The NCAA championship trophy sits in a case in Tampa, Fla., before the 2023 Frozen Four (photo: Jim Rosvold).
With 12 conference tournament games left to be played before selection Sunday for the 2024 NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament, there are 4,096 possible scenarios left for how the PairWise Rankings and automatic bids will shake out.
Here’s what we know after games of Sunday, March 17:
• Eleven teams are guaranteed spots in the field: Boston College, Boston University, North Dakota, Denver, Michigan State, Maine, Quinnipiac, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Omaha.
• Seven teams can only get in by winning their conference tournament: RIT or American International in Atlantic Hockey; Bemidji State or Michigan Tech in the CCHA; and Cornell, Dartmouth and St. Lawrence in ECAC Hockey.
• Two teams can get in either through winning their conference tournament or by getting an at-large bid: UMass in Hockey East and St. Cloud State in the NCHC.
• Two teams can get in only as at-large teams after they were eliminated from the NCHC tournament on Sunday: Western Michigan and Colorado College.
• Boston College has secured the No. 1 overall seed and Boston University will be No. 2.
The table below shows the percentage of remaining scenarios that result in teams finishing in the tournament and at what overall seed. These scenarios are not weighted by likelihood of happening.
Adrian is headed to the national semifinals for the third year in a row. (Photo provided by Adrian Athletics)
Make it three in a row for Adrian’s men’s hockey team.
The Bulldogs are headed to the NCAA Division III Frozen Four for the third consecutive year and are hoping to bring home a national championship for the second time in that stretch.
They advanced with a 5-3 win over NCHA rival St. Norbert, a team they were facing for the fourth time this year.
It wasn’t easy. St. Norbert had won two of the three meetings, including the conference championship game, and this game was tightly contested.
The Bulldogs seemed to be in control with a 3-1 lead in the second period.
The Green Knights answered, scoring twice in a span of 14 maddening seconds, to tie the game at 3-3.Riley Murphy’s goal with two seconds to play in the second put the Bulldogs ahead 4-3 going to the final period of regulation.
Murphy’s empty-net goal sealed the deal while Dershahn Stewart racked up 20 saves.
Carter Hottman gave St. Norbert a 1-0 lead 14 seconds into the opening period. Ian Amsbaugh tied the game eight minutes later.
Hottman’s goal with under two minutes left in the second cut the Adrian lead to 3-2 and Adam Stacho tied the game at the 18:42 mark.
Hunter Garvey made 28 saves for St. Norbert.
The Bulldogs (24-6-1) now stand two wins away from a national title. St. Norbert (23-7) has its stellar season come to an end. The Green Knights came into the game having won eight in a row.
Quinnipiac rises one to No. 6, Maine is up one to No. 7, Minnesota is down two to sit eighth, Wisconsin is again ninth, and Michigan is up one to sit No. 10 in this week’s rankings.
Colorado College falls out of the top 10, falling two spots to place 12th this week. Arizona State, tied for 20th last week, is not ranked this week.
No new teams enter this week’s poll.
In addition to the top 20 teams, six other teams received votes in this week’s rankings.
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.
First-year Bauer Morrissey scored the game-winning goal in the fourth overtime on Saturday night to give Hobart a 37th consecutive home win and send them tot he Frozen Four with a 4-3 sudden victory (Photo by Kevin Colton)
The quarterfinal round in the East provided incredible action on Saturday night inclusive of Utica exorcising some past Round of 8 demons with their win over Plymouth State as well as a four overtime thriller that saw Hobart down Curry, 4-3 after more than 135 minutes of game action. Trinity also was a winner meaning they play in their first Frozen Four since the 2016-17 season and get to compete on their home ice. Lots to cover and unpack as the seeded teams took care of business on home ice to set-up some juicy matchups on Thursday in Hartford. Here is the recap of the action in the East:
NCAA Quarterfinal Round
(12) Curry v. (1) Hobart
Well, let’s just start with WOW! What a hockey game! Almost seven full periods of play were needed to decide a winner in a 4-3 4 OT contest that is the second longest played in D-III at more than 135 minutes. First-year goaltender Shane Soderwall was immense in goal for the Colonels as he tied the NCAA record with 98 saves in the game while first-year defenseman Bauer Morrissey (talk about a hockey name) helped Hobart to their 37th consecutive home win, breaking St. Norbert’s streak of 36, with his overtime wrister that eluded Soderwall on the glove side and sent the Statesmen to the Frozen Four.
It was Curry who drew first blood as Killian Rowlee gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the first period. Gage Dill extended the advantage to 2-0 and things were looking up for the upstart Colonels. Late in the period, Tanner Daniels netted Hobart’s first goal making it a one-goal contest entering the third period.
Just under two minutes into the third period, Chris Duclair found the back of the net to tie the score at 2-2 and Hobart took the lead on Jonah Alexander’s goal just a couple of minutes later. Late in the third period, Tao Ishizuka scored yet another big goal for the Colonels tying the score at 3-3 with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation but neither team could find the winning tally and overtime was needed to decide the contest.
Hobart owned the statistical battle including winning 116 of 162 face-offs and outshooting the Colonels by a 102-47 margin but couldn’t solve Soderwall until late in the fourth overtime when Morrissey produced the game-winning goal. Taking the puck at the left point, the left shooting defenseman walked the line to the right before letting go a high wrist shot that beat Soderwall on the glove slide and was engulfed by joyous teammates at center ice. Goaltender Damon Beaver made 44 saves to earn the win in goal for Hobart.
“Well, it starts with a face-off win,” said Morrissey. “I don’t know I kinda just blacked out. I knew I could bait one them – we had a good screen in front and I just hoped for the best.”
Hobart returns to Frozen Four to defend their national title (Photo by Kevin Colton)
With the win Hobart returns to defend their national title in Hartford and will face Utica University in one semifinal on Thursday afternoon.
(9) Plymouth State v. (2) Utica
The Panthers came in looking to extend their NCAA win streak to two games against a Utica team looking to move away from recent past history and advance to the Frozen Four. For the Pioneers the start was key and while the usual feeling out process opened the contest, the home team struck for the first period’s only goal as Jakob Breault beat Panther netminder Kalle Andersson.
In the second period, John Carroll scored the first of his two goals on the power play to pad the lead to 2-0 and the Pioneers were looking solid in front of netminder Ethan Roberts. Just past the halfway mark of the period, Colin Tracy cut the lead in half with a goal for PSU but the momentum was short lived as less than three minutes later Andrew Della Rovere gave Utica their two-goal lead back at 3-1 to close the second period.
The third period saw Utica hold Plymouth State to limited good chances and Carroll iced the contest with his goal at 6:40 of the period to extend the lead to 4-1. PSU outshot Utica 14-7 in the final period but Roberts stopped everything that came his way on the way to 34 saves for the game and the 4-1 win for Utica who advanced to the Frozen Four.
Utica breaks their quarterfinal losing streak with a win over PSU to advance to the Frozen Four (Photo by Maxwell LeBuis)
Utica will play defending champion Hobart in one semifinal on Thursday afternoon in Hartford.
(10) Elmira v. (3) Trinity
Trinity hosted Elmira looking to punch their ticket to the Frozen Four and extend their season for another week in their home building where the frozen Four is being hosted. The Bantams have had a successful recipe of transition offense, great team defense and superb goaltending all season and each was featured prominently in a 2-0 win over the Soaring Eagles on Saturday.
The first period saw all the offense either team would produce in the game starting with Alexander Mozian’s power play goal at 7:42 to give the Bantams a 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later James Barbour and Connor Sedlak made the key passes for Gerard Marretta to stuff the puck under netminder Kyle Curtin for a 2-0 lead that would end up being the final score.
Goaltender Devon Bobak was outstanding in goal for Trinity stopping all 35 shots he faced and keeping the Soaring Eagles 0-for-3 on the power play in the game. The shutout was his seventh of the season.
Trinity will play at home in the Frozen Four following their 2-0 win over Elmira (Photo by Trinity athletics)
With the win Trinity advances to the Frozen Four where they will play Adrian in the second semifinal on Thursday evening.
Just two semifinal games on Thursday and the national championship game on Saturday remain to be battled for by the top four teams in the country. You couldn’t script or ask for a better finale to the season than to have the best teams playing to win it all.
Thanks to Russell Jaslow for coverage of the Curry v. Hobart game.
This game brought the drama, including a seemed-to-be game-winner in OT that was brought back for offsides. After an even first period, UMD started to pull away, ultimately outshooting the Huskies 49-33. Both goalies put on a show and neither team seemed able to solve the problems the other put in front of them. The game went into double overtime where Ève Gascon was screened by teammate Mannon McMahon and it seemed like Claire Peterson had scored for Connecticut. But the goal was called back for what turned out to be a pretty obvious offsides. Seven minutes later, Nina Jobst-Smith’s shot from distance was tipped by Olivia Wallin and it landed at the stick of McMahon, who got her chance at a feeling of redemption and won the game for the Bulldogs.
(8) Minnesota Duluth vs. (1) Ohio State
Jocelyn Amos redirected a shot from Stephanie Markowski 22 seconds into the game and that set the tone for Ohio State to advance to their fourth straight Frozen Four. In the end, the Buckeyes made a statement with their 9-0 victory. Olivia Mobley and Hannah Bilka each had two goals, while Hadley Hartmetz, Jordan Baxter, Joy Dunne and Kelsey King each added a goal to lead OSU to the win.
Madison Regional
(14) Penn State vs. (7) St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence’s Kristina Bahl scored in overtime to give the Saints the 1-0 win. Read the full recap here.
Not for nothing, but Stonehill out-scored two teams that also played in regional semifinals on Thursday. Gabbie Rud’s goal late in the first put Cornell up 1-0, but Stonehill responded early in the second with a goal from Alexis Petford. The Big Red scored a power play goal shortly thereafter as Grace Dwyer lit the lamp and that seemed to shake things loose for Cornell. They scored four more goals in the second and in less than 10 minutes, the game was out of reach for the Skyhawks. Rory Guilday scored twice and Alyssa Regalado and Izzy Daniel each added a tally. McKenna Van Gelder’s goal 41 seconds into the third topped off the 7-1 win for the Big Red.
(6) Cornell vs. (3) Colgate
This was a true back and forth game as the Raiders seemed to have the advantage in the first. Colgate took the lead near the end of the period after Elyssa Biederman fed Kalty Kaltounková in front of the net, where she promptly scored. Cornell took control in the second and Kaitlin Jockims tied the game midway through the second, making it 1-1. The Raiders had a strong start to the third, but Annelies Bergmann was strong for Cornell and there was less than five minutes to play when Biederman threaded a pass across the ice to Allyson Simpson, who had a bunch of empty ice to line up a snipe from the faceoff circle to put the Raiders up 2-1. Biederman scored an empty-netter to secure the 3-1 win.
Potsdam Quarterfinal
(5) Minnesota vs. (4) Clarkson
If anyone needed proof that the national rankings were correct, these two teams played a five-plus hour game that lasted into the 4th OT on Saturday that ended with a goal from Dominique Petrie to send Clarkson to the Frozen Four. Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than ten minutes into the game thanks to goals from Josefin Bouveng and Ella Huber. Clarkson pulled one back on Haley Winn’s power play goal at the end of the first. The score stayed the same as regulation started to tick away. Then the Golden Knights did what they’ve done several time throughout the season – pulled the goalie to play 6-on-5 and score a goal to force overtime. Dominique Petrie tied the game with 1:51 to go in the third. And then the teams played more than an entire second game before a winner emerged. The first overtime was a little more tentative as no one wanted to make a mistake. Clarkson carried the push in the second overtime, while Minnesota pushed back in the third overtime. The difference was an interference penalty on Audrey Wethington that gave Clarkson the skater advantage. Nicole Gosling’s shot from distance was saved by Lucy Morgan, but the puck popped free and Petrie was there to put back the rebound and end this one as the second-longest game in NCAA DI women’s hockey history. Morgan made 53 saves while Clarkson’s Michelle Pasiechnyk made 61.
Gavin Brindley has been a top player this season for the Wolverines (photo: Michigan Photography).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. Hockey East final four set, with what could be an epic final between nation’s top two teams
There are plenty of storylines of interest at this year’s Hockey East semifinals. Maine is back for the first time since 2012. Massachusetts, after a one-year absence, is back looking for their third conference tournament title in four seasons.
With all four teams ranked in the USCHO.com men’s D-I poll, the Hockey East semis should feature some quality hockey no matter what happens. But it’s likely everyone — save for UMass and Maine fans — will be rooting for Boston College and Boston University, the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the USCHO.com men’s D-I poll, to meet in the championship final. BC will have to get past No. 16 UMass in the opening game, and BU must beat eighth-ranked Maine in the nightcap to make it happen. If it does, it will be the first time the two schools have met in the Hockey East championship game since 2006.
2. NCHC’s Frozen Faceoff field set
It’s a similar situation in the NCHC, where all four semifinalists are nationally ranked. But the potential finals matchup that has everyone licking their chops is, of course, No. 5 North Dakota vs. No. 3 Denver.
For it to happen, Denver will have to first beat No. 18 St. Cloud State, and North Dakota has to top No. 12 Omaha on Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. (which, incidentally, is the home of this year’s Frozen Four).
Denver and North Dakota swept their way into the Frozen Faceoff, but Omaha and St. Cloud had to sweat out a 3-game series. Veeti Miettinen scored a pair to lift St. Cloud to a 5-1 romp over Western Michigan in the deciding game of their series, while Omaha’s Brock Bremer scored the game winner in a 2-1 win over Colorado College in Colorado Springs to clinch.
3. No. 4 Michigan State, No. 11 Michigan to play for B1G crown
Nash Nienhuis’s goal early in the third period stood as the game winner, as Michigan State earned a 2-1 win over Ohio State in the B1G semifinals. Daniel Russell also scored for the Spartans and Trey Augustine made 37 saves in goal. Max Montes tallied Ohio State’s goal and goalie Logan Terness finished with 36 saves.
Kienan Draper and Gavin Brindley scored and Jake Barczewski turned in a 23-save performance for Michigan, as the Wolverines upset Minnesota 2-1. Michigan will visit Michigan State for the league title on Saturday.
4. ECAC Hockey down to its final four
Cameron Buhl, Felikss Gavars and Jan Olenginski scored to lift St. Lawrence to a 2-1 win over Colgate for a two-game sweep. In fact, all the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals were sweeps. Luke Haymes’ goal at 14:04 of the third period proved to be the game winner as Dartmouth bounced Union 4-2 in Game 2. Cornell swept Harvard at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y., winning on the strength of two goals each from Ben Robertson and Gabriel Seger. Ian Shane made 21 saves. And Quinnipiac was a 5-2 winner for the sweep of RPI — Andon Cerbone scored two goals for Quinnipiac, while Collin Graf, Anthony Cipollone and Jacob Quillan also scored and goalie Vinny Duplessis made 22 saves.
On Friday in Lake Placid, N.Y., Quinnipiac will face St. Lawrence in the first semifinal while Cornell will go head-to-head with Dartmouth in the evening matchup.
5. And then there were two in Atlantic Hockey
American International will visit RIT for the Atlantic Hockey Championship on Saturday night in Rochester, N.Y.
AIC earned its way in with a 2-1 series victory over Holy Cross. In the deciding Game 3, Theo Angesved, Dario Beljo and Dustin Manz all scored. RIT swept its way to the final with a 5-2 win over Niagara in the clinching game. Elijah Gonsalves scored two goals while junior forward Carter Wilkie added a goal and two assists.
6. CCHA will come down to Bemidji vs. Michigan Tech
Bemidji State is in the CCHA title game after Eric Pohlkamp, Jake McLean, Kirklan Irey and Jere Vaisanen found the back of the net in a 4-1 win over Lake Superior State. Mattias Sholl made 13 saves in goal.
Bemidji’s opponent in Saturday’s championship game will be Michigan Tech. Logan Pietila scored the winning goal with 9.1 seconds left in the third period to lift the Huskies 4-3 past Minnesota State. Pietila had tied the game 3-3 on a penalty shot at 15:27 of the third period. Blake Pietila made 29 saves.
Bemidji will be the home team for the CCHA championship on Friday night.
7. Lucia honored
CCHA commissioner and former longtime coach Don Lucia was named the 2024 Hobey Baker “Legend of College Hockey” award recipient.
In 31 seasons as a coach, Lucia compiled a 736-403-102 record, and is Minnesota’s all-time winningest coach with 457 wins for the Gophers from 1999 to 2018. He is one of 10 coaches to record more than 600 NCAA men’s hockey wins, and one of six to win national titles in back-to-back seasons.
8. Hockey East honors trio of legends
Former commissioner Joe Bertagna, former Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll, and former New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano were named recipients of the Hockey East Founders Medal.
Bertagna was the longest serving commissioner in Hockey East history, Driscoll served as the Providence athletics director for 21 years and Scarano served 22 years in his position at UNH.
9. Morton, Sholl and Looft honored by CCHA
Minnesota State graduate student Sam Morton was voted CCHA player and forward of the year. Bemidji State fifth-year senior Kyle Looft has been voted defenseman of the year and Bemidji State junior goalie Mattias Sholl has been tabbed goaltender of the year.
Morton paced all CCHA skaters in goals (15), goals per game (0.63), power-play goals (8), shots (102), face-off wins (292) and face-off wins per game (12.2). Looft led all CCHA skaters in plus-minus in league action at +16 and paced conference blueliners in assists (14) and points (18), despite playing in only 20 games. Sholl led conference netminders in goals-against average (2.03) and winning percentage (.786), going 10-2-2 with a .924 save percentage in 14 games for the Beavers.
10. Freshmen dominate Hockey East year-end teams
Was this the year of the freshman? It was according to the league’s 11 coaches who voted nine to their annual all-star teams, including three on the first team.
Goalie Jacob Fowler of BC and defenseman Lane Hutson and forward Macklin Celebrini of BU each earned first-team honors. The second team was almost all freshman, with goalie Michael Hrabal of UMass, defenseman Tom Willander of BU and forwards Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault of BC earning honors. Maine forward Josh Nadeau was the lone freshman named to the third team.
Jimmy Glynn celebrates a goal for Omaha in the Mavericks’ win Saturday night at Colorado College (photo: Casey B. Gibson).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll of March 11 fared in games over the weekend of March 15-17.
No. 1 Boston College (29-5-1)
03/16/2024 – Connecticut 4 at No. 1 Boston College 5 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 2 Boston University (25-8-2)
03/16/2024 – RV Northeastern 2 at No. 2 Boston University 4 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 3 Denver (26-9-3)
03/15/2024 – Minnesota Duluth 0 at No. 3 Denver 4 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – Minnesota Duluth 2 at No. 3 Denver 5 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 4 Michigan State (23-9-3)
03/16/2024 – RV Ohio State 1 at No. 4 Michigan State 2 (Big Ten Semifinal)
No. 5 North Dakota (26-10-2)
03/15/2024 – Miami 1 at No. 5 North Dakota 5 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – Miami 1 at No. 5 North Dakota 7 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 6 Minnesota (22-10-5)
03/16/2024 – No. 11 Michigan 2 at No. 6 Minnesota 1 (Big Ten Semifinal)
No. 7 Quinnipiac (26-8-2)
03/15/2024 – RV Rensselaer 1 at No. 7 Quinnipiac 5 (ECAC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – RV Rensselaer 2 at No. 7 Quinnipiac 5 (ECAC Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 8 Maine (23-10-2)
03/16/2024 – No. 17 New Hampshire 0 at No. 8 Maine 5 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 9 Wisconsin (26-11-2)
Did not play.
No. 10 Colorado College (21-13-3)
03/15/2024 – No. 12 Omaha 3 at No. 10 Colorado College 4 (OT, NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – No. 12 Omaha 3 at No. 10 Colorado College 1 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
03/17/2024 – No. 12 Omaha 2 at No. 10 Colorado College 1 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 3)
No. 11 Michigan (21-13-3)
03/16/2024 – No. 11 Michigan 2 at No. 6 Minnesota 1 (Big Ten Semifinal)
No. 12 Omaha (22-11-4)
03/15/2024 – No. 12 Omaha 3 at No. 10 Colorado College 4 (OT, NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – No. 12 Omaha 3 at No. 10 Colorado College 1 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
03/17/2024 – No. 12 Omaha 2 at No. 10 Colorado College 1 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 3)
No. 13 Providence (18-13-4)
03/16/2024 – No. 16 Massachusetts 3 at No. 13 Providence 1 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 14 Western Michigan (21-15-1)
03/15/2024 – No. 14 Western Michigan 2 at No. 18 St. Cloud State 5 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – No. 14 Western Michigan 6 at No. 18 St. Cloud State 1 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
03/17/2024 – No. 14 Western Michigan 1 at No. 18 St. Cloud State 5 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 3)
No. 15 Cornell (19-6-6)
03/15/2024 – Harvard 3 at No. 15 Cornell 4 (ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – Harvard 1 at No. 15 Cornell 4 (ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Game 2)
No. 16 Massachusetts (20-12-3)
03/16/2024 – No. 16 Massachusetts 3 at No. 13 Providence 1 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 17 New Hampshire (20-15-1)
03/13/2024 – UMass Lowell 0 at No. 17 New Hampshire 1 (Hockey East opening round)
03/16/2024 – No. 17 New Hampshire 0 at No. 8 Maine 5 (Hockey East Quarterfinal)
No. 18 St. Cloud State (17-15-5)
03/15/2024 – No. 14 Western Michigan 2 at No. 18 St. Cloud State 5 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – No. 14 Western Michigan 6 at No. 18 St. Cloud State 1 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 2)
03/17/2024 – No. 14 Western Michigan 1 at No. 18 St. Cloud State 5 (NCHC Quarterfinal Game 3)
No. 19 RIT (26-10-2)
03/15/2024 – Niagara 1 at No. 19 RIT 4 (Atlantic Hockey Semifinal Game 1)
03/16/2024 – Niagara 2 at No. 19 RIT 5 (Atlantic Hockey Semifinal Game 2)
No. 20 Arizona State (24-8-6)
Did not play.
No. 20 Bemidji State (20-15-2)
03/16/2024 – Lake Superior State 1 at No. 20 Bemidji State 4 (CCHA Semifinal)
Wisconsin-River Falls is the 2024 D-III women’s national champion (photo: Carly Lynch).
The UW-River Falls women’s hockey team defeated Elmira 4-1 Sunday afternoon on home ice at Hunt Arena to win the 2024 NCAA Division III women’s hockey national championship.
The national title is the first in UWRF’s history during its 25th anniversary season, finishing with a 31-0-0 overall record, the most single season wins in NCAA Division III women’s hockey history. The Falcons’ undefeated season is the second undefeated season in D-III women’s hockey history.
The first was Middlebury (27-0) in 2022.
Tied 1-1 heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation, UWRF took the lead with a Kenzie Dunn goal just under seven minutes into the third period, and the Falcons rode that wave, scoring another two while shutting out the Soaring Eagles in the final frame to seal the win.
After a scoreless first period, the Falcons drew a five-minute major penalty just over five minutes into the second period, in which they capitalized on with a MaKenna Aure wrist shot goal to give UWRF a 1-0 lead. But under two minutes later, Elmira scored to knot the score at 1-1, where it stood heading into the third period.
Riding the momentum of a clutch 5-of-3 penalty kill, Kenzie Dunn went coast-to-coast and scored five-hole to give the Falcons their first lead of the game just under the seven-minute mark. Soon after, Madison Lavergne extended the lead, deflecting a Kaitlyn Ronn shot from the point to put the home team up 3-1 with over 12 minutes left in regulation. UWRF claimed a three-goal cushion at the 12-minute mark with an Alex Hantge goal, and the Falcon defense stood strong down the stretch.
Jordan O’Connor made 16 saves to earn the win, finishing the year with a 23-0 record which ties a UWRF single season record for most wins as a goaltender.
Maddie McCollins was awarded the Most Outstanding Player for the tournament.
Bauer Morrissey was the hero for Hobart in last night’s quadruple-OT win over Curry in an NCAA quarterfinal game (photo: Hobart Athletics).
What was it like to be a part of the second longest NCAA Division III men’s hockey game that Hobart eventually won 4-3 late in the fourth overtime over Curry?
Historic.
Whenever you attend a sports event, you never know what will transpire. Unlike a movie, where the storyline has already been laid out and only your ignorance can leave you surprised, a sports event does not follow a script.
There are storylines entering any contest. And last night’s NCAA D-III quarterfinal round contest between Curry and Hobart had plenty of storylines:
– Hobart was trying to become the first team to repeat as national champions since 2012 when St. Norbert did it.
– Curry was trying to reach their first national championship weekend by taking their second upset on the road.
– Hobart was trying to set the all-time D-III record for home winning streak, also held by St. Norbert.
– It was a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game.
However, sometimes a sports event transpires in such a way, it surpasses the storylines and becomes an iconic event in and of itself.
That is what happened last night at what is affectionally known as “The Cooler,” AKA the Geneva Recreation Complex in Geneva, N.Y., home of the Hobart Statesmen.
WHAT A FINISH 🤯
After more than 130 minutes of action, @HWSAthletics secures a spot in the #d3hky semifinals after this 4OT game-winner from Bauer Morrissey.
What started out as a hockey game became a marathon. What started out as a bid to advance to Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., became a test of survival. What started out as a 60-minute game became a seemingly endless battle.
At the postgame press conference, the reporter from the Finger Lakes Times asked about the initial 2-0 lead Curry had on goals by Killian Rowlee and Gage Dill.
I actually said out loud, “I completely forgot about that.”
That was just one important storyline which got dumped into the trash heap of time … and lack of sleep.
“First and second period seemed like a lifetime ago,” Curry coach Peter Roundy admitted after the game.
The other important storyline of the “regular” game was the shutout streak Curry goalie Shane Soderwall was posting. As a freshman, he started out his NCAA playoff career shutting out Geneseo last week, 3-0. Against Hobart, he didn’t let up a goal until 15:21 of the second period when Tanner Daniels scored. A streak of 95:21.
Also lost to short term memory was the moment which produced the overtime in the first place. With Hobart completing the comeback with a quick goal in the second (Chris Duclair at 1:44) and then a quick goal in the third (Jonah Alexander at 4:16), they seemingly had control.
Then, late in the third, Hobart had a two-on-one develop deep in Curry’s zone. However, the recipient on the cross-ice pass shot what could have been the clinching goal wide of the open side of the net.
Curry came right back down the ice and Tao Ishizuka tied it at 13:15.
And that was it for a very, very long time.
At that point, I committed a sin. I posted on Twitter how I hoped it wouldn’t go as long as the earlier four overtime game in the D-I women’s quarterfinal between Minnesota and Clarkson. I taunted the hockey gods, and I paid for it.
As the overtimes started to click off, a scary thing emerged. The skaters were getting tired, but the goalies appeared to be getting stronger. Damon Beaver, last year’s national freshman goalie sensation, and Soderwall, this year’s national freshman goalie sensation, were making save after save, some of them were spectacular. Both their glove hands were robbing the opposition. The reality this game could conceivably never end was starting to sink in.
Hobart coach Mark Taylor said he observed during the last overtime intermission, “Look at Beavs, he’s ready for three more games.”
Waiting in line in the bathroom after the third overtime, a kid washing his hands said to another still waiting in line, “I just hope this game ends.” His friend said, “Everyone hopes this game ends!”
As I went back to the press box, I went by the Curry locker room and made eye contact with Roundy. He gave a brief wave, I rolled my eyes, and he smiled. We non-verbally communicated the fact this game was beyond the level of absurdity … but it was still a whole lot of fun.
Entering the fourth overtime meant we surpassed the fourth longest game at 111:07 between Plattsburgh and Buffalo State on Feb. 25, 2012. It took a minute in the seventh period to pass 120:54 between Augsburg and St. John’s on March 2, 2019.
Halfway through the period it was goodbye to 129:28 between Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Augsburg on March 11, 2023. Now, we were gunning for the apex — 138:38 between Gustavus Adolphus and Augsburg — what’s with Augsburg? — on Feb. 27, 2010.
As players were barely moving, some cramping up trying to get back to the bench, the referee observer and former Canisius coach, Brian Cavanaugh, said to me, “That (Hobart) number four looks like he has a lot more energy than anyone else.”
Sure enough — never doubt a coach’s observation — Bauer Morrissey took the puck after a faceoff win, skated from left to right, and from the top of the right circle, fired a wrist shot that beat Soderwall up high, near side through a screen.
It was over.
“I did,” Morrissey said when asked if he felt energized so late in the game. “Thankfully we play seven D. So, by the fourth overtime, I still felt alright. We came so close so many times, one of them was bound to go in.”
And in the true testament of how cruel sports can be, comes this statistic. Soderwall tied the D3 men’s record for most saves in one game — 98. The shot which would have broken that record went in.
The statistics were mind boggling. 149 shots on goal (102 just for Hobart). 289 shots attempted (203 for Hobart). 70 blocked shots. 162 faceoffs. Duration of game: five hours and 21 minutes.
The biggest stat of them all was time of game: 135:17. Anyone who stayed for the whole thing (except the Hobart players) would probably admit at this point they wished it went another 3:21 plus at least one more second. If you’re going to put up with this, you may as well get the record out of it.
Curry didn’t win, “but I think we took another step,” Roundy said. “We were a completely different team than we were last year in this game.”
Hobart got the home winning streak record at 37 and a trip to the national semifinals against Utica.
In Taylor’s usual humorous manner, he answered how the team will physically recover from this game, “We didn’t play last weekend. We played two this weekend so as far as I’m concerned, we’re even. We played two games over two weeks.”
Meanwhile, social media was blowing up. General D-III sports and general hockey sites were retweeting comments on the game. So much so that #d3hky became a leading trending hashtag on Twitter/X late into the night.
Don Lucia led Minnesota to NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003 (photo: Minnesota Athletics).
Don Lucia has been announced as the 2024 Hobey Baker “Legend of College Hockey” recipient.
In 31 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Lucia compiled a 736-403-102 record, and is Minnesota’s all-time winningest coach with 457 wins for the Gophers from 1999 to 2018. He is one of 10 coaches to record more than 600 NCAA men’s hockey wins, and one of six to win national titles in back-to-back seasons.
Lucia has 22 NCAA tournament victories in 18 career tournament appearances. Five of those appearances are from his time at Colorado College (1993-1999), which makes Lucia the only coach other than Jerry York to lead two different schools to at least five NCAA tournament appearances.
He began his head coaching career at Alaska, leading the Nanooks from 1987 to 1993.
Lucia coached 12 Hobey Baker Award finalists, including winner Jordan Leopold (2001-02). In addition, he coached 19 first team All-Americans, 73 all-conference players, nine conference defensive players of the year, and three conference rookies of the year.
These days, Lucia continues to be active in collegiate hockey, currently serving as the commissioner of the CCHA since the conference’s reorganization in 2021. Under Lucia’s leadership, the CCHA has experienced substantial growth, expanding from seven teams in 2021 to its current nine teams.
Michigan Tech players Logan Pietila, Ryland Mosley and Isaac Gordon celebrate Pietila’s game winner late in the third period Saturday night to beat Minnesota State (photo: Michigan Tech Athletics).
Conference playoffs raged on Saturday afternoon and night, as one Atlantic Hockey series is going the distance, the Big Ten title game is set between two Michigan teams, the ECAC and Hockey East semifinals are set, and two teams have advanced to the NCHC semifinal round next weekend.
Elijah Gonsalves scored twice as RIT eliminated Niagara at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, N.Y. Tyler Fukakusa, Carter Wilkie and Dimitri Mikrogiannakis also scored and Tommy Scarfone made 25 saves in goal. Shane Ott and Tyler Wallace netted Niagara’s goals and Jarrett Fiske stopped 25 shots between the pipes.
Brett Rylance scored a pair of goals and Nils Wallstrom made 32 saves as AIC forced a Game 3, winning tonight at the Hart Recreation Center in Worcester, Mass. Nick Somerville also scored for the Yellow Jackets. Jason Grande stopped 22 shots for the Crusaders.
BIG TEN
No. 4 Michigan State 2, Ohio State 1
Nienhuis rips this one from the hash to put MSU back on top just 13 seconds after OSU scores the equalizer. Kelly out of the corner with the apple. pic.twitter.com/1sygNEbemA
Nash Nienhuis’ goal early in the third period stood as the game winner at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich., as Michigan State will play for the Big Ten title next weekend. Daniel Russell also scored for the Spartans and Trey Augustine made 37 saves in goal. Max Montes tallied Ohio State’s goal and goalie Logan Terness finished with 36 saves.
Kienan Draper and Gavin Brindley scored and Jake Barczewski turned in a 23-save performance for Michigan at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, Minn., and the Wolverines will join MSU next weekend in the Big Ten championship tilt. Justen Close turned aside 29 shots for the Gophers and Jimmy Snuggerud scored the lone goal.
From the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Mich., Logan Pietila scored the winning goal with 9.1 seconds left in the third period to lift the Huskies into the conference title game next weekend. Pietila had tied the game 3-3 on a penalty shot at 15:27 of the third period. Jack Works and Kash Rasmussen also scored for MTU and goalie Blake Pietila made 29 saves. Lucas Sowder, Will Hillman and Adam Eisele scored for the Mavericks and Alex Tracy made 34 stops in goal.
— Bemidji State Men’s Hockey (@BSUBeaversMHKY) March 17, 2024
Bemidji State is in the CCHA title game after Eric Pohlkamp, Jake McLean, Kirklan Irey and Jere Vaisanen found the back of the net at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn. Mattias Sholl made 13 saves in goal. Branden Piku scored for LSSU and Ethan Langenegger made 34 saves in goal.
— St. Lawrence Men’s Hockey (@SkatingSaints) March 17, 2024
Cameron Buhl, Felikss Gavars and Jan Olenginski scored for the Saints, who eliminated the Raiders at Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton, N.Y. Goaltender Ben Kraws made 41 saves. Ryan Sullivan and Ryan McGuire scored for Colgate and Carter Gylander stopped 19 shots in net.
— Dartmouth Men's Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) March 17, 2024
Luke Haymes’ goal at 14:04 of the third period proved to be the game winner as Dartmouth bounced Union at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H. Matt Fusco, Braiden Dorfman and Cam MacDonald also scored and Cooper Black made 24 saves in goal. Caden Villegas popped both goals for the Garnet Chargers and Kyle Chauvette finished with 21 saves.
— Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey (@CornellMHockey) March 17, 2024
Cornell swept Harvard at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y., winning tonight on the strength of two goals each from Ben Robertson and Gabriel Seger. Ian Shane made 21 saves. Ian Moore scored the Harvard goal and Derek Mullahy also stopped 21 shots.
Andon Cerbone scored two goals for QU, who advance to the ECAC Hockey semifinals, from the M&T Bank Center in Hamden, Conn. Collin Graf, Anthony Cipollone and Jacob Quillan also scored and goalie Vinny Duplessis made 22 saves. Lauri Sertti and Sutter Muzzatti scored for the Engineers and Jack Watson made 28 saves in goal.
— Maine Men’s Ice Hockey (@MaineIceHockey) March 17, 2024
Albin Boija made all 18 saves at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine, and Bradly Nadeau scored two goals for the Black Bears. Josh Nadeau, Ben Poisson and Nolan Renwick also scored. UNH goalie Jakob Hellsten finshed with 20 saves.
From Agganis Arena in Boston, Quinn Hutson, Luke Tuch, Case McCarthy and Macklin Celebrini scored and Mathieu Caron made 21 saves in net. Justin Hryckowian scored both for Northeastern and goalie Cameron Whitehead turned aside 28 shots.
Jack Malone scored two goals for BC at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Jacob Bengtsson, Drew Fortescue and Ryan Leonard added goals and Jacob Fowler made 29 stops in goal. Matthew Wood registered two goals for the Huskies, John Spetz and Jake Richard also scored, and Arsenii Sergeev stopped 28 shots between the pipes.
Ryan Lautenbach, Ryan Ufko and Kenny Connors scored for the Minutemen and Michael Hrabal made 27 saves at Schneider Arena in Providence, R.I. Hudson Malinowski broke Hrabal’s shutout at 14:50 of the third period. Friars goalie Philip Svedebäck stopped 22 shots.
Seven different players scored for the Fighting Hawks, who swept Miami at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., to advance to the conference semifinals. Riese Gaber, Jackson Kunz, Jackson Blake, Logan Britt, Dylan James, Ben Strinden and Hunter Johannes scored and Hobie Hedquist finished with 28 saves. Artur Turansky scored for the RedHawks and goalie Logan Neaton also made 28 saves.
Tanner Ludtke, Jimmy Glynn and Brock Bremer scored for Omaha to force a deciding Game 3 at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. Simon Latkoczy finished with 39 saves. For CC, Chase Foley scored and goalie Kaidan Mbereko made 18 saves.
No. 14 Western Michigan 6, No. 18 St. Cloud State 1
Sam Colangelo netted a hat trick from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn., forcing a Game 3 as the Broncos scored six unanswered goals. Dylan Wendt added two goals, Luke Grainger one, and Cameron Rowe finished with 15 saves in net. Tyson Gross scored for SCSU and Isak Posch made 34 saves between the pipes.
Denver swept Minnesota Duluth from Magness Arena in Denver, Colo., as Rieger Lorenz scored two goals and goalie Matt Davis stopped 28 shots. Aidan Thompson, Sean Behrens and Tristan Broz also scored for the Pioneers. Luke Loheit and Kyle Bettens scored for UMD and Matthew Thiessen made 25 saves in goal.
UW-River Falls defeats Adrian 3-2 to stay perfect (30-0-0) and advance to the 2024 Women’s D-III National Championship hosted by River Falls in Hunt Arena. (Photo by Carly Lynch)
Time flies, here we are, the national championship game is officially here tomorrow, Sunday, March 17 at 3:00pm CST.
UW-River Falls enters the game on home-ice a perfect 30-0-0, whilst Elmira enters 23-7-1 as they’ve been on a roll as of late after hitting some rough patches earlier in the season. This game will be interesting with Elmira surviving after a goal-line review with about 20 seconds left in their semifinal game vs Middlebury yesterday in which they held on to win 1-0.
Elmira defeats Middlebury 1-0 to advance to the 2024 Women’s D-III National Championship vs UW-River Falls. (Photo via Elmira College Athletics)
Meanwhile, the Falcons of River Falls defeated Adrian 3-2 after a late wraparound goal scored by Bailey Olson, only 1:50 left on the clock. They look to end their season a perfect 31-0-0 and go down as one of the greatest, if not he greatest D-III women’s hockey team in history. Newly awarded Laura Hurd winner Maddie McCollins and Coach of the Year Joe Cranston are helping make that case. Now for the picks:
CS – The year of the Falcon. River Falls is all I have to say. What’s there not to like? UWRF enters a perfect 30-0-0, they show no signs of stopping. They’ve defeated Gustavus and Adrian in their last two games, they’re sleeping in their own beds and using their own locker room, how do you not pick them?
Elmira has strung wins together and has earned their way in and defeated three impressive teams on their journey to the title game. The Soaring Eagles defeated Cortland, Amherst, & Middlebury, not a team to sleep on anymore, but they’ll need to play perfect and their game of the year if they want to beat River Falls.
I took Gustavus in the joke of a quarterfinal game as it was the forth time the two had seen each other this season, I didn’t make that mistake last night and I won’t today. Give me River Falls to roll and stay perfect. – UW-River Falls, 4-1
TC – The championship game is here with UWRF looking for a perfect season capped by a national championship. Recently minted Laura Hurd Award winner Maddie McCollins and her teammates have been on a mission to win a title and have the benefit of home ice and crowd in their favor. The home team favorites should not take lightly an Elmira team that has proven to be a playoff nightmare for all opponents upsetting a pair of favored NESCAC opponents to reach the title game. This is the kind of game that will start out slow making the home crowd a bit nervous. No overtime required here and as UWRF builds a comfortable lead late on the way to making hockey history in D-III women’s hockey – UW-River Falls, 3-0
BL – UW-River Falls stands 60 minutes of hockey away from perfection and a national championship after rallying for a win over Adrian Friday night.
The Falcons were down 2-1 after two periods but found the goals they needed to pull off the win. When you see a team overcome a deficit in that situation, you have to believe they are destined for something special. Staying unbeaten all season is no easy task but the Falcons have found a way.
The Soaring Eagles of Elmira are in the final for the eighth time in program history, and like the Falcons, they faced pressure in their semifinal, getting the game winner with under five minutes to play against Middlebury.
Both teams belong here. Both teams have the talent to win it all. But I’m rolling with the Falcons here. They seem to be a team of destiny. – UW-River Falls, 3-2
MADISON — Defending National Champions Wisconsin have advanced to their 15th Frozen Four in program history with a 4-0 win over St. Lawrence Saturday afternoon in Madison.
Casey O’Brien won the opening faceoff and then scored 16 seconds later to give the Badgers an immediate 1-0 lead. It was a group effort from the Badgers’ top line as Laila Edwards poke-checked the puck, Kirsten Simms quickly flipped to O’Brien, who was alone in front of the net and did not miss.
But St. Lawrence captain Julia Gosling said that her team was not fazed by the quick goal and coach Chris Wells said he thought it helped snap his team into focus.
“I think we were just mentally prepared for anything. We knew they’re an offensive team.
There was a lot of time left in the game. We just knew mentally that if they scored, we still had a chance to keep going. We took that as some motivation and kept pressing them. I think that’s what helped us in the first period,” said Gosling.
The Saints put pressure on the Badgers and it took the home team time to adjust. SLU used their size to take time and space away from the home team.
“We wanted to play vicious all over them. We knew they’re super skilled, so if we could take away their time and space, use our body against them, I think that’s what helped them to not get the fancy plays we’ve seen from them all year,” said Gosling.
Wisconsin’s Laila Edwards said the pressure took her off guard, but that her team’s depth and versatility were on display as they found new ways to move the puck and get time in the offensive zone. Wells described the match as “the perfect game” meaning that it played out exactly as he hoped it would in order for his team to have an opportunity to win. It was a matter of inches that allowed Wisconsin to hold the 1-0 lead into the third, as the Saints hit the post, had shots blocked or saved by UW freshman goalie Ava McNaughton or failed to put away loose pucks in front of the net.
“In the first and the second period, we kind of struggled a little bit with getting in front of the goalie. I think we got pucks to the net, but we didn’t really have anyone there for the dirty goals,” said O’Brien.
The teams were evenly matched through the opening frame, but Wisconsin started to push back as the second period progressed, eventually outshooting the Saints 21-7 as they changed their approach, using speed and the boards to chip pucks around the pressing defense. Wells
They broke things open less than five minutes into the third as Maddie Wheeler chased down a puck that was rung round the back boards and tipped it to Laney Potter at the blue line. Potter walked the puck into the space in front of her before unloading a shot that Sarah Wozniewicz tipped and redirected into the net to give Wisconsin the 2-0 lead.
Wisconsin looked like they extended the lead three minutes later when Wozniewicz tipped in a laser of a shot from distance by Anna Wilgren, but St. Lawrence challenged they goal and it was disallowed for goalie interference as Kelly Gorbatenko made contact as she moved across the top of the crease.
But the Badgers weren’t going to be stopped. Laila Edwards put the third goal back on the board just 37 seconds later as Laney Potter picked up a puck in the neutral zone and fed it to Simms to carry into the zone. Edwards was coming through the middle and Simms hit her in stride so she was in alone on Nordström, where she beat with a backhander.
Just three minutes after that, Edwards scored her second of the game as Nordström made two great saves, but the second one bounced right to Edwards, who scored to make it 4-0 and put the game out of reach for the Saints.
McNaughton earned her fifth shutout of the season. Johnson said he thought she showed a lot of composure and that playing in games against Minnesota and Ohio State over the past month put her in a position to be comfortable in this higher pressure situation.
“I think it’s definitely always to keep your team in a game. It was honestly just trying to do that. We were able to keep it going until we were able to score more. There was obviously a lot of hard work in front of me to make it happen,” said McNaughton.
Wisconsin is a tough team to beat at home during the regular season, but they’re even tougher during the regular season. Since they opened LaBahn Arena in 2013, the Badgers have not lost an NCAA Tournament game they’ve hosted there (seven games). They have outscored opponents 32-2 in that stretch and the last goal they allowed in an NCAA Tournament at LaBahn Arena was to Boston University’s Victoria Bach in the waning minutes of a 5-1 win in 2015. That means the Badgers have played 302:53 (and counting) of shutout hockey in NCAA tournament games at LaBahn Arena.
That’s a heck of an advantage and Wells said he was happy his team got to play a game in front of such a full and vocal crowd, calling it a special experience.
“It was a perfect game for us. This is what we expected. We just missed the net, hit some posts. But if we were going to win, that’s how the game needed to go… You can only hold them off for so long,” Wells said.
The Badgers will face Colgate in the national semifinal on Friday. Of all the positives that came out of Saturday’s win, Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said the most important thing was that his team continues to play.
“The best thing is we get another opportunity to play another game,” he said.
St. Norbert is facing Adrian for a fourth time this season as the two teams face off in the NCAA tourney tonight. (Photo provided by St. Norbert Athletics).
Adrian vs. St. Norbert.
It’s a great matchup on paper. The kind you want to see in an NCAA hockey tournament.
It just shouldn’t be a quarterfinal game, which it happens to be as the two teams face off tonight at Adrian’s Arrington Ice Arena.
We’re talking about two of the top five teams in the nation here.
Adrian is ranked fourth. The Green Knights are fifth. It should have, at the very least, national semifinal written all over it.
What makes the fact that these two teams are playing tonight is both are from the same region. Playing now means the west region is denied a chance to have two teams in the national semifinals next week.
These two teams have played three times already this season, including for the NCHA title a couple of weeks ago. No other team left in the tourney field has done that.
But the NCAA has to consider distance when setting up brackets, basically to save money, and so the Bulldogs and Green Knights are here against each other after beating teams from their respective region in the opening round. Adrian topped UW-Stevens Point 4-0 and St. Norbert knocked off St. Olaf 5-2.
After Saturday night, only one team will still be standing. And really, this is a game that could truly go either way.
St. Norbert leads the season series two games to one. The Green Knights won the conference championship game at Adrian by a 3-1 score and also picked up a 6-2 win at home in the regular season. Feb. 3. The Bulldogs won the regular-season series opener 4-1 one night earlier.
Zachary Heintz and the Bulldogs are looking to advance in the NCAA tourney NCAA tourney. (Photo provided by Adrian Athletics)
Both teams are top 10 nationally in several statistical categories, including goals per game where Adrian ranks fourth (4.6) and St. Norbert ranks eighth (3.9).
The Bulldogs allow 1.8 goals per game while the Green Knights are giving up 2.2 goals per outing.
There will be talent all over the ice in this game. Adrian has great players like Jaden Shields, who has tallied a goal in four of the last five games and has 11 goals in all this season to go along with 27 assists.
There is Mathew Rehding, who has recorded a point in seven consecutive games, racking up 16 goals and 30 assists in all this season, and Zachary Heintz, who has come through with a point in eight straight outings. He has 17 goals and 21 assists.
And don’t forget about Dershahn Stewart, who has won 19 games, six by shutout, and boasts a 1.73 goals against average.
With St. Norbert, you have one of the best one-two punches in the game in Adam Stacho and Liam Fraser. Stacho has scored 19 goals and dished out 24 assists. Fraser has come through with 17 goals and 26 assists.
And let’s not forget about league newcomer of the year Logan Dombrowsky, who has racked up 14 goals and 23 assists.
Hunter Garvey has led the way in goal, playing in 22 games and owns a 1.81 GAA.
You also have two great coaches in Adam Krug at Adrian and the long-time veteran Tim Coghlin at St. Norbert.
Coghlin is one of the best to ever, winning more than 600 games in his career. He’s taken the program to the Frozen Four a dozen times already in his career. He has a chance to make it lucky No. 13 this year.
Look, at the end of the season, only one team is wearing a collective smile. Only one team is holding up a national championship trophy.
But Adrian and St. Norbert shouldn’t be forced to see that dream stay alive or end in the quarterfinal round. That’s something that should be decided on the final weekend of the season.
In this instance, it won’t be. And that’s unfortunate for Adrian and St. Norbert, who both deserve better.
Tyler Mahan, Aiden Hansen-Bukata, Matthew Wilde and Gianfranco Cassaro scored for the Tigers and Tommy Scarfone made 38 saves at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, N.Y. Jay Ahearn broke Scarfone’s shutout bid at 16:16 of the third period. Niagara goalie Jarrett Fiske finished with 20 saves.
Alec Cicero and Liam McLinskey each scored twice for Holy Cross, while Tyler Ghirardosi also scored in the win to back Jason Grande’s 22 saves in goal at the Hart Recreation Center in Worcester, Mass. Brett Rylance and Casey McDonald scored for the Yellow Jackets and goalie Nils Wallstrom stopped 18 shots.
— St. Lawrence Men’s Hockey (@SkatingSaints) March 16, 2024
Luc Salem won it at 7:24 of the second overtime and Ben Kraws made 47 saves from Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton, N.Y. Josh Boyer and Jan Lasak also scored for St. Lawrence. For Colgate, Tommy Bergsland and Alex DiPaolo scored and Carter Gylander finished with 30 saves in goal.
Anthony Cipollone, Jacob Quillan, Andon Cerbone, Sam Lipkin and Collin Graf scored for QU and Vinny Duplessis made 20 saves from the M&T Bank Center in Hamden, Conn. Nick Ardanaz scored for RPI and Jack Watson turned aside 30 shots between the pipes.
Cornell scored the first four goals before Harvard scored the next three from Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y. Jack O’Leary, Sullivan Mack, Ryan Walsh and Nick DeSantis scored for Cornell and Ian Shane finished with 22 saves. Joe Miller potted two goals for the Crimson, Casey Severo also scored, and Aku Koskenvuo had 19 saves in net.
Dartmouth 3, Union 1
The game winner on Night 1 of @ecachockey quarterfinals 🤩
— Dartmouth Men's Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) March 16, 2024
Braiden Dorfman, Matt Fusco and Joey Musa scored for Dartmouth and Cooper Black stopped 23 shots at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H. Nick Young opened the game’s scoring for Union and goaltender Kyle Chauvette made 22 saves.
Noah Laba’s goal at 19:10 of the third period pulled Colorado College into a 3-3 tie and then Gleb Veremyev won it with CC’s fourth unanswered goal at 11:53 of overtime at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. Chase Foley and Klavs Veinbergs also scored for the Tigers and Kaidan Mbereko made 12 saves in goal. Ty Mueller, Jack Randl and Jacob Slipec scored for the Mavericks and Simon Latkoczy finished with 46 saves between the pipes.
Jake Schmaltz, Owen McLaughlin, Riese Gaber, Jackson Blake and Jake Livanavage netted the UND goals and Hobie Hedquist made 23 stops in goal from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. Ryan Sullivan scored for the RedHawks and netminder Logan Neaton collected 22 saves.
No. 18 St. Cloud State 5, No. 14 Western Michigan 2
— St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (@SCSUHuskies_MH) March 16, 2024
Jack Rogers, Tyson Gross, Veeti Miettinen, Mason Salquist and Josh Luedtke scored for SCSU and Isak Posch made 26 saves in goal from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St, Cloud, Minn. Alex Bump scored both goals for the Broncos and goalie Cameron Rowe tallied 25 saves in the blue paint.
No. 3 Denver 4, Minnesota Duluth 0
Was it the most devine goal, no. But Jack gets dirty for his 26th tally of the season! pic.twitter.com/b2SQb0651w
Jack Devine posted two goals and McKade Webster and Connor Caponi netted one each for DU on home ice at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. Matt Davis stopped all 17 shots he faced for the shutout. Minnesota Duluth goalie Matthew Thiessen turned aside 20 shots.
Collin Graf has been an offensive catalyst this season for Quinnipiac (photo: Rob Rasmussen/P8Photos.com).
ECAC Hockey has announced its three all-conference teams for the 2023-24 season.
First Team All-ECAC
Collin Graf,* F, Quinnipiac, Jr.
Luke Haymes,* F, Dartmouth, So.
Gabriel Seger, F, Cornell, Sr.
John Prokop,* D, Union, So.
Jayden Lee, D, Quinnipiac, Gr.
Ian Shane,* G, Cornell, Jr. * denotes unanimous selection
Second Team All-ECAC
Jacob Quillan, F, Quinnipiac, Jr.
Sam Lipkin, F, Quinnipiac, So.
Liam Robertson, F, Union, Sr.
Trey Taylor, D, Clarkson, So.
Tommy Bergsland, D, Colgate, Jr.
Cooper Black, G, Dartmouth, So.
Third Team All-ECAC
Dalton Bancroft, F, Cornell, So.
Joe Miller, F, Harvard, So.
Mathieu Gosselin, F, Clarkson, Gr.
Ben Robertson, D, Cornell, Fr.
CJ Foley, D, Dartmouth, Fr.
Vinny Duplessis, G, Quinnipiac, Sr.
Sam Morton wears the ‘C’ this season for Minnesota State (photo: Perry Laskaris).
The CCHA has announced that Minnesota State graduate student Sam Morton has been voted CCHA player and forward of the year.
In addition, Bemidji State fifth-year senior Kyle Looft has been voted defenseman of the year and Bemidji State junior goalie Mattias Sholl has been tabbed goaltender of the year.
Morton paced all CCHA skaters in goals (15), goals per game (0.63), power-play goals (8), shots (102), face-off wins (292) and face-off wins per game (12.2). Adding six assists, he was fourth in points (21) and face-off percentage (56.3%). The CCHA forward of the month in January after totaling six goals and three assists for nine points, he had four multi-point games, including three points on three different occasions. He opened the Mavericks’ CCHA schedule with a five-game point streak (six goals, 4 assists) and added a six-game streak in January (4 goals, 2 assists).
Through 36 games, Morton has 24 goals and 10 assists for 34 points. His nine power-play tallies rank eighth nationally, and he also has one game-winner. Totaling 149 shots on goal, he has blocked 27 shots defensively and won 55% of his face-offs (415-of-754). He has nine multi-point games to his credit, with a five and seven-game point streak. The CCHA player of the month in January, he paced all conference skaters in goals (6), goals per game (0.75), shots (38), shots per game (4.75), power-play goals (2) and plus-minus (+6).
Morton has appeared in 101 career games for Minnesota State, registering 44 goals and 32 assists for 76 points. He has 17 tallies while on the man advantage and six game winners.
The Beavers’ two-time captain, Looft led all CCHA skaters in plus-minus in league action at +16 and paced conference blueliners in assists (14) and points (18), despite playing in only 20 games. Scoring four goals, including one on the power play, he was fifth among all skaters and first among defensemen in multi-point games (5). He blocked 28 shots at the defensive end.
Looft has recorded career-highs in goals (6), assists (22) and points (28) through 30 total games this season, earning CCHA defenseman of the month honors in October and November. The four-time CCHA defenseman of the week has three power-play goals to his credit and 62 shots, with 51 blocks at the defensive end of the ice.
In 167 career games, Looft has 15 goals and 38 assists for 53 points. Six of his goals have come on the power play, while three have been game winners. He is a multiple-time CCHA scholar-athlete and AHCA/Krampade All-American scholar.
Sholl led conference netminders in goals-against average (2.03) and winning percentage (.786), going 10-2-2 with a .924 save percentage in 14 games for the Beavers. Posting one shutout in conference play, he had 342 saves, including a season-high 46 in a 2-2 tie with Michigan Tech. Allowing two goals or fewer in 11 of his 14 starts, he made 25 or more saves in seven league contests.
Through 22 total games this season, Sholl is 13-7-2, with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage, making 557 saves over 1310:30 minutes of action. He has three shutouts to his credit, which have all come since Feb. 1. Over that same stretch, he is 9-1-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
Sholl has played in 78 career games for the Beavers, going 37-33-7 with four shutouts. He has posted a 2.50 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
Voting for the 2023-24 all-CCHA teams and year-end awards was conducted by the eight head coaches at each CCHA school, based on CCHA conference games only. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Ryan Ufko has been a go-to player this season for UMass (photo: Thom Kendall/UMass Athletics).
Hockey East has announced its 2023-24 men’s all-star teams as voted by the league’s 11 head coaches.
First-Team All-Stars
G: Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College
D: Lane Hutson, So., Boston University
D: Ryan Ufko, Jr., Massachusetts
F: Macklin Celebrini, Fr., Boston University *
F: Cutter Gauthier, So., Boston College
F: Will Smith, Fr., Boston College * denotes unanimous selection
Second-Team All-Stars
G: Michael Hrabal, Fr., Massachusetts
D: Eamon Powell, Sr., Boston College
D: Tom Willander, Fr., Boston University
F: Ryan Leonard, Fr., Boston College
F: Bradly Nadeau, Fr., Maine
F: Gabe Perreault, Fr., Boston College
Third-Team All-Stars
G: Mathieu Caron, Jr., Boston University
D: Alex Gagne, Jr., New Hampshire
D: Scott Morrow, Jr., Massachusetts
F: Alex Campbell, Sr., Northeastern
F: Justin Hryckowian, Jr., Northeastern
F: Josh Nadeau, Fr., Maine
