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D-II/III East NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Game Picks – January 2, 2025

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Max Resnick and the Tufts Jumbos open the second half playing in the new Tampa College Hockey Invitational Tournament (Photo by Michael Last-Tufts Athletics)

Happy New Year to All!

Well, it isn’t taking long for the second half of the season to kick-off in grand fashion with tournaments and electric, non-conference games on tap. Hopefully all the players went easy on the excesses of the holidays and are ready to pick up where we left off in early December. With the turn of the year comes a new sense of urgency in bringing the level of play up to compete for championships. Should be a great start this weekend to see who is ready to really compete.

My weekly picks finished last week at a horrible 2-3-0 (.400) which is not the way I envisioned closing out the semester. To date, my season numbers are 52-26-4 (.659) which is very promising considering I had two weeks where I was way off target which surely has impacted the overall numbers more significantly than my consistently “good but not great” weeks in the first half. It all starts again now with a super-sized edition of game picks that include tournament and non-conference action to start 2025 – here are this week’s picks for the east:

Thursday, January 2, 2025

(8) Trinity v. (9) Curry

If this game was just about Devon Bobak vs. Shane Soderwall there would not be a lot of scoring and probably not a winner. That said these two are a couple of the best goaltenders in all D-III and bring a strong level of compete to the crease every night. Takes OT for a winner to be determined with the visitors eking it out – Trinity, 2-1

Friday, January 3, 2025

Codfish Bowl

Massachusetts-Dartmouth v. Massachusetts-Boston

The Beacons are proud hosts of the nation’s oldest D-III tournament but unfortunately, they don’t always play the role of the ungracious host in winning it often. They shouldn’t take Collin Patterson & Company lightly as they can be lethal especially on the power play. Corsairs score early and hang on – UMD, 4-3

Fitchburg State v. Wisconsin-Superior

This east meets west affair should be entertaining and physical. The Yellowjackets didn’t travel all this way over the New Year to exit contention for the Codfish Bowl early. Fast start helps the visitors ease to a comfortable yet highly physical victory over the Falcons – Wisconsin-Superior, 5-2

Misericordia v. (11) Wilkes

TRAP GAME ALERT – The Colonels best not think they can ease into the second half of the MAC schedule with an easy “W” over the current last place team. The visitors are ready to go and improve their position, but a third period surge will put Wilkes in the win column to start 2025 – Wilkes, 3-1

Keene State v. Plattsburgh

The Owls play the “iron” of their schedule over the next week or so and the Cardinals will be a tough and physical opponent to open up the second half. Entertaining contest that finds the Cardinals taking advantage of their power play more than the Owls do in a hard-fought win over the D-III newcomers – PSU, 5-3

Northfield Bank Tournament

Plymouth State v. (12) Hamilton

Great matchup between MASCAC and NESCAC foes in the opening round of a loaded tournament hosted by Norwich. Hamilton my be one of the best teams no one talks about and the Panthers best be wary of a skilled group of forwards on the other bench. Seesaw affair goes to the Continentals with the help of a much-needed ENG – Hamilton, 5-3

Williams v. Norwich

The Cadets have struggled immensely to score goals so far this season and the Ephs can certainly skate with the host team even on the big sheet of ice in Northfield. Upset pick amongst all my picks with the visitors in purple stealing an OT thriller – Williams, 3-2

Oswego State Classic

Alvernia v. Lebanon Valley

The two MAC schools play in a game that means an opportunity to play for mid-season hardware and it’s the Golden Wolves who find some late magic to take a one-goal win over the Flying Dutchmen – Alvernia, 5-4

Neumann v. Oswego

The Lakers do not have the best of records in their own tournament and the Black Knights are the wrong team to start out sluggishly against as coach Mike Heddon has his boys primed for puck drop and a fast start leads to a one-goal win – Neumann 4-3

Tampa College Hockey Invitational

Albertus Magnus v. Suffolk

This was only a matter of time before teams facing winter in the northeast said, “hey let’s play a tournament in Florida.” Brilliant idea and great hockey as Suffolk gets great goaltending from CJ Hapward to steal a opening round win – Suffolk, 2-1

Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) v. Tufts

Another west vs. east affair in the second game sees a distinct matchup of styles where the fast and physical meets the speedy and skilled. Always a toss-up based on the commitment and assuming limited beach time, Sedlak and Resnick help the Jumbos play for a title on Saturday – Tufts, 5-4

Saturday, January 4, 2025

Boston Landing Invitational

Salem State v. Nichols

This tournament always has some interesting results, and the Bison have enjoyed quite a bit of success as the host institution since the BLI inception. Not bucking history here as the Vikings put up a strong fight but Nathan Carl and group get it done in round one – Nichols, 4-3

Canton v. Middlebury

The Panthers have already tasted far removed tournament success this season when they hosted the LayerEight back in November. Kangaroos did not fare so well in the North Country Tournament and both teams looking to start 2025 with a flourish. Jin Lee leads by example with the game winner late in regulation – Middlebury, 3-2

(1) Hobart v. Manhattanville

The Valiants are hoping the Statesmen REALLY enjoyed the holidays and come back maybe a little bit less sharp than their impressive 10-0-0 start to the campaign. Unfortunately, no such luck as Luke Aquaro and the deepest forward group in the country start 2025 with a statement win on the road – Hobart, 6-1

Connecticut College v. Johnson & Wales

The Camels are off to their best first half start in many seasons but should not look past a very pesky Wildcats squad that keeps everything tight and close. Conn College has shown they can play things tight and win the one-goal playoff style games just like this one – Conn College, 3-2

(10) Endicott v. Amherst

This game is a chess match between two very good coaches in Endicott’s RJ Tolan and Amherst’s Jack Arena. If this game was in Raymond Bourque arena I might be leaning the other way but knowing the hallowed halls of Orr Rink, special teams and some late Mammoth magic steal an upset win –  Amherst, 3-2

St. Michael’s v. Potsdam

The Purple Knights venture into upstate New York for this NE-10 v. SUNYAC matchup. Davi Ciancio and Case Kantgias may just be the best two-pronged defense to offense attack at the D-II/III level and their play gives the visitors a nice road win to start the second half – St. Michael’s, 5-3

Salve Regina v. Framingham State

The Seahawks are still looking for consistency and this back half of a two game weekend gives them a chance to start 2025 2-0-0 before heading into the battles of the NEHC. Aidan Connelly has fit in nicely and added some offensive punch which should be on display against the Rams – Salve Regina, 6-3

Nothing better than getting back on the ice and competing. Whether it is the sheer thrill of playing to kick-off the second half or the added excitement around winning tournament hardware, this weekend has something for everyone. The new NPI is up on the USCHO site just in case anyone wants to know where their team ranks in what will help determine at-large bids for national tournament contention come March – “Drop the Puck!”

NCAA D-III West Men’s Hockey Weekend Picks

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UW-Stevens Point squares off with St. Norbert this weekend. (Photo provided by UW-Stevens Point Athletics)

Christmas is history and we have are ready for a new year and a full slate of hockey as the second half of the D-III West season gets rolling.

St. Norbert at UW-Stevens Point

What a way to begin 2025 by having two ranked opponents square off for the second time this season.

The No. 2 Green Knights already have one win over the Pointers this year, winning 6-2 at home back on Nov. 12. 

In that one, a strong start was key for St. Norbert, which scored four first-period goals and never looked back. Liam Fraser had a hat trick in the win and wouldn’t mind repeating history.

The No. 15 Pointers (6-4-1) are out for revenge and have the luxury of playing this showdown at home, where they are 4-0-1 on the season. They’ll need a quicker start this time around to have a shot at the upset. 

I expect this meeting to be a much closer game, though it’s hard to bet against the Green Knights, who are 3-0 against the WIAC.
St. Norbert, 5-4

Gustavus at Dubuque

The MIAC leading Gusties (6-5) face off against the Spartans looking to get back on track after dropping two in a row. Jack Suchy is having a great year for Gustavus, scoring seven goals and tallying 10 assists. As a team, Gustavus is averaging 3.6 goals per game.

Dubuque (0-10-2) is hoping to get its first win of the year. The Spartans have played teams tough, losing four games by a single goal.
Gustavus, 4-3, 3-1

Marian at Concordia

The Sabres (4-6) have lost their last four and hope to open the second half of the season on a high note. They’ve had goo luck against the MIAC up to this point, going 2-0 this year. Changing their fortunes on the road is key as they are 1-4 away from home this season.

Concordia (4-6-1) is in dire need of a win, going 0-5-1 over its last six games. Three one-goal losses are in that mix, so the Cobbers are never an easy out. Should be a fun series to watch.
Concordia, 3-2; Marian, 4-2

Lake Forest at St. Olaf

Lake Forest (4-5-1) has momentum heading into the second half of the year as the Foresters have won three in a row. They’ve managed to score four or more goals in each of those wins. Trevor Faucher has played a key role offensively, tallying five goals and four assists.

The Oles (4-4-1) are also playing well, winning their last two, and are led by playmaker Connor Kalthoff, who has come through with a goal and nine assists. There’s added motivation as this game falls on senior night for the Oles.
St. Olaf, 5-4

Concordia (Wis) at Hamline

The Falcons roll into the new year on a four-game winning streak. They also haven’t played too badly away from home, fashioning a 5-4 road record, and they’ll be tested against the Pipers. Jack Guvenal has been solid for the Falcons in the first half, tallying five goals and nine assists.

Hamline (3-8) is looking to shake off a three-game losing streak and have given up 18 goals during that stretch.
Concordia, 5-2 and 6-3

Skidmore at Saint John’s

The Johnnies (5-4) are the winners of three in a row and have been impressive at home with a 4-1 record. This Friday night game is their first against a team from out East and it’s an opportunity to make a bit of a statement against a team that was ranked earlier this season in the USCHO.com poll.

The Thoroughbreds (6-5) are facing a west region team for only the second  time this season, losing 5-4 to Lake Forest on Nov. 30.
Saint John’s, 4-3

UW-Superior at Fitchburg

The Yellowjackets (8-3-1) are feeling good about the way things are going heading into 2025. They sit atop the WIAC, have won four in a row,  and now face a big test on the road as they take on Fitchburg State in the opening game of the Codfish Bowl Tournament in Boston.

Keep an eye on Justin Dauphinas, who has scored in five consecutive games and already has as many goals (6) as he did all of last season. 

The Owls are 7-2 and have won three of their last four. It will be the first neutral ice game for both teams this year.
Superior, 3-2

Augsburg at UW-River Falls

This has not been a typical year for the Auggies, who are just 3-8 and have lost their last six games. The key to turning things around is getting the offense going. Augsburg has been held to a goal or less in its last four and hasn’t won a game since Nov. 15 when it beat Northland 4-2.

They face a big test against the Falcons, who are 13th in the nation and are 7-4 overall. River Falls gets to play this one at home, where it is 5-1 on the season. Goalie Brennan Boynton has given up just 21 goals and has made 283 saves.
River Falls, 4-1

 

Owls growing wise to NCAA D-III game

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First-year forward Chase Carney has excelled for Keene State in the first half and now readies for the tough beginning to the second half of the season on the road against Plattsburgh (Photo by Ben Merrick/Keene State Athletics)

For Keene State head coach Bobby Rodrigue, the 2024-25 season is an opportunity to see his new NCAA level team play an independent schedule and get acclimated to the D-III game before they become part of the new Little East hockey conference next season. After a slow start to the campaign, the Owls entered the break having won their last three games including an overtime win against St. Michael’s and a 4-0 shutout win over Fitchburg State. Sitting at 5-5-1, Keene State readies for a second half where they look to show they can play and win against the established teams across the current conferences.

“We have taken steps so far this season,” said Rodrigue. “We are not a good hockey team yet, but there certainly have been glimmers in the growth of this team that has us excited about the second half and our opening “hell week.” All first semester we have been benchmarking our game in relation to the opening schedule in January where we travel to face Plattsburgh, Amherst and Curry and then Nichols in a 10-day stretch that will tell us a lot about who and what we are as a team.”

Coming out of the club hockey ranks where Keene State continues to showcase a very successful Division II ACHA program, Rodrigue and his alumni-based staff took on assembling a NCAA D-III program that joins a brand new Little East hockey conference next season. Building a roster that includes three transfers and seven club team members, Rodrigue has seen growth and commitment from the players, staff and institution to build a successful program.

“The biggest difference between the club level and the NCAA level is obviously the resources,” noted Rodrigue. “We think we have an attractive recruiting environment here with a good state school and engaged local community. Even our club team has continuously packed the arena for games. At a time where many doubted the availability of significant investment, the school has been very generous in getting the program off on solid footing including investing two million dollars in our locker room facilities in the rink. It was expected to be ready on December 23rd and we are excited to move in and make it our home. We have a good equipment deal with Bauer and our school is a Nike school so our players are very pleased with the equipment, custom uniforms and clothing “swag” representing Keene State at the D-III level.”

The Owls started out slowly going 2-5-1 in their first eight games. Second period struggles were notable in losses to Rivier and Massachusetts- Dartmouth (twice), and King’s in the Terry Moran Invitational tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. But the team turned around in the consolation game against MCLA, recording an 8-5 win before closing out the first half schedule with wins over St. Michael’s and FSU.

“We lost in overtime in a scrimmage to MCLA to start the season and then got down a goal to them again in the Moran Tournament,” stated Rodrigue. “It was important that we responded with some momentum and stayed disciplined in our game. You can’t win college hockey games making junior hockey mistakes. Our boys did a nice job staying in the game and in our systems and we finished our best third period scoring six times in that win over MCLA. St. Mike’s was probably the fastest team we have played this year where we won in OT, and Fitchburg is always strong, so I was both pleased and a bit surprised that we took them 4-0. We are of course a young team with just three seniors in everyone’s first year together here. We think we found our lineup with the lines and pairings in our last week so it will be interesting to see the boys compete in practice after the Christmas holiday.”

Two players who have emerged as key contributors for the Owls so far this season are sophomore Marcus Chrisafideis (11G – 5A – 16 Pts – +7) and first-year Chase Carney (5G – 8A – 13 Pts – +13) who have both delighted and surprised the coaching staff with their play in the first half of the season.

“Chase was the first recruit we committed here,” stated Rodrigue. “It was important for Chase and us to be our first commit, and he has exceeded expectations to start the season. For a .500 hockey team it is amazing to see a player at a +13 but Chase plays a complete game. He has been successful with whomever we put on a line, solid at the face-off dot and is vary hard to play around the net with his size. His versatility has been a key to his early success, and we are anxious to see his growth in the second half.”

“Marcus like Chase is an ’04 and is just so feisty on the ice despite his stature,” said Rodrigue. “He really gets disappointed when he doesn’t get a Grade A chance on a shift and is not afraid of contact as he knows the big boys are coming after him and our bench goes wild when he blows-up one of those opponents looking to take him out of the play. He is a super competitive player and his game against MCLA shows what he can do offensively for this team.”

The Owls returned to campus on December 28 looking to work off the rust of the semester break in preparation for perhaps the toughest part of their schedule.

“I hope our guys are smart about taking care of themselves while they enjoy the holidays with their family and friends,” said Rodrigue. “One week of practice and hard skates is not going to undo three weeks of letting go a bit too much. Our first three games will tell us a lot about how far we have come as a team and hopefully set us up for a strong second half as we build a competitive D-III team that can compete with the best in the region.”

United States wins preliminary round pool at World Juniors for fifth straight year, downs Canada 4-1 on New Year’s Eve behind Augustine’s 38 saves

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Trey Augustine makes one of his 38 saves Tuesday night against Canada (photo: USA Hockey).

Trey Augustine (Michigan State) made 38 saves and the U.S. National Junior Team scored three times on the power play on the way to a 4-1 victory over Canada Tuesday night in the final preliminary round game for both teams in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont.

With the victory, the U.S. won its preliminary round pool for the fifth straight year.

“I liked our emotion and how we played for each other,” said United States coach David Carle (Denver) in a statement. “Trey was excellent in goal and our special teams did a great job. We’ll enjoy this tonight and get set for our quarterfinal game against Switzerland.”

Cole Hutson (Boston University) nearly opened the scoring for the U.S. with 12:46 remaining in the first period, as his shot beat Canadian netminder Carter George, but rang off the post.

Hutson did give the U.S. the lead on its first power-play opportunity as he fired a shot from between the circles that found the back of the net at 13:02. Cole Eiserman (Boston University) assisted on the play.

Team USA captain Ryan Leonard (Boston College) nearly gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead late in the period, but his shot from the slot hit the short-side post.

Augustine, named the U.S. Player of the Game, sprawled to make a pair of crucial saves at the 7:06 mark of the second frame with Canada on the power play to maintain the U.S. lead and stopped 15 total shots in the frame.

The scored remained 1-0 in favor of the U.S. through 40 minutes of play, despite 28 combined shots from the teams in the middle stanza.

Bradly Nadeau (Maine 2023-24) scored on the power play at 1:58 of the third to tie the game, but just 2:24 later, Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) put the U.S. ahead for good as he fired one home from the slot on the power play after a pass from Hutson.

Eiserman added to the U.S. advantage at 13:21 with his team’s third power-play goal of the night. Leonard capped off the scoring with an empty-net goal to account for the 4-1 final score.

The U.S. National Junior Team will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.

With 41 first-place votes, Michigan State maintains top spot in Dec. 30 USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll

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Karsen Dorwart and Joey Larson celebrate a goal for Michigan State in the Spartans’ 2-0 win over Northern Michigan Sunday in a GLI semifinal (photo: Michigan State Athletics).

Michigan State remains the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, collecting 41 first-place votes in the Dec. 30 rankings.

Boston College is again No. 2, getting eight first-place votes, while Minnesota stays No. 3. Western Michigan is up two to No. 4, and Providence jumps two spots to sit fifth this week.

USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll – Dec. 30, 2024

Denver falls one spot to No. 6, picking up the last first-place vote, Maine drops three spots to No. 7, Colorado College is again eight, as is Michigan at No. 9 and UMass Lowell at No. 10.

No new teams enter the poll this week.

In addition to the top 20 teams, 10 other teams received votes in this week’s poll.

The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.

SUNDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Bentley takes down No. 4 Maine, Yale upsets No. 13 BU, No. 7 Providence earns Ledyard Classic title, Wisconsin wins the Holiday Faceoff, No. 1 Michigan State and No. 6 Western Michigan head to Monday’s GLI final

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Connor Hasley turns away 43 in penalty-filled win over Maine (photo: Ryan DeSantis/Bentley Athletics).

Connor Hasley made 43 saves and four different Falcons scored as Bentley beat Maine 4-2 in front of nearly 6,000 fans in Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena, home to the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Harrison Scott scored twice for the Black Bears.

Oliver Salo opened the scoring for the Falcons at 1:42 in the first and Ethan Leyh gave Bentley a 2-0 lead on the power play at 3:51 in the second. Scott answered for Maine with a power-play goal of his own seven minutes later, the only one of six chances with the man advantage that the Black Bears could convert in the game.

Sam Duerr’s marker at 17:51 in the second put the Falcons up 3-1 after two and held up as the game winner.

Scott’s second of the night, shorthanded at 11:36 in the third, narrowed the gap to one goal again, but Jimmy Doyle’s empty netter with 10 seconds left brought the final score to 4-2.

In goal for Maine, Albin Boija made 15 saves. The Black Bears outshot the Falcons 45-19.

SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | POLL | PAIRWISE

Yale 7, No. 13 Boston University 5

In a back-and-forth game with nine goal scorers and four goaltenders, Yale was the last team standing in a 7-5 home win over Boston University.

Quinn Hutson and Alex Zetterberg each had two goals and an assist for the Terriers. For Yale, Micah Berger scored his first career goal and earned two assists and David Chen had two goals. It was Ronan O’Donnell’s goal from Will Richter at the 13-minute mark in the third that put the Bulldogs ahead for good.

The teams exchanged goals in the first period, with Boston University scoring first and last for a 3-2 lead after one.

The teams combined for three goals within the first six minutes of the second with Berger’s goal at 2:54 to tie it for the Bulldogs, followed by Kalen Szeto’s short-handed shot to put the Bulldogs ahead at 4:06. That lead would last just 20 seconds, as Hutson’s second goal of the night on the power play at 5:16 knotted the game again. Chen scored his second of the game late in the period to give Yale a 5-4 lead after two.

O’Donnell’s game-winning goal was followed by William Dineen’s tally three minutes later. Alex Zetterberg had an even-strength goal for the Terriers with 34 seconds remaining in regulation.

The teams combined for 37 penalty minutes, five power-play goals and Szeto’s shorthander.

Mathieu Caron started in the Boston University net, making 10 saves in his appearance. Max Lacroix finished the game with 11 saves.

Noah Pak stopped 15-of-16 in the win. He relieved starter Jack Stark who had 12 saves on 16 shots.

No. 7 Providence 5, No. 17 Dartmouth 3

Trailing 3-2 after the first period, Providence scored twice in the second and again in the third to surge ahead of Dartmouth and claim the championship of the 35th annual Ledyard Bank Classic in Thompson Arena.

At 16:39 in the third, Logan Will had the Friars’ fourth goal to put Providence ahead for good.

Hank Cleaves had two goals for Dartmouth in the first period, bookending the early Providence scoring. Cleaves netted his first at 4:45, with Alexander Bales and Graham Gamache answering to give the Friars a 2-1 lead midway through the stanza. Cleaves scored again at 12:51 and Alex Krause put Dartmouth ahead at 15:44.

Nick Poisson evened the score for Providence at 8:24 in the second. Will’s goal put the Friars ahead, and Chase Yoder capped the scoring with an empty netter at 18:10 in the third.

The Friars limited the Big Green to 12 total shots in the game, which included two Dartmouth power plays. Philip Svedebäck made just nine saves in the win for Providence. Roan Clarke stopped 27 of the 32 shots he faced in the loss.

Wisconsin 4, Connecticut 3

After a scoreless two periods of play, the Badgers and Huskies combined for seven third-period goals, with Wisconsin finding the net once more than Connecticut to win the 2024 Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff title in Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Gavin Morrissey and Jake Horbach led the Badgers with two assists each, and Morrissey’s second of the night was the only helper on Cody Laskosky’s game-winning, empty-net goal at 18:36 in the third. That goal was awarded when Morrissey was hauled down by Connecticut’s Jake Richard as Morrissey was approaching the empty net.

Owen Lindmark and Quinn Findley scored at 2:45 and 5:40 in the third to give Wisconsin a 2-0 lead. The game was tied by the 15:55 mark on goals by Kaden Shahan and Joey Muldowney, but the Badgers scored two goals a minute apart — Christian Fitzgerald’s at 17:32 and the goal awarded to Morrissey — to give Wisconsin a 4-2 lead. Nick Carabin’s even-strength goal with one second left on the clock made it a 4-3 game.

Muldowney added an assist on Carabin’s goal to give him two points on the night. Jake Richard had two assists for the Huskies.

Tommy Scarfone had the win with 22 saves. Thomas Heaney stopped 29 as the Badgers outshot the Huskies 33-25.

No. 1 Michigan State 2, Northern Michigan 0

On first-period goals by Karsen Dorwart and Isaac Howard and in front of Luca Di Pasquo’s second shutout win of the season, Michigan State advances to the title game of the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament Monday night.

Dorwart’s game-winning goal came at 10:27 from Joey Larson and Austin Oravetz.

Howard’s insurance goal was unassisted at 12:40. Di Pasquo made 15 saves as the Spartans outshot the Wildcats 48-16.

Through 55:03, Northern Michigan’s Ryan Ouellette stopped 41-of-43 shots he faced. Ethan Barwick finished the game in the Wildcats’ net with five saves on five shots.

The Spartans will face off against Western Michigan Monday for the GLI title in Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., home of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.

No. 6 Western Michigan 4, Michigan Tech 3 (OT)

Trailing 3-1 midway through the third period, Michigan Tech scored twice to send this one to overtime, but it took Western Michigan captain Tim Washe just 44 seconds to find the net and give the Broncos the 4-3 win in the opening game of the Great Lakes Invitational tournament.

Western Michigan’s Owen Michaels (1-1) and Samuel Sjolund (0-2) led the Broncos in scoring and Cameron Rowe had 28 saves in the win.

For Michigan Tech, Trevor Kukkonen had a goal and an assist, and Derek Mullahy made 39 saves as the Broncos bested the Wildcats 39-28 in shots on goal.

The Broncos led 1-0 after the first on Robby Drazner’s goal with three seconds left in the period. In the second, the teams exchanged goals and Western was up 2-1.

Michaels opened the third-period scoring when he gave the Broncos a 3-1 lead at 7:18, but Kukkonen and Matthew Campbell answered at 10:38 and 16:02 respectively.

The Broncos meet the Spartans Monday for the title of the 58th Great Lakes Invitational tournament.

No. 12 St. Cloud State 2, St. Thomas 1

With less than five remaining in regulation, Cooper Gay scored to put the Tommies on the board and tie this game, but Barrett Hall scored from Josh Luedtke and Daimon Gardner just 31 seconds later to give St. Cloud a one-goal win over visiting St. Thomas.

Adam Ingram gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead at 1:11 in the first. Gavin Enright stopped 28-of-29 in the win for St. Cloud. Aaron Trotter made 30 saves in the loss.

 

 

 

 

 

Rankings roundup: How the top 20 NCAA men’s hockey teams fared, Dec. 28-29

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Providence celebrates the 2024 Ledyard Classic championship in Hanover, N.H. (photo: Providence Athletics).

Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of Dec. 16 fared in games over the Dec. 28-29 weekend.

No. 1 Michigan State (14-2-1)
12/29/2024 – Northern Michigan 0 at No. 1 Michigan State 2 (Great Lakes Invitational, Grand Rapids, Mich.)

No. 2 Boston College (12-3-1)
Did not play.

No. 3 Minnesota (15-3-2)
Did not play.

No. 4 Maine (12-3-2)
12/29/2024 – RV Bentley 4 at No. 4 Maine 2 (Portland, Me.)

No. 5 Denver (14-4-0)
12/28/2024 – UNLV* 6 at No. 5 Denver 6 (OT, exhibition)

No. 6 Western Michigan (11-3-1)
12/29/2024 – No. 6 Western Michigan 4 vs RV Michigan Tech 3 (OT, Great Lakes Invitational, Grand Rapids, Mich.)

No. 7 Providence (14-3-2)
12/28/2024 – No. 7 Providence 3 vs Northeastern 1 (Ledyard Classic)
12/29/2024 – No. 7 Providence 5 at No. 17 Dartmouth 3 (Ledyard Classic championship)

No. 8 Colorado College (10-5-1)
12/29/2024 – UNLV* 0 at No. 8 Colorado College 8 (exhibition)

No. 9 Michigan (11-6-1)
Did not play.

No. 10 UMass Lowell (10-4-2)
12/29/2024 – Simon Fraser* 2 at No. 10 UMass Lowell 9 (exhibition)

No. 11 Minnesota State (14-4-2)
Did not play.

No. 12 St. Cloud State (11-7-0)
12/29/2024 – St. Thomas 1 at No. 12 St. Cloud State 2

No. 13 Boston University (9-7-1)
12/29/2024 – No. 13 Boston University 5 at Yale 7

No. 14 Ohio State (13-4-1)
Did not play.

No. 15 North Dakota (11-7-1)
Did not play.

No. 16 Cornell (5-3-3)
Did not play.

No. 17 Dartmouth (7-4-2)
12/28/2024 – Alaska Anchorage 4 at No. 17 Dartmouth 5 (Ledyard Classic)
12/29/2024 – No. 7 Providence 5 at No. 17 Dartmouth 3 (Ledyard Classic championship)

No. 18 Quinnipiac (9-6-1)
12/29/2024 – AIC 5 at No. 18 Quinnipiac 6

No. 19 Arizona State (8-7-1)
12/28/2024 – US NTDP Under-18 Team* 3 at No. 19 Arizona State 4 (exhibition)
12/29/2024 – US NTDP Under-18 Team* 0 at No. 19 Arizona State 1 (exhibition)

No. 20 Clarkson (11-5-2)
12/29/2024 – Concordia (Que.)* 5 at No. 20 Clarkson 1 (exhibition)

RV = Received Votes
* = Not eligible for poll

Augustine makes 40 saves in goal, but United States falls 4-3 in overtime Sunday to Finland at 2025 World Junior Championship

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U.S. captain Ryan Leonard looks to make a move on a Finland defender Sunday afternoon at the World Junior Championship (photo: USA Hockey).

The U.S. National Junior Team got goals from Carey Terrance (OHL’s Erie Otters), Cole Hutson (Boston University) and Brodie Ziemer (Minnesota), but dropped a 4-3 decision to Finland in overtime Sunday afternoon in preliminary round play at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont.

“We need more consistency up and down the lineup and I shared that with the team after the game,” said Team USA coach David Carle (Denver) in a statement. “I was proud of the comeback and particularly our penalty kill. We’ll continue to work on coming together as a group and I have confidence in our guys that we can get to where we need to be.”

Finland opened the scoring at 9:50 of the first period thanks to a short-handed goal from Arttu Alasiurua.

U.S. netminder Trey Augustine (Michigan State), who made 40 saves in the contest, kept Alasiurua from netting his second short-handed goal with 6:58 remaining in the stanza, denying a breakaway opportunity.

Terrance tied the contest at 14:20, skating through defenders and firing one home from between the circles. Brandon Svoboda (Boston University) and Joey Willis (OHL’s Saginaw Spirit) assisted on the play.

Hutson, named the U.S. Player of the Game, gave Team USA its first lead of the game 1:45 into the middle frame when he ripped a shot over Finnish netminder Petteri Rimpinen’s blocker that rang off the post and in.

Jesse Kiiskinen tied the game with a power-play goal, redirecting a shot from the point at 4:09, before Julius Miettinen put Finland back in front with a goal at 9:19.

Gabe Perreault (Boston College) nearly tied the game with on a breakaway with 3:33 remaining, but his shot hit the post after a successful deke past Rimpinen.

Ziemer tapped home a cross-crease pass from Teddy Stiga (Boston College) to tie the contest 3:26 into the third and Perreault nearly gave the U.S. the lead two and a half minutes later, but his breakaway attempt glanced off the crossbar. The U.S. successfully killed off back-to-back minor penalties shortly after and ultimately the game went to overtime.

Tuomas Uronen scored 1:46 into the extra session to give Finland the 4-3 victory just after a golden chance by Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) was stopped.

The U.S. National Junior Team closes the preliminary round Tuesday against Canada at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.

Nelson records pair of goals, Slukynsky makes 25 saves as U.S. wins second straight at 2025 World Junior Championship with 5-1 win over Latvia

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Team USA took a 5-1 win over Latvia Saturday afternoon at the World Junior Championship as Danny Nelson (17) popped two goals in the victory (photo: USA Hockey).

Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) tallied a pair of goals and James Hagens (Boston College) had two assists to help lift the U.S. National Junior Team to a 5-1 victory over Latvia in its second preliminary round contest of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship Saturday afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont.

“We saw some growth in our game today,” said Team USA coach David Carle (Denver) in a statement. “Was it perfect? No. A lot of compliments to Latvia and how hard they played. We had to earn every inch of ice we got and that will help us as we move forward in the tournament.”

Nelson, named the U.S. Player of the Game, kicked off the scoring for Team USA just 1:58 into the contest as he banged home a net-front opportunity. Cole Eiserman (Boston University) and Colin Ralph (St. Cloud State) added assists on the tally.

Team USA netminder Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan) denied Markuss Sieradzkis on a two-on-zero opportunity 58 seconds into the second frame for one of his 25 saves in the victory.

U.S. captain Ryan Leonard (Boston College) cashed in on a power-play opportunity at the 5:08 mark as he redirected a pass from Hagens that threaded through a swarm of Latvian players.

Zeev Buium (Denver) added a third U.S. goal at 11:13, scoring at the side of the net with the teams skating four-on-four after a nifty feed from Hagens.

Nelson recorded his second tally of the game with just six seconds remaining in the middle frame as he backhanded a shot home to give on the power play and the U.S. led 4-0 after 40 minutes.

Latvia got its lone goal of the game off the stick of Davids Livsics at 8:22 before Max Plante (Minnesota Duluth) finished a two-on-one with Teddy Stiga (Boston College) at 15:31 to account for the 5-1 final score.

The U.S. National Junior Team is back in preliminary round action against Finland tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.

SATURDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Second half starts with Sacred Heart downing AIC, Providence, No. 17 Dartmouth winning at Ledyard Classic, Wisconsin, UConn getting wins at Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff, Princeton blanking Army West Point

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Felix Trudeau collected a goal and two assists to lead Sacred Heart to a 4-1 win at AIC Saturday afternoon (photo: Kallie Shanahan).

Sacred Heart returned to work on Saturday afternoon and put together a business-like effort on the road at American International, beating the Yellow Jackets 4-1 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

The Pioneers led 1-0 after one and 2-0 after two, before finishing the job in the third period.

Felix Trudeau led the way with three points on a goal and two assists for SHU.

“I’m really proud of our effort tonight coming off the break,” said Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo. “I thought our sticks were really good tonight defensively. I thought we got some timely goals. When we did have some breakdowns, our goalie (Ajeet Gundarah) played well and made the saves he had to make.”

Reid Pabich, Max Dorrington and Matthew Guerra also scored for the Pioneers and Dorrington and Guerra added assists for two-point games.

Gundarah finished with 27 saves in the victory.

For AIC, Brett Bamber scored and goalie Chase Clark made 34 saves.

“Overall, really proud against a really skilled AIC team that can push you back on your heels at different times in the game,” said Marottolo. “We’ll take the three points and get a little rest tomorrow, then get ready for a very tough Air Force team (at home Jan. 3-4).”

SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | POLL | PAIRWISE

No. 7 Providence 3, Northeastern 1

At the 35th annual Ledyard Classic at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H., Providence took a 3-1 win over Northeastern on the strength of 19 saves from goaltender Philip Svedebäck and three different goal scorers.

Will Elger, Tanner Adams and Graham Gamache scored the Friars’ goals.

Jack Williams netted the lone Huskies goal and Cameron Whitehead finished with 32 saves in goal.

No. 17 Dartmouth 5, Alaska Anchorage 4

In the nightcap of the Ledyard Classic’s opening day, Dartmouth scored two goals in the third period to defeat Alaska Anchorage 5-4.

Nikita Nikora, Cooper Flinton, Braiden Dorfman and Hayden Stavroff and Cam McDonald had the goals for Dartmouth, while Dimitry Kebreau, Jarred White, Ryan Johnson and Conor Cole scored for the Seawolves.

Dartmouth goalies Emmett Croteau and Roan Clarke combined to make 16 saves and Greg Orosz stopped 16 for Alaska Anchorage.

Wisconsin 8, Ferris State 0

From the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin downed Ferris State 8-0 as Cody Laskosky, Ryland Mosley and Quinn Finley each ripped two goals with an assist.

Kyle Kukkonen added two goals and Owen Lindmark, Zack Schulz, Christian Fitzgerald and Gavin Morrissey chipped in two assists each to back Tommy Scarfone’s 23 saves in goal, his third shutout in five games.

Ferris State goalie Noah West made 51 saves.

UConn 4, Alaska 1

Also at the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff, UConn got goals from four different players to take a 4-1 win over Alaska.

Trey Scott, Jake Richard, Jake Percival and Ethan Whitcomb scored and Callum Tung made 27 saves between the pipes.

Chase Dafoe popped the lone goal for the Nanooks and goalie Nicholas Grabko turned aside 27 shots.

Princeton 1, Army West Point 0

Jake Manfre scored the game’s lone goal at 7:47 of the first period and Arthur Smith stopped all 24 shots fired his way as Princeton blanked Army West Point at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y.

Black Knights goalie JJ Cataldo made 22 saves.

New Hampshire 7, Rensselaer 4

Cy LeClerc had a goal and three assists and Liam Devlin two goals and two assists as New Hampshire beat Rensselaer 7-4 from the Houston Fieldhouse in Troy, N.Y.

Robert Cronin went for a goal and an assist and Alex Gagne, Nikolai Jenson and Nick Ring added goals for the Wildcats, Ryan Conmy added a pair of assists and Jared Whale made 16 stops in goal.

For RPI, Jagger Tapper and William Gilson and Gustavs Ozolins each had a goal and an assist, Tyler Hotson scored, John Beaton tacked on two assists, and goalies Noah Giesbrecht and Jack Watson combined on a 37-save outing in goal.

Hagens scores twice with two assists, Hutson adds five assists as United States opens 2025 World Juniors with 10-4 win over Germany

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Team USA opened the 2025 World Juniors with a 10-4 win over Germany (photo: USA Hockey).

James Hagens (Boston College) recorded two goals and two assists while Cole Hutson (Boston University) added five assists to help the U.S. National Junior Team to a 10-4 victory over Germany in its first preliminary round contest of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, Ont., at the Canadian Tire Centre.

“I thought overall we did a lot of good things and we’ll continue to grow and build,” said David Carle (Denver), head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team, in a statement. “It was good to get a win under our belt and we’ll turn our focus now to playing Latvia on Saturday.”

Team USA nearly opened the scoring 4:27 into the game, but Gabe Perreault (Boston College) was denied by German netminder Nico Pertuch on a sprawling save at the goal line on what looked like a sure goal.

Hagens opened the scoring for Team USA at 8:07 when he put home a loose puck after a net-front scrum. Hutson and Ryan Leonard (Boston College) assisted on the tally.

Perreault, subsequently named the U.S. player of the game, wristed a shot over the glove of Pertuch at 11:56 following a feed from Hagens to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead.

U.S. netminder Trey Augustine (Michigan State) denied Nick Maul on a two-on-one opportunity with 2:13 remaining to maintain Team USA’s two-goal advantage after the first frame.

Trevor Connelly (Providence) extended the U.S. advantage just 1:38 into the second, as he capitalized on a pass from Cole Eiserman (Boston University) to put Team USA up 3-0.

Germany’s Julius Sumpf scored on the power play at 5:00 and David Lewandowski tallied with 10:37 remaining in the middle frame to trim the U.S. lead to 3-2.

Hagens scored his second of the contest at 14:01 as he powered a shot under Pertuch’s arm to give Team USA a 4-2 lead.

Brandon Svoboda (Boston University) scored what proved to be the game winner at 18:40, as he backhanded home a rebound opportunity. Perreault lasered a wrister into the back of the net 59 seconds later to give Team USA a 6-2 lead after 40 minutes.

Carey Terrance (OHL’s Erie Otters) found the back of the net 3:04 into the third period, converting a two-on-one opportunity with Svoboda to extend the U.S. lead to five.

Lenny Boos scored for Germany at 5:37 before Brodie Ziemer (Minnesota) tallied a pair of goals at the 7:16 and 9:44 marks to put the game out of reach.

After Timo Ruckdaschel scored for Germany at 16:14, Eiserman added the final U.S. goal to account for the 10-4 final.

Augustine made 18 saves for the U.S. in the victory.

The U.S. National Junior Team is back in preliminary round action against Latvia on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network.

USA Hockey names roster for 2025 World Junior Championship in Ottawa, with 10 returnees looking to help Team USA defend gold medal

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

USA Hockey has named the 25 players for its 2025 U.S. National Junior Team that will represent the United States in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ottawa, Ont.

Among the roster are 10 players who were part of the 2024 gold medal-winning U.S. National Junior Team, including goaltenders Trey Augustine (Michigan State) and Sam Hillebrandt (OHL’s Barrie Colts), defenseman Zeev Buium (Denver), Drew Fortescue (Boston College) and Aram Minnetian (Boston College) and forwards Ryan Leonard (Boston College), Oliver Moore (Minnesota), Danny Nelson (Notre Dame), Gabe Perreault (Boston College) and Carey Terrance (OHL’s Erie Otters).

“It’s always tough to get through the selection process as we have so many great players in our country,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2025 U.S. National Junior Team and assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, in a statement. “We turn our focus now to giving our team every opportunity to come together as we continue preparing for the tournament.”

Leonard has also been named captain, while Buium, Moore, Nelson and Perreault are Team USA’s alternate captains.

The U.S. National Junior Team claimed gold at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 6-2 win over host Sweden in the gold-medal game in Gothenburg, Sweden.

2025 U.S. National Junior Team

GOALTENDERS
Trey Augustine, Michigan State
Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan
Sam Hillebrandt, Barrie Colts

DEFENSEMEN
Logan Hensler, Wisconsin
Colin Ralph, St. Cloud State
Drew Fortescue, Boston College
Adam Kleber, Minnesota Duluth
Aram Minnetian, Boston College
Paul Fischer, Notre Dame
Cole Hutson, Boston University
Zeev Buium, Denver

FORWARDS
Teddy Stiga, Boston College
Brandon Svoboda, Boston University
Ryan Leonard, Boston College
Carey Terrance, Erie Otters (OHL)
Oliver Moore, Minnesota
James Hagens, Boston College
Danny Nelson, Notre Dame
Trevor Connelly, Providence
Joey Willis, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
Austin Burnevik, St. Cloud State
Gabe Perreault, Boston College
Brodie Ziemer, Minnesota
Cole Eiserman, Boston University

David Carle (Denver) is the United States head coach, while Steve Miller (Minnesota), Brett Larson (St. Cloud State) and Garrett Raboin (Augustana) are assistant coaches.

Team USA starts tournament play Thursday at 2:30 p.m. EDT against Germany at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont., live on NHL Network.

A D-III West hockey letter to Santa

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UW-Superior is hoping to have a strong second half to the season. (Photo Credit: Holden Law/UW-Superior Athletics)

It’s the day before Christmas, and all through the D-III hockey world, rinks are as silent as the night.

The hockey sticks are hung by the chimney with care in the hopes of them soon being used to score plenty of goals in the second half of the season.

Coaches, athletes and fans are home right now enjoying some well-deserved time off, but the return of action on the ice is just around the corner.

And we can’t wait to see what the second half of the year has in store for us all.

Santa, meanwhile, will soon be up on rooftops, dropping down chimneys and bringing joy and presents to everyone around the world.

If it’s not too much to ask, Santa, I’d love if you could help with a few hockey-related requests ahead of the second half of the season.

Let’s start with the MIAC. We know how tightly contested that league always is. A handful of points typically separates the top from the bottom and while there might be a favorite on paper, the games on the ice tend to tell a different story.

Right now, Gustavus is atop the standings. The Gusties started 0-3 but are now 6-5, including a 5-1 mark in league play.

It’s one of the great stories of the early part of the year. But the year is far from over. Saint Mary’s and Saint John’s aren’t too far off the mark, and don’t count out St. Scholastica.

Then again, don’t count out anyone in the MIAC. Even Augsburg. Yes, the Auggies are at the bottom of the standings, but a few good weekends of hockey for them can flip the script in a hurry.

The ask here, Santa, is can you please let the MIAC continue to be as competitive and entertaining as always throughout the second half of the year? I hope you can, because it sure does make things fun and there is never a dull moment.

Over in the WIAC, things have really gotten interesting. UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point are both ranked in the USCHO.com poll, but have you noticed that UW-Superior is currently atop the standings?

The Yellowjackets have won four in a row and have proven they are going to be in the discussion for the league championship when it’s all said and done.

UW-Eau Claire can’t be overlooked either. The Blugolds have done well in WIAC play so far and I expect that to continue.

And like I mentioned earlier, Stevens Point and River Falls are ranked. Maybe they remain in the rankings in the second half of the year. Maybe they don’t. But we know you can’t overlook either one in the race for the title.

I hope Santa can keep the WIAC rolling along with fun and unpredictable hockey week in and week out in the second half.

But the biggest request from Santa here is can the big guy in the red suit bring some good fortune to Northland.

The Lumberjacks have had it rough, dropping all 11 of its games this year despite some games where they’ve shown flashes of their potential. Their losing streak overall dating back to last year is at 37 games.

If any team could use some joy after the new year, it’s Northland. Those players are working hard. They just need a few breaks to go their way.  I know Santa will do what he can to make that happen.

Last, but certainly not least, is the NCHA. Typically, you can say either Adrian or St. Norbert is winning this thing and there is no other option.

But not this year. The top four teams are separated by a total of four points, with Trine leading the way at the top, sitting one point ahead of St. Norbert, which started the year with 11 straight wins.

Aurora is just two points behind Trine and Adrian is four. And hey, look out for those Concordia Falcons, who have won their last four.

I have a feeling that things are going to get interesting in the second half of the season. And the conference tournament could be the best thing ever based on how the standings look right now.

So, Santa, keep the NCHA the way it is. Let’s let this season truly be a fight to the finish. And if it’s not too much to ask, Dubuque, a second-year program, could use a few wins in the second half of the year. That program is trying to build something there. It’s just going to take a little time.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and let’s hope the second half of the D-III season out west is the best it can be. With a little help from Santa, I know it will be.

Merry Christmas.

This Week in NCHC Hockey: North Dakota ‘did a good job of getting through the first half with some adversity,’ looking for second-half surge to make NCAA tournament

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Jake Livanavage has been a force at both ends of the ice this season for North Dakota (photo: Russell Hons).

It’s no secret that North Dakota has some work to do if the Fighting Hawks are to make their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in five years.

Sitting 22nd in the PairWise Rankings after an 11-7-1 start, more things will have to start going the right way.

Kind of like they have in the last couple of weeks.

A North Dakota team dealing with injuries to some of its key players is entering the holiday break on a four-game winning streak. After eking out a tight pair of games Dec. 6-7 at Miami, the Hawks won twice again last weekend at home to St. Cloud State.

“I thought our guys did a good job of getting through the first half with some adversity, gaining some momentum in December here and heading into Christmas break with being in a good spot here, and trying to keep building for the second half,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said during his weekly press conference Wednesday.

Among UND’s high-profile players that didn’t factor into any of those four games are a pair of upperclassmen in senior forward Cameron Berg and junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek. Berg has been out since early November, and it was announced Wednesday that Zmolek will miss the rest of the season with an undisclosed injury. Zmolek hasn’t played since UND’s season opener against Providence.

But for as big as those lineup omissions are, UND has seen many of its younger players blossom. For example, the Hawks’ three top point-producers are all underclassmen in freshman Sacha Boisvert (8-9-17) and sophomore defensemen Abram Wiebe (4-10-14) and Jake Livanavage (2-12-14). Sophomore forward Jayden Perron (6-6-12) and freshman Mac Swanson (2-9-11) aren’t far behind, sitting fifth and sixth on the list.

“I think that comes from, A, seeing what college hockey is all about,” Berry said of the contributions of UND’s youth this season. “When you jump from junior hockey or wherever you came from, it’s a huge step in the pace of the game, it’s a lot faster and it’s a lot more physical, and there’s a lot more physical maturity of playing against older guys. I think the combination of that, they get immersed into that, they get to see what the level is and then they play to that level.

“The other thing, I think, is confidence and knowing that they belong. Once you go through all of our practices playing against really good players, and then you get into the nonconference schedule, which was really tough, and then the NCHC, then you become confident in what you can do, and I think they’re playing with some swagger and confidence to make a difference, and they had to. With the guys that were out of our lineup, they had to make a difference, and we want to see that progression keep going, trending north, as far as their development.”

Youngsters have played key roles in UND’s success over the past couple of weeks. Boisvert scored the game-winning goal with less than a minute left in the Hawks’ 5-4 victory Dec. 6 at Miami, then three underclassmen scored the following night in a 4-2 win in Oxford, Ohio. Livanavage bagged an insurance goal in UND’s 2-0 win last Friday against St. Cloud State, then underclassmen scored the Hawks’ first three goals in a 4-3 overtime victory Saturday against the Huskies.

UND is off until it hosts Manitoba in an exhibition game Jan. 4, and then it’s all NCHC play after that. It won’t be too long before the Hawks are back at it, with an eye toward making up some ground.

“When you talk about the reasons why you’re winning games or losing games, there’s really no excuses built in,” Berry said. “We know where we’re at. At the end of the day, it’s, what are we going to do…the finger doesn’t go (outward), it goes (inward) whether it’s coaches or players, and what we have to do individually and better as a team.

“I do think that Friday game at Miami was kind of a defining moment for us. It was kind of like that Denver game on Friday in Denver last year where we had to come all the way back and win that game (7-5, last December), and I think that showed (for UND’s young players) that, ‘Hey, we belong. We made an impact in this game that we won at Miami and we can continue to do that.’

“The last thing I said to the guys after the game on Saturday is, ‘You’ve done a good job of leading the right way here, but now, us as coaches give you game plans and situations where we’re going to keep moving forward and give you a chance for success, but the success is going to align this locker room in the second half of this season because that’s where the leadership really takes over,” Berry continued. “That’s where the ownership of the dressing room takes charge right away in the second half, and I firmly believe that our guys believe that.”

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Looking at team MVPs, biggest surprises of first half of 2024-25 season as conference teams hit Christmas break

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Rhett Pitlick has played well in his first season with Minnesota State (photo: Abby Santos).

As the holiday break descends upon us, there is one thing that has stood out above all others: Minnesota State is the real deal.

This isn’t a particularly “hot take,” in fact, one might argue that it’s the most obvious observation one could make. But sometimes, as a columnist, I’m supposed to take risks, and challenge the status quo, so consider this my risky move: making a point and hoping that nobody else notices it’s obvious.

Anyway… Minnesota State is legit.

We should have known this coming into the season, because despite a few flaws (they two of the conference’s top scorers in Lucas Sowder and Sam Morton), they also brought basically everybody else back. And yet, some people (this writer included) didn’t believe. In fact, this writer might have made a huge error and said that Minnesota State would finish fifth in the conference.

Mea culpa, Mavericks fans.

Maybe it was fitting, then, that just days after the preseason polls were voted on, the Mavericks made a huge splash in the transfer portal by adding forward Rhett Pitlick from Minnesota. If I’d have known about Pitlick joining the Mavericks, I certainly would have made them a top-three team, but even then, did I think they were going to be far and away the top team in the conference at Christmas break?

The answer to that, readers, is obvious. (For the record, I thought defending CCHA champions Bemidji State and St. Thomas would finish first and second, respectively, but currently neither team is in the top half of the conference standings.)

So, sometimes we sportswriters get things wrong. But as it stands, Minnesota State is sitting atop the CCHA standings with a 9-1-2 record and 29 points in the league table. Close behind them are second-place Augustana, who have 16 points through eight games.

Now, I’m sure you’re asking me now, “Jack, wait. Augustana only has 16 points. How is it possible that they are 13 points and four games behind Minnesota State. Michigan Tech is in second with 23 points, right?”

Well, that’s where things get complicated. Because the Vikings were a last-minute addition to the league — CCHA officials decided to vote them in this summer after finding out that St. Thomas would be leaving after the 2025-26 season — the CCHA is using a points-percentage formula to determine the league champions and standings this year. So the Vikings, who have 16 points at the moment, are still in second place because they are 5-3-0 in the conference and have a 0.667 points percentage compared to Tech’s 0.639 (they’re 7-3-2). Lake Superior State is in fourth place at 6-4-0 (0.600).

As luck would have it, the Vikings play all three of those squads for the first (and only) time this season after the holiday break. So even though the points-percentage formula is slightly confusing (it’s total points divided by games played times three), there will be some huge matchups that will tell us a lot about where we’re at in February.

For now, I wanted to quickly go through each team and highlight one player who I think deserves to be mentioned as that team’s MVP. My criteria isn’t necessarily based on stats (although they certainly are important) but more about which players I think would be so important to their teams that they’d be substantially worse if they were not available. This is subjective, of course, but it’s also a chance for me to talk about some players I may not normally mention.

Without further ado, here we go!

Minnesota State (14-4-2, 9-1-2 CCHA)

MVP: Goaltender Alex Tracy (14-2-2, 1.39 GAA, .945 SV%)

Tracy’s numbers last season were solid but not eye-popping (2.50 GAA and .910 SV%). He got a little overlooked by a strong crop of goaltenders the CCHA had last year (Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl and Michigan Tech’s Blake Pietila). But this season, Tracy has been basically unstoppable. He’s started every single game for the Mavericks, and he’s only allowed teams to score more than two goals against him three times. Two of those were in Maverick wins. Even in a loss, teams have trouble scoring on him: In MSU’s only regulation conference loss this season, Bemidji State managed just a single goal and won 1-0. Tracy has been arguably the nation’s top goalie for a reason.

Augustana (10-7-1, 5-3-0 CCHA)

MVP: Luke Mobley (7g-3a-10pts)

It’s hard to pick just one standout offensive performer from Augustana this season, because one of the Vikings’ hallmarks has been scoring depth. But Mobley, a senior who transferred from Clarkson last season, is the team’s captain and leading scorer with seven goals. He’s a big leader on a forward unit that has lots of players with a handful of goals. Nearly everyone on this team has been chipping in, which is why the Vikings are off to such a great start to the first half of the season.

Michigan Tech (9-5-2, 7-3-2 CCHA)

MVP: Forward Stiven Sardarian (8g-11a-19pts)

One of the conference’s more under-the-radar transfers, Sardarian has made a big splash this season since coming from New Hampshire. He’s tied for the conference lead with eight goals and has 19 points–already surpassing his 2023-24 total of 14 points at UNH. For a team that has at times struggled to score (they’ve scored more than two goals only six times this season), Sardarian has been a reliable spark.

Lake Superior State (8-9-1, 6-4-0 CCHA)

MVP: Goaltender Rorke Applebee (8-7-1, 2.79 GAA, .911 SV%)

We’ve seen plenty of teams in college hockey struggle with goaltender injuries. Merrimack was so hard-up in a series against Stonehill they had to play an equipment manager. LSSU hasn’t had to do that yet, but Applebee, a freshman from Chateauguay, Quebec, has been the Lakers’ only healthy goalie for nearly two months. He’s been outstanding and has helped backstop the Lakers to a solid 6-4-0 conference record. He’s also been the anchor of the Lakers best-in-the CCHA penalty kill unit, which stands at 0.871 at the holiday break.

Bowling Green (7-7-2, 4-4-2 CCHA)

MVP: Forward Brody Waters (8g-3a-11pts)

The Falcons are currently third-to-last in the conference in scoring (just 2.16 goals per game), but there’s been a bright spot: There are five different players tied for the CCHA’s goalscoring lead, and Waters is one of them. The sophomore from Heidelberg, Ont., scored twice in Bowling Green’s win over Northern Michigan last weekend, and has already improved his scoring numbers from his freshman year (when he scored six goals in 34 games).

Bemidji State (8-8-3, 5-5-2 CCHA)

MVP: Defenseman Isah Parekh (3g-5a-8pts)

One of the big question marks for Bemidji State coming into the season was how they’d handle the loss of two of their top defensemen in all-conference performers Kyle Looft and Eric Pohlkamp. And while you can’t replace a player outright, it seems they have found a solid one in the strong tradition of Beaver defensemen to take the mantle in Parekh. The freshman from Nobleton, Ont., has been one of the Beavers’ most reliable power play quarterbacks, scoring two of his three goals thus far on the man advantage and adding three of his five assists that way too.

Ferris State (6-10-2, 5-7-0, CCHA)

MVP: Forward Caiden Gault (8g-2a-10pts)

Gault, a junior from Oakbank, Manitoba, has taken a notable step in his game this season and turned into one of the Bulldogs’ most reliable performers. After recording just five points in 20 games a season ago, he’s now among Ferris State’s top six skaters and is relied upon to contribute to the offense each night. In FSU’s last series against Northern Michigan, he had a pair of goals to help the Bulldogs earn their first sweep of the season.

St. Thomas (4-9-4, 3-6-3 CCHA)

MVP: Forward Liam Malmquist (6g-13a-19pts)

St. Thomas has been up and down all season, but Malmquist has been a consistent performer for the Tommies. He’s scored some key goals against top teams–including what would turn out to be the game-winner against Michigan Tech earlier in December. The Tommies will certainly be looking towards Malmquist as they try to pull themselves back up into home ice contention for the CCHA Mason Cup playoffs.

Northern Michigan (1-16-1, 0-11-1 CCHA)

MVP: Goaltender Ryan Ouellette (1-15-1, 2.88 GAA, .919 SV%)

It’s been a rough season for NMU as a whole, but Ouellette has been a big bright spot. The transfer from Niagara has been able to keep the Wildcats in every game, even when they might not necessarily have the offensive power to be in those games. His .919 save percentage is third in the conference despite the fact that NMU has won just a single game. Although the Wildcats are currently in ninth in the conference, Ouellette should be able to help them steal a few wins down the stretch in the second half.

This Week in ECAC Hockey: Heading into holiday break, predicting second half, looking at what went right in first half of ‘24-25 campaign

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Cornell’s Ian Shane has been a rock in net for Cornell (photo: Lexi Woodcock/Cornell Athletics).

A happy and hearty holiday season to you and yours in the college hockey world.

I’ve found through the years that holiday and semester break is well-placed for a college hockey season that rumbles through the fall and early spring with an unsurpassed pace. We spend our weeks in October and November in the same rush to the weekend that exists ahead of postseason tournaments, so waning games ahead of exams and holidays is a great time to sit back and relax during a season stamped by a cheery man in a big red suit.

This week wraps up our first half coverage, and while we’re nowhere near the ending of college hockey season, I wanted to look back at the start of the season and identify trends along the ECAC fault lines. Consider this a halfway-point preview of our end-of-year reflection where I get to look back and count my prediction missteps.

It’s worth noting that this is all coming from a 10,000-foot viewpoint, so it’ll likely lack the full details of a team-by-team preseason preview breakdown. Instead, we’re mostly looking at what teams have done exceptionally well and where they might look to improve – again, without reasoning for what might got them or get them to those points – for the new year.

Without further ado:

Brown

Predicted Finish: Ninth
If the playoffs started today: 10th
Biggest Thing I Got Right So Far New and emerging players definitely added some thump to the Brown lineup. All three of my key additions – Brian Nicholas, Charlie Gollob, and Ivan Zadvernyuk – are among the team’s top scorers in one way or another, and Tyler Kopff and Max Scott are developing into top-flight and top-line talent. Goalie Lawton Zacher produced one of the team’s longest shutout streaks, and one weekend’s worth of work in January could erase the four-point gap separating 10th from fifth.
For the second half: Brown is legitimately well-positioned for a fast start to January, and the Bears are a threat to jump into the top half of the league if the offense continues to add scoring.

Clarkson

Predicted Finish: Seventh
If the playoffs started today: Third
Biggest Thing I Got Right So Far: The program’s master class in changing its coaching leadership resulted in zero negative impacts at the start of the season, and Jean-Francois Houle enters the holiday season as a leader in ECAC’s coach of the year race clubhouse.
For the second half: Clarkson’s power play is in the top-half of the league, but operating just under 19 percent situates the Golden Knights near the national average. Expect someone to jump forward in goal scoring on a team averaging a right-smack-in-the-national-middle average on offense. For reference, Ayrton Martino and Ryan Richardson scored around a quarter of the team’s 53 goals, and the next six skaters each have four goals – or 52 percent of the total offense in the first half.

Colgate

Predicted Finish: Fourth
If the playoffs started today: First
Things I got right: Colgate’s leadership and additions created a perfect blend for a first half breakout, and a strong defense is way better than the goals against average implies. Remove Penn State’s seven-goal game and the team’s goals against average drops by a full one-third of a goal. Remove the five goals from the overtime win over Sacred Heart, and it drops to a near-equal 3.2 goals allowed. Also, for those keeping score, those are non-conference games.
For the second half: Mike Harder was very honest about the team’s injury woes in the first half. Once the team starts getting healthier, expect the Raiders to have some growing pains before a strong finish.

Cornell

Predicted Finish: First
If the playoffs started today: Fifth
Things I got right: Cornell has a roster capable of competing at the highest levels of college hockey, and the start of the year drew comparisons to some of the best ECAC teams of all-time. Three goals per game is just ahead of the national average,
For the second half: Ian Shane (joke’s on me, I thought he graduated) is hard-pressed to replicate the numbers that had me arguing towards a Richter Award last year, but there’s no way he sticks to an .896 save percentage for the entirety of the season. He’s still the goalie who held Quinnipiac and Princeton to two combined goals before Thanksgiving.

Dartmouth

Predicted Finish: Third
If the playoffs started today: Fourth
Things I got right: Dartmouth isn’t going away. The game against Boston College featured two top-5 teams in the Pairwise Rankings at the time, and the Big Green already own wins over Quinnipiac and Cornell with a “tie” (shootout loss) against Colgate. The power play is easily best in the country, and the penalty kill is good enough to provide the team with some lopsided special teams.
For the second half: The consecutive losses to St. Lawrence and Clarkson didn’t help, but retaining the trademark consistency from October would go a long way to maintaining a heading in a league marked by a demolition derby of chaos.

Harvard

Predicted Finish: Fifth
If the playoffs started today: Eighth
Things I got right: Harvard won’t stay down forever, and the transition to a new era is built around how well the nucleus can help younger players. Junior Casey Severo made a jump in the first half with five goals (he had eight during last season’s 32-game campaign), and Mick Thompson’s output matches Ben MacDonald.
For the second half: Aku Koskenvuo’s numbers skewed a bit after surrendering eight goals to UMass and Notre Dame, but his combination with Ben Charette is going to steal a game somewhere along the line. For many of us in the Boston area, the first two weekends in February sure look like a golden opportunity.

Princeton

Predicted Finish: 11th
If the playoffs started today: Sixth
Things I got right: Nothing. I made a valid point by saying, “Princeton returns enough pieces to make an interesting run at dark horse contender status,” but I messed the entire thing up by saying the league would force it into the bottom half. Maybe that happens, but the Tigers are in sixth at Christmas.
For the second half: Princeton absolutely sweeps Cornell and Colgate because that’s how these things usually work, and a four-point or five-point weekend at Harvard and Dartmouth keys a run at the top-four into February.

Quinnipiac

Predicted Finish: Second
If the playoffs started today: Second
Things I got right: Almost everything. Turnover finally caught up to Quinnipiac at the start of the season, but once the Bobcats got rolling, 16 league points out of a possible 18-point stretch led them right back to the top.
For the second half: The wolf is back in the hen house, and the numbers are aligning for a major run in the second half. What’s especially scary is the amount of depth emerging from the team’s top seven skaters. Nobody has more than seven or less than four goals, which means 67 percent of scoring could come from anywhere.

Rensselaer

Predicted Finish: 10th
If the playoffs started today: 12th
Things I got right: The right returners positioned RPI for early season wins, and that split against Clarkson and St. Lawrence proved how the Engineers could easily slip into the home ice conversation as the year progresses. Four straight losses and dropping five-of-six is more about playing two games against Maine ahead of the Quinnipiac-Princeton road trip with Princeton on Saturday than a dig at this team’s makeup.
For the second half: I’d really like to see some early wins in January. Making the Yale-Brown trip in the aftermath of a one-off game against New Hampshire seems like a good way to gain momentum ahead of the trip to the North Country, and the brutal stretch of Cornell-Colgate-Princeton-Quinnipiac-Dartmouth-Harvard-Colgate-Cornell doesn’t show up until the end of the year, so there’s ground to be made, especially early.

St. Lawrence

Predicted Finish: Eighth
If the playoffs started today: 11th
Things I got right: Longer road trips to the North Country are coming in February after the Saints have had to travel to eastern New England. Considering St. Lawrence is 1-5-1 on the road compared to a 4-4 record at home is an indicator of things to come for teams heading to the Canadian border in winter – but even that one win was against Dartmouth.
For the second half: I’m holding firm on St. Lawrence. Nothing can be accurately predicted until teams have to travel into northern New York’s winter.

Union

Predicted Finish: Sixth
If the playoffs started today: Seventh
Things I got right: Union barreled out of the gates with a number of key wins, and the Garnet Chargers rode the last bit of Messa magic to a 5-2-1 home record before getting swept by Vermont.
For the second half: I feel like Union’s season goes in one of two directions based on how the numbers react. If an offense scoring 3.2 goals per game and allowing 3.0 goals per game stops scoring or allows more goals, the Garnet Chargers will drop. If the offense kicks into another gear – which is doable – or starts cutting into its goals allowed, the team moves up. If both numbers improve or stabilize or get more inconsistent, the team stays where it is.

Yale

Predicted Finish: 12th
If the playoffs started today: Ninth
Things I got right: Yale managed to get through unforgivable parts of its schedule in ninth place with an offense averaging less goals than last year. Surviving trial by fire to play for home ice? That’s opening the door for a second half run.
For the second half: A second half run. I still love this team’s potential, and when the Bulldogs are good, they’re really good. It’s been fortunate that four of the tough losses were non-conference games, but taking two points from Cornell and a win against St. Lawrence opens the door for factoring into the parity that’s significantly more inevitable than past years. I really like Yale to potentially win the CT Ice after getting through Sacred Heart in the first round.

Ian Shane has been a rock between the pipes this season for Cornell (photo: Lexi Woodcock/Cornell Athletics).

This Week in Atlantic Hockey America: Buy, sell or hold – predicting what each conference team should aim to do with second half of ’24-25 season looming

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Matteo Giampa had a stellar freshman season for Canisius and is doing the same in Year 2 (photo: Tom Wolf Imaging/Canisius Athletics).

While it often seems like the 2024-25 season just got underway, we’re already at the halfway point, with roughly 47% of Atlantic Hockey America’s conference schedule completed.

That’s a decent enough sample to look at where all 11 teams stand.

My friends at the USCHO Weekend Review podcast have an exercise called “Buy or Sell,” which asks whether they are bullish on a team or the opposite.

I’m going to add a “hold” category, meaning the jury is still out – for me, anyway.

Because we still have a somewhat unbalanced league schedule in terms of games played (they range from 10 for Air Force to 14 for Sacred Heart), I’m ranking the teams by conference points per game instead of total conference points.

Air Force
W-L-T (overall, conference): 9-10-1, 6-4
Conference points per game: 1.8 (4th)
Offense ranking: 11th
Defense ranking: 4th
Power play ranking: 10th
Penalty kill ranking: 10th
Recommendation: HOLD. In some ways, the Falcons may be overachieving with a better record than their stats might indicate. Air Force has been in a bit of a funk recently, with just one win in its last six games, but Frank Serratore’s teams tend to be stronger in the second half. Defenseman Chris Heddon and forward Clayton Consentino are having all-star seasons so far.

American International
W-L-T (overall, conference): 5-11-1, 4-7
Conference points per game: 1.27 (8th)
Offense ranking: 9th
Defense ranking: 6th
Power play ranking: 5th
Penalty kill ranking: 2nd
Recommendation: HOLD. It’s been as rough a first half as they come for the Yellow Jackets, who recently announced that the program will be downgraded to Division II and dropping out of Atlantic Hockey America at the end of the season. AIC hasn’t lost more than two games in a row but hasn’t won two in a row either. You can’t count out an Eric Lang-led team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yellow Jackets got hot in the second half if they can get and stay healthy. Rookie goalie Adam Manji has been a bright spot (.921 SV% and 2.39 GAA).

Army West Point
W-L-T (overall, conference): 5-11-0, 5-7-0
Conference points per game: 1.25 (9th)
Offense ranking: 10th
Defense ranking: 7th
Power play ranking: 11th
Penalty kill ranking: 3rd
Recommendation: SELL. There’s a feel-good story waiting to happen if the Black Knights can get their offense going and produce a second half that shines a light on coach Brian Riley, who is retiring after 21 seasons at West Point. Goalie JJ Cataldo leads the league in GAA (2.02) and saves percentage (.933), and sophomore defenseman Mac Gadowsky is having an all-star year, but he’s the only player with double-digit points right now.

Bentley
W-L-T (overall, conference): 10-5-2, 9-2-1
Conference points per game: 2.42 (1st)
Offense ranking: 3rd
Defense ranking: 1st
Power play ranking: 3rd
Penalty kill ranking: 5th
Recommendation: BUY. The Falcons are technically tied with Sacred Heart for first place but have three games in hand and are the only Atlantic Hockey America team averaging over two conference points per game. Bentley currently has over a 50% chance of winning the regular season title. Defense wins titles, and Bentley has the best in the conference led by goaltender Connor Hasley, who already has four shutouts this season.

Canisius
W-L-T (overall, conference): 5-11-2, 5-5-2
Conference points per game: 1.55 (6th)
Offense ranking: 6th
Defense ranking: 9th
Power play ranking: 2nd
Penalty kill ranking: 9th
Recommendation: SELL. Canisius is winless in its last four and has just two wins since Nov. 8. If the Golden Griffins want to move up in the standings, they will have to be road warriors – only five home games are left, with 12 games away from Harbor Center. Forward Matteo Giampa, last year’s Rookie of the Year, leads the team in most offensive categories as expected.

Holy Cross
W-L-T (overall, conference): 8-8-1, 7-4-1
Conference points per game: 1.67 (5th)
Offense ranking: 5th
Defense ranking: 2nd
Power play ranking: 7th
Penalty kill ranking: 1st
Recommendation: BUY. Holy Cross was my pick to win the league and I’m sticking with that. The Crusaders need a more balanced scoring attack and if the offense picks up, they’ll be challenging for the regular season title. Forward Liam McLinskey and goalie Thomas Gale are living up to preseason expectations.

Mercyhurst
W-L-T (overall, conference): 2-15-3, 2-10-2
Conference points per game: 0.57 (11th)
Offense ranking: 8th
Defense ranking: 10th
Power play ranking: 4th
Penalty kill ranking: 11th
Recommendation: SELL. The Lakers have a lot to work on but they’re a young team that will improve. There’s some reason for optimism – the Lakers’ combined saves percentage is .911 despite its struggles defensively and on the penalty kill, for example. But Mercyhurst needs to cut down on shots against and hope that its 18 underclassmen continue to develop.

Niagara
W-L-T (overall, conference): 8-8-3, 7-4-2
Conference points per game: 1.85 (3rd)
Offense ranking: 4th
Defense ranking: 5th
Power play ranking: 6th
Penalty kill ranking: 7th
Recommendation: BUY. There’s a lot of upside here. Trevor Hoskin, a Calgary draft pick, is a candidate for Rookie of the Year, and goalie Pierce Charleson, a transfer from Alaska (and before that, Michigan State), has provided stability between the pipes. Coach Jason Lammers has a way of getting his team deep into the playoffs year in and year out. Will this be the year the Purple Eagles win it all? It’s not out of the question.

Rochester Institute of Technology
W-L-T (overall, conference): 4-14-1, 3-8-1
Conference points per game: 0.75 (10th)
Offense ranking: 7th
Defense ranking: 11th
Power play ranking: 8th
Penalty kill ranking: 4th
Recommendation: SELL. While the Tigers snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak in their final outing of the first half, they’ll need to find a solution for goaltending/defense issues. The offense has picked up lately with Tyler Fukukusa leading the league in total points and Matthew Wilde first in the conference in points per game.

Robert Morris
W-L-T (overall, conference): 8-7-2, 5-5-1
Conference points per game: 1.5 (7th)
Offense ranking: 1st
Defense ranking: 3rd
Power play ranking: 1st
Penalty kill ranking: 6th
Recommendation: BUY. Coach Derek Schooley has built a contender in only their second year back. The sophomore line of Walter Zacher (17 points), Tanner Klimpke (17 points), and Cameron Garvey (13 points) are one of the top lines in the conference, and the Colonials have a favorable schedule in the second half, with 10 out of 15 games at home and games in hand on most teams.

Sacred Heart
W-L-T (overall, conference): 9-7-3, 8-5-2
Conference points per game: 1.93 (2nd)
Offense ranking: 2nd
Defense ranking: 8th
Power play ranking: 9th
Penalty kill ranking: 8th
Recommendation: BUY. There’s too much talent and experience to bet against the Pioneers, the preseason favorite to win the league. Coach CJ Marottolo has used the transfer portal well, with SHU’s top four scorers all coming in this year or last from other programs, including Maine transfers Félix Trudeau (20 points) and Reid Pabich (12 points). Rookie goaltender Ajeet Gundarah (.912 SV%) looks to have won the starting job.

North Dakota blueliner Zmolek out for rest of 2024-25 college hockey season with undisclosed injury

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Bennett Zmolek spent the 2023-24 season with the Fighting Hawks (photo: Russell Hons).

North Dakota has announced that junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season due to an undisclosed injury.

Zmolek, who has been sidelined since the season opener against Providence, appeared in 34 games with North Dakota since his arrival last season.

He led the team with a plus-17 rating and tallied nine points via the assist when he was in the lineup.

Zmolek paced both the team and the NCHC with 91 blocked shots last year, the most by a UND player since 2015-16.

No future timetable has been set for Zmolek’s return.

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: First half of ’24-25 season complete, conference teams optimistic for strong second-half run come January

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Penn State’s Dylan Lugris celebrates a goal last Thursday against Army West Point (photo: Penn State Athletics).

The first half of the Big Ten season is in the books and there have been a few surprises along the way, setting up an interesting second-half sprint to the conference playoffs.

As we head into the holiday break, here are some thoughts about each team.

Minnesota 15-3-2 (8-1-1 B1G)

The Golden Gophers had a golden first half – until they ran into the Spartans last weekend, that is. Anyone watching that series realized that Minnesota and Michigan State are contenders for the national championship, and there’s no doubt that coach Bob Motzko’s squad will use the tie and loss to propel them in the second half.

The Gophers earned one point in last weekend’s series and are still five points ahead of second-place Michigan State. Yes, the Minnesota has played two more games than have the Spartans, but that would be immaterial if the Gophers hadn’t done so much with their first eight B1G games. Their 5-3 loss Saturday was their first in conference play this season.

They’re deep at every position. They’re in a three-way tie for the top offense in the country, averaging 4.00 goals per game. They’re in a three-way tie for the seventh-best defense 2.00). Their special teams can improve, but that can be said of many B1G teams.

I go back to something Motzko said in November: “You don’t win championships early, but you can lose them.” The Gophers have done all they can in the first half to embrace that.

Minnesota begins the second half with a pair of home games against Mercyhurst (Jan. 3-4), and the Gophers return to Big Ten play on the road against Ohio State Jan. 10-11.

Michigan State 13-2-1 (6-2-1 B1G)

The Spartans are the most tenacious, diligent, and adaptive team playing college hockey right now. As coach Adam Nightingale put it in his radio show this week, “We can wear teams down and we can come back.”

This is a team that applies what it learns from every game to every subsequent game. After losing 3-0 to Boston College Oct. 11, Michigan State won their next nine games, stopped Dec. 6 in a 4-0 loss to Wisconsin. With just those two losses on the season, the Spartans are second only to Boston College in the PairWise Rankings.

Michigan State is fifth in the nation in offense (3.44), tied for fourth in defense (1.88) and does better than most B1G teams in special teams (.820 PK/25th, (.244 PP/12th). Like the Gophers, the Spartans are balanced and deep.

And how much fun is Isaac Howard this season? The junior – a first-round draft pick of Tampa in 2022 – had eight goals in 36 games last season. He’s at nine already this season, and he’s one of the most dynamic players in the league.

Like the Gophers, the Spartans have taken care of business well in the first half, setting Michigan State up for a run at the conference championship. The Spartans return to action in the Great Lakes Invitational in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 29 when they face off against old CCHA rival Northern Michigan. That tourney features all Michigan teams, so Michigan State will play either Western Michigan or Michigan Tech Dec. 30.

There’s little rest for the Spartans following the GLI. They’ll host Wisconsin Jan. 2 before the teams meet again Jan. 4 as part of the Frozen Confines in Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Wisconsin 7-10-1 (5-7-0)

After a 2-5-0 start to the season in October, Wisconsin has clawed its way back to tie with Michigan State for second in the Big Ten standings. A key difference: the Badgers needed four more conference games than the Spartans to do that.

Wisconsin’s start puts the Badgers in a tough position going into the second half. Wisconsin is one of three B1G teams that does not control its own conference destiny. The Badgers can’t be guaranteed a slice of the Big Ten regular season championship even if they win out in the second half.

Chasing standing in the Big Ten isn’t Wisconsin’s only concern. Currently the Badgers sit at No. 25 in the PairWise Rankings. Wisconsin’s only way into the NCAA tournament may be clinching the playoff title.

The Badgers split a road series with Michigan to end the first half, blanking the Wolverines 4-0 before losing 3-2 in OT the following night. Coach Mike Hastings delivered a very Wisconsin one-liner following that loss: “That last one, uff da, is that hard to swallow.”

Since the start of the season, Wisconsin’s played nine overtime games (3-5-1).

The Badgers are the first B1G team to play following the break, as they defend their Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff title in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Wisconsin plays Ferris State Dec. 28 and either Alaska or Connecticut the following night.

Ohio State 13-4-1 (6-2-0 B1G)

The Buckeyes may be the biggest surprise of the season. With 16 points, the Buckeyes end the first half of the season in fourth place, three behind the tied Badgers and Spartans, eight points out of first place.

Ohio State heads into the break with a four-game Big Ten win streak, having swept Notre Dame last weekend and Penn State the weekend before. The Buckeyes also have a sweep of Wisconsin to their credit, but their two losses came to Michigan State – and eight of their remaining games are against Minnesota and Michigan, collectively.

Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik has said all season that this Ohio State team wins by committee, and that was true of every position including goaltending until recently. Logan Terness and Kristoffer Eberly had been splitting duties, but Eberly has started the last four games. Eberly’s numbers put him among the top netminders in the country (.941 SV%/6th, 1.35 GAA/1st).

The Ohio State defense (1.94) is right behind Michigan State’s and the Buckeyes’ penalty kill (.843) is the best nationally among B1G teams.

Ohio State faces a tough second-half schedule, starting with a game against Michigan Jan. 3 in the Frozen Confines. The Buckeyes and Wolverines finish that series in Ann Arbor Jan. 5.

Michigan 11-6-1 (5-3-0 B1G)

When Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen pocketed his first career goal at 12:26 of the second period in Michigan’s overtime win against Wisconsin last weekend, he was the first Wolverine to score since 4:22 in the second period of Michigan’s win over Western Michigan Nov. 30.

That scoring drought spanned over 11 periods of hockey and encompassed three whole games in which the Wolverines were kept off the scoresheet, the first time that had happened to a Michigan team since 1942-43.

Before all of that nonsense, the Wolverines were averaging 4.00 goals per game, third in the nation. They dropped to 23rd (3.00) after a pair of shutout losses to Minnesota followed by that 4-0 loss to Wisconsin.

After getting scoring last Saturday – and a win – coach Brandon Naurato said, “Everything that may not be going right from this first half I think can be corrected with just individual growth. Michigan’s been a second-half team.”

And he’s right about that. It would be foolish to count the Wolverines out of anything in the second half of the season. They have deep talent and – shutout losses not withstanding – a knack for outscoring opponents even when they allow too many goals against to expect a win.

Michigan’s first series back is the one against Ohio State, starting with the game in Wrigley Field Jan. 3.

Notre Dame 6-12-0 (1-9-0 B1G)

The Fighting Irish are struggling to find consistency in every position and in every situation, leaving Notre Dame in a tough spot heading into the second half.

The Irish went 3-7-0 in November, including a 1-7-0 record in conference play. That month also saw a seven-game losing streak that Notre Dame ended with a 5-2 win over Havard Nov. 29 at the Friendship Four in Belfast, Ireland.

After that trip, coach Jeff Jackson said that he likes this team and thinks it has the potential to improve as the season progresses. “I like the group. I think we haven’t figured some things out on how we need to play.”

Everything from puck management to penalties to team defense has hampered Notre Dame’s game this season. In their single December series, the Irish lost 2-1 (OT) and 3-1 to Ohio State, allowing a power-play goal in each contest. The Buckeyes outshot the Irish 86-34 in the two contests.

The Fighting Irish are another team not in control of their own destiny in the second half. In the unlikely event that Notre Dame runs the rest of the Big Ten schedule, the Irish would still need significant help from other teams to finish higher than fifth place.

Next up for Notre Dame is a series against Penn State that begins Jan. 3 at the Frozen Confines. The teams will finish that series in South Bend Jan. 5.

Penn State 7-9-0 (0-8-0 B1G)

With the exception of a single loss to Quinnipiac early in the season, Penn State is perfect in nonconference play. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, none of that success has translated into Big Ten play, where Penn State is still looking for its first conference win.

The Nittany Lions ended the first half on an up note, defeating Army West Point 4-1 in the inaugural Capital Holiday Classic in Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Capitals.

In advance of that game, coach Guy Gadowsky told reporters that the Nittany Lions need to improve in one very specific way. “I’m just going to be blunt,” said Gadowsky. “We have to be a lot more mentally tough than we are. We have to be mentally tougher to start the game, and then we have to be mentally tough to finish it when we fight back.”

John Seifarth (.918 SV%, 2.19 GAA) has emerged as the starting goaltender for Penn State, beginning with the Nittany Lions’ win over Colgate Nov. 26. Penn State swept that weekend and lost two to Ohio State in the next series and finished the first half with that win over Army.

Penn State opens the second half with that series against Notre Dame. Like the Fighting Irish and the Badgers, the Nittany Lions would need significant help to play their way up the Big Ten standings in the second half. Winning 15 of their 16 remaining conference games would get them to fourth place.

Happy holidays, everyone

I am ever grateful to everyone who supports USCHO and follows along for the Big Ten season, and to those of you who reach out to talk a little hockey. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and may 2025 be gentle to you.

This Week in Hockey East: Despite adversity, Merrimack has plenty of reason to hope 2025 will bring more success as ‘nobody’s turning their backs on each other’

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Merrimack finished 2024 with a bang, scoring three times in the final period to knock off Northeastern 4-1 on home ice last Saturday night (photo: Merrimack Athletics).

When a team wins a lot, it’s common for players to speak highly of team chemistry. It’s not a popular topic when a team struggles.

That’s not the case with Merrimack.

Despite wrapping up the first semester with just five wins, the Warriors are feeling nothing but positive vibes entering the winter break.

“The biggest thing that stands out amidst a number of lows so far this first half, is the togetherness of our group,” said grad student forward Harrison Roy, who scored his first goal of the season last Saturday in a 4-1 home win vs. Hockey East foe Northeastern. “Before the season even started, (we) made an emphasis that we were going to stick together as a team no matter what the result is. So I give credit to our team. It’s not easy losing, and it’s a very competitive league. The most important thing (is) our ability to stay together. Nobody’s turning their backs on each other.”

The Warriors (5-10-1) have rallied around coach Scott Borek, who was forced to miss the last three games of the semester due to a respiratory illness. The school said on Saturday that Borek was on the mend but did not give a timetable for his return.

“Scott’s presence, not just as a coach but as a human, is immense,” said associate coach Dan Jewell, who has filled in for Borek behind the bench during the head coach’s absence. “We miss him being here dearly on a day-to-day basis. But his presence in the locker room oozes through every guy. It’s one of the funnest things working for Scott — and he would hate me saying ‘for’, which tells you about him — is just his personality, his values, his relationships. It emanates through our locker room.”

One bright spot for Merrimack this season was how it bounced back after a disastrous weekend at Maine on Nov. 1-2, in which the Warriors were outscored by an aggregate score of 11-0 over two games. The following week, Merrimack swept Connecticut in a home-and-home series by scores of 4-1 and 5-2.

“That Maine weekend, that was a line in the sand for us,” Roy said. “It’s hard to go into a place like Maine and not score any goals. (That’s) really challenging for a team. We made it a point that from there on out that it’s going (to be up to) each and every person to elevate their game. There have still been lows since then and highs since then, but like I said, the togetherness sticks out.”

Roy said he hopes the win vs. Northeastern will be a springboard to success for when the Warriors’ season resumes Jan. 3 at Army West Point (Atlantic Hockey America).

“I would say a lot of us haven’t necessarily played night in and night out according to our standard,” he said. “I think (vs. Northeastern) we got a better glimpse at, whenever everything’s going together, the success and opportunity that our team has to win games against really good teams.”

Jewell said what has worked well for Merrimack so far — mainly, the team’s camaraderie and its ability to handle adversity as a unit — will serve the team well in 2025.

“I give our leadership group, our older guys, a ton of credit,” Jewell said. “We’ve been on point. We’ve been on focus. We’ve (been through) a lot of adversity — injuries, lack of success in the win column — and this group has really been undeterred. They come to work on Monday. They’re ready to go.”

Merrimack returns to Hockey East play on Jan. 10 at Boston College, kicking off a home-and-home series.

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