Back in Frozen Four means powerhouse Boston College squad continuing ‘pretty impressive tradition here at BC’

April 9, 2024

Ryan Leonard celebrates a goal earlier this season against Harvard (photo: Brody Hannon).

This is the fourth of four previews for teams playing in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four this week in St. Paul, Minn. Click here for all of USCHO’s Frozen Four coverage.

Boston College Eagles

Season record: 33-5-1

How they got to St. Paul: Won the Providence Regional, beating Michigan Tech 6—1 and Quinnipiac 5-4 in overtime

Top players: F Will Smith (23-46-69), F Cutter Gauthier (37-27-64), F Ryan Leonard (31-28-59)

Top goalie: Jacob Fowler (31-5-1, 2.20 goals-against average, .924 save percentage)

Why they’ll win the national championship: You don’t win 14 straight games by accident. They have two of the top three goal scorers in the nation in Gauthier and Leonard. The Eagles have shown they can win by blowout and rally to force overtime and put opponents away once there.

Why they won’t win the national championship: It’s been seven years since an overall No. 1 tournament seed went on to win the NCAA championship.

It’s not an annual tradition like the Boston Marathon or opening day at Fenway Park, but it happens so often it might as well be considered a rite of spring on the Boston sports calendar: The Boston College men’s hockey team going to the Frozen Four.

It’s happened 25 times in the storied program’s history, and the Hockey East champion Eagles made it No. 26 when it knocked off defending NCAA champ Quinnipiac 5-4 in overtime in the Providence regional.

“It’s a pretty impressive tradition here at BC and it’s something that it’s tough to kind of live up to, and I think that this group we have is pretty special,” said BC grad student forward Jack Malone, whose goal just over three minutes into overtime sent the Eagles to their first Frozen Four since 2016.

“The work that we put in, I think we’re very proud of what we have accomplished so far. We’re just going to continue that, to honor that tradition.”

This year saw a remarkable turnaround for BC, which went 33-5-1 and was the No. 1 team in the USCHO.com D-I men’s poll for a good chunk of the season after a disappointing 14-16-6 campaign in 2022-23. The Eagles were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament one year after failing to qualify for the Hockey East semifinals at the TD Garden following a 1-0 quarterfinal loss at Merrimack.

Enter a recruiting class with 11 freshmen, including goalie Jacob Fowler, forwards Will Smith, Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard (all three of whom were named Hockey East rookie of the week at least once), defenseman Aram Minnetian (who scored the goal against Quinnipiac that forced overtime) and the aforementioned Malone, a Cornell transfer.

“I think that talent in all those guys kind of speaks for themselves,” Fowler said. “They’re all super special hockey players. But we have a lot of special people in our room as well. Just having that kind of off-ice relationship with every guy and our staff included, makes it really easy to kind of step into a new environment and just have success. Everybody here just wants the best for you. Every resource we have was just to kind of better ourselves and I’m really happy to be part of this group.”

Then there was the emergence of sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier, a Hockey East all-rookie last season who is now one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to college hockey’s most outstanding player. He leads the nation in goals scored — his two tallies in the regional final against Quinnipiac were his 36th and 37th of the year, the highest-single season total in the NCAA since 2005-06.

With Gauthier and Leonard (third in the nation in goals scored with 31) leading the offense, the Eagles steamrolled their way through the Hockey East tournament, outscoring opponents 19-7, including a 6-2 romp over the No. 2 team in the country, crosstown rival Boston University (and fellow Frozen Four participant) in the championship game. That followed a 6-1 blowout of CCHA champ Michigan Tech in the NCAA tournament first round, before the Eagles had to rally from three different deficits to finally beat Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey) in overtime for their 14th straight victory.

The Eagles’ opponent on Thursday night will be Michigan (B1G), with the puck to drop at 8:30 EDT (ESPN2, ESPN-plus).

Overseeing it all is Greg Brown, who took over for Jerry York in 2022 when the legendary coach stepped down after 28 years and four national championships at BC.

Inexperience in the Frozen Four spotlight might be the only thing to trip up BC’s players, given how dominant they’ve played all season. But while this is Brown’s first trip to the Frozen Four as a head coach, he will be drawing on plenty of experience as an assistant under York, whom he helped win BC’s most recent national championships (out of five overall) in 2008, 2010 and 2012.

“You learn something every time you go to the Frozen Four,” Brown said. “The first time, I was just observing. Fortunately for me, Coach York (had) been there several times. So they had it pretty down pat. I’m glad I’ve been through this a few times, so I know what to expect. The biggest thing is not letting the kids get upset or be distracted by the different schedules we have when we get to the Frozen Four.”

Resilient Michigan team peaking at right time as Wolverines return to Frozen Four, playing ‘to get back to where we believe that we should be’

By Paula C. Weston

April 9, 2024

Rutger McGroarty has been a top offensive player this season for Michigan (photo: Michigan Photography).

This is the third of four previews for teams playing in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four this week in St. Paul, Minn. Click here for all of USCHO’s Frozen Four coverage.

Michigan Wolverines

How they got to St. Paul: Won the Maryland Heights Regional, beating North Dakota 4-3 and Michigan State 5-2

Top players: F Gavin Brindley (25-28-53), F Dylan Duke (26-23-49), T.J. Hughes (19-29-48), Rutger McGroarty (16-36-52), D Seamus Casey (7-38-45)

Top goalie: Jacob Barczewski (20-13-3, 2.81 GAA, .909 SV%)

Why they’ll win a national championship: More than any other team in this field, the Wolverines have something to prove. The only team to reach the Frozen Four as something other than a No. 1 regional seed, Michigan feels like it was counted out all along. The Wolverines are battle tested, making their third consecutive Frozen Four appearance. They’re fast, they’re gifted offensively, and their defense is gelling at just the right time of the season.

Why they won’t win a national championship: As good as they are up front, the Wolverines can still allow a lot of goals. There’s little advantage to averaging four or more goals in a game if you also allow five, as Michigan has done 10 times this season. For the past two years, the Wolverines have relied on their lethal offense to compensate for everyone else’s scoring chances, but as they found out against Quinnipiac last year, that’s not something that can be relied upon in the Frozen Four.

Michigan is a team with something to prove.

“I think a lot of people counted us out four or five weeks ago,” said Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato, “and all of the guys believed in the resiliency of this group to get back to where we believe that we should be.”

Where they are now is where the Wolverines have been for the last two consecutive years, in the Frozen Four. Those previous trips resulted in semifinal losses to the eventual national champion, to Denver in 2022 and Quinnipiac last season.

As recently as a month ago, the Wolverines were a PairWise bubble team. Following a 6-2 road loss to Minnesota March 1, the team had a moment of reckoning.

“We had an honest conversation with the guys about what it takes to win at this time and people being all in and then just going out and earning it,” said Naurato. “We didn’t like the effort that game, but we’ve kind of turned the corner since then.”

Michigan picked up a 6-5 overtime win against the Gophers the following night and went on a 6-1-0 run, the only loss 5-4 in overtime to Michigan State in the Big Ten playoff championship game.

Naurato calls the Big Ten playoffs the real turning point for a Michigan team that finished fourth in conference play, a team that was oh-so-close in so many games throughout the season.

“We’ve been playing good hockey all year, but for whatever reason, the other team was getting the bounce instead of us,” said Naurato. The Michigan coaching staff is encouraged that players have been able to “find ways to create opportunities” that have gone Michigan’s way, especially in third periods. “Guys have pushed it over the edge,” he said, but added, “We still have some work to do going into the Frozen Four.”

Michigan brings to the Frozen Four the deadliest power play in college hockey, one that converts at 34.5% — five percentage points ahead of Boston College and six ahead of Boston University, both of which are insanely good by any standards. Michigan’s PP is fueled by a deep, skilled offense and six players with 16 or more goals. Between them, Dylan Duke and Gavin Brindley have 51 goals and are among the top 10 scorers in the country.

But in a Frozen Four field that boasts the four best offensive teams in college hockey – with outrageous talent and depth on every squad – Michigan’s downfall may be its team defense. In their last seven games leading up to the Frozen four, Michigan has scored 30 goals and allowed 23.

Naurato sees the play of goaltender Jacob Barczewski as steady and consistent. “He’s been the guy all year.” Barczewski, a St. Louis native, transferred from Canisius after backstopping the Griffins to the 2023 Atlantic Hockey playoff championship.

“It was awesome seeing him have success in front of so many friends and family in the regional in St. Louis,” said Naurato. Barczewski’s 38-save performance propelled Michigan to that win over Michigan State, a team that had bested the Wolverines in four of their five meetings in the 2023-23 campaign. The win was also Barczewski’s career-best 20th of the season.

“Defense wins championships,” said Naurato. “Goaltending is obviously a huge part of this time of year. You need everyone to step up, but your goalie’s pretty important.”

It’s Michigan’s experience – and experience with challenges on and off the ice – that gives the Wolverines perspective heading into St. Paul.

“This junior and senior class, they’ve been to three Frozen Fours in a row,” said Naurato. “They’ve won multiple Big Ten championships. That goes back to a COVID year. It goes back to a coaching change. It goes back to having Steven Holtz in the ICU and four other players in the hospital.”

Michigan won back-to-back Big Ten playoff championships on the road against Minnesota (2022, 2023). After a season as assistant coach, Naurato became the interim head coach following Mel Pearson’s departure in August 2022 and was named head coach in March 2023. Adenovirus went through the Michigan team in fall of 2022, and Holtz nearly lost his life to it.

This season, said Naurato, “It’s been a lot of little things.” Naurato said that the team is “extremely excited” about the Frozen Four opportunity.

“Doing this three years in a row,” said Naurato, “all credit to our players.”

Bemidji State women’s hockey coach Scanlan stepping down after 10 seasons, 122-202-23 overall record with Beavers

By USCHO Staff

April 8, 2024

Jim Scanlan spent 10 seasons behind the Beavers women’s hockey team’s bench (photo: Brent Cizek).

After a decade as head coach of the Bemidji State women’s hockey program, Jim Scanlan is stepping down from his head coaching duties.

“I would like to thank former Bemidji State president Richard Hanson and director of athletics Tracy Dill for giving me the opportunity and trusting me with the position of head women’s hockey coach at Bemidji State University,” said Scanlan in a statement. “To be able to come back to my alma mater and coach in the WCHA was very special. I was extremely honored and grateful at the time of my hiring and that has not changed in the 10 years I have been here. During my tenure, we have experienced a lot of special times and we have experienced some challenges as well.

“I will take with me a lot of great memories.”

Scanlan was hired as the fifth head coach in Bemidji State women’s hockey history on June 17, 2014. He is the program’s winningest head coach, amassing 122 career victories, and is the only head coach in program history to reach the 100 career victories milestone. He is a former USCHO.com national coach of the year and WCHA coach of the year, both achieved during the 2014-15 season, and helped guide the Beavers to a program-record 22 wins during the 2015-16 season.

Since taking the reins of the Beaver women’s hockey program before the 2014-15 season, Scanlan has coached one All-American (Brittni Mowat), one WCHA defensive player of the year (Ivana Bilic), one WCHA student-athlete of the Year (Mak Langei), eight all-WCHA honorees, 176 WCHA all-academic team selections, 132 WCHA scholar-athletes and 139 All-American scholars.

Scanlan led the Beavers to new heights in his first season behind the bench in 2014-15. He led BSU to a 10-win improvement from the previous season and their most wins in program history (21) at that time. The Beavers earned five wins over teams that finished in the top 10 nationally, earned the program’s second-ever trip to the WCHA Final Faceoff and reached the championship game after defeated second-ranked and eventual national champion Minnesota in the semifinal.

In his second season at the helm of the program, Scanlan led the Beavers to a now program-best win total of 22 and the program’s highest finish in the WCHA standings (third) with a 17-9-2 league record. Bemidji State hosted its first-ever playoff series at Sanford Center that season. Following the season, Bilic earned the program’s first WCHA defensive player of the year award.

In his fourth season with the Beavers, he led them to a 16-19-3 record and fifth-place finish in the WCHA regular season. The Beavers went 9-13-2 in conference play and upset fourth-seed Minnesota Duluth at AMSOIL Arena in the best-of-three first round series in the WCHA playoffs to advance to the program’s third WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena.

Scanlan became the program’s winningest head coach during his fifth season with the program and on Feb. 8, 2019 after guiding the Beavers to a 3-2 upset over then-No. 9 ranked Ohio State, he earned career victory No. 82.

On Feb. 29, 2020, during his sixth season, Scanlan earned career victory No. 100 to become the first head coach in program history to reach the century win mark in an exciting four-overtime victory over Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA quarterfinals and also the second-longest game in NCAA history.

In total, Scanlan reached the 10-win mark in seven of his 10 seasons, the most among any head coach at Bemidji State. He compiled a 122-202-23 (.385) career record at BSU.

“To my wife Cyndy who has been on this coaching journey with me for close to 40 years, my daughter Bri with her husband Ben Kinne, my daughter Jaclyn with her special friend Derick Hass, my son Joe with his wife Raquel Thelen, and my grandkids, Kayson, Cici, Howie and Mack: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your love and support have been the why to my purpose,” said Scanlan.

Scanlan also has 12 years of previous collegiate coaching experience. He was an assistant coach for North Dakota men’s hockey team from 1989 to 1996, at Western Michigan from 1985 to 1989, and was a graduate assistant coach at Northern Michigan in 1984-85. During his time at the collegiate ranks, Scanlan’s teams comprised of six All-American selections, 38 all-conference picks, and 67 academic all-conference honorees, posted a 207-208-26 (.499) overall record and an NCAA Ttournament appearance.

Scanlan is a 1985 graduate of Bemidji State with a degree in physical education and health. He later earned a master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in athletic administration from Western Michigan in 1988.

As a collegiate goaltender, Scanlan played for legendary R.H. “Bob” Peters at Bemidji State from 1978 to 1982. A four-year letter winner, the captain was in net 85 times, logging a career record of 62-19-0, while backstopping the Beavers to an NCHA regular-season title in 1982 and four consecutive trips to the NAIA national tournament, including national titles in 1979 and 1980. The NCHA player of the year in 1982, Scanlan was selected as an NAIA All-American to conclude the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons.

Scanlan also left his mark on the BSU goaltending records. He remains amongst the top ten in six major goaltending categories. He is fifth on BSU’s save percentage list (.907), eighth in goals-against average (2.821), is third on BSU’s goaltending victories list (62), ranks sixth on the Beavers’ career saves list (2,211) and his 4,807 minutes in net stand eighth in Beaver hockey history. In addition, only one goaltender in the 58 years of Bemidji State hockey has accumulated more shutouts during his career than Scanlan’s nine.

He was enshrined into the Bemidji State Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 1978-79 and 1979-80 men’s hockey teams. He was named as one of the Bemidji State men’s hockey program’s 50 Legends for 50 Years in 2005-06.

Scanlan has been active in several Minnesota State High School League initiatives, Region 8A, USA Hockey, and the American Hockey Coaches Association. He has also been active on Bemidji State’s men’s hockey national hockey committee, the East Grand Forks Blue Line Club and the East Grand Forks Sports Booster Club.

Nadeau one and done at Maine as freshman leaves Black Bears, signs NHL contract with Carolina

By USCHO Staff

April 8, 2024

Bradly Nadeau had a productive freshman season with Maine in 2023-24 (photo: Maine Athletics).

Maine freshman forward Bradly Nadeau has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL’ Carolina Hurricanes.

Nadeau was selected in the first round (30th overall) by the Hurricanes in the 2023 NHL Draft.

“Our staff is excited for Bradly to continue to chase his dream of playing in the NHL,” said Maine coach Ben Barr in a statement. “Carolina is fortunate to not only have a great player, but a great teammate and person joining their organization. Bradly’s year in Orono was memorable and Black Bear Nation was fortunate to watch Bradly’s development this past season. Bradly will always be a Black Bear.”

Nadeau, who was a Hockey East second team all-star and all-rookie team honoree this season, racked up a team-leading 46 points on 19 goals and 27 assists to go with four game-winning goals, three power-play goals and one short-handed goal. His 109 shots on goal ranked 11th in Hockey East while his plus-20 rating was ninth. The St-François-de-Madawaska, N.B., native had 11 multi-point games this season, including six multi-goal games and four multi-assist games.

Nadeau’s 46 points were the most by a Maine player since 2011-12 and marked the first time a Maine rookie eclipsed the 40-point mark since 2006-07. He was named the Hockey East player of the week once, rookie of the week twice and rookie of the month once each. He was part of a Black Bears’ squad this season that made the program’s first NCAA tournament and Hockey East championship weekend appearance since 2011-12.

Last summer, Nadeau became the first Black Bear to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft since Barrett Heisten was selected 20th overall in the 1999 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

In Frozen Four for second straight season, Boston University knows ‘staying in the moment is probably the biggest thing’

By John Doyle

April 8, 2024

Luke Tuch has been a leader and an offensive contributor this season for BU (photo: Matt Woolverton).

This is the second of four previews for teams playing in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four this week in St. Paul, Minn. Click here for all of USCHO’s Frozen Four coverage.

Boston University Terriers

Season record: 28-9-2

How they got to St. Paul: Won the Sioux Falls Regional, beating RIT 6—3 and Minnesota 6-3

Top players: F Macklin Celebrini (32-32-64), D Lane Hutson (15-34-49), F Quinn Hutson (18-18-36)

Top goalie: Mathieu Caron (28-9-2, 2.37 goals-against average, .915 save percentage).

Why they’ll win the national championship: Macklin Celebrini is the second leading scorer with the country with 1.73 goals per game and has been proven next to impossible to shut down. The Terriers made relatively easy work of their two NCAA tournament opponents so far, cruising past RIT and rallying to beat Minnesota.

Why they won’t win the national championship: In Denver, they’ll be facing one of the top defenses in the country, which will have watched plenty of tape of Celebrini and the Hutson brothers before getting on the plane to St. Paul. Should they advance to a dream matchup vs. Boston College in the final, they’ll have to overcome a team they’ve already lost to thrice so far this season.

The two teams returning to this year’s Frozen Four from 2023 were the two that were eliminated on the first night — Michigan and Boston University.

So an argument can be made that Hockey East’s BU heads to St. Paul, Minn., with a little bit of extra pressure. And Terrier senior forward Like Tuch wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We know what to expect going into it, and the pressure that’s on us,” said Tuch. “The pressure’s perfect.”

The Terriers are hoping for a better result this time around. In 2023, BU was soundly defeated by No. 1 overall seed Minnesota 6-2. The Terriers avenged that loss in the Sioux Fall Regional, handing the Gophers (B1G) a 6-3 loss after falling behind 2-0.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to say you’ve been to back-to-back Frozen Fours,” said BU sophomore forward Ryan Greene. “I never thought that would happen, to be honest. It’s unbelievable. We have a lot of guys who have been there, so hopefully that experience can help us.”

BU’s opponent on Thursday (5 p.m. EDT, ESPN2 and ESPN-plus) will be Denver (NCHC), back in the Frozen Four after winning it all in 2022 right in BU’s backyard. DU is the top scoring team in the nation, averaging 4.71 goals a game.

“(We need to play) a hard, physical and fast game,” Tuch said. “Smother them, don’t give them any kind of space. Play with that swagger. We got a lot of really good offensive players. And we have a really good goalie back there, too.”

In sophomore forward Macklin Celebrini, the Terriers have the nation’s second leading scorer (32-32-64) and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the nation’s best player. Another potent scoring threat is sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson, who was last year’s standout in BU’s road to the Frozen Four but this year took a backseat, at least publicity-wise, to Celebrini despite having a bigger scoring output.

In front of the net, junior Mathieu Caron enters the Frozen Four with the nation’s fourth best winning percentage, and is coming off a 53-save performance in the Sioux Falls regional.

The Terriers will be searching for their sixth national championship and first since 2009. Second-year coach Jay Pandolfo (who four times participated in the Frozen Four with BU as a player) said he hopes last year’s experience in the Frozen Four will give his team a mental edge in St. Paul.

“Staying in the moment is probably the biggest thing,” Pandolfo said. “We got caught up a little bit in that first game. (Minnesota) came out really hard, and I don’t think we were ready. That’s on me a little bit. But this year I think our guys know what to expect.”

Depth, level of commitment has Denver back in Frozen Four as challenges all season have ‘been great for the growth of the group’

By Matthew Semisch

April 8, 2024

Matt Davis has DU in the Frozen Four (photo: Tyler Schank/Clarkson Creative Photography).

This is the first of four previews for teams playing in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four this week in St. Paul, Minn. Click here for all of USCHO’s Frozen Four coverage.

Denver Pioneers

Season record: 30-9-3

How they got to St. Paul: Won the Springfield Regional, beating Massachusetts 2-1 and Cornell 2-1

Top players: F Jack Devine (27-29-56), D Zeev Buium (11-38-49), F Massimo Rizzo (10-34-44), F Tristan Broz (15-24-39), D Shai Buium (7-28-35).

Top goalie: Matt Davis (21-5-3, 2.48 goals-against average, .911 save percentage).

Why they’ll win the national championship: This Denver team didn’t have much trouble scoring all season up until the Springfield Regional, and there, the Pioneers showed that they can win tight, low-scoring games, too. That should come in handy in the Frozen Four, regardless of whether Denver plays one game there or two.

Why they won’t the national championship: While there’s no local draw to this year’s Frozen Four, the understandable dream matchup for many people is that the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country, Boston University and Boston College, meet in the final. Denver, like any team would, will have its hands full with BU alone. Any team that wins two games in three days here will have very much earned the title.

Style points matter for little at this point in the season, and if you’re still playing from late March into April, no opponent will care if you boast the highest-scoring offense in the nation.

So for Denver to reach its program’s 18th Frozen Four after winning a pair of tight games at the Springfield Regional, where goal-scoring came at an especially high premium, it shows just how multi-dimensional this third-ranked Pioneers team is.

Denver’s only two 2-1 games this season are all the Pioneers have known of this NCAA tournament to date. After beating bottom-seeded Massachusetts in double overtime on March 28 in what was effectively a home game for the Minutemen, DU won by the same score two days later against Cornell.

“It gives us confidence to play in tight, low-scoring hockey games,” Denver coach David Carle said of how the Pioneers made it to this year’s Frozen Four, which begins Thursday in St. Paul, Minn. “We have a lot of respect for (UMass coach Greg Carvel) and (Cornell coach Mike Schafer) for how they do things and how difficult they made it on us, and I thought our guys found a way to adapt to that style of play, and playing in that tight-checking, low-scoring style.

“You need to be able to win games in different ways to win this tournament, and it was great for our guys to be able to get through those games and come out on the right side. That low-scoring, and obviously the double overtime game against UMass, those are games that can go either way. You need a guy to step up to make a play, and you need a lot of guys to step up and make plays defensively, and we had that level of commitment throughout our lineup, which gave us the opportunity to advance and move on.”

Denver had also found ways around adversity during the regular season. Injuries to several key players didn’t stop the Pioneers from securing a No. 1 regional seed. Those setbacks had started almost right away, as goaltender Matt Davis picked up an injury five games into the season and missed the rest of the first half.

“That increased the urgency of our team’s desire and ability to play defense, and he came back and has played every game in the second half,” Carle said, “But then getting into the second half, Kieran Cebrian goes down, our best faceoff guy, for a few weeks, then we lose Carter King, we lose Massimo Rizzo. The injuries that we’ve had in the middle of the rink, in the back end, has been a challenge but has been great for the growth of the group.

“Different people had to step up throughout the year, and I think it gave us a lot of confidence that there’s a lot of people in the room that can contribute to helping us win hockey games.”

Denver has done plenty of that, hitting the 30-win mark in the Springfield Regional final. There are still two more wins on offer, though, and again, Denver’s 4.71 goals per game this season won’t leave anyone quaking in their boots later this week.

“I’m just looking forward to the challenge,” Carle said. “I’m really proud of our team getting through the regional that we had. It’s been a lot of growing this year with a young team. I know there are a lot of other young teams at the Frozen Four this year, as well, but (with) 11 freshmen, I think our leadership group has done a great job of bringing the group along, and we’re looking forward to playing in another Frozen Four.”

Northland College declares financial exigency as ‘circumstances remain incredibly serious and significant progress will be needed in the next two weeks to avoid closure’

By USCHO Staff

April 7, 2024

The Northland College Board of Trustees on April 4 voted to declare financial exigency, setting off a process designed to provide a final, good faith effort to save Northland College.

The decision comes after a March 11 fundraising appeal to raise $12 million dollars by April 3 to avoid closure and instead continue programs and operations beyond this academic year.

Northland boasts both men’s and women’s Division III hockey teams.

The appeal raised nearly $1.5 million from over 900 donations when it ended at midnight on April 3 – a record for the College.

“The Board has been inspired by the extraordinary effort and generosity over the past few weeks,” said Ted Bristol, chair of the Northland College Board of Trustees, in a statement. “As we’ve said from the start, our shared goal is to continue Northland’s mission and we are committed to ensuring we’ve explored all options to do so. The Board remains open and hopeful.

“However, I also want to caution that Northland’s circumstances remain incredibly serious and significant progress will be needed in the next two weeks to avoid closure.”

Financial Exigency is Not Announcement of Closure

Financial exigency is a formal recognition by the Board that the College is facing a serious financial crisis that requires immediate attention and resolution. It is the start of a defined process to explore program, staffing and budget adjustments to preserve the institution’s long-term viability.

The Board has set a timeline for this process to be implemented and will meet to make a final decision about the College’s future in two weeks. As part of the Board’s motion, the financial exigency process will focus on three key areas in the coming weeks:

— Collaboration to further refine a new structure for the College
— Further exploration of current and possible future budget options and adjustments
— Additional donor engagement

“There have been positive and productive conversations taking place among the Board, leadership, faculty and campus groups, as well as the community,” said Chad Dayton, Northland College President. “We are listening and agree that additional time and a defined process are valuable next steps. Financial exigency provides that but also will require crucial conversations and difficult decisions.”

Northland Community Impact

The College intends to continue this academic year as planned with no immediate changes to programs or services.

“While I expect this will be welcome news to many of our campus community, I want to acknowledge this extends the uncertainty for students and others who are waiting for a firm decision in order to plan their future which is why our original deadline was April 3,” said Dayton. “We will continue to provide support to help them and understand that this extended timeline may mean current and prospective students – as well as faculty and staff – need to make individual decisions sooner.”

In the weeks since the March 11 announcement, everyone in the Northland community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, partners, donors, friends and the Ashland and surrounding communities—has stepped up to support the College by raising funds, sharing stories, and collaborating to develop proposals for a more sustainable future model.

“I’m so proud of how our community stepped up, took action and used its energy for good,” said Dayton. “We would love to see some elements of the proposals come to life, but it must be financially feasible for the long-term.”

The Board of Trustees will be following up with various faculty, campus and community groups in the coming days to refine a new structure, explore budget options and adjustments and determine additional funding possibilities.

Hockey Commissioners Association men’s hockey honors for March 2024 include Boston College’s Gauthier, Boston University’s Celebrini, Denver’s Davis

By USCHO Staff

April 6, 2024

From left, Cutter Gauthier, Macklin Celebrini, Matt Davis.

The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its men’s players of the month for March 2024.

Boston College sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier is player of the month, while Boston University freshman forward Macklin Celebrini is rookie of the month and Denver junior goalie Matt Davis is the goaltender of the month.

Gauthier had his second straight 16-point month for the Hockey East champion Eagles. He went 8-8-16 in an 8-0 month, scored the game-winning goal in both the Hockey East semifinal and final and then went 2-3-5 in the NCAA regionals in Providence. Also a Hobey Hat Trick finalist.

Celebrini was second in the nation among all players with 16 points in just seven games, making his 2.29 points per game an NCAA-best. Named most outstanding player of the Sioux Falls regional. Also named a Hobey Hat Trick finalist.

Davis was the most outstanding player of the Springfield regional where he won a pair of 2-1 games, one in double-OT. On the month, he went 9-1-0, with a 1.89 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

UConn’s Chan, Ohio State’s Barnes, Dunne, Kirk earn monthly Hockey Commissioners Association women’s hockey honors for March 2024

By USCHO Staff

April 6, 2024

From left, Tia Chan, Cayla Barnes, Joy Dunne, Raygan Kirk.

The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its women’s players of the month for March 2024.

UConn junior goalie Tia Chan and Ohio State graduate defenseman Cayla Barnes are co-players of the month, while Ohio State freshman forward Joy Dunne is rookie of the month and Ohio State senior Raygan Kirk is the goaltender of the month.

Chan led UConn to its first Hockey East regular-season and tournament titles ever. She stopped all 38 shots in a 1-0 OT win in the Hockey East final and stopped 48 of 49 in a tough 1-0 double-OT loss to Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA tournament. She had an NCAA-best 0.79 GAA in March with a .969 save percentage.

Barnes was a rock on defense for the Buckeyes and also set up the only goal of the NCAA championship final. She was a key part of the OSU defense that only allowed a single goal in three NCAA games and she went 2-7-9 in production from the blue line on the month. A first team all-WCHA performer, she was named to the all-tournament team for the NCAAs.

In a month when she was named winner of the Julie Chu national rookie of the year, Dunne scored the only goal of the NCAA championship final, her 24th of the season. On the month, she went 6-4-10 and on the season, led all NCAA rookies with 24-18-42.

Kirk was named the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament for her phenomenal performance. In three NCAA games, she had two shutouts, including a 26-save 1-0 triumph over Wisconsin in the final. She stopped 59 of 60 shots in the tournament and on the month, had a 1.14 GAA and a save percentage of .934.

Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist Feature: For Cornell’s Kempf, Big Red Blocks for Healing initiative benefiting local community, honoring late mother

By Dan Rubin

April 5, 2024

Hank Kempf and his Cornell teammates traveled to the Dominican Republic this past summer (photo: courtesy Hank Kempf).

Hank Kempf didn’t think much about the case of trail mix that was in his house until it became more than a snack.

It was June in the Dominican Republic, but Kempf and his Cornell hockey teammates were sweltering in the heat as part of an annual service trip organized by coach Mike Schafer. For all of his 500-plus wins, 20-win seasons, trips to the national tournament, or ECAC Hockey conference championships, Schafer always made community service a core pillar to his program, and this past summer brought the Big Red to a tropical climate to help build a community center while assisting in the distribution of clothes, shoes and food.

The community outreach project was both a challenge and reward, and Kempf cracked open a bag of trail mix one day with the intention of simply having a snack. He offered it to a coworker who had been a part of the project, and in that moment, a bag of trail mix became more than just a snack.

“We had something like 100 [bags] back at our house for the week,” Kempf said. “We had a leftover that was available, so we gave it to him. What we realized was that he was making something like five dollars per week, so he started crying because he was so thankful for it.”

In that moment, Kempf realized the gift that had been bestowed upon him as a member of the Cornell hockey community. For the rest of the week, whenever the Big Red played baseball with the locals, they left the equipment and baseballs for kids. Where they could help, they went above the call, and when they came, their worlds had been changed with the realization of how some of the poorest people in a developing nation lived.

For Kempf, it was something to put in the back of his mind of an ever-evolving dedication to the service of communities both in Cornell’s Ithaca backyard and in the international community.

Hank Kempf emerged as a top player this season for Cornell (photo: Lexi Woodcock/Cornell Athletics).

“Coach Schafer always talks about how important service is,” Kempf said. “And playing for Cornell and being under him has really been a great learning lesson into the value of service. It’s been a big thing for me, and it’s influenced me to branch out. Being in the Cornell hockey program is such an incredible place in so many areas, but it’s developed me as a person because you get to do so much away from the rink.”

Kempf’s involvement in his community dips into the very soul and fabric of what hockey humanitarianism is all about. What he does is so much more than simply donating his time in a single event, and looking beyond the exotic trip to the Dominican Republic’s baseball-playing nation offers a glimpse into just how important his work impacts those around him.

His work in organizing the Big Red Blocks for Healing initiative, for example, stemmed from how his own personal life was tinged with tragedy after his mother passed away following a bout with breast cancer. Spurred into wanting to help, he developed a program with his teammates over the summer that capitalized on the team’s desire to get into the dirty areas of blocking shots during games.

“A bunch of returners stayed [on campus] over the summer,” he said. “And before last season, we got together and met with some staff. We all kind of decided that it would be a great thing, this year, to do a service project with the team and have it be something that speaks to the team. I was a little hesitant to do something out of the gate in honor of my mom, but after I talked to my family, we all [decided] it was something she would want me to do. From there, it was a no-brainer to do something to honor her and to do something for breast cancer.

“We really looked at something that spoke to us as a shut-down, defensive team. And we love blocking shots. Blocking shots is a thing that’s really big in our program, so it was something that we said would be cool to make [the program] performance-based specifically for using shot blocks to raise money for breast cancer.”

Drawing inspiration from a professor who likewise dealt with cancer tragedy in his personal life, Kempf and teammate Ryan McInchak began tying the program to Camp Kesem, a no-cost support service with year-round options for children whose lives have been impacted by a parent’s cancer. The organization simultaneously provided a one-week, no-cost overnight summer camp for kids aged six through 18, but its full impact is how it enables children to emotionally escape from the toll and tax enacted by cancer in their personal lives.

Being an active role model in the community is something Cornell players, including Kempf, have done for years under coach Mike Schafer (photo: courtesy Hank Kempf).

The Big Red Blocks for Healing program facilitated pledges based on the number of shots the team blocked during the season while continually offering one-time options for donations, and after blocking 370 shots during its 2022-2023 season, Cornell upped its goal from $5,000 to $10,000 after using 429 blocks to exceed its initial goal during the ECAC championship run this year.

“The student-athlete life is incredibly busy.” Kempf said. “And when you throw a project like this onto everything, it’s like another class that’s year-round. But I’ve gotten a ton of help from Ryan McInchak, who is kind of my right-hand man through all of this. During the setup process, I did a lot before the year started, and there’s a lot of reaching out to [people] for networking and stuff like that, but it’s a lot more enjoyable than doing another class.”

Beyond even those projects, the New York Rangers draft pick remains deeply tied to the community around him through the Racker Center, which supports children with disabilities, and the Newfield Schools Mentor Program, where he’s been a guest reader for children while hosting groups for events and skates at Lynah Rink.

“It’s been such a cool experience to learn what service is really about for the community at college [and beyond],” he admitted. “Hopefully, these are lessons that I can keep learning from and keep developing this passion as I keep maturing and getting older in life.”

Women’s Division I College Hockey: Wisconsin’s Casey O’Brien named USCHO Player of the Year

By Nicole Haase

April 5, 2024

Wisconsin forward Casey O’Brien came into this season as a two-time National Champion, Patty Kazmaier Award Top-Ten Finalist and having led the Badgers in all offensive categories last season. And this year she was even better.

O’Brien is the USCHO Player of the Year because she became a dynamic two-way player who dominated in the faceoff circle and made herself into one of the best centers in the country. The senior from Milton, Mass. was second in the country with 73 points (18 more than her previous career high) on 23 goals and 50 assists (21 more than her previous career high). Her 858 faceoffs taken were fourth most in the nation and her 59.2% win rate ranks fifth among players with at least 500 faceoffs taken.

She’s just the ninth player in NCAA women’s hockey history to register 50 assists – the last (and only one since 2005) was Amanda Kessel in 2013.

And she got better as the season wound down. Over the 23 games of the second half of the season, O’Brien averaged 2.04 points per game, with 15 goals and 32 assists. She came in clutch, scoring 1/3 of her goals in the final eight games of the year, including game winners over Ohio State in the conference championship game and St. Lawrence in the NCAA Quarterfinals. She added 12 assists over that same stretch. She was First-Team All-WCHA, WCHA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, a Patty Kazmaier Award Top-Three Finalist and named a First-Team All-American.

With a host of talented teammates, O’Brien stood out as she shifted her role and grew as a player and a leader who looked at her own strengths and found ways to make them even better and more impactful.

A small and deft forward who has always used her speed on breakaways, this season O’Brien harnessed her quickness and skating on both ends of the ice, becoming a more dynamic 200-foot player that could close down opponents. Her explosive first few strides had been a hallmark of her offensive play and certainly help on catching a breakaway on the backcheck, but she also learned to adapt and utilize her speed within the smaller confines of the defensive zone.

That meant winning the race to a dumped puck, getting to deflections along the boards and in the corners and putting pressure on opposing skaters who are forced into making quicker decisions – and often, mistakes. From there she wins the puck, flipping momentum and the run of play and feeding into the offensive breakouts.

With great vision on the ice and a knack for reading how the play will develop on offense, in developing a more dynamic 200-foot game, O’Brien became adept at shutting down shooting lanes and angling players to the perimeter on defense. The result is a multi-dimensional top line center who an opposing coach jokingly called a pain in the butt because it’s impossible to fully shut her down.

They might stop her on breakaways, they might be able to block or save a nasty shot that comes from her quick wrists, they might pick off her pinpoint passes to her wingers, they might use their size to pin her along the boards, they might deke around her on defense, they might beat her in the faceoff circle, the might open a shooting lane, they might keep her from pressuring the puck carrier. But they’re unlikely to be able to do all of those things all of the time.

O’Brien is feisty and tenacious and this year made herself good at so many parts of the game that the top teams in the country dreaded playing against her. She wasn’t satisfied, kept working and in doing so became a more complete player.

Congratulations to Casey O’Brien on being named the 2024 D-1 Women’s Player of the Year.

Quinnipiac’s Graf signs NHL deal with San Jose, leaves Bobcats after junior season

By USCHO Staff

April 4, 2024

Collin Graf was an impact player the last two seasons with Quinnipiac, especially during the Bobcats’ national championship run in 2023 after starting his NCAA career at Union (photo: Rob Rasmussen).

The NHL’s San Jose Sharks announced Thursday that the club has signed Quinnipiac junior forward Collin Graf to a standard, entry-level contract.

The contract will begin immediately for the 2023-24 season.

“Graf has excelled at the collegiate level, finishing as a Hobey Baker top-10 finalist for the last two seasons,” said San Jose GM Mike Grier in a statement. “His on-ice awareness allows him to process the game at a high level and is a unique player with a quality 200-foot game who excels in the offensive zone. We are excited to have him join the organization.”

Graf led Quinnipiac in scoring with 49 points and 22 goals and was second on the club with 27 assists in the 2023-24 season. Named ECAC Hockey’s player of the year and the conference’s best defensive forward, Graf registered 12 multi-point games on the season and tallied an assist in Quinnipiac’s NCAA quarterfinal contest, an overtime loss against top-ranked Boston College.

The native of Lincoln, Mass., helped the Bobcats win the NCAA national championship in the 2022-23 season as a sophomore, scoring a third-period, game-tying goal with 2:47 remaining in regulation to force the contest to a decisive overtime. Graf led the team in all scoring categories with 21 goals, 38 assists and 59 points, with his assist total tying for the NCAA lead and tied the program record in the process for most points in a season.

He was an HCA co-national player of the month in November, a two-time ECAC forward of the month in December and March, was tabbed for the ECAC first all-conference team, earned a spot on the NCAA all-tournament team, and was an AHCA first team All-American.

Graf played one year at Union before transferring to Quinnipiac, earning a spot on the ECAC all-academic team.

He finishes his collegiate career with 130 points (54 goals, 76 assists) in 112 games.

After pair of seasons with Quinnipiac, Lipkin leaves Bobcats, inks NHL deal with Coyotes

By USCHO Staff

April 4, 2024

Sam Lipkin was a go-to player this season for Quinnipiac (photo: Rob Rasmussen/P8Photos.com).

The NHL’s Arizona Coyotes announced Thursday that the club has signed Quinnipiac sophomore forward Sam Lipkin to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Lipkin will report to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.

“We are pleased to sign Sam Lipkin and have him join our organization,” said Arizona GM Bill Armstrong in a statement. “Sam is a big, skilled, two-way forward who had a very successful college career. We look forward to continuing to watch his development.”

Lipkin recorded 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points and added 37 penalty minutes in 39 games with the Bobcats in 2023-24. He also scored four power-play goals, had two short-handed goals and tallied 11 multi-point games.

The Lafayette Hill, Pa., native finished the 2022-23 campaign second on the team in scoring with 14-29-43 in 39 games and won the ECAC Hockey rookie of the year. He tallied the primary assist on the game-winning goal in overtime of the national championship game to help Quinnipiac win its first-ever NCAA title in a win over Minnesota.

Lipkin was originally drafted by the Coyotes in the seventh round (223rd overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Western Michigan’s Wendt leaves Broncos after junior year, signs NHL contract with New Jersey

By USCHO Staff

April 4, 2024

Dylan Wendt helped Western Michigan to a GLI championship as a sophomore (photo: Ashley Huss).

The NHL’s New Jersey Devils announced Thursday that the team has signed Western Michigan junior forward Dylan Wendt to a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2024-25.

Wendt will join the AHL’s Utica Comets on an amateur tryout for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

The Grand Haven, Mich., native recorded 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) in 38 games this season. His points and goal totals ranked second on Western Michigan, while his nine power-play goals and four game winners led the team. His shooting percentage (26.1%) was tops in all of college hockey (minimum 25 shots), his nine power-play goals cracked the NCAA’s top 10, at ninth overall, and his goal total was 10th in the NCAA.

Overall, Wendt earned 69 points (33 goals, 36 assists) in 111 career games with the Broncos.

He was named to the NCHC academic all-conference team in 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. He earned Western Michigan’s most improved player award last season.

North Dakota’s Blake, Boston University’s Celebrini, Boston College’s Gauthier named Hobey Hat Trick finalists for 2024 award as college hockey’s top player

By USCHO Staff

April 4, 2024

From left, Jackson Blake, Macklin Celebrini, Cutter Gauthier.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Committee has announced the three Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalists for the 2024 award, honoring college hockey’s top player.

Alphabetically, they are Jackson Blake, a sophomore forward from North Dakota; Macklin Celebrini, a freshman forward from Boston University; and Cutter Gauthier, a sophomore forward from Boston College.

The three finalists for this year’s Hobey Baker Award were selected from the initial list of Top Ten candidates by the 30-member Selection Committee and an additional round of online fan balloting. Criteria for the award include displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.

Five of the top ten Hobey Baker finalists will be playing in the NCAA Frozen Four national championship this year, with three of the four schools represented with a Hobey top-10 finalist in the tournament.

Jackson Blake – North Dakota – Sophomore, Forward

A standout sophomore at UND, Jackson Blake recorded 60 points which marks UND’s highest single season scoring output since Brock Boeser’s 60 points in the 2015-16 season. Blake’s scoring consistency included eight games with at least three points, contributing to a streak where he scored in 17 of the last 18 regular-season games. Blake joined Zach Parise as the second sophomore in the last 30 years to reach 100 career points at UND, he also shattered the NCHC single-season scoring record with 37 points in conference play. Remarkably, he led the team in points as a freshman, the first time this had been achieved at UND since 1980.

• Finished season with 22 goals, and 38 assists for 60 points in 40 games
• Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 4th round (109 overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft
• Named to NCHC First Team and was named NCHC Player of the Year and Forward of the Year
• Ranks fourth in the NCAA in points (60)

Macklin Celebrini – Boston University – Freshman, Forward

At just 17, Macklin Celebrini stands out as one of the country’s top centers, showcasing a comprehensive, 200-foot game that balances elite playmaking with diligent defensive responsibility. His blend of superior talent, hockey sense, competitive drive, and work ethic underscores his commitment to improvement, both on the ice and off it. Through 37 games, Celebrini has helped lead the Terriers to this year’s Frozen Four, and so far has recorded 64 points, including 12 power play goals and 4 game winning goals, ranking second nationally in goals and tied for second nationally in points. His play helped Celebrini lead the Terriers to the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four

• Currently has 32 goals and 32 assists for 64 points in 37 games
• A top prospect eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft ranked #1 on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings of top North American skaters
• Named Hockey East Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, and also named to Hockey East First Team, All Rookie Team, is the Hockey East Scoring Champion
• Named Most Outstanding Player of the Sioux Falls Regional and named to the All-Tournament team

Cutter Gauthier – Boston College – Sophomore, Forward

Cutter Gauthier is at the forefront nationally, boasting 37 goals and 64 points (tied for second in the nation), showcasing his knack for clutch moments with ten game-winners and proficiency on the power play with 13 goals. Throughout the season, he’s been a consistent force, hitting the score sheet in 34 out of 39 games and achieving multiple points in 18 games. His offensive abilities have helped Gauthier lead the Eagles to the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four.

• Currently has 37 goals and 27 assists for 64 points in 39 games
• Was selected in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft (fifth overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers, with his rights traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2024
• Named to Hockey East First Team and was the runner-up for Player of the Year
• Is the NCAA goal-scoring leader, and the NCAA leader in game winning goals

For more information on the Hobey Baker Memorial Award or to access the Hobey logo, visit hobeybaker.com/media. The website has additional bio info, statistics and video of the finalists.

The Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced on April 12 during a live broadcast on NHL Network and streamed at hobeybaker.com beginning at 6 p.m. EDT. Additional national awards will also be announced during the show.

Women’s Division I College Hockey: St. Lawrence’s Chris Wells named USCHO Coach of the Year

By Nicole Haase

April 4, 2024

The USCHO Coach of the Year does not necessarily go to the coach of the season’s title-winning team. There’s something to be said for being the person who put together a roster of top-tier talent, getting them to meld and guiding them to the finish line, but we also like to recognize coaches who have done excellent work in spite of coming up short of the ultimate goal. While each of the coaches in this season’s Frozen Four is a previous winner of the award, this season it felt right to name St. Lawrence’s Chris Wells our Coach of the Year.

It was a spectacular year for the Saints, who just last season finished below .500 and were sixth in the ECAC, exiting the conference tournament in the first round.

As senior captain Julia Gosling put it, her team barely qualified for the ECAC Tournament her freshman season (when only eight teams advanced to the postseason).

In arguably the country’s toughest conference, where the same teams have dominated the top half of the standings and moving up has proven notoriously difficult, St. Lawrence broke through. Their 28 wins this season were the most of any team in Wells’ 16 year tenure at St. Lawrence and their third-place finish was the highest of any team since his first year in the role (Covid-shortened season not withstanding).

Importantly, the Saints got better as the season progressed. They finished on a six-game win streak, including upsets of No. 6 Cornell and No. 3 Colgate. After losing a pair of games to those same teams to open up the second-half, the Saints were on a tear and lost just one game of 13 as the regular season wound down.

Peaking at the right time during a six-month season isn’t easy, but Wells had not just his team, but individual players performing at their best when it mattered most. Abby Hustler had 12 goals and 23 points through her first 19 games, but Wells knew she was capable of more and needed to be pushed to believe in herself.

She was named Hockey Commissioners Association Women’s Player of the Month in January where she led the nation with six goals and 19 points in nine games during the month. Not only did she start producing offensively, but her two-way game became stronger. She registered just three of her sixteen blocks before the winter break. For her efforts, she was named a Patty Kazmaier Award top-ten finalist, the program’s first since 2017.

St. Lawrence lost to Clarkson in the conference semifinals, but finished seventh in the Pairwise and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2017. Their opening round win over Penn State was the first of Wells’ career and the program’s first since 2007. The season was so monumental for this program that the university president and one of the women that played on St. Lawrence’s very first women’s hockey team in 1979 made the trek to Madison to cheer the team on.

Wells is a passionate coach who gets animated on the bench, can be heard across the arena and keeps a laminated paper in his pocket that informs the officials he would like to challenge a play. A St. Lawrence alum himself, he is keyed in to the greater campus and Canton, NY community and his love for the Saints program and his players is clear in how he talks about them – he was moved to tears more than once after their two NCAA games.

In a season where the two teams that finished above them in the conference standings advanced to the final weekend, Wells and the Saints stood out. They were resilient and adaptable. They bounced back from loses, eked out close wins and when facing their toughest opponent with their season on the line, they played what Wells called a perfect game. They executed their plan, weren’t intimidated and played their best game.

In recognition of all the Saints accomplished this season, Chris Well is USCHO’s Coach of the Year.

Live from St. Paul: USCHO Frozen Four Live! podcast covers the 2024 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four

By USCHO Staff

April 4, 2024

USCHO podcasts are going on the road, and you can join us for live broadcasts during the 2024 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

USCHO Frozen Four Live! with Ed Trefzger, Jim Connelly and Derek Schooley will have live events featuring special guests and giveaways on four days at Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub, 258 7th St W, near the Xcel Energy Center.

Here’s the schedule (all times Central):

Wednesday, April 10: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Thursday, April 11: Noon to 2 p.m.

Friday, April 12: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 13: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

If you won’t be in St. Paul, check out the podcast from wherever you are on our site, on Apple Podcasts, in your favorite podcast app, or on Spreaker.

Check out all of USCHO’s college hockey podcasts, including USCHO Weekend Review and USCHO Edge, plus our entire podcast archive.

Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist Feature: With LIU program still in relevant infancy, Sharks’ Quinn working at rink, out in community to lay foundation, ‘something that can make this program great’

By Matthew Semisch

April 4, 2024

LIU’s Jack Quinn regularly meets youth players from the area to provide tips, sign autographs, and to help build the LIU fan base (photo: Hockey In Harlem).

Having only launched in 2020, Long Island’s men’s hockey program has worked to build a fanbase for the Sharks, who know community work goes a long way toward that goal.

And there probably isn’t another LIU player who has delivered on that brief quite like senior forward Jack Quinn has.

Carrying on with a servant heart that he developed in his elementary school days, Quinn has worked tirelessly to grow the sport of hockey in the greater Long Island and New York City areas. That’s why he is one of this year’s five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award.

“It’s one of those things that’s clichéd, but you really can’t say enough good things about him,” LIU coach Brett Riley said. “It’s like having an extra coach on staff in so many ways, and this is our fourth year, so he has grown with the program. Not everybody who has started on this journey has finished it, unfortunately, but he’s one of our four founding fathers, and while he’s a good player and an every-night guy for us, the standard he sets with the way he lives his life is unbelievable.

“I think he’s as good of a leader as anyone in college hockey, and for us as a young program, it is and it isn’t about wins and losses. You obviously want to be competitive and you want to win, but the foundation he has laid is something that can make this program great.”

Jack Quinn donned the ‘C’ this season for LIU (photo: Adam Rubin).

One of five siblings, Quinn’s knack for philanthropy came from his father, who encouraged him at a young age to play Little League Challenger baseball, a unified program that raises the skills of players with physical and intellectual disabilities. His public service continued while he attended a prep school in his home state of Massachusetts, and now at LIU, he has led on-ice events with a number of youth and adult hockey programs.

Among them are the Long Island Warriors, a program consisting only of military veterans who use the sport as therapy to cope with physical and mental disabilities. Additionally, Quinn and several LIU teammates have assisted with Hockey In Harlem, a youth initiative that brings inner-city children to an arena in Queens to learn the sport and hone their skills.

“it’s about making hockey fun for them,” Quinn said. “That’s one of the best things: These kids don’t really care about being the best hockey players. They obviously want to get better and want to learn, but they also just want to have fun, and as a college hockey player, where it’s so focused on win, win, win, win, it’s kind of a relief to go see kids having fun with the game, and to be able to see the game in its raw form.”

Quinn’s schedule is seemingly forever busy, but his extraordinary time management skills allow for it.

“He makes doing extra and being in the community cool,” Riley said. “We have such a great youth hockey community on the island, and it’s a lot of youth players and teams, and they’re all asking for Quinny, J.Q., No 19, at every game. It has made a difference in so many ways. It was something that started as maybe going to a youth hockey skate or going to Hockey In Harlem, and it has become something much bigger.

“There was almost a time where I don’t want to say we were doing too much in the community, but it was like, this kid needs to do schoolwork and rest. We would get back from a series in Alaska, or Trip X or Y, and there he’d be, skates on, youth practice. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”

Later this year, Quinn will begin attending physical therapy school at UMass Lowell. There will be new challenges to face, but his public outreach will only continue.

Jack Quinn takes time out from his regular schedule to work with the Hockey In Harlem program (photo: Hockey In Harlem).

“Between hockey, school and everything in the community, you definitely learn to allocate time and manage it properly,” he said. “I can’t miss school and hockey at Long Island, obviously, but I don’t have much free time. I can’t sit still. I can’t just hang out at my house for a few hours, so when I do have free time, I like to try and do stuff, and I get a great sense of pride from going out in the community to do things. It’s a great tradeoff for my time.

“That’s one of the big reasons I picked physical therapy as something to go into. The amount of people that you can have a positive impact on is awesome, with the patients coming in who want to get back to what they love to do. I’m excited to be able to be a part of that puzzle.”

Women’s Division I College Hockey: Ohio State’s Joy Dunne is USCHO’s 2024 Rookie of the Year

By Nicole Haase

April 4, 2024

The expectations were high for Joy Dunne coming into her freshman year. She was named WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year, was captain of the US team at the 2023 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships and there’s that highly recognizable last name, particularly in Columbus.

In the face of all that pressure, she played in every game for the Buckeyes, helping them to program-record numbers in goals, assists, points and conference wins. Dunne led Ohio State with 24 goals, which was also the most in the country among rookies and tied for sixth in the nation among all skaters. Her six game-winning goals paced her team and was tied for sixth in the country. She is the first Buckeye rookie to record 40 points since the 2017-18 season. A clutch player, she scored a goal in six of the Buckeyes’ final seven games.

If it wasn’t already clear what a special, game-changing player Dunne is, she closed out her massive first season by scoring a decisive goal in the national semifinal and her team’s only goal to win the National Championship.

Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall calls out Dunne’s strength, shot, knowledge and relentlessness as reasons why she was able to win this award among a number of talented rookies this season.

“She has a high hockey IQ. She is a very unselfish hockey player, but she plays very physical,” Muzerall said.

Dunne uses her 5’11” frame to carve out space on the ice, shield the puck and cut in towards the goal mouth. Her snappy wrister is both deceptively strong and incredibly accurate. She picks her spot and places the puck with ease – the two goals she scored at the Frozen Four were from different locations, but still looked remarkably the same as she found space at midrange to release her wrister that beat the goalie before they realized it was past them.

“I haven’t seen many women shoot the puck the way she does, not just in terms of power, but in terms of accuracy and purpose,” Muzerall said after the national semifinal.

In each postgame at the Frozen Four, Dunne talked about trusting in herself and the work she’d done in the year leading up to those games – and even before – to guide her. That wrist shot, she said, she’d practiced hundreds of times this year alone. She was confident in it and herself and comfortable with relying on her instincts to unleash it in those high-pressure situations.

After settling for a bronze at the World Championships last winter, Dunne said she and her teammates never wanted to feel like that again. That same drive was apparent as Ohio State pushed for their second title. Dunne herself hadn’t been on the OSU team that lost the final game last season, but she took their disappointment as their own and was motivated by getting redemption for her teammates.

On a team of veterans, with NCAA and international championship experience, Dunne carved out a space where she both learned from them and led them and in doing so became Ohio State’s first-ever Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Year.

She won that award before the Frozen Four began, then went out and solidified in front of a national audience why it was the right call.

In recognition of a stellar season, Joy Dunne is this year’s USCHO Rookie of the Year.

Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist Feature: Syracuse’s Thompson travelling world to fuel Sticks Together initiative with love of hockey, passion for sport at forefront

By John Doyle

April 3, 2024

Syracuse hockey player Sarah Thompson traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the non-profit organization she founded, Sticks Together, which provides children opportunities to learn and grow through the sport of ice hockey. (photo: stickstogether.org).

It’s fair to ask if 15 is too young for an athlete to commit to a college future.

After all, a long time remains before they make the leap from high school to college and teenagers are known to change their minds with sometimes stunning frequency.

But it was at 15 that Sarah Thompson chose to study and play hockey at Syracuse, making the decision to commit to the central New York campus a little over a week after a visit.

“I felt this school had everything,” said Thompson, who just wrapped up her fourth year with the Orange. “I could sense the community already. Everybody was wearing orange. I was walking around campus, and I was truly blown away. It was an easy decision, and a quick decision.”

At Syracuse, where she said she plans to play next year as a graduate student, Thompson has laid the groundwork for what she hopes is a lifetime in hockey. With a sport management major and a minor in sport analytics under her belt, Thompson said she hopes to play professionally then work for an NHL team.

Sarah Thompson scored nine goals and added four assists for 13 points this season for the Orange (photo: Diana Valdivia).

She also hopes to continue the non-profit organization she launched two years ago, Sticks Together, which provides children in disadvantaged areas opportunities to learn and grow through the sport of ice hockey.

Through Sticks Together, Thompson has traveled the world aiming to reach families living in low-income communities where opportunities for children to learn and play sports can be few and far between.

Her efforts with Sticks Together have earned Thompson the honor of being named a finalist for this year’s Hockey Humanitarian Award.

During a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thompson and her group brought street-hockey equipment — including sticks, cones and nets — to children in a soccer-mad country who were, at first, a little bewildered at the sight of gear for a new and unfamiliar sport.

“They had no idea what it even was,” Thompson said. “But it was so exciting to have something new. And just having us there, all the hugs we got. They just appreciate every little thing they have, so much. It made me realize that a lot of the things I stress about, I really shouldn’t, because I’m very fortunate.”

The street version of the sport was the perfect vessel to introduce hockey to children in Argentina, where opportunities to play on ice are limited. In fact, street hockey was where Thompson first started to play the game growing up in Ottawa.

“All the boys in my neighborhood were playing, and I just picked up a stick,” Thompson said. “My dad was like, hey, maybe she’d actually want to play this. So then I learned to skate. That’s how I really got into it. That’s the grassroots of the game and how so many people in Canada fall in love with the game, just starting out on your front yard.”

Passion for sport is the root of what motivated Thompson to start Sticks Together. Thompson — whose travels with Sticks Together have also brought her to South Africa — said it was at a soccer game in Buenos Aires featuring the professional club La Boca where she got a taste of how passion for sport can feed a community.

“We were being thrown around in mosh pits, basically, and they scored one goal, and I’ll never forget — the woman next to me, grabbed me and started crying,” Thompson said. “I was like, this is crazy. Soccer is a religion for them. They’re just so passionate and it brings people together so much more than I’d ever seen before. That was special, seeing how much happiness sports brings to the people.”

Sarah Thompson plays tough on the ice and loves giving back off the ice (photo: stickstogether.org).

Thompson said she’s not ready to give up playing hockey yet.

“It’s far too soon for that,” she said. “I don’t see myself being done with my playing career any time soon. Beyond that, I want to stay connected in hockey in any way possible.

“The future, I have no idea what it’s going to look like, but I know hockey will be a part of it.”

To learn more about Sticks Together, visit www.stickstogether.org.

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