ECH Regional Recap: March 23-26
By alex berger - march 27, 2023 Sadly, one of the best weekends of college hockey has come and gone. After 12 games in the regionals Minnesota, Quinnipiac, Michigan, and Boston University are advancing to the Frozen Four in Tampa, Florida. Of those four teams, the Bobcats are the only team to have never won a national championship. Minnesota (5 titles - last won in 2003), Michigan (9 - 1998), and Boston University (5 - 2009) are all looking to return to the top for the first time in a long time.
The first round of the regionals this year was shocking. There were four shutouts posted in eight games and the winning teams outscored the losing teams by a margin of 52-5, an average victory of nearly six goals. Luckily the games were closer in the regional finals. All four games remained close until the third period, including an overtime thriller in Allentown.
In the first two rounds of the tournament Big Ten teams (Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State) went 5-1 against non-Big Ten teams and outscored their opponents 41-9. It's not a surprise that they have two teams representing their conference at the Frozen Four this year.
Fargo Regional Winner: Minnesota
#1 Minnesota beats #4 Canisius 9-2
For a split second, the North Dakota fans in attendance thought they were seeing a repeat of Holy Cross' 2006 upset. Canisius senior forward Nick Bowman dangled through the legs of Minnesota's Colin Schmidt, then rifled a shot post-in to score quite possibly the "Goal of the Tournament" and give the Golden Griffins a 2-1 lead in the second period.
But after that goal, it felt like the Gophers flipped a switch. Sophomore Aaron Huglen ripped a shot top shelf off the rush to tie the game, and freshman Connor Kurth won a battle in front of the net to slide the puck under Canisius goalie Jacob Barczewski. The pair of goals gave the Gophers a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
In the third period it was the Bryce Brodzinski and Logan Cooley show. Brodzinski scored a hat trick in the final frame while Cooley skated circles around everyone and posted three assists. Thanks to a five-minute contact to the head penalty from Stefano Bottini, the Gophers scored six goals (three of which were on the power play) to coast to a 9-2 win.
#2 St. Cloud State beats #3 Minnesota State Mankato 4-0
Minnesota State Mankato outshot, outworked, and in my opinion outplayed St. Cloud State for a majority of this game, and yet lost 4-0.
Yes, puck luck played a factor to an extent; late in the third period the Mavericks were inches away from tapping in a puck sitting behind Huskies' goaltender Jaxon Castor, and later had a shot hit both posts and stay out. However, not capitalizing on three power-play opportunities (as the nation's top unit) does not set you up well for success.
Inversely, the power play is what got the Huskies rolling in this game. With eight minutes remaining in the second period, St. Cloud State got an opportunity on the man advantage in a then scoreless game. As the Huskies got their top unit set up, the puck found its way to Veeti Miettinen at the top of the left circle. The junior fired a shot short side past Maverick goaltender Keenan Rancier to open the scoring.
St. Cloud made it 2-0 by the end of the second period on a perfect shot from defenseman Jack Peart. He nailed the crossbar-post angle so hard the sound echoed through Scheels Arena. Then in the third, senior Zach Okabe put the game away with a backhanded chip shot right by the crease, and Grant Cruikshank made it 4-0 with an empty net goal with just over three minutes remaining.
Goaltender Jaxon Castor deserves a shoutout as well. He made 34 saves en route to his fourth shutout of the season, and has posted a .971 SV% in his last four games (three goals allowed, 100 saves made). The Huskies defense was also a sponge in this game, blocking 23 shots to preserve the shutout.
#1 Minnesota beats #2 St. Cloud State 4-1
It was a fantastic atmosphere for this regional final at Scheels Arena on Saturday night. The "Let's Go Gophers" and "Let's Go Huskies" chants alternated before the starting lineups were even introduced. In the end, it was the Gophers who prevailed 4-1 to advance to their second-straight Frozen Four.
Minnesota started the game hot, outshooting St. Cloud 14-6 and dictating play throughout the first period. The Gophers were buzzing early and had a few good scoring chances before getting a power play opportunity just five minutes into the game. However, a big kill by he Huskies looked like momentum was swinging back, but just 24 seconds after the power play ended the puck made it's way to Bryce Brodzinski in the low slot, who fired it through the pads of Jaxon Castor to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead.
The Huskies fought back and drew a penalty just 90 seconds into the second period. St. Cloud got their top power play unit set up and got the puck to Adam Ingram on the far half-wall. The freshman gathered the puck, walked in, and fired a shot past the glove of Justen Close to tie the game at 1-1. The Gophers responded with a huge goal just minutes later. After gathering the puck from a St. Cloud turnover, Jackson LaCombe hit Logan Cooley with a perfect 100-foot pass to spring the Hobey Baker finalist on a breakaway. The freshman phenom did not miss, firing the puck through the five-hole of Castor. Despite a few more good looks from both teams, that would be the final tally of the middle frame.
St. Cloud pressed for a goal throughout the third period, including some great looks on the power play and a shot that just missed the net on a 3-on-2 rush. With 8:20 remaining and the game at 2-1, the Gophers needed someone to make a play to give them some breathing room. Enter Jackson LaCombe. After an offensive zone faceoff win, the senior defenseman wasted no time in firing a slapshot through four players and above the glove of Castor to make it a 3-1 game. The Gophers would survive 90 seconds of extra-attacker chances from the Huskies before Jaxon Nelson scored an empty-net goal to make it 4-1.
Bridgeport Regional Winner: Quinnipiac
#1 Quinnipiac beats #4 Merrimack 5-0
Quinnipiac dominated Merrimack in this one, outshooting the Warriors 35-15 and winning the faceoff battle 27-22. The game was tied 0-0 after the first period, but the Bobcats found their offensive game right away in the second. Joey Cipollone and Jacob Quillan both scored within 3:30 of the second second to give Quinnipiac a 2-0 lead in the blink of an eye.
The Bobcats settled in after that, playing very defensively and capitalizing on mistakes by Merrimack. Quinnipiac allowed just two shots in the third period and scored three goals, including another goal from Quillan, to cruise to a 5-0 win.
There were a few scares, but Yaniv Perets made 15 saves and posted his 10th shutout of the season, tying Michigan Tech's Blake Pietila for the most in college hockey this season. Overall, this was a nearly perfect hockey game for Quinnipiac.
#3 Ohio State beats #2 Harvard 8-1
Ohio State got the Big Ten party started early on Friday as they absolutely dominated Harvard 8-1. The Buckeyes outshot the Crimson 40-22, including a 17-3 mark after the first period and a 34-8 mark after the second.
Cam Thiesing got the scoring started early, sniping a beauty from in close just 3:22 into the game. The Buckeyes scored again late in the first to lead 2-0 heading into the first intermission.
Like almost every other blowout this weekend, Ohio State pulled away in the second. They scored five goals, including a pair of goals just six seconds apart to give them a 4-0 lead just four minutes into the second period. Thiesing and McWard scored another goal each, while graduate forward Jake Wise posted three assists in the middle frame (he tallied four total in the game).
Patrick Guzzo would finish off the scoring for the Buckeyes, making it 8-0 Ohio State just 70 seconds into the third period. Harvard would ruin the shutout, however, as John Farinacci scored on the power play with just over three minutes left in the game to make it 8-1.
#1 Quinnipiac beats #3 Ohio State 4-1
Despite Quinnipiac scoring four goals, Yaniv Perets won this game for the Bobcats. The Hobey Baker finalist made 34 saves, including 26 in the second and third periods, to backstop Quinnipiac to their first Frozen Four since 2016.
It was a shaky start for the junior, as Joe Dunlap and Ohio State capitalized on a bad turnover and breakaway to take a 1-0 lead just 91 seconds into the game. However, Quinnipiac responded later in the period with two greasy goals in just 15 seconds. First it was Christophe Fillion capitalizing on the rebound after crashing the net. Next, Skyler Brind'Amour chipped a puck over a diving Jakub Dobes after a scramble around the net.
The Buckeyes controlled the play in the second period, outshooting Quinnipiac 15-3. However the Bobcats had the better of the chances, even hitting the crossbar at one point. Ohio State had two power play chances to tie the game in the second period but failed on both. They went 0-for-4 in the game.
It remained 2-1 until late in the third period. Time was winding down on a Quinnipiac power play with less than five minutes to go in the game. With the puck sliding from the corner to the slot, sophomore forward Christophe Tellier chipped the puck over Dobes and a defender and wacked the puck out of midair. Dobes got a glove on it, but the puck barely made it across the goal line to give the Bobcats a 3-1 lead. Jayden Lee would later score to ice the game at 4-1.
Allentown Regional Winner: Michigan
#1 Michigan beats #4 Colgate 11-1
This game could've been 8-1 if not for a frustration 'butt-ending' penalty from Colgate's Alex Young with 10 minutes to go in the third period. The Wolverines scored three more goals on the power play in under three minutes for an 11-1 win, scoring the most goals in a NCAA tournament game since 1961.
But how did it get to 8-1? Michigan had just a 1-0 lead after the first period and Colgate was playing them tough, getting exceptional goaltending from Carter Gylander. The breaks fell off in the second period for the Raiders. At different points in the middle frame, Michigan scored two goals in 45 seconds and three goals in 85 seconds. When all was said and done, it was 8-0 by the end of the second period. Nic Belpedio scored the lone goal of the game for Colgate three minutes into the third.
Michigan was just a class above the Raiders in this one. Adam Fantilli (1 G -1 A -2 P) and Luke Hughes (1-4-5) were the best players on the ice and looked like they could play in the NHL later this week. The Wolverines had a field day on special teams as well. They went 4-for-6 on the power play, 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, and scored a shorthanded goal.
#2 Penn State beats #3 Michigan Tech 8-0
Personally, I was not expecting Blake Pietila to give up eight goals in an NCAA tournament game. The Mike Richter and Hobey Baker award finalist has been lights out all year and had not let in more than five goals in a game this season, let alone eight.
Like most of these other blowouts, the game stayed close through the first intermission. Penn State led Michigan Tech 1-0 after the first thanks to a goal in-close from Tyler Paquette. The Nittany Lions then scored three goals in the second period and four in the third period to pull away from the Huskies 8-0. A majority of the goals came on the rush, as Penn State capitalized on defensive breakdowns to find wide-open shot attempts.
Penn State goaltender Liam Souliere made some timely stops en route to a 24-save shutout, his third of the season. 15 different players tallied a point for the Nittany Lions in the win, with none of them tallying more than two.
#1 Michigan beats #2 Penn State 2-1 OT
This may have been the most exciting 2-1 game of all time. The Big Ten showdown certainly lived up to expectations, as it was the only overtime game of the regional round.
Despite 28 shots in the first period, the game remained scoreless. Penn State goaltender Liam Souliere played one of the best games of his career, shutting down fantastic scoring opportunities from the high-end talent on Michigan's roster.
The game remained scoreless until late in the second period. With Penn State on the power play for the first time of the tournament, the Wolverines could not clear the zone, leading to a quick blast from the point by junior defenseman Christian Berger. Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo could not handle the rebound, which bounced right out to senior Connor MacEachern who fired it into the open net. That sent Allentown into a frenzy as the Nittany Lions took a 1-0 lead into the second intermission.
After a successful penalty kill early in the third, it looked like Souliere and Penn State were on their way to a shutout upset (despite the best jinxing efforts from the announcers). However, the Nittany Lions gave Michigan one more chance on the man advantage with nine minutes to go in the game. This time, Adam Fantilli made sure not to waste the opportunity. The NCAA points leader collected a rebound and somehow found a way to get the puck through Souliere on the short side, tying the game at 1-1 with 7:52 to play. The score remained until overtime.
We didn't get much bonus hockey. Just 52 seconds into the first overtime of the tournament, Michigan sophomore Mackie Samoskevich entered the Penn State zone, skated to the high slot, and fired an absolute laser past Souliere's blocker to send the Wolverines to the Frozen Four for the second-straight year. It was a tough end to the game for the Penn State junior as he played outstanding, making 41 saves in the loss.
Manchester Regional Winner: Boston University
#4 Cornell beats #1 Denver 2-0
In the biggest upset of the first round, Cornell beat #4 overall seed Denver 2-0 to advance one step closer to their first frozen four appearance in 20 years. It wasn't a fluky win either. Jack O'Leary scored three minutes into the game and Ben Berard added another goal nine minutes later to give the Big Red a two-goal lead, which allowed them to dictate play.
Cornell held the defending national champions to 27 shots on goal, below the Pioneers' average of 32.1/game this season. According to CHN, at one point Denver was held without a shot on goal for over 15 minutes of game time. The Big Red also blocked 11 shots in the game, helping sophomore goaltender Ian Shane post his fifth shutout of the season. Shane has now posted seven-straight games allowing one goal or less.
#2 Boston University beats #3 Western Michigan 5-1
Yet again, this game was close after the first period, but the winning team pulled away in the second. It appeared as though Western Michigan opened the scoring after a scramble in front of the net, but the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference. It was Hobey Baker finalist and "x-factor" Lane Hutson who opened the scoring, gathering a puck in the slot and firing a shot through the legs of Broncos' goaltender Cameron Rowe.
In the second period, Lane's brother Quinn made it 2-0 after burying a saucer pass on a 2-on-1 rush. The Terriers would score two more goals by the end of the second period, both were lasers from right in the slot. They added an empty-net goal late in the third period to put the game away 5-1.
NCAA's leading goal scorer Jason Polin scored the lone goal of the game for Western Michigan, a beautiful tip out of midair that snuck through the legs of BU goaltender Drew Commesso. The goal was Polin's 30th of the season, breaking the NCHC single-season record.
#2 Boston University beats #4 Cornell 2-1
This game felt like a breath of fresh air after a first round full of blowouts. There were just 35 total shots on goal this game, including just eight in the first period. The Terriers and Big Red remained scoreless after the opening frame despite a power play opportunity for each team.
The Terriers opened the scoring early in the second period, as senior forward Wilmer Skoog received a great pass across the goal from Jeremy Wilmer and fired the puck into a wide open net. Skoog has scored in both of Boston University's NCAA tournament games and now has 16 goals on the season. Cornell pressed for an equalizer but could not tie the game, despite hitting the crossbar on a great chance in-close, nine minutes into the second.
Heading into the third period the score remained 1-0. Seven minutes in the Terriers sprung a breakout through the Cornell defense, sending Ethan Phillips in on a partial breakaway. The senior made his way to the slot, fired a shot off the pad of Big Red goaltender Ian Shane, collected a rebound, and blasted the puck into the open net to double Boston University's lead.
With their season on the line, Cornell pulled the goalie with over 2:30 to go. They would make it a one-goal game with under 30 seconds to play, as the puck went in off of a Terriers' defenseman's skate after a scramble to the right of BU goalie Drew Commesso. The Big Red had one chance to tie the game, but a good chance with just eight seconds remaining was sent wide and they could not recover the puck from a scramble behind the net.
BU is headed to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2015, where they lost a heartbreaker to Providence 4-3 to finish 2nd.
