2023-24 NCAA Division I Hockey Thread

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DI men were back on ice this weekend. USCHO.com looks back at the CY 2024 opening action ...

Monday 10: Ranked teams gain nonconference sweeps, Minnesota State back above .500 mark, Wisconsin keeps winning in Big Ten play

By Jack Hittinger-January 8, 2024 ...

1. Sun Devils win Desert Hockey Classic
A week after winning the Adirondack Winter Invitational, Arizona State took another step towards an NCAA tournament bid as an at-large this weekend, earning its second-consecutive tournament win. The host Sun Devils beat Harvard 5-2 then topped Omaha 2-1 in overtime to win the Desert Hockey Classic in Tempe. Ryan O’Reilly scored three goals on the weekend and TJ Semptimphelter made 42 saves in the tournament while Kyle Smolen’s overtime game-winner helped the Sun Devils move up to No. 16 in the Pairwise rankings. ASU, now 16-3-5, has another prime chance to climb the Pairwise this upcoming weekend when they host Cornell for a series in Tempe.

2. Badgers keep rolling in B1G
It doesn’t seem that Wisconsin will be cooling down any time soon. The Badgers’ win streak reached nine following their sweep of Notre Dame in South Bend. On Friday night, Charlie Stramel scored the game-winner (eight) minutes into the third period to lead Wisconsin to a 2-1 victory. Saturday’s game had a few more twists and turns. Although the Badgers led the whole way–including 5-1 early in the second period–the Irish didn’t back down and eventually scored the next three goals to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 5-4 at the end of the second. However, Ben Dexheimer gave the Badgers some insurance eight minutes into the third and Carson Bantle scored an empty-netter to make it a 6-4 final. The sweep put Wisconsin atop the B1G standings, and UW’s win streak is its longest since 1989-90. ...

Read the Rest at: Monday 10: Ranked teams gain nonconference sweeps, Minnesota State back above .500 mark, Wisconsin keeps winning in Big Ten play - College Hockey | USCHO.com

 

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NCAA DI media coverage news (including women's & men's ice hockey championships) in this Happy Hockey New Year ... USCHO.com: ESPN, NCAA reach agreement on new eight-year media rights deal, beginning Sept. 1, 2024

 

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Sorry, I'm just getting reengaged with women's DI hockey in the New Year ...

2024 Women's Beanpot Game #1 underway, Boston U vs. Boston College on the Harvard rink. Game #2 will be @ 7:30 PM ET, Northeastern vs. Harvard. Coverage on ESPN-etc. SBN's Stanley Cup of Chowder blog published these team profiles. Consolation & Championship games will be played Tuesday, Jan. 23rd @ TD Garden.

ETA: BC tied Game #1 at 3-3 with under 2 minutes left in regulation with their goalie pulled. Five minutes of 3-on-3 OT yielded no goals, so it took a shootout for BU to move on to the Beanpot Championship Game. GWG by sophomore Luisa Welcke.

 

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Women's Beanpot Championship opponents will be Boston U and Northeastern, after the Huskies defeated Harvard 1-0. GWG scored by junior forward Taze Thompson.

 

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Some women's DI light reading ...

• College Hockey Inc. Women's Notes: PSU’s Bothun, Colgate’s Kaltounková Make History

• NCAA.com: Wisconsin, Colgate rise to top 3 in latest NCAA women's hockey Power 5

 

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Before I forget, DI men's 2024 Beanpot event will be held on two early Feb Mondays in Boston. Scheduling below courtesy of NCAA.com. The NESN feeds will also be streamed on ESPN+ for us out-of-towners.

Men's Beanpot 2024:​

Monday, February 5: (TD Garden)

• Harvard vs. Northeastern | 5 p.m. EST (NESN)
• Boston College vs. Boston U. | 8 p.m. EST (NESN)

Monday, February 12: (TD Garden)

• G1 winner vs. G2 winner | 7:30 p.m. EST (NESN)
• G1 loser vs. G2 loser | 4:30 p.m. EST (NESN)

 

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Michigan State / Michigan entertaining early.

 

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The ECAC women's conference race has a head of steam, as Clarkson (Overall = 22-1-2, Conf = 11-1-1, 4-game W streak) is keeping pace with the very strong Colgate team (21-3-1, 12-1-0). The St. Lawrence Saints are not far behind (17-8-0, 10-3-0, 4 victories in five January games). Here are the game recaps of each team's Friday night success ...

Knights (#3) top Yale 4-1

#4/5 COLGATE QUIETS #6 QUINNIPIAC, 5-0

Hustler Tallies 100th Point, No. 10 Saints Shutout Brown 4-0

 

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The Hockey East women have a pair of teams dominating the conference this season. #13 ranked Boston College (13-7-3 Overall, 12-3-3 in HEA play) hold a one-point lead over #11 UConn (13-7-3, 12-3-3). The Huskies are headed to a Sunday midday matchup @ New Hampshire (who took the shootout point from BC last Saturday), while the Eagles warmed up for their 2024 Beanpot tourney consolation match next Tuesday by defeating Merrimack on Friday night.

 

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#1 nationally ranked Ohio State and #2 Wisconsin make the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference the one-to-watch in NCAA DI women's hockey on these cold weekends of winter. OSU (19-2-0-0, 16-1-0 WCHA record) have won their last 6 games (all against Minnesota-based teams), with their one 'n' only defeat of this conference season being a 2-1 outcome against St. Cloud State back on December 1st. The Badgers (19-4-0 Overall, 13-4-0 in conference) are also riding a 6-game win streak after rallying Friday night to defeat Minnesota State in Mankato.

 

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In the College Hockey America (CHA) conference this season, Penn State and Mercyhurst are tied in points at the top with identical 8-3-0 conference records. The Nittany Lions were upset at home on Friday night by CHA cellar dwellers Syracuse, while the Lakers scored 6 unanswered goals to defeat their 3rd place hosts Robert Morris (back in business this season after a near-death experience for the club in May 2021).

 

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And last (and unfortunately least), Long Island U (16-8-0 Overall, 16-2-0 Conference record) are holding on tightly to the top spot in the New England Womens Hockey Association (NEWHA) pile with St. Anselm (14-9-1, 9-1-1) trying to keep pace this season. The Sharks defeated first-year member Assumption by a score of 2-1 on Friday night. StA defeated Post U 4-1 for their 4th victory out of five games in 2024.

 

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Equal time for the DI men, now that the conference leaders have completed their weekend games ...

The top teams of the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) conference are currently Sacred Heart (11-12-1 Overall, 11-7-1 in-conference) and RIT (15-8-1, 11-5-1, currently #23 in the Pairwise rankings). The Pios have struggled since the turn of the calendar, going 3-4-1 in conference play while gaining an extra point in a shootout victory over Army in early January. Meanwhile Rochester's Tigers have a record of 3-2-1 so far in January, with the first two games against non-conference opponents Clarkson (4-0 victory) & St. Lawrence (1-1 tie with RIT taking the S/O).

 

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The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) race is a tight one, with just 4 points separating the top 3 teams: University of St. Thomas (12-11-1, 10-6-1), Bemidji State (9-14-1, 8-7-1) and Minn. State-Mankato (12-9-3, 9-5-1). The Tommies are relative newcomers to DI hockey, so their top spot in Season #3 is a surprise & their January record of 3-1 (plus a 3 to 1 exhibition win vs. Minnesota-Duluth) has them rolling in the 2nd half. The Beavers are three points back of UST (Bemidji = 1-2-1 this month with a bonus point from a S/O win on Saturday night over Michigan Tech), while the Mavericks are a single point out of the 2nd spot after a weekend split @ Bowling Green.

 

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Hockey East has the top two ranked DI men's teams in the country - Boston University (16-4-1, 11-1-1) and Boston College (also 16-4-1 overall, 9-3-1 in-conference) - as well as the #5 University of Maine team (16-4-2, 8-3-1). The Terriers are 6 points ahead of the Eagles in the HEA conference standings, with those 2 teams playing home-and-home next weekend and meeting @ TD Garden on Feb. 5th for the 2024 Beanpot Championship. Those three games will either solidify or confuse (or a little of both) the HEA standings and the DI men's Pairwise rankings.

 

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Down the road(s) on the men's side of ECAC, #9 ranked Quinnipiac (15-6-2, 9-2-1) has a substantial 9-point lead in the conference standings over rivals Clarkson & Union. The Bobcats are 2-1-1 in January conference play, as they head to next weekend's annual CT Ice tournament. No matter their success @ XL Center (as defending tourney champions), QU is gonna be hard to unseat as the ECAC odds-on regular season champs this season (hoping to repeat last season's conference finish).

 

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The Big Ten hockey conference top competitors this season are #7 Michigan State (16-5-3, 10-2-2) and #4 University of Wisconsin (19-4-1, 10-2-0), with 4 conference points currently separating them. The big story these two teams share is that they ended the 2023 B1G season in the 6th & 7th spots respectively of the 7-team conference.

The Spartans hit the 2024 conference ice running in early October under 2nd-season head coach & Michigan State alumnus Adam Nightingale, and didn't lose a game until late November (a 6-5 OT loss to Minnesota in Minneapolis). In the second half of this season State have won 4 out of their 5 games, with their only loss coming this past Friday night on the Spartans' home ice vs. Michigan (a 7-1 final score).

The Badgers have not lost a game since November 24th, a 1-0 home defeat by the independent Alaska Anchorage squad. They most recently tied visiting independent Lindenwood U. So the Wisconsin Boys might need another good talking to from 1st-year head coach Mike Hastings, before they resume their push to catch up to the Spartans while maintaining (or improving) their Pairwise ranking.

 

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Rounding out the DI men's January snapshots ...

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) can boast three teams in the national Top 10 Pairwise rankings, but the focus here is on their conference situation. #3 ranked North Dakota (16-6-2 Overall, 7-4-1 Conference) is tied for first with #13 St. Cloud State (11-7-4, 11-2-3-2), and #6 University of Denver (17-5-2, 8-3-1) is just 3 points back of the conference leaders.

The Fighting (whatever-you-likes) are 2-1-1 in conference play this month, after beginning January with a 2-game home sweep of independent Alaska Fairbanks. They host the Pioneers next weekend to wrap up the month.

The Huskies have played 4 games in January, losing then tying weekend pairs vs. Denver (in Colorado) and vs. NoDak (STC at home) but gaining points with shootout wins after the ties. Next weekend they'll host 7th place Nebraska-Omaha for two, to wrap up the month while hoping the Hawks trip up in at least one of their games.

The Western Pios most recent loss was on December 8th @ Western Michigan. So the NCHC conference co-leaders can't forget there's another strong competitor skating to overtake them.

 

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Can't let this one slip by without posting ...
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From: College Hockey News

January 9, 2024

The Lindenwood Way​

2nd-Year Program is Taking a Different Approach to Building in D-I​

by Tyler Kuehl/CHN Reporter

If you were to ask the players at Lindenwood to describe head coach Rick Zombo in one word, you would probably hear: articulate.

“[Zombo] has his own way of doing things,” junior forward David Gagnon said. "He is articulate and detailed on the things he likes to point out.”

That is how the former NHL defenseman has run the program since 2010, taking a club program to varsity status, though he is doing it in a different manner.

Zombo helped put together two American Collegiate Hockey Association championship teams. The last came in 2022, a title they won on home ice. A few days later, the school announced the team was moving to the NCAA D-I ranks.

While building a program in six months sounds tough, and might lead to a team loaded up with transfers and freshmen, Zombo and the Lions were prepared.

Before the 2021-22 season, they brought in a wealth of talent, anticipating the jump to the NCAA. In doing so, a core was created. There are still eight players from that final ACHA team on the current roster, and Zombo says he kept those players around because he trusted them.

“To have players that knew me, and I knew them,” Zombo said. “I think that’s the most important thing when it comes to coaching.“ ...

Read more at: The Lindenwood Way | CHN

 

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Some perspective pieces below on teams participating in the 2024 Women's Beanpot Tournament, which wraps up on Tuesday, January 23 @ TD Garden-Boston. Consolation Game between Boston College & Harvard @ 5:00 PM EST (NESN, ESPN+), Championship Game between Boston U. & Northeastern @ 8:00 PM EST (NESN, ESPN+)

• ETA ... Harvard: Crickets for the Crimson ...
• ETA ... BC (University Athletics): Eagles to Play Harvard in Consolation Round of 45th Beanpot
• Northeastern (BVM Sports): Northeastern Women’s Hockey Team to Face Boston University Terriers in Beanpot Championship at TD Garden
• BU (University Athletics): Fun Facts about Tuesday’s Historic Women’s Beanpot Championship Game

ETA: And a finals/consolation feature from WGBH-Boston ... After 45 years, women's Beanpot finally takes to the ice at TD Garden

 

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First Beanpot game @ TD Garden for the women, Boston College 1 - Harvard 0 after one period of the annual tourney's Consolation Game. After a few minutes of tentative play, the Crimson took the offensive advantage through the 15 minute point. Then the Eagles tipped the ice, and freshman defender Molly Jordan sent a needle-threading pass cross-ice to senior defender-turned-forward Sidney Fess who scored the opening goal on Harvard sophomore goaltender Emily Davidson (just her second NCAA game). SOGs after 20 minutes = Harvard 13 - Boston College 11. BC will be on the remainder of a two-minute PP to start the 2nd.

 

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End of 2 periods in the women's Beanpot Consolation match, now tied 1-1. Harvard's equalizer was netted by junior forward Eva Dorr, after a fluttering puck was mishandled by BC's sophomore goalie Grace Campbell. The Eagles killed off back-to-back minor penalties early in that period, as Crimson built up their SOG advantage to 32-22 after 40 minutes. The middle period ended in a flurry of BC chances around the Harvard net.

 

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End of 3 periods, tied 2-2. Harvard sophomore forward Sophie Ensley roofed an unassisted shorty in the middle of the final period to put the Crimson up 2-1. Harvard wasted a late opportunity to pull away during overlapping minors against the Eagles, and BC tied the game with less than 2 minutes left in regulation on an ENG by freshman forward Sammy Taber. Harvard still dominated offensively, leading in SOGs 46-32. 3-on-3 OT coming up.

 

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Going to the S/O to determine the 3rd place team in the women's 2024 Beanpot. Both teams hit iron in the OT, but no net. Each had breakaways as well that were spoiled by the goalies.

 

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Harvard's junior forward Gabi Davidson Adams gets the GWG in the 4th round of the shootout over Boston College. VERY entertaining 3rd place game.

Next Up: Championship Game, Boston University vs. Northeastern @ 8 PM EST.