First-Half Recap
written by Alex Berger - Jan 06, 2023We have already reached the halfway point of the college hockey season for 2022/23, and outside of a few matchups this weekend most of the non conference schedule is done for the year. The next few months will have most teams ramp up their conference season, hopefully giving fans more information on who is geared up for a run to Tampa, Florida for the Frozen Four in April.
I chose ten teams that I thought had a notable first half of the season. That could mean they impressed, disappointed, or reinforced who we thought they were heading into this season. A few teams: Penn State, St. Cloud State, and Michigan – I did not mention in detail in this article but did have an impressive start to the season. Those three teams all currently rank in the top eight in the Pairwise, the mathematical system which helps choose the 16 teams who make the NCAA Tournament.
Best Teams: Quinnipiac and Minnesota
Photo by Bjorne Franke
I have seen both Quinnipiac and Minnesota in person this season and can honestly say that their play exceeds their current record and where they are ranked. The Bobcats have lost only one game all year and are undefeated in ECAC play. 12 of their 15 wins are by two or more goals. Nine players already have double-digit point totals and goaltender Yaniv Perets has a 1.78 GAA and .919 save percentage. They are balanced and unrelenting, a dangerous combination come tournament time. Quinnipiac will be a team that nobody wants to match up against in March and April. I’m not a betting man, but they are an absolute steal at +1400 for their first ever National Championship (odds via Draft Kings on January 3, 2023).
Minnesota, on the other hand, is one of the flashiest teams in the country. Here’s what I said about them back in October after their two-game series against North Dakota. “The Gophers are fantastic on breakouts and on the forecheck, are solid in the defensive zone, and have a great mix of older depth and young high-end talent that can put up 6+ goals on any given night. They will have to improve their efficiency in the offensive zone and clear up some goaltending issues, however that will fix itself as their underclassmen adjust to the college game.” Since then, they have done just that. They’ve allowed two goals or less in eight of their last 14 games and freshman forwards Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley have a combined 52 points. Minnesota is the #1 team in the Pairwise and should have a clear path to their second Big Ten Championship in the last three years. However, adjusting from their hybrid-Olympic sized sheet to the NHL sheet in the tournament could be an issue for NCAA-Tournament success.
Most Surprising Teams: Merrimack and RIT
Photo by Olivia Piazza
Where the heck did Merrimack’s resurgence come from? The Warriors currently rank #8 in the Pairwise and are tied with Connecticut with 27 points atop the Hockey East. After starting a pedestrian 3-3, Merrimack has won 11 of their last 13 games and have outscored their opponents 61-39 on the season. Their 39 goals allowed is 6th best in the country. Similar to Quinnipiac, Merrimack is very balanced, disciplined, and has solid special teams. If they continue their strong start to the season, we might just see the Warriors make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
Another surprise has been RIT, who currently sit #23 in the Pairwise with a 12-6 record. Although that may not seem that high, it is impressive for an Atlantic Hockey team to be this close to an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at this point of the season. Regardless, the Tigers have been rolling through their conference schedule with a 10-2 record. They are outscoring opponents 3.75/2.08 per game inthose 12 matchups. Their special teams’ play has been elite so far with a 30.2% power play and a 85.4% penalty kill (#2 and #10 in the country, respectively). We could see RIT make some noise down the stretch.
Most Exciting Teams: Western Michigan and Arizona State
Photo by David Venezia (@davidvenezia_photography)
If you like high-scoring games, Western-Michigan is your team to cheer for. So far this season the Broncos have scored more goals (93, 4.2/game) than any other team in college hockey and boast three of the top four scorers in the country: Ryan McAllister (38), Jason Polin (30), and Max Sasson (28). Polin also has five (!!!!!) hat tricks in just 22 games, including in back-to-back games at the Great Lake Invitational. They’ve scored 23 power play goals this season and five or more goals in a game, ten times. They’ve been on the wrong end of a few high-scoring affairs (6-5 OT loss to Michigan and a 7-6 loss to Omaha) but have generally outplayed most of their opponents en route to a 12-9-1 record.
For Arizona State, the excitement has come in flashes instead of a sustained start to the season. They have played in nine one-goal games, four of which went to overtime. They erased a two-goal deficit against North Dakota in Las Vegas, defeating the Fighting Hawks 3-2. Four weeks later, the Sun Devils played in one of the most exciting games of the season thus far against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Arizona State prevailed in a 6-5 overtime win, tying the game with 3:09 left in the third and eventually winning on a Robert Mastrosimone goal in overtime. The win sent the sold-out Mullet Arena into a frenzy, a major steppingstone in solidifying Arizona State as a legitimate program in college hockey.
Most Disappointing Teams: North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth
Photo by Russel Hons
North Dakota had high hopes coming into this season. They were the #4 in the USCHO preseason poll, had multiple returning stars, and had an exciting non-conference schedule to begin the season. However, inconsistent play in the defensive zone and an early struggle to score at even strength were key reasons why they sit at 7-8-4 and 7th in the NCHC. Outside of Riese Gaber (11-8-19) and Jackson Blake (9-12-21) no one has provided consistent scoring. They have already been swept by both Denver and St. Cloud State and dropped important games against Miami and Arizona State, the latter being a destination game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Fighting Hawks may not contend for their fourth-straight NCHC regular-season title, but if they make the NCAA Tournament, they have as good a chance as any to make it to Tampa. North Dakota hosts a regional in Fargo, ND this year.
It is a similar story for the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. A powerhouse over the last decade, Scott Sandelin’s team finds themselves at #35 in the Pairwise at the halfway point of the season. Far from their preseason #5 rank in the USCHO poll. The Bulldogs are 8-10 but have not swept an opponent since late October. Minnesota-Duluth is only scoring 2.3 goals per game (T-51st in the country) and post a 77.6% penalty kill rate (T-44th). To make matters worse, Blake Biondi will likely require season-ending shoulder surgery. That means UMD needs guys like Dominic James, Quinn Olson, and Wyatt Kaiser all to have big second halves to the season if the Bulldogs are going to threaten for their fourth national title.
Teams That Need A Big Second Half: Mankato and Northeastern
Photo by Rachel Bergstein
Minnesota-State Mankato played well against tough non-conference opponents Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, and St. Cloud State to open the season, but have had a difficult start to CCHA play. The Mavericks are just 7-6-1 in conference play and trail both Bemidji State and Michigan Tech in points.
Although Mankato’s window to compete for a championship most likely closed last season, the Mavericks still have pieces in place to string wins together over the next few months. David Silye (13-8-21) leads the team in goals and points and has an absurd 30.2% shooting percentage in 20 games. The next two weekends will be critical for Minnesota-State to gain some momentum, as they face off against Northern Michigan and Arizona State.
A team that had high hopes coming into the season was Northeastern. Mike Richter Award winner Devon Levi returned for his junior season and has disappointed thus far, posting a 2.61 GAA alongside a .918 SV% while going 8-8-3. As a team, the Huskies are 8-9-3 and have lost seven of their last nine games headed into the halfway point of the season. A silver lining is that five of their losses have been by one goal, so a rebound isn’t completely out of the picture yet. If Levi makes a few more saves a game and McDonough, Hryckowain, and Fontaine continue to put up point/game numbers, the Huskies have a legitimate chance to get back into the Hockey East Race.
