ECH Weekend Review: March 3-5
By alex berger - march 07, 2023One weekend of conference postseason hockey down, two to go. We're inching closer and closer to the NCAA tournament, which means incredible college hockey across the six conferences and in the independent matchups.
This weekend we had five playoff series go to three games, a statement win from Alaska Fairbanks, and a five-goal showing from a Hobey Baker frontrunner. The NCHC and Hockey East also wrapped up their regular seasons and got their postseason brackets set. Lets get into the action.
Five Playoff Series' Go To Game Three
Photo by MSU Athletics
Postseason play started in Atlantic Hockey, the Big Ten, CCHA, and the ECAC this past weekend. Three series in the Atlantic and two in the Big Ten required a winner-take-all game three on Sunday.
In the biggest upset of the weekend, #7 Holy Cross beat #2 AIC with a 4-3 win on Saturday night and a 4-3 OT win on Sunday afternoon. AIC had won the past three postseason tournaments.
In the other three-game series in Atlantic Hockey, #4 Canisius beat #5 Army with a 5-2 win on Friday night and a 3-0 win on Sunday. #6 Niagara scored seven goals in game three to beat #3 Sacred Heart with a 4-1 win on Saturday and a 7-3 win on Sunday.
In the Big Ten, #6 Penn State forced game three with a 2-1 OT win on Saturday night, but ultimately fell with a 3-1 loss to #3 Ohio State on Sunday. Luckily, the Nittany Lions' season is not over and they can now prepare to host the Allentown regional in the NCAA tournament.
Lastly, a pivotal series between #4 Notre Dame and #5 Michigan State had to be determined on Sunday. Both teams were playing for their season as they sit squarely on the Pairwise bubble. The Spartans eventually prevailed with back-to-back 4-2 wins on Friday and Saturday night to take the series and advance to to the Big Ten semifinals for the first time ever.
Boston University Wins Hockey East Regular Season Title
Photo by Matt Woolverton
With a 6-4 win over the Providence Friars on Friday night, Boston University won the Hockey East regular season title outright for the first time since the 2014-15 season (they split the title with UMass-Lowell and Boston College in the 2016-17 season).
The Terriers won their last four games by a combined score of 16-7, including two shutouts. Outside of a four-game skid last month they have not lost back-to-back games all season, and just one game in the second half of the year.
Heading into the Hockey East postseason tournament Boston University sits at #5 in the Pairwise and is guaranteed to make the tournament according to College Hockey News' Pairwise Probability Matrix.
Alaska Finishes Regular Season With 8-0 Win, Looking Ahead to NCAA Tournament
Photo by Nanooks Hockey on Twitter
The Carlson Center was rocking in downtown Fairbanks for the first time in a long time this weekend, as the Alaska Nanooks won their 21st and 22nd games of the season in style.
On Friday night, Alaska beat Lindenwood 4-1 with goals from A.J. Macauley, Karl Falk, Brady Risk, and Harrison Israeals. It was a penalty-filled affair as the teams combined for 14 penalties for 44 minutes, however the teams went a combined 0-for-8 on the power play. The Nanooks outshot the Lions 51-13.
Saturday night was the real sendoff, however, as the Nanooks exploded for an 8-0 win. Eight different players scored for Alaska as they heavily outshot Lindenwood again, 54-21. The win was an exclamation point on a resounding season for Alaska hockey. It's their most wins in a year since the 2001-02 season.
As an independent, the only way Alaska can qualify for postseason hockey is through an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. The Nanooks are currently #12 in the Pairwise and are now cheering for as little chaos in the conference postseason tournaments as possible. The more at-large bids there are, the better.
NCHC Postseason Tournament Set
Going into the final weekend of the year only one quarterfinal matchup was set in the NCHC. Any combination of Western Michigan/Omaha/St. Cloud State could have played Minnesota-Duluth/North Dakota/Colorado College in the first round of the postseason tournament.
When the dust settled, two matchups from this past weekend will be facing of again in round one of the NCHC tournament. Omaha hosts North Dakota and St. Cloud State hosts Minnesota-Duluth in the quarterfinals next weekend.
The Fighting Hawks had the advantage over UNO this weekend and swept the Mavericks with 5-4 OT and 2-1 wins. North Dakota has gone 3-0-1 against Omaha this season and are now unbeaten in six-straight games. The Mavericks have never advanced out of the quarterfinal round of the NCHC tournament.
Everything College Hockey was at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center this weekend for College Hockey Gameday and saw a pair of great games. The Bulldogs won 4-3 on Friday night, and the Huskies came back from three goals down on Saturday night for a 4-3 OT win. This opening-round matchup features two of the most successful teams in the ten-year history of the league. Minnesota-Duluth has the most tournaments wins (3) while St. Cloud has the most title game appearances (5) in NCHC postseason history.
In the other two quarterfinal matchups, Denver hosts Miami and Western Michigan hosts Colorado College.
Fantilli Scores Five Goals in Sweep Over Wisconsin
Photo by Michigan Photography
It was a bit closer than Wolverine fans may have liked it to be, but Michigan swept Wisconsin in their quarterfinal matchup at Yost Ice Arena this weekend to move on to the semifinals.
Game one on Friday night was one of the craziest of the season. The back-and-forth affair started just 90 seconds in when Michigan opened the scoring and lasted until just over nine minutes into overtime, when Steven Holtz scored the game winner + his first goal of the season. Despite a hat trick from Mathieu De St. Phalle for the Badgers, Michigan walked away with a 6-5 win in overtime.
On Saturday night Wisconsin was playing for their season and had the game tied at four with just over two minutes left. But Michigan pulled away, scoring three goals in the last 2:20 to win 7-4. De St. Phalle potted two more goals for the Badgers on Saturday for a five-goal weekend.
He wasn't the only skater with five goals however, as NCAA points leader, Adam Fantilli, scored twice on Friday night and finished with a hat trick on Saturday to lead the Wolverines to a weekend sweep. The freshman has now tallied a point in 14 of his last 15 games. He has scored the second-most goals (25) and third-most assists (31) in just 31 games played, leading the NCAA in points per game (1.81).
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 vs. #8 Miami
#2 Western Michigan vs. #7 Colorado College
#3 Omaha vs. #6 North Dakota
#4 St. Cloud State vs. #5 Minnesota-Duluth
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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. All games are hosted on campus by the higher seed.
Quarterfinals:
#2 Michigan beats #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 vs. #5 Michigan State
#2 Michigan vs. #3 Ohio State
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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 vs. #6 Ferris State
#2 Michigan Tech 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:
#6 Maine vs. #11 Vermont
#7 Providence vs. #10 New Hampshire
#8 Boston College vs. #9 Massachusetts
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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 vs. #10 Yale
#2 Harvard vs. #9 Princeton
#3 Cornell vs. #6 Clarkson
#4 St. Lawrence vs. #5 Colgate
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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 single-game elimination semifinals and the championship game, 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:
#1 RIT vs. #7 Holy Cross
#4 Canisius vs. #6 Niagara
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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: Swept Lindenwood at home with 4-1, 8-0 wins.
Alaska-Anchorage: Split with Arizona State at home with 5-0 loss, 4-3 win.
Arizona State: Split with Alaska-Anchorage on the road with 5-0 win, 4-3 loss.
Lindenwood: Swept by Alaska on the road with 4-1, 8-0 losses.
Long Island: No games scheduled.
Stonehill: No games scheduled.
