goals and three assists (Photo: NCHC/Russ Hons)
Understanding that this year’s NCHC tournament is win-or-go-home, single elimination, top-seeded North Dakota proved they mean business from the puck drop on Friday.
Collin Adams scored just 14 seconds into the game and the Fighting Hawks buried three of their first four shots, jumping to a 3-0 lead early and never looking back in a 6-2 victory over eighth-seed Miami in the NCHC quarterfinals.
North Dakota, which has never won the NCHC postseason tournament, will face the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals on Monday.
“One of the keys we wanted to do was have a quick start,” said North Dakota coach Brad Berry. “This league is so tough you have to get off to a quick start. In playoffs right now, it doesn’t matter where you were in the standings. You’ve got to prove it day to day.”
Adams ended up pacing the potent North Dakota offense scoring twice and adding three assists. Jordan Kawaguchi finished the game with four assists.
For Miami, the night was frustrating. Even when they found some sort of pushback to North Dakota’s dominance, the Fighting Hawks had a quick response.
“Their top players smell blood,” said Miami coach Chris Bergeron. “They know what to do when the see a team reeling, when they have a team behind the eight ball.”
Phil Kines cut the North Dakota lead to 3-1 at 11:14 of the first only to have Riese Gaber responded just over three minutes later.
“You have to have an answer,” Berry said. “If you get scored on you want to have an answer right away to show that team you’re there. You’re not going to back down. You have to reply and I thought we did that tonight.”
Adam Scheel earned the victory for North Dakota, stopping 26-of-28, while Miami netminder Ludwig Persson, solid all season, stopped 40 shots in defeat.
Other NCHC quarterfinals
No. 8 St. Cloud State 2, Colorado College 1
No. 11 Omaha, Denver (Saturday)
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth vs. Western Michigan (Saturday)
WCHA Quarterfinals (best-of-three)
Northern Michigan 4, No. 13 Bowling Green 3
A four-goal second period and survival of a desperate push late by No. 13 Bowling Green gave seventh-seed Northern Michigan Friday’s biggest upset, a 4-3 victory over the Falcons in the WCHA best-of-three quarterfinals.
The Wildcats need just one more win to advance to the WCHA semifinals.
FINAL | Wildcats 4, Falcons 3
The 'Cats take down No. 13 BGSU Friday night, 4-3, to take the 1-0 series lead!
After trailing, 1-0, on Taylor Schneider’s first-period goal, Northern Michigan exploded in the middle frame, scoring four times in a span of 7:17. Alex Frye, Mikey Colella, Griffin Loughran and Brandon Schultz all tallied to give the Wildcats a 4-1 lead into the third.
That’s when Schneider came alive, scoring twice more to complete the hat trick for the host Falcons. Bowling Green held a 17-5 shot advantage in the final frame but after Schneider’s hat trick goal at 9:29, Bowling Green was shut down by goaltender Rico DiMatteo, who finished the game with 30 saves.
Other WCHA quarterfinals
No. 3 Minnesota State 3, Ferris State 0 (MSU leads series, 1-0)
No. 18 Lake Superior 6, Alabama Huntsville 1 (LSSU leads series, 1-0)
No. 15 Bemidji State 3, Michigan Tech 1 (BSU leads series, 1-0)
Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals (best-of-three)
Robert Morris 3, Niagara 2
Darcy Walsh’s goal at 4:42 of overtime gave Robert Morris a 3-2 victory and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three quarterfinal series in Atlantic Hockey.
The Colonials will have a chance to close out the series on Saturday.
Walsh ended what was an exciting, back-and-forth game throughout. Niagara struck first on Eric Cooley’s goal at 9:26 of the first.
Robert Morris answered not once, but twice in the second. Aidan Spellacy knotted the score on a power play goal off the opening faceoff of the second. Jordan Timmons then gave the host Colonials their first lead at 9:20.
But Justin Kendall’s power play tally at 15:52 of the second tied the game at 2. After both defenses clamped down in the third, Walsh was able to take a diving pass from Cameron Hebert early in the overtime frame to earn the win and take Robert Morris, top seed in the western pod, back to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals.
Other Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals
Canisius 5, RIT 2 (Canisius leads series, 1-0)
Army West Point 4, Sacred Heart 0 (Army leads series, 1-0)
AIC vs. Bentley (canceled, AIC advances to semifinals)
Here we are, playoff time. A short time ago, it looked like we might never make it this far. Fortunately, we have, and we have a nice grouping of matchups that could be very exciting as we work through the weekend.
(1) Minnesota State vs. (8) Ferris State
Jack: The Mavericks have looked nearly unstoppable this season, but their opponents this weekend were one of the teams that has given them some trouble. The Bulldogs took them to overtime last month but were never able to finish the job. I don’t think that will happen this weekend. Mavericks sweep
Daver: After their slow start, the Mavericks have almost perfect the rest of the way. What is fascinating is that the Bulldogs are perhaps the one team they might not have wanted to see. Ferris State has given them fits at times, and this weekend might not be any different. However, I think Minnesota State is just too strong right now to let that happen. Mavericks sweep
(2) Lake Superior vs (7) Alabama Huntsville
Jack: One of this season’s surprises is the Lakers finishing in second. They’ve been consistently good, but the Chargers have played hard against them all four times they met. This should be an exciting series but I still think the Lakers win two close games. Lakers sweep
Daver: Boy the Lakers have been the one team this season that has been consistently strong throughout the season. They have met every challenge and then some, earning a home playoff spot to boot. I love what Damon Whitten is accomplishing at this proud school. The Chargers have a ways to go before they are consistent, but they have played well this year in spurts. Lakers sweep
(3) Bowling Green vs (6) Northern Michigan
Jack: Which Bowling Green team shows up this weekend? The one that the Wildcats held scoreless on Feb. 20? Or the one that put 6 goals past the Wildcats the next night? I think the answer is “both.” NMU has not played up to its own expectations for this season either, so I think we should see an even series. Falcons in three
Daver: This series is a head-scratcher for sure. Which Falcons squad will show up? The offensive juggernaut or the defensively-minded group? Which Wildcats team will show up? The one that takes a mountain of penalties or the one that beat the Falcons earlier this season by playing smart hockey? I know they have yet to play a full weekend of smart hockey, but I like the Wildcats in this one. Wildcats in three
(4) Bemidji State vs (5) Michigan Tech
Jack: As is usually the case, the 4-5 series should be the most evenly-matched. The Beavers have won 6 out of their last 8, including a sweep of Tech in Houghton. Tech has won 3 of 8. Still, as their series in Houghton showed, these teams like to play a close, physical series. I think it goes the distance. Beavers in three.
Daver: Another great matchup, and one that could be a tough-as-nails series. The Beavers are perfectly happy to wait while opponents run themselves ragged trying to score. The Huskies’ offense is almost as impressive as their defense. It will come down to who gets the breaks when happen. This is a moment for Michigan Tech’s Blake Pietila to prove he was snubbed by the All-WCHA teams while Bemidji State’s Zach Driscoll was not. Huskies in three
Spencer Knight has been lights-out this season for Boston College (photo: Rich Gagnon/USCHO).
Hockey East announced Friday its 2020-21 men’s all-star teams as voted by the league’s 11 head coaches.
First Team All-Stars
G: Spencer Knight, Sophomore, Boston College
D: David Farrance, Senior, Boston University
D: Drew Helleson, Sophomore, Boston College
F: Matt Boldy, Sophomore, Boston College
F: Jonny Evans, Junior, UConn
F: Bobby Trivigno, Junior, Massachusetts
Second Team All-Stars
G: Filip Lindberg, Junior, Massachusetts
D: Jordan Harris, Junior, Northeastern
D: Zac Jones, Sophomore, Massachusetts
F: Jackson Pierson, Junior, New Hampshire
F: Zach Solow, Senior, Northeastern
F: Tyce Thompson, Junior, Providence
Third Team All-Stars
G: Tomas Vomacka, Junior, UConn
D: Marc Del Gaizo, Junior, Massachusetts
D: Matt Kessel, Sophomore, Massachusetts
F: Angus Crookshank, Junior, New Hampshire
F: Jachym Kondelik, Junior, UConn
F: Marc McLaughlin, Junior, Boston College
Knight was the lone unanimous pick and also earns the goaltender of the year award.
Hockey East will announce the finalists for the player, rookie, and coach of the year awards on Sunday, March 14 prior to the start of the quarterfinals. The winners of those awards will then be revealed on Wednesday, March 17 at 1 p.m.
No. 2 St. Cloud State vs No. 7 Colorado College Candace: St. Cloud has been on a roll, and I don’t think they will suffer a letdown after capturing second place in an emotional OT win over Minnesota Duluth last weekend. St. Cloud State 4-1 Matthew: CC will reportedly be significantly shorthanded for this game, due to players in COVID-19 protocol. I’m not sure I was that high on the Tigers against SCSU regardless. St. Cloud State 5-1
No. 1 North Dakota vs No. 8 Miami Candace: North Dakota has been the most consistent team in the conference this season, while Miami has been good in spurts, so I think North Dakota wins this going away. North Dakota 4-1 Matthew: A Miami win here would be an enormous upset. I’m wrong with these picks a lot, but I can’t see UND losing this one. North Dakota 4-1
Saturday, March 13
No. 4 Omaha vs No. 5 Denver Candace: Denver had an off weekend last weekend when CC had to pause because of COVID-19 protocols. That may hurt them, but I think they may pull the upset. Denver 3-2 Matthew: Denver is also reportedly going to be shorthanded in Grand Forks due to players in COVID-19 protocol. That would be really tough for the Pioneers, who I thought had a good chance to pull a mild upset here. Now, I’m not so sure. Omaha 4-2
No. 3 Minnesota Duluth vs No. 6 Western Michigan Candace: UMD has struggled down the stretch, and Western is the most dangerous team in the tournament, but I’m going with the Bulldogs and their strong record in playoffs the last several years. Minnesota Duluth 3-2 Matthew: Western has been rolling lately, whereas UMD has lost four of its last five games. Do those trends continue here? I’ll go out on a limb and say yes. Western Michigan 4-2
Minnesota State goalie Dryden McKay has put up video game-like stats this season for the Mavericks (photo: SPX Sports).
Minnesota State junior goaltender Dryden McKay has been named the 2020-21 WCHA player of the year.
McKay, who earlier this week was named first team All-WCHA and the WCHA goaltender of the year, was chosen for the top overall league honor by WCHA head coaches from among a group of final candidates that also included two of McKay’s MSU teammates, forwards Julian Napravnik and Akito Hirose, and Bowling Green defenseman Will Cullen and Bemidji State defenseman Elias Rosén.
McKay joins former Minnesota State forwards Marc Michaelis (2019-20) and C.J. Suess, (2017-18), as the third Maverick skater to be recognized as the league’s top overall player.
Receiving his second straight conference goaltender of the year award on Wednesday, McKay also captured his third consecutive WCHA goaltending championship this season with a WCHA-record 1.07 GAA in league play.
Overall this season, McKay is 17-2-0 with a 1.32 GAA, a .933 save percentage and eight shutouts.
Kale Bennett is a defenseman on the ice for WMU and a 3.99 GPA student in the classroom (photo: Mark Kuhlmann).
Rounding out its individual awards for the 2020-21 season, the NCHC unveiled its top honors on Thursday, with North Dakota claiming two of the four awards, while St. Cloud State and Western Michigan also each capturing a major award.
North Dakota’s Brad Berry repeated as the NCHC’s Herb Brooks Coach of the Year, while UND sophomore forward Shane Pinto was selected the player of the year. St. Cloud State forward Veeti Miettinen was named rookie of the year and Western Michigan defenseman Kale Bennett was named the senior scholar-athlete for 2020-21.
Berry is the NCHC’s coach of the year for the third time in his career, also winning it in 2015-16 and last season, while this is the fourth time a North Dakota coach has won the award after Dave Hakstol did so in 2014-15.
Pinto becomes the first UND player to win player of the year, while he’s also the first to earn the award unanimously. Bennett is the first Bronco to claim senior scholar-athlete, while Miettinen is the first Husky to garner rookie of the year honors from the NCHC.
A unanimous First-Team All-NCHC selection this season and the first player to win both NCHC Forward and Defensive Forward of the Year, Pinto, also an Ottawa Senators draft pick, captured the conference scoring title with 28 points in only 23 games and scored an NCHC-best 15 goals.
Last year’s NCHC rookie of the year also led the conference with 11 multi-point games, 1.22 points per game, seven power-play goals and 13 power-play points. Three of his goals were game-winners and he led UND to a second straight Penrose Cup. Pinto was the top faceoff man in the conference winning 308 draws with a .620 win percentage, both tops in the NCHC. His +15 plus/minus tied for second in the conference.
Berry guided the Fighting Hawks to their second straight Penrose Cup as regular-season champions with an 18-5-1 record. The 18 wins are fourth-most in the country, while UND sat atop the national polls multiple weeks during the season. In his sixth season as bench boss at UND, Berry’s squad led the country averaging 3.96 goals per game, while topping the NCHC and ranking fourth in the NCAA, giving up only 1.96 goals against per game. Berry had his team playing especially well at home, going 6-1-0 at Ralph Engelstad Arena this season.
Bennett has compiled a near-perfect 3.99 GPA while majoring in biomedical sciences. The Broncos alternate captain is a four-time member of the NCHC academic all-conference team and a four-time NCHC distinguished scholar-athlete, as well as a three-time AHCA All-American scholar. Bennett has played in 112 career games for WMU, recording 17 points, including an assist in 22 games this season and all three of his career goals last season. He plans on attending medical school upon graduation this spring.
Miettinen, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, was a unanimous NCHC all-rookie team selection and also garnered second team all-NCHC honors. He led all NCHC rookies in scoring with 23 points and 13 assists in 24 games this year. Miettinen finished second among conference rookies with both 10 goals (one game-winner) and 65 shots on goal. Ten of his points came on the power play to lead all NCHC rookies, including five power-play goals, while he notched seven multi-point games as a freshman.
Voting for the NCHC’s individual year-end playing awards was conducted by the eight head coaches at each school and eight media members, one covering each member school. Athletic directors also had a vote for the Herb Brooks Coach of the Year. Voting for the NCHC’s senior scholar-athlete award was conducted by the eight faculty athletics representatives at the NCHC schools.
This Week’s Picks*: *All games are subject to change.
Atlantic Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal Round (best of three series) Friday, March 12-Sunday, March 14 Bentley at American International
With Bentley’s withdrawal from the tournament, AIC gets a bye into the semifinals and will host the semifinals and championship on March 19-20.
Sacred Heart at Army West Point Dan: It’s incredibly hard to beat a team five times in a season, let alone six, but Army’s going to need to do that in order to get past Sacred Heart. I think the Pioneers get one of the three based on knowledge of the Black Knights and on pure talent, but I think the Black Knights move on with a statement case for an at-large bid. Army West Point in three. Chris: Army brings a 12-game unbeaten streak into this series, including three outright wins and a shootout victory over the Pioneers during that stretch. It’s hard to pick against the Black Knights at this point. Army West Point in two.
Niagara at Robert Morris Dan: Niagara returned to a full roster earlier this week when it beat Mercyhurst, but it’s always difficult to beat a team on the road in the playoffs. Two of the four games this year went to overtime between these two teams. The other two were blowouts by the Colonials. Again, I think it’s hard to win six games, so I’m going with the distance. RMU wins in three. Chris: Niagara is getting hot at the right time, going 3-1 in its last four games after notching just two wins in its previous 15 games. Couple that with RMU coming off a pair of losses, and this could look like an upset waiting to happen. But I think the Colonials find a way to win and advance. Robert Morris in three.
Rochester Institute of Technology at Canisius Dan: I am always wont to choose a team based on the hot goaltender, and I believe Canisius enters the postseason with the best tandem in the league. RIT, meanwhile, had shaky numbers over the course of the season but received a big lift from Ian Adriano in that last series against RMU. You know what, let’s go do something weird and pick one upset, although I don’t know if it’s a true upset in a series this evenly matched. RIT wins in three. Chris: Canisius is smarting from its final game of the regular season, a loss to Niagara that cost the Golden Griffins the West Pod regular season title. RIT has been a streaky team this season and a late-season sweep of Robert Morris has to bolster the Tigers’ confidence. This is a tough one to pick, since I think it will go the distance. I’m going with the home team. Canisius in three.
Sacred Heart senior Marc Johnstone tallied six goals and 13 points in 14 games this season for the Pioneers (photo: Sacred Heart Athletics).
Atlantic Hockey has announced the members of the 2020-21 all-conference and all-rookie teams.
Due to the nature of the season, where the league was split into east and west pods, the AHA felt the only way to do awards this year was within the pods.
Even though Air Force was placed in the east pod for the playoffs, the Falcons played all but one team in the west and therefore, the coaching staffs from both Air Force and the rest of the west teams were more equipped to assess the performance and vote accordingly, according to an Atlantic Hockey press release.
Atlantic Hockey East Pod
First Team All-Conference
Forward – Colin Bilek, Army West Point
Forward – Tobias Fladeby, AIC
Forward – Marc Johnstone, Sacred Heart
Defense – Brennan Kapcheck, AIC
Defense – Thomas Farrell, Army West Point
Goalie – Trevin Kozlowski, Army West Point
Second Team All-Conference
Forward – Elijiah Barriga, AIC
Forward – Chris Dodero, AIC
Forward – Braeden Tuck, Sacred Heart
Defense – John Zimmerman, Army West Point
Defense – Matt Slick, Holy Cross
Goalie – Stefano Durante, AIC
All-Rookie
Forward – Lincoln Hatten, Army West Point
Forward – Aaron Grounds, AIC
Forward – Eric Otto, AIC
Defense – Nico Somerville, AIC
Defense – Drew Bavaro, Bentley
Goalie – Nick Grabko, Bentley
Atlantic Hockey West Pod
First Team All-Conference
Forward – Will Calverley, RIT
Forward – Nick Prkusic, Robert Morris
Forward – Keaton Mastrodonato, Canisius
Defense – Nick Jenny, Robert Morris
Defense – Dan Willett, RIT
Goalie – Jacob Barczewski, Canisius
Second Team All-Conference
Forward – Randy Hernandez, Robert Morris
Forward – Jon Bendorf, Mercyhurst
Forward – Carson Briere, Mercyhurst
Defense – Joseph Maziarz, Mercyhurst
Defense – Brendan Michaelian, Robert Morris
Goalie – Noah West, Robert Morris
Goalie – Zach LaRocque, Air Force
All-Rookie
Forward – Randy Hernandez, Robert Morris
Forward – Carson Briere, Mercyhurst
Forward – Austin Heidemann
Defense – Brian Kramer, Robert Morris
Defense – Josef Mysak, Niagara
Goalie – Noah West, Robert Morris
