Chase Pietila spent two seasons on the back end for Michigan Tech (photo: Michigan Tech Athletics).
Michigan Tech sophomore defenseman Chase Pietila has signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pietila was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft and appeared in 76 games for the Huskies over the past two seasons, tallying 44 points on 10 goals and 34 assists.
The contract will begin in the 2025-26 season and run through the 2027-28 campaign.
Pietila was named to the coaches and the media’s preseason all-CCHA teams before his sophomore season. As an alternate captain this season, Pietila skated in all 36 games and tallied 22 points with seven goals and 15 assists.
He scored the game-winning goal against Alaska (Oct. 12) and had three power-play goals. He registered 68 shots on goal and blocked 32 shots defensively. Pietila led the CCHA in penalties (21) and penalty minutes (50) during the regular season.
As a freshman, Pietila led the Huskies with 19 assists while scoring three goals. He ranked fourth in the CCHA and eighth nationally amongst freshmen defensemen in assists. He also led the CCHA and NCAA freshmen with 60 penalty minutes and received three CCHA weekly honors while being honored with the team’s Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award as the outstanding defensive player.
Pietila scored in the CCHA Mason Cup championship game, helping lead the Huskies to their third straight NCAA tournament appearance. He was also on the GLI all-tournament team when the Huskies won their 12th title.
After being drafted by Pittsburgh in July, he attended the Penguins NHL Development Camp last summer.
Geneseo stunned Utica, 7-3 to claim its first UCHC title while six other teams in the east won conference championships and the corresponding auto-bids to the NCAA tournament (Photo by UCHC)
It was quite the championship weekend across the region with titles being claimed by Curry (CNE), Stevenson (MAC), Fitchburg State (MASCAC), Hobart (NEHC), Hamilton (NESCAC), Oswego (SUNYAC), and Geneseo (UCHC). While the Cinderella stories of MCLA and Plattsburgh came to an end, all the winning teams fought through hard and competitive opponents seeking to take conference glory and move on to the national stage in the NCAA tournament. The action was terrific and now the teams await the NCAA bracket that will be announced on NCAA.com on Monday, March 10 at 10 AM EDT.
It was quite the weekend with lots of excitement and surprises, especially in the SUNYAC and UCHC title games. Here is a wrap-up for the decisive action in the east:
CNE
The championship matchup saw a red-hot Curry team looking for their first title since 2010-11 playing a battle-tested Endicott squad looking for their third consecutive title.
It was Curry who held the advantage in play during the opening period as they outshot the Gulls ( 8 to 5) and were rewarded with the game’s first goal as Matt Connor broke the ice to give the Colonels a one-goal lead after twenty minutes of play.
Primo Self leveled the score for Endicott in the second period only to see a rapid response by the home team just over two minutes later when Grady Friedman gave Curry a 2-1 lead after forty minutes of play.
In the third period, Manny Cabral provided some breathing room for the Colonels just over a minute into the action and goaltender Shane Soderwall made sure the Gulls would not have another comeback victory making twenty-one saves in the final period of play. JP Moreira would score his first goal of the season while the Colonels were shorthanded to extend the lead and Karim Gayfullin iced the contest with an empty-net goal for a 5-1 lead. Endicott’s Cade Baker finally solved Soderwall on the power play in the final minute for the 5-2 final and CNE championship to the Colonels.
Soderwall finished with thirty-eight saves on forty shots and was named the most valuable player in the tournament.
Curry is currently ranked No. 1 in the NPI and awaits its NCAA tournament path with the announcement of the complete field on Monday morning at 10 AM EDT.
MAC
The MAC championship game featured No. 2 Stevenson traveling to No. 1 Wilkes with both teams seeking the conference championship and the league’s very first auto-bid to the NCAA tournament.
It was the visitors who started quickly in the title game as Aiden Lindley scored just two minutes after the opening face-off for a 1-0 Mustang lead. Caden Smith added a power play goal five minutes later and the visitors skated off with a 2-0 lead after the first period.
The Colonels responded in the second period as Carter Jordan halved the deficit just over one minute into game action but that would be the only goal surrendered by Stevenson netminder Ford DeLoss.
A second power play goal by John Musella early in the third period extended the lead before Lindley netted his second of the contest into an empty-net for the final score of 4-1 for the MAC champions from Stevenson. DeLoss finished the game with twenty-four saves and was named the MAC tournament MVP for his efforts.
MASCAC
The MASCAC tournament found No. 4 seed Fitchburg State hosting No. 8 MCLA with a berth in the NCAA tournament on the line.
The Falcons were looking for their third MASCAC championship and first since 2018 while the Trailblazers were hunting their first conference championship ever. The home team created some early adversity for the Trailblazers when Hunter Dunn broke the ice with a goal past MCLA’s Matthew Gover for a 1-0 lead after one period of play.
In the second period, Dunn assisted on linemate Matteo Orme Lynch’s goal, the only tally of the period to carry a 2-0 lead into the final period of play.
In the third period Dunn iced the contest with his second goal of the game before Cade Herrera broke Max Macchioni’s shutout bid in a 3-1 championship victory for coach Dean Fuller and the Falcons.
Macchioni made twenty-eight saves in goal and Dunn was named the MASCAC tournament MVP having figured in all the scoring for FSU with two goals and an assist.
NEHC
For the first time in many years, the final four teams in the playoffs traveled to the highest remaining seed for championship weekend. The semifinals featured New England College facing host team Hobart while Skidmore and Norwich were paired up in the other semifinal on Saturday.
Hobart took advantage of goals from Tanner Daniels in the first period and Domenic Schimizzi’s tally in the second period for a 2-0 victory backstopped by goaltender Maverick Goyer who earned the shutout.
The Statesmen controlled the contest and outshot the Pilgrims 37-15 as they set a new NCAA D-III record winning their 51st consecutive home game.
In the second semifinal, Skidmore and Norwich played a spirited see-saw affair where the Thoroughbreds twice took one-goal advantages only to see the Cadets respond and skate off with a 3-2 comeback victory. After Danny Magnuson gave Skidmore a 2-1 lead late in the second period, Norwich’s Clark Kerner scored a power play goal in the final thirty seconds of play to set-up a winner take all third period in a 2-2 tie. The power play again was a factor early in the third period as Kerner setup Bryan O’Mara’s goal that proved to be the game-winner for the Cadets. Sami Molu was sensational in goal for Norwich making thirty-eight saves to earn the win.
On Sunday, Hobart and Norwich faced-off for the final NEHC championship based on conference re-alignments set for the 2025-26 season.
The game saw swings going both ways before Hobart drew first blood on a goal by Domenic Schimizzi for a 1-0 lead as the only goal of the period went to the home team.
Early in the second period Norwich’s Owen Scalizzi leveled the game at 1-1 apiece but Hobart answered back just minutes later as Shane Shell scored on a deflection in front of a crowd blocking Sami Molu for a 2-1 lead after two periods.
In the third period, Tanner Daniels scored on the power play as a puck retrieval by the Statesmen on the far boards ended up with a Daniels one-timer that eluded Molu for a 3-1 lead. Another Hobart penalty led to a Clark Kerner power play goal as his shot from the right point got passed a screened Damon Beaver for a 3-2 game. Ryan Remick regained the two goal margin with a hustle goal where he won possession in the Norwich zone and beat Molu with a one-timer for a 4-2 lead and still over ten minutes to play in regulation.
With just over three minutes left Chris Duclair stole the puck behind the Cadet goal and setup Tamas Toth for a clean shot from the slot and a 5-2 Statesman lead which would be the final score.
“Great game,” said Hobart head coach Mark Taylor. “I am really happy with the guys, I mean Norwich is a good program, good coach, good players – we knew coming in that trying to beat somebody three times was going to be really tough. I think they are a team that got better as the year went on, so really happy with the outcome, for sure.”
Hobart takes the final NEHC title to be contested and likely, the first round bye next week in the NCAA tournament with bracket to be announced on Monday morning by the NCAA.
NESCAC
Hamilton played host the final four weekend and played an upset minded Middlebury team in one semifinal while Tufts and Colby played in the second semifinal on Saturday.
The Continentals scored first against the Panthers as James Philpott’s point shot evaded a screened Andrew Heinze in goal for a 1-0 advantage. Late in the period the Panthers drew even as Wyatt Pastor beat Charlie Archer for a 1-1 tie after one period of play. In the second period Ben Zimmerman gave Hamilton a 2-1 lead despite a strong push from the Panthers who held a shot advantage but could not solve Archer. In the third period Pastor leveled the game for Middlebury sending the game to overtime. Hamilton dominated overtime outshooting Middlebury 10-1 but could not find the winning marker. A second overtime saw the same level of domination and finally the Continentals were rewarded as Noah Leibl’s wraparound goal beat Heinze and gave Hamilton a 3-2 2OT win.
The second semifinal saw Tufts and Colby in a tight battle through two periods of play as each team scored twice for a 2-2 tie after forty minutes. The third period was all Jumbos hockey as Tufts netted four goals in the final period to break away to a 6-2 win and their second straight appearance in the championship game. Cole Dubicki added a goal and an assist in the final period to his earlier assist for a three-point game while Gus Bylin continued his strong play in goal stopping thirty-nine of forty-one Mule shots on goal.
Hamilton hosted Tufts on Sunday for the NESCAC title and the first period was played with great pace and opportunities at both ends of the ice where goaltenders Charlie Archer (Hamilton) and Gus Bylin (Tufts) were sharp early in a scoreless twenty minutes of play.
In the second period, there were more big shots and big saves before Grisha Gotovets found a loose puck in the crease on a saved shot and poked the rebound past Bylin for a 1-0 lead. Archer kept the advantage with several big saves including a breakaway stop on Tyler Sedlak before Hamilton cashed in on a power play late with Luke Tchor extending the lead to 2-0 after two periods of play.
The third period saw Tufts searching for a comeback and launching shots from every angle at the Hamilton goal, but all were blocked or saved by Archer. With time running out, Tufts pulled their goaltender but took an interference penalty with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. With the goalie pulled, Tufts applied pressure, but a shot block turned into an odd power play goal for Ben Zimmerman who skated the puck into the zone and scored the empty-net goal to ice the game, 3-0.
Tufts outshot Hamilton 32-27 with Archer earning the shutout win in Hamilton’s first ever NESCAC championship.
SUNYAC
Oswego hosted the “Cardiac Cardinals” for the SUNYAC championship and clearly wanted to put the visitors in an early hole as the Lakers scored five goals in the opening period led by a goal and an assist from Ryan Burke in the opening two minutes of play. Plattsburgh fought back in the second period on a pair of goals from Jagger Benson setting up a very familiar three-goal deficit entering the third period. That deficit was not to be overcome against the Lakers who took advantage of ten third period saves (28 for the game) from goaltender Brandon Milberg in the 5-2 championship win in front of their home crowd. The SUNYAC crown was the 11th for Oswego and first in eleven years who returns to the NCAA tournament with the win.
“We got off to a good start, obviously, that’s an understatement and thank God we built the lead that we did,” said Oswego head coach Ed Gosek. “Our PK came up strong and our goaltending came up strong and hey, we hung on. They certainly were not going down without the battle we expect with an Oswego-Platty game.”
UCHC
Saturday’s championship game between top seed Utica and No. 2 Geneseo was a display of offensive fireworks as the Knights stunned the home crowd by racing to a 4-0 first period lead and chasing Ryan Piros from the Pioneers goal as Filip Wiberg bookended the scoring in the opening twenty minutes of play.
The Pioneers responded in a big way to open the second period as Shane Murphy, Ben Schultheis, and Jakob Breault scored in the opening eight minutes of the middle stanza to cut the deficit to just a single goal. But that was all the scoring the Knights would surrender as Jack McDonald and Robert Gatewood would score before the end of the period to restore a three-goal lead at the end of two periods.
Peter Morgan scored the only goal of the final period, and the Knights captured their first UCHC championship unseating Utica by a final score of 7-3. Adam Harris picked up the win making thirty saves while Wiberg was named tournament MVP with his two-goal performance.
Three Biscuits
Shane Soderwall – Curry – stopped 38 of 40 shots as Curry won their first CNE championship since 2010-11 with a 5-2 win over Endicott on Saturday.
Hunter Dunn – Fitchburg State – figured in all of the Falcons’ scoring with two goals and an assist in a 3-1 championship game win over MCLA on Saturday giving FSU their first title since 2018.
Filip Wiberg – Geneseo – scored a pair of first period goals to jumpstart the Knights to an early 4-0 lead over Utica on the way to a 7-3 championship game win and first UCHC title in their first season in the conference.
Bonus Biscuits
Charlie Archer – Hamilton – recorded his fifth shutout of the season in leading the Continentals to their first ever NESCAC title with a 3-0 win over Tufts. Archers stopped all thirty-two shots on goal to earn the win.
Ford DeLoss – Stevenson – the Mustang netminder made twenty-four saves yielding just a single goal to backstop Stevenson to the MAC championship over No. 1 seed Wilkes, 4-1.
Shane Shell – Hobart – the Statesmen forward scored one goal and added an assist as the host team secured the NEHC title and extended their NCAA record home winning streak with a 5-2 win over Norwich.
Incredible weekend to close out the 2024-25 regular season with champions determined in seven conferences in D-III. Bonus hockey now has the ultimate prize on the horizon in March so there isn’t a lot of time to celebrate the conference titles with first round action of the NCAA tournament slated for Saturday, March 15. It is all about the best of the best playing head-to-head over the next three weekends. Entry to the tournament now earned so congratulations to the fourteen teams remaining in the hunt and profound thanks to all the teams that made this season so entertaining form start to finish.
Thanks to Mr. SUNYAC, Russell Jaslow for the Gosek and Taylor post-game interview quotes.
Wisconsin, defending champion Ohio State, Cornell and Minnesota earned hosting spots for the opening rounds of the 2025 NCAA National Collegiate women’s hockey tournament when the bracket was unveiled on Sunday.
The NCAA committee had to make a small adjustment in the bracket based on needing to avoid an intra-conference matchup between Clarkson and St. Lawrence as the no. 8 and no. 9 seeded teams. Boston University, the no. 10 team, was swapped with St. Lawrence.
Wisconsin (WCHA), Cornell (ECAC Hockey), Boston University (Hockey East), Penn State (AHA) and Sacred Heart (NEWHA) earned automatic bids to the tournament by winning conference tournament championships.
The six at-large selections were Ohio State, Minnesota, Colgate, Minnesota Duluth, Clarkson and St. Lawrence
Clarkson and Boston University play in the first round at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday in Madison, Wis., and the winner plays Wisconsin at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Penn State will play St. Lawrence at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, with the winner playing Ohio State at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Sacred Heart and Minnesota Duluth will meet in the first round at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday in Ithaca, N.Y. The winner plays Cornell at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Colgate vs. Minnesota in Minneapolis is the only second-round game already on the books. They’ll play at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday.
The regional winners advance to the Frozen Four in Minneapolis on March 21-23. The winner of the Wisconsin regional and the Minneapolis regional will play in one semifinal, with winners of the Cornell and Ohio regionals meeting in the other.
The Green Knights repeat as NCHA champs. (Photo Credit: John Fix/St. Norbert Athletics)
St. Norbert has now gone back-to-back as the NCHA champions.
The Green Knights completed the repeat Saturday night with a 7-4 win over rival Adrian to claim the Harris Cup.
Ranked fourth in the USCHO.com poll, St. Norbert trailed early but scored four goals in the second to take control. The Green Knights eventually led 5-1 in the third but the ninth-ranked Bulldogs didn’t go down without a fight and closed the gap to 5-3 with under four minutes to play.
Carter Hottmann was one of several players who turned a big game for the Green Knights, scoring twice and dishing out an assist, while Hunter Garvey came through with 18 saves.
Liam Fraser, Curtis Hammond and Byron Hartley all tallied a goal and assist. Blake Ulve and Logan Dombrowsky dished out two assists apiece.
The Green Knights are unbeaten in their last 10 games, having not lost a game since Jan. 25. Their streak actually started with a sweep of Adrian and the Green Knights are 3-0 against the Bulldogs this season.
They are now 23-5-1 on the year and NCAA tourney bound after clinching the automatic bid. The win over the Bulldogs avenges their 5-3 national quarterfinal loss to Adrian a year ago.
For Adrian, the Bulldogs can now only hope for an at-large bid. Patrick Saini paced Adrian with two goals and an assist. Bradley Somers also came through with a pair of goals. Ben Loreto dished out two assists and Dershahn Stewart tallied 19 saves. Adrian is 18-10-1.
Gustavus won its first MIAC title since 2012 on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Breely Ruble/Gustavus Athletics)
Gusties are back on top
For the first time in more than a decade, Gustavus is the MIAC tournament champion.
The Gusties got the job done with a 2-1 win over reigning champ St. Olaf Saturday to punch a ticket to the NCAA tournament.
The title is the sixth overall for Gustavus and the first since 2012, and the Gusties had to overcome an early deficit to hoist the Ed Saugestad Cup.
Trailing 1-0 after a goal by the Oles’ Tyler Green, the Gusties evened the score at 1-1 thanks to a goal by Riku Brown.
Brown would prove to be the hero of the night as he also scored the game winner, finding the back of the net two minutes into the third.
Colin Androlewicz racked up 26 saves, stepping up late when the Oles went with an extra attacker, to help the Gusties earn their seventh NCAA tourney trip in program history.
Gustavus also won the regular season title and is 16-9-2 on the year. The Gusties have won two in a row.
St. Olaf ends the year at 14-10-3 and had a two-game winning streak halted by the loss to the Gusties.
UW-Eau Claire won the WIAC title for the first time since 2013. (Photo Credit: Bill Hoepner/UW Eau Claire Athletics)
Blugolds are champions of the WIAC
UW-Eau Claire will play in the NCAA tournament bound for the first time since 2013 after securing the auto bid to the postseason with a 2-0 win over UW-River Falls on Saturday.
The Commissioner’s Cup is the fifth in program history for the Blugolds and their first since 2022. They are tied with UW-Stevens Point for the most championships in league history.
Eau Claire got the only goal it would need in the first period as Kyler Grundy scored for a 1-0 advantage. Trenten Heyde’s empty netter with 14 seconds to go finished off the scoring.
But the win certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the play of Max Gutjahr in goal. He came through with a season-high 39 saves and earned his sixth shutout of the year. He’s the first goalie to record a shutout in the final since 2014. He made 17 of his saves in the second period.
Eau Claire improves to 14-15-1 and is 5-1 in its last six games as its late season surge couldn’t have come at a better time. The Blugolds actually made the NCAA tourney in 2020 but didn’t get a chance to play because of the pandemic.
River Falls was aiming for its first championship since 2015 and ends the year with a 17-12-1 record. The Falcons held a 39-24 edge in shots.
Minnesota goalie Nathan Airey has his eye on the puck during B1G playoff action on Saturday night (Photo: Minnesota Athletics)
B1G TOURNAMENT
No. 3 Minnesota 4, Notre Dame 2
Four players found the back of the net to lead No. 3 Minnesota to a 4-2 win over Notre Dame in Game 2 of the B1G quarternals Saturday. The win forces a decisive third game set for Sunday night.
Connor Kurth scored the go-ahead goal for Minnesota (25-9-4 early in the third period before setting up Matthew Wood for the eventual game winner three minutes later. Brodie Ziemer sealed the win with an empty-net goal
“Hard-fought playoff game, both teams,” Minnesota coach Bob Motzko said. “Most important, I liked how we played. (Our) guys played their tails off and so did Notre Dame. It was a great hockey game. Great atmosphere, crowd got going. That’s playoff hockey.”
Nathan Airey had 21 saves for the Golden Gophers.
No. 9 Ohio State 3, Wisconsin 2 (OT)
No. 9 Ohio State rallied to beat Wisconsin 3-2 Saturday in Game 2 of the B1G quarterfinals series Saturday night.
Jake Rozzi put Ohio State on the board at 16:57 of the second. In the third, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine tied the score at 18:31 with an extra attacker goal. In overtime, Riley Thompson deflected a shot from Aiden Hansen-Bukata at 7:30 for the win. Ohio State outshot Wisconsin, 41-31, including 13-6 in the third period. Buckeye goalie Logan Terness had 31 saves in 66:22, with six in overtime.
Game 3 is Sunday night.
No. 15 Penn State 5, No. 11 Michigan 2
Carson Dyck scored the eventual game-winning goal as No. 15 Penn State beat No. 11 Michigan 5-2 to complete the sweep in the B1G quarterfinals at Yost Ice Arena on Saturday evening.
Ben Schoen, Charlie Cerrato, Nicholas DeGraves and JJ Wiebusch also scored for Penn State, which got 31 saves from Arsenii Sergeev.
AHA TOURNAMENT
No. 20 Holy Cross 3, AIC 2
No. 20 Holy Cross defeated AIC, 3-2, Saturday night at the Hart Center Rink to force a winner-take-all Game 3 in the Atlantic Hockey America quarterfinals.
Liam McLinskey got the Crusaders on the board just under five minutes into the opening period with a power play goal. Mack Oliphant extended the Crusaders’ lead to 2-0 with a shorthanded goal.
After AIC came back to tie the game 2-2, Jack Stockfish proved to be the hero with 3:41 remaining in regulation, tapping the loose puck that the AIC goaltender thought was in his pads into the back of the net.
Thomas Gale recorded 27 saves for Holy Cross.
Niagara 4, Army West Point 3
Niagara rallied for a 4-3 victory over Army West Point on Saturday night, evening their Atlantic Hockey America quarterfinal series 1-1 and forcing a decisive Game 3 for Sunday.
Lars Rodne and Kyler Kleven each recorded a goal and an assist to lead Niagara (18-15-3), while goaltender Pierce Charleson made 36 saves.
Jay Ahearn and Grayson Dietrich also scored for the Purple Eagles, while Pierce Charleson had 36 saves in net.
Air Force 3, Sacred Heart 2 (2OT)
Austin Schwartz scored the game-winner with 33 seconds left in double overtime as Air Force defeated Sacred Heart 3-2 in the second game of the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series Saturday in Fairfield, Conn.
Andrew DeCarlo and Mitchell Digby also scored for Air Force, which twice rallied from a goal down to force overtime. Guy Blessing had 32 saves.
CCHA TOURNAMENT
Bemidji 4, Augustana 3
Bemidji State forced a decisive third game after defeating Augustana University 4-3 Saturday night in Game 2 of the CCHA quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Four different players scored for the Beavers — Jackson Jutting, Reilly Funk, Tomy Follmer and Adam Flammang. Goalie Mattias Sholl earned his 51st career win after he turned aside 23 shots.
Bowling Green 4, Michigan Tech 0
Bowling Green got goals from four different players in a 4-0 win over Michigan Tech in the second game of the CCHA quarterfinals on Saturday night. The Falcons won the series 2-0.
Quinn Emerson, Ethan Scardina, Maxwell Martin and Ben Doran all scored for Bowling Green. Christian Stoever had 27 saves.
No. 14 Minnesota State 3, Lake Superior 2
No. 14 Minnesota State swept Lake Superior State with a 3-2 win Saturday night in the CCHA quarterfinals. It was the ninth straight quarterfinal series sweep for the Mavericks after a 4-1 victory Friday.
Luciano Wilson, Zach Krajnik and Evan Murr all scored for the Mavericks, while goalie Alex Tracy had 20 saves for his 24th win.
St. Thomas 4, Ferris State 1
Liam Malmquist recorded his second hat trick of the season as St. Thomas completed the sweep of Ferris State with a convincing 4-1 win on Saturday night in the CCHA playoffs. Malmquist also had an assist on a Grant Docter goal.
Jake Sibell had 25 saves on 26 shots.
ECAC TOURNAMENT
Cornell 5, Yale 1
A third-period attack helped spark Cornell to a 5-1 win over Yale in opening-round action of the ECAC tournament before a crowd of 4,121 at Lynah Rink on Saturday night.
Tim Rego scored two of the Big Red’s five goals for his first career multi-goal game. Rego’s defensive partner, Ben Robertson, tallied a pair of assists and Ondrej Psenicka also chipped in a goal and an assist. Kyle Penney and Nick DeSantis also found the back of the net for Cornell, who had 18 saves in net from Ian Shane.
Dartmouth 6, St. Lawrence 2
Dartmouth advanced to the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals on Saturday night with a 6-2 win over No. 12 St. Lawrence at Thompson Arena.
A total of 14 different Big Green players tallied a point. Sean Chisholm had a pair of goals while Eric Charpentier had a goal and two assists.
The Big Green are riding a four-game win streak, over the four games they have outscored opponents 17-6.
REGULAR SEASON
No. 1 Boston College 6, Merrimack 0
No. 1 Boston College wrapped up the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 6-0 victory over Merrimack in Hockey East action.
Eamon Powell led all scorers with three points on three assists. Gabe Perreault and Teddy Stiga each scored twice for the Eagles, while Ryan Leonard and Connor Joyce also scored. Andre Gasseau tallied two assists and Jacob Fowler posted a 27-save shutout.
BC, which had clinched the Hockey East regular-season title the night before by virtue of UMass’s victory over Maine, will start conference tournament play next week as the top seed.
No. 5 Maine 2, No. 16 UMass 2 (OT, Maine wins shootout)
Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, No. 5 Maine came back to tie No. 16 UMass, 2-2, and win the shootout on Saturday night at the Mullins Center.
Albin Boija made 40 saves and is 21-7-5 on the year. Luke Antonacci and Nicholas Niemo scored for Maine.
No. 7 Denver 4, No. 20 Colorado College 3
No. 7 Denver concluded the regular season on Saturday night with a 4-3 win over No. 20 Colorado College in NCHC action at Ed Robson Arena.
The same two teams will meet in the tournament quarterfinals in a best-of-three series next weekend at Magness Arena.
Four different Denver players recorded multiple points — Jack Devine (goal, assist), Aidan Thompson (two assists), Sam Harris (two assists) and James Reeder (goal, assist) all had two points. Boston Buckberger appeared in his 80th career game and scored his seventh goal of the season. He now has 14 points in the last 15 games.
The Pioneers improved 9-3-1 in their last 13 games and finished the regular season series against Colorado College with a 3-1-0 record.
No. 10 Boston University 6, Vermont 1
Cole Hutson and Quinn Hutson tallied three points apiece to help lead No. 10 Boston University to a 6-1 win at Vermont on Saturday night in Hockey East action at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Quinn scored twice and had the primary assist on Cole’s 12th goal of the season, with Cole adding two assists. Cole Eiserman scored his 20th goal of the season while Ryan Greene and Tom Willander recorded two assists apiece. Jack Hughes and Devin Kaplan each scored. Mikhail Yegorov had 21 saves.
No. 6 Providence 3, Northeastern 2
Hudson Malinoski scored the game-winning goal with 6:54 left in regulation as No. 6 Providence earned a first-round bye in the Hockey East tournament with a 3-2 win at Northeastern on Saturday at Matthews Arena.
Will Elger, Logan Sawyer and Hudson Malinoski all scored for Providence, while Zach Borgiel had 26 saves.
The Friars will travel to UConn for a quarterfinal matchup on Friday.
New Hampshire 4, No. 17 UMass Lowell 2
Robert Cronin and Liam Devlin each scored twice as New Hampshire beat No. 17 UMass Lowell 4-2 on Saturday before a crowd of 6.510 at the Whittemore Center.
The same two teams will go at it again on Wednesday night in Lowell, Mass., in the preliminary round of the Hockey East tournament. Rico DiMatteo recorded 31 saves to earn his second straight win, while Ryan Conmy had a multi-point night with three assists.
DULUTH — Wisconsin senior Sarah Wozniewicz buried a no-look pass drop pass from fifth-year captain Casey O’Brien with 24.5 seconds left in regulation to put the Badgers ahead of Minnesota 4-3 and win the WCHA Tournament Championship.
Wozniewicz said she and O’Brien are roommates when the team is on the road and the two joked after the goal that it was their roommate connection. She wasn’t necessarily expecting the puck, she said, but knew that with time expiring O’Brien would look to get the puck to the net.
The play came off a faceoff in the Wisconsin offensive zone after Minnesota iced the puck. O’Brien was chasing down a missed shot from Lacey Eden before dropping it to the net front for Wozniewicz.
“We had a set play off the draw, so I knew Lacey was going to shoot. The boards are lively, so when I saw it was going wide I just tried to get it in front of the net,” said O’Brien.
Badger coach Mark Johnson praised O’Brien’s situational and game awareness in making the play, joking that if she’d made that play when there was more time on the clock, he’s be upset at her for making a play with a high probably of becoming a turnover.
“She’s been the best player in college hockey this year, by far. As she goes, we go. And if she’s playing well, we’re a challenge. She’s played well for us in a lot of games and done it for a long period of time,” said Johnson.
Wozniewicz would not traditionally on the ice with O’Brien and Eden, but Johnson, who’d been mixing up his lines all game, tapped her before the faceoff and sent her on the ice.
“I put Woz[niewicz] out there just because, she skates so well, she’s got energy. She’s in really good shape, so she recovers quickly. Maybe something can happen,” said Johnson, who also said he believed the game was headed for overtime.
It was the second Wisconsin goal that came as the result of Johnson switching up lines. Freshman Maggie Scannell scored shortly after being put at center of the Badgers’ second line. Normally a player on his fourth line, Johnson shortened up his bench but said he wanted to get Scannell more ice time. The change paid off as she used her size and strength to hold on to the puck through traffic in front of the Gopher net before flipping it past goalie Hannah Clark with her backhand.
The game had been a back-and-forth affair, with Wisconsin taking the lead near the midpoint of the first after O’Brien forced a turnover at center ice and took off into the zone, feeding the puck to Kirsten Simms. Her saucer pass back to O’Brien at the back door was an easy tip-in to give the Badger a 1-0 lead.
That lead lasted just 20 seconds, as Minnesota’s Allie Franco let loose with a shot from the blue line on the next shift that bounced off a Badger skate on its way to the net and deflected in to tie the game 1-1.
The Gophers took the lead with about three to play in the frame as Abbey Murphy’s pass off the boards broke Josefin Bouveng into the zone, where she beat Ava McNaughton with a wrister to put Minnesota up 2-1.
Vivian Jungels, whose skate caused the deflection in Franco’s goal and was beat by Bouveng on the way to her goal, earned some redemption early in the second when her soft wrister from the point made it through traffic to the back of the net to tie the game back up just 42 seconds into the frame.
Minnesota tied it back up in the final minute of the third when Natálie Mlýnková picked up a rebound off the back boards and tried to tuck it around the far post. The puck deflected off Laila Edwards and into the net.
There were some unfortunate bounces for the Badgers, but goalie Ava McNaughton, who made 31 saves, including a point blank stop on an Abbey Murphey breakaway in the third, said that’s just the nature of the battle in close games.
“Playoff hockey, bounces are going to go both ways. You kind of just have to accept it. Sometimes there’s not much you can do about it. It’s not the defense’s fault, either. They’re trying to make a play,” she said.
UW has been locked into the top seed heading into the NCAA Tournament by virtue of holding the top spot in the Pairwise Rankings, but with their 11th WCHA Tournament win, they earned the conference’s auto bid.
The Gophers are also headed to the NCAA Tournament. Their Pairwise ranking has them fourth overall and they will host a quarterfinal game at home next weekend before playing host to the Frozen Four at Ridder Arena in two weeks.
Despite now having lost five straight this season against the Badgers, Minnesota coach Brad Frost said his team’s strong win over Ohio State in the semifinals and having played Wisconsin so well in the championship has given his team the belief that they can play with any team in the country.
“If this doesn’t give you even more confidence going, it should. And it can’t just be confidence about beating Wisconsin. It has to be confidence about beating our next opponent. We’re one win away from the Frozen Four at home. That’s a really big deal for us, so we want to get there,” he said.
With a goal and two assists in the game, O’Brien became the all-time leading scorer in UW men’s and women’s hockey with her 268th career point, passing Mike Eaves who recorded 267 points during his time for the men’s program. O’Brien now has 269 points, which ranks eighth in NCAA history.
The NCAA women’s hockey selection show is Sunday, March 9 at 11:30 am eastern. It will be broadcast on ESPNU and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Opening round NCAA Tournament games are scheduled for Thursday, March 13 and quarterfinal games will be played on Saturday, March 15.
O’Brien was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player
WCHA All-Tournament Team
F – Abbey Murphy, Minnesota
F – Casey O’Brien, Wisconsin
F – Sarah Wozniewicz, Wisconsin
D – Chloe Primerano, Minnesota
D – Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin
G – Ava McNaughton, Wisconsin
Haley Winn has been an impact player yet again this season for Clarkson (photo: Gary Mikel).
ECAC Hockey has selected the women’s end-of-season award winners for 2024-25: Haley Winn (Player and Defender of the Year), Lindzi Avar (#Bitcoin Rookie of the Year), Issy Wunder (Forward of the Year), Doug Derraugh (Coach of the Year)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
ECAC Hockey has announced Clarkson University senior Haley Winn as the 2025 women’s hockey player of the year. Winn is the first Golden Knight since 2020 to receive this honor and the sixth in program history.
Winn, the league’s defender of the year and only unanimous first team all-league selection, was a force in her final season as a Golden Knight. Tying for second in the league with 16 assists and leading the league with 57 blocked shots, Winn was effective on both ends of the ice. Her 94 shots on goal and 22 points in 20 games helped Clarkson to a fourth-place finish and a return to the league’s championship weekend.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cornell standout first-year Lindzi Avar has been named the 2024-25 ECAC women’s hockey Bitcoin rookie of the year. Avar is the second Big Red player in the last 4 seasons to receive this honor, and the fifth in program history.
Avar played a major role in Cornell’s regular season title, as she tallied 13 goals in 22 league games, including an early season hat trick against RPI. The Chanhassen, Minn., native recorded finished the year in a tie for third in the ECAC in goals and recorded at least a point in half of her league contests for the Big Red.
The daughter of a Cornell alum, Avar represented the Big Red well in her debut season that included a seven-game point streak in the middle of the year.
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
Senior captain Haley Winn has been named the 2025 ECAC Hockey Women’s Defender of the Year.
Also claiming the prestigious player of the year title, Winn had a standout season with the Golden Knights, helping the team secure a top-four regular-season finish and opening round bye.
Winn was crucial to Clarkson’s defensive front, contributing to the team’s 87.3% penalty kill percentage, which was third in the league. Accruing 268 blocked shots and averaging only 2.05 goals allowed, Winn was effective in front of the net. Securing four shutouts on the season, the third most in the league, the captain was an overall asset for Clarkson.
FORWARD OF THE YEAR
Princeton’s Issy Wunder is the 2025 ECAC Hockey women’s forward of the year. In her third season with the Tigers, Wunder skated in all ECAC matchups and made a huge impact in securing home ice for the opening round of the playoffs.
The Toronto, Ont., native led the league in points with 50, also claiming the title for points per game averaging 1.56. Wunder was also a force in front of the net, scoring 26 goals (T-2 in league) and averaging 0.81 goals per game from an impressive 142 shots.
The junior also had an impressive eight-game point streak in the first half of ECAC play, going on to secure both Bluebird Hotel’s forward of the week and Month during December.
After a hard-fought battle with Colgate in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, the Tigers will return to the ice next season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Doug Derraugh has been announced as the 2025 ECAC Hockey coach of the year. This is Derraugh’s sixth time being honored with the coach of the year, most recently being recognized in 2020.
Behind the bench for Cornell in his 18th season, Derraugh effectively led the Big Red to a 22-4-5 record in the regular season and clinched the regular-season title for the seventh time in program history.
The Cornell alum returned to his alma mater in 2005 and had an immediate impact, advancing to the national title game just five seasons in. Since then, the Big Red have gone on to make four Frozen Four appearances and four ECAC Hockey tournament titles.
Tessa Janecke compiled 48 points in 2024-25 for the Penn State women’s hockey team (photo: Penn State Athletics).
Atlantic Hockey America has announced its individual awards for the 2024-25 women’s hockey season.
MEGHAN AGOSTA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD VICKI BENDUS FORWARD OF THE YEAR AWARD AHA SCORING CHAMPION
Tessa Janecke, Jr., F, Penn State
Penn State junior Tessa Janecke is the dual winner of the Vicki Bendus Forward of the Year Award and the Meghan Agosta Player of the Year Award. Janecke led Atlantic Hockey with 48 points on 21 goals and 27 assists during the regular season, and after a four-point weekend in the semifinals, skates into this weekend’s championship game with 52 points on 24 goals and 28 assists. The junior forward opened the 2024-25 campaign with an eight-game point streak, then orchestrated a career-best 12-game point streak that went from Nov. 15 to Jan. 11. She then put together another eight-game point streak from Jan. 18 – Feb. 14. In total, Janecke has recorded at least one point in 31 of 36 games so far this season. With her goal against Syracuse on Saturday, Jan. 18, Janecke became the all-time Penn State program career leader in points and now boasts 152 career points on 63 goals and 89 assists. Janecke also took home the AHA Scoring Championship this season as the conference’s points leader in AHA contests during the regular season. The Orangeville, Ill. native tallied 28 points on 13 goals and 15 assists in 20 league games. Janecke is the first CHA/AHA skater to earn back-to-back Player of the Year honors and conference scoring titles since Robert Morris’ Brittany Howard took home both awards in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
MOLLY BYRNE BEST DEFENSEMAN AWARD
Kendall Butze, Jr., D, Penn State
Penn State junior Kendall Butze is this year’s selection for the Molly Byrne Best Defenseman Award. In conference play during the regular season, Butze led AHA defensemen and ranked seventh among all skaters with 18 points on three goals and 15 assists. She also finished league play with a rating of +15, which ranked second among AHA blueliners. The Cleveland, Ohio native enters Saturday’s title game with 25 points and 22 assists on the season, with her 22 helpers leading AHA defensemen and ranking tied for sixth nationally among defensemen. Butze has also added 32 blocks and 82 shots on goal so far in 2024-25.
BRIANNE McLAUGHLIN GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR AHA GOALTENDING CHAMPION
Katie Desa, Jr., G, Penn State
Penn State’s Katie DeSa takes home the Brianne McLaughlin Goaltender of the Year Award for 2024-25. During the regular season, DeSa’s 1.40 goals-against average led Atlantic Hockey and ranked sixth in the nation. In conference play, DeSa led the AHA in save percentage (.947), goals-against average (1.13), and shutouts (7). The junior netminder posted a record of 24-5-0 between the pipes in the regular season, and went 17-1-0 in league play. DeSa is also the AHA Goaltending Champion for 2024-25, as her .947 save percentage during conference play in the regular season was tops in Atlantic Hockey. On Feb. 7, DeSa was named a semifinalist for the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) Women’s Goalie of the Year award for 2025.
NICOLE HENSLEY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Julia Schalin, Fr., F, Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst freshman Julia Schalin takes home the Nicole Hensley Rookie of the Year Award this season. Schalin enters Saturday’s championship game with 32 points on the season, which ranks second among all rookies in the country. In the regular season, Schalin led AHA rookies and ranked third among all skaters with 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists in 19 league games. In addition, her 1.32 points per game in conference play led AHA rookies and ranked second among all skaters. The Laker rookie was also one of five AHA skaters to record a hat trick in AHA play, as she potted three goals on Nov. 16 at Robert Morris. Schalin was a four-time AHA Rookie of the Week selection and was tapped as the AHA Rookie of the Month on three occasions.
BEST DEFENSIVE FORWARD
Jordyn Bear, Sr., F, RIT
RIT senior Jordyn Bear is the AHA Best Defensive Forward this season. Playing in all situations, Bear scored two power play goals and two short-handed goals during the regular season and netted a hat trick on Dec. 6 vs. Lindenwood. Throughout the course of the regular season, Bear set career-bests in goals (8), points (10), and shots (60), with five of her eight goals coming against AHA competition. She also blocked 37 shots and committed just four penalties for eight minutes on the season. Bear is the first RIT Tiger to win the Best Defensive Forward Award since Mackenzie Stone in 2016-17.
AHA INDIVIDUAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Marielle Parks, Sr., F, Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst senior Marielle Parks is the fourth consecutive Laker to win or share the AHA Individual Sportsmanship Award. Playing in all 37 games for Mercyhurst, the Erie, Penn. native has not been whistled for a single penalty so far this season, despite seeing considerable ice time for the Lakers. In league play, Parks tallied nine points on four goals and five assists to go along with a rating of +8 in 20 AHA games. Parks enters the championship game with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points on the season.
SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Tatum White, Gr., F, Syracuse
For the second straight season, Syracuse’s Tatum White is the winner of the AHA Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, which recognizes an Atlantic Hockey America student-athlete who excels in the classroom, community, and on the ice. Academically, White maintains a 4.0 GPA in the Conflict and Collaboration Certificate of Advanced Study while working an average of 16 hours per week as a Medical Assistant at Upstate Orthopedics. She earned her undergraduate degree in medicinal chemistry with a 3.92 GPA, and with aspirations of becoming a doctor, is currently studying for the MCAT exam and preparing her medical school application. In her community, White is a Team IMPACT Fellow, and has captained the program’s Team IMPACT leadership group. She also serves as a volunteer coach for minor hockey programs and provincial camps in Ontario, and runs her own youth hockey camp that she founded in Kingston in 2019. On the ice, White completed her third straight season as a team captain for the Orange in 2024-25. She competed in all 20 regular season conference games, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. Playing in all situations, White tallied 12 points on five goals and seven assists in league play. On the season, she scored seven goals and dished out 12 assists for 19 points.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jeff Kampersal, Penn State
Penn State’s Jeff Kampersal is the AHA Coach of the Year for 2024-25. This is Kampersal’s third straight Coach of the Year Award, and the fourth of his career. Kampersal has led the Nittany Lions to a historic season that saw them claim a third consecutive league regular season championship, and has PSU poised to play for a third-consecutive postseason title on Saturday. Kampersal’s squad won their first 17 conference games and set a record with 19 league wins en route to a 19-1-0 record in AHA play. Overall, the Nittany Lions posted a record of 28-5-1 in the regular season, with their 28 wins setting a program record. Penn State finished the 2024-25 regular season ranked No. 8 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live Women’s Polls.
Wisconsin’s Casey O’Brien led the WCHA with 52 points in conference contests this season (photo: Kali Mick).
The WCHA has unveiled the recipients of the league’s major individual award winners for the 2024-25 season ahead of crowning the postseason champion this weekend at the 2025 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff.
2024-25 WCHA Individual Award Winners
Coach of the Year – Mark Johnson, Wisconsin
Player of the Year – Casey O’Brien, Wisconsin
Outstanding Student-Athlete Award – Clara Van Wieren, Minnesota Duluth
Rookie of the Year – Caitlin Kraemer, Minnesota Duluth
Goaltender of the Year – Ève Gascon, Minnesota Duluth
Forward of the Year – Casey O’Brien, Wisconsin
Defender of the Year – Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin
2024-25 WCHA Player of the Year & Forward of the Year
Casey O’Brien, F, Fifth Yr., Wisconsin
Overall Statistics: 36 games, 24 goals, 55 assists, 79 points, 4 PPG, 2 SHG, 4 GWG
League Statistics: 28 games, 17 goals, 35 assists, 52 points, 3 PPG, 1 SHG, 2 GWG
Highlights: Along with winning both the WCHA Player and Forward of the Year honors, Wisconsin’s Casey O’Brien was named the WCHA Scoring Champion after leading the league with 52 points in conference contests. The Wisconsin forward was named the HCA National Co-Player of the Month, along with teammate Caroline Harvey, for her efforts in September and October. O’Brien was named the WCHA Forward of the Month in both September and October and earned three WCHA Forward of the Week honors during the season. This marks the second straight season that Wisconsin has won both the Player and Forward of the Year honors after Kirsten Simms won both awards last season. Among her other accomplishments this season, O’Brien also became the Wisconsin program-record holder in career points on March 1 against Bemidji State as she finished the game with 265 career points, surpassing Hilary Knight’s (2007-12) previous record of 262 career points.
Highlights: For the second straight season, Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey was named the WCHA Defender of the Year. Harvey led all WCHA defenders in league play in total points with 36 and ranked seventh among all skaters. The Wisconsin blueliner was named the WCHA Defender of the Week six times during the season, the most of any league defender. Harvey also claimed three WCHA Forward of the Month honors and was named the HCA Co-Player of the Month, along with O’Brien, for her performance during September and October.
2024-25 WCHA Goaltender of the Year
Ève Gascon, G, So., Minnesota Duluth
Overall Statistics: 27 games, 1623:16 minutes, 1.85 GAA, 826 saves, .943 save %, 14 wins, 4 shutouts
League Statistics: 21 games, 1266:12 minutes, 1.90 GAA, 666 saves, .943 save %, 9 wins, 3 shutouts
Highlights: After being named the All-WCHA First Team goaltender, Minnesota Duluth’s Ève Gascon was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Year. Gascon was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Week three times this season and earned the WCHA Goaltender of the Month honor in September and December. The sophomore netminder was also named a semifinalist for the Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award, which was created in 2021 to recognize the top female goalie in NCAA Division I hockey.
Highlights: Minnesota Duluth’s Caitlin Kraemer was named the 2024-25 WCHA Rookie of the Year. The Waterloo, Ontario native claimed the most WCHA Forward of the Month Honors (3) and WCHA Defender of the Week awards (4) of any rookie in the league this season. The rookie forward totaled 17 points in 28 league games with her 11 goals and six assists. During league games, Kraemer recorded three game-winning goals, marking the most of any Bulldog. Kraemer was also a member of this year’s WCHA All-Rookie Team.
2024-25 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year
Clara Van Wieren, F, Gr., Minnesota Duluth (Okemos, Mich.)
Overall Statistics: 36 games, 16 goals, 21 assists, 37 points, 2 PPG, 5 GWG
League Statistics: 28 games, 9 goals, 16 assists, 25 points, 2 PPG, 2 GWG
Highlights: For the second straight season, Minnesota Duluth’s Clara Van Wieren was named the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year. The Bulldog forward is now a graduate student in the Master of Professionals Studies Program at Minnesota Duluth. Van Wieren has maintained a 4.00 GPA over her entire collegiate career in the classroom and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and Philosophy. On the ice, Van Wieren recorded 25 points in league games for the Bulldogs, which ranked second on the team as she earned All-WCHA Third Team honors. The Okemos, Michigan native is the Co-President of the Bulldog Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and co-president of UMD’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, was named a 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Nominee, and has been a part of several other organizations off the ice.
2024-25 WCHA Coach of the Year
Mark Johnson, Wisconsin
Overall Record: 33-1-2
WCHA Record: 25-1-2
Highlights: Johnson, the winningest coach in Division I women’s hockey history, coached the Badgers to their 10th regular season title in program history as Wisconsin posted a 25-1-2 record in league play and currently hold a 33-1-2 record leading into the Final Faceoff weekend. The Badgers have now held the top spot in the USCHO.com poll for the past 21 straight weeks as Johnson has claimed his 10th WCHA Coach of the Year honor in league history.
Here’s what we know heading into Saturday’s five conference championship games around NCAA women’s hockey, based on an analysis of how the 32 potential scenarios would impact the PairWise Rankings:
Who’s locked into the field?
These eight teams have assured themselves of being in the 11-team field, with their potential overall seed in parentheses:
Wisconsin (1)
Ohio State (2)
Minnesota (3-4)
Cornell (3-5)
Colgate (3-5)
Minnesota Duluth (6)
Penn State (7)
Clarkson (8)
Who’s left with a chance at an at-large bid?
St. Lawrence’s hopes are down to the result of the Atlantic Hockey America championship. If host Penn State wins, the Saints are in the field as the No. 9 overall seed.
If Mercyhurst wins the automatic qualifier, St. Lawrence is out and the Lakers will have the No. 10 overall seed, moving the winner of the Hockey East final between Boston University and Northeastern up to the No. 9 spot.
Who needs to win to get in?
Only the automatic qualifier will make the tournament from Hockey East and NEWHA. Boston University vs. Northeastern and Long Island vs. Sacred Heart are win-and-in scenarios.
Mercyhurst can qualify only by winning the Atlantic Hockey final.
How will the third, fourth and fifth seeds be decided?
Minnesota gets the No. 3 overall seed if it beats Wisconsin in the WCHA championship game, leaving the winner of the ECAC Hockey final between Cornell and Colgate to take the No. 4 seed and the final home regional spot for a rematch of the ECAC final in the NCAA regional final.
Here’s what happens If the Gophers lose: They’re the No. 4 overall seed and the Cornell-Colgate winner takes the No. 3 spot. That would leave Minnesota to host the ECAC final loser in the regional final.
Wisconsin’s Mathieu De St. Phalle, right, celebrates during the Badgers’ 4-1 win over Ohio State Friday night in the B1G playoffs. (Photo: Wisconsin athletics)
B1G TOURNAMENT
Notre Dame 3, No. 3 Minnesota 2
Coach Jeff Jackson marked career win No. 600 as Notre Dame earned a 3-2 victory Friday night at No. 3 Minnesota to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 B1G quarterfinal series.
Notre Dame took the early lead just 90 seconds into the contest with a goal from Axel Kumlin. Michael Mastrodomenico and Ali Brennan also scored for the Irish. Owen Say made 30 saves in net.
Game 2 is Saturday night.
Wisconsin 4, No. 9 Ohio State 1
With four different goal scorers, Wisconsin charged past Ohio State 4-1 in B1G quarterfinal action Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
The Badgers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Game 2 is Saturday night.
Wisconsin got on the board first at 18:51 of the first period on a deflection from Ryland Mosley. The Badgers scored twice more in the second with Owen Mehlenbacher and Simon Tassy lighting the lamp at 3:04 and 9:09, respectively, to give the Badgers a 3-0 lead. An empty-net goal from Kyle Kukkonen at 18:14 into the final frame sealed the win for Wisconsin.
No. 15 Penn State 6, No. 11 Michigan 5 (OT)
A game-winning goal five minutes into overtime gave JJ Wiebusch a hat trick and No. 15 Penn State a 6-5 win over No. 11 Michigan in Game 1 of a B1G quarterfinal series on Friday night at Yost Ice Arena. Game 2 is Saturday night.
Ben Schoen, Matt DiMarsico and Danny Dzhaniyev also scored for the Nittany Lions. Michigan, which battled back from a one-goal deficit and a pair of two-goal deficits, got two goals from Jackson Hallum.
Penn State’s Arsenii Sergeev had 21 saves while Michigan’s Logan Stein had 30.
ECAC TOURNAMENT
Brown 3, Princeton 2
Ryan St. Louis scored twice and added an assist as Brown took a 3-2 home win over Princeton Tigers in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey tournament Friday night at Meehan Auditorium.
With the win, the Bears advanced to the ECAC quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.
Harvard 5, Rensselaer 2
Harvard rode a four-goal second period to a 5-2 win over RPI in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs Friday night, scoring thrice in a 4-minute span to advance to the quarterfinals for the ninth consecutive season.
Mick Thompson added another 3-point game with two goals and an assist. Juston Solovey, Joe Miller and Casey Severo also scored for the Crimson. Aku Koskenvuo had 36 saves in net.
CCHA TOURNAMENT
No 14 Minnesota State 4, Lake Superior State 1
Zach Krajnik recorded his first career hat trick and No. 14 Minnesota State pulled away from Lake Superior State 4-1 in Game 1 of the CCHA quarterfinals Friday night at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Game 2 is Saturday night.
Krajnik had all of one goal and six assists entering the game. He scored a pair of goals in the first period, followed by an empty-netter late in the third.
Brian Carrabes had a goal and an assist and Luigi Benincasa had two assists. Alex Tracy stopped 20 of 21 shots to collect his 23rd win of the season in goal.
St. Thomas 7, Ferris State 3
St. Thomas was a 7-3 winner over Ferris State on Friday night in the first game of the CCHA quarterfinals.
Cooper Gay and Liam Malmquist each scored two goals for the Tommies. Noah West had 30 saves. Game 2 is Saturday night.
Bowling Green 2, Michigan Tech 1 (OT)
Quinn Emerson scored at 5:01 of overtime to lift Bowling Green to a 2-1 win over Michigan Tech on Friday night in Game 1 of the CCHA quarterfinals.
Stiven Sardarian scored for Michigan Tech early in the third period to tie the game 1-1. Jaden Grant also scored for Bowling Green.
Ryan Manzella had 29 saves for the Huskies while Falcons goaltender Christian Stoever had 20. Game 2 is Saturday night.
Augustana 3, Bemidji State 1
Augustana scored three unanswered goals in the third period to earn a 3-1 win over Bemidji State in Game 1 of the CCHA quarterfinals on Saturday. Game 2 is Saturday.
Simon Falk, Owen Baumgartner and Colton Friesen scored for the Vikings. Goalie Josh Kotai stopped 18 shots.
AHA TOURNAMENT
Bentley 4, Canisius 0
Bentley took a 1-0 lead in its best-of-3 Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series with Canisius on Friday with a 4-0 win in Waltham, Mass.
Goalie Connor Hasley and the Falcons recorded their ninth shutout of the season. Hasley made 26 saves to earn his 17th win.
Jake Black scored two goals, in the second and third periods, and Nik Armstrong-Kingkade and Nick Bochen had goals in the opening period.
Game 2 is Saturday night.
American International 3, Holy Cross 2
American International is one win away from the Atlantic Hockey America semifinals after a 3-2 win over No. 20 Holy Cross in Game 1 of a quarterfinal series on Friday.
Alfred Lindberg, Josh Barnes and Oscar Geschwind all scored to stake the Yellow Jackets to a 3-0 lead in the second period. Top-seeded Holy Cross twice scored in the third.
Game 2 is tonight in Worcester, Mass.
Army West Point 3, Niagara 2 (2OT)
Army West Point got a double-overtime winner from Mac Gadowsky to take down Niagara by a 3-2 score in Game 1 of the AHA quarterfinals Friday night.
In what was the 4th-longest game in Atlantic Hockey America history, the Black Knights converted on their ninth power play of the night to claim the victory after beginning 0-for-8 on the man advantage.
Ben Ivey and Adam Marshall also logged goals for the Black Knights while goalie JJ Cataldo made a career-high 48 saves in net, including 15 in both overtime frames.
The game marked the second-longest postseason game in Army’s history in the Division I era and the third to go into a second overtime. It is the first game in which Army has won when going into a second overtime.
Game 2 is Saturday.
REGULAR SEASON
No. 4 Western Michigan 8, Miami 3
Western Michigan got goals from seven different players and collected its nation-leading 25th win of the season with an 8-3 victory over Miami on Friday night at Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio.
Zach Nehring scored twice for the Broncos on his birthday. Wyatt Schingoethe, Alex Bump, Zack Sharp, Tim Washe, Ty Henricks and Joona Väisänen all had goals for Western Michigan as well.
No. 16 UMass 5, No. 5 Maine 1
No. 16 Massachusetts built a 3-0 first period lead and rolled to a 5-1 win over No. 5 Maine at the Mullins Center in Hockey East action on Friday night.
UMass opened the scoring just 2:52 into the contest when Cole O’Hara redirected Francesco Dell’Elce’s shot from the left point past Maine goaltender Albin Boija for his 21st goal of the season. It also extended O’Hara’s point streak to 13 straight. Kenny Connors and Jack Musa scored to make it 3-0 after one period.
O’Hara scored two goals. Joey Musa scored his first UMass goal. Michael Hrabal made 38 saves for UMass.
UMass’s win knocked Maine out of the hunt for the Hockey East regular-season title. Boston College, who was idle Friday night, clinched it for the second straight year.
No. 7 Denver 4, No. 20 Colorado College 1
No. 7 Denver was a 4-1 winner over rival Colorado College on Friday night in NCHC action.
Four different players scored for the Pioneers — Samu Salkminen, Sam Harris, James Reeder and Eric Pohlkamp. Matt Davis had a total of 22 saves in net.
The same two teams go at it again on Saturday in Colorado Springs to close out the regular season.
New Hampshire 4, No. 17 UMass Lowell 1
Four different players scored for New Hampshire in a 4-1 at No. 17 UMass Lowell on Friday night in Hockey East action at the Tsongas Center.
Conor Lovett, Robert Cronin, Brendan Fitzgerald and Nick Ring each scored for UNH, while Rico DiMatteo made 14 saves. Morgan Winters had two assists. for two points.
No. 18 North Dakota 3, Omaha 1
North Dakota was a 3-1 winner over Omaha before a crowd of 11,572 at Ralph Engelstad Arena on Friday night in NCHC action.
Carter Wilkie, Sacha Boisvert and Dylan James all scored for North Dakota. T.J. Semptimphelter had 27 saves in goal.
The two teams go at it again tonight to close out the regular season.
DULUTH — The Minnesota Gophers advanced to the WCHA Tournament Championship game with a 6-2 win over Ohio State Friday evening at AmSoil Arena. It was the second come-from-behind win of the day in Duluth as the Gophers scored six unanswered goals after the Buckeyes jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
“It was just some really good, smart, hard hockey by our team, angling with our feet, taking away their time and space, making them go 200 feet. I’m really proud of our group and excited for the opportunity to win a championship tomorrow,” said Minnesota coach Brad Frost.
Jocelyn Amos and Joy Dunne each lit the lamp for OSU in the opening ten minutes of the game and it looked like the Buckeyes were in control. But penalties late in the frame gave Minnesota a player advantage and they did not let the opportunities pass them by.
First Abbey Murphy found herself with time and space at the bottom of the far faceoff circle, giving her a chance to pick her spot to make it 2-1. The goal was the 100th of her career, making her just the seventh Gopher to reach that milestone.
Less than five minutes later Minnesota was again on the power play and a similar play developed, though this time Murphy unloaded a slap shot from the top of the circle. The puck hit the crossbar and post before dropping into the crease where Ella Huber quickly cleaned up the rebound to tie the game.
Ohio State seemed to deflate in the face of the Gopher response, allowing Minnesota even more space and never really getting dangerous shots in on Hannah Clark and the UM defense.
“Our group knows that Ohio State likes to get those dirty, net-front goals. One of our big focuses was a strong defensive zone. We wanted to box out, not let them get shots, not let them get rebounds. After we went down 2-0, we really locked it down and all their opportunities kind of came from those high shots, wide areas, and then we were able to not allow any rebounds,” said Gopher defender Sydney Morrow.
In the second, Audrey Wethington and Natálie Mlýnková took advantage of the deflated OSU defense as they easily passed through the neutral zone and Wethington was at the doorstep to tip in the pass Mlýnková sent her. Ava Lindsay scored on an odd-player rush midway through the game, opting to take it herself and snap a wrister to extend the lead.
The turning point in the game came early in the third period as Minnesota held a 4-2 lead. Chloe Primerano and Ella Huber were sent to the penalty box 31 seconds apart, giving Ohio State a long 5-on-3 opportunity that they were unable to capitalize on.
“I got so much energy from that 5-on-3. The game was not over at that point and they still could have come back with that and our PK was just absolutely killer. The momentum we got from that was just insane. I think that that was the moment where I was like, ‘hell, yeah,’” said Murphy.
For Ohio State, whiffed shots and missed opportunities during the advantage just felt like a culmination of everything that went wrong the rest of the game.
“When everything goes bad, it just continuously falls apart and that just kind of seemed to be the problem. We just couldn’t dig ourselves out of a hole that we put ourselves into,” said coach Nadine Muzerall.
Murphy punctuated her excitement by cleaning up a loose put after chaos at the net to extend the lead to 5-2 and put the game out of reach. Murphy now leads the country with 31 goals so far this season.
An empty-netter from Chloe Primerano closed out the win for Minnesota.
The loss was a gut-punch for Ohio State, who has spent most of the season ranked #2 in the country.
“We have a game plan, and that was not it tonight. We didn’t stick to it,” said Jocelyn Amos.
Joy Dunne said the team was prepared to watch the game tape and learn from it, but then erase the game, move on and do better.
Coach Nadine Muzerall was less concerned with the outcome and more concerned with how her team handled the game, especially as Minnesota started to push back.
“I guess for me the disappointing thing is we quit,” said Muzerall.
“If we’re going to lose, we will fight. If we lose, we’ll take it on the chin, but we never quit, and we did that tonight.”
Both Minnesota and Ohio State have ensure their will host a regional during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Minnesota will play Wisconsin on Saturday for the WCHA Tournament Championship at 2 pm central.
DULUTH — The top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers will face #3 Minnesota for the WCHA Tournament Championship on Saturday after both teams registered come-from-behind wins in their respective semifinals Friday afternoon at AmSoil Arena in Duluth.
In the early game, Minnesota Duluth got on the board first. Sophomore Grace Sadura drove up the left side of the ice and dragged Badger defender Katie Kotlowski, giving her open ice in on UW goalie Ava McNaughton, who looked like she made the save before the puck trickled through her pads and into the net.
Wisconsin equalized three minutes later. Laney Potter’s centering pass went in off Kelly Gorbatenko as she crashed the net.
“It bounced off my chest. I was just trying to get to the net and get gritty. That’s how you score this time of year. I was just trying to cause chaos in front and it took a good bounce,” said Gorbatenko.
Defender Caroline Harvey gave Wisconsin the 2-1 lead late in the second when a broken play led to a loose puck in the slot. Harvey charged in from the blue line and one-timed the puck off the corner pipe and into the net.
The Bulldogs put the pressure on Wisconsin in the final frame, pushing the Badgers out of sync, but were unable to find the back of the net in the chaos. In a stellar defensive game in which UMD blocked 23 shots and goalie Eve Gascon made 39 saves, the Bulldogs could not capitalize on the chaos they created in the final frame.
“We had a ton of momentum in that third period and some really good looks, but I think we have to continue to have a shot mentality. Any time you face good goalies, you have to just continue to pummel them with pucks, because you know something eventually is gonna go in. I thought we started to do a really good job with that towards the end of the game, so we just have to have that mentality from the get go,” said Minnesota Duluth coach Laura Schuler.
Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson knows his team was lucky not to give up a goal in the final frame, citing sloppy passes and unforced errors. But he always knows that his team learns more from games where they survive adversity.
In the third period where they started to push us, we weren’t managing the puck well. We were playing on our heels. They were playing on their toes,” said Johnson.
“If it’s perfect, you might not get better. If there are bumps in the road, maybe you end up learning from those and you get better the next time that situation presents itself.”
Schuler unknowingly echoed his sentiments, saying her team learns and grows every time they play.
“Even though we didn’t win, I still think we took another step, which is going to prepare us for this next part,” she said.
Wisconsin secured the win with an insurance goal from rookie defender Emma Venusio, the first of her career. Harvey assisted on the goal, scoring her 131st career point, which set a new Badgers school record for most points by a defender.
“It doesn’t change anything. I credit that all to my teammates I couldn’t do it without them.
It’s not something I care about at all. All we’re focused on is bringing that trophy back to Madison,” said Harvey.
Both teams will advance to the NCAA Tournament based on their placement in the Pairwise Rankings, but Minnesota Duluth will have to go on the round and play in the regional semifinal round because of today’s loss.
Bulldog captain Nina Jobst-Smith knows her team is ready.
“We have everything we need in our locker room. We have all the experience, we have all the depth and we’re a close knit team that knows what it takes to win championships and knows how hard we have to work, and we’ve done that. We’ve put in the work all season long, and I think we’re geared up and ready to go for the next two weeks. It’s only four wins away for national championship, and I think that’s our mindset.”
From left, Annelies Bergmann, Eve Gascon and Ava McNaughton.
The Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association has announced the three finalists for the Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award.
They are Cornell’s Annelies Bergmann, Minnesota Duluth’s Eve Gascon and Wisconsin’s Ava McNaughton. The winner will be announced during the NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis.
All three finalists are preparing for their conference championships: Bergmann and the Big Red are the top seed in ECAC Hockey. Their Friday semifinal is against Clarkson Friday in Ithaca. Gascon and UMD will host McNaughton and Wisconsin, the top team in the nation, on Friday in Duluth.
Two of the finalists come from the United States and one is from Canada. All three are sophomores on highly ranked programs.
The Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award was established in 2021. The first three winners came from Northeastern: Aerin Frankel (2021 and 2022) and Gwyneth Philips (2023). Last year, the NU domination came to an end when Clarkson’s Michelle Pasiechnyk took home the trophy.
Annelies Bergmann – Cornell
(SO – Detroit, MI)
Bergmann has led Cornell to the No. 3 ranking in the country. Her nine shutouts is tied for best in the country. Her key numbers: 1.37 and .939. Cornell hosts Clarkson Friday in ECAC semifinal play.
Eve Gascon – Minnesota Duluth
(SO – Mascouche, PQ)
Gascon posts numbers of 1.85 and .943 in 27 games. Her 826 saves are tops among the three finalists. UMD hosts No. 1 in the nation Wisconsin in a Friday WCHA semifinal.
Ava McNaughton – Wisconsin
(SO – Seven Fields, PA)
McNaughton leads the NCAA in almost every goaltending stat. She is No. 1 in GAA (1.13), save percentage (.949) and wins (31). The top team in the nation takes on UMD on Friday in a WCHA semifinal game.
The top-three finalists are expected to be announced on Wednesday, March 12, with the winner being revealed on March 22 as the highlight of Saturday at the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four in Minneapolis.
SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process commenced in early February when NCAA Division I women’s hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by multiple coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was returned to the coaches to vote for the ten finalists. The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, will be chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, and an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States.
SATURDAY AT THE NCAA WOMEN’S FROZEN FOUR
The 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Show will be broadcast live from the McNamara Alumni Center, on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, as part of Saturday at the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four. The event is free of charge and fans can enter the facility at 11 a.m. CT with all guests seated at 11:20 a.m. and the live 30-minute television show beginning promptly at 11:30 a.m. The three finalists will be on hand, in addition to the Frozen Four teams, as the 28th winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be revealed. Following the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Show, fans will have a chance to get autographs from previous Patty Kazmier Memorial Award winners Krissy Wendell-Pohl, AJ Mleczko, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise.
ABOUT THE PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL AWARD
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement. For a full list of previous honorees, click HERE.
ABOUT PATTY KAZMAIER
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.
St. Norbert is hoping to win another NCHA championship this weekend. (Photo Credit: Patrick Ferron/St. Norbert Athletics)
This is it. Three conference championships will be decided this weekend in the west region of NCAA Division III hockey.
And a lot is riding on the games as not only is a conference title at stake, but an auto bid to the NCAA tournament is on the line as well.
MIAC
Gustavus (15-9-2) vs. St. Olaf (14-9-3)
Gutavus won the regular season title but hasn’t been in the conference final since 2018. The Gusties haven’t won a championship since 2012.
St. Olaf is playing in the championship game for the second straight year and aiming for a repeat.
These two teams split in the regular season, with each winning at home, so that could be a good sign for the host Gusties.
Two of the top scoring threats in the MIAC will be on the ice in St. Olaf’s Jonathan Panisa and Gustavus’ Jack Suchy.
And goaltending should be on point for both teams, with Colin Androlewicz in goal for Gustavus and the Oles having Thomas Lalonde and Matthew Malin.
The last time Gustavus won a title, it beat St Olaf in the final to do it. Could history repeat itself? Perhaps. But then, it’s hard to bet against the Oles on the road in the postseason. St. Olaf, 5-4
NCHA
Adrian (18-9-1) vs. St. Norbert (22-5-1)
A familiar matchup is ahead in this title game. Adrian and St. Norbert know each other all too well.
The Bulldogs made quite the impression last week, shutting out Aurora 2-0 in the semifinal round. Dershahn Stewart has been strong in goal this year for the Bulldogs and sports a 2.54 goals against average.
Adrian lost the conference final last year to the Green Knights and is hoping for a little revenge this time around. The Bulldogs have four of the top goal scorers in the conference in Ian Amsbaugh, Bradley Somers, Ryan Pitoscia and Frank Tafelski.
The Green Knights won their first 12 games this season and swept Adrian in the regular season. Liam Fraser and Logan Dombrowsky are two of the best hockey players in the nation and have fueled the St. Norbert attack. Hunter Garvey is having an impressive year in goal.
St. Norbert is 13-3-1 at home this year. I think home ice makes a difference here. St. Norbert, 4-2
WIAC
UW-Eau Claire (13-15-1) vs. UW-River Falls (17-11-1)
It could be dubbed the championship no one expected, but then again, in college hockey, it’s anybody’s game on any given night.
The Falcons come in looking to secure their first WIAC crown since 2015 but they haven’t been to the NCAA tourney since 2007.
This is the sixth time in conference tourney play that the Falcons have battled the Blugolds, who are in the final after finishing as the runner-up a year ago. Eau Claire has won five of those games.
Keep an eye on the power play, where the Falcons have scored 10 goals off it in the last nine outings. Jonny Meiers and Dylan Smith lead the way for River Falls with 15 goals apiece and Brennan Boynton is having a great year in the goalie spot.
The Blugolds beat the Falcons twice in the regular season, including a shutout win at home. Max Gutjahr leads the way in goal for Eau Claire while Jordan Randall and Leo Bacallao have helped lead the way offensively. River Falls, 4-3
Curry netminder and CNE Player of the Year, Shane Soderwall looks to help the Colonels extend their 15-game win streak with a conference title as they battle Endicott on Saturday (Photo by Curry Athletics)
Here we are at the final weekend with everything on the line for conference titles and berths in the NCAA tournament. While some top seeds survived last week’s playoff carnage, no team can possibly be looking past any opponent regardless of their seeding. At this point the stakes are too high not to bring your very best to the ice in search of hardware and more hockey in March.
My picks were truly hit or miss last Saturday with my upset picks missing combined with my missing the real upsets, so I finished a mediocre 10-9-0 (.526) which is just barely on the positive side of things. This is my last weekend before the national tournament (Field to be announced by the NCAA on Monday morning) so will need to make it a good one. My season numbers now stand at 131-60-10 (.677) so maybe these final picks will rebuild some positive momentum for the remainder of the month of March. No picks for the Sunday championship games, in the NEHC and NESCAC but hoping to get the semifinal selections right. Everyone loves a Cinderella story so letting the good-feel story influence my picks this weekend so here are the upset-minded picks in the east for championship weekend:
Saturday, March 8, 2025
CNE
(12) Endicott v. (3) Curry
The Colonels best be ready for a battle with the Gulls who have a playoff pedigree and have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the first two games of the tournament. Teams play for home-ice advantage and now is the time you want it and need to take advantage of it. Will not be surprised with yet another OT result but this one goes to the Colonels who continue their amazing win streak – Curry, 3-2
MAC
Stevenson v. Wilkes
The Colonels have home ice against the Mustangs, but this game is very evenly played and challenging for Grade A scoring opportunities. Expect special teams will matter in this contest but not as much as the overtime period or periods needed to decide a winner. Coach Dawes and the visitors celebrate the win and NCAA auto-bid for the MAC – Stevenson, 3-2
MASCAC
MCLA v. Fitchburg State
The Falcons have found their game in the playoffs and have been receiving exceptional goaltending from Max Macchioni in their wins over Worcester State and Salem State. Only team with better stats in goal is the Trailblazers where Mathew Gover has been virtually unbeatable. Surprise winner in MASCAC regardless of outcome but who doesn’t love a great Cinderella team, and you can’t spell MIRACLE without the letters MCLA, just not necessarily in that order – MCLA, 2-1
NEHC
New England College v. (1) Hobart
The Pilgrims have shown some winning form in front of their first-year netminder Anthony Beaulieu but now face a juggernaut in the defending conference and national champions. The Cooler will be rocking and the 200-foot pressure from the Statemen pays off late for the winning margin – Hobart, 5-1
Skidmore v. Norwich
These two teams just split a two-game series to close out the regular season at Skidmore. The scene shifts to a neutral site where a standard sized rink may actually help the “home team” Cadets. Expet this one to be a very disciplined game with some veteran leadership coming to the fore in Clark Kerner and Joe Johnson helping the Cadets eke it out in regulation – Norwich, 3-2
NESCAC
Middlebury v. (8) Hamilton
The Panthers just knocked off Hamilton to ensure their playoff position and now play them as the visitor but with confidence with their recent comeback win. The Continentals played very well last weekend but will have to solve a stifling Panther trap and goaltender Andrew Heinze. This is my UPSET ALERT special with the Panthers winning dramatically in OT – Middlebury, 3-2
Tufts v. Colby
The Jumbos have been a hot team since the return of Jon Horn and the steady and consistent goaltending of Gus Bylin has backstopped the team to a nice run. Colby has also shown the ability to play and win close hockey games and has the roster to pressure the Jumbos for sixty minutes or more. Teams count on veteran leadership this time of year and one of them steps up with a big goal to advance the Jumbos to a second straight championship game – Tufts, 2-1
SUNYAC
Plattsburgh v. Oswego
Just month ago, the Cardinals were on the outside of the SUNYAC playoffs and now after two stunning comeback wins, have a chance to win it all against a big, fast and physical Laker squad. Long-time rival face-off in another classic playoff contest and while the score is close, it is Oswego that returns to the top of the SUNYAC standings as champions as they fend off a determined PSU squad – Oswego, 4-3
UCHC
(6) Geneseo v. (2) Utica
The Knights and Pioneers have played four games with each winning on home ice which should suggest a Pioneer victory in the title game. Have already picked a bunch of upsets above and these picks could go horribly wrong, but the way this season has gone it makes sense to expect the unexpected. Knights in an OT thriller to capture their first UCHC championship – Geneseo, 4-3
By late Sunday we will know all the conference champions and already be in preparation mode for the NCAA field to be announced on Monday. With all the conference drama there will surely be more surprises this weekend that make the 14-team field and interesting bracket – “Drop the Puck!”
Correction – North Adams State lost in their last championship game appearance in the ECAC East in the 2001-2002 season to Norwich. Thanks to Kevin McGonigle for the update.
USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly), Dan Rubin (@DanRubin12) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) look at futures for the six men’s conference champions.
This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men’s Division I Frozen Four, April 10 and 12 in St. Louis. Get your tickets now at ncaa.com/frozenfour
There are 14 teams left with NCAA tournament hopes as the National Collegiate women’s hockey season reaches the conference championship weekend.
Four semifinal games Friday and five championship games Saturday leave 512 possible scenarios for how the PairWise Rankings will look when Selection Sunday arrives.
Here are the percentage of the 512 scenarios in which the 14 remaining teams get into the field, broken down by their status.
These teams have locked up a spot in the tournament
These teams still can get in as an at-large team even if they don’t win their conference tournament
Penn State 91.2%
Clarkson 82.2%
St. Lawrence 76.6%
These teams need to win their conference championship game
Northeastern 50%
Boston University 50%
Mercyhurst 50%
Sacred Heart 50%
Long Island 50%
Here’s what else we know
• Wisconsin and Ohio State will finish as the No. 1 and No. 2 overall seeds, respectively.
• Minnesota, Cornell and Colgate will finish in the third, fourth and fifth spots, in some order. Minnesota hosts a regional in 88.5% of the scenarios, with Cornell at 69.5% and Colgate at 42%.
• Penn State still gets in as an at-large team in 82.4% of scenarios if it loses the Atlantic Hockey final to Mercyhurst.
• A St. Lawrence win over Colgate in the ECAC Hockey semifinals and a loss in the final has the Saints making the field in 86% of remaining scenarios.
• Out of the 128 scenarios that involve Clarkson winning its ECAC semifinal against Cornell but losing in the final, the Golden Knights make it as an at-large team in 69.5% of remaining scenarios.
• All of the scenarios that keep St. Lawrence and Clarkson out after wins in the ECAC semifinals and losses in the final involve Mercyhurst beating Penn State in the Atlantic Hockey final.
• The No. 6 overall seed will be either Minnesota Duluth (90.4% of scenarios) or St. Lawrence (9.6%).
• Four teams are in contention for the No. 7 overall seed: Penn State (60.9%), St. Lawrence (25%), Minnesota Duluth (9.6%) and Clarkson (4.5%).
• The No. 8 overall seed is down to three teams: Clarkson (65.2%), Penn State (30.3%) and St. Lawrence (4.5%).
• St. Lawrence (37.5%), Northeastern (25%), Boston University (25%) and Clarkson (12.5%) can be the No. 9 overall seed.
• If Mercyhurst beats Penn State in the Atlantic Hockey final, the Lakers will be the No. 10 overall seed. Otherwise, it’ll be the winner of the Hockey East final between Boston University and Northeastern.
• The winner of the NEWHA championship game between Long Island and Sacred Heart will be the No. 11 overall seed.
Air Force visits Sacred Heart this weekend (photo: Air Force Athletics).
The top seeds advanced in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey America tournament, but not without some drama.
Two of the three games needed overtime, and the other was a one-goal game until midway through the final period.
The weekend’s highlight was a classic battle between Air Force and Robert Morris at Cadet Ice Arena that needed double-overtime to settle. Anthony Yu’s goal at 13:30 of the second OT advanced the Falcons to this weekend’s quarterfinals.
“We needed to win this game at home and we needed to advance,” said Air Force coach Frank Serratore after the game. “I’m really proud of the guys. We had to come from behind twice tonight, but the guys stuck with it. We managed the game well in overtime. To measure our success for the season, we needed to win this game. Being able to win for our seniors on our home ice is something special.”
Looking ahead to the quarterfinals
Eight teams will enter this weekend’s quarterfinals, with four emerging to play on. The three survivors from the first round join the top five seeds, which had byes last weekend.
These are best-of-three series.
#8 American International at #1 Holy Cross
The Yellow Jackets kept their season (and program) alive for another weekend with a 2-1 overtime win against defending champions RIT in a rematch of last year’s title game.
AIC is also looking to repeat last year’s semifinals upset of Holy Cross, while the Crusaders are looking to avenge that loss and advance. As the top seed, Holy Cross will be home throughout the tournament as long as they stay alive.
The teams met four times in the regular season, including two weeks ago. Holy Cross won the season series 3-1.
#7 Air Force at #2 Sacred Heart
These with be the 60th and 61st (and possible 62nd) meetings between the schools, but their first postseason pairing since 2011.
Assuming senior goaltender Guy Blessing is in the net for Air Force, these will be his 99th and 100th career games. His counterpart, rookie Ajeet Gundarah, has played in 21 contests and leads the conference in both goals against (1.93) and saves percentage (.933). Blessing is ranked sixth in GAA (2.54) and tenth in SV% (.906).
The teams split their only series this season, each winning by a 3-0 score.
#6 Canisius at #3 Bentley
The Golden Griffins advanced out of the first round thanks to a 2-0 win against Mercyhurst at LECOM Harborcenter. Rookie goaltender Ben Bonisteel posted his first career shutout in just his sixth career start for Canisius.
Bentley earned its bye by finishing in third place, its highest finish since 2018-19. The Falcons are 5-2 in their last seven games; Canisius are 3-4 in their last seven.
The teams only meeting this season was a two-game series at Bentley Area three weeks ago that saw the teams split, with Canisius taking four of six points thanks to a win and overtime loss.
#5 Army West Point at #4 Niagara
The teams have had an extra week to prepare for each other, as both enjoyed byes last weekend.
The Black Knights are looking for a storybook ending as head coach Brian Riley is retiring after 21 seasons at the helm. They would like nothing more than to see him host the Riley Trophy, named for his father who also coached at West Point (along with brother Rob).
The Black Knights will try to hold off the high-flying Niagara offense, which is averaging 3.38 goals per game, best in the conference.
The teams met only twice this season, back in early November at Tate Rink. They split a pair of close games.
Awards season
It’s almost that time of the year when the league hands out awards and announces its all-league and all-rookie teams. We’ll be handing out our kudos as well over our final three columns of the season.
Let’s start with the rookies. Here are our picks:
F: Michael Felsing, Robert Morris
F: Trevor Hoskin, Niagara
F: Jack Ivey, Army West Point
D: Tristan Allen, RIT
D: Dominic Elliot, Robert Morris
G: Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart
Check back next time for our picks for all-conference teams.
DULUTH — Wisconsin senior Sarah Wozniewicz buried a no-look pass drop pass from fifth-year captain Casey O’Brien with 24.5 seconds left in regulation to put the Badgers ahead of Minnesota 4-3 and win the WCHA Tournament Championship.
