Adrian junior Jessica VonRuden finished fourth in NCHA scoring during the abbreviated 2020-21 season (photo: Mike Dickie).
The NCHA women’s conference has announced the 2020-21 season award winners, as well as the all-conference team and all-freshman team.
The 2020-21 player of the year is Adrian junior forward Jessica VonRuden. She finished fourth in the league in points during the shortened eight-game conference season, recording 14 on seven goals and seven assists.
St. Scholastica blueliner Lisa LaRoche was named the top first-year player, while St. Scholastica’s Jackie MacMillan is the coach of the year.
LaRoche played a big role in the CSS defense finishing second in the league with a 1.12 goals-against average. She finished tied for 11th in scoring overall with 10 points (five goals, five assists), a number that placed second among defensemen, and second among freshmen. She also was tied for fifth in power-play points.
MacMillan led the Saints to a perfect 8-0-0 league ledger, earning the Kronschnabel Trophy for the first time in program history. The team finished 14-2-0 overall and led the NCHA in scoring offense (6.62 GPG) by a wide margin of over 1.5 goals per game. The Saints were runner-up in the Slaats Cup title game.
2020-21 Women’s NCHA All-Conference Team
Forward: Rachel Anderson, St. Scholastica, Sr.
Forward: Une Bjelland, Adrian, So.
Forward: Ally Hull, Concordia Wisconsin, Sr.
Forward: Olivia Matson, Aurora, Sr.
Forward: Taylor Thompson, St. Scholastica, Sr.
Forward: Jessica VonRuden, Adrian, Jr.
Defense: Lisa LaRoche, St. Scholastica, Fr.
Defense: Jordan Trapp, Lake Forest, Sr.
Defense: Sarah Tretina, Concordia Wisconsin, Jr.
Defense: Kathryn Truban, Adrian, Fr.
Goalie: Lori Huseby, St. Scholastica, Sr.
Goalie: Denisa Jandova, Adrian, Jr.
2020-21 Women’s NCHA All-Freshman Team
Forward: Allie Bussey, St. Scholastica
Forward: Hannah Cunha, Marian
Forward: Callie Wollschlager, Adrian
Defense: Lisa LaRoche, St. Scholastica
Defense: Kathryn Truban, Adrian
Goalie: Tia Glube, Aurora
Goalie: Kayla Kolpitcke, Marian
St. Cloud State is into the Frozen Four for only the second time (photo: Rich Gagnon).
For only the second time in the 16-team NCAA tournament era, the Men’s Frozen Four won’t include a No. 1 regional seed.
It’ll be No. 2 seeds UMass, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State joining No. 3 seed and two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth in the 2021 semifinals in Pittsburgh on April 8.
The only other time since the tournament expanded in 2003 that none of the No. 1 regional seeds advanced to the Frozen Four was 2007.
St. Cloud State will play Minnesota State in the 5 p.m. ET semifinal at PPG Paints Arena. UMass will face Minnesota Duluth in the 9 p.m. ET game. The winners play at 7 p.m. ET on April 10 for the national championship.
Here are four quick notes on the 2021 Men’s Frozen Four field:
Land of three Frozen Four teams
Minnesota got all five of its Division I men’s teams into the NCAA tournament for the first time this season and now it’s only the second state to advance three teams to the Frozen Four.
The other was Michigan, which had the Wolverines, Michigan State and Lake Superior State in the 1992 event. The Lakers won the championship.
A dynasty or a new champion
Minnesota State is in its first Frozen Four while it’s the second for UMass (also 2019) and St. Cloud State (also 2013, also in Pittsburgh). All three are in search of their first NCAA title.
The Bulldogs can become the first team to appear in four straight championship games and the first since Michigan (1951-53) to win three straight championships. The 2020 tournament was canceled because of the pandemic but UMD won titles in 2018 and 2019 and lost to Denver in the 2017 final.
A Frozen Four repeat
Minnesota Duluth and UMass have played only one time but it was a consequential game. The Bulldogs won the 2019 NCAA championship with a 3-0 victory against the Minutemen in Buffalo, N.Y.
The other semifinal matches a WCHA team against a former WCHA foe. St. Cloud State and Minnesota State have played 137 times including both teams pre-Division I eras, starting in the 1969-70 season. The Mavericks lead the series 72-55-10 but the Huskies are 9-3 in the last 12 meetings. As Division I teams, St. Cloud State leads the series 27-18-7.
WCHA back in play
Minnesota State is the first WCHA team to make the Frozen Four since conference reorganization in 2013.
The Mavericks lost in the first round of their first six NCAA tournament appearances, in 2003, 2015, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019. They got their first tournament victory Saturday by rallying from a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 overtime triumph against Quinnipiac.
Minnesota State celebrates its first Frozen Four berth after a victory against Minnesota (photo: Ashley Potts, Minnesota State).
Minnesota State needed a first-round rally to rid itself of the cloud of being winless in the NCAA tournament.
Freed of that burden, the Mavericks made the next step — to the Frozen Four — with a solid start-to-finish effort.
Sam Morton and Ryan Sandelin scored first-period goals, and Dryden McKay made 22 saves for his 10th shutout in Minnesota State’s 4-0 victory against Minnesota in the Loveland Regional final on Sunday.
“It was no secret we got the monkey off our back [Saturday] night,” McKay said. “It seemed like we were playing much more loose, much more free tonight. That’s probably the best team game that I’ve seen since I’ve come to Mankato. Just start to finish, everybody was bought in, everyone was dialed in to what we wanted to do.”
The Mavericks, 0-6 in the NCAA tournament as a Division I team entering the weekend, will face St. Cloud State in the Frozen Four semifinals on April 8.
Morton and Sandelin scored 2:07 apart in the opening period as Minnesota State completed a reversal from a humbling, 5-1 loss to Northern Michigan at home in the WCHA semifinals on March 19.
“We weren’t feeling too good after we lost to Northern Michigan,” Mavericks coach Mike Hastings said. “And I know there were a lot of people doubting us. The group really stepped up.”
They held the Gophers to nine shots on goal over the first two periods. Minnesota brought pressure in the third but the Mavericks added on with a Nathan Smith score midway through the frame and an empty-net goal by Dallas Gerads.
Minnesota State (22-4-1) blocked 23 shots; the Gophers had only 22 shots on goal.
“I have to tip my cap to the team tonight,” McKay said. “I’ve never seen an effort like that as far as the commitment to blocking shots, the selflessness. That’s something we pride our game on. They made my life pretty easy back there.”
Minnesota (24-7), which scored seven times in a first-round victory against Omaha on Saturday, had its offense stymied for most of the regional final.
The Gophers were shut out for the first time this season.
“It was definitely a frustrating game when pucks and bounces aren’t going your way,” Minnesota forward Sammy Walker said. “I tip my hat to them. They played a great game. They shut us down. They’re a veteran team. They block shots and sacrifice, and you couldn’t really get it in there so that’s what they did well tonight.”
Sandelin scored the overtime goal against Quinnipiac on Saturday that completed Minnesota State’s rally from a 3-1 deficit. On Sunday, he added an assist to his seventh goal of the season and was named the regional’s most outstanding player.
Hastings called the line of Morton, Brendan Furry and Sandelin “difference makers.”
That was especially true in the first period when the Mavericks set the tone with long stretches of puck possession.
“We wanted to try to get to our game a lot sooner than we did the night before,” Hastings said. “I just thought we came out and we were real tight last night. Tonight, I thought the guys came out and played with some confidence.”
Minnesota State got 13 saves in the third period from McKay, the only one of 10 Hobey Baker Award finalists to make it to the Frozen Four.
McKay was a freshman in 2019 when the Mavericks lost in the first round for the sixth time. Two of the last three defeats were when they were a No. 1 regional seed, including the top overall seed in 2015.
Minnesota State’s step into the Frozen Four was just a start of the process, McKay said.
“We want to earn our respect and we knew the only way to do that was to come to the big stage and get the job done,” he said. “We’re halfway there.”
St. Cloud State players celebrate their Albany Regional victory against Boston College (photo: Rich Gagnon).
St. Cloud State is headed to the Frozen Four thanks to a couple of unlikely goal scorers coming up big against one of the top goalies in the country.
Huskies seniors Luke Jaycox and Will Hammer entered Sunday’s Albany Regional final with a combined one goal this season, but each of them scored against Boston College’s Spencer Knight in a wild three-goal second period that propelled No. 2 St. Cloud to a 4-1 win over the top-seeded Eagles and the second Frozen Four appearance in program history.
Nolan Walker and Micah Miller also scored for the Huskies, who were the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament in 2018 and 2019 but lost in the opening round each year. St. Cloud will face Minnesota State in Pittsburgh on April 8. The Huskies’ only other Frozen Four appearance was also in Pittsburgh, where St. Cloud lost to Quinnipiac in the 2013 semifinal.
“We came into this weekend not looking at the past; we were looking at this year,” Jaycox said. “Our goal was to put that behind us and focus on what we need to do here.”
David Hrenak had 26 saves for the Huskies (19-10) and was named the regional’s most outstanding player. Knight had 32 saves for BC, while Matt Boldy scored the lone goal for the Eagles. BC advanced to the regional final after Notre Dame withdrew from the NCAA tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.
It didn’t look good for St. Cloud early. The Huskies trailed 1-0 entering the second and then lost leading scorer Easton Brodzinski for the game in the opening minute of the period. The senior, who scored twice Saturday against Boston University, took a hard hit from the Eagles’ Trevor Kuntar and was on the ice for several minutes before being helped into the locker room. St. Cloud coach Brett Larson did not have an update on Brodzinski’s condition after the game.
“I could hear the boys saying ‘let’s play for Easton,’” Larson said. “He’s put his heart and soul into the program and the boys wanted to get it done for him.”
Jaycox started the scoring for the Huskies 9:21 into the second period, putting a rebound past Knight to tie the score. St. Cloud then went ahead on Hammer’s goal at 15:15. Knight made a pair of quick saves with a mass of bodies in front of the crease, but the Eagles couldn’t clear the rebound and the Huskies forward snapped a shot past Knight to make it 2-1.
“We work on a lot of things all year long and I saw [Zach Okabe] coming up the wall a little bit with the puck and he looked at me and I could tell he was going to throw it on net,” Jaycox said.
Walker capped a strong period for St. Cloud with a goal at 19:15 that was initially waved off due to goalie interference. But that call was reversed after a lengthy review, giving the Huskies a two-goal lead heading into the final period.
“I was kind of freaking out a little bit in the [penalty] box,” Walker said. “I drove the net and saw the puck go in before I thought I hit the goalie, so I thought it was a goal the whole time.”
Boston College (17-6-1) went up 1-0 on Boldy’s goal at 14:23 in the first after the Eagles’ forecheck freed the puck along the boards.
But St. Cloud shut down Boston College after that, holding the nation’s second-highest scoring offense to a combined 16 shots in the final two periods. Miller’s empty-net goal in the final minute of the third sealed the win for the Huskies. It was the junior’s second goal in as many nights after not scoring since St. Cloud’s season opener on Dec. 1.
“They are very good with the 1-2-2 defense in the neutral zone,” said Eagles coach Jerry York. “It was hard to generate any odd-man rushes. We were at our best when we chipped it in and tried to retrieve the puck.”
The Huskies’ win ensured that Minnesota will have three teams in the Frozen Four. It’s the first time a state has sent three teams to the Frozen Four since Michigan did so in 1992.
“We’re proud of our hockey there, from youth hockey all the way through high school, and into college,” said Larson, a Minnesota native who played for Minnesota Duluth. “When I grew up, I didn’t dream of playing in the NHL; I dreamed of playing college. I think that’s the way a lot of kids feel. … Most of us grew up on a rink from the day we were 4 or 5 and if you grew up with it, then you love it.”
Notre Dame junior forward Alex Steeves lead the Irish in scoring during the 2020-21 season (photo: Notre Dame Athletics).
Notre Dame junior forward and leading scorer Alex Steeves has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving up his senior season with the Fighting Irish.
During the 2020-21 season, Steeves put together career-high totals for goals (15), assists (17) and points (32) in 29 games. His 15 goals were also a team-high total, and he ended the season on a seven-game point streak (five goals, five assists) and he posted at least one point in 22 of 29 games.
Overall, the Eden Prairie, Minn., native skated in 104 career games, totaling 69 points on 33 goals and 36 assists in South Bend.
Marian capped a season played amid a pandemic with its first conference championship since 2002. (Photo courtesy of Marian athletics)
Victory had eluded the grasp of Marian’s men’s hockey team once again on a Friday night in late February. The losing streak was now at four games.
Forget about the possibility of winning a championship. The Sabres weren’t even sure if they would make the NCHA tournament.
“There wasn’t a lot of opportunity left,” Marian head coach Zach Gaynor said. “The need to salvage the season was there, but there were definitely thoughts of what the rest of the season was going to look like. Are we going to make the playoffs?”
Over the next 11 games, that question was answered, the Sabres (12-7) winning nine times during an impressive stretch of hockey that ended with them winning the Harris Cup for the first time in nearly two decades.
In a season played amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a season where Marian wasn’t even sure if it would play hockey – a lot of teams in NCAA Division III didn’t play — the Sabres found a way to navigate the challenges and capture the title with a two-game sweep of the Milwaukee School of Engineering last weekend at home.
“It was pretty 50-50,” Gaynor said about playing a season. “There was a lot of hope for it, but I think looking at the realistic side of things, we probably didn’t see it come to fruition.”
But the school found a way to make it happen.
“It was a matter of seeing what the county would let us do and what the school was willing to take on as far as responsibility goes,” Gaynor said. “We’re a pretty small school. We don’t have a lot of resources, but we were able to figure out a way to get it done. It was the best thing that could have happened for our program. We were grateful to have a year when a lot of teams didn’t.”
Turning the opportunity to have a season into a title required shifting gears during that losing streak the team endured in February.
This was supposed to be a rebuild year. The Sabres had 11 freshmen on the roster. The lone senior was transfer Andrew Frojelin out of Nazareth College.
“We were very young and I was making the mistake of coaching my team and structuring the team as if we had a lot of veterans,” Gaynor said. “Once it clicked that we were doing things the wrong way, we were able to turn the corner and have some success.”
Big changes were made, including in film sessions.
“We stopped watching video on ourselves and watched it on other teams. We took a lot of pressure off the guys,” Gaynor said. “We made everything more about teaching moments rather than a demand on expectations and being more result reliant. It was a complete overhaul and the guys had more enjoyment with it.”
One of the most interesting aspects of this team was that only two players, Parker Colley and Ty Enns, finished in the top 20 in scoring.
Colley finished with eight goals and 16 assists while Enns racked up 11 goals and 13 assists. They were among five players in the league tied for 20th in points.
“We saw more team play in the second half of the year,” Gaynor said. “The most rewarding part was seeing them play their best and play together. That ultimately led to what we got at the end of the year.”
Gaynor praised his team’s mental toughness and resiliency and reminded his players throughout the season to enjoy the time they had on the ice.
“Once we got on the ice, life was normal again. It was as if COVID wasn’t an issue,” Gaynor said. “At the end of the day, nobody could take that way from us.”
And no one can ever take away the championship either.
“To end the season with a win and and on a high note was great,” Gaynor said. “It’s been a long time coming for this group. There was a lot of learning and development. A lot of guys have come and gone and a lot of the alumni paved the way for us to be in that championship. It was really exciting for the players. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
It took five overtimes but Minnesota Duluth, which led 2-0 late in regulation, beat North Dakota, 3-2, to end the longest game in NCAA Tournament history (File photo)
FARGO, N.D. — For 40 minutes, the battle for the Fargo Regional title between old rivals North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth was deadlocked at 0-0. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in just 80 seconds in the third period, only to have the Fighting Hawks tie the game with two extra-attacker goals in 47 seconds Saturday at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota.
By the time the game ended, it set a new NCAA record for longest game in tournament history at 142:13.
Luke Mylmok broke loose, skated in on goaltender Adam Scheel with a defender on him and beat him with a wrist shot 2:13 into the fifth overtime period for a 3-2 victory for the Bulldogs.
“I thought our team played great,” said Bulldogs head coach Scott Sandelin. “North Dakota again showed their resolve, come back, tie it. Then we play a marathon overtime and we get a big goal from a freshman that got some ice time later in the overtimes.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group. I thought our guys played great.”
Sandelin started freshman goaltender Zach Stejskal over sophomore Ryan Fanti. For over 58 minutes, the move proved brilliant. Then, for 64:37 more, he shut down North Dakota 30 more times before cramping up and being replaced by Fanti, who made six saves over the next 17:36.
“We just felt he was ready to play and we felt he could do the job,” Sandelin said, “just like, going into the tournament, we felt Ryan (could be the guy). We’ve seen that all year. At the end of the year, they each got games hoping that maybe one of them would grab it and run with it. The best part for us is that we have two that can go in there and win games for us. We saw that tonight. I thought Zach played great for us tonight.”
Minnesota Duluth, the two-time defending national champion, advanced to its fourth straight Frozen Four.
Stejskal held the Fighting Hawks’ offense off the scoreboard until the 18:19 mark of the third when center Collin Adams banked a puck past him from below the goal line.
The Bulldogs (15-10-2 overall) iced the puck shortly after, giving the Fighting Hawks another faceoff in the offensive zone with Scheel again on the bench. Captain Jordan Kawaguchi set himself up in the right circle. When the puck came to him, he wasted no time burying it behind Stejskal at 19:03.
The common denominator on both Fighting Hawks (22-6-1 overall) goals to even the game was center Shane Pinto. On Adams’ goal, defenseman Jake Sanderson fed the puck over to Pinto along the left boards. Pinto one-timed the pass and Stejskal directed the rebound below the goal line, where Adams jumped on it.
On the second goal, assistant captain Matt Kiersted made a similar pass to Pinto, whose shot from almost the same place he shot from a minute earlier caromed over to Kawaguchi.
The Bulldogs broke the scoreless tie 3:21 into the third when winger Koby Bender won a puck battle in the corner to Scheel’s left. He threw the puck back to defenseman Hunter Lellig at the right point. Lellig fired a wrist shot that center Jackson Cates tipped out of the air and past Scheel.
Just 80 seconds later, assistant captain Cole Koepke blocked a shot from Fighting Hawks defenseman Ethan Frisch. The puck bounced out of the zone and Koepke drove hard past Frisch, got to the puck, skated in alone from the red line and beat Scheel with a wrist shot.
The Bulldogs appeared to score the game-winner goal 7:38 into the first overtime, but upon review, it was determined that Bender, who was driving the puck into the offensive zone, crossed the blue line without full control of the puck, negating the goal scored shortly after winger Kobe Roth.
Scheel stopped 51 for the Fighting Hawks.
Sandelin’s son, Ryan, scored an overtime goal for Minnesota State in their West Regional semifinal contest earlier in the day.
In one of college hockey’s longest NCAA Tournament game of all time, Minnesota Duluth beat North Dakota, 3-2 in five overtimes, to advance the Bulldogs to their fourth straight Frozen Four. (Photo by Russell Hons)
FARGO, N.D. — Luke Mylymok’s wrist shot at 2:13 of the fifth overtime period ended the longest game in NCAA tournament history as Minnesota Duluth defeated North Dakota, 3-2, to advance to the Frozen Four.
For 40 minutes, the battle between old rivals North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth was deadlocked at 0-0. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in just 80 seconds in the third period, only to have the Fighting Hawks tie the game with two extra-attacker goals in 47 seconds Saturday at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota.
From there, the game remained 2-2 in overtime. The game is headed for a fifth overtime period. It is now the longest all-time NCAA Tournament game.
Bulldogs head coach Scott Sandelin started freshman goaltender Zach Stejskal over sophomore Ryan Fanti. For over 58 minutes, the move proved brilliant as Stejskal, who was playing in his eighth game of the season, held the Fighting Hawks offense off the scoreboard until the 18:19 mark of the third when center Collin Adams banked a puck past him from below the goal line with goaltender Adam Scheel watching from the bench.
The Bulldogs iced the puck shortly after, giving the Fighting Hawks another faceoff in the offensive zone with goaltender Adam Scheel on the bench. Captain Jordan Kawaguchi set himself up in the right circle. When the puck came to him, he wasted no time burying it behind Stejskal at 19:03.
The common denominator on both Fighting Hawks goals to even the game was center Shane Pinto. On Adams’ goal, defenseman Jake Sanderson fed the puck over to Pinto along the left boards. Pinto one-timed the pass and Stejskal directed the rebound below the goal line, where Adams jumped on it.
On the second goal, assistant captain Matt Kiersted made a similar pass to Pinto, whose shot from almost the same place he shot from earlier caromed over to Kawaguchi.
The Bulldogs had broken the scoreless tie 3:21 into the third when winger Koby Bender won a puck battle in the corner to Scheel’s left. He threw the puck back to defenseman Hunter Lellig at the right point. Lellig fired a wrist shot that center Jackson Cates tipped out of the air and past Scheel.
Just 80 seconds later, assistant captain Cole Koepke blocked a shot from Fighting Hawks defenseman Ethan Frisch. The puck bounced out of the zone and Koepke drove hard past Frisch, got to the puck, skated in alone from the red line and beat Scheel with a wrist shot.
The Bulldogs appeared to score the game-winner goal 7:38 into the first overtime, but upon review, it was determined that Bender, who was driving the puck into the offensive zone, crossed the blue line without full control of the puck, negating the goal scored shortly after winger Kobe Roth.
Jake Gaudet, Oliver Chau and Colin Felix celebrate one of UMass’ four goals Saturday night (photo: Matt Dewkett).
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — With a 4-0 win over Bemidji State – and a natural hat trick by senior Carson Gicewicz – the UMass Minutemen advance to Pittsburgh, making their second consecutive Frozen Four appearance.
“I thought that was a very dominant game, a very thorough game by our group,” said coach Greg Carvel. “We came out, we set the tone, and played very strong, defensive hockey. I don’t think we gave up a ton. There weren’t a ton of scoring chances in the game, but our first line was huge this weekend and scored most of our goals.”
The UMass top line of Oliver Chau, Jake Gaudet and Gicewicz was responsible for seven of the nine goals the Minutemen tallied in Bridgeport. In Friday’s 5-1 win over Lake Superior State, Gaudet netted two and Gicewicz scored one. In tonight’s game, Chau had the Minutemen’s fourth goal.
After expressing his displeasure with his team’s performance against the Lakers Friday, Carvel said that tonight the Minutemen responded well.
“I was not happy with the game yesterday” said Carvel. “It happens. You’re not going to get an A-plus game every night, but tonight was an A-plus game.”
There was one area of the UMass game that Carvel said was lacking, the Minutemen’s special teams.
“We took too many penalties,” said Carvel, “and I didn’t like our power play tonight, but five-on-five, a real dominant effort by our group.” Carvel was pointed specifically to an extended two-man advantage in the middle of the second period.
“I thought the only part of the game when we sank a bit was when we got the five-on-three power play,” said Carvel. “We’d gone up 3-0 and things are going our way and you get that five-on-three power play, we stopped playing as hard as we were and started cheating a little bit the last five minutes of the second period. I wasn’t happy with that.”
Gicewicz opened the scoring at 14:24 in the first, finishing a shorthanded odd-man rush with 10 seconds remaining in the Bemidji State power play and less than a minute after a two-man advantage for the Beavers had expired. Aaron Bohlinger fed Gicewicz, who passed to Chau, who dished back to Gicewicz for the goal.
“I actually thought I had a breakaway,” said Gicewicz. “Chauser’s a pretty quiet guy and I’ve never heard him yell that loud for the puck, so I dropped it to him and at that point, he’s going to make the right play. He put it right on my stick and that’s a huge goal.”
“That’s a punch to the gut,” said Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore. “You want to score in a five-on-three. If you’re not going to score, don’t give up the shorty and it’s still 1-0. It’s tough on you psychologically as well when you give up the shorthanded goal.”
Gicewicz made it even harder for the Beavers to recover when he delivered his second goal with less than a minute remaining in the first. At 6:34 in the second, Gicewicz scored his 17th of the season to give the Minutemen a 3-0 lead. Chau’s goal came at 16:56 in the third with Bemidi goaltender Zach Driscoll pulled for the extra attacker.
“We’ve come back from games before,” said Beavers’ captain Ethan Somoza. “We’ve been behind. We’re comfortable in that situation. We just weren’t able to do it tonight.”
“It was a really good hockey team we played today,” said Serratore. “It was the best hockey team we’ve seen all year. They had great speed, well balanced team. Once we got behind, we started chasing the game and it was just hard to get that first one. I felt if we’d have gotten the first goal or even when it was 2-0 we’d have answered back, that could have jumpstarted us but that just never happened.”
In net for UMass, Filip Lindberg stopped 18 in his fourth shutout of the season, the 10th of his career.
Bemidji State finishes the season with a 16-10-3 record and the Beavers’ first NCAA appearance since 2010. “This was a very difficult year, for our guys, for everybody,” said Serratore. “This has been a tough year and they’ve really battled through a lot.”
Jack Perbix and Mason Nevers celebrate one of the Gophers’ seven goals Saturday night against Omaha (photo: Kyle Cooper/University of Minnesota Athletics).
LOVELAND, Colo. — Brock Faber had four assists, Mason Nevers scored twice, and Ben Meyers, Sampo Ranta, and Ryan Johnson each had a goal and an assist as Minnesota rolled over Omaha 7-2 Saturday night to advance to the final of the West Regional, where the Gophers will play Minnesota State Sunday.
The Gophers scored two goals in a 2:01 span late in the first to take command, and never trailed in the game.
“It feels awful good, but most important I’m really pleased with how we played tonight,” said Minnesota coach Bob Motzko. “I give our guys an enormous amount of credit.”
Nevers opened the scoring at 5:48 of the game when he picked up a rebound outside the crease to the right of Isaiah Saville and knocked it past him. It was Nevers’ first goal of his college career.
“It’s been coming all year,” said Motzko of Nevers. “He scores at will in practice. He’s going to be an outstanding player. He was just snakebit, but the lid came off tonight, and it was awesome to see.”
Jack Perbix made it 2-0 at 15:35 when he deflected Faber’s snap shot from the top of the right circle top corner.
“Every time you get a lead early, you put yourself in a good spot,” said Ranta. “It’s big every game, especially games like this. Getting off to a good start is key.”
Scott Reedy made it 3-0 at 17:36 on a perfect setup by Blake McLaughlin, who skated it in deep to the right faceoff dot and fed Reed streaking in from the top of the slot. Reedy beat Saville low to the blocker side.
“We knew they were going to be aggressive on their forecheck, and we felt we could get some odd-man rushes, and we did using our speed and using the boards,” said Motzko. “Some of the things we drew up, it doesn’t always work, but it did tonight.”
“We had a couple chances and we didn’t capitalize there,” said Omaha coach Mike Gabinet. “They are a team that will make you pay for your mistake. Give them one mistake they put it in the back of the net, give them another mistake they put it in the back of the net. That’s what a talented roster does. They capitalized on almost all their opportunities tonight.”
Omaha got one back just 28 seconds later from Taylor Ward to send them to the first intermission with hope, but the Gophers came out firing early in the second and Johnson made it 4-1 just 41 seconds in with a snap shot from the middle of the blue line that.
“There’s parts of our game I really liked tonight,” said Gabinet. “In the first period we had that empty-netter and we missed it and they come back and score. We had a grade A chance right before they got that one in the second, and those are tough when you’re trying to get back in the game and you get a good look and it doesn’t go in and they come right back and get a goal, so kind of the story of the night.”
Meyers made it 5-1 at 7:13, finishing off a great pass by Jackson Lacombe through the crease to Meyers at the right post. That was all on the night for Saville, who was replaced in net by Austin Roden.
It didn’t help, as Nevers made it 6-1 at 16:13. Ranta set the play up, driving down the right boards and toward the back of the net before passing it to Nevers out front who ripped it inside the left post.
Ward got his second of the night at 3:04 of the third, but Ranta almost immediately got it back when Jaxon Nelson carried the puck deep and fed Ranta on the left side of the slot, who ripped it short side at 4:17.
Minnesota State players mob Ryan Sandelin after his OT winner knocked out Quinnipiac in a 4-3 win Saturday night (photo: Minnesota State Athletics).
LOVELAND, Colo. — A goal by Ryan Sandelin 11:13 into overtime capped a dramatic comeback as Minnesota State defeated Quinnipiac 4-3 to advance to the West Regional final against the winner of Minnesota versus Omaha.
The Mavericks trailed by two goals with less than six minutes left in the game before mounting their comeback win.
On the winner, Sandelin picked up a loose puck in the crease and lifted it over Quinnipiac goaltender Keith Petruzzelli’s right pad. Brendan Furry started the play with a hard drive toward the net down the right side, getting off a shot from the slot that Petruzzelli stopped, but he lost sight of the puck, leading to Sandelin’s goal.
“Furry made a great move cutting to the middle,” said Sandelin. “Reggie (Lutz) made a great play to just throw it to the front and I was thinking hopefully it would just pop out. Luckily it went off a guy’s skate right onto the netminder’s pad. All I had to was kind of jam it in. Pretty great play by Furry to get it to the middle and just get a puck to the net; that’s kind of the name of the game in OT.”
The Bobcats started well, scoring just three minutes into the game on a goal by Odeen Tufto, who picked up a rebound on the right side of the slot and shifted the puck to his backhand to beat goaltender Dryden McKay. Peter DiLiberatore made it 2-0 at 15:36, finishing off a two-on-one by tapping the puck into an open net off a perfect cross-crease pass by Guus van Nes. Quinnipiac outshot Minnesota State 13-6 in the period.
“I don’t want to say we’re a young team, but we’re a little bit all over the map at times, and unfortunately you can’t do that when you’re playing a top five team nationally,” said Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold. “Great first, tough second, good third, and then tough in the overtime, but again a lot of the credit has to go to Minnesota State and how good they were and how they controlled the play at times.”
Minnesota State rebounded and outplayed the Bobcats in the second, getting numerous chances and outshooting Quinnipiac 14-5. It seemed like the Bobcats would keep their two-goal lead headed into the third, but Jake Jaremko scored at 18:09 on a tip of a Julian Napravnik shot to bring the Mavericks back within one.
“Wasn’t looking good is an understatement,” said Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings. “I said let’s push all the chips in and play. I thought we were playing tentative and didn’t have much rhythm and we were throwing pucks around, and they took advantage of it. We talked about it in the locker room about going back and trying to get our ground game going a little bit, and I thought once we did that we gained some confidence.
The third period was more evenly played, but Quinnipiac got its two-goal lead back when CJ McGee scored at 8:54. McGee beat McKay short side with a bomb of a snap shot from the top of the left circle. It was his first career goal.
Time was working against Minnesota State when the rally started with a goal by Nathan Smith from about 30 feet out at 14:54. The Mavericks kept pushing for the equalizer, but Petruzzelli held firm.
The Mavericks pulled McKay at 1:15 for the extra attacker, and it almost immediately paid off as Cade Borchardt notched the equalizer just 13 seconds later, finishing off a play set up by a great pass by Jake Livingstone.
St. Cloud State was all smiles as Easton Brodzinski broke a 2-2 tie in the second and added a second goal in an explosive third period as the Huskies beat Boston University, 6-2, in the Albany Regional (photo: Rich Gagnon)
ALBANY, N.Y. — Easton Brodzinski had two goals and an assist to lead St. Cloud State to a 6-2 victory over Boston University in the semifinals of the Albany Regional played at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y..
The game featured a wild second period during which four goals, three by the Huskies, were scored in a 3:44 span with St. Cloud emerging with a 3-2 lead that it would add to with three more unanswered goals.
It was St. Cloud’s first opening round win since 2015. The Huskies had lost three times in regional semifinals since then, including twice as the No. 1 overall seed.
“The third time’s the charm I guess,” said SCSU’s Jami Krannila, who scored the Huskies’ fourth goal on a shorthanded penalty shot. “We stuck to our game plan. In years past we got away from that.”
The Huskies carried play in the first period, outshooting the Terriers 14-10, but they couldn’t solve BU goaltender Drew Commesso. The freshman made several key saves, including nine when St. Cloud was on a major power play after BU’s Dylan Peterson was ejected after a hitting-from-behind penalty.
Boston University struck first just eight seconds into the second. St. Cloud won the opening face-off of the period, but a good forecheck by Logan Cockerill caused a turnover, and Wilmer Skoog was able to put a shot past St. Cloud State goaltender David Hrenak.
Twelve minutes later, the Huskies got on the board on a strange goal scored by Micah Miller. With the puck behind the BU net, Nolan Walker lifted the puck high in air, and most players on the ice lost sight of it, including Commesso. The puck landed in the slot for Miller, who shot it into the open net before Commesso could react.
“One of the strangest goals I’ve ever seen,” said St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson.
“Their first goal was one for the ages,” said BU coach Albie O’Connell. “One of the strangest goals that you’ll see. Their guy in centerfield just swatted it in.”
The fluke goal gave St. Cloud the momentum, and the Huskies scored again less than two minutes later. It was more bad luck for BU, as a clearing attempt hit an official to keep the puck in the Terrier zone. Nick Perbix’s shot hit two players in front of the BU net, sailing past Commesso to give St. Cloud its first lead of the game.
BU responded almost immediately on the power play when junior Jake Wise got his first goal of the season, firing a perfectly placed shot off a pass from Luke Tuch to tie the game 2-2.
Just 32 seconds later, St. Cloud regained the lead on Brodzinski’s first of the game. The senior’s 12th goal of the season, assisted by Nolan Walker, turned out to be the game-winner.
The Terriers looked to take the momentum back after St. Cloud State’s Brad Chase was assessed a major penalty for contact to the head. But Krannila was tripped on a shorthanded breakaway chance, and a penalty shot was awarded.
Krannila made no mistake, ripping a wrist shot past Commesso to make it a 4-2 game.
“I’ve seen Easton (Brodnzinski) use the same move in practice probably 100 times, so I thought I would try that too,” said Krannila.
“Their fourth goal turning point in the game,” said O’Connell. “That was the difference. I thought it was a good play by our guy. I can understand the trip, but not the penalty shot.”
“Jami’s goal gave us a boost of confidence,” said Brodzinski. “We just needed to stick to our game from there.”
Brodnzinski scored his second goal of the contest midway through the third period to make it 5-2, and Veeti Miettinen’s tally with 4:58 put the game away.
The Huskies advance to play Boston College in the regional final tomorrow.
“I was proud of our team,” said Larson. “We had some adversity getting scored on eight seconds into the second period. But we were able to rally.”
Larson says there’s no time to celebrate this one, with regional top-seed Boston College waiting in the wings.
“We’re hitting the reset button,” he said. “We’ll have to play the right way to have any chance (against BC). The work will start about five minutes after we get out of here.”
Northeastern senior goalie Aerin Frankel makes a save in the national championship game. Photo: NU Athletics
Northeastern senior goaltender Aerin Frankel has been awarded the 2021 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The honors were presented live on NHL Network this year as the in-person Patty Kazmaier Ceremony was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The award, which is in its 24th year, is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey by the USA Hockey Foundation.
Frankel is the third winner from Northeastern University, joining Kendall Coyne, who won in 2016 and Brooke Whitney, who won in 2002. Frankel was selected from a group of three finalists that included senior forward Daryl Watts (University of Wisconsin) and senior forward Grace Zumwinkle (University of Minnesota).
Having already been named the inaugural Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association Goalie of the Year in 2021, Frankel is also the fourth goalie to be given the award, joining Wisconsin’s Ann-Renée Desbiens (2016) and Jessie Vetter (2009) and Brown’s Ali Brewer (2000).
She led all goalies this year in goals against average (0.81), save percentage (.965), win (20) and shutouts (9). Her goals against average is good for third best in NCAA history. Despite playing far less games this season, she is just one shutout shy of her single-season record of 10 set last season.
The two-time First-Team All-American shattered league and program records. Her 28 career shutouts and 26 Hockey East shutouts, 78 career wins and 6,315 career minutes played are all records. A three-time Hockey East Goaltender of the Year and MVP of the Hockey East Championship, Frankel’s career save percentage .947 is tied for second all-time in NCAA history.
Wisconsin sophomore Cole Caufield leads the NCAA with 30 goals this season. (photo: Tom Lynn).
The NHL’s Montreal Canadiens announced Saturday that the team has agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract with Wisconsin sophomore forward Cole Caufield that will begin with the current 2020-21 season.
Caufield finished as the Big Ten’s leading scorer in 2020-21 with 52 points (30 goals, 22 assists) in 31 games with the Badgers, also leading the NCAA in goals.
Also the Big Ten player of the year, Caufield represented the United States at the last two World Junior Championships, helping his country win gold in 2021 with two goals and three assists in seven games.
“I’m really, really proud of him,” Badgers coach Tony Granato said in a statement. “He was fun to be around and fun for us to coach as a coaching staff for these two years. I asked a lot of him this year and everything I asked of him, he went above and beyond. Cole had as good of a year as I’ve ever seen any college player have. His competitiveness, his hunger, his character as a kid blossomed and helped our team become an elite team. We all know Cole can score goals, and now he showed that he can make his teammates great, as well.
“I can’t wait to watch him as a pro. We’ll be cheering for him and looking forward to him having an impact for Montreal in the near future.”
Last season, the Stevens Point, Wis., native also led the Badgers in goals (19) and points (36). Caufield was also named the Big Ten rookie of the year.
Caufield, originally selected in the first round (15th overall) by the Canadiens in the 2019 NHL Draft, will join the AHL’s Laval Rocket after a required quarantine period.
Jasper Weatherby celebrates one of North Dakota’s five goals Friday night against AIC (photo: Russell Hons).
FARGO, N.D. — After a slow start in the first six minutes against upset-minded American International, North Dakota scored four times inside an eight-minute span to cruise to a 4-0 lead and an eventual 5-1 win from Scheels Arena.
Jasper Weatherby and Collin Adams each scored twice to pace the offense while Adam Scheel made 24 saves to send the Fighting Hawks into the Midwest regional final against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.
AIC took an early advantage in play thwarting the Fighting Hawks in the neutral zone while creating some early chances that Scheel handled easily. At 6:52, AIC’s Parker Revering took a minor penalty for interference and UND went to work on the power play. Shane Pinto had two excellent chances stopped by goaltender Stefano Durante, but the offensive momentum carried over for Weatherby’s first goal of the night on a rebound off the back boards at the far post just six seconds after the penalty expired.
Less than three minutes later, Weatherby stripped a pirouetting and off-balance Nico Somerville at the AIC blueline and fired a wrist shot past Durante on the blocker side for a 2-0 lead.
After Louis Jamernik failed to knock a bouncing puck into the open net behind Durante off a shot from Brendan Budy at 12:43, Grant Mismash took advantage of a great screen from Pinto in front of Durante and rifled the puck past the AIC goaltender for a 3-0 lead.
The first period siege was complete when Collin Adams drove the net and took a pass from Riese Gaber before firing the puck past Durante high on the blocker side for the 4-0 lead after the first period of play.
“They move the puck so well as a team,” said AIC captain Brennan Kapcheck. “They got some momentum going and the crowd was going and that affected us in the first period.”
The second period saw Jake Kucharski relieve Durante in goal for AIC and he was tested early. The period saw three power plays as a result of UND penalties but Scheel and the penalty kill unit kept AIC off the board to maintain their 4-0 lead after two periods of play.
North Dakota coach Brad Berry noted after the second period that he wasn’t pleased with the number of penalties and was looking for his team to finish out the game strong.
“We have to look at the final period in five-minute increments,” said Berry. “We need to take each five minutes and build momentum and dominate the third period to close it out”
The third period saw AIC with a great opportunity to get on the board but a scramble in the crease around a fallen Scheel saw the puck dribble away to the right and cleared by North Dakota.
The Fighting Hawks did as their coach outlined between periods as they built momentum as the period progressed including some great offensive zone time and quality chances that Kucharski managed to keep out of the net.
Late in the period, a UND penalty on defenseman Tyler Kleven led to a power-play goal from Tobias Fladeby, who fired the puck from the slot from a heavily screened Scheel to get the Yellow Jackets on the board at 17:47 of the third period
Just 28 seconds later the margin was restored to four as Adams cashed in from the top of the crease off a perfect goal-line feed from Jordan Kawaguchi for the 5-1 final score.
“We did a pretty good job managing the 60 minutes,” said Berry. “I liked our energy. I liked our short pass support. I liked that all four lines and all six defensemen were going. We were fortunate enough to get a few goals in the first period. I thought we played the game we wanted in the first period through our identity.”
“Tonight, we are going to enjoy the night and rest up and relax and have all our energy saved up for tomorrow. We are look forward to the opportunity to play tomorrow and playing our game.”
Filip Lindberg finished with 30 saves as UMass toppled Lake Superior State 5-1 Friday night in Bridgeport, Conn. (photo: Matt Dewkett).
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — For a man whose team advanced to an NCAA regional championship game with a 5-1 win, UMass coach Greg Carvel gave a frank, negative assessment of the Minutemen’s performance.
“In a grinding game, there were a lot of odd-man rushes and that is not good,” said Carvel of the win over Lake Superior State. “We’ll take them, but we’re not supposed to give them. I didn’t like that fact. I thought we had the game backwards. When we had the puck we were slow. When we didn’t have the puck, we were checking aggressively and we needed to flip that.
“I thought we were better in the third, but for two periods, I wasn’t overly happy with the way were playing and again. We were off tonight.”
After the first period ended in a 1-1 tie, the Minutemen scored twice at even strength less than two minutes apart in the second period and added both a power-play tally and the empty-net goal in the third. Even after outshooting Lake Superior State 18-12 in the second and coming away with a two-goal lead, Carvel said he let his team know how he felt about their play in the second intermission.
“I didn’t say anything,” said Carvel. “I yelled it. I was not happy after two periods. I think we were ahead 3-1 but we were sloppy. We gave up many odd-man situations.”
Carvel was especially unhappy with the number of penalties UMass took, including interference and hooking penalties in the third period.
“We took interference penalties because we cheated the game,” said Carvel. “When you cheat the game, that’s what happens. We didn’t take five penalties in three [Hockey East] playoff games. We did certain things well and the kids compete hard and they scored from in front of the net, which was key to the game, but we’re not going to win more games at this level at this time of the year playing like we did tonight.”
Jake Gaudet let the Minutemen with two goals tonight, the first at 10:07 in the first to give UMass the early 1-0 lead and the second on the power play at 10:49 in the third. They were the senior captain’s fourth and fifth goals of the season, and Carvel had something to say about that as well, referencing junior Bobby Trivigno’s team-leading 10 goals.
“Trivigno can’t carry us every single game,” said Carvel. “We need other guys to step up and Gaudet’s got three goals in the last two games and the way he should be scoring, around the net, owning space, being a big player. Happy for him. We needed that. I didn’t think we had a lot of guys going tonight and he was, luckily.”
Josh Lopina and Carson Gicewicz had the second-period goals for the Minutemen and Anthony Del Gaizo found the empty net with 4:13 remaining in regulation, when the Lakers had pulled goaltender Mareks Mitens early for the extra attacker.
Junior Ashton Calder had the lone goal for Lake Superior State at 17:14 in the first period. Both goaltenders worked this one. Mitens made 32 saves on the 36 shots that he faced. For Massachusetts, Filip Lindberg allowed one goal on 31 shots.
“I’ve not given Filip Lindberg lot of credit down the stretch, but he deserves it all tonight,” said Carvel. “He was outstanding when we were not great.”
This is the second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the Minutemen, who lost the national championship game to Minnesota Duluth in 2019. The Lakers, though, are a different story. The last time Lake Superior State played an NCAA tournament game was in 1996.
“It won’t be 25 years before you see us again,” said LSSU coach Damon Whitten. “We’ll be back.”
The Lakers captured the WCHA playoff championship title and finish the season with a record of 19-7-3.
“You can’t take the sting out,” said Whitten. “It hurts. We came in expecting to win a game, win a couple of games and move on. We’re champions. We’ve restored a lot of pride in the program with what we’ve done.”
The Minutemen (15-5-4) advance to play Bemidji State (16-9-3) in the East Regional championship game Saturday. The No. 4 seed Beavers upset No. 1 Wisconsin 6-3 in the first semifinal game.
Bemidji State captain Ethan Somoza scored twice and added an assist as the Beavers pulled the major upset, knocking off Bridgeport Region top seed, Wisconsin, 6-3 (photo: Matt Dewkett)
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The last time the Wisconsin Badgers faced Bemidji State in the NCAA Tournament, they defeated the Beavers as the first step in their 2006 national title. Friday afternoon, the Beavers flipped the script, scoring twice in each period en route to a 6-3 win in the opening game of the East Regional at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.
Captain Ethan Somoza led the way, scoring twice from the left side of the slot. His first came off a feed from winger Aaron Miller 14:42 of the second period and the second came 6:05 into the third off a pass from center Brendan Harris.
“We stuck to what we have been doing the whole year,” said Somoza. “Our focus is being a really aggressive forecheck, and causing turnovers, keeping things really simple in the defensive zone. Any time the puck comes out of the offensive zone, (we want to put it) right back into their (defensive) zone.”
The Beavers, who wanted to pressure the Badgers throughout the game, struck first just 6:33 into the contest.
The Badgers tried to clear the puck out, but defenseman Elias Rosen corralled the puck at the blue line. He quickly fired a shot from the right point towards the net, the shot hit a Badgers defender in the high slot, bounced up high and then dropped just shy of goaltender Robbie Beydoun. Center Ross Armour outmuscled a Wisconsin defender and knocked the puck under and past Beydoun for the goal.
The Badgers nearly evened things up on the next shift when Dylan Holloway drove down the ice and beat Beavers goaltender Zach Driscoll with a wrist shot. Unfortunately for the Badgers, the puck did not beat the post to Driscoll’s left.
Wisconsin (20-10-2 overall) killed off a pair of Beavers power plays to keep within striking distance until the final seconds of the opening frame when Rosen helped extend Bemidji State’s lead.
With Harris skating across the front of the net, Rosen, who gathered up a puck at the right point, fired a shot that beat Beydoun over the right shoulder at 19:44.
“We just wanted to attack,” said Beavers coach Tom Serratore. “The word all week was attack. We just wanted to attack, attack, attack and apply pressure all over the rink.”
Badgers coach Tony Granato admitted his team struggled to deal with the Beavers’ attack.
“Bemidji came out and made the plays early in the game to get the lead,” he said. “Once they got the lead, (they had) confidence in the way they play.”
In the second period, the Badgers caught an early break as both Lukas Sillinger and his brother, Owen, took penalties just 14 seconds apart. During the two-man advantage, Holloway was not able to take advantage of his drive to the slot, but shortly after that chance, winger Linus Weissbach did cash in with a wrist shot that beat Driscoll at 2:38.
With the remainder of the one-man advantage, the Badgers kept the pressure on, but could not find another way to beat Driscoll. Just seconds after the penalty ended, Owen Sillinger took a lead pass out of the penalty box and forced Weissbach to take a penalty. keeping him away from Beydoun’s net.
The Badgers had a golden opportunity to cut the Beavers’ lead in half with 2:45 left in the middle frame. However, it was the Beavers who found a way to get another goal on the board when Beydoun made a mistake during a dump-in by the Beavers (16-9-3 overall). He went behind his net with a pass, but instead of having a defender back there, Owen Sillinger was there. Sillinger wrapped around the net to his backhand for a shorthanded goal – a dagger – at 18:39.
Badgers winger Cole Caufield scored the Badgers’ second goal of the night 8:19 into the third period. He struck again at 14:56.
Harris added an empty-netter with 1.2 seconds left to seal the win.
The NCAA and the men’s D-I ice hockey committee announced Friday afternoon that Michigan has withdrawn from the NCAA tournament.
The Michigan-Minnesota Duluth game scheduled for Friday at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota, will now be considered a no-contest. The Bulldogs will advance to take on the winner of Friday’s North Dakota-American International first-round game.
According to the NCAA, the decision was made in consultation with local public health authorities and because of “privacy issues,” no further information will be provided.
From left, Spencer Knight, Jack LaFontaine, Dryden McKay.
The Hockey Commissioners Association announced Friday the final three candidates for this year’s Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey since 2014.
Boston College sophomore Spencer Knight, Minnesota senior Jack LaFontaine, and Minnesota State junior Dryden McKay are the three finalists.
The winner of this year’s award will be announced in April during the Frozen Four.
A similar award to recognize the top female goalie in the NCAA was launched this season and the inaugural recipient was Northeastern University senior Aerin Frankel.
Knight was chosen Hockey East player of the year and is a Hobey Baker finalist. His GAA (2.13) and save percentage (.933) reflect his talents, as did his leading Team USA to a gold medal at the World Junior Tournament in January.
Goaltender of the year in the Big Ten, LaFontaine takes phenomenal numbers into the NCAA Regionals: a 1.74 GAA and a save percentage of .936. He was on the Big Ten First Team and is a Hobey Baker finalist.
Named WCHA player of the year, McKay was also named to All Decade Team by the WCHA. His 1.40 GAA and .930 save percentage helped the Mavericks to the WCHA regular-season title and into the NCAA tournament. He is a Hobey Baker finalist.
