NCAA Undergraduates Jumping to NHL

A number of NCAA hockey underclassmen, with their team's 2024-25 seasons having recently coming to an end, have signed professional contracts with NHL organizations. Some of the more notable recent signings, as listed by player's last name:

Player, Class, Position (School)           NHL Team

Damien Carfagna, Jr., D, (Ohio State) #    Edmonton

Trevor Connelly, Fr., F (Providence)       Vegas

Karsen Dorwart, Jr., F (Michigan State) #  Philadelphia

Connor Kurth, Jr., F (Minnesota)           Tampa Bay

Joey Larson, Jr., F (Michigan State) #     NY Islanders

Ryan Leonard, So., F (Boston College) *    Washington

Dans Locmelis, So., F (Massachusetts)      Boston

Gabe Perreault, So., F (Boston College)    NY Rangers

Chase Pietila, So., D (Michigan Tech) #    Pittsburgh

Isak Posch, So., G (St. Cloud State) #     Colorado

Jimmy Snuggerud, Jr., F (Minnesota) *      St. Louis

Trey Taylor, Jr., F (Clarkson) #           Dallas

Callum Tung, Fr., G (Connecticut) #        NY Rangers

Matthew Wood, Jr. F (Minnesota)            Nashville

More signings can be found here. 

# Signed as free agent

* 2025 Hobey Baker Award top 10 finalist

Michigan State Downs No. 1 Minnesota

Minnesota was the No. 1 ranked team in NCAA Division men's hockey last week. It won't be this week, after suffering a 3-3 tie and a 5-3 loss to No. 3 Michigan State this weekend in a Big Ten conference series.

On Friday, Brodie Ziemer scored twice for Minnesota, including the game-tying goal in the third period, but the Golden Gophers fell in the shootout as MSU's Karsen Dorwart and Daniel Russell scored the only extra-session goals after a scoreless five-minute overttime. Trey Augustine made 40 saves in regulation for the visiting Spartans, plus two more in the shootout. 

On Saturday, MSU overcame a 3-1 deficit after 40 minutes by tallying four third-period goals, with Maxim Štrbák scoring one goal and setting up another. Isaac Howard scored twice for the Spartans (13-2-1 overall, 6-1-1 Big Ten), while Augustine made 24 stops in net. Liam Souliere had 25 stops for the Golden Gophers (15-3-2, 8-1-1), who saw a six-game unbeaten streak snapped this weekend.

The two schools will meet again on Jan. 24-25 in East Lansing, Mich.

ADDENDUM: MSU regained the top spot in this week's USCHO.com poll, garnering 31 of 50 first-place votes. 

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. 

MSU Wins 2024 Duel in the D

Karson Dorwart's late second-period goal stood up as the game-winner as Michigan State defeated rival Michigan, 3-2, on Saturday at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit to claim the annual "Duel in the D." It was the first time that MSU had won the annual regular-season meeting in the Motor City since 2016 when it was contested at the now-demolished Joe Louis Arena. 

The win, which also featured 36 saves from MSU's Trey Augustine, also clinched home ice in the Big Ten conference tournament for the ninth-ranked Spartans (20-7-3 overall), who took three of four games this regular season from No. 11 U-M (14-11-3) for the first time since 2009-10. That included Friday night's 5-1 victory in Ann Arbor in which five different Spartans scored goals.

MSU will host Ohio State for a pair of games this weekend at Munn Ice Arena, while U-M will visit Penn State.

BC Tops MSU Among Several NCAA Hockey Sweeps

It was a weekend of several two-step sweeps in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

Third-ranked Boston College broomed visiting No. 8 Michigan State by 6-4 and 5-1 scores, in the first meetings between the two storied programs since 2015. Cutter Gauthier led BC with three goals over the two games, including the game-winning power-play goal in the second contest, while Karsen Dorwart notched three goals in two games for MSU. Jacob Fowler earned both wins in goal for the Eagles, stopping 65 of 70 shots overall.

No. 14 Wisconsin stunned top-ranked Minnesota in Big Ten play, winning by 5-2 and 3-2 counts in Minneapolis. Mathieu De St. Phalle tallied two goals and an assist for the Badgers in the opener, while Ben Dexheimer set up two goals. Simon Tassy then scored two goals in the finale for Wisconsin, including the game-winner with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, while Kyle McClellan picked up the win on 29 saves. In CCHA action, Bemidji State swept visiting St. Thomas, 3-2 and 2-0, in Minnesota as Lleyton Roed had three goals for the Beavers, including the game-winner both nights, and both goals in the second game.

In other non-conference action besides BC/MSU, Notre Dame swept Mercyhurst, 4-3 (OT) and 5-0, in South Bend, Ind. Landon Slaggert scored twice for the Fighting Irish in the opener, including the game-winner in overtime, before adding another pair of goals in the rematch. Owen Say made 50 stops in each game for the visiting Lakers. 

Michigan routed visiting Lindenwood, 9-1 and 10-1, as Gavin Brindley led the way with three goals and three assists, and Dylan Duke scored one goal and set up four others for the Wolverines. Cornell upended visiting Minnesota-Duluth, 4-1 and 3-0, as Ian Shane stopped 35 of 26 shots overall for the Big Red, who also got two goals from Kyle Penney and three points (1g-2a) from Dalton Bancroft.