Three MSU Spartans Turn Pro

Michigan State will have to do without three key contributors going forward, all of whom recently signed NHL contracts.

Freshman right wing Porter Martone was the first to go, signing on Sunday with the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him sixth overall last year. Martone, 19, paced the Spartans this past year with 25 goals and 50 points in his only NCAA campaign, after skating three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. The Peterborough, Ont. native, who played in two IIHF World Junior Championships for Canada, made his NHL debut on March 31 at Washington, and picked up his first pro point with an assist against Detroit tonight. 

Junior goaltender Trey Augustine has signed with the Detroit Red Wings, who selected him 41st overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and has been assigned to Detroit's top minor-league affiliate in Grand Rapids (AHL). Augustine, 21, from South Lyon, Mich. fashioned a 24-9-1 record in 34 games this past season, with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage, while earning Big Ten Goaltender of the Year accolades. In three years with the Spartans, he went 66-25-7 with a 2.40 GAA over 99 career outings while notching nine shutouts and backstopping MSU to three consecutive Big Ten conference regular-season titles and two tournament crowns. He also won two gold medals with the U.S. at the WJCs, after prepping with the U.S. National Junior Team Development Program, and is a finalist this year for both the Mike Richter Award (top NCAA goalie) and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award (top NCAA player). 

Junior defenseman Maxim Strbak has signed with the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted him 45th overall in 2023, and has been assigned to Rochester (AHL). Strbak, 20, from Kosice, Slovakia, notched three goals and 15 assists for 18 points in 37 games this past season with MSU, and in three years in East Lansing collected 8-38—46 points over 102 appearances. A product of Sioux Falls (USHL), he also participated in four consecutive WJCs for Slovakia. 

MSU's 2025-26 campaign ended with a 4-3 overtime loss to Big Ten rival Wisconsin in the NCAA Worcester (Mass.) Regional final on March 29, one game short of the Frozen Four. 

Mercyhurst Dropping Men's Ice Hockey

Mercyhurst University, which has iced a varsity men's hockey team since 1987-88, is apparently putting that program on ice. The university administration announced last week that it will discontinue men's ice hockey at the conclusion of the current academic year.

The Lakers have competed at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels since their inception. After spending their first five years in Division III, they elevated to Division II in 1992-93, one year after moving into the on-campus Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa. They made the jump to Division I in 1999-2000 with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), winning two conference titles and making two NCAA tournaments, before moving to Atlantic Hockey (now Atlantic Hockey America) in 2003-04, winning the conference playoff title and earning an NCAA tournament bid the following season.

Head coach Rick Gotkin, who retired following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, had led the Lakers since 1988-89, fashioning a record of 617-579-114 overall. He also compiled 23 winning seasons, the last coming in 2017-18 when the Lakers claimed their second of two Atlantic Hockey regular-season championships. Although men's hockey moved up to the NCAA Division I level in 2003, the entire university athletic program did not did so until 2024. The Mercyhurst women's hockey team, which began play in 1999-2000, will continue to play on.

Mercyhurst becomes the third Atlantic Hockey America men's program to leave Division I in the last several years. AIC dropped back down to Division II following the 2024-25 campaign, and did not compete this past season. Robert Morris eliminated its men's and women's programs in 2021, but both were reinstated in 2023-24.

UWRF Completes NCAA Hat Trick

For the third season in a row, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is the NCAA Division III women's hockey national champion. The Falcons completed the trifecta with a 4-0 win over Nazareth in the NCAA title game on March 29 at UWRF's W.H. Hunt Arena.

Sophia Hess tallied two goals for the Falcons (30-1-0 overall), including an empty-net tally late in regulation, while Brooklyn Riley and Madison Kadrlik also scored, and MaKenna Aure recorded two assists. Jordan O'Kane stopped all 22 shots she faced for UWRF, while Mia Gonsalves made 40 saves for the visiting Golden Flyers (27-2-1). UWRF outshot Nazareth, 44-22, and also won 44 of 70 faceoffs while going 1-for-4 on the power play.

The Falcons also finished the 2025-26 campaign on a 26-game winning streak that dated back to Nov. 25.

Hamilton Wins Men's D3 Hockey Title

Curtiss Sturgeon connected just under 17 minutes into overtime to lift Hamilton College to its first-ever NCAA Division III men's hockey national title on Sunday, a 2-1 victory over Hobart in Utica.

Kahlil Fontana gave Hobart a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal midway through the first period, before Luke Tchor tied the game for the Continentals early in the second stanza. The score remained unchanged until Sturgeon finished off a 2-on-1 in the extra session with just his second goal of the season.

Aksel Reid made 39 saves in goal for sixth-ranked Hamilton (23-5-2), while Damon Beaver made 23 stops for No. 1 Hobart (30-1-0), which was seeking its fourth straight NCAA title along with an undefeated season. The Statemen outshot the Continentals, 40-25, and also won 42 of 81 faceoffs.

 

2026 Regionals Done, Frozen Four Set

The regional finals from the 2026 NCAA Division I men's hockey championship are finished. Results from Saturday and Sunday are as follows:

Worcester, Mass. Regional (March 28) 

Wisconsin 4, Michigan State 3 (OT)

Sioux Falls, S.D. Regional (March 28) 

North Dakota 5, Quinnipiac 0

Albany, N.Y. Regional (March 29)  

Michigan 4, Minnesota-Duluth 3

Loveland, Col. Regional (March 29)  

Denver 6, Western Michigan 2

The 2026 NCAA Frozen Four field is now set. Wisconsin will face off with North Dakota in the first national semifinal in Las Vegas on April 9 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN 2), while Michigan will take on Denver in the second semifinal (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The winners will meet in the national championship game on April 11 (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

 

Day 2 of Regionals Completed

The second day of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's hockey championship is complete. Results from Friday are as follows:

Albany, N.Y. Regional 

• Michigan 5, Bentley 1
• Minnesota-Duluth 3, Penn State 1

Loveland, Col. Regional 

• Western Michigan 3, Minnesota State 1
• Denver 5, Cornell 0

Michigan will take on Minnesota Duluth in the Albany regional final on Sunday, while Western Michigan will face defending national champion Denver in the Loveland regional final later that same day.

The Worcester and Sioux Falls regional finals will be held on Saturday, with those two winners advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four in two weeks.

Day One of 2026 NCAA Regionals Done

The first day of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's hockey championship is the books. Results from Thursday are as follows:

Sioux Falls, S.D. Regional 

• North Dakota 3, Merrimack 0 
• Quinnipiac 5, Providence 2

Worcester, Mass. Regional 

• Michigan State 2, Connecticut 1
• Wisconsin 5, Dartmouth 1

Michigan State will take on Wisconsin in the Worcester regional final on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ESPN 2), while North Dakota will face Quinnipiac in the Sioux Falls regional final later that same day (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).

The Albany, N.Y. and Loveland, Co. regionals get underway on Friday.