Ohio State is the 2024 NCAA Division I women’s hockey national champion (photo: Nicole Haase).
DURHAM, N.H. — The Ohio State women’s hockey team found redemption, defeating rival Wisconsin 1-0 to win the program’s second National Championship Sunday at the University of New Hampshire.
The same two teams faced off for the title last season, with the Badgers taking a win by the same score.
After more than 50 minutes of scoreless hockey, a massive defensive effort by Ohio State’s Cayla Barnes cut off a breakaway opportunity for Wisconsin captain Britta Curl. Barnes quickly turned up the ice and fed the puck to Hannah Bilka, who pulled the defense wide and then laid the puck off to Joy Dunne, who scored on a shot remarkably like the one she lit the lamp with in OSU’s semifinal win over Clarkson. The wrist shot deflected up and over UW goalie Ava McNaughton’s shoulder with just more than seven minutes left in regulation.
It wasn’t lost on Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall that the two assists on the championship-winning goal went to two players who transferred to OSU with the express intent to win a National Championship. For Barnes in particular, Muzerall said the desire for a title was something that burned deeply and drove her all season.
One of the Buckeyes’ top pair defenders, Hadley Hartmetz, was injured in the second period when she and Wisconsin captain Britta Curl fell over along the boards behind Kirk. Hartmetz didn’t return to the game and Ohio State finished out with five defenders carrying the load. Even while taking on more minutes and the clock ticking down, Barnes didn’t let the moment overwhelm her and Muzerall said she knew in a closely contested game like this, her team would need to rely on experience and leadership. With so much time with the US National team in Olympic and IIHF World Championship competition, Barnes was the perfect person to be steady and strong at the blue line.
The OSU win is vindication for the Buckeyes, who have been working towards this moment since the final whistle blew in Duluth last season.
Ohio State goalie Raygan Kirk, who pitched a shutout on the #2 team in the country that averaged five goals per game of offense over the course of the season, called it the Buckeyes’ revenge tour and rookie Joy Dunne said that even though there were a number of players on this year’s roster that hadn’t experienced the disappointment of last season’s loss, they felt the resentment just as sharply and wanted to win the title for their graduating players.
It was a back-and-forth game as both teams looked for any opportunity for an advantage. Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson felt like his team was in a “perfect position” heading into the final period in a scoreless tie, knowing that winning 20 minutes meant winning the whole game. As the game wore on, he said he knew the game would come down to a single goal and whoever scored it first. He likened it to a chess match as the teams moved back and forth up and down the ice without finding much space or opportunity to set up.
“It was a battle for space on the ice. There weren’t a lot of quality scoring opportunities at both ends. It’s going to come down to one play. They made the play, they win the game and it hurts,” said Johnson.
Muzerall echoed the sentiment, saying that as the game wore on she felt that whoever scored in the third period was going to come out on top.
“It was such a good defensive side of the game from both teams. I didn’t think that there would be much goal scoring. I didn’t know but it was just a feeling of if we can get to that one and then bear down defensively, we could win this thing,” she said.
It was a particularly tough loss for Badger captain Britta Curl, who had the puck on her stick and felt like she was in a position to score the go-ahead goal and just seconds later watched Ohio State take the lead. The pandemic and time off centralizing for the Olympics meant that Curl was in her sixth year at Wisconsin and playing for a record fourth championship.
“I know I’m going to walk out of here proud of this group. That’s sports. Sometimes you lose. I told the girls I’d choose to be in that locker room every time,” she said.
The win was a special one for Kirk, who played for Robert Morris when the university canceled its hockey programs. She transferred to Ohio State knowing she’d be the third or fourth goalie on the depth chart and put in the work to earn the starting spot in the National Championship, said Muzerall.
Before the game, Muzerall talked about building a legacy for her program. One championship was great, but in isolation, wasn’t indicative of what she’s attempting to build.
“Legacies obviously take time. Two is fantastic. I want to push to three and more,” she said after her team won their second title in three years on Sunday night.
With several Ohio State campus leaders in attendance, Muzerall said she was feeling a lot of Buckey love and was looking forward to enjoying the moment.
Ohio State finished the season with a 35-4 record and set a new program record for wins in a season. Wisconsin finished with a record of 35-6. Attendance for Sunday’s game was 4,378, the third-highest ever for a championship game. The combined Frozen Four attendance was 7,931, which is second-highest in women’s Frozen Four history.
The NCAA Men’s Division I hockey field was announced on Sunday with Boston College, Boston University, Denver and Michigan State earning the top seeds in the tournament.
The following are four regionals for this year’s tournament:
Providence, R.I. (March 29 and 31)
1. Boston College
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
16. Michigan Tech
Maryland Heights, Mo. (March 29 and 31)
4. Michigan State
6. North Dakota
10. Michigan
13. Western Michigan
Sioux Falls, S.D. (March 28 and 30)
2. Boston University
7. Minnesota
11. Omaha
15. RIT
Springfield, Mass. (March 28 and 30(
3. Denver
5. Maine
12. Cornell
14. Massachusetts
The tournament will kick off in the Springfield regional with two recent national champions facing off as 2022 champion Denver faces 2021 champion UMass.
The Springfield and Sioux Falls regionals will play on Thursday and Saturday. Providence and Maryland Heights, Mo. will play on Friday and Sunday.
Tournament chairman Jeff Schulman, athletic director at Vermont, said that there were three principles that guided how the committee seeded this year’s tournament.
“The three big ones are we’re trying to avoid interconference matchups in the first round, we’re committed to keeping host at their host regionals so that affected both UMass and Omaha this year,” said Schulamn. “And we also work really hard to create an exciting championship atmosphere; good crowds and we think that we’ve accomplished that with this year’s bracket.”
To view the complete bracket including television information and starting times, click here.
The 2024 Frozen Four will take place at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on April 11 and 13.
Denver topped Omaha in the NCHC championship game Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn. (photo: Omaha Athletics).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll of March 18 fared in games over the weekend of March 22-23.
No. 1 Boston College (31-5-1)
03/22/2024 – No. 13 Massachusetts 1 vs No. 1 Boston College 8 (Hockey East semifinal, Boston)
03/23/2024 – No. 2 Boston University 2 vs No. 1 Boston College 6 (Hockey East championship, Boston)
No. 2 Boston University (26-9-2)
03/22/2024 – No. 7 Maine 1 vs No. 2 Boston University 4 (Hockey East semifinal, Boston)
03/23/2024 – No. 2 Boston University 2 vs No. 1 Boston College 6 (Hockey East championship, Boston)
No. 3 Denver (28-9-3)
03/22/2024 – No. 17 St. Cloud State 4 vs No. 3 Denver 5 (OT, NCHC semifinal, St. Paul, Minn.)
03/23/2024 – No. 11 Omaha 1 vs No. 3 Denver 4 (NCHC championship, St. Paul, MN)
No. 4 North Dakota (26-11-2)
03/22/2024 – No. 11 Omaha 6 vs No. 4 North Dakota 3 (NCHC semifinal, St. Paul, Minn.)
No. 5 Michigan State (24-9-3)
03/23/2024 – No. 10 Michigan 4 at No. 5 Michigan State 5 (OT, Big Ten championship)
No. 6 Quinnipiac (26-9-2)
03/22/2024 – St. Lawrence 3 vs No. 6 Quinnipiac 0 (ECAC semifinal, Lake Placid, N.Y.)
No. 7 Maine (23-11-2)
03/22/2024 – No. 7 Maine 1 vs No. 2 Boston University 4 (Hockey East semifinal, Boston)
No. 8 Minnesota (22-10-5)
Did not play.
No. 9 Wisconsin (26-11-2)
Did not play.
No. 10 Michigan (21-14-3)
03/23/2024 – No. 10 Michigan 4 at No. 5 Michigan State 5 (OT, Big Ten championship)
No. 11 Omaha (23-12-4)
03/22/2024 – No. 11 Omaha 6 vs No. 4 North Dakota 3 (NCHC semifinal, St. Paul, Minn.)
03/23/2024 – No. 11 Omaha 1 vs No. 3 Denver 4 (NCHC championship, St. Paul, Minn.)
No. 12 Colorado College (21-13-3)
Did not play.
No. 13 Massachusetts (20-13-3)
03/22/2024 – No. 13 Massachusetts 1 vs No. 1 Boston College 8 (Hockey East semifinal, Boston)
No. 14 Cornell (21-6-6)
03/22/2024 – RV Dartmouth 3 vs No. 14 Cornell 6 (ECAC semifinal, Lake Placid, N.Y.)
03/23/2024 – St. Lawrence 1 vs No. 14 Cornell 3 (ECAC championship, Lake Placid, N.Y.)
No. 15 Western Michigan (21-15-1)
Did not play.
No. 16 Providence (18-13-4)
Did not play.
No. 17 St. Cloud State (17-16-5)
03/22/2024 – No. 17 St. Cloud State 4 vs No. 3 Denver 5 (OT, NCHC semifinal, St. Paul, Minn.)
No. 18 RIT (27-10-2)
03/23/2024 – RV AIC 2 at No. 18 RIT 5 (AHA championship)
No. 19 New Hampshire (20-15-1)
Did not play.
No. 20 Bemidji State (20-16-2)
03/22/2024 – RV Michigan Tech 2 at No. 20 Bemidji State 1 (CCHA championship)
Riley Duran skated three seasons for Providence (photo: Lydia Vigneau).
Providence forward Riley Duran will forego his senior season and has signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
Duran will report to the AHL’s Providence Bruins on an amateur tryout for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Duran, a native of Woburn, Mass., appeared in all 35 games for the Friars in 2023-24, registering nine goals and seven assists for 16 points with 101 shots and a plus-2 rating.
A sixth-round pick (182nd overall) of the Bruins in the 2020 NHL Draft, Duran played in 102 games over three seasons at Providence, totaling 27 goals and 28 assists with a plus-14 rating.
He also played for the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2022 World Junior Championship, amassing two goals and three assists over five games.
Vermont athletic director Jeff Schulman, chair of the NCAA men’s Division I ice hockey committee joins hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger to talk about the process that went into the selection of this year’s championship field of 16, attendance, and discussions about going to on-campus sites in the future.
This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Division I Men’s Frozen Four, April 11 and 13 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit ncaa.com/mfrozenfour
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger review the championships of this weekend and the mechanics of assembling the bracket in this special March 24, 2024 edition.
In this episode:
Michigan Tech wins CCHA on Friday
Cornell downs Cinderella St. Lawrence to win ECAC
RIT takes AHA title
Boston College cruises to the Hockey East title over BU
Michigan State wins in overtime over Michigan for first Big Ten title
Denver is victorious in penultimate NCHC Frozen Faceoff
Selection Sunday: What is the committee’s process?
Cam Thiesing spent three seasons playing for the Buckeyes (photo: Ohio State Athletics).
The NHL’s New York Islanders have signed forward Cam Thiesing to a two-year, two-way, entry-level contract that begins in 2024-25.
Thiesing, a native of Franklin, Tenn., completed a three-year career at Ohio State, recording 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 31 games while serving as an alternate captain this season.
He had 61 points (32 goals, 29 assists) in 108 career games, including a career-high 15 goals in 2022-23, which led all Buckeyes. Thiesing collected a career-high 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) as a freshman in 2021-22, ranking third on the team in points and assists.
Stephen Halliday led Ohio State in scoring in each of his two seasons with the Buckeyes (photo: Ohio State Athletics).
The NHL’s Ottawa Senators have signed Ohio State sophomore forward Stephen Halliday to a two-year, entry-level contract that will commence with the 2024-25 season.
For the duration of 2023-24, Halliday has signed an amateur tryout agreement and will report to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
A native of Ajax, Ont., Halliday recently completed his second season with the Buckeyes, where he led the team in both assists (26) and points (36) while ranking second in goals (10). He also registered 30 penalty minutes while skating in each of Ohio State’s 38 games.
“Stephen showcases a good combination of size and skill which is going to be invaluable to him as he progresses in pro hockey,” said Ottawa GM Steve Staios in a statement. “As a playmaker who enjoyed success at the collegiate level, we’re pleased with his progress and that he’s made the decision to start his professional career with the Ottawa Senators organization.”
A 2024 Hobey Baker Award nominee, Halliday skated in all 78 games over the course of his two-season collegiate career with Ohio State and recorded 77 points (19 goals, 58 assists) and 49 penalty minutes over that span.
Drafted by the Senators in the fourth round (104th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Halliday led the Buckeyes in scoring in each of his two collegiate campaigns.
Hugo Ollas emerged as a star goalie in his three seasons with Merrimack (photo: Merrimack Athletics).
Merrimack junior goaltender Hugo Ollas has come to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s New York Rangers.
A native of Linkoping, Sweden, Ollas was selected in the seventh round (197th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
In his three seasons at Merrimack, Ollas appeared in 62 games, making 55 starts, posting a career record of 27-26-0, a goals-against average of 2.47, a mark that ties him for fourth-lowest all time for the program, and a save percentage of .914. He also notched six career shutouts, with five coming last season.
Michigan State players celebrate their Big Ten playoff title Saturday night on home ice at Munn Ice Arena (photo: Rey Del Rio/Michigan State Athletics).
By Neil Koepke
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Three weeks after winning the Big Ten regular season championship, No. 5 Michigan State on Saturday added another piece of hardware to its trophy case.
The Spartans and archrival Michigan hooked up in a highly entertaining shootout that wasn’t decided until 13:47 into overtime, as MSU outlasted the 10th-ranked Wolverines 5-4 in the Big Ten title game in front of a sellout crowd of 6,555 at Munn Arena.
Freshman defenseman Patrick Geary’s shot from the left point beat Michigan goalie Jake Barczewski over his left shoulder, setting off a wild celebration that hasn’t been seen in Munn Arena in several years.
The playoff title was Michigan State’s first since 2005-06 when the Spartans captured the CCHA championship at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Geary said when he took a pass from teammate Reed Lebster at the left point, right next to the MSU bench, Spartan backup goalie Jon Mohr, on the bench, yelled “shoot.”
“He knew I had a lane open and he told me to shoot it,” Geary said. “I just put my head down [and] shot.”
Somehow, the puck went past a maze of players in front and ended a classic championship game that featured great scoring opportunities, quick goals, a reviewed goal, and clutch saves by MSU goalie Trey Augustine and UM’s Barczewski.
Augustine, the Big Ten tournament Most Valuable Player, made 33 saves while Barczewski stopped 30 shots.
Hang it in the Louvre.
Patrick Geary cements his spot in Spartan hockey lore.
His OT game-winner makes MSU just the third regular-season and tournament champion in the same season in B1G history. #GoGreenpic.twitter.com/8x39jzNNpd
“You talk about rivalry games and we have a ton of respect for Michigan. I thought they were really good in the first period and we had to find our legs,’’ MSU coach Adam Nightingale said. “In the second period, I thought it was pretty even. I really liked us in the third and in overtime.
“I think a big factor in that was our crowd. They really energized our team down the stretch.”
Michigan’s Frank Nazar, 58 seconds into the game, and MSU’s Tanner Kelly traded goals in the first period.
Daniel Russell gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead at 10:48 of the second period, but U-M scored twice in 2 minutes and 46 seconds to go up 3-2 on goals by Dylan Duke and defenseman Marshall Warren.
Then the Spartans went on a run, scoring two goals in 1:19. Jeremy Davidson tied it at 18:41 and defenseman Matt Basgall scored with 0.7 second left with a perfect shot from the right point to lift his team into a 4-3 lead.
Nazar scored his second goal 2:54 into the third period to tie once again. The rest of the period belonged to the goaltenders as Barczewski made 14 saves and Augustine made five.
Michigan State this season is now 4-1 against Michigan, winning four straight after the Wolverines won the first meeting 7-1 at Munn Arena in January. The last time MSU won four games against UM was in 1997-98.
“(Michigan State) deserves credit for what they’ve done this season. Two good teams and a great atmosphere tonight,’’ Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “The last 10 games we’ve played, I thought we played some good hockey.
“You’re never going to be perfect. But it’s a good team and they got the best of us tonight.”
Next up for Michigan State and Michigan are berths in the NCAA Tournament Regionals, which begin Thursday and Friday.
For the Spartans, it’s their first visit to the NCAAs since 2011-12. Michigan has reached the Frozen Four in each of the last two years.
The Big Ten All-Tournament Team
Goalie, Trey Augustine, MSU (MVP)
Defense: Seamus Casey, Michigan
Nash Nienhaus, MSU
Forward: Rutger McGroarty, Michigan
Forward: Gavin Brindley, Michigan
Forward: Daniel Russell, MSU
Denver players celebrate another NCHC Frozen Faceoff playoff title (photo: Denver Athletics).
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Denver Pioneers are no strangers to lighting up a scoreboard.
The nation’s most potent offense didn’t have too many issues putting up goals night in and night out all season, but in the first half, defense had been something of a liability to offset a chunk of all that scoring.
That has changed through most of the second half, and after coming into St. Paul and leaving with another NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship, DU is headed into the national tournament looking like a serious threat for their 10th national title.
McKade Webster finished a great weekend with the game-tying and game-winning goals, and late insurance goals from Miko Matikka and Rieger Lorenz as well as an improved defensive effort helped 3rd ranked Denver defeat 11th ranked Nebraska Omaha 4-1 in a surprisingly one-sided matchup on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Pioneers coach David Carle. “Heck of an accomplishment. They showed a lot of growth.”
The Pioneers won their third NCHC playoff championship with the victory, and they complemented their offense with a very good effort defensively, clogging lanes and getting down low and not letting Omaha generate very many decent scoring chances after the Mavericks had their way offensively with the regular-season champion Fighting Hawks on Friday.
“I thought we limited their chances,” Carle said. “I thought we got better defensively as the weekend went on. It doesn’t hinder offense; we still scored at a really high rate here in the second half, but we’ve done a better job defensively keeping shot counts down and just keeping the puck out of the net.”
Omaha, who advanced to the Frozen Faceoff for the first time in 10 seasons since the NCHC began play, will still be in the national tournament despite the loss. Coach Mike Gabinet didn’t see too many hanging heads from his players in the locker room after what was an otherwise memorable trip with many of their fans making the trip up north with them.
“Just a tremendous accomplishment to be where we are today,” Gabinet said. “Not the result we wanted, but I’m really proud of the group.
“We made sure we thanked [our fans] for coming out all this way to support us and they’ve been there all season long – to have that type of support from our community is pretty special and I think that’s what makes Omaha special as well.”
Brock Bremer, a senior from Forest Lake, located 27 miles northeast of St. Paul, led the way offensively for Omaha with a first-period goal, but that was the lone grade-A chance the Mavericks got; they simply had no answer for Denver’s suddenly stingy defense.
“I think they did a good job of clogging up the neutral zone and making us put pucks behind them,” said Omaha forward Jack Randl. “They did a pretty good job of slowing us down as well.”
Bremer got the game’s scoring started as he knocked in a rebound of a Kirby Proctor shot, recording his second goal of the weekend to make it 1-0 Mavericks after 20 minutes.
Denver’s offense went to work in the second period as Webster recorded his second and third goals of the tournament 3:21 apart as the Pioneers grabbed a 2-1 second intermission lead.
“I’m not really too sure,” Webster said when asked about his success in the tournament. “Just keeping the game simple. Just playoff hockey.”
Meanwhile, DU’s persistent and disruptive defense just wouldn’t allow UNO to get anything set up; the Mavericks couldn’t get a forecheck going for much of the second and third periods. While the Pioneers did allow four goals Friday, they came from a desperate St. Cloud State Huskies team fighting to keep their season alive.
On Saturday, they allowed just one to an Omaha offense that scored six times against North Dakota the night before and that had been on a great roll coming into St. Paul. The Pioneers head into the NCAA tournament not only with another NCHC tournament championship in their possession (and the first under Carle), but also playing their most complete hockey of the season at the right time.
With the game winding down, Matikka scored on a delayed penalty late in regulation before Lorenz capped the weekend’s scoring with an empty netter with a minute to go.
While this was an important accomplishment for Denver’s season, Carle is already looking to the next step – and not just because the Twin Cities is about to be hit by snow, as he acknowledged.
“Already looking at brackets,” he said.
Matchups for the 2024 NCAA tournament will be announced at 5:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday. Denver will be a No. 1 seed and Omaha will be a No. 3 seed.
NCHC Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team
Forward: Miko Matikka (Denver)
Forward: McKade Webster (Denver) – Most Outstanding Player
Forward: Zach Urdahl (Omaha)
Defenseman: Zeev Buium (Denver)
Defenseman: Griffin Ludtke (Omaha)
Goaltender: Simon Latkoczy (Omaha)
Michigan State earned an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Big Ten tournament (photo: Michigan State Athletics).
For two months now, I bemoaned what would happen if two hosts – Omaha and Massachusetts – qualified for the field.
The thought of having to move North Dakota from Sioux Falls and Boston University from Springfield is something I dreaded. But when all is said and done, this doesn’t feel that messy.
Well, at least I don’t think it is.
First let’s show you the field of 16, in order of their seeds, using the PairWise Rankings and automatic qualifiers:
1. Boston College*
2. Boston University
3. Denver*
4. Michigan State*
5. Maine
6. North Dakota
7. Minnesota
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
10. Michigan
11. Omaha
12. Cornell*
13. Western Michigan
14. Massachusetts
15. RIT*
16. Michigan Tech*
* Indicates conference champion
Let’s take that field and seed it 1 through 16, using bracket integrity:
1. Boston College
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
16. Michigan Tech
2. Boston University
7. Minnesota
10. Michigan
15. RIT
3. Denver
6. North Dakota
11. Omaha
14. Massachusetts
4. Michigan State
5. Maine
12. Cornell
13. Western Michigan
Okay, so let’s look at some issues. First and foremost, North Dakota and Omaha can’t face-off in the first round because it is an interconference matchup. I’m going to switch Omaha and Michigan.
1. Boston College
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
16. Michigan Tech
2. Boston University
7. Minnesota
11. Omaha
15. RIT
3. Denver
6. North Dakota
10. Michigan
14. Massachusetts
4. Michigan State
5. Maine
12. Cornell
13. Western Michigan
That solves all interconference matchups. Now let’s place regional sites on each four-team bracket. Remember, UMass is the host in Springfield, Mass., and Omaha (not North Dakota), is the host in Sioux Falls.
Thus, I come up with the following:
Providence, R.I.
1. Boston College
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
16. Michigan Tech
Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. Boston University
7. Minnesota
11. Omaha
15. RIT
Maryland Heights, Mo.
4. Michigan State
5. Maine
12. Cornell
13. Western Michigan
We knew once UMass qualified, that would take the lower of the two Hockey East number one seeds – BC and BU – would be shipped west to avoid the interconference matchup with UMass. Same for Omaha and North Dakota, but we solved that earlier.
Now, let’s talk attendance. Would I prefer North Dakota in Sioux Falls and BU in Springfield? Heck yes. But those aren’t possible.
Providence will be fine with Boston College and Quinnipiac. Springfield in concept will be okay with UMass, but it could use some help. Sioux Falls has the biggest issue, though Minnesota is only about 4.5 hours away. And Maryland Heights is so small (about 2,500 seats), I’m not concerned about attendance.
That said, we could make swaps two entire pairings – North Dakota vs. Michigan and Maine vs. Cornell – and swap them.
That gives us:
Providence, R.I.
1. Boston College
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
16. Michigan Tech
Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. Boston University
7. Minnesota
11. Omaha
15. RIT
Springfield, Mass.
3. Denver
5. Maine
12. Cornell
14. Massachusetts
Maryland Heights, Mo.
4. Michigan State
6. North Dakota
10. Michigan
13. Western Michigan
Now you have three eastern teams in Springfield, Minnesota and Omaha in Sioux Falls, BC and Quinnipiac in Providence and four strong fan bases in Maryland Heights. If there’s any issue it is that you’ll create a demand for tickets in Missouri.
So that’s it. My final bracket. All of your number one seeds are playing the correct opponent (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc.). And for the most part you have maintained pretty good bracket integrity.
Boston College celebrates the Hockey East playoff title Saturday night (photo: Boston College Athletics).
BOSTON — Consider it a warning to the rest of the country.
Entering the night knowing it would be the top seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament regardless of the outcome, Boston College emphatically showed why its ranking is altogether fitting and appropriate with a 6-2 win over No. 2 Boston University in the Hockey East championship game on Saturday night before a crowd of 17,850 at TD Garden.
“Twelve years is a long time,” said BC freshman forward Will Smith, who finished with four goals and was named the tournament’s MVP. “We knew that coming into this game. It’s amazing that we got one coming back to Chestnut Hill.”
Even with its tournament fate set, BC showed no lack of urgency. After opening the scoring at 5:46 of the first period by snapping a wrister off the skate of a BU defender, Smith put his team up 2-0 with a rocket from the right faceoff circle that sailed over the right shoulder of BU goalie Mathieu Caron (23 saves) at 8:37. Both goals came on the power play, on which BC was a 4 for 5 on the night.
“It was a heck of a hockey game,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “Special teams were obviously a big part of it. Both our power play and penalty kill had very good nights.”
With its 12th straight win, BC (31-5-1, 20-3-1 Hockey East) earned its 12th conference tournament championship and first since 2012, when it beat Maine 4-1 and went on to win the NCAA championship under coach Jerry York.
No. 2 BU (26-9-2, 18-4-2) will carry their ranking into the NCAA tournament (a fact also determined before Saturday’s puck drop). BC has won three of four this season from their crosstown rivals — BU’s only win over BC this season was a 4-3 overtime victory in the Beanpot on Feb. 5.
“It’s not the end of our season,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “That’s the positive. It’s going to hurt tonight, but we’ll get past it and we’ll be ready to get going in the NCAA tournament. That’s all you can do. Can’t dwell on it. Can’t feel sorry for yourself.”
BC goalie Jacob Fowler was dialed in all night. He finished with 34 saves, none more important than one late in the second period when he robbed BU’s Nick Zabeneh of a point-blank opportunity following a sick turnaround feed from Dylan Peterson with the Eagles clinging to a 2-1 lead.
“They had a little bit of momentum,” Fowler said. “As a goalie, at any point in the game, you want to give your team a chance. To keep that lead was something we really needed.”
Any hope the Terriers had of a comeback took a severe blow when BC’s Cutter Gauthier buried a Gabe Perreault cross-crease pass at 18:46 of the second period. BC ended all doubt in the third with a goal by Gabe Perreault (on the power play, naturally) and another from Smith, which was the Eagles’ only even-strength goal of the night.
BU freshman defenseman Gavin McCarthy picked a good time to score his first-ever collegiate goal when he fired one past Fowler from the blue line at 8:37 of the second period to cut BC’s lead to 2-1. The Terriers’ other goal was the product of the top scorer in Hockey East, Macklin Celebrini, who made it 5-2 on the power play at 14:45 with his 31st of the season.
Smith added the final insult with an empty-net goal for BC at 18:04.
Saturday marked the third time the two rivals met in the Hockey East title game — BU had won the first two meetings (1986 and 2006).
RIT players and fans celebrate winning the 2024 Atlantic Hockey championship (photo: Omar Phillips).
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Elijah Gonsalves and Matthew Wilde each scored a pair of goals to lead Rochester Institute of Technology to a 5-2 victory over American International in the Atlantic Hockey championship game to claim the Jack Riley Trophy.
RIT went wire to wire to capture the regular-season and playoff titles for its fourth playoff championship and first since the Tigers went back-to-back in 2015-16.
“That’s a really, really good hockey team,” said AIC coach Eric Lang. “They carried the flag from Day 1 and they’re going to be a great representative for Atlantic Hockey coming into the (NCAA) tournament.”
“This was certainly another tough game against AIC,” added RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “Our penalty killing was outstanding, and then when our power play got its opportunities, we capitalized quickly there as well.”
The Yellow Jackets got on the board early, quieting the sellout crowd of 4,300 at RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center. Jordan Biro took a stretch pass from Austen Long and scored on the breakaway, putting the puck between the legs of RIT net minder Tommy Scarfone just 4:06 into the game.
The Tigers got the next two goals to take the lead. Dimitri Mikrogiannakis’ shot from the half wall deflected off a defender’s skate to make it 1-1 at 11:56 of the first, and Gonsalves got his first of the game, putting home a rebound off the pads of AIC goalie Nils Wallstrom two minutes later.
But the Yellow Jackets tied it with 1:01 left in the first frame when Biro got his second of the contest, off a defender in front.
The eventual game-winner from Wilde, his first of the game, came on the power play at 1:48 of the second. The freshman was able to roof a rebound past Wallstrom to put the Tigers ahead for good.
“We’ve been really focused (on the power play) throughout this week of preparation, so it showed there,” said Gonsalves. “We worked on that play all week, just trying to outnumber them out in the front of the net, and fortunately Matty put it in.”
“Our power play, the thing that makes them so successful… is that they don’t care who scores,” said Wilson. “On that particular play, they were cheating up on Gianfranco (Cassaro) quite a bit, and we knew that they would, so Gianfranco’s got to sacrifice and be the decoy so that someone else can score, and this time it was Matty.”
RIT killed all five AIC power plays, outshooting the Yellow Jackets 3-2 with a man down. The Tigers were one for two with the man advantage, including Wilde’s game-winner.
AIC swarmed the RIT net in the third period trying to get the equalizer, especially with Wallstrom pulled in the final three minutes. But the Tigers put the game away on a pair of empty net goals from Gonsalves and Wilde.
The Yellow Jackets were a game away from their fourth league title, overcoming a rash of injuries and winning two road series to get to Rochester.
“I’m just really proud of our group with how we stepped up,” said Lang.
“We battled some pretty significant injuries along the way late in the season. Winning two series on the road and then coming to a hostile environment like this and being a shot away inside of a couple minutes to get the thing tied up.
“This thing ends up 5-2, but that was a damn good hockey game.”
Last season, RIT was the top seed but fell in the semifinals. That left unfinished business for the Tigers.
“It was a disappointing finish for us,” said Wilson. “(This championship) was something that we were trying to do since the end of last year.
“Our captains, right from the get-go, right from last year, took the team and really guided it right to this point.”
RIT will be the 15th seed in the NCAA tournament.
“The regular season (title) is really cool, but this is the one we all chase,” said RIT alternate captain Carter Wilke. “And now we’re excited for the next step in the NCAA tournament to prove what we can do larger scale.”
“The beautiful thing about our league is you have to earn your way in,” said Lang. “And I wouldn’t want to play RIT right now.”
All-Tournament Team
F – Jordan Biro, AIC
F – Tyler Fukakusa, RIT
F – Elijah Gonsalves, RIT (Most Outstanding Player)
D – Gianfranco Cassaro, RIT
D – Nico Somerville, AIC
G – Tommy Scarfone, RIT
Hobart’s Luke Aquaro netted the game-winning goal as Hobart repeated as national champions in D-III Men’s Hockey with a 2-0 win over Trinity (Photo by Stan Godlewski-Trinity Athletics)
In a game that lived up to its billing, Hobart completed the mission of back-to-back championships with a 2-0 win over Trinity on Saturday night. The Statesmen were led by Luke Aquaro who scored late in the second period and Matthew Iasenza who sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final half minute to defeat a determined Bantams squad.
“We knew who they were,” said head coach Mark Taylor. “they have been among the best teams in the country all season and we knew this was a battle with both teams having great players at every position, from goaltending to defense and forwards.”
The game started fast with both teams going hard to the net early looking to create traffic in front of two of the best goaltenders in the country in Damon Beaver and Devon Bobak. It was Trinity who forced the first penalty of the game on Hobart’s Connor Lally but the tenacious Hobart penalty kill didn’t allow a shot on the man advantage.
Beaver later made a huge save off a defensive zone face-off flashing out the left pad to keep the Bantams off the board.
At 11:23, Trinity’s Connor Sedlak left the game with a cut forcing Trinity to juggle their lines and Hobart started to put some added offensive zone pressure with Luke Aquaro’s line garnering several chances including Shane shell’s attempted redirection at the top of the crease which was turned away by the Side Watson Award winner, Bobak.
Both teams saw early chances in the second period turned away by the netminders as Christian Hayes just missed on the short side from the goal line extended for Trinity while Beaver also made a couple big stops in traffic to keep the game scoreless. Both teams were ineffective on the power play in producing any goals and the Aquaro line finally broke through very late in the period for a Hobart lead.
Jonah Alexander got the puck to a speeding Aquaro who tucked his shot under Bobak with just 1:01 remaining on the clock for huge goal as the teams closed out the second period. The goal was Aquaro’s 100th point for the Statesmen where he becomes the twelfth player (also wears #12) to achieve the milestone in the program.
The third period saw the Bantams ramp up the physical play as they looked to pressure Hobart into mistakes in the defensive zone. Teddy Griffin missed a great chance form the face-off circle high to the left of Beaver and Matthew Iasenza did the same for Hobart on a 2-on-2 rush in transition for the Statesmen.
Trinity’s last opportunity came as Tanner Hartman took a holding penalty at 11:15 but the relentless pressure of the Hobart penalty kill backed by Beaver limited any quality shots on goal. The pace over the final ten minutes was frantic with neither team able to change the scoreboard. Trinity pulled Beaver with just under two minutes remaining in regulation time and could not sustain any serious pressure or puck presence in dangerous areas as they sought the tying goal. Despite missing several empty-net opportunities, Hobart finally put the game out of reach as forward Matthew Iasenza broke up the play at center ice and deposited the puck in the back of the empty cage to make the score 2-0 with just 25 seconds remaining.
Iasenza who was unable to play in last year’s national championship run due to injury, was a fitting goal-scorer to seal the Hobart win as the team celebrates more for each other than themselves.
“As close as the team is on the ice they are better off it,” said Taylor. “I really wanted this title for this group. They have worked hard and built an incredible bond on and off the ice. I kept telling Luke [Aquaro], Shane [Shell] and Jonah [Alexander] they were a roll away from something big and it was great to see them so dominant this weekend and netting the game-winning goal. Luke had been through a lot with hand, wrist and ankle injuries and just kept working hard. The 28 (Artem Buzoverya) line has been a horse for us all season, but Luke’s line was terrific tonight and they got rewarded for the effort.”
Devon Bobak stopped 32 of 33 shots for Trinity while Damon Beaver recorded the shutout win with 24 saves for Hobart.
The All-Tournament team included goaltender Beaver, forward Aquaro, forward Tanner Hartman and Tournament MVP Austin Mourar from Hobart along with defenseman John Campomenosi and forward James Barbour from Trinity.
For Trinity, the loss ended their season at 25-4-1 having fallen just short of winning a national championship on their home ice in front of their devoted and raucous fans.
“I want to thank a lot of people for everything to get the Frozen Four here on campus but I am really sad,” noted Trinity head coach Matt Greason. “I have seen how far we have come as a team and know how close they are as a group. I think it hurts so much because I know how hard it is to get here but I hope Trinity hockey will be back here soon.”
Cornell celebrates its first Whitelaw Cup in 14 years (photo: Rob Rasmussen/ECAC Hockey).
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Jonathan Castagna scored two goals to lead No. 14 Cornell over St. Lawrence 3-1 Saturday night at 1980 Herb Brooks Arena to claim the Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hockey playoff champions.
The win also gets the Big Red, who won the tournament for the first time in 14 years, into the NCAA tournament.
The NCAA Men’s Division I hockey field was announced on Sunday with Boston College, Boston University, Denver and Michigan State earning the top seeds in the tournament.
