Day 3 of NCAA Regionals Finished

Two of the 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey regionals are finished, and two national semifinal spots have been filled.

In Springfield, Mass. on Saturday, Denver rebounded from a one-goal deficit to edge Cornell, 2-1, at the MassMutual Center. Sam Harris' goal with four seconds left in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and stood up as the game-winner for DU (30-9-3 overall). The Pioneers, who avenged a regional loss to Cornell (22-7-6) from last year, are now headed to the NCAA Frozen Four for the second time in three seasons, and the fifth time in nine years. Matt Davis made 24 saves in net for DU, while Ian Shane had 16 stops for the Big Red in its season finale.

In Sioux Falls, S.D., yesterday, Boston University came back from two goals down early on to oust Minnesota, 6-3, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. Macklin Celebrini set up three goals for the Terriers (28-9-2), who got goals from six different skaters and 25 stops from Mathieu Caron. Bryce Brodzinski notched a goal and an assist, and Justen Close made 32 saves for the Golden Gophers in their last game of the year. BU, which also got some payback for a Frozen Four loss to Minnesota (23-11-5) last spring in Tampa, will now face Denver in one of two Frozen Four semifinals on April 11 in St. Paul. 

The Providence and Maryland Heights, Mo., regionals conclude with their finals on Sunday, with those two winners also headed to Minnesota in two weeks' time for the Frozen Four.

Day 2 of 2024 Regionals Completed

The second day of the 2024 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey regionals is over, and only half of the original 16-team field now remains.

In Providence yesterday, top-ranked Boston College scored five unanswered goals, four in the third period, to oust Michigan Tech, 6-1. Cutter Gauthier and Ryan Leonard tallied two goals each for the Eagles. In the second game at Amica Mutual Pavilion, Quinnipiac got two goals from Victor Czerneckianair, including the tying marker and the overtime game-winner, to top Wisconsin, 3-2. The defending NCAA champion Bobcats will now face BC on Easter Sunday ( 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in the regional final.

In Maryland Heights, Mo., Michigan State rebounded from a 4-2 deficit with three consecutive goals to best Western Michigan, 5-4, in overtime. Karsen Dorwart notched the tying goal in the final minute of regulation, before Jeremy Davidson scored in the extra session. In the nightcap at the Centene Community Ice Center, Michigan used three third-period goals to defeat North Dakota, 4-3. Dylan Duke notched two of those goals for the Wolverines, including the game-winner with just over eight minutes left. Michigan will now face MSU on Sunday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2) in the regional final, in a rematch of the Big Ten title game that was won by the Spartans last Saturday in OT. 

Day 1 of 2024 NCAA Regionals Done

The first day of the 2024 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship is complete.

In Springfield, Mass., Tristan Broz scored the game-winning goal midway through the second overtime period and Matt Davis made a total of 46 saves as Denver edged a stubborn host UMass squad, 2-1. In the nightcap at the MassMutual Center, Sullivan Mack tallied twice and Ian Shane stopped 31 shots in all as Cornell ousted Maine, 3-1. Denver will now face off with Cornell in the regional final on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET (ESPN 2) for the opportunity to go to this year's Frozen Four.

In Sioux Falls, S.D., Boston University took its first step towards making the Frozen Four for the second straight season by besting RIT, 6-3, thanks to two assists apiece from Tom Willander, Devin Kaplan and Nick Zabaneh. The second game at the Denny Sanford Premier Center saw Jaxon Nelson notch back-to-back goals in the third period to lift Minnesota to a 3-2 decision over Omaha. BU will take on Minnesota on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU), in a rematch of a national semifinal from a year ago.

The Providence and Maryland Heights regionals begin play today.

2024 Richter Award Trio Announced

The three finalists for the Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey this year were announced last week:

Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College (29-5-1, 2.19, .925)

Kaidan Mbereko, So., Colorado College (21-15-1, 2.41, .905)

Kyle McClellan, Sr., Wisconsin (24-11-1, 1.92, .931)

(Stats indicate record, goals-against average, and save percentage for 2023-24, through March 27)

Fowler and McClelland will lead their respective schools into the 2024 NCAA regionals this weekend, while Mbereko's season ended with CC's 2-1 loss to Omaha in the NCHC tournament on March 17. The Tigers ultimately missed the NCAAs by just .0004 points in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimic the NCAA tournament selection process.

This year's winner will be announced during the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul next month. Current Buffalo Sabres netminder Devon Levi (Northeastern) was the recipient of the award the last two seasons, the first two-time winner since it was first handed out in 2014.

Cornell's Daniel Wins 2024 Kazmaier Award

Izzy Daniel (Cornell) was honored last week as the 2024 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is bequeathed annually on the top player in NCAA Division I women's hockey. A native of Minneapolis, Daniels is the 27th winner of the award, the third one to hail from Minnesota, and the first Ivy League recipient since Sarah Vaillancourt (Harvard) in 2008.

A 5-foot-5 forward, Daniel led the Big Red in scoring this season with career highs of 21 goals and 38 assists for 59 points in 34 games overall, which placed her sixth among the top scorers in the nation. She began the 2023-24 campaign on a 14-game point-scoring streak, and ultimately posted 20 multiple-point outings on the year. 

Daniel also helped Cornell to a 25-8-1 overall record (17-5-0 ECAC Hockey), the Ivy League championship, and an NCAA tournament berth. Cornell's captain this season, she was also named Ivy League Player of the Year, and was a unanimous All-Ivy First Team selection. In four years in Ithaca, Daniel recorded 51-107—158 points in 125 appearances, and also tallied 11 power-play goals and four shorthanded goals in her collegiate career.

The award is named for former Princeton University hockey standout Patty Kazmaier, who passed away in 1990 at the age of 28 from a rare blood disorder.

2024 NCAA Men's Hockey Bracket Revealed

The bracket for the 2024 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship was announced last night. The 16-team tournament gets underway this weekend at four regional sites.

Providence, R.I. (March 29 and 31)

1. Boston College
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
16. Michigan Tech

Maryland Heights, Mo. (March 29 and 31)
4. Michigan State
6. North Dakota
10. Michigan
13. Western Michigan

Sioux Falls, S.D. (March 28 and 30)
2. Boston University
7. Minnesota
11. Omaha
15. RIT

Springfield, MA. (March 28 and 30)
3. Denver
5. Maine
12. Cornell
14. Massachusetts

(Numbers indicate overall seed)

The top seed in each regional will play the lowest seed in the regional semifinals, with the middle seeds in each regional playing each other. The semifinal winners will meet in the regional final two days later. The four regional winners will advance to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., on April 11, with the winners of those two contests to meet for the national title on April 13. The television schedule for all games can be found here.

Quinnipiac is the defending national champion, having bested Minnesota in the title game last year in overtime in Tampa. Boston University and Michigan also made last year's Frozen Four, while Cornell, Michigan Tech, North Dakota and Western Michigan all qualified for last year's tournament. 

Boston College is the top seed in this year's  tournament, and is making its first appearance in the NCAAs since 2021.  Michigan State is appearing in the nationals for the first time since 2012, as is Maine. Massachusetts won the NCAA title in 2021, while Denver did so in 2022.

Maryland Heights is hosting a regional for the first time, although the venue only seats 2,500 spectators.

OSU Wins 2024 NCAA Women's Hockey Title

Joy Dunne's goal with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation was all Ohio State needed in a 1-0 victory today over Wisconsin in the 2024 NCAA Division I women's hockey national title game at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. The Buckeyes avenged last year's loss to the Badgers by the same score in the national championship game, along with a 6-3 loss to Wisconsin on March 9 in the 2004 WCHA championship contest.

Boston College transfers Hanna Bilka and Cayla Barnes assisted on the goal by Barnes, the WCHA Rookie of the Year, her 24th score of the 2023-24 season. Raygan Kirk stopped all 26 shots she faced for Ohio State (35-4-0 overall), while Ava McNaughton made 27 stops for Wisconsin (35-6-0). 

It was the second national title in three years for OSU, both under head coach Nadine Muzerall. The Buckeyes also defeated Minnesota-Duluth and Clarkson University in the NCAAs this month, before winning their rematch on Sunday against the Badgers.

OSU outshot Wisconsin, 28-26, on the afternoon, while also winning 34 of 63 faceoffs. There were no penalties called, and no power plays in the game. Next year's NCAA Frozen Four will be held at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, where the Buckeyes will look to make the national semifinals for the fifth straight season.

Conference Championships Conclude Tonight

It's the last night of conference championships in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

One automatic bid to this year's NCAA tournament has already been awarded, and the rest of the field of 16 will be decided tonight, with the official bracket to be announced live tomorrow night (ESPNU, 6:30 p.m. ET).

Atlantic Hockey: American International @ RIT

Big Ten: Michigan @ Michigan State

CCHA: Michigan Tech (defeated Bemidji State, 2-1)

ECAC Hockey: Cornell vs. St. Lawrence (Lake Placid, NY)

Hockey East: Boston College vs. Boston University (Boston, MA)

NCHC: Omaha vs. Denver (St. Paul, Minn.)

The 2024 NCAA Division I women's hockey title will be decided in Durham, N.H. tomorrow afternoon (ESPN, 4 p.m. ET), when Ohio State takes on WCHA rival and defending national champion Wisconsin in a rematch of last year's national championship contest.

ADDENDUM: RIT, Michigan State, Cornell, Boston College and Denver all won their respective league tournaments and earned automatic berths to the NCAAs. 

Sean Tallaire 1973-2024

The hockey world is mourning the loss of former college star Sean Tallaire (Lake Superior State), who recently passed away in Texas at the age of 50.

A native of Steinbach, Man., Tallaire skated for LSSU from 1992 to 1996, and still ranks fourth among all-time Lakers with 207 career points on 103 goals and 104 assists in 171 games played. A member of the CCHA All-Rookie Team in 1993 when he helped the Lakers to the NCAA championship game, he guided LSSU to the national title the following season while earning NCAA Most Valuable Player honors. As a senior in 1995-96, he scored 32 goals, garnered All-CCHA First-Team and NCAA All-America accolades, and was also voted LSSU's MVP. He was inducted into the LSSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.

After college, Tallaire went on to play 14 seasons of professional hockey, including five campaigns in the now-defunct IHL where he tallied 113-128—241 points in 376 regular-season appearances with Grand Rapids, Cleveland, Long Beach, Utah and Kansas City. He also had brief stints with Central Texas (WPHL) and Springfield (AHL) during that time, before finishing his career in Germany. In 425 career DEL regular-season outings, he posted 123-155—278 points in all before retiring following the 2009-10 season. 

Originally selected in the eighth round (202nd overall) by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Tallaire starred with Estevan (SJHL) for two seasons before heading to LSSU. Following his retirement as an active player, he coached with the Soo Indians 18U AAA, the Texas Jr. Stars 14U AA, and the Austin Ice Bats (NA3HL), while also serving as a scout with the NAHL's Northeast Generals.

Tallaire was predeceased by his former LSSU teammate, goaltender Blaine Lacher, who backstopped the Lakers to the 1994 NCAA title and passed away in January at the age of 53.

2024 Hobey Baker Finalists Announced

The 10 finalists for the 2024 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey have been announced:

F Jackson Blake, So., North Dakota (21-36—57)

F Macklin Celebrini, Fr., Boston University (30-25—55)

F Jack Devine, Jr., Denver (27-27—54)

F Cutter Gauthier, So., Boston College (32-20—52)

F Collin Graf, Jr., Quinnipiac (22-26—48)

D Lane Hutson, So., Boston University (12-32—44)

G Kyle McLellan, Sr., Wisconsin (24-11-1, 1.92, .931, 7 ShO)

F Liam McLinskey, Jr., Holy Cross (19-28—47)

F Sam Morton, Gr., Minnesota State (24-10—34) 

F Will Smith, Fr., Boston College (18-40—54)

(Statistics listed are goals-assists-points for D/F; and season record, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for G)

This year's winner will be announced at the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn, on April 12. Last year's winner was freshman forward Adam Fantilli (Michigan), who is now with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.

Bergeron Out at Miami After Five Seasons

Miami University is the latest NCAA Division I men's hockey school that is on the lookout for a new head coach.

The RedHawks have parted ways with alumnus Chris Bergeron after five years at the helm in Oxford, Ohio. In that time, he compiled an overall record of 35-116-16, with no more than eight wins in any single season, and no playoff victories. Miami completed the 2023-24 campaign at 7-26-3 overall (1-26-2 NCHC), and was winless in its last 16 outings (0-15-1). The RedHawks, who have not enjoyed a winning season since 2014-15 when they won the NCHC and last made the NCAA tournament, were swept at North Dakota in an NCHC first-round playoff series last weekend.

Bergeron fashioned a record of 171-154-44 as head coach at Bowling Green from 2010 to 2019, including five consecutive 20-win seasons in his final five years there, plus a pair of appearances in the WCHA championship game. He led the Falcons to their first NCAA Tournament in 29 years in 2019, where they fell to defending NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth, 2-1, in overtime in a regional final in Allentown, Pa.

Bergeron, 53, from Wallaceburg, Ont., skated for Miami as a forward from 1989 to 1993. He tallied 48 goals and 72 assists for 120 points in his collegiate career, and then led Miami in scoring as a senior with 21-40—61 points that season, as the then-Redskins won their first-ever CCHA title and made the NCAAs for the first time in program history. He then played professionally from 1993 to 2000 in several leagues, including a stint with the Canadian National Team, before joining Miami as an assistant coach in 2000-01, where he remained until taking the head job at BGSU.

Miami is now expected to conduct a national search for Bergeron's successor.

Princeton Parts Ways with Fogarty

Ron Fogarty's tenure as head coach of the Princeton University men's hockey team has come to a close after 10 years. It was announced today by athletic director John Mack that Fogarty will not return behind the bench at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink next season. 

Fogarty fashioned a 90-169-27 overall record as head coach of the Tigers since the 2014-15 campaign (the 2020-21 Ivy League season was canceled by COVID-19). In 2018, he led the Tigers to the Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hockey postseason champions, and also Princeton's first NCAA tournament berth since 2009. This season, Princeton went 10-16-4 overall, and finished ninth in ECAC Hockey with an 8-11-3 mark. The Tigers fell at Harvard, 1-0, in the first round of the 2024 ECAC championship on March 8 in what was Fogarty's final game. 

Prior to his time at Princeton, Fogarty built the NCAA Division III program at Adrian College in Michigan from scratch, beginning in 2007-08. The Bulldogs went 167-23-10 in seven seasons under Fogarty and earned four NCAA Division III tournament berths, including a national runner-up finish in 2011. He also led Adrian to six Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season championships, and five MCHA playoff titles.

A native of Sarnia, Ont., Fogarty, 52, played four seasons (1991-1995) as a forward at Colgate University, where he scored 51 goals and added 90 assists for 141 points for the Raiders, while making the All-ECAC Rookie team as a freshman. After playing professionally for several years, he went on to become an assistant coach at Clarkson University and Bowling Green before taking the reins at Adrian.

Fogarty's combined NCAA head coaching record with the Tigers and Bulldogs stands at 257-192-37. Princeton is now expected to conduct a national search for his successor.

2024 NCAA Women's D-I Championship Underway

The 2024 NCAA Division I women's hockey championship is underway. The field of 11 teams has been reduced to eight schools following three games on Thursday, including a pair of shutouts.

Sixth-seeded Cornell routed No. 11 Stonehill, 7-1, in Hamilton, N.Y., as Izzy Daniel scored one goal for the Big Red and set up three others. No. 7 St. Lawrence blanked No. 10 Penn State, 1-0, in Madison, Wis., as Kristina Bahl scored the only goal of the game in overtime, and Emma-Sofie Nordström stopped all 36 shots she faced for the Saints. Lastly, No. 8 Minnesota-Duluth outlasted No. 9 UConn, 1-0, in Columbus, Ohio, as Mannon McMahon connected in OT and Ève Gascon turned away 33 shots for the Bulldogs.

The tournament continues on Saturday as Cornell takes on No. 3 Colgate, St. Lawrence faces No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 4 Clarkson faces off with No. 5 Minnesota, and UMD squares off with top-seeded Ohio State. The four winners will advance to the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four in Durham, N.H. on March 22, with the national title game slated for March 24. Wisconsin is the defending national champion, having bested 2023 NCAA champion OSU last year in Duluth.

ADDENDUM: The 2024 Frozen Four is set. Ohio State will take on Clarkson in the early game on March 22 at 4 p.m. ET, while Wisconsin will face Colgate at 7:30 p.m. ET. Both contests will be televised live on ESPN+. The national final will be held two days later, at 4 p.m. ET, and will be shown live on ESPNU. 

Moves Made in NCAA Hockey Coaching Ranks

It's been a whirlwind few weeks regarding head coaches in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.

Adam Nightingale, a former Spartan skater himself, has had his contract extended after Michigan State won the Big Ten regular-season title, the first such title in program history. According to msuspartans.com, Nightingale's five-year rollover contract includes a non-performance related compensation of $700,000 in the first year, with a a base salary of $600K and supplemental compensation of $100K. Beginning in year two, his supplemental compensation will increase by $25K from the previous year. MSU (22-9-3 overall, 16-6-2 B1G) will entertain Ohio State on Saturday in a Big Ten tournament semifinal contest.

Steve Wiedler has been promoted to head coach at Vermont, after serving as interim coach this season. A former Southern Maine defenseman, he has received a four-year contract (financial terms were not disclosed). A former UVM assistant, he succeeded Todd Woodcroft, who was let go last summer following a university investigation regarding inappropriate conduct. The Catamounts (13-18-3, 7-14-3 HE) play at UConn tonight in a Hockey East tournament first-round elimination game.

Lindenwood has let Rick Zombo go after two seasons as an NCAA Division I independent.  A former national champion at North Dakota, and a 13-year NHL defenseman, Zombo had mentored Lindenwood's ACHA club program since 2010-11, before the Lions entered the NCAA ranks in 2022-23. He also coached the St. Louis franchises in both the NAHL and USHL before joining Lindenwood. 

Bowling Green has parted ways with alumnus Ty Eigner after five seasons. He led the Falcons to an 84-83-11 mark in that span, with their last winning campaign coming in 2020-21. BGSU finished 13-12-1 overall (11-12-1 CCHA) this year, and was eliminated by Michigan Tech in the first round of the CCHA tournament.

Lastly, David Borges is retiring from Stonehill College after 10 seasons at the helm. A UMass Lowell graduate, he compiled a 102-141-24 record overall with the Skyhawks, including the past two seasons as a Division I independent. He also led Stonehill to two Northeast-10 regular-season titles and one league tournament championship in his tenure.

NCAA Players Moved at 2024 NHL Deadline

A number of former NCAA players changed places last week before the NHL trading deadline last Friday. Some of the more notable transactions (since Feb. 28):

Cole Brady, G (UMass) *            Calgary to Dallas

Devin Cooley, G (Denver) *         Buffalo to San Jose

Brandon Duhaime, F (Providence)    Minnesota to Colorado

Jake Guentzel, F (Omaha)           Pittsburgh to Carolina

Noah Hanifin, D (Boston College)   Calgary to Vegas

Erik Johnson, D (Minnesota)        Buffalo to Philadelphia

Ben Meyers, F (Minnesota)          Colorado to Anaheim

Casey Mittelstadt, F (Minnesota)   Buffalo to Colorado

Kyle Okposo, F (Minnesota)         Buffalo to Florida

Andrew Peeke, D (Notre Dame)       Columbus to Boston

Jack Roslovic, F (Miami)           Columbus to NY Rangers

Chad Ruhwedel, D (UMass Lowell)    Pittsburgh to NY Rangers

Chris Tanev, D (RIT)               Calgary to Dallas

Sean Walker, D (Bowling Green)     Philadelphia to Colorado

Cade Webber, D (Boston Univ.)*     Carolina to Toronto

Jason Zucker, F (Denver)           Arizona to Nashville

* Has not played in NHL yet

Princeton Falls in First Round Playoff

Princeton's 2023-24 men's hockey season came to a close tonight with a 1-0 loss at Harvard in the first round of the ECAC Hockey championship. Ian Moore's first-period goal stood up as the game-winner for the Crimson (7-17-6 overall), who got 38 saves in net from Aku Koskenvuo. 

Arthur Smith made 16 saves for the Tigers (10-16-4), who outshot Harvard, 38-17, but were shut out for the first time this season. It was the final career collegiate game for Princeton's senior class, including Mike Kennedy, Nick Carabin, Mackenzie Merriman, team captain Ian Murphy, Nick Seitz, Adam Robbins, and Joe Berg.

Harvard advances to next week's ECAC Hockey quarterfinals, as does St. Lawrence, which defeated visiting Yale by a 4-2 count behind 37 saves from goaltender Ben Kraws. The winner of the ECAC Hockey championship will receive the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

SLU Claims Last Home ECAC Playoff Spot

The final home playoff spot in this season's ECAC Hockey championship's first round went to St. Lawrence University. 

Despite falling to Quinnipiac in the regular-season finale last Saturday, the Saints locked up eighth place in the league standings with a 4-4 tie at Princeton the night before. The extra point earned from winning the subsequent shootout solidified SLU's place in the conference standings, and also earned it the final home playoff spot in the first round this upcoming weekend. 

Ben Kraws stopped a season-high 46 shots through regulation and overtime at Princeton, then turned aside all five shots he faced in the shootout. Felikss Gavars scored twice for the Saints (10-18-6 overall, 8-10-4 ECAC Hockey), including a second-period penalty shot goal, while Jan Lasak tallied the only goal in the shootout, scoring in the fifth round. 

David Jacobs scored twice for Princeton (10-15-4, 8-11-3), and also set up the game-tying goal late in the third period by Kai Daniels. Ethan Pearson finished with 18 saves for the Tigers in relief of starter Arthur Smith (10 saves). Princeton also outshot SLU, 50-32. 

The Saints will now host Yale in a single-elimination contest on Friday, while the Tigers will visit Harvard that same night. The ultimate winner of the ECAC Hockey championship wins the Whitelaw Cup, and also garners the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

BC Clinches 2024 Hockey East Title

Boston College is once more the Hockey East regular-season champion. The top-ranked Eagles outlasted New Hampshire, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon to clinch their first conference title since 2021, and 18th overall since Hockey East began play in 1984-85. Eamon Powell scored the only goal of the game midway through the third period at BC's Conte Forum, while Jacob Fowler stopped 27 shots in posting his second shutout this season for the Eagles (27-5-1 overall).

BC, which finishes its regular season on March 9 at Merrimack, is seven points ahead of second-place Boston University, which has two games remaining. The Eagles, who will receive a first-round bye in the Hockey East postseason tournament, also remain the top team in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the NCAA tournament selection process.

Also clinching regular-season Division I men's hockey conference crowns this weekend were Bemidji State (CCHA), Michigan State (Big Ten) and North Dakota (NCHC). Quinnipiac claimed the ECAC Hockey title the previous weekend, while RIT earned the Atlantic Hockey championship.

MSU Wins First-Ever Big Ten Title

Freshman goaltender Trey Augustine made 44 saves, and Reed Lebster notched the game-winning goal with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation, as Michigan State clinched its first-ever Big Ten conference regular-season title with a 5-2 victory last night at Wisconsin.

Lebster finished with a goal and two assists for the sixth-ranked Spartans (22-8-3 overall, 16-5-2 Big Ten), who also got a goal and an assist apiece from Tiernan Shoudy and Artyom Levshunov. Jeremy Davidson tallied twice for MSU, including one of two empty-netters in the final three minutes of play. David Silye set up two goals for the host Badgers (24-9-2, 15-7-1), who also got 21 stops in net from Kyle McClellan. No. 4 Wisconsin also outshot MSU, 46-26, and won 47 of 71 faceoffs on the night.

MSU claimed its first conference regular-season title since 2001 in the original CCHA, when the late, legendary Ron Mason was at the helm as head coach. The Spartans also advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four that season. With Friday's MSU victory, all seven current Big Ten schools (except Michigan) have won a regular-season championship since the conference began play in 2013.

The first-place Spartans and second-place Badgers meet again tonight at the Kohl Center in Madison to close out the series and the regular season. Wisconsin will host seventh-place Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals next weekend, while MSU will have a bye next week before hosting a semifinal the following week at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing.