Penn State, Denver Make 2025 Frozen Four

Penn State is off to its first-ever NCAA Division I Frozen Four, while defending national champion Denver is going back.

In Allentown, Matt DiMarsico scored with just over two minutes remaining in overtime to lift Penn State to a 3-2 victory over UConn at the PPL Center. In Manchester, Zev Buium tallied a goal and an assist as Denver held off Boston College, 3-1, at SNHU Arena.

Both teams advance to the Frozen Four in St, Louis on April 10. Denver will take on NCHC opponent Western Michigan in one semifinal, while Penn State will meet Boston University in the other. The semifinal winners will face off two days later for the national title.

Third Day of 2025 NCAA Men's Regionals Done

The third day of the 2025 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey regionals are complete, and two spots have been secured for the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis in two weeks' time.

At the Toledo, Ohio regional, Quinn Hutson's overtime goal propelled Boston University to a 3-2 win over Cornell. The Terriers (23-13-2 overall) are now headed to their third consecutive Frozen Four, and 25th all-time. The loss by the Big Red (19-11-6) also ended the career of longtime Cornell head coach Mike Schafer, who finishes with an overall record of 561-300-117.

At the Fargo, N.D. regional, Western Michigan outlasted Massachusetts, 2-1, on an early third-period power-play goal by Tim Washe, and 28 saves overall from Hampton Slukynsky. The Broncos (32-7-1) are now headed to the first Frozen Four in program history, while UMass (21-14-5) was seeking its first Frozen Four since the Minutemen won their first-ever national championship in 2021.

The last two regionals conclude on Sunday, with UConn facing Penn State in Allentown, Pa., and Boston College taking on Denver in Manchester, N.H. 

Second Day of 2025 NCAAs in the Books

The 2025 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship continued on Saturday, with the Allentown and Manchester Regionals getting underway.

At the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., Connecticut made the most of its first-ever Division I national tournament appearance to rout Quinnipiac, 4-1, getting goals from four different players and 21 saves from freshman goaltender Callum Tung. In the nightcap, host Penn State ousted top-seeded Maine by a 5-1 count thanks to two goals from Matt DiMarsico and three assists by Charlie Cerrato. UConn will now face Penn State in the regional final on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

At SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H., number-one overall seed Boston College survived Bentley, 3-1, on a late wraparound goal by freshman forward James Hagens. In the second game, defending national champion Denver got three points apiece from Zeev Buim and Carter King in eliminating Providence, 5-1. BC and DU will meet on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2) in a rematch of last year's national title game.

Two tickets to this year's NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis will be punched today, when Cornell meets Boston University in the Toledo regional final (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU), and Massachusetts meets Western Michigan in the Fargo regional final (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

First Day of 2005 NCAA Tournament Finished

The 2025 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship got underway on Thursday in Toledo, Ohio and Fargo, N.D.

In the tournament opener in Toledo, Boston University broke a three-all tie with five third-period goals, as the Terriers topped Ohio State, 8-3. Cole Hutson scored one goal and set up three others for the Terriers, who advanced to the regional final at the Huntington Center against Ivy League opponent Cornell. The Big Red ousted Big Ten champion Michigan State, 4-3, on a power-play goal by Sullivan Mack with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, and will now face BU on Saturday. 

In Fargo, Western Michigan outlasted Minnesota State, 2-1, in double overtime on a goal by Grant Slukinsky to make their regional final. In the nightcap at SCHEELS Arena, Aydar Suniev's second goal of the game less than five minutes into OT lifted UMass to a 5-4 comeback win over Minnesota and a spot in Saturday's Fargo final.

The Manchester, N.H. and Allentown, Pa. regionals get underway today.

 

BC's Leonard Wins 2025 Walter Brown Award

Boston College sophomore forward Ryan Leonard has been named the 2025 recipient of the Walter Brown Award as the top American-born player in New England Division men's college hockey.

In 35 games so far this season, the Amherst, Mass. native has scored a nation-high 29 goals to go with 18 assists, and is ninth overall with 47 points. In two NCAA seasons with the Eagles, Leonard, a 2023 first-round NHL draft choice of the Washington Capitals, has notched 60-47—107 points in 76 outings. According to BCEagles.com, he is the 25th player to win the Walter Brown Award all-time.

BC, the 2024-25 Hockey East regular-season champion, opens the NCAA tournament on Friday at 2 p.m. ET (ESPNU) against Bentley.

2025 Baker, Richter Award Finalists Announced

The top 10 finalists for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey were announced last week.

• Zeev Buium, So., D, Denver
• Jack Devine, Sr., F, Denver
• Aiden Fink, So., F, Penn State
• Mac Gadowsky, SO., D, Army West Point
• Isaac Howard, Jr., F, Michigan State
• Ryan Leonard, So., F, Boston College
• Ayrton Martino, Sr., F, Clarkson
• Liam McLinskey, Sr., F, Holy Cross
• Jimmy Snuggerud, Jr, F, Minnesota
• Alex Tracy. Jr., G, Minnesota State

Also announced were the four finalists for the 2025 Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

• Trey Augustine, So., G, Michigan State
• Albin Boija, So., G, Maine
• Jacob Fowler, So., G, Boston College
• Alex Tracy. Jr., G, Minnesota State

(All players listed by last name along with class, position and school)

The winners for both awards will be announced on April 11 at the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis.

Berry Out as North Dakota Head Coach

Brad Berry is out after 10 seasons as men's hockey head coach at the University of North Dakota.

Berry, 59, from Bashaw, Alberta, had guided the Fighting Hawks since 2015-16, the same season in which he led UND to its most recent NCAA title. In a decade in charge at his alma mater, he fashioned a 227-119-35 overall record (.642) that included five NCHC regular-season championships and five NCAA tournament berths, along with seven seasons of 20 or more wins. He had one year remaining on his contract.

A former UND defenseman from 1983 to 1986, Berry went on to play in 241 NHL regular-season games with the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota North Stars and Dallas Stars, and also skated for Moncton (AHL) and Kalamazoo/Michigan (IHL) before getting into coaching, where served as an assistant coach with Manitoba (AHL) and the Columbus Blue Jackets, and as an amateur scout with the Vancouver Canucks. He spent two separate stints as an assistant at UND, the first from 2000 to 2006 and the second from 2012 to 2015. 

The Fighting Hawks finished 21-15-2 overall this year, and were eliminated by eventual champion Western Michigan in the semifinal round of the NCHC Final Five.

ADDENDUM: UND has hired alumnus Dane Jackson to succeed Berry as head coach. Jackson, 54, from Castlegar, B.C., has served as an assistant/associate coach with the Fighting Hawks since 2006. He skated for UND from 1988 to 1992, recording 59 goals and 44 assists for 103 points to go with 249 penalty minutes, before embarking on an 11-year pro playing career in the AHL and NHL. He then spent three seasons coaching in the minor leagues before returning to his alma mater.

2025 NCAA Men's D-I Hockey Tournament Set

The field is set for the 2025 NCAA Division Men's Ice Hockey championship, which begins this Thursday.

As has been the case since 2003, 16 teams are grouped into four regionals of four schools each, beginning with two regional semifinal games (1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3), and then the semifinal winners meeting two days later in the regional final contests. The top four seeds overall in order are Boston College, Michigan State, Western Michigan and Maine.

Allentown, PA Regional (PPL Center)

1. Maine (24-7-6) * 

2. UConn (22-11-4)

3. Quinnipiac (24-11-2) 

4. Penn State (20-13-4) #

Fargo, ND Regional (SCHEELS Arena)

1. Western Michigan (30-7-1) *

2. Minnesota (25-10-4)

3. Massachusetts (20-13-5) 

4. Minnesota State (27-8-3) *

Manchester, NH Regional (SNHU Arena)

1. Boston College (26-7-2)

2. Providence (21-10-5)

3. Denver (29-11-1)

4. Bentley (23-14-2) *

Toledo, OH Regional (Huntington Center)

1. Michigan State (26-6-4) *

2. Boston University (21-13-2) 

3. Ohio State (24-13-2)

4. Cornell (18-10-6) *

Team overall records in ( )

* Conference tournament champion (receives automatic NCAA bid)

# Regional host school

The full bracket with dates, times, and TV coverage can be found here.

Denver is the defending NCAA champion, while Bentley and UConn are in both the championship for the first time ever.

The four regional champions will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals in St. Louis on April 10. The national championship game will be contested on April 12.

Badgers Win 2025 Women's Hockey NCAA Title

Kirsten Simms scored on a penalty shot with 18.2 seconds remaining in regulation, then converted a rebound less than three minutes into overtime to lift top-ranked Wisconsin to a 4-3 victory over No. 2 Ohio State in the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Hockey national championship game at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. 

It is the eighth national title all-time for the Badgers, the most-ever in women's college hockey history, and their second in three seasons. It was also the eighth national title for head coach and former NHL forward/1980 U.S. Olympic hero Mark Johnson, who now has 667 career wins, all at his alma mater.

Simms finished with two goals and an assist on the afternoon, and scored the tying goal after Wisconsin was awarded a penalty shot after an official video review determined that an OSU player had covered a loose puck in the Buckeye crease with a glove. She then put home the rebound of a Lacey Eden shot just 2:49 into the extra session to end it.

Eden recorded two assists for Wisconsin (38-1-2 overall), which overcame a 3-1 deficit early in the second period, while Laila Edwards had a goal and an assist for the Badgers, who also won both the WCHA regular-season and tournament titles. Joy Dunne, who notched the game-winning goal for OSU (29-8-1) in last year's national title game, opened today's scoring with a shorthanded goal in the first nine minutes of regulation. Amanda Thiele finished with 31 saves in net for the Buckeyes, while Ava McNaughton made 20 stops for the Badgers.

It was the third straight season that OSU and Wisconsin, the top two teams in the NCAA and WCHA, had met for the national title. Wisconsin won in 2023, and OSU in 2024, both by 1-0 scores. The Buckeyes were seeking their third NCAA title in school history. The 2026 women's Division I Frozen Four will be played at Penn State's  Pegula Ice Arena in State College, Pa.

Wisconsin's O'Brien Wins 2025 Kazmaier

The 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner as the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey is University of Wisconsin fifth-year forward Casey O’Brien.

O'Brien, a graduate student from Milton, Mass., leads the Badgers in scoring this season with 26 goals and 62 assists for 88 points in 40 games, the highest-scoring season of her five-year NCAA career. She is also the top scorer in Wisconsin hockey history, men and women, all-time with 94-175—269 points in 179 outings, and the sixth Badger to win the Kazmaier Award, the first since 2017. 

O'Brien's Wisconsin teammates, Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey, were the other two finalists this year for the award, which is named for the late Princeton University star and all Ivy League honoree from the 1980s. 

Wisconsin (37-1-2 overall) will now face WCHA rival Ohio State (29-7-3) on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU) in the national title game for the third straight year.

OSU, Wisconsin to Meet Again for NCAA Women's Hockey Title

For the third year in a row, the NCAA Division I women's ice hockey national title game will pit Ohio State against Wisconsin.

Defending national champion and second-ranked OSU advanced to Sunday's title game (3 p.m., ET, ESPNU) with a 4-2 win over Cornell today in the first NCAA semifinal at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Joy Dunne scored the only two goals of the third period for the Buckeyes, who also got a goal and two assists from Makenna Webster. 

No. 1 Wisconsin (37-1-2 overall) punched its ticket to Sunday with a 6-2 victory over host Minnesota in tonight's nightcap. Laila Edwards scored three goals for the Badgers, while Caroline Harvey tallied one goal and set up three others. Both Edwards and Harvey, along with teammate Casey O'Brien, are finalists for the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the nation's top women's player, with the winner to be announced tomorrow (NHL Network, 12:30 p.m. ET).

OSU (29-7-3) advanced to this year's Frozen Four by routing St. Lawrence in the quarterfinal round, while Wisconsin bested Clarkson. The Badgers also won this year's WCHA tournament, while the Buckeyes were eliminated by Minnesota in the conference semifinals. Wisconsin won this year's head-to-head WCHA regular-season series with OSU with two wins, one loss and one tie (shootout win by OSU).

The Buckeyes beat the Badgers in last year's national title game in Durham, N.H, while Wisconsin edged OSU in the 2023 championship in Duluth, Minn., with both games decided by 1-0 scores. OSU is seeking its third national title ever, and third in four years, while Wisconsin is vying for a record eighth NCAA crown overall, and fourth in the last six seasons.

Jackson, Riley Coach Final Games

A pair of longtime men's college hockey coaching careers came to an end over the weekend.

Jeff Jackson coached his final game in Notre Dame's 1-0 loss at Michigan State on Saturday in the Big Ten semifinal round. An MSU graduate, Jackson finished his storied career with an overall record of 601-343-99. He coached at Lake Superior State from 1990 to 1996, winning two NCAA championships with the Lakers, and then helmed the Irish from 2005 to 2025, guiding UND to four Frozen Fours and two NCAA title games. He was also won a pair of Spencer Penrose Awards as NCAA coach of the year.

Brian Riley concluded his career that same night as Army West Point fell, 3-1, at Holy Cross in the deciding contest of their Atlantic Hockey America best-of-three quarterfinal series. A Brown graduate, Riley finished 258-379-94 in overseeing Army from 2005 to 2025, winning the 2008 Atlantic Hockey regular-season title. His retirement ends a 75-year tenure of Riley head coaches behind the Black Knights bench.

Hockey St. Patrick's Day 2025

 

Fontaine, OSU Advance to Big Ten Title Game

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine shot Ohio State University into the 2025 Big Ten championship game.

The Rhode Island native scored just under 15 minutes into overtime last night at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio to lift third-seeded OSU to a 4-3 victory over visiting fifth-seeded Penn State University. The Buckeyes will now face defending champion Michigan State next Saturday night for at Munn Arena for the league crown and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Top-seeded MSU outlasted seventh-seeded Notre Dame, 1-0, in East Lansing, Mich. yesterday,

Fontaine opened the scoring in Columbus on a first-period deflection, and the two teams then traded goals over the next 40 minutes, with Penn State's Matt DiMarsico connecting with just under six minutes remaining in regulation to force the extra session. Logan Terness made 31 saves in net for tenth-ranked OSU (24-12-2 overall), while Arsenii Sergeev finished with 38 stops for No. 11 Penn State (20-13-4), which lost for the only the second time since Feb. 1. 

Fontaine, who spent the first four years of his college career at Northeastern, now leads OSU with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points through 38 games. He kept OSU's season alive in the Big Ten quarterfinals by scoring the game-tying goal late in Game Two against Wisconsin, after the Badgers had won the first game, and the Buckeyes went on to win the series in three games. In 169 career NCAA outings, he now has 48-88—136 points overall, including 13 power-play goals and eight game-winners.

Even without the automatic conference bid, both OSU and Penn State are likely to qualify for the 16-team NCAAs according to the Pairwise Rankings.

Gorman Earns ECAC Hockey, All-Ivy Accolades

Princeton University junior forward Brendan Gorman has earned ECAC Hockey Third Team accolades for the 2024-25 season. He also garnered All-Ivy First Team honors.

A 6-foot-1, 172-pound  center from Arlington, Mass., Gorman led Princeton in scoring this past season with 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 30 games, setting new personal highs in goals and points. In three seasons with the Tigers, he has collected 24-45—69 points through 90 career outings, including six game-winning goals and five power-play tallies. Gorman, 22, is the third member of his family to play for the Princeton men's hockey team, following older brother Liam (2019-23) and father Sean (1987-91).

Princeton went 12-15-3 overall in NCAA play and finished eighth in ECAC Hockey this season with a 7-12-3 mark, while also going 3-5-2 in the Ivy League. The Tigers concluded their 2024-25 campaign, their first under new head coach Ben Syer, with a first-round 3-2 ECAC Hockey tournament loss at Ivy League rival Brown on March 7.

NCAA Hockey Coaching Ranks Changing

The head coaching carousel has begin spinning in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.

Longtime Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels oversaw the final game of his long career with the Bulldogs' 4-1 loss at St. Thomas in the first round of the CCHA tournament. Daniels, a Michigan State graduate, began coaching FSU in 1992-93 and amassed a 510-625-117 record with the Bulldogs. Included among those numbers were six years with 20 or more victories, three CCHA regular-season championship, one CCHA tournament title, and four NCAA tournament appearances, including a national runner-up finish in 2012.

Rensselaer recently relived Dave Smith of his duties after eight years at the helm of the Engineers, as he compiled an 87-152-19 mark overall. An Ohio State graduate, Smith and his 2019-20 RPI team went 17-15-2 overall and sat fifth in ECAC Hockey at 13-8-1 before the remainder of that season was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. He had previously manned Canisius from 2005 to 2017, taking the Golden Griffins to the 2013 NCAA tournament while also earning one Atlantic Hockey regular-season title and one tournament championship. His career record stands at 259-375-78.

American International's Eric Lang saw his NCAA Division I tenure at his alma mater end with Sunday's 4-3 loss at Holy Cross in the second round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament. The Yellowjackets are reclassifying to Division II beginning next season. In nine years, Lang led AIC to an overall mark of 168-148-33, plus four Atlantic Hockey regular-season championships, three tournament titles and three national tournament appearances, including an upset of No. 1 St. Cloud in the 2019 NCAAs.

Mercyhurst's Rick Gotkin, who has guided the Lakers since 1988-89, has announced that he will retire following the 2025-26 season. The only coach to take a school to the NCAA tournament at the Division I, II and III levels, Gotkin, who played collegiately at Brockport, has fashioned a 611-551-111 record through 37 seasons so far. His ledger includes four MAAC/Atlantic Hockey regular-season titles, three conference tournament crowns, and six NCAA tournament berths overall, plus 11 seasons with 20 wins or more.

NCAA Players Making Mark in NHL Play

Former NCAA players have been making their mark in the NHL recently following Friday's trade deadline.

Joel Farabee (Boston University) scored the only goal of the game Saturday night to lift Calgary to a 1-0 win over visiting Montreal. Charlie Coyle (Boston University) assisted on the game-winning goal that same evening in his first appearance with Colorado, as the host Avalanche defeated Toronto, 7-4, while Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) fired home the game-winner in overtime as host Ottawa downed the New York Rangers, 4-3. Cole Koepke (Minnesota-Duluth), a 2019 NCAA champion, tallied twice in Boston's 4-0 win at Tampa Bay, while Zach Hyman (Michigan) did the same for Edmonton in a 5-4 victory over visiting Dallas. 

Adam Fantilli (Michigan), the 2022 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner, notched his second career NHL hat trick tonight as visiting Columbus routed the Rangers, 7-3. Chris Kreider (Boston College) tallied a shorthanded goal for the home team, while Jonathan Quick (Massachusetts) made 20 stops in goal for the Rangers. Drew Helleson (Boston College) notched the game-winner as Anaheim upended the visiting New York Islanders, 4-1.

Lastly, defenseman Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) of the St. Louis Blues will be sidelined until mid-April with a knee injury. He has a career-high 15 goals to go with 20 assists for 35 points in 62 outings so far this season.

NCAA Alums on Move at 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

A number of former NCAA players were on the move before Friday's NHL trading deadline, as listed by last name (per Sportsnet.ca and hockeydb.com), for transactions occurring since March 1:

Player, Position (School) New Team Old Team

Brendan Brisson, F (Michigan) NY Rangers Vegas

Dennis Cholowski, D (St. Cloud) New Jersey NY Islanders

Charlie Coyle, F (Boston University) Colorado Boston

Vincent Desharnais, D (Providence) San Jose Pittsburgh

Brian Dumoulin, D (Boston College) New Jersey Anaheim

Michael Eyssimont, F (St. Cloud) Seattle Tampa Bay

Trent Frederic, F (Wisconsin) New Jersey      Edmonton

Dennis Gilbert, D (Notre Dame) Ottawa Buffalo

Patrick Giles, F (Boston College) San Jose Florida

Jonathan Gruden, F (Miami) New Jersey Pittsburgh

Mark Jankowski, F (Providence) Carolina Nashville

Erik Johnson, D (Minnesota) Colorado Philadelphia

Spencer Knight, G (Boston College) Chicago Florida

Luke Kunin, F (Wisconsin) Columbus San Jose

Ryan Lindgren, D (Minnesota) Colorado NY Rangers

Tyler Madden, F (Northeastern) Minnesota Los Angeles

Marc McLaughlin, F (Boston College) New Jersey Boston

Casey Mittelstadt, F (Minnesota) Boston Colorado

Brock Nelson, F (North Dakota) Colorado NY Islanders

Josh Norris, F (Michigan) Ottawa Buffalo

Thomas Novak, F (Minnesota) Pittsburgh Nashville

Gustav Nyquist, F (Maine) Minnesota Nashville

Craig Smith, F (Wisconsin) Detroit Chicago

Reilly Smith, F (Miami) Vegas NY Rangers

Carson Soucy, D (Minnesota-Duluth) NY Rangers Vancouver

Nico Sturm, F (Clarkson) Florida San Jose

Brandon Tanev, F (Providence) Winnipeg Seattle

Jimmy Vesey, F (Harvard) Colorado NY Rangers

Jake Walman, D (Providence) Edmonton San Jose

Princeton Falls to Brown in ECAC First Round

Princeton University's 2024-25 men's hockey season has come to a close. The Tigers fell, 3-2, at Ivy League rival Brown University tonight in the first round of the 2025 ECAC Hockey championship to finish their first campaign under new head coach Ben Syer.

Princeton took a 1-0 lead in the first period at Meehan Auditorium on a goal by Jayden Sisson, before Ryan St. Louis tied it in the second stanza for the Bears. Two goals by Brown's Tyler Kopff in the third period, the second one an empty-netter, spelled the difference, while Princeton's Kevin Anderson closed out the scoring in the final seconds of regulation with an extra-attacker tally. 

Ethan Pearson made 22 saves in his final appearance for the Tigers, while Lawton Zachler finished with 20 stops for the Bears. Brown outshot Princeton, 25-22, and also won 28 of 54 total faceoffs on the night. Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play. 

Brown (14-13-3 overall, 9-11-2 ECACH) moves on to face third-seeded Colgate in the best-of-three second round of the ECACs next weekend, while Princeton (12-15-3, 7-12-3) will return to NCAA action at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink in the fall for the 2025-26 season.

BC's Dumoulin Dealt to Devils

Two-time Stanley Cup champion and native New Englander Brian Dumoulin (Boston College) is headed back east.

The veteran NHL defenseman from Biddeford, Maine was acquired by the New Jersey Devils today from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for prospect Herman Traff and a conditional second-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Ducks will also retain 50 percent of Dumoulin's salary for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.

Dumoulin, 33, tallied two goals and 14 assists for 16 points in 61 games with Anaheim this season, after skating last winter with the Seattle Kraken. He spent the previous eight years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning Stanley Cup titles with them in 2016 and 2017. In 687 career regular-season NHL outings, he has tallied 27-144—171 points, to go along with 4-21—25 points in 81 career Stanley Cup Playoff outings.

The first Maine native to have his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup, the 6-foot-4, 214-pound Dumoulin was drafted 51st overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2009 before later having his rights dealt to Pittsburgh. After playing junior hockey with the EJHL's New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, he spent three seasons with Boston College, recording 11-71—82 points in 123 appearances with BC and earning two All-America selections while helping the Eagles to NCAA championships in 2010 and 2012.

WMU Wins NCHC Regular Season Title

Western Michigan won its first-ever regular season conference title last weekend, claiming the Spencer Penrose Cup as 2024-25 National Collegiate Hockey Conference champion following a win and an overtime loss at North Dakota. 

A charter member of the NCHC in 2013, it was the first-ever conference crown for the Broncos since they won the 2012 Central Collegiate Hockey Association title, after first winning the CCHA championship in 1986. WMU is four points ahead of second-place Arizona State, which has completed its regular season, in the current NCHC standings.

The fourth-ranked Broncos (24-7-1 overall, 17-4-1 NCHC), who began NCAA Division I play in 1975-76 after two years at Division II, close out their regular season this weekend at Miami, and are a lock to make their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament.

Penn State Edges Minnesota in OT

Simon Mack scored on a wrist shot just over three minutes into overtime to lift host Penn State to a 4-3 win over Minnesota in Big Ten action last night before 6,577 on-lookers in University Park, Pa. The No. 15 Nittany Lions also stretched their unbeaten streak, which dates back to Feb. 7, to seven games.

Brodie Ziemer had two assists for Minnesota (23-8-4 overall, 14-6-3 Big Ten), which fought back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to force the OT. Former Penn State netminder Liam Souliere made 28 saves for the Golden Gophers, who fell one point behind Michigan State in the race for the top spot in the Big Ten.

Aiden Fink and Jimmy Dowd, Jr. set up two goals apiece for the Nittany Lions (18-11-4, 9-10-4), who also got 31 stops from Arsenii Sergeev. It was also the 400th career collegiate victory for Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky, the only coach the program has known since it joined the NCAA Division I ranks in 2013. The two schools will close out the 2024-25 regular season tonight in a rematch at Pegula Ice Arena.

ADDENDUM: Behind two goals from Matthew Wood and 30 saves from Souliere, Minnesota defeated Penn State, 5-3, in the rematch on Saturday to claim a share of the Big Ten regular-season crown. Michigan State still earned the first seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament, while Minnesota will host seventh-seeded Notre Dame and fifth-seeded Penn State will visit fourth-seeded Michigan in the best-of-three quarterfinals next weekend.