Karsen Dorwart and Joey Larson celebrate a goal for Michigan State in the Spartans’ 2-0 win over Northern Michigan Sunday in a GLI semifinal (photo: Michigan State Athletics).
Michigan State remains the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, collecting 41 first-place votes in the Dec. 30 rankings.
Boston College is again No. 2, getting eight first-place votes, while Minnesota stays No. 3. Western Michigan is up two to No. 4, and Providence jumps two spots to sit fifth this week.
Denver falls one spot to No. 6, picking up the last first-place vote, Maine drops three spots to No. 7, Colorado College is again eight, as is Michigan at No. 9 and UMass Lowell at No. 10.
No new teams enter the poll this week.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 10 other teams received votes in this week’s poll.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.
Connor Hasley turns away 43 in penalty-filled win over Maine (photo: Ryan DeSantis/Bentley Athletics).
Connor Hasley made 43 saves and four different Falcons scored as Bentley beat Maine 4-2 in front of nearly 6,000 fans in Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena, home to the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Harrison Scott scored twice for the Black Bears.
Oliver Salo opened the scoring for the Falcons at 1:42 in the first and Ethan Leyh gave Bentley a 2-0 lead on the power play at 3:51 in the second. Scott answered for Maine with a power-play goal of his own seven minutes later, the only one of six chances with the man advantage that the Black Bears could convert in the game.
Sam Duerr’s marker at 17:51 in the second put the Falcons up 3-1 after two and held up as the game winner.
Scott’s second of the night, shorthanded at 11:36 in the third, narrowed the gap to one goal again, but Jimmy Doyle’s empty netter with 10 seconds left brought the final score to 4-2.
In goal for Maine, Albin Boija made 15 saves. The Black Bears outshot the Falcons 45-19.
In a back-and-forth game with nine goal scorers and four goaltenders, Yale was the last team standing in a 7-5 home win over Boston University.
Quinn Hutson and Alex Zetterberg each had two goals and an assist for the Terriers. For Yale, Micah Berger scored his first career goal and earned two assists and David Chen had two goals. It was Ronan O’Donnell’s goal from Will Richter at the 13-minute mark in the third that put the Bulldogs ahead for good.
The teams exchanged goals in the first period, with Boston University scoring first and last for a 3-2 lead after one.
The teams combined for three goals within the first six minutes of the second with Berger’s goal at 2:54 to tie it for the Bulldogs, followed by Kalen Szeto’s short-handed shot to put the Bulldogs ahead at 4:06. That lead would last just 20 seconds, as Hutson’s second goal of the night on the power play at 5:16 knotted the game again. Chen scored his second of the game late in the period to give Yale a 5-4 lead after two.
O’Donnell’s game-winning goal was followed by William Dineen’s tally three minutes later. Alex Zetterberg had an even-strength goal for the Terriers with 34 seconds remaining in regulation.
The teams combined for 37 penalty minutes, five power-play goals and Szeto’s shorthander.
Mathieu Caron started in the Boston University net, making 10 saves in his appearance. Max Lacroix finished the game with 11 saves.
Noah Pak stopped 15-of-16 in the win. He relieved starter Jack Stark who had 12 saves on 16 shots.
No. 7 Providence 5, No. 17 Dartmouth 3
Trailing 3-2 after the first period, Providence scored twice in the second and again in the third to surge ahead of Dartmouth and claim the championship of the 35th annual Ledyard Bank Classic in Thompson Arena.
At 16:39 in the third, Logan Will had the Friars’ fourth goal to put Providence ahead for good.
Will cleans up his own rebound for his sixth of the year to give us a 4-3 lead! Ryan O'Reilly and Taige Harding with the assists.#GoFriarspic.twitter.com/47694I38Gq
Hank Cleaves had two goals for Dartmouth in the first period, bookending the early Providence scoring. Cleaves netted his first at 4:45, with Alexander Bales and Graham Gamache answering to give the Friars a 2-1 lead midway through the stanza. Cleaves scored again at 12:51 and Alex Krause put Dartmouth ahead at 15:44.
Nick Poisson evened the score for Providence at 8:24 in the second. Will’s goal put the Friars ahead, and Chase Yoder capped the scoring with an empty netter at 18:10 in the third.
The Friars limited the Big Green to 12 total shots in the game, which included two Dartmouth power plays. Philip Svedebäck made just nine saves in the win for Providence. Roan Clarke stopped 27 of the 32 shots he faced in the loss.
Wisconsin 4, Connecticut 3
After a scoreless two periods of play, the Badgers and Huskies combined for seven third-period goals, with Wisconsin finding the net once more than Connecticut to win the 2024 Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff title in Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Gavin Morrissey and Jake Horbach led the Badgers with two assists each, and Morrissey’s second of the night was the only helper on Cody Laskosky’s game-winning, empty-net goal at 18:36 in the third. That goal was awarded when Morrissey was hauled down by Connecticut’s Jake Richard as Morrissey was approaching the empty net.
An awarded empty-net goal for Cody Laskosky to seal the deal 🤩
Owen Lindmark and Quinn Findley scored at 2:45 and 5:40 in the third to give Wisconsin a 2-0 lead. The game was tied by the 15:55 mark on goals by Kaden Shahan and Joey Muldowney, but the Badgers scored two goals a minute apart — Christian Fitzgerald’s at 17:32 and the goal awarded to Morrissey — to give Wisconsin a 4-2 lead. Nick Carabin’s even-strength goal with one second left on the clock made it a 4-3 game.
Muldowney added an assist on Carabin’s goal to give him two points on the night. Jake Richard had two assists for the Huskies.
Tommy Scarfone had the win with 22 saves. Thomas Heaney stopped 29 as the Badgers outshot the Huskies 33-25.
No. 1 Michigan State 2, Northern Michigan 0
On first-period goals by Karsen Dorwart and Isaac Howard and in front of Luca Di Pasquo’s second shutout win of the season, Michigan State advances to the title game of the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament Monday night.
Dorwart’s game-winning goal came at 10:27 from Joey Larson and Austin Oravetz.
Dorwart's fourth of the year comes on a sharp angle from below the right circle. Apples to Larson and Oravetz. pic.twitter.com/VjkpLzOMPg
Howard’s insurance goal was unassisted at 12:40. Di Pasquo made 15 saves as the Spartans outshot the Wildcats 48-16.
Through 55:03, Northern Michigan’s Ryan Ouellette stopped 41-of-43 shots he faced. Ethan Barwick finished the game in the Wildcats’ net with five saves on five shots.
The Spartans will face off against Western Michigan Monday for the GLI title in Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., home of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.
No. 6 Western Michigan 4, Michigan Tech 3 (OT)
Trailing 3-1 midway through the third period, Michigan Tech scored twice to send this one to overtime, but it took Western Michigan captain Tim Washe just 44 seconds to find the net and give the Broncos the 4-3 win in the opening game of the Great Lakes Invitational tournament.
Western Michigan’s Owen Michaels (1-1) and Samuel Sjolund (0-2) led the Broncos in scoring and Cameron Rowe had 28 saves in the win.
For Michigan Tech, Trevor Kukkonen had a goal and an assist, and Derek Mullahy made 39 saves as the Broncos bested the Wildcats 39-28 in shots on goal.
The Broncos led 1-0 after the first on Robby Drazner’s goal with three seconds left in the period. In the second, the teams exchanged goals and Western was up 2-1.
Michaels opened the third-period scoring when he gave the Broncos a 3-1 lead at 7:18, but Kukkonen and Matthew Campbell answered at 10:38 and 16:02 respectively.
The Broncos meet the Spartans Monday for the title of the 58th Great Lakes Invitational tournament.
No. 12 St. Cloud State 2, St. Thomas 1
With less than five remaining in regulation, Cooper Gay scored to put the Tommies on the board and tie this game, but Barrett Hall scored from Josh Luedtke and Daimon Gardner just 31 seconds later to give St. Cloud a one-goal win over visiting St. Thomas.
Adam Ingram gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead at 1:11 in the first. Gavin Enright stopped 28-of-29 in the win for St. Cloud. Aaron Trotter made 30 saves in the loss.
No. 19 Arizona State (8-7-1)
12/28/2024 – US NTDP Under-18 Team* 3 at No. 19 Arizona State 4 (exhibition)
12/29/2024 – US NTDP Under-18 Team* 0 at No. 19 Arizona State 1 (exhibition)
U.S. captain Ryan Leonard looks to make a move on a Finland defender Sunday afternoon at the World Junior Championship (photo: USA Hockey).
The U.S. National Junior Team got goals from Carey Terrance (OHL’s Erie Otters), Cole Hutson (Boston University) and Brodie Ziemer (Minnesota), but dropped a 4-3 decision to Finland in overtime Sunday afternoon in preliminary round play at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont.
“We need more consistency up and down the lineup and I shared that with the team after the game,” said Team USA coach David Carle (Denver) in a statement. “I was proud of the comeback and particularly our penalty kill. We’ll continue to work on coming together as a group and I have confidence in our guys that we can get to where we need to be.”
Finland opened the scoring at 9:50 of the first period thanks to a short-handed goal from Arttu Alasiurua.
U.S. netminder Trey Augustine (Michigan State), who made 40 saves in the contest, kept Alasiurua from netting his second short-handed goal with 6:58 remaining in the stanza, denying a breakaway opportunity.
Terrance tied the contest at 14:20, skating through defenders and firing one home from between the circles. Brandon Svoboda (Boston University) and Joey Willis (OHL’s Saginaw Spirit) assisted on the play.
Hutson, named the U.S. Player of the Game, gave Team USA its first lead of the game 1:45 into the middle frame when he ripped a shot over Finnish netminder Petteri Rimpinen’s blocker that rang off the post and in.
Jesse Kiiskinen tied the game with a power-play goal, redirecting a shot from the point at 4:09, before Julius Miettinen put Finland back in front with a goal at 9:19.
Gabe Perreault (Boston College) nearly tied the game with on a breakaway with 3:33 remaining, but his shot hit the post after a successful deke past Rimpinen.
Ziemer tapped home a cross-crease pass from Teddy Stiga (Boston College) to tie the contest 3:26 into the third and Perreault nearly gave the U.S. the lead two and a half minutes later, but his breakaway attempt glanced off the crossbar. The U.S. successfully killed off back-to-back minor penalties shortly after and ultimately the game went to overtime.
Tuomas Uronen scored 1:46 into the extra session to give Finland the 4-3 victory just after a golden chance by Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) was stopped.
The U.S. National Junior Team closes the preliminary round Tuesday against Canada at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.
Team USA took a 5-1 win over Latvia Saturday afternoon at the World Junior Championship as Danny Nelson (17) popped two goals in the victory (photo: USA Hockey).
Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) tallied a pair of goals and James Hagens (Boston College) had two assists to help lift the U.S. National Junior Team to a 5-1 victory over Latvia in its second preliminary round contest of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship Saturday afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont.
“We saw some growth in our game today,” said Team USA coach David Carle (Denver) in a statement. “Was it perfect? No. A lot of compliments to Latvia and how hard they played. We had to earn every inch of ice we got and that will help us as we move forward in the tournament.”
Nelson, named the U.S. Player of the Game, kicked off the scoring for Team USA just 1:58 into the contest as he banged home a net-front opportunity. Cole Eiserman (Boston University) and Colin Ralph (St. Cloud State) added assists on the tally.
Team USA netminder Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan) denied Markuss Sieradzkis on a two-on-zero opportunity 58 seconds into the second frame for one of his 25 saves in the victory.
U.S. captain Ryan Leonard (Boston College) cashed in on a power-play opportunity at the 5:08 mark as he redirected a pass from Hagens that threaded through a swarm of Latvian players.
Zeev Buium (Denver) added a third U.S. goal at 11:13, scoring at the side of the net with the teams skating four-on-four after a nifty feed from Hagens.
Nelson recorded his second tally of the game with just six seconds remaining in the middle frame as he backhanded a shot home to give on the power play and the U.S. led 4-0 after 40 minutes.
Latvia got its lone goal of the game off the stick of Davids Livsics at 8:22 before Max Plante (Minnesota Duluth) finished a two-on-one with Teddy Stiga (Boston College) at 15:31 to account for the 5-1 final score.
The U.S. National Junior Team is back in preliminary round action against Finland tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.
Felix Trudeau collected a goal and two assists to lead Sacred Heart to a 4-1 win at AIC Saturday afternoon (photo: Kallie Shanahan).
Sacred Heart returned to work on Saturday afternoon and put together a business-like effort on the road at American International, beating the Yellow Jackets 4-1 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
The Pioneers led 1-0 after one and 2-0 after two, before finishing the job in the third period.
Felix Trudeau led the way with three points on a goal and two assists for SHU.
“I’m really proud of our effort tonight coming off the break,” said Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo. “I thought our sticks were really good tonight defensively. I thought we got some timely goals. When we did have some breakdowns, our goalie (Ajeet Gundarah) played well and made the saves he had to make.”
Reid Pabich, Max Dorrington and Matthew Guerra also scored for the Pioneers and Dorrington and Guerra added assists for two-point games.
Gundarah finished with 27 saves in the victory.
For AIC, Brett Bamber scored and goalie Chase Clark made 34 saves.
“Overall, really proud against a really skilled AIC team that can push you back on your heels at different times in the game,” said Marottolo. “We’ll take the three points and get a little rest tomorrow, then get ready for a very tough Air Force team (at home Jan. 3-4).”
At the 35th annual Ledyard Classic at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H., Providence took a 3-1 win over Northeastern on the strength of 19 saves from goaltender Philip Svedebäck and three different goal scorers.
Great dish by Kivioja to Gamache and he buries it for his fifth of the season to restore the two-goal lead! pic.twitter.com/46mr2QhiPj
Nikita Nikora, Cooper Flinton, Braiden Dorfman and Hayden Stavroff and Cam McDonald had the goals for Dartmouth, while Dimitry Kebreau, Jarred White, Ryan Johnson and Conor Cole scored for the Seawolves.
Dartmouth goalies Emmett Croteau and Roan Clarke combined to make 16 saves and Greg Orosz stopped 16 for Alaska Anchorage.
Wisconsin 8, Ferris State 0
From the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin downed Ferris State 8-0 as Cody Laskosky, Ryland Mosley and Quinn Finley each ripped two goals with an assist.
Kyle Kukkonen added two goals and Owen Lindmark, Zack Schulz, Christian Fitzgerald and Gavin Morrissey chipped in two assists each to back Tommy Scarfone’s 23 saves in goal, his third shutout in five games.
Ferris State goalie Noah West made 51 saves.
UConn 4, Alaska 1
Also at the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff, UConn got goals from four different players to take a 4-1 win over Alaska.
Trey Scott, Jake Richard, Jake Percival and Ethan Whitcomb scored and Callum Tung made 27 saves between the pipes.
Chase Dafoe popped the lone goal for the Nanooks and goalie Nicholas Grabko turned aside 27 shots.
Princeton 1, Army West Point 0
Jake Manfre scored the game’s lone goal at 7:47 of the first period and Arthur Smith stopped all 24 shots fired his way as Princeton blanked Army West Point at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y.
Cy LeClerc had a goal and three assists and Liam Devlin two goals and two assists as New Hampshire beat Rensselaer 7-4 from the Houston Fieldhouse in Troy, N.Y.
Robert Cronin went for a goal and an assist and Alex Gagne, Nikolai Jenson and Nick Ring added goals for the Wildcats, Ryan Conmy added a pair of assists and Jared Whale made 16 stops in goal.
Power play goal AND Liam Devlin's second of the night😄
For RPI, Jagger Tapper and William Gilson and Gustavs Ozolins each had a goal and an assist, Tyler Hotson scored, John Beaton tacked on two assists, and goalies Noah Giesbrecht and Jack Watson combined on a 37-save outing in goal.
Team USA opened the 2025 World Juniors with a 10-4 win over Germany (photo: USA Hockey).
James Hagens (Boston College) recorded two goals and two assists while Cole Hutson (Boston University) added five assists to help the U.S. National Junior Team to a 10-4 victory over Germany in its first preliminary round contest of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, Ont., at the Canadian Tire Centre.
“I thought overall we did a lot of good things and we’ll continue to grow and build,” said David Carle (Denver), head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team, in a statement. “It was good to get a win under our belt and we’ll turn our focus now to playing Latvia on Saturday.”
Team USA nearly opened the scoring 4:27 into the game, but Gabe Perreault (Boston College) was denied by German netminder Nico Pertuch on a sprawling save at the goal line on what looked like a sure goal.
Hagens opened the scoring for Team USA at 8:07 when he put home a loose puck after a net-front scrum. Hutson and Ryan Leonard (Boston College) assisted on the tally.
Perreault, subsequently named the U.S. player of the game, wristed a shot over the glove of Pertuch at 11:56 following a feed from Hagens to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead.
U.S. netminder Trey Augustine (Michigan State) denied Nick Maul on a two-on-one opportunity with 2:13 remaining to maintain Team USA’s two-goal advantage after the first frame.
Trevor Connelly (Providence) extended the U.S. advantage just 1:38 into the second, as he capitalized on a pass from Cole Eiserman (Boston University) to put Team USA up 3-0.
Germany’s Julius Sumpf scored on the power play at 5:00 and David Lewandowski tallied with 10:37 remaining in the middle frame to trim the U.S. lead to 3-2.
Hagens scored his second of the contest at 14:01 as he powered a shot under Pertuch’s arm to give Team USA a 4-2 lead.
Brandon Svoboda (Boston University) scored what proved to be the game winner at 18:40, as he backhanded home a rebound opportunity. Perreault lasered a wrister into the back of the net 59 seconds later to give Team USA a 6-2 lead after 40 minutes.
Carey Terrance (OHL’s Erie Otters) found the back of the net 3:04 into the third period, converting a two-on-one opportunity with Svoboda to extend the U.S. lead to five.
Lenny Boos scored for Germany at 5:37 before Brodie Ziemer (Minnesota) tallied a pair of goals at the 7:16 and 9:44 marks to put the game out of reach.
After Timo Ruckdaschel scored for Germany at 16:14, Eiserman added the final U.S. goal to account for the 10-4 final.
Augustine made 18 saves for the U.S. in the victory.
The U.S. National Junior Team is back in preliminary round action against Latvia on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.
Ryan Leonard celebrates a goal last season against Harvard (photo: Brody Hannon).
USA Hockey has named the 25 players for its 2025 U.S. National Junior Team that will represent the United States in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ottawa, Ont.
Among the roster are 10 players who were part of the 2024 gold medal-winning U.S. National Junior Team, including goaltenders Trey Augustine (Michigan State) and Sam Hillebrandt (OHL’s Barrie Colts), defenseman Zeev Buium (Denver), Drew Fortescue (Boston College) and Aram Minnetian (Boston College) and forwards Ryan Leonard (Boston College), Oliver Moore (Minnesota), Danny Nelson (Notre Dame), Gabe Perreault (Boston College) and Carey Terrance (OHL’s Erie Otters).
“It’s always tough to get through the selection process as we have so many great players in our country,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2025 U.S. National Junior Team and assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, in a statement. “We turn our focus now to giving our team every opportunity to come together as we continue preparing for the tournament.”
Leonard has also been named captain, while Buium, Moore, Nelson and Perreault are Team USA’s alternate captains.
The U.S. National Junior Team claimed gold at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 6-2 win over host Sweden in the gold-medal game in Gothenburg, Sweden.
2025 U.S. National Junior Team
GOALTENDERS
Trey Augustine, Michigan State
Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan
Sam Hillebrandt, Barrie Colts
DEFENSEMEN
Logan Hensler, Wisconsin
Colin Ralph, St. Cloud State
Drew Fortescue, Boston College
Adam Kleber, Minnesota Duluth
Aram Minnetian, Boston College
Paul Fischer, Notre Dame
Cole Hutson, Boston University
Zeev Buium, Denver
FORWARDS
Teddy Stiga, Boston College
Brandon Svoboda, Boston University
Ryan Leonard, Boston College
Carey Terrance, Erie Otters (OHL)
Oliver Moore, Minnesota
James Hagens, Boston College
Danny Nelson, Notre Dame
Trevor Connelly, Providence
Joey Willis, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
Austin Burnevik, St. Cloud State
Gabe Perreault, Boston College
Brodie Ziemer, Minnesota
Cole Eiserman, Boston University
David Carle (Denver) is the United States head coach, while Steve Miller (Minnesota), Brett Larson (St. Cloud State) and Garrett Raboin (Augustana) are assistant coaches.
Team USA starts tournament play Thursday at 2:30 p.m. EDT against Germany at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont., live on NHL Network.
UW-Superior is hoping to have a strong second half to the season. (Photo Credit: Holden Law/UW-Superior Athletics)
It’s the day before Christmas, and all through the D-III hockey world, rinks are as silent as the night.
The hockey sticks are hung by the chimney with care in the hopes of them soon being used to score plenty of goals in the second half of the season.
Coaches, athletes and fans are home right now enjoying some well-deserved time off, but the return of action on the ice is just around the corner.
And we can’t wait to see what the second half of the year has in store for us all.
Santa, meanwhile, will soon be up on rooftops, dropping down chimneys and bringing joy and presents to everyone around the world.
If it’s not too much to ask, Santa, I’d love if you could help with a few hockey-related requests ahead of the second half of the season.
Let’s start with the MIAC. We know how tightly contested that league always is. A handful of points typically separates the top from the bottom and while there might be a favorite on paper, the games on the ice tend to tell a different story.
Right now, Gustavus is atop the standings. The Gusties started 0-3 but are now 6-5, including a 5-1 mark in league play.
It’s one of the great stories of the early part of the year. But the year is far from over. Saint Mary’s and Saint John’s aren’t too far off the mark, and don’t count out St. Scholastica.
Then again, don’t count out anyone in the MIAC. Even Augsburg. Yes, the Auggies are at the bottom of the standings, but a few good weekends of hockey for them can flip the script in a hurry.
The ask here, Santa, is can you please let the MIAC continue to be as competitive and entertaining as always throughout the second half of the year? I hope you can, because it sure does make things fun and there is never a dull moment.
Over in the WIAC, things have really gotten interesting. UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point are both ranked in the USCHO.com poll, but have you noticed that UW-Superior is currently atop the standings?
The Yellowjackets have won four in a row and have proven they are going to be in the discussion for the league championship when it’s all said and done.
UW-Eau Claire can’t be overlooked either. The Blugolds have done well in WIAC play so far and I expect that to continue.
And like I mentioned earlier, Stevens Point and River Falls are ranked. Maybe they remain in the rankings in the second half of the year. Maybe they don’t. But we know you can’t overlook either one in the race for the title.
I hope Santa can keep the WIAC rolling along with fun and unpredictable hockey week in and week out in the second half.
But the biggest request from Santa here is can the big guy in the red suit bring some good fortune to Northland.
The Lumberjacks have had it rough, dropping all 11 of its games this year despite some games where they’ve shown flashes of their potential. Their losing streak overall dating back to last year is at 37 games.
If any team could use some joy after the new year, it’s Northland. Those players are working hard. They just need a few breaks to go their way. I know Santa will do what he can to make that happen.
Last, but certainly not least, is the NCHA. Typically, you can say either Adrian or St. Norbert is winning this thing and there is no other option.
But not this year. The top four teams are separated by a total of four points, with Trine leading the way at the top, sitting one point ahead of St. Norbert, which started the year with 11 straight wins.
Aurora is just two points behind Trine and Adrian is four. And hey, look out for those Concordia Falcons, who have won their last four.
I have a feeling that things are going to get interesting in the second half of the season. And the conference tournament could be the best thing ever based on how the standings look right now.
So, Santa, keep the NCHA the way it is. Let’s let this season truly be a fight to the finish. And if it’s not too much to ask, Dubuque, a second-year program, could use a few wins in the second half of the year. That program is trying to build something there. It’s just going to take a little time.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and let’s hope the second half of the D-III season out west is the best it can be. With a little help from Santa, I know it will be.
Jake Livanavage has been a force at both ends of the ice this season for North Dakota (photo: Russell Hons).
It’s no secret that North Dakota has some work to do if the Fighting Hawks are to make their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in five years.
Sitting 22nd in the PairWise Rankings after an 11-7-1 start, more things will have to start going the right way.
Kind of like they have in the last couple of weeks.
A North Dakota team dealing with injuries to some of its key players is entering the holiday break on a four-game winning streak. After eking out a tight pair of games Dec. 6-7 at Miami, the Hawks won twice again last weekend at home to St. Cloud State.
“I thought our guys did a good job of getting through the first half with some adversity, gaining some momentum in December here and heading into Christmas break with being in a good spot here, and trying to keep building for the second half,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said during his weekly press conference Wednesday.
Among UND’s high-profile players that didn’t factor into any of those four games are a pair of upperclassmen in senior forward Cameron Berg and junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek. Berg has been out since early November, and it was announced Wednesday that Zmolek will miss the rest of the season with an undisclosed injury. Zmolek hasn’t played since UND’s season opener against Providence.
But for as big as those lineup omissions are, UND has seen many of its younger players blossom. For example, the Hawks’ three top point-producers are all underclassmen in freshman Sacha Boisvert (8-9-17) and sophomore defensemen Abram Wiebe (4-10-14) and Jake Livanavage (2-12-14). Sophomore forward Jayden Perron (6-6-12) and freshman Mac Swanson (2-9-11) aren’t far behind, sitting fifth and sixth on the list.
“I think that comes from, A, seeing what college hockey is all about,” Berry said of the contributions of UND’s youth this season. “When you jump from junior hockey or wherever you came from, it’s a huge step in the pace of the game, it’s a lot faster and it’s a lot more physical, and there’s a lot more physical maturity of playing against older guys. I think the combination of that, they get immersed into that, they get to see what the level is and then they play to that level.
“The other thing, I think, is confidence and knowing that they belong. Once you go through all of our practices playing against really good players, and then you get into the nonconference schedule, which was really tough, and then the NCHC, then you become confident in what you can do, and I think they’re playing with some swagger and confidence to make a difference, and they had to. With the guys that were out of our lineup, they had to make a difference, and we want to see that progression keep going, trending north, as far as their development.”
Youngsters have played key roles in UND’s success over the past couple of weeks. Boisvert scored the game-winning goal with less than a minute left in the Hawks’ 5-4 victory Dec. 6 at Miami, then three underclassmen scored the following night in a 4-2 win in Oxford, Ohio. Livanavage bagged an insurance goal in UND’s 2-0 win last Friday against St. Cloud State, then underclassmen scored the Hawks’ first three goals in a 4-3 overtime victory Saturday against the Huskies.
UND is off until it hosts Manitoba in an exhibition game Jan. 4, and then it’s all NCHC play after that. It won’t be too long before the Hawks are back at it, with an eye toward making up some ground.
“When you talk about the reasons why you’re winning games or losing games, there’s really no excuses built in,” Berry said. “We know where we’re at. At the end of the day, it’s, what are we going to do…the finger doesn’t go (outward), it goes (inward) whether it’s coaches or players, and what we have to do individually and better as a team.
“I do think that Friday game at Miami was kind of a defining moment for us. It was kind of like that Denver game on Friday in Denver last year where we had to come all the way back and win that game (7-5, last December), and I think that showed (for UND’s young players) that, ‘Hey, we belong. We made an impact in this game that we won at Miami and we can continue to do that.’
“The last thing I said to the guys after the game on Saturday is, ‘You’ve done a good job of leading the right way here, but now, us as coaches give you game plans and situations where we’re going to keep moving forward and give you a chance for success, but the success is going to align this locker room in the second half of this season because that’s where the leadership really takes over,” Berry continued. “That’s where the ownership of the dressing room takes charge right away in the second half, and I firmly believe that our guys believe that.”
Rhett Pitlick has played well in his first season with Minnesota State (photo: Abby Santos).
As the holiday break descends upon us, there is one thing that has stood out above all others: Minnesota State is the real deal.
This isn’t a particularly “hot take,” in fact, one might argue that it’s the most obvious observation one could make. But sometimes, as a columnist, I’m supposed to take risks, and challenge the status quo, so consider this my risky move: making a point and hoping that nobody else notices it’s obvious.
Anyway… Minnesota State is legit.
We should have known this coming into the season, because despite a few flaws (they two of the conference’s top scorers in Lucas Sowder and Sam Morton), they also brought basically everybody else back. And yet, some people (this writer included) didn’t believe. In fact, this writer might have made a huge error and said that Minnesota State would finish fifth in the conference.
Mea culpa, Mavericks fans.
Maybe it was fitting, then, that just days after the preseason polls were voted on, the Mavericks made a huge splash in the transfer portal by adding forward Rhett Pitlick from Minnesota. If I’d have known about Pitlick joining the Mavericks, I certainly would have made them a top-three team, but even then, did I think they were going to be far and away the top team in the conference at Christmas break?
The answer to that, readers, is obvious. (For the record, I thought defending CCHA champions Bemidji State and St. Thomas would finish first and second, respectively, but currently neither team is in the top half of the conference standings.)
So, sometimes we sportswriters get things wrong. But as it stands, Minnesota State is sitting atop the CCHA standings with a 9-1-2 record and 29 points in the league table. Close behind them are second-place Augustana, who have 16 points through eight games.
Now, I’m sure you’re asking me now, “Jack, wait. Augustana only has 16 points. How is it possible that they are 13 points and four games behind Minnesota State. Michigan Tech is in second with 23 points, right?”
Well, that’s where things get complicated. Because the Vikings were a last-minute addition to the league — CCHA officials decided to vote them in this summer after finding out that St. Thomas would be leaving after the 2025-26 season — the CCHA is using a points-percentage formula to determine the league champions and standings this year. So the Vikings, who have 16 points at the moment, are still in second place because they are 5-3-0 in the conference and have a 0.667 points percentage compared to Tech’s 0.639 (they’re 7-3-2). Lake Superior State is in fourth place at 6-4-0 (0.600).
As luck would have it, the Vikings play all three of those squads for the first (and only) time this season after the holiday break. So even though the points-percentage formula is slightly confusing (it’s total points divided by games played times three), there will be some huge matchups that will tell us a lot about where we’re at in February.
For now, I wanted to quickly go through each team and highlight one player who I think deserves to be mentioned as that team’s MVP. My criteria isn’t necessarily based on stats (although they certainly are important) but more about which players I think would be so important to their teams that they’d be substantially worse if they were not available. This is subjective, of course, but it’s also a chance for me to talk about some players I may not normally mention.
Without further ado, here we go!
Minnesota State (14-4-2, 9-1-2 CCHA)
MVP: Goaltender Alex Tracy (14-2-2, 1.39 GAA, .945 SV%)
Tracy’s numbers last season were solid but not eye-popping (2.50 GAA and .910 SV%). He got a little overlooked by a strong crop of goaltenders the CCHA had last year (Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl and Michigan Tech’s Blake Pietila). But this season, Tracy has been basically unstoppable. He’s started every single game for the Mavericks, and he’s only allowed teams to score more than two goals against him three times. Two of those were in Maverick wins. Even in a loss, teams have trouble scoring on him: In MSU’s only regulation conference loss this season, Bemidji State managed just a single goal and won 1-0. Tracy has been arguably the nation’s top goalie for a reason.
Augustana (10-7-1, 5-3-0 CCHA)
MVP: Luke Mobley (7g-3a-10pts)
It’s hard to pick just one standout offensive performer from Augustana this season, because one of the Vikings’ hallmarks has been scoring depth. But Mobley, a senior who transferred from Clarkson last season, is the team’s captain and leading scorer with seven goals. He’s a big leader on a forward unit that has lots of players with a handful of goals. Nearly everyone on this team has been chipping in, which is why the Vikings are off to such a great start to the first half of the season.
Michigan Tech (9-5-2, 7-3-2 CCHA)
MVP: Forward Stiven Sardarian (8g-11a-19pts)
One of the conference’s more under-the-radar transfers, Sardarian has made a big splash this season since coming from New Hampshire. He’s tied for the conference lead with eight goals and has 19 points–already surpassing his 2023-24 total of 14 points at UNH. For a team that has at times struggled to score (they’ve scored more than two goals only six times this season), Sardarian has been a reliable spark.
We’ve seen plenty of teams in college hockey struggle with goaltender injuries. Merrimack was so hard-up in a series against Stonehill they had to play an equipment manager. LSSU hasn’t had to do that yet, but Applebee, a freshman from Chateauguay, Quebec, has been the Lakers’ only healthy goalie for nearly two months. He’s been outstanding and has helped backstop the Lakers to a solid 6-4-0 conference record. He’s also been the anchor of the Lakers best-in-the CCHA penalty kill unit, which stands at 0.871 at the holiday break.
Bowling Green (7-7-2, 4-4-2 CCHA)
MVP: Forward Brody Waters (8g-3a-11pts)
The Falcons are currently third-to-last in the conference in scoring (just 2.16 goals per game), but there’s been a bright spot: There are five different players tied for the CCHA’s goalscoring lead, and Waters is one of them. The sophomore from Heidelberg, Ont., scored twice in Bowling Green’s win over Northern Michigan last weekend, and has already improved his scoring numbers from his freshman year (when he scored six goals in 34 games).
Bemidji State (8-8-3, 5-5-2 CCHA)
MVP: Defenseman Isah Parekh (3g-5a-8pts)
One of the big question marks for Bemidji State coming into the season was how they’d handle the loss of two of their top defensemen in all-conference performers Kyle Looft and Eric Pohlkamp. And while you can’t replace a player outright, it seems they have found a solid one in the strong tradition of Beaver defensemen to take the mantle in Parekh. The freshman from Nobleton, Ont., has been one of the Beavers’ most reliable power play quarterbacks, scoring two of his three goals thus far on the man advantage and adding three of his five assists that way too.
Ferris State (6-10-2, 5-7-0, CCHA)
MVP: Forward Caiden Gault (8g-2a-10pts)
Gault, a junior from Oakbank, Manitoba, has taken a notable step in his game this season and turned into one of the Bulldogs’ most reliable performers. After recording just five points in 20 games a season ago, he’s now among Ferris State’s top six skaters and is relied upon to contribute to the offense each night. In FSU’s last series against Northern Michigan, he had a pair of goals to help the Bulldogs earn their first sweep of the season.
St. Thomas (4-9-4, 3-6-3 CCHA)
MVP: Forward Liam Malmquist (6g-13a-19pts)
St. Thomas has been up and down all season, but Malmquist has been a consistent performer for the Tommies. He’s scored some key goals against top teams–including what would turn out to be the game-winner against Michigan Tech earlier in December. The Tommies will certainly be looking towards Malmquist as they try to pull themselves back up into home ice contention for the CCHA Mason Cup playoffs.
Northern Michigan (1-16-1, 0-11-1 CCHA)
MVP: Goaltender Ryan Ouellette (1-15-1, 2.88 GAA, .919 SV%)
It’s been a rough season for NMU as a whole, but Ouellette has been a big bright spot. The transfer from Niagara has been able to keep the Wildcats in every game, even when they might not necessarily have the offensive power to be in those games. His .919 save percentage is third in the conference despite the fact that NMU has won just a single game. Although the Wildcats are currently in ninth in the conference, Ouellette should be able to help them steal a few wins down the stretch in the second half.
Cornell’s Ian Shane has been a rock in net for Cornell (photo: Lexi Woodcock/Cornell Athletics).
A happy and hearty holiday season to you and yours in the college hockey world.
I’ve found through the years that holiday and semester break is well-placed for a college hockey season that rumbles through the fall and early spring with an unsurpassed pace. We spend our weeks in October and November in the same rush to the weekend that exists ahead of postseason tournaments, so waning games ahead of exams and holidays is a great time to sit back and relax during a season stamped by a cheery man in a big red suit.
This week wraps up our first half coverage, and while we’re nowhere near the ending of college hockey season, I wanted to look back at the start of the season and identify trends along the ECAC fault lines. Consider this a halfway-point preview of our end-of-year reflection where I get to look back and count my prediction missteps.
It’s worth noting that this is all coming from a 10,000-foot viewpoint, so it’ll likely lack the full details of a team-by-team preseason preview breakdown. Instead, we’re mostly looking at what teams have done exceptionally well and where they might look to improve – again, without reasoning for what might got them or get them to those points – for the new year.
Without further ado:
Brown
Predicted Finish: Ninth If the playoffs started today: 10th Biggest Thing I Got Right So Far New and emerging players definitely added some thump to the Brown lineup. All three of my key additions – Brian Nicholas, Charlie Gollob, and Ivan Zadvernyuk – are among the team’s top scorers in one way or another, and Tyler Kopff and Max Scott are developing into top-flight and top-line talent. Goalie Lawton Zacher produced one of the team’s longest shutout streaks, and one weekend’s worth of work in January could erase the four-point gap separating 10th from fifth. For the second half: Brown is legitimately well-positioned for a fast start to January, and the Bears are a threat to jump into the top half of the league if the offense continues to add scoring.
Clarkson
Predicted Finish: Seventh If the playoffs started today: Third Biggest Thing I Got Right So Far: The program’s master class in changing its coaching leadership resulted in zero negative impacts at the start of the season, and Jean-Francois Houle enters the holiday season as a leader in ECAC’s coach of the year race clubhouse. For the second half: Clarkson’s power play is in the top-half of the league, but operating just under 19 percent situates the Golden Knights near the national average. Expect someone to jump forward in goal scoring on a team averaging a right-smack-in-the-national-middle average on offense. For reference, Ayrton Martino and Ryan Richardson scored around a quarter of the team’s 53 goals, and the next six skaters each have four goals – or 52 percent of the total offense in the first half.
Colgate
Predicted Finish: Fourth If the playoffs started today: First Things I got right: Colgate’s leadership and additions created a perfect blend for a first half breakout, and a strong defense is way better than the goals against average implies. Remove Penn State’s seven-goal game and the team’s goals against average drops by a full one-third of a goal. Remove the five goals from the overtime win over Sacred Heart, and it drops to a near-equal 3.2 goals allowed. Also, for those keeping score, those are non-conference games. For the second half: Mike Harder was very honest about the team’s injury woes in the first half. Once the team starts getting healthier, expect the Raiders to have some growing pains before a strong finish.
Cornell
Predicted Finish: First If the playoffs started today: Fifth Things I got right: Cornell has a roster capable of competing at the highest levels of college hockey, and the start of the year drew comparisons to some of the best ECAC teams of all-time. Three goals per game is just ahead of the national average, For the second half: Ian Shane (joke’s on me, I thought he graduated) is hard-pressed to replicate the numbers that had me arguing towards a Richter Award last year, but there’s no way he sticks to an .896 save percentage for the entirety of the season. He’s still the goalie who held Quinnipiac and Princeton to two combined goals before Thanksgiving.
Dartmouth
Predicted Finish: Third If the playoffs started today: Fourth Things I got right: Dartmouth isn’t going away. The game against Boston College featured two top-5 teams in the Pairwise Rankings at the time, and the Big Green already own wins over Quinnipiac and Cornell with a “tie” (shootout loss) against Colgate. The power play is easily best in the country, and the penalty kill is good enough to provide the team with some lopsided special teams. For the second half: The consecutive losses to St. Lawrence and Clarkson didn’t help, but retaining the trademark consistency from October would go a long way to maintaining a heading in a league marked by a demolition derby of chaos.
Harvard
Predicted Finish: Fifth If the playoffs started today: Eighth Things I got right: Harvard won’t stay down forever, and the transition to a new era is built around how well the nucleus can help younger players. Junior Casey Severo made a jump in the first half with five goals (he had eight during last season’s 32-game campaign), and Mick Thompson’s output matches Ben MacDonald. For the second half: Aku Koskenvuo’s numbers skewed a bit after surrendering eight goals to UMass and Notre Dame, but his combination with Ben Charette is going to steal a game somewhere along the line. For many of us in the Boston area, the first two weekends in February sure look like a golden opportunity.
Princeton
Predicted Finish: 11th If the playoffs started today: Sixth Things I got right: Nothing. I made a valid point by saying, “Princeton returns enough pieces to make an interesting run at dark horse contender status,” but I messed the entire thing up by saying the league would force it into the bottom half. Maybe that happens, but the Tigers are in sixth at Christmas. For the second half: Princeton absolutely sweeps Cornell and Colgate because that’s how these things usually work, and a four-point or five-point weekend at Harvard and Dartmouth keys a run at the top-four into February.
Quinnipiac
Predicted Finish: Second If the playoffs started today: Second Things I got right: Almost everything. Turnover finally caught up to Quinnipiac at the start of the season, but once the Bobcats got rolling, 16 league points out of a possible 18-point stretch led them right back to the top. For the second half: The wolf is back in the hen house, and the numbers are aligning for a major run in the second half. What’s especially scary is the amount of depth emerging from the team’s top seven skaters. Nobody has more than seven or less than four goals, which means 67 percent of scoring could come from anywhere.
Rensselaer
Predicted Finish: 10th If the playoffs started today: 12th Things I got right: The right returners positioned RPI for early season wins, and that split against Clarkson and St. Lawrence proved how the Engineers could easily slip into the home ice conversation as the year progresses. Four straight losses and dropping five-of-six is more about playing two games against Maine ahead of the Quinnipiac-Princeton road trip with Princeton on Saturday than a dig at this team’s makeup. For the second half: I’d really like to see some early wins in January. Making the Yale-Brown trip in the aftermath of a one-off game against New Hampshire seems like a good way to gain momentum ahead of the trip to the North Country, and the brutal stretch of Cornell-Colgate-Princeton-Quinnipiac-Dartmouth-Harvard-Colgate-Cornell doesn’t show up until the end of the year, so there’s ground to be made, especially early.
St. Lawrence
Predicted Finish: Eighth If the playoffs started today: 11th Things I got right: Longer road trips to the North Country are coming in February after the Saints have had to travel to eastern New England. Considering St. Lawrence is 1-5-1 on the road compared to a 4-4 record at home is an indicator of things to come for teams heading to the Canadian border in winter – but even that one win was against Dartmouth. For the second half: I’m holding firm on St. Lawrence. Nothing can be accurately predicted until teams have to travel into northern New York’s winter.
Union
Predicted Finish: Sixth If the playoffs started today: Seventh Things I got right: Union barreled out of the gates with a number of key wins, and the Garnet Chargers rode the last bit of Messa magic to a 5-2-1 home record before getting swept by Vermont. For the second half: I feel like Union’s season goes in one of two directions based on how the numbers react. If an offense scoring 3.2 goals per game and allowing 3.0 goals per game stops scoring or allows more goals, the Garnet Chargers will drop. If the offense kicks into another gear – which is doable – or starts cutting into its goals allowed, the team moves up. If both numbers improve or stabilize or get more inconsistent, the team stays where it is.
Yale
Predicted Finish: 12th If the playoffs started today: Ninth Things I got right: Yale managed to get through unforgivable parts of its schedule in ninth place with an offense averaging less goals than last year. Surviving trial by fire to play for home ice? That’s opening the door for a second half run. For the second half: A second half run. I still love this team’s potential, and when the Bulldogs are good, they’re really good. It’s been fortunate that four of the tough losses were non-conference games, but taking two points from Cornell and a win against St. Lawrence opens the door for factoring into the parity that’s significantly more inevitable than past years. I really like Yale to potentially win the CT Ice after getting through Sacred Heart in the first round.
Ian Shane has been a rock between the pipes this season for Cornell (photo: Lexi Woodcock/Cornell Athletics).
Matteo Giampa had a stellar freshman season for Canisius and is doing the same in Year 2 (photo: Tom Wolf Imaging/Canisius Athletics).
While it often seems like the 2024-25 season just got underway, we’re already at the halfway point, with roughly 47% of Atlantic Hockey America’s conference schedule completed.
That’s a decent enough sample to look at where all 11 teams stand.
My friends at the USCHO Weekend Review podcast have an exercise called “Buy or Sell,” which asks whether they are bullish on a team or the opposite.
I’m going to add a “hold” category, meaning the jury is still out – for me, anyway.
Because we still have a somewhat unbalanced league schedule in terms of games played (they range from 10 for Air Force to 14 for Sacred Heart), I’m ranking the teams by conference points per game instead of total conference points.
Air Force
W-L-T (overall, conference): 9-10-1, 6-4
Conference points per game: 1.8 (4th)
Offense ranking: 11th
Defense ranking: 4th
Power play ranking: 10th
Penalty kill ranking: 10th
Recommendation: HOLD. In some ways, the Falcons may be overachieving with a better record than their stats might indicate. Air Force has been in a bit of a funk recently, with just one win in its last six games, but Frank Serratore’s teams tend to be stronger in the second half. Defenseman Chris Heddon and forward Clayton Consentino are having all-star seasons so far.
American International
W-L-T (overall, conference): 5-11-1, 4-7
Conference points per game: 1.27 (8th)
Offense ranking: 9th
Defense ranking: 6th
Power play ranking: 5th
Penalty kill ranking: 2nd
Recommendation: HOLD. It’s been as rough a first half as they come for the Yellow Jackets, who recently announced that the program will be downgraded to Division II and dropping out of Atlantic Hockey America at the end of the season. AIC hasn’t lost more than two games in a row but hasn’t won two in a row either. You can’t count out an Eric Lang-led team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yellow Jackets got hot in the second half if they can get and stay healthy. Rookie goalie Adam Manji has been a bright spot (.921 SV% and 2.39 GAA).
Army West Point
W-L-T (overall, conference): 5-11-0, 5-7-0
Conference points per game: 1.25 (9th)
Offense ranking: 10th
Defense ranking: 7th
Power play ranking: 11th
Penalty kill ranking: 3rd
Recommendation: SELL. There’s a feel-good story waiting to happen if the Black Knights can get their offense going and produce a second half that shines a light on coach Brian Riley, who is retiring after 21 seasons at West Point. Goalie JJ Cataldo leads the league in GAA (2.02) and saves percentage (.933), and sophomore defenseman Mac Gadowsky is having an all-star year, but he’s the only player with double-digit points right now.
Bentley
W-L-T (overall, conference): 10-5-2, 9-2-1
Conference points per game: 2.42 (1st)
Offense ranking: 3rd
Defense ranking: 1st
Power play ranking: 3rd
Penalty kill ranking: 5th
Recommendation: BUY. The Falcons are technically tied with Sacred Heart for first place but have three games in hand and are the only Atlantic Hockey America team averaging over two conference points per game. Bentley currently has over a 50% chance of winning the regular season title. Defense wins titles, and Bentley has the best in the conference led by goaltender Connor Hasley, who already has four shutouts this season.
Canisius
W-L-T (overall, conference): 5-11-2, 5-5-2
Conference points per game: 1.55 (6th)
Offense ranking: 6th
Defense ranking: 9th
Power play ranking: 2nd
Penalty kill ranking: 9th
Recommendation: SELL. Canisius is winless in its last four and has just two wins since Nov. 8. If the Golden Griffins want to move up in the standings, they will have to be road warriors – only five home games are left, with 12 games away from Harbor Center. Forward Matteo Giampa, last year’s Rookie of the Year, leads the team in most offensive categories as expected.
Holy Cross
W-L-T (overall, conference): 8-8-1, 7-4-1
Conference points per game: 1.67 (5th)
Offense ranking: 5th
Defense ranking: 2nd
Power play ranking: 7th
Penalty kill ranking: 1st
Recommendation: BUY. Holy Cross was my pick to win the league and I’m sticking with that. The Crusaders need a more balanced scoring attack and if the offense picks up, they’ll be challenging for the regular season title. Forward Liam McLinskey and goalie Thomas Gale are living up to preseason expectations.
Mercyhurst
W-L-T (overall, conference): 2-15-3, 2-10-2
Conference points per game: 0.57 (11th)
Offense ranking: 8th
Defense ranking: 10th
Power play ranking: 4th
Penalty kill ranking: 11th
Recommendation: SELL. The Lakers have a lot to work on but they’re a young team that will improve. There’s some reason for optimism – the Lakers’ combined saves percentage is .911 despite its struggles defensively and on the penalty kill, for example. But Mercyhurst needs to cut down on shots against and hope that its 18 underclassmen continue to develop.
Niagara
W-L-T (overall, conference): 8-8-3, 7-4-2
Conference points per game: 1.85 (3rd)
Offense ranking: 4th
Defense ranking: 5th
Power play ranking: 6th
Penalty kill ranking: 7th
Recommendation: BUY. There’s a lot of upside here. Trevor Hoskin, a Calgary draft pick, is a candidate for Rookie of the Year, and goalie Pierce Charleson, a transfer from Alaska (and before that, Michigan State), has provided stability between the pipes. Coach Jason Lammers has a way of getting his team deep into the playoffs year in and year out. Will this be the year the Purple Eagles win it all? It’s not out of the question.
Rochester Institute of Technology
W-L-T (overall, conference): 4-14-1, 3-8-1
Conference points per game: 0.75 (10th)
Offense ranking: 7th
Defense ranking: 11th
Power play ranking: 8th
Penalty kill ranking: 4th
Recommendation: SELL. While the Tigers snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak in their final outing of the first half, they’ll need to find a solution for goaltending/defense issues. The offense has picked up lately with Tyler Fukukusa leading the league in total points and Matthew Wilde first in the conference in points per game.
Robert Morris
W-L-T (overall, conference): 8-7-2, 5-5-1
Conference points per game: 1.5 (7th)
Offense ranking: 1st
Defense ranking: 3rd
Power play ranking: 1st
Penalty kill ranking: 6th
Recommendation: BUY. Coach Derek Schooley has built a contender in only their second year back. The sophomore line of Walter Zacher (17 points), Tanner Klimpke (17 points), and Cameron Garvey (13 points) are one of the top lines in the conference, and the Colonials have a favorable schedule in the second half, with 10 out of 15 games at home and games in hand on most teams.
Sacred Heart
W-L-T (overall, conference): 9-7-3, 8-5-2
Conference points per game: 1.93 (2nd)
Offense ranking: 2nd
Defense ranking: 8th
Power play ranking: 9th
Penalty kill ranking: 8th
Recommendation: BUY. There’s too much talent and experience to bet against the Pioneers, the preseason favorite to win the league. Coach CJ Marottolo has used the transfer portal well, with SHU’s top four scorers all coming in this year or last from other programs, including Maine transfers Félix Trudeau (20 points) and Reid Pabich (12 points). Rookie goaltender Ajeet Gundarah (.912 SV%) looks to have won the starting job.
Penn State’s Dylan Lugris celebrates a goal last Thursday against Army West Point (photo: Penn State Athletics).
The first half of the Big Ten season is in the books and there have been a few surprises along the way, setting up an interesting second-half sprint to the conference playoffs.
As we head into the holiday break, here are some thoughts about each team.
Minnesota 15-3-2 (8-1-1 B1G)
The Golden Gophers had a golden first half – until they ran into the Spartans last weekend, that is. Anyone watching that series realized that Minnesota and Michigan State are contenders for the national championship, and there’s no doubt that coach Bob Motzko’s squad will use the tie and loss to propel them in the second half.
The Gophers earned one point in last weekend’s series and are still five points ahead of second-place Michigan State. Yes, the Minnesota has played two more games than have the Spartans, but that would be immaterial if the Gophers hadn’t done so much with their first eight B1G games. Their 5-3 loss Saturday was their first in conference play this season.
They’re deep at every position. They’re in a three-way tie for the top offense in the country, averaging 4.00 goals per game. They’re in a three-way tie for the seventh-best defense 2.00). Their special teams can improve, but that can be said of many B1G teams.
I go back to something Motzko said in November: “You don’t win championships early, but you can lose them.” The Gophers have done all they can in the first half to embrace that.
Minnesota begins the second half with a pair of home games against Mercyhurst (Jan. 3-4), and the Gophers return to Big Ten play on the road against Ohio State Jan. 10-11.
Michigan State 13-2-1 (6-2-1 B1G)
The Spartans are the most tenacious, diligent, and adaptive team playing college hockey right now. As coach Adam Nightingale put it in his radio show this week, “We can wear teams down and we can come back.”
This is a team that applies what it learns from every game to every subsequent game. After losing 3-0 to Boston College Oct. 11, Michigan State won their next nine games, stopped Dec. 6 in a 4-0 loss to Wisconsin. With just those two losses on the season, the Spartans are second only to Boston College in the PairWise Rankings.
Michigan State is fifth in the nation in offense (3.44), tied for fourth in defense (1.88) and does better than most B1G teams in special teams (.820 PK/25th, (.244 PP/12th). Like the Gophers, the Spartans are balanced and deep.
And how much fun is Isaac Howard this season? The junior – a first-round draft pick of Tampa in 2022 – had eight goals in 36 games last season. He’s at nine already this season, and he’s one of the most dynamic players in the league.
Like the Gophers, the Spartans have taken care of business well in the first half, setting Michigan State up for a run at the conference championship. The Spartans return to action in the Great Lakes Invitational in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 29 when they face off against old CCHA rival Northern Michigan. That tourney features all Michigan teams, so Michigan State will play either Western Michigan or Michigan Tech Dec. 30.
There’s little rest for the Spartans following the GLI. They’ll host Wisconsin Jan. 2 before the teams meet again Jan. 4 as part of the Frozen Confines in Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Wisconsin 7-10-1 (5-7-0)
After a 2-5-0 start to the season in October, Wisconsin has clawed its way back to tie with Michigan State for second in the Big Ten standings. A key difference: the Badgers needed four more conference games than the Spartans to do that.
Wisconsin’s start puts the Badgers in a tough position going into the second half. Wisconsin is one of three B1G teams that does not control its own conference destiny. The Badgers can’t be guaranteed a slice of the Big Ten regular season championship even if they win out in the second half.
Chasing standing in the Big Ten isn’t Wisconsin’s only concern. Currently the Badgers sit at No. 25 in the PairWise Rankings. Wisconsin’s only way into the NCAA tournament may be clinching the playoff title.
The Badgers split a road series with Michigan to end the first half, blanking the Wolverines 4-0 before losing 3-2 in OT the following night. Coach Mike Hastings delivered a very Wisconsin one-liner following that loss: “That last one, uff da, is that hard to swallow.”
Since the start of the season, Wisconsin’s played nine overtime games (3-5-1).
The Badgers are the first B1G team to play following the break, as they defend their Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff title in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Wisconsin plays Ferris State Dec. 28 and either Alaska or Connecticut the following night.
Ohio State 13-4-1 (6-2-0 B1G)
The Buckeyes may be the biggest surprise of the season. With 16 points, the Buckeyes end the first half of the season in fourth place, three behind the tied Badgers and Spartans, eight points out of first place.
Ohio State heads into the break with a four-game Big Ten win streak, having swept Notre Dame last weekend and Penn State the weekend before. The Buckeyes also have a sweep of Wisconsin to their credit, but their two losses came to Michigan State – and eight of their remaining games are against Minnesota and Michigan, collectively.
Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik has said all season that this Ohio State team wins by committee, and that was true of every position including goaltending until recently. Logan Terness and Kristoffer Eberly had been splitting duties, but Eberly has started the last four games. Eberly’s numbers put him among the top netminders in the country (.941 SV%/6th, 1.35 GAA/1st).
The Ohio State defense (1.94) is right behind Michigan State’s and the Buckeyes’ penalty kill (.843) is the best nationally among B1G teams.
Ohio State faces a tough second-half schedule, starting with a game against Michigan Jan. 3 in the Frozen Confines. The Buckeyes and Wolverines finish that series in Ann Arbor Jan. 5.
Michigan 11-6-1 (5-3-0 B1G)
When Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen pocketed his first career goal at 12:26 of the second period in Michigan’s overtime win against Wisconsin last weekend, he was the first Wolverine to score since 4:22 in the second period of Michigan’s win over Western Michigan Nov. 30.
That scoring drought spanned over 11 periods of hockey and encompassed three whole games in which the Wolverines were kept off the scoresheet, the first time that had happened to a Michigan team since 1942-43.
Before all of that nonsense, the Wolverines were averaging 4.00 goals per game, third in the nation. They dropped to 23rd (3.00) after a pair of shutout losses to Minnesota followed by that 4-0 loss to Wisconsin.
After getting scoring last Saturday – and a win – coach Brandon Naurato said, “Everything that may not be going right from this first half I think can be corrected with just individual growth. Michigan’s been a second-half team.”
And he’s right about that. It would be foolish to count the Wolverines out of anything in the second half of the season. They have deep talent and – shutout losses not withstanding – a knack for outscoring opponents even when they allow too many goals against to expect a win.
Michigan’s first series back is the one against Ohio State, starting with the game in Wrigley Field Jan. 3.
Notre Dame 6-12-0 (1-9-0 B1G)
The Fighting Irish are struggling to find consistency in every position and in every situation, leaving Notre Dame in a tough spot heading into the second half.
The Irish went 3-7-0 in November, including a 1-7-0 record in conference play. That month also saw a seven-game losing streak that Notre Dame ended with a 5-2 win over Havard Nov. 29 at the Friendship Four in Belfast, Ireland.
After that trip, coach Jeff Jackson said that he likes this team and thinks it has the potential to improve as the season progresses. “I like the group. I think we haven’t figured some things out on how we need to play.”
Everything from puck management to penalties to team defense has hampered Notre Dame’s game this season. In their single December series, the Irish lost 2-1 (OT) and 3-1 to Ohio State, allowing a power-play goal in each contest. The Buckeyes outshot the Irish 86-34 in the two contests.
The Fighting Irish are another team not in control of their own destiny in the second half. In the unlikely event that Notre Dame runs the rest of the Big Ten schedule, the Irish would still need significant help from other teams to finish higher than fifth place.
Next up for Notre Dame is a series against Penn State that begins Jan. 3 at the Frozen Confines. The teams will finish that series in South Bend Jan. 5.
Penn State 7-9-0 (0-8-0 B1G)
With the exception of a single loss to Quinnipiac early in the season, Penn State is perfect in nonconference play. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, none of that success has translated into Big Ten play, where Penn State is still looking for its first conference win.
The Nittany Lions ended the first half on an up note, defeating Army West Point 4-1 in the inaugural Capital Holiday Classic in Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Capitals.
In advance of that game, coach Guy Gadowsky told reporters that the Nittany Lions need to improve in one very specific way. “I’m just going to be blunt,” said Gadowsky. “We have to be a lot more mentally tough than we are. We have to be mentally tougher to start the game, and then we have to be mentally tough to finish it when we fight back.”
John Seifarth (.918 SV%, 2.19 GAA) has emerged as the starting goaltender for Penn State, beginning with the Nittany Lions’ win over Colgate Nov. 26. Penn State swept that weekend and lost two to Ohio State in the next series and finished the first half with that win over Army.
Penn State opens the second half with that series against Notre Dame. Like the Fighting Irish and the Badgers, the Nittany Lions would need significant help to play their way up the Big Ten standings in the second half. Winning 15 of their 16 remaining conference games would get them to fourth place.
Happy holidays, everyone
I am ever grateful to everyone who supports USCHO and follows along for the Big Ten season, and to those of you who reach out to talk a little hockey. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and may 2025 be gentle to you.
Merrimack finished 2024 with a bang, scoring three times in the final period to knock off Northeastern 4-1 on home ice last Saturday night (photo: Merrimack Athletics).
When a team wins a lot, it’s common for players to speak highly of team chemistry. It’s not a popular topic when a team struggles.
That’s not the case with Merrimack.
Despite wrapping up the first semester with just five wins, the Warriors are feeling nothing but positive vibes entering the winter break.
“The biggest thing that stands out amidst a number of lows so far this first half, is the togetherness of our group,” said grad student forward Harrison Roy, who scored his first goal of the season last Saturday in a 4-1 home win vs. Hockey East foe Northeastern. “Before the season even started, (we) made an emphasis that we were going to stick together as a team no matter what the result is. So I give credit to our team. It’s not easy losing, and it’s a very competitive league. The most important thing (is) our ability to stay together. Nobody’s turning their backs on each other.”
The Warriors (5-10-1) have rallied around coach Scott Borek, who was forced to miss the last three games of the semester due to a respiratory illness. The school said on Saturday that Borek was on the mend but did not give a timetable for his return.
“Scott’s presence, not just as a coach but as a human, is immense,” said associate coach Dan Jewell, who has filled in for Borek behind the bench during the head coach’s absence. “We miss him being here dearly on a day-to-day basis. But his presence in the locker room oozes through every guy. It’s one of the funnest things working for Scott — and he would hate me saying ‘for’, which tells you about him — is just his personality, his values, his relationships. It emanates through our locker room.”
One bright spot for Merrimack this season was how it bounced back after a disastrous weekend at Maine on Nov. 1-2, in which the Warriors were outscored by an aggregate score of 11-0 over two games. The following week, Merrimack swept Connecticut in a home-and-home series by scores of 4-1 and 5-2.
“That Maine weekend, that was a line in the sand for us,” Roy said. “It’s hard to go into a place like Maine and not score any goals. (That’s) really challenging for a team. We made it a point that from there on out that it’s going (to be up to) each and every person to elevate their game. There have still been lows since then and highs since then, but like I said, the togetherness sticks out.”
Roy said he hopes the win vs. Northeastern will be a springboard to success for when the Warriors’ season resumes Jan. 3 at Army West Point (Atlantic Hockey America).
“I would say a lot of us haven’t necessarily played night in and night out according to our standard,” he said. “I think (vs. Northeastern) we got a better glimpse at, whenever everything’s going together, the success and opportunity that our team has to win games against really good teams.”
Jewell said what has worked well for Merrimack so far — mainly, the team’s camaraderie and its ability to handle adversity as a unit — will serve the team well in 2025.
“I give our leadership group, our older guys, a ton of credit,” Jewell said. “We’ve been on point. We’ve been on focus. We’ve (been through) a lot of adversity — injuries, lack of success in the win column — and this group has really been undeterred. They come to work on Monday. They’re ready to go.”
Merrimack returns to Hockey East play on Jan. 10 at Boston College, kicking off a home-and-home series.
Chase Clark made 34 saves on Dec. 6 for AIC in an OT loss to Holy Cross (photo: AIC Athletics).
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Jim: Well, Ed, we’ve officially reached the halfway point of the college hockey season, even if most of the teams out there haven’t played half of their collective games.
This seems like a good time to re-hash some of the biggest storylines from the first half of the college hockey season, and to no one’s surprise, the biggest story thus far seems to be the NCAA’s vote to allow players from the Canadian Hockey League – a.k.a. Major Junior – to play in college hockey.
To date, I actually don’t feel like the collective college hockey world has felt the seismic shift that this legislation should bring. In reality, we won’t hear about most of the related commitments from this decision until the offseason.
Do you have a feel for how much impact this will have?
We have speculated about it, and realistically the impact should hit American junior leagues the most. I am most interested in seeing the number of signings from leagues like the North American Hockey League and other smaller regional junior leagues. Will those numbers be significantly less than previous years?
What are your thoughts?
Ed: I think there will be a domino effect on the NAHL, and USA Hockey has met with that league and the other two it sanctions, the USHL and the NA3HL, to discuss what’s next. The same situation applies for Canadian leagues overseen by Hockey Canada, plus the independent BCHL.
However, I’m hard-pressed to give you a real prediction.
I do think it’s going to push some players who might have gotten a D-I scholarship to a D-III school. The signs of that are already happening.
Major Junior eligibility in the NCAA is limited to Division I, so anyone who plays college hockey in the U.S. from the CHL will have to go to the 63 programs that will be in D-I next season.
So far we’re not only seeing recruits who have transferred or are transferring to Major Junior from the USHL and BCHL, but also players who are being recruited who would not have had the opportunity to play college hockey. Each one of those players is going to bump someone who took what they thought was the only route for college hockey. And that’s going to hurt.
The problem is exacerbated by what appears to be a pending limit on roster sizes as a result of the upcoming House v. NCAA settlement, which is our second major storyline.
Jim: I think the House v. NCAA settlement is maybe the most concerning storyline for college programs.
Increasing the number of scholarships to 26 may be the best thing to happen to college hockey in a long time, but I also see limiting roster sizes to that same number of 26 players is very shortsighted.
The reality is that, while some programs can survive with 26 players, there isn’t a desperate need to cap the number of players that a school can enroll.
Think of this scenario for a university: you have a sport that today gives 18 scholarships and might have 30 on their collective roster. That school is getting the cost of 12 players enrolling in their school.
Now tell that same school you have to increase your scholarships by eight and you can no longer enroll those bonus students that boost the bottom line.
Those are all horrible formulas for some institutions. We are already seeing the issues at American International, a program that has become a mainstay in the AHA.
Ed: The situation at AIC is by far the saddest storyline for me so far this season.
Perennially an underdog with an underfunded program, American International brought in alumnus Eric Lang in 2016 after the retirement of longtime coach Gary Wright and committed resources to improve the Yellow Jackets. In Lang’s third season, AIC won the Atlantic Hockey regular season and championship and repeated the feat in 2021 and 2022. The team’s 2019 upset of No. 1 seed St. Cloud in the NCAA regionals and images of the celebration in the locker room are some of the great moments for small schools in D-I hockey.
Adding insult to injury was the abrupt cancellation of AIC’s game against Holy Cross on Dec. 7, 2024 because the Yellow Jackets did not have a healthy goalie to start the game.
Lang has been an advocate for larger rosters and cited the deep bench at AIC for that team surviving to the Atlantic Hockey championship game last season through a stretch that would’ve resulted in forfeits because of a plethora of injuries.
Sadly, AIC’s situation with injured players and a tight financial situation at the college highlights the possibility of haves and have nots in D-I hockey.
A report in Canadian media last week suggested that an OHL player might have been offered more than $1 million to leave Major Junior and sign with a top college program. What’s the scuttlebutt on that?
Jim: The story you reference was Boston College potentially paying an OHL player (reportedly Saginaw Spirit standout and probable 2025 first-round pick Michael Misa) $1 million or higher, but their athletic director Blake James emphatically denied this money is coming from BC.
By who? I can assure you, it is not Boston College. OHL Player Offered North of $1 Million To Play For Boston College https://t.co/7Dn2joZAQE
Regardless, one has to wonder when a storyline like this will become a reality.
If you can recruit a player and your competitive edge is money, why wouldn’t you leverage that. All of the provisions that were once in place have basically disappeared.
I always had concerns that one major donor could influence the recruiting process. We are so far beyond that now. And while the student-athlete certainly benefits, I can’t help but think that the overall college athletics landscape is about to suffer.
Do I sound like a curmudgeon at this point?
Ed: Maybe. But I’ve been accused of being a curmudgeon myself.
Money, in the form of name, image, and likeness (NIL), has been the catalyst for all of things people are complaining about.
Without NIL money, we don’t have the transfer portal issues. That came about because limiting transfers was seen as a restraint of trade and resulted in a lawsuit from 10 states, D.C., and the United States Department of Justice. Back in May, that resulted in a settlement with the NCAA that permanently ends previous restrictions on transfers.
Without NIL money, we don’t have the House v. NCAA settlement, which will include student-athletes getting revenue sharing and which will set boundaries for rosters and scholarships all across college athletics.
Without NIL money, we don’t have the lawsuit against 10 universities and the NCAA calling the restriction of Major Junior players a restraint of trade. And that’s especially significant because NIL bucks can dwarf the very modest stipends in the CHL and the arguments about amateur status have become a joke.
The old saying is that you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Your guess is as good as mine where things go from here. But let’s hope the upheavals settle down.
Optimistically, schools of the right size can avoid the big money issues of Power 5 conferences and launch new programs. Pessimistically, all the money could chase programs out.
I’m opting to be a glass half-full kind of guy and I’m bullish on college hockey, especially after we get through the uncertainty of this current climate.
Michigan State celebrates a win over Minnesota Saturday night on the road (photo: Jim Rosvold).
With 31 first-place votes, Michigan State moves up two spots to once again sit as the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll.
Boston College picked up 15 first-place votes and remains No. 2, Minnesota, with three first-place votes, is down two to No. 3, Maine is up one to No. 4 with the last first-place vote, and Denver is down one to No. 5 this week.
Western Michigan stays sixth, Providence is again No. 7, Colorado College moves up two to No. 8, Michigan falls one to No. 9, and UMass Lowell remains 10th in this week’s rankings.
St. Cloud State falls out of the top 10, going from No. 9 to No. 12, while no new teams enter the latest poll.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 11 others received votes this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger review games of the weekend and news of the week.
They discuss Michigan State’s successful weekend against No. 1 Minnesota, likely placing them at the top of the rankings. They also explore North Dakota’s turnaround after sweeping St. Cloud State and their challenges to move up in the PairWise Rankings. The episode highlights the intense rivalry between Colorado College and Denver, and praises Wisconsin’s performance against Michigan. Additionally, the hosts analyze Hockey East’s strong presence within the PairWise Rankings, with seven teams in contention for the NCAA tournament, despite potential cannibalization in the second half of the season.
The hosts discuss the most surprising NCAA hockey teams from the first half of the season, highlighting standout performances from Long Island, Stonehill, Bentley, Lindenwood, and Augustana. They also preview upcoming holiday tournaments, including the Great Lakes Invitational, Kwik Trip Holiday Face Off, Ledyard Bank Classic, Coachella Valley Cactus Cup, and Desert Hockey Classic.
Times are approximate:
00:15 Introduction and hosts
00:25 Michigan State vs. Minnesota Recap
02:32 Minnesota’s shootout struggles
04:49 North Dakota’s comeback
08:05 Colorado College vs. Denver in the Gold Pan
11:27 Wisconsin’s resurgence
14:19 Hockey East PairWise dominance
15:30 Biggest surprises of the season
21:37 Upcoming holiday tournaments
32:15 Final thoughts and holiday wishes
Jake Schmaltz celebrates his OT winner Saturday night for North Dakota (photo: Russell Hons).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
The first half of the men’s Division I college hockey season officially wrapped up this weekend. Here are 10 key takeaways from the weekend – and from the first half.
1. No. 3 Michigan State can score in bunches
If you were planning on writing off Sparty after their 4-0 loss and come-from-behind overtime win last weekend against Wisconsin, think again.
Michigan State proved this weekend their as poised as any team in the B1G to make a massive second-half run. And they did so with the explosive offense that this Michigan State team is becoming known for.
The third-ranked Spartans scored three second-period goals on Friday in a 3-3 tie at No. 1 Minnesota and then took the extra league point with a 2-0 shootout win. A night later, the explosiveness of the offense was even more magnified as Michigan State scored three goals in 2:51 and then added a late empty netter to win 5-3 and take five of six points on the weekend.
Sparty reaches the break at 13-2-1, the best record in the country, and will take a quick two-week break before returning to play in the annual Great Lakes Invitational.
2. No. 16 North Dakota sweeps No. 9 St. Cloud State, leaves most scratching their heads
For North Dakota to sweep a series never really shocks anyone.
This, of course, is a program that hasn’t finished a season below .500 since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. But this season has been anything but a landslide for this Fighting Hawks team.
Just last weekend, North Dakota was 7-7-1 and trailed Miami, a team winless in NCHC play, in the third period before rallying late for a 5-4 win.
Since that game, the Fighting Hawks have rolled off three more victories including this weekend’s sweep of No. 9 St. Cloud State, 2-0 and 4-3 in overtime. That team that was .500 two Fridays ago is now 11-7-1 and reaches the break sitting in second place in the NCHC standings.
They’ll get quite a break now, not playing another NCAA games until January 10 when they travel to Arizona State. There’s a lot of ground for them to make up if they want an NCAA bid as they currently sit 22nd in the PairWise. But certainly don’t write off the Fighting Hawks.
3. A split through the first two games of the Gold Pan series
It hasn’t felt competitive for a while, but the annual series between Denver and Colorado College, dubbed the “Gold Pan” series, may be experiencing a renaissance of sorts with the Tigers a more competitive team against in-state rival Denver.
Each team held serve this weekend in the first two of four games, with CC winning at home on Friday, 5-4, before the Pioneers returned the favor a night later, 2-1, at home in Denver.
The Pioneers actually hold a lopsided 15-2 mark in regular-season games against their rivals in the series over the last 17, including this past weekend. Lest we forget, though, that CC held the upper hand in their only playoff meeting, a 1-0 win over Denver in the NCHC tournament in St. Paul in 2023.
4. Minnesota State continues to be the team to beat in the CCHA
It seems every season we want to talk about a new king of the CCHA. But this year, like many in the past, we’re seeing a hot start from Minnesota State, which swept Lake Superior this weekend, 2-1 and 3-2 in overtime, to extend its winning streak to six and its unbeaten streak to 11 (9-0-2).
The Mavericks are the only team from the CCHA currently inside the top 16 of the PairWise and are five points clear of Michigan Tech in the standings.
If there is a team to keep an eye on in the second half of the season, though, its newcomer Augustana, which actually reaches the break with the second-best winning percentage in the CCHA. They have four games in hand on Minnesota State and Michigan Tech and are 12 points behind the Mavericks.
5. A sensational (albeit unrealistic) seven teams inside the PairWise cutline right now for Hockey East
Tell me if you’ve heard this story before. It’s the end of the first half of the season. We’re at the break point and Hockey East is dominating the PairWise.
It’s a familiar story from the last couple of years. This year, though, feels even crazier.
Right now, the top eastern conference boasts the second-best out-of-conference winning percentage and currently has seven teams inside the cutline in the PairWise.
Boston College is already looking like it could be a runaway No. 1 overall seed. Maine is third, Providence is sixth, UMass Lowell is eighth and Boston University (10th) rounds things out with five teams in the top 10.
Add in bubble teams New Hampshire (14th) and Connecticut (15th) and that’s seven teams inside the top 15.
Reality is that it is not really feasible for any conference to quality seven for a 16-team NCAA tournament (technically it is, but mathematically it is highly unlikely). But it’s a pretty nice position for a conference to be in at the break.
6. Bentley has been a pleasant surprise in the first half
The Bentley Falcons were picked first in the preseason Atlantic Hockey America coaches’ poll. They’ve reached the break, though, as one of the hottest teams in the league.
The Falcons are 9-2-1 in league play and have just three losses in their last 14 games.
Second-year coach Andy Jones’ group has been strong at home posting a 7-2-1 mark at Bentley Arena. The team is among the highest scoring teams in AHA, averaging 3.06 goals per game overall. But unlike many counterparts in the league that have strong offenses, Bentley is matching with a stingy 2.18 goals against per game overall and a 2.08 mark in league play.
The Falcons are tied atop the league standings with Sacred Heart (29 points) but have played three fewer games than the Pioneers.
7. ECAC Hockey standings looking a little different heading to break
We’re not one to call the ECAC predictable or boring. The league is anything but. But when you look at the standings in recent years, let’s just say things aren’t always close.
Last year, Quinnipiac won the regular season by 10 points. A year prior it was 11. Not exactly a barn burner down the stretch.
This season is shaping up a little differently thanks to Colgate. Second-year coach Mike Harder has his team playing well in conference of late, and they sit atop the ECAC at the break with 17 points. Quinnipiac is a single point behind with 16, but it is the third-place team, Clarkson, that has a lot of eyes opened. The Golden Knights are two points back but hold two games in hand on the Bobcats and Raiders.
Lots of hockey to play, but this might be the year that the Cleary Cup isn’t decided until the final night of the regular season.
8. NIL money is sparking concern in college athletics, and hockey isn’t immune
We’ve all heard the term NIL – which stands for Name, Image and Likeness. It’s the vehicle through which college athletes across all Division I sports can be compensated for their respective schools using their name, image or likeness.
What we haven’t heard is how this will impact college hockey.
The reports aren’t deep in hockey compared to sports like men’s football and basketball, which annual deals with players are in the seven figures.
There were reports on Twitter/X this week that Boston College might be offering a potential student-athlete (reportedly Saginaw Spirit superstar Michael Misa) $1 million to play for the Eagles instead of staying in the Ontario Hockey League, something that was immediately refuted by BC athletic director Blake James.
By who? I can assure you, it is not Boston College. OHL Player Offered North of $1 Million To Play For Boston College https://t.co/7Dn2joZAQE
But it begs the question of when big-time money will infiltrate college hockey like it has football and basketball to this point.
9. We still aren’t seeing the full potential of the ruling that allows CHL players
If you’re a college hockey fan and, unless you’re hiding under a rock, you know that the NCAA has ruled that players who have played in the Canadian Hockey League – known to many as Major Junior – can now play college hockey with full eligibility (pending passing the NCAA clearinghouse).
And while this ruling came in November, we haven’t really seen the full fallout of this decision to this point. Players aren’t committing en masse, at this point, though that could change as we approach various NCAA signing deadlines.
How many players will matriculate to the NCAA ranks is clearly unknown. But it does seem like coaching staffs have been aggressively recruiting in the CHL since the decision about a month ago.
This offseason promises to be one with plenty of drama. Get your popcorn ready to watch.
10. When will we see the impact of roster limits?
Again, if you’re followed college hockey this first half of the season, you’re quite familiar with the potential House v. NCAA settlement that is being negotiated in Congress.
The impact on college hockey could be a roster limitation for Division I men’s hockey at 26 players. Many might think this won’t impact many teams, but we’ve already seen the fallout.
AIC is moving its program back to Division I because of the limitations it creates on the school, which often carries north of 30 players. That’s a loss of tuition revenue for the school.
But we’ve also seen teams play very shorthanded this season at times, something that roster limitations could further exacerbate.
Minnesota played on Friday with just 10 forwards and lost one to a game misconduct penalty further limiting the roster. The aforementioned AIC team couldn’t play last Saturday against Holy Cross due to the lack of a healthy goaltender.
Pending legislation, reportedly, wouldn’t just limit the roster size but could also preclude teams from adding players midseason, a massive mistake in a sport that is prone to injury troubles.
Plenty more to shake out from this, but as we approach the midway point, something to keep a close watch upon.
