Trois-Rivières 2025 ECHL Champions

Exactly one week ago, the Trois-Rivières Lions finished their 2024-25 season with a title.

The Lions, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, completed a five-game triumph over the Toledo Walleye to earn their first-ever Kelly Cup as ECHL playoff kings with a 4-1 victory at home at the Colisée Vidéotron on June 7. Chris Jandric (North Dakota) tallied the game-winning goal in the deciding contest.

Trois-Rivières rebounded with four straight wins in the final, after Toledo took the opener in Ohio. The Lions, who began play in 2021-22, are the second Canadian team in league history to win the ECHL playoff title, following the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers, who did the same in 2019.

Besides Jandric, who also played for Alaska Fairbanks in his college career, other former NCAA players on this year's Lions' playoff squad included Jakov Novak (Northeastern), Cory Thomas (Canisius) and Kirby Proctor (Omaha).

2025 ECHL Kelly Cup Final Tied

Jakov Novak (Northeastern) had goal and an assist as the visiting Trois-Rivières Lions tied the 2025 ECHL Kelly Cup Final with a 5-1 win over the Toledo Walleye last night. The best-of-seven series now moves to Quebec for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Saturday.

Carter Gylander (Colgate) finished with 30 saves in the loss for Toledo, which had claimed the series opener by a 3-1 count on Saturday. Trois-Rivières is seeking its first-ever Kelly Cup as ECHL playoff champion, while Toledo won back-to-back titles in 1993 and 1994 in its former incarnation as the Storm.

Harvard and Northeastern to Meet in Beanpot Men's Final for First Time Ever

For the first time in its 70-year history, the Beanpot men's final will match Harvard against Northeastern. The Crimson and Huskies will face off next Monday at TD Garden in Boston for the title, the first time that will occur since the tournament began back in late 1952.

Harvard, ranked 10th in the national polls, punched its ticket to this year's championship game by outlasting Boston College, 4-3, in overtime in the opener on Monday. Marek Hejduk's score with just over one second remaining in the 3-on-3 extra session was the difference, after BC had fought back from a 3-1 deficit with back-to-back goals in the final five minutes of regulation. 

Hejduk finished with two goals on the afternoon for the Crimson (16-6-1 overall), as did Matthew Coronato. Mitchell Gibson notched 45 saves for the Crimson, who were outshot by a 22-2 count in the third period alone. Lukas Gustafsson posted two assists and Mitch Benson made 21 stops for the Eagles (9-11-6), who are winless in their last seven outings overall.

In the nightcap, No. 20 Northeastern jumped out to a 2-0 lead against third-ranked and defending Beanpot champion Boston University, then held on for a 3-1 victory. The Huskies (14-10-3) scored once in each period, with Jakov Novak leading the way with a goal and an assist, including the game-winning goal early in the second period. 

After Matt Brown got the Terriers (20-7-0) within a goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Hunter McDonald sealed matters with his shot into an empty BU net with 30 seconds left, the first goal of his NCAA career. Devon Levi stopped 33 shots for NU, while Drew Commesso came up with 26 stops for BU, which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped.

BC and BU will meet in the consolation game for the first time ever on Feb. 13, followed by the first-ever Crimson-Huskies tilt for the Beanpot men's title later that night. Harvard is seeking its first Beanpot crown since 2017, while the Huskies had won three straight tournaments until last year, when they fell to BU in by a goal in the final. (The 2021 edition of the event was canceled by COVID-19.)

Union Wins First-Ever National Title

The journey is complete. Union College is the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national champion for the first time in school history.

The top-ranked Dutchmen, who began competing at the NCAA Division I level in 1991, secured their first national title in their second-ever trip to the Frozen Four by besting Minnesota, 7-4, tonight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Union scored four times in the third period, including three goals in less than two minutes, and added three more scores in the third stanza to oust the top-seeded Golden Gophers, who were seeking their sixth-ever national title.

Junior defenseman and Philadelphia Flyers draft choice Shayne Gostisbehere led Union with a goal and two assists. Junior forward Max Novak redirected home what proved to be the game-winner 5:31 into the third period to put the Dutchmen ahead, 5-3, and Mat Bodie closed out his collegiate career by closing out the scoring with his fourth goal in four NCAA Tournament games, this one into an empty net with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. Justin Kloos had a goal and an assist for Minnesota, which last won an NCAA title in 2003.

Junior goaltender Colin Stevens made 36 saves for the Dutchmen, who finished the season on a 17-game unbeaten streak that dated back to Jan. 31, while sophomore netminder Adam Wilcox finished with 41 stops for the Gophers.

See you in six months for the 2014-15 NCAA season, and in Boston in 12 months for the 2015 Frozen Four.

USCHO Story Up on Union's Novak

My first piece for USCHO.com in a while is now up on the site, concerning Union College junior forward and New Jersey native Max Novak.

The Most Outstanding Player at the East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn. two weekends ago, he'll be one of the players to keep an eye on in tomorrow's NCAA Frozen Four early semifinal between the ECAC champion Dutchmen and Boston College at 5 p.m. (ESPN2) from Philadelphia.

The late semifinal game will feature former WCHA rivals Minnesota and North Dakota facing off at around 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2). The semifinal winners will then meet on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) at the Wells Fargo Center to decide the 2014 national championship.