ECH Weekend Review: March 10-12
By alex berger - March 15, 2023With one weekend left to go in the conference postseason , it's do or die time for a lot of teams in the semifinals/finals of their respective tournaments.
There are a few teams threatening to win their conference and take away at-large bids from teams on the Pairwise bubble. Merrimack and Alaska are the two teams most at risk. If you're a fan of either of those teams, you want high seeds to win in each conference to leave as many at-large bids available as possible. We've already had a few upsets and the chaos could definitely continue into next weekend.
Alongside our usual postings, be on the lookout for an extensive NCAA tournament preview article after the official tournament is announced. Stats, storylines, x-factors, and more.
Chaos in Atlantic Hockey, Four Total Playoff Series' Go To Game Three
Photo by Mark Kuhlmann
Although there have been upsets around college hockey, the Atlantic Hockey tournament has been the craziest of the six conferences through the first two weekends of the postseason. Both of their semifinal series' went to three games this weekend.
#1 seed RIT played #7 Holy Cross and dropped game one with a 1-0 OT loss. The Tigers barely survived on Saturday night with a 5-4 OT win to force a game three. On Sunday, Holy Cross took over. The Crusaders scored two goals, including a shorthanded tally, in a 1:07 span late in the first period. That's all that was needed, as Holy Cross hung on for a convincing 5-1 win (including two empty-net goals). RIT went 0-for-4 on the power play in the season-ending loss.
In the other semifinal #4 Canisius went down in the series to #6 Niagara with a 2-1 loss on Friday night, but bounced back with 5-1 and 4-2 wins. The power play was the key in Sunday's win, as the Golden Griffins went 3-for-7on the man advantage, including the game-winning goal.
Canisius will now host Holy Cross next Saturday for the Atlantic Hockey final. The winner will most likely face #1 Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament. Holy Cross famously upset the Gophers in the #1/#16 matchup the last time they won the Atlantic Hockey championship and made the tournament (2006).
In the NCHC, Omaha/North Dakota and St. Cloud/Minnesota-Duluth both went to three games. In the former, Omaha fought off a late NoDak comeback to escape with a 2-1 win on Friday night. The Fighting Hawks won a similar game on Saturday night with a hard-fought 3-1 win. Then in a penalty-filled affair the two teams were tied 2-2 late in the third. However, that changed quick. North Dakota scored three goals in a 1:42 span to pull away for a 5-2 win, keeping their season alive. NoDak scored the only power play goal of the game despite 14 chances between the two teams (the Fighting Hawks also scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game late in the second period).
In St. Cloud, the Huskies won 3-1 on Saturday night after dropping game one to the Bulldogs 5-1 on Friday. It was a clean-fought game on Sunday, with Minnesota-Duluth going up 1-0 just 38 seconds into the second period. The Huskies responded six minutes later with a pair of goals 14 seconds apart, and then a third tally six minutes after that. St. Cloud held off almost four minutes of extra-attacker chances in the third to hang on for a 3-1 win.
St. Cloud and North Dakota will face off in the NCHC semifinal, with the winner playing the winner of Denver/Colorado College. In conference history the Huskies and Fighting Hawks have played twice in the semifinal round and once in the finals. The last such meeting was in 2021, when NoDak beat St. Cloud in the NCHC final 5-3 (the tournament was held at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Colorado College Sweeps Western Michigan in Upset
In one of the biggest upsets of the weekend, Colorado College silenced the Lawson Lunatics and swept ECH's #7 Western Michigan in two games to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul.
On Friday night the Tigers went down early, allowing a Ryan McAllister power play goal 14:50 into the first period. The game then settled in, with the score remaining at 1-0 until the third. Then, the game turned on its head. Colorado College scored three goals in 59 seconds, including a Hunter McKown power play goal which essentially iced the game at 3-1.
In game two, Ryan McCallister once again opened the scoring for the Broncos. However, the goal was answered just 14 seconds later with a Noah Serdachny tally that tied the game at 1-1. In the second period, Noah Laba snuck a puck under the pads of Cameron Rowe to give the Tigers their first lead of the night. Western Michigan would fight back, and Max Sasson eventually tied the game in the third period. In overtime, Colorado College fired a shot off of an offensive-zone faceoff and Matthew Gleason snuck through a mess of bodies to get to the rebound. Alone in the slot, Gleason fired the puck past Rowe's outstretched glove to win the game 3-2 in overtime.
The Tigers relied on freshman goaltender Kaidan Mbereko, who made 53 saves in the two-game sweep. He's one of just a handful of goalies this season who can will his team to a win any given night. CC will be a tough out next weekend in a Gold Pan matchup against Denver.
Western Michigan will now prepare for the NCAA tournament. According to CHN's Pairwise Probability Matrix, they have a 99.9% chance at an at-large bid.
Northern Michigan Stays Hot, Blanks Michigan Tech in CCHA Semis
The Northern Michigan Wildcats are one of the hottest teams in college hockey and have shown it so far in the CCHA postseason tournament.
In the semifinals the Wildcats were on the road against the Michigan Tech Huskies, the #2 seed in the tournament. Ryan and Michael Van Unen teamed up for a goal each in the first period and Northern Michigan held on for a 4-0 upset win. Freshman goaltender Beni Halasz posted a 44-save shutout, his third of the season.
The Wildcats have now won seven-straight games and have outscored opponents 38-13 in that stretch. Northern Michigan will now travel to Mankato to play Minnesota State in the CCHA Finals. With a win, they would qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
Merrimack Advances to Hockey East Semis For The First Time Since 2011
It took two overtimes, but Merrimack eventually held on to defeat Boston College 1-0 in the Hockey East quarterfinals. The win sends the Warriors to the semifinals for the first time since 2011.
Senior forward Mick Messnar was the hero on Saturday night, scoring eight minutes into double overtime to send the home crowd into a frenzy. Messnar received a drop pass at the circle from Ryan Leibold and fired the puck on goal. The puck just snuck through the pads of BC goaltender Mitch Benson for the games only goal.
With Merrimack right on the Pairwise bubble, they might need to win the Hockey East tournament to make the NCAAs for the first time since 2011. They will play UMass-Lowell in the semifinals next weekend at the TD Garden in Boston.
Minnesota/Michigan Set For Big Ten Title Showdown
Photo by Gopher Hockey
For the most part, the Big Ten tournament has been fairly upset free through the first two rounds. Outside of a #4/#5 matchup in the quarterfinals, the higher seed has advanced in all matchups. As such, we get #1 Minnesota vs. #2 Michigan at Mariucci next weekend for the Big Ten championship game.
Minnesota advanced to the finals with a 5-1 win over Michigan State. Although they went down early, the Gophers rattled off five-straight goals to coast to an easy win. Freshman Logan Cooley scored twice, including an empty-net goal, in the win.
It was just as easy for Michigan, who beat Ohio State 7-3. The Wolverines led 3-0 after the first period and held off a Buckeyes' comeback, who cut the lead to 5-3 with an extra-attacker goal late in the third. However, Michigan scored two empty-net goals to put the game away. NCAA points leader Adam Fantilli scored two goals in the win. Michigan has scored 20 goals in three games so far this postseason.
It should be a fantastic matchup in next weekend in Minneapolis. The last time these two teams played at Mariucci they traded 4-3 OT and 5-4 OT wins.
NCHC Postseason Bracket / Final Standings
All eight teams qualify. In the quarterfinals Denver hosts Miami, Western Michigan hosts Colorado College, Omaha hosts North Dakota, and St. Cloud State hosts Minnesota-Duluth in a best-of-three series on the campus of the higher seed.
The teams are then reseeded for a single-elimination semifinals and championship game. Those rounds are held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Quarterfinals:
#1 Denver beat #8 Miami in two games; 6-2, 7-2 wins.
#7 Colorado College beat #2 Western Michigan in two games; 3-1, 3-2 OT wins.
#6 North Dakota beat #3 Omaha in three games; 2-1 loss, 3-1 win, 5-2 win.
#4 St. Cloud State beat #5 Minnesota-Duluth in three games; 3-1 win, 5-1 loss, 3-1 win.
Semifinals:
#1 Denver vs. #7 Colorado College
#4 St. Cloud State vs. #6 North Dakota
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1. Denver - 56 Points
2. Western Michigan - 44 Points
3. Omaha - 42 Points
4. St. Cloud State - 41 Points
T-5. Minnesota-Duluth - 33 Points
T-5. North Dakota - 33 Points
7. Colorado College - 25 Points
8. Miami - 14 Points
Big Ten Postseason Bracket / Final Standings
All seven teams qualify. Minnesota gets a bye this weekend and the remaining teams play a best-of-three series. Michigan hosts Wisconsin, Ohio State hosts Michigan State, and Notre Dame hosts Penn State. The series' winners move onto the semifinals.
Following the quarterfinals, a single-game elimination bracket begins. Minnesota plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals. Winners play in single-game final. All games are hosted on campus by the higher seed.
Quarterfinals:
#2 Michigan beat #7 Wisconsin in two games; 6-5 OT, 7-4 wins.
#3 Ohio State beat #6 Penn State in three games; 5-1 win, 2-1 OT loss, 3-1 win.
#5 Michigan State beat #4 Notre Dame in three games; 1-0 loss, 4-2 win, 4-2 win.
Semifinals:
#1 Minnesota beat #5 Michigan State 5-1.
#2 Michigan beat #3 Ohio State 7-3.
Finals:
#1 Minnesota vs. #2 Michigan
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1. Minnesota - 57 Points
2. Michigan - 38 Points
3. Ohio State - 36 Points
4. Notre Dame - 35 Points
T-5. Penn State - 34 Points
T-5. Michigan State - 34 Points
7. Wisconsin - 18 Points
CCHA Postseason Bracket / Final Standings
All eight teams qualify. In the quarterfinals Minnesota State hosts Lake Superior, Michigan Tech hosts St. Thomas, Bowling Green hosts Ferris State, and Northern Michigan hosts Bemidji State in best-of-three series.
The semifinals and championship are a single-game elimination tournament between the four remaining seeds. The two highest-remaining teams host their games on campus, respectively.
Quarterfinals:
#1 Minnesota State beat #8 Lake Superior in two games; 6-1, 2-1 wins.
#2 Michigan Tech beat #7 St. Thomas in two games; 1-0, 5-4 wins.
#6 Ferris State beat #3 Bowling Green in two games; 4-3 OT, 2-1 OT wins.
#4 Northern Michigan beat #5 Bemidji State in two games; 7-3, 2-1 OT wins.
Semifinals:
#1 Minnesota State beat #6 Ferris State 7-2.
#4 Northern Michigan beat #2 Michigan Tech 4-0.
Finals:
#1 Minnesota State vs. #4 Northern Michigan
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1. Minnesota State - 52 Points
2. Michigan Tech - 50 Points
3. Bowling Green - 41 Points
T-4. Northern Michigan - 39 Points
T-4. Bemidji State - 39 Points
6. Ferris State - 34 Points
7. St. Thomas - 32 Points
8. Lake Superior - 25 Points
Hockey East Postseason Bracket / Final Standings
All 11 teams qualify. Boston University, Merrimack, Northeastern, Connecticut, and UMass-Lowell receive byes in the first round. Maine hosts Vermont, Providence hosts New Hampshire, and Boston College hosts Massachusetts in the first round. Teams are re-seeded for the quarterfinals, and then again for the semifinals and championship. Games in the first round and quarterfinals are played on the campus of the higher seed.
All games are single elimination. The semifinals and championship are hosted at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
First Round:
#11 Vermont beat Maine 4-2.
#7 Providence beat #10 New Hampshire 2-1 OT.
#8 Boston College beat #9 Massachusetts 5-2.
Quarterfinals:
#1 Boston University beat #11 Vermont 7-3.
#2 Merrimack beat #8 Boston College 1-0 2OT.
#7 Providence beat #3 Northeastern 2-1 OT.
#5 UMass-Lowell beat #4 Connecticut 2-1.
Semifinals:
#1 Boston University vs. #7 Providence
#2 Merrimack vs. #5 UMass-Lowell
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1. Boston University - 54 Points
2. Merrimack - 50 Points
3. Northeastern - 49 Points
4. Connecticut - 41 Points
5. UMass-Lowell - 39 Points
T-6. Maine - 32 Points
T-6. Providence - 32 Points
8. Boston College - 30 Points
9. Massachusetts - 28 Points
10. New Hampshire - 23 Points
11. Vermont - 18 Points
ECAC Postseason Bracket / Final Standings
All 12 teams qualify. Quinnipiac, Harvard, Cornell, and St. Lawrence receive byes in the first round. Colgate hosts Dartmouth, Clarkson hosts Brown, Rensselaer hosts Yale, and Union hosts Princeton on campus for a single-elimination game.
The winners are then reseeded and play a best-of-three series on the campuses of the higher seeds. The series' winners then play the single-elimination semifinal and championship rounds at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y.
First Round:
#5 Colgate beat #12 Dartmouth 5-3.
#6 Clarkson beat #11 Brown 5-1.
#10 Yale beat #7 Rensselaer 4-1.
#9 Princeton beat #8 Union 6-4.
Quarterfinals:
#1 Quinnipiac beat #10 Yale in two games; 3-0, 6-2 wins.
#2 Harvard beat #9 Princeton in two games; 6-1, 6-1 wins.
#3 Cornell beat #6 Clarkson in two games; 2-1, 3-1 wins.
#5 Colgate beat #4 St. Lawrence in two games; 4-3 OT, 3-2 wins.
Semifinals:
#1 Quinnipiac vs. #5 Colgate
#2 Harvard vs. #3 Cornell
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1. Quinnipiac - 60 Points
2. Harvard - 49 Points
3. Cornell - 47 Points
4. St. Lawrence - 37 Points
5. Colgate: 36 Points
6. Clarkson - 31 Points
T-7. Rensselaer - 26 Points
T-7. Union - 26 Points
T-7. Princeton - 26 Points
10. Yale - 22 Points
11. Brown - 20 Points
12. Dartmouth - 16 Points
Atlantic Hockey Postseason Bracket / Final Standings
The top eight teams qualify, which means Bentley and Air Force are done for the season. In the quarterfinals, RIT hosts Mercyhurst, AIC hosts Holy Cross, Sacred Heart hosts Niagara, and Canisius hosts Army in best-of-three series hosted by the higher seed.
The winners of those series move on to play a best-of-three semifinals and a single-game championship, with the higher seeds hosting. All games are played on campus.
Quarterfinals:
#1 RIT beat #8 Mercyhurst in two games; 5-3, 4-3 OT wins.
#7 Holy Cross beat #2 AIC in three games; 3-1 loss, 4-3 win, 4-3 OT win.
#6 Niagara beat #3 Sacred Heart in three games; 3-1 loss, 4-1 win, 7-3 win.
#4 Canisius beat #5 Army in three games; 5-2 win, 1-0 OT loss, 3-0 win.
Semifinals:
#7 Holy Cross beat #1 RIT in three games; 1-0 OT win, 4-3 OT loss, 5-1 win.
#4 Canisius beat #6 Niagara in three games; 2-1 loss, 5-1 win, 4-2 win.
Finals:
#4 Canisius vs. #7 Holy Cross
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1. RIT - 57 Points
2. AIC - 47 Points
3. SHU - 45 Points
4. Canisius - 41 Points
5. Army - 39 Points
6. Niagara - 38 Points
7. Holy Cross - 37 Points
8. Mercyhurst - 35 Points
9. Bentley - 27 Points
10. Air Force - 24 Points
Independent Roundup
Alaska: No games scheduled.
Alaska-Anchorage: "Split" with Lindenwood at home with 7-7 tie, 4-3 OT win.
Arizona State: Swept Long Island at home with 6-3, 2-1 OT wins.
Lindenwood: "Split" with Alaska-Anchorage on the road with 7-7 tie, 4-3 OT loss.
Long Island: Swept by Arizona State on the road with 6-3, 2-1 OT losses.
Stonehill: No games scheduled.
