Wisconsin-River Falls completes perfect 31-0-0 season, downs Elmira on home ice for 2024 women’s D-III national championship
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.
‘Once in a lifetime game’ sees defending national champion Hobart down Curry in fourth overtime of men’s D-III hockey national quarterfinal matchup
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.
This game is the second-longest in DIII history and @CurryColonels goalie Soderwall tied a DIII record with 98 saves.… pic.twitter.com/80BwXPRpGJ
— NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII) March 17, 2024
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.
Roundy said it best: “A once in a lifetime game.”
Former Minnesota, Colorado College, Alaska coach, current CCHA commissioner Lucia named 2024 Hobey Baker ‘Legend of College Hockey’ recipient
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.
SATURDAY ROUNDUP: No. 19 RIT advances to Atlantic Hockey title game, No. 4 Michigan State, No. 11 Michigan to play for B1G crown, No. 20 Bemidji State, Michigan Tech to battle for CCHA title, ECAC, Hockey East semis set, two NCHC series going to Game 3s
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.
SCOREBOARD | POLL | PAIRWISE
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
No. 19 RIT 5, Niagara 2
Wilkie (yes WILKIE) says gimme and thanks and skate and snap. https://t.co/crICxskL6a pic.twitter.com/ODaPzYPr6A
— RIT Men's Hockey (@RITMHKY) March 17, 2024
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.
AIC 3, Holy Cross 0
BRETT RYLANCE IS HIM, AND WE'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW!#AICommitted @Atlantic_Hockey @TeamECH pic.twitter.com/t8sTnmSlaK
— AIC Hockey (@AIC_Hockey) March 17, 2024
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
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 17, 2024
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.
No. 11 Michigan 2, No. 6 Minnesota 1
Drapes gives Michigan a 1-0 lead! #GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/5mknIMPC1V
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) March 17, 2024
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.
CCHA
Michigan Tech 4, Minnesota State 3
Logan's game-winner!! #mtuhky #FollowTheHuskies pic.twitter.com/ut6mtoxYq9
— Michigan Tech Hockey (@mtuhky) March 16, 2024
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.
No. 20 Bemidji State 4, Lake Superior State 1
BEAVER GOAL!!!
Goal scored by Jake McLean, assisted by Donte Lawson and Mitch Wolfe! Beavers lead the Lakers 2-0!#GoBeavers #BeaverTerritory pic.twitter.com/QTiGR6do0e
— 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.
ECAC HOCKEY
St. Lawrence 3, Colgate 2
There’s no rookies this late in the year!
Olenginski gets sprung for a breakaway and makes Colgate pay the price to take the 3-2 lead! #herewegoSAINTS x #NCAAIceHockey pic.twitter.com/uim2sdoYx2
— 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 4, Union 2
LUKE HAYMES GIVES US THE LEAD!
3-2 Big Green with 4:40 to go in the third period! pic.twitter.com/BzuE357jhF
— 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.
No. 15 Cornell 4, Harvard 1
NEXT STOP: LAKE PLACID‼️‼️#YellCornell
(📸 // Leilani Burke) pic.twitter.com/O495QQ9ZQG— 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.
No. 7 Quinnipiac 5, Rensselaer 2
BONES BLAST 🚀#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/YIO5NbtW2K
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) March 17, 2024
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.
HOCKEY EAST
No. 8 Maine 5, No. 17 New Hampshire 0
See you in Boston!#BlackBearNation // #JourneyNorth pic.twitter.com/iezfqs8IAr
— 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.
No. 2 Boston University 4, Northeastern 2
The best players step up in the biggest moments.
Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/VSXyK15q27@hockey_east | @espn pic.twitter.com/oj9OfsNwrc
— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) March 16, 2024
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.
No. 1 Boston College 5, UConn 1
Malone calls game‼️ pic.twitter.com/EMA0c1PpkA
— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) March 17, 2024
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.
No. 16 UMass 3, No. 13 Providence 1
And here's @RyanUfko's TENTH of the year off an offensive zone faceoff win by @kennyconnors25
Watch on @NESN plus or @ESPNPlus – https://t.co/MBDgJkj6v5#NewMass X #Flagship🚩 pic.twitter.com/2UKOjrdsii
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) March 16, 2024
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.
NCHC
No. 5 North Dakota 7, Miami 1
Just having some fun now! #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/o0e5mjSI8G
— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) March 17, 2024
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.
No. 12 Omaha 3, No. 10 Colorado College 1
Yeah, you're going to want to watch this one a few times😮💨😮💨#OmahaHKY pic.twitter.com/0LVsZDw1Vs
— Omaha Hockey (@OmahaHKY) March 17, 2024
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
Grainger tallies his 14th of the season for a 3-1 lead! #BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/NMBvsjBfP5
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) March 17, 2024
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.
No. 3 Denver 5, Minnesota Duluth 2
Sean Behrens 2nd-period tally is tonight’s @Safeway Goal of the Game!#GoPios pic.twitter.com/jtLqtKZ4k7
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 17, 2024
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.
D-III Women’s National Championship: Game Picks from Chris, Tim, & Brian!
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.
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:
#10 Elmira (23-7-1) vs #1 UW-River Falls (30-0-0) – 3/17/24 – 3pm CST
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.
Division I Women’s Hockey: NCAA Quarterfinal – Wisconsin advances to 15th Frozen Four with 4-0 win over St. Lawrence
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.
“The season goes on.”
Adrian, St. Norbert deserve better than an NCAA quarterfinal hockey showdown
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.
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.
FRIDAY ROUNDUP: Conference playoffs in full swing as St. Lawrence downs Colgate in double overtime, No. 10 Colorado College comes back to beat No. 12 Omaha in OT, No. 19 RIT, Holy Cross win Game 1s in Atlantic Hockey semis
Atlantic Hockey, ECAC Hockey and NCHC teams dropped the puck Friday night as conference playoffs continued across men’s college hockey.
All three conference playoffs are best-of-three formats with Game 1s played Friday night and Game 2s on tap for Saturday night.
SCOREBOARD | POLL | PAIRWISE
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
No. 19 RIT 4, Niagara 1
Snipe. Celly. Byooooocatttaaaah! https://t.co/LnmAA7Itjm pic.twitter.com/cqq7Hpd6xo
— RIT Men's Hockey (@RITMHKY) March 16, 2024
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.
Holy Cross 5, AIC 2
P1 | 0:41.4 – @t_ghirardosi snipes it in for the lead!#GoCrossGo pic.twitter.com/wgQoC1lVF6
— Holy Cross M. Hockey (@HCrossMHockey) March 15, 2024
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.
ECAC HOCKEY
St. Lawrence 3, Colgate 2 (2OT)
Captain Clutch!!!! @Lucsalem breaks the heart of the Colgate faithful in double overtime to give the Skating Saints a 1-0 lead in the ECAC Quarterfinals! #herewegoSAINTS x #TheEducatedDecision pic.twitter.com/Cya7ZdLPqm
— 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.
No. 7 Quinnipiac 5, Rensselaer 1
Make that 21 goals for 11!#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/i1UqbDzR5z
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) March 16, 2024
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.
No. 15 Cornell 4, Harvard 3
Right place, right time for Ryan Walsh. #YellCornell🐻@CornellMHockey 3, Harvard 0 pic.twitter.com/iS9rEkHKET
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) March 15, 2024
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 🤩
#TheWoods 🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/1swxUCW55H
— 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.
NCHC
No. 10 Colorado College 4, No. 12 Omaha 3 (OT)
*Heart rate is still at 168 BPM*
Gleb says goodnight. #CCTigers pic.twitter.com/qTpjAtP26b
— CC Hockey (@CCTigerHKY) March 16, 2024
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.
No. 5 North Dakota 5, Miami 1
Goalie didn't even move because he knew he ain't stopping that. #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/uA1ijML2Uv
— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) March 16, 2024
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
How ‘bout that! 👊
Veeti’s second SHG of the season gives SCSU a 3-0 lead! #GoHuskies | #HuskyHockey 🏒 pic.twitter.com/OfDVmJJGbw
— 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
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 16, 2024
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.
Trio of all-conference teams announced by ECAC Hockey for 2023-24 campaign
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.
Minnesota State’s Morton garners CCHA player, forward of year honors for ’23-24 season, Bemidji State’s Looft top D-man, Beavers’ Sholl takes top goalie
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.
Hockey East men’s conference unveils trio of all-star teams for 2023-24 season
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
ECAC Hockey announces women’s major award winners for ’23-24 season; Cornell’s Daniel tabbed player, forward of year
ECAC Hockey has announced the recipients of the league’s major women’s individual award winners for the 2023-24 season.
Awards were determined by a full nomination and voting process involving the league’s 12 head coaches.
ECAC Hockey Forward and Player of the Year: Izzy Daniel, Cornell
Daniel culminated 13 goals and 25 assists for an impressive 1.73 points per game average to lead the nationally-ranked Big Red in all scoring categories. Daniel also led the conference in points per game, assists per game, and ranked fifth in goals per game.
ECAC Hockey Defender of the Year: Nicole Gosling, Clarkson
Gosling demonstrated her role as a two-way defender this season, putting up 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points which leads the nationally-ranked Golden Knights. Gosling registered 89 shots on goal and headlined the player-advantage with eight power-play goals.
ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Year: Michelle Pasiechnyk, Clarkson
Pasiechnyk had a stellar year, posting a 13-3-1 record, which set a career win record in her senior season. Pasiechnyk tallied five shutouts over the regular season and made 364 total saves. The senior netminder finished with a commendable 1.23 goals-against average and .945 save percentage, leading the Golden Knights to an 18-3-1 record.
ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year: Emma Pais, Colgate
Pais racked up 31 points this season, the third-highest point total ever produced by a Colgate first-year player. Pais fared well on the Raiders special teams, tallying two goals on the power play and one short-handed. Pais currently sits in the top five for most points scored and fourth for the most goals scored by a rookie skater in the NCAA.
ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year: Matt Desrosiers, Clarkson
With a 18-3-1 conference record, Desrosiers led his team to another excellent season in his 15th season at the helm for the Golden Knights. His tenure has featured three NCAA national championships, four NCAA Frozen Four showings, and three ECAC conference championships. In 2022-23, the Knights made their 12th NCAA tournament appearance and advanced to the ECAC conference championship game.
NCAA D-III Men’s Hockey Quarterfinal Game Picks: March 14, 2024
The first round of the NCAA tournament saw five games and ten teams seeking a chance to advance and play more hockey. While Adrian and St. Norbert advanced to a quarterfinal date with each other (fourth meeting in a couple of months between the two teams), Curry, Elmira and Plymouth State provided some drama in the East by taking out Geneseo, Endicott and Cortland respectively. Three teams that earned byes (Hobart, Utica and Trinity) enter the quarterfinals against the advancing teams in the East.
The battle between the writers with NCAA picks currently stands with Brian Lester (3-2) leading Chris Sugar (2-3) and me (1-4) with four great games to choose from this week. The battle continues on the way to the Frozen Four. Here this week’s picks from the USCHO D-III pundits:
Saturday, March 16, 2024
NCAA Quarterfinal Round
(12) Curry v. (1) Hobart
TC – The defending champions get back to work on Saturday against a Curry team that stunned Geneseo on the road last week, 3-0. The Statesmen have a lot in their favor being unbeaten on home ice, having depth and terrific goaltending in Damon Beaver. Shane Soderwall has been stellar for the Colonels in goal and was a big part of last week’s win over the Knights. He will need to be all that against a Hobart team that can score in bunches and in every situation. Tight game to start but home team has just too much talent upfront for the Colonels to knock off the top seed– Hobart, 3-1
BL – The reigning national champs are No. 1 for a reason and are up against the Colonels in the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. Hobart won that game 5-1.
The Statesmen have scored 152 goals on the year an are led by Tanner Hartman, who has 19 goals to go along with 25 assists. Damon Beaver is allowing less than a goal per game (0.94) and has recorded six shutouts.
Curry has tallied 89 goals and has goalie Shane Soderwall on its side. He has four shutout wins and a 1.57 GAA.
Hobart comes in having won 11 in a row and is unbeaten in 16 home games. And Curry is 0-11 all-time against Hobart. The Statesmen will keep both streaks intact. Hobart, 5-2
CS – Hobart’s been rolling, I can’t see that stopping here. They’ve been the most consistent team in all the country this year. Goaltender Damon Beaver continues to have another season to remember as he leads the Statesmen from the back.
Give Curry all the credit in the world for what they’ve done especially with a relatively young team. I just can’t see Hobart losing this early on, especially at home. Hobart defeated Curry last year in the NCAA’s, I’ll take them again here. – Hobart 5-1
(9) Plymouth State v. (2) Utica
TC – The Pioneers have been in this position before over the past couple of seasons with losses to the University of New England ending their Frozen Four dreams. This year it isn’t a CCC team showing up in Utica but a more familiar Plymouth State team that Utica has seen already early in the season. Will Redick, Connor Tait and the Panther offense can match up skill with anyone and Kalle Andersson showed he is playoff worthy with a big game against Cortland in net. Home team has that advantage as well as depth and leadership from Brian Scoville and Kimball Johnson in front of Ethan Roberts in goal. May see an overtime result here but this time for the home team to exorcize some past demons in the quarterfinals – Utica, 3-2
BL – The Pioneers ride a 17-game win streak into this matchup while the the Panthers have won eight in a row. Brian Scoville is a playmaker for Utica, dishing out 23 assists to go along with nine goals.
Will Reddick is the offensive leader for the Plymouth State this season, racking up 58 points, including 27 goals. The last time these two teams played was Nov. 25, 2022. Utica prevailed 5-3. I give the Pioneers the edge being at home for this game. Utica, 4-3
CS – Plymouth State got their first ever NCAA win last weekend at home vs Cortland, but they now head to Utica who’s got one of Gary Heenan’s youngest rosters if not the youngest he’s ever had.
Will Redick will need to be a big factor in this one for the Panthers, Head Coach Craig Russell will need an all-time gameplan to beat the Pioneers of Utica. I like Utica here being that it’s a young team, less egos and individual efforts, more team-oriented and they don’t know what it’s like to be on this stage.
I like Utica here, a Gary Heenan Frozen Four will be a fun time, always a great personality to interact with. – Utica 4-2
(10) Elmira v. (3) Trinity
TC – The Bantams are the ultimate home team in this NCAA tournament having hosted their NESCAC Final Four weekend before moving to a quarterfinal game with Elmira which is just one win from hosting the Frozen Four in their barn next weekend. Lots to worry about with a Soaring Eagles squad that has a potent offense with Nicholas Domitrovic, Janis Vizbelis and Shawn Kennedy but the Bantams answer with a very balanced team and back-end strength from goaltender Devon Bobak and defensemen Ned Blanchard and Teddy Griffin that support the offense by committee approach Trinity has been successful with all season. Bobak has been a difference maker all season and continues his puck stopping mastery in an exciting one-goal win – Trinity, 3-2
BL – The Bantams are having one of their best seasons ever, with their win total tied for the second most in program history. Winners of 11 in a row, they now take aim at a spot in the Frozen Four. Richard Boysen leads the way for this team with 11 goals and 11 assists and this is a Trinity team with a defense that that allows just over a goal per game (1.26).
The Soaring Eagles beat Endicott 5-2 in the opening round and are averaging over four goals per game (4.18) while converting on the power play better than 31 percent of the time. Shawn Kennedy leads the team in points with 13 goals and 26 assists. Could there be an upset here? Of course. But we’ll go with the home team. Trinity, 4-2
CS – This game is interesting as it’s the Frozen Four predetermined site. Trinity hosts Elmira in their home rink, where if Elmira wins, they’ll be traveling back in a few days for the pending semifinal matchup vs St. Norbert/Adrian.
Trinity has been strong all year in NESCAC play, but non-conference play has been suspect at times. Elmira has been very good in the non-conference with some huge, ranked wins and NEHC play which has once again shown why it’s one of the best conferences in D3.
I like the “upset” here from the Soaring Eagles. We’ll have both Men’s and Women’s Elmira teams in the Frozen Four, one in Wisconsin and the other in Connecticut. – Elmira 5-2
(5) St. Norbert v. (4) Adrian
TC – The two teams are likely tired of facing each other as this is the fourth such occurrence in the last month. Both teams won big first round games last week to set up this re-match of the NCHA title game won by St. Norbert just a couple of weekends ago. The Bulldogs have been on a Final Four run that includes a title in 2022 and championship game loss in 2023. They would love to avenge the conference loss and extend that Frozen Four streak at the expense of the Green Knights who know all about playoff hockey from head coach Tim Coghlin. Home ice will matter in this one as it did for the Adrian women’s team that advanced to their Frozen Four. The men double down on the Bulldog presence – Adrian, 3-2
BL – It’s unfortunate to west region teams have to meet up at this point in the tournament, but what is more unfortunate is that the NCHA rivals are forced to play each other again this soon in the postseason.
The Green Knights won the NCHA title a couple of weeks ago by beating the Bulldogs and will be playing their rival for the fourth time this season. St. Norbert is 2-1 in those games.
Both teams have balanced offenses, averaging more than four goals per game, but the Bulldogs showed how good they can be defensively with a 4-0 win over UW-Stevens Point last week. Dershahn Stewart owns a goals against average of 1.73 and has six shutout wins.
St. Norbert is one of the nation’s top teams, winning eight consecutive games. Hunter Garvey boasts a goals against average of 1.81. Expect this one to be tightly contested throughout. Adrian, 3-2
CS – Adrian shutdown Stevens Point last weekend in Arrington, which was a game of pure violence, St. Norbert handled St. Olaf in their house. The Green Knights will be headed back to Adrian for a fourth matchup between the two.
St. Norbert Head Coach Tim Coghlin had quite the postgame press conference after St. Olaf on Saturday night. His team will be ready to run over anything in their path, especially if they get by Adrian and face an eastern team. This game should be a Frozen Four game and I don’t care what anyone tells me, absolute disgrace.
St. Norbert won the Harris Cup Championship at Adrian 3-1 and it’ll be an absolute war Saturday night. If this game had eastern referees, neither team would have enough players left as they’d all be thrown out by the start of the 3rd period. Whoever wins this game in my opinion, will win the National Championship. If my pick is wrong, I’ll take whoever wins this game to win the title handily.
Adrian coming off a loss to Norbert and being the home team gives them a slight edge. An individual I look up to, respect, and know is reading this right now, Head Coach Adam Krug. Who’s hoping he can tell his team I don’t believe in them once again, who also felt the need to let me know his thoughts on me picking against him last weekend vs UW-Stevens Point in the postgame press conference, so that means I should take Norbert to win 4-2 with an empty-netter right? No, I’ll take Adrian in double-overtime. – Adrian 4-3 2OT
There are just seven games remaining in the season. Four quarterfinal games on Saturday, two semifinal games next Thursday and the national championship game on Saturday. Big hardware is so close and yet so far. Focus, focus, focus on the task at hand and maybe there is more hockey in Hartford next week – “Drop the Puck!”
Analyzing lines on all 18 conference playoffs, including the widest odds of the season: USCHO Edge college hockey podcast Season 2 Episode 19
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Division I Women’s Hockey: NCAA Regional Semifinal – St. Lawrence 1, Penn State 0 (OT)
MADISON — Kristina Bahl’s slapshot from beyond the near faceoff circle made it’s way through traffic and beat Penn State goalie Katie DeSea with 10:25 left in overtime to send St. Lawrence to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2017. The Saints will face host Wisconsin at 2 p.m. Central on Saturday. The game will stream free on BTN+.
The secret to St. Lawrence’s success, it turns out, is applesauce. Seems fitting for a team that plays its home games at Appleton Arena.
Bahl said she was looking to refuel before overtime and found the snack cart in Madison looked different than what she’s used to.
“I never eat applesauce, but they have applesauce that they provided us with and I just like started chugging a couple after the third because I was so like hungry and I needed energy. And I was like, ‘wow, everyone’s eating applesauce’ for the next game because that was some crazy level energy. It was insane. So it was applesauce,” she said.
It was Bahl’s first-career overtime goal. And it came because of a strong forecheck from Kiley Mastel, who chased down the puck behind the net, winning it and feeding out to the blue line.
“I went down for my celly and Kiley (Mastel) was jumping on me and I said, ‘That’s all you. That’s all you. You made that happen with your forecheck.’ The goal doesn’t happen without the forecheck,” said Bahl.
The game was a chess match for nearly 70 minutes as both teams had chances to take the lead. The goalies were the standouts as DeSa made a career-high 43 saves and St. Lawrence’s Emma-Sofie Nordström stopped 36.
Both coaches felt their teams came out timid to start, but settled into their game. Penn State seemed to have the edge early, but the Saints pushed back in the second and outshot PSU 20-14.
The last time St. Lawrence played in the NCAA Tournament, only eight teams qualified and their first game was the quarterfinal. With the expanded field, they needed to earn this win to make that round. SLU’s last NCAA win was in 2007, when they defeated New Hampshire 6-2 in the quarterfinal before losing to Wisconsin – who went on to win the title that season – 4-0 in the semifinal.
Despite the long game, Nordström said she had a feeling that her team would not lose.
“I had this feeling inside my body and I just knew we’re going to win, when the question was. We have such a good group. I was just waiting and thinking ‘I won’t let in a goal before the Penn State goalie lets in a goal,'” she said.
Both netminders were key in keeping a clean scoresheet and preventing the other team from gaining an advantage, coming up with big saves again and again.
“Emma was was fantastic all night. She’s been great for us all year. She’s done such a good job just getting better and better and better and better. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a goalie improve at the level that she has. She certainly was the backbone there tonight,” said St. Lawrence coach Chris Wells.
The close nature of the game made it an especially difficult loss, said Penn State coach Jeff Kampersal. This was the Nittany Lions second-straight overtime loss in the NCAA Regional semifinal. But he said he talked to his team after the game about how much growth their program had seen in recent years.
Fifth-year forward and captain Julie Gough was in tears after the game, explaining that she feels her feelings very hard. She said it was difficult to put into words what her time at Penn State has meant.
“Five years ago, we would never ever have thought we would be in this position. Now we’ve won CHA Championships. We won the regular season. We’ve been to the tournament. This is the expectation now. Being someone who has helped the team get to that spot has been nothing short of incredible. But I think just leaving this program, I’m confident that Tessa (Janecke) and the rest of the players are going to take this team to another level. I’m confident in everyone’s abilities,” said Gough.
NCAA D-III Men’s Hockey Quarterfinal Preview: Hobart begins title defense against Curry
The defending national champions from Hobart are rested following their first-round bye in the NCAA tournament and open their title defense against a disciplined Curry team that knocked off Geneseo to advance to the quarterfinal round. The 3-0 win over the Knights was the first road win on the national stage for the Colonels, who now look to repeat the event against a Hobart team poised to tie the consecutive home win streak currently held by St Norbert at 36 games.
“They are a very good hockey team,” said head coach Mark Taylor. “They are well-coached, have highly skilled guys in key positions and really play as a group of five on the ice which I thought was the difference in their beating Geneseo last week. We respect every opponent, and we are excited to get back to the ice to play one more game in The Cooler knowing we need to win to advance.”
Hobart (25-2-1) features a deep and skilled roster with a combination of size and speed that is difficult to match. Tanner Hartman (19G – 25A 44 Pts; +40) and Ignat Belov (16G – 21A – 37 Pts; +38) lead the team in scoring and have combined for nine game-winning goals between them. A mobile and versatile defensive group is led by Matthieu Wuth, Cooper Swift, and Bauer Morrissey in front of the best tandem of goaltenders in the nation, Damon Beaver and Mavrick Goyer. The group is largely intact from last year’s title run with a few new key contributors including forward Chris Duclair (14G – 10A – 24 Pts; +11) and defenseman Conor Lally (4G – 14A – 18 Pts; +25). The group is deep, rested, and ready.
“The rest was a good thing at this time of the year,” noted Taylor. “We are ready to go and excited to play with a chance of moving on to another Frozen Four. The leadership and the focus on this team has been outstanding. It is an exceptional group in the way that they are committed to team first and play a selfless game to gain a positive outcome and winning hockey. I think our experience from last year will definitely help us as we stay focused on the strengths of our team and Hobart hockey.”
For Curry (21-5-1), it all starts with their goaltender of the Year in the CCC, Shane Soderwall who stopped all 35 shots he faced in recording the shutout win over Geneseo. Timely goals from Tao Ishizuka on the power play as well as Jesse Galassi and Gage Dill helped seal the win while face-off dominance from Eelis Laaksonen helped Curry with crucial possessions during the game in both the offensive and defensive zones. Defenseman Matt Connor is a 200-foot player and key to quarterbacking the Colonels’ power play when the opportunities present themselves.
“We won’t have the students on campus this weekend, but we always draw an enthusiastic local crowd,” noted Taylor. “We obviously like playing in our building and making things difficult for our opponents. This time of the year you know you are going to be playing good hockey teams and as I said before we respect all but fear nobody.”
Opening puck drop at The Cooler between Curry and Hobart is set for 7 PM on Saturday, March 16 with the winner advancing to next week’s Frozen Four in Hartford, CT.
D-III Women’s NCAA Semifinals: Game Picks from Chris, Tim & Brian!
We’re in River Falls, Wisconsin at Hunt Arena for the 2024 Women’s D-III Frozen Four. Undefeated River Falls looks to go perfect and end the year 31-0-0 with a pair of wins at home. The semifinals are on Friday, March 14 and the National Championship is Sunday, March 16.
#10 Elmira (22-7-1) vs #6 Middlebury (18-6-4) – 4pm
CS – Both teams are coming off big wins, Middlebury beating Plattsburgh and Elmira beating Amherst. Elmira’s been hot and took advantage of Norwich losing early to USM in the NEHC conference tournament. Greg Haney finds himself in the Frozen Four and the Soaring Eagles are looking to pull another “upset”
Middlebury’s Head Coach Bill Mandigo is nearing retirement from his legendary career, he and his Assistant Coach Emily McNamera put on a coaching masterclass last weekend vs Plattsburgh, shutting them out. The historical record vs Plattsburgh is horrible, so that was a considerable upset with the circumstances.
I like Elmira here to pull off another upset, goaltender Chloe Beaubien, a Plattsburgh transfer, has played a stellar string of games, I don’t expect it to change along with the rest of the team. – Elmira 3-1
TC – Both teams have shown their ability to play stingy team defense backed by great goaltending. Add in some timely scoring at even-strength and this matchup between longtime and perennial powers in the women’s game has everything for any fan of the game. Goaltender Sophia Will and the Panthers have four shutouts in a row and surrendered just one goal in their last five games that started the “win-or-go-home” season. Long way to travel for the Frozen Four but what an opportunity for both teams to claim another big win on the way to a date in the national title game. Low-scoring for sure but this one gets decided in regulation with the Panthers continuing their winning formula – Middlebury, 2-0
BL – The Panthers are seeking their seventh trip to a national final and first title since 2022. Facing tough competition has been a regular thing for Middlebury, which has played against 14 ranked opponents. It is 6-4-4 in those games.This is a team that is tough defensively, recording 10 shutouts, an a team that shares the puck, dishing out 114 assists. Sophia Will has eight of those shutouts and has saved more than 95 percent of the shots she’s faced.
Elmira, an NCAA tourney finalist seven times, is looking to move one step closer to its first title since 2013. And like the Panthers, they are a hard team to score on, ranking second in scoring defense, allowing less than a goal (.90) per game. They have dished out 179 assists, which has been huge to their success offensively. First one to score might just end up winning. – Middlebury, 2-1
#5 Adrian (28-2-0) vs #1 UW-River Falls (29-0-0) – 7pm
CS – River Falls has been perfect this season, these two faced off earlier this season in which the Falcons won 7-5 in Hunt, which means Adrian is somewhat familiar with the rink. The game wasn’t close until the 3rd period of play, but Adrian showed the fight they’ll need in this one.
River Falls to me got past their biggest hurdle last game, Gustavus for a fourth time in one season, sweeping the Gusties in an impressive manner.
Joe Cranston’s group has looked unbeatable for most of the season outside of a few games and when they did look beatable, they weren’t beaten. River Falls wins and will win the title. – UW-River Falls 5-3
TC – While Adrian exorcized some demons in defeating a Hamilton team that knocked them out of the NCAA tournament last season, UWRF continues to dominate D-III women’s game with a fourth win over the defending champions from Gustavus Adolphus giving them hosting rights for the Frozen Four. Une Bjelland continued her torrid offense for the Bulldogs while Tia Lascelle provided a hat trick in Adrian’s win but now face a team that has the perfect opportunity to close out an amazing season by winning the national championship on home ice. There will not be any looking past a capable Bulldog team as Aubrey Nelvin, Jordan O’Connor and Alex Hantge help UWRF to another low-scoring win. – UW-River Falls 3-1
BL – After knocking the reigning champs off their throne last week, the Falcons now look to move one step closer to a title.
These two teams are no strangers to each other, facing off 21 previous times, with UW-River Falls holding a 12-7-2 advantage all-time, including a 7-5 win this season. The Falcons are averaging 5.3 goals per game, the best average nationally, and Maddie McCollins leads the way with 32 goals and 30 assists. She’s the nation’s leading scorer.
The Bulldogs come in having won their last 21 games and they are a tough team on the road, going 8-2 in true road games this season. They are averaging 5.1 goals per outing, with Une Bjelland tallying 27 goals and 32 assists.
This should be a really entertaining national semifinal, one that likely goes right down to the end. But it’s hard to bet against the Falcons at home, where they are 18-0. – UW-River Falls, 5-4
This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Confidence high across four teams still competing for conference playoff title, NCAA tournament auto-bid
“Now it’s the second season. It’s win or go home. You’ve got to play your best hockey.”
That’s how Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale described the Spartans’ task this weekend against Ohio State in Big Ten semifinal action, and it sums up nicely what’s at stake in the coming weeks.
Win or go home. Play your best hockey.
The Big Ten semifinal games are single elimination, and every coach knows that absolutely anything can happen – especially Nightingale, whose Spartans earned a first-round bye with their regular-season title.
Especially Nightingale, whose Spartans lost 6-2 to Ohio State at home Feb. 23.
“Ton of respect for their coaching staff,” said Nightingale. “I think they’ve done a heck of a job. I felt that way when we played them earlier in the year and obviously, the stretch they’ve had here has been really good.”
In last week’s best-of-three quarterfinal round, Ohio State traveled to Wisconsin and took two of three games from the Badgers, winning 2-1 Friday, losing 4-2 Saturday, and leaving no doubt in Sunday’s 3-1 win. In spite of being outshot 30-22 in the deciding game, the Buckeyes were 1-for-2 on the power play and killed off all four Wisconsin advantages, and the Buckeyes kept the Badgers off the scoreboard for the first 58 minutes of the game.
It was the first time a No. 7 seed had won a Big Ten championship playoff series – and Friday’s win was the first win ever by a No. 7 seed in the B1G tournament.
“I’m really excited for and proud of the guys,” said Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik after Sunday’s win. “We’ve come a long way.”
The Buckeyes had four Big Ten wins during the regular season, and Rohlik credited the “hard work and belief” of his players. He added, “We get to live to fight another day.”
As lopsided as the match appears on paper, Nightingale is taking nothing for granted. “It says a lot about them to go into Wisconsin and do what they did. First time in the history of the Big Ten that that’s happened. It’s not a fluke. They’re a legit hockey team.”
“I’ve seen it over the years. Once you win a game – doesn’t matter if you’re on the road – you’re in a series, and anything can happen,” said Minnesota coach Bob Motzko, recapping the Golden Gophers’ sweep of Penn State with Minnesota play-by-play guy, Wally Shaver.
Motzko called the best-of-three series “its own entity” and said that he’s seen “so much craziness” in series because it’s so different from regular-season play and because there’s so much at stake.
“We easily could have lost that game Saturday and been back here Sunday, and we would have had to be good workers and punch the clock and come back to work,” said Motzko.
The Gophers got by the Nittany Lions easily Friday, scoring four unanswered goals following a tied first period to win 5-1.
Saturday’s game was very different. The Gophers took a 2-0 lead after one with Penn State answering with two of their own in the second. Aaron Huglen’s 12th goal of the season at 18:52 in the third won the game. Penn State outshot Minnesota 48-24 in the game. Justen Close made 46 saves in the win for the Gophers.
“It’s about just survival,” said Motzko. “Now you feel more like the playoffs. You survive the two out of three. Now we’ve got Michigan, and obviously we’ve got some history.”
History is an understatement. The Wolverines are the defending Big Ten playoff champs, having beaten the Gophers 4-3 in last year’s title game in Minneapolis.
That game was a repeat of the 2021-22 Big Ten championship game. Same teams. Same score. Same venue.
“They remember that,” said Michigan coach Brandon Naurato. “And they want to make a point that they’re not going to let it happen a third time.”
On his weekly radio show with play-by-play announcer Al Randall, Narauto said that the Wolverines are excited to play a team they split a road series with just two weeks ago. “I think it’s good when a team hasn’t seen your best and you feel really good about your team.”
Here’s a look at the head-to-head, single-elimination semifinal matches with overall stats. The winners will advance to the Big Ten championship game March 23 with the higher seed hosting.
No. 4 Ohio State (14-19-4) at No. 1 Michigan State (22-9-3)
The Buckeyes are 5-4-0 in their last nine games, which includes their last three regular-season series and last weekend against Wisconsin.
Previous to their first-round bye last week, the Spartans were 6-4-0 in their last five regular-season series. Michigan State was 3-1-0 against Ohio State during the B1G season, and that loss came Feb. 23 in East Lansing.
Scoring offense: Ohio State, 2.68 goals per game (45th); Michigan State, 3.91 (6th)
Scoring defense: Ohio State, 3.30 goals allowed per game (52nd); Michigan State, 3.03 (34th)
Power play: Ohio State, 22.2% (22nd); Michigan State, 27.0% (4th)
Penalty kill: Ohio State, 72.0% (62nd); Michigan State, 80.6% (27th)
Top scorer: Ohio State, Stephen Halliday (10-26—36); Michigan State, Artyom Levshunov (9-23—32)
Top goal scorer: Ohio State, Scooter Brickey (13); Michigan State, Joey Larson (15)
Goaltender: Ohio State, Logan Terness (3.14 GAA, .902 SV); Michigan State, Trey Augustine (2.92 GAA, .917 SV%)
Terness was in net for both of Ohio State’s wins last weekend, but Kristoffer Eberly (2.98 GAA, .911 SV%) has seen action in 14 games this season.
Neither the Buckeyes nor the Spartans has won the Big Ten playoff championship. Michigan State, in fact, has never made it to the title game. Ohio State has lost the championship game twice, to Wisconsin (2014) and Notre Dame (2018).
No. 3 Michigan (20-13-3) at No. 2 Minnesota (22-9-5)
Michigan is 6-4-0 in its last eight games, including last weekend’s sweep of Notre Dame. The Wolverines bring a three-game win streak into this semifinal game, a streak that began with a 6-5 win in overtime against the Golden Gophers in Mariucci Arena.
Including their sweep of Penn State last weekend, the Gophers are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, with four (2-1-1) of those games going to overtime.
Scoring offense: Michigan, 4.28 goals per game (3rd); Minnesota, 3.56 (10th)
Scoring defense: Michigan, 3.06 goals allowed per game (t37th); Minnesota, 2.50 (t12th)
Power play: Michigan, 25.6% (1st); Minnesota, 23.6% (13th)
Penalty kill: Michigan, 78.0% (44th); Minnesota, 79.8% (36th)
Top scorer: Michigan, Gavin Brindley (23-27—50); Minnesota, Rhett Pitlick (19-16—35)
Top goal scorer: Michigan, Brindley (23); Minnesota, Jimmy Snuggerud (20)
Goaltender: Michigan, Jacob Barczewski (2.84 GAA, .908 SV%); Minnesota, Justen Close (2.33 GAA, .923 SV%)
The Gophers have won the Big Ten playoff championship twice, beating Michigan in 2015 and Wisconsin in 2021.
The Wolverines have won the B1G title three times, and all three titles were at the expense of the Gophers. In addition to the 2022 and 2023 championships, Michigan beat Minnesota in 2016.
NCAA D-III Men’s Hockey Quarterfinal Preview: Pioneers looking to break history
For the past two seasons, the Utica Pioneers have earned a first round bye in the NCAA tournament only to be upset on home ice in successive seasons by the University of New England who captured a pair of Frozen Four berths with the wins. This season, the quarterfinal opponent traveling to Utica is a familiar one from the MASCAC as Plymouth State wrote some new history of their own by defeating Cortland in the opening round for their very first NCAA win. The matchup on Saturday brings a team looking to =continue the new history while Utica seeks to change their past quarterfinal experience with a win that will send them to the Frozen Four.
“They are familiar to us having played in our holiday tournament a couple of seasons ago,” said Utica head coach Gary Heenan. “They have had a lot of success and should be feeling very good about themselves after their win last weekend against a physical Cortland team. We will really need to keep our eye on probably the No. 1 player in the country in Will Redick (27G – 31A – 58 Pts; +36) who may be one of the best, if not the best skaters I have seen at this level. He has eleven power play goals and along with [Ethan] Stuckless (9 PPG) makes it very important for us not to give them opportunities with the power play. The other guy to watch is their goaltender [Kalle] Andersson who is back for them this season, big in the net and definitely has some swagger to his game.”
Utica (22-2-3) enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed having won the UCHC for the third consecutive season. This year’s team plays a different style than past Pioneer squads with a focus on the north-south game vs east-west approach. Seniors Brian Scoville and Kimball Johnson anchor a young defensive group that includes four freshmen in front of goaltender Ethan Roberts. Up front the Pioneers boast a balanced group of scorers that includes Matt Wood, Eric Vitale, Shane Murphy, Jakub Breault and Michael Herrera who all have double-digit goals on the season. The youthful roster has gained a lot of experience over the course of the season with the coaches changing style and approach accordingly.
“Of course, the demons are still there from the past couple of seasons,” stated Heenan. “This is a different team and a different style for us. We are working our third version of week prep before an NCAA game and know as coaches that inside the locker room there is no pressure. These guys are just having fun and we as coaches are trying to stay off the white board accordingly. I think we can draw some parallels in a Stevenson team we faced for the UCHC championship in our preparation here. Both teams have big and dynamic goaltenders, Outen vs. Andersson, who if they can see the puck are going to stop it. Both teams have elite scorers, McCanney vs. Redick, who require you to be aware of their presence on the ice at all times and both teams are deep and disciplined in how they play the game. We had success against the Mustangs and now we will see what happens on Saturday.”
Utica will host Plymouth State at Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, March 16 at 7 PM with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four.
