Big 10 schools dominated the opening games of regional play, with championship games starting Saturday afternoon to determine who travels to Tampa for the 2023 Frozen Four !
Fargo Regional
Minnesota vs St Cloud
3.25.23 6:30 pm
The #1 seed Minnesota defeated the Atlantic Hockey Champions Canisius 9-2 in a close game through 2 periods before a 6-goal 3rd period. The Gophers are powered by a deep lineup with 14 players drafted in the NHL, led by Logan Cooley (Arizona), Matthew Knies (Toronto) and Jimmy Snuggerud (St. Louis) up front and Brock Faber (Minnesota) on the back end. Flyers 2019 7th round pick Bryce Brodzinski tallied 3G 1A in Minnesota’s opening win, with Logan Cooley applying his speed and skill throughout the game, finishing with 3 assists.
St Cloud St entered the National Tournament as NCHC champions, defeating Colorado College 3-0 in St Paul. The shutout streak continued in their win vs Minnesota State, with a controlled 4-0 win to reach the regional final. Goaltender Jaxon Castor will continue to be a key player if St Cloud wants to come up with upset over the Gophers.
Players to Watch
Jaxon Castor - Senior Goaltender (St Cloud St)
Jami Krannila - Senior Forward (St Cloud St)
Logan Cooley - Freshman Forward (Minnesota)
Matthew Knies - Sophomore Forward (Minnesota)
Rhett Pitlick - Sophomore Forward (Minnesota)
Manchester Regional
Cornell vs Boston University
3.25.23 4:00 PM
Jay Pandolfo’s BU looks poised for a deep run, defeating Western Michigan 5-1 to reach the Manchester final. The Terriers entered the national tournament as Hockey East champions, defeating Merrimack 3-2 in OT on a goal from Lane Hutson. The freshman phenom and Montreal draft pick in 2022 would open the scoring vs Western Michigan for his 48th point of the season, breaking Brian Leetch’s record for most points by a U19 defenseman in a single NCAA season.
Cornell was an early out of the ECAC conference playoffs with a 1-0 loss to Harvard in the semifinals, but showed they deserved an at-large bid by knocking off the #1 seed in the region and defending champions University of Denver 2-0 to reach the Manchester final. Their team speed, and responsible defensive play was enough vs Denver, but can Cornell pull of the upset ? In their only matchup of the season in January, Lane Hutson broke a 3-3 tie with seconds left in the 3rd to give the Terriers the 4-3 win.
Players to Watch
Ben Berard - Senior Forward (Cornell)
Jack O’Leary - Junior Forward (Cornell)
Max Andreev - Senior Forward (Cornell)
Lane Hutson - Freshman Defense (BU)
Devlin Kaplan - Freshman Forward (BU)
Allentown Regional
Michigan vs Penn State
3.26.23 6:30 PM
#1 seed Michigan will face Big 10 rivals Penn State for the Allentown Final Sunday night, after dominating wins in the opening round. Penn State had 8 different goal scorers in their 8-0 win over Michigan Tech, in one of their most complete games of the season. With just 3 regular season wins in 2023, Penn State struggled down the stretch of the regular season but took Ohio State to 3 games in the Big Ten tournament, ultimately falling 3-1 but looks ready for the task at hand.
Michigan looked unstoppable vs Colgate, defeating the ECAC champions 11-1. Their lineup’s top players are up to the task this season, and with 7 forwards drafted to NHL teams + the #2 overall prospect for 2023, every line has the ability to dominate possession and create chances. Luke Hughes has been on pucks since the opening face-off of the tournament, utilizing his carrying and puck distribution abilities to create chances. Hughes is one of 3 New Jersey Devils prospects on the Michigan blue line, with Ethan Edwards and Seamus Casey. Casey will be a player to watch for local fans, he has a great release and ability to get pucks on net, with some deception and agile skating ability as well.
Michigan took the regular season series 3-1 vs Penn State after dropping the 1st game in Happy Valley in November. Key to this game will be goaltender. Erik Portillo, now a LA Kings prospect, has been strong for Michigan but has not had to steal a game. Liam Souliere’s performance vs Michigan Tech may have looked like an easy night from the scoresheet, but Souliere made multiple key saves early in a close game before Penn State’s offensive outburst.
Players to Watch
Adam Fantilli - Freshman Forward (Michigan)
Rutger McGroarty - Freshman Forward (Michigan)
Luke Hughes - Sophomore Defense (Michigan)
Kevin Wall - Senior Forward (Penn State)
Liam Souliere - Junior Goaltender (Penn State)
Bridgeport Regional
Quinnipiac vs Ohio State
3.26.23 4:00PM
The upset of the tournament was Ohio State’s 8-1 thumping of Harvard, led by a 5 goal 2nd period to put the game away, scoring 6 seconds apart to double their lead early. Sophomore’s Cam Thiesing and Cole McWard each scored twice, with 5th year former BU Terrier Jake Wise putting up 4 assists.
Quinnipiac’s 5-0 win vs Merrimack was a close game early but a full team effort. Ethan de Jong is a creative forward to watch, along with leading scorer from the regular season Collin Graf. Last seasons regional final 7-4 loss to Michigan will be extra motivation for this group, but a confident Ohio State will be a tough matchup to get through.
Gustaf Westlund’s veteran presence returned to the Buckeyes’ lineup for the first time since October, and was a key in their win vs Harvard, finishing with 1G 2A but providing the strength/ hardworking in puck battles important in tight, tournament games. Ohio State is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.
Players to Watch
Ethan de Jong - 5th year Forward (Qpac)
Yaniv Perets - Sophomore Goaltender (Qpac)
Cam Thiesing - Sophomore Forward (Ohio State)
Gustaf Westlund - 5th Year Forward (Ohio State)
Tyler Duke - Freshman Defenseman (Ohio State)
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