There was a lot to play for this past week as final regular season games were pivotal in determining playoff qualifiers, home-ice seeding, first round byes, and for the NEHC, which teams advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament. As has been the case for the entire season, there were several surprises with an early upset tournament win, teams desperate for points putting it all on the line and tiebreakers being decisive in playoff eligibility and seeding. This all with the hope of teams extending their season another week and playing for something that has been on everyone’s to do list since last fall – win a conference championship. Here is the exciting summary for a great weekend of action in the East:
CCC
Friday night was the final game of the regular season for every team in the CCC and several contests were important in determining the matchups for this week’s quarterfinal playoff games.
UNE hosted Salve Regina needing a regulation win over the Seahawks to take advantage of the tiebreaker advantage they had over SRU and claim third place in the standings. Both teams had numerous scoring opportunities in the first period, but goaltenders Billy Girard IV for UNE and Cayden Bailey for Salve Regina kept every shot out of the net. Neither team was able to break the ice until the final minute of the second period when Dominic Murphy gave UNE a 1-0 lead. Chip Hamlett doubled the advantage early in the third period and Girard slammed the door on the conference’s best offense earning the shutout win, 2-0.
With Curry securing the top seed and closing out their regular season with a 3-1 win over Suffolk, second place Endicott played a hungry Nichols squad looking to move up in the playoff seeding. The Gulls jumped out fast with three first period goals and cruised to a 6-1 win. Jackson Sterrett scored twice, and the Gull power play connected three times to down the Bison.
Wentworth needed a win to leap-frog Nichols in the standings and did so with a 3-2 win over Western New England. The Leopards started fast and took a 2-0 lead after the first period only to see the Golden Bears rally back to tie the score on goals from Lukas Radina and Justin Sullivan. A power play goal from Josh Faussett proved to be the game winner for WIT as Jack McGovern kept WNE off the board making several key saves in the final period.
Wednesday’s quarterfinal round finds No. 1 Curry and No. 2 Endicott receiving byes while No. 6 Nichols will travel to Biddeford, ME to play No. 3 UNE and No. 5 Wentworth will face No. 4 Salve Regina.
Independents
Rivier closed out their season with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Franklin Pierce on Wednesday night. Damon Kiyawasew scored the lone goal for the Raiders while Luke Newell stopped 34 of 36 shots in the Rivier’s final game as an Independent team. The Raiders set a school record with ten wins on the season and prepare to play in the MASCAC in the 2024-25 season.
MASCAC
The final games of the regular season mattered for virtually everyone in the conference hunting for a playoff spot, better seeding or the other bye not taken by top seed Plymouth State.
Fitchburg State was battling Massachusetts-Dartmouth for second place and got some help when the Corsairs dropped a 6-2 decision to PSU on Thursday night. The Falcons eked out a 5-4 win, erasing a two-goal deficit in the final ten minutes of regulation play to secure a much-needed win over the Owls. On Saturday, a 2-0 win over Framingham State helped the Falcons stay even with UMD and take advantage of a tiebreaker to earn second place and a quarterfinal bye. Frederick Soderberg was stellar in goal stopping all thirty-five shots he faced in the shutout win.
Massachusetts-Dartmouth rallied back from Thursday’s loss to Plymouth State with a thrilling 5-4 win over the Owls led by Tyler Stewart’s hat trick to close out the regular season on Saturday. The Corsairs took advantage of three power play goals in the one-goal win.
After taking a big 5-2 win over Salem State on Thursday, Worcester State needed a win on Saturday over a resurgent MCLA team to take the final playoff position. The Lancers scored twice in each period while goaltender Jakub Kubik stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 6-1 win that earned the Lancers the sixth and final playoff position.
Thursday’s quarterfinal action finds No. 6 Worcester State facing No. 3 Massachusetts-Dartmouth while No. 5 Framingham State will play at No. 4 Westfield State. The winners advance to Saturday’s semifinal round where No. 1 Plymouth State and No. 2 Fitchburg State will play host.
NE-10
Assumption had clinched the top seed long ago in the NE-10 but their opponent on the final weekend was in a three-team battle for second place. Southern New Hampshire had much to play for and it showed on Friday night as the Penmen skated off with a 2-1 win over the Greyhounds. First period goal from Ryan Pomposelli and Kurt Watson were enough for netminder Collin Berke who stopped 32 of 33 shots in the win. Looking for a statement sweep on Saturday; the Penmen saw the Greyhounds jump to a 2-0 lead before Matt Amante cut the deficit in half. Jonathan Surrette scored early in the third period for a 3-1 Assumption win that split the weekend series.
Franklin Pierce was in the hunt for a second-place finish but suffered a 4-1 loss to St. Anselm on Friday night. On Saturday, the Ravens picked up their tenth win in league play with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Hawks. Trailing 3-2 after an early third period goal by Leonard Brochu III, the Ravens tied the game in the final two minutes of regulation off the stick of Cody Rumsey. In overtime, John Sterling needed just 25 seconds to net the game-winner.
St. Michael’s final two-game series was against Post with the Purple Knights in a position to garner the second spot with a weekend sweep of the Eagles in the changed Saturday/Sunday series (Friday game postponed). On Saturday, TJ Beaver, Case Kantgias and Brennan McFarland all scored in the first period and St. Michael’s held on for a 3-2 road win over Post. In Sunday’s season finale, the Purple Knights took advantage of two first period goals and Brennan McFarland’s tally just 26 seconds into the second period for a 3-0 lead. David Ciancio extended the advantage to 4-0 with a power play goal and St. Michael’s cruised to a comfortable 6-1 win that secured a second place and first round bye.
With the final game played on Sunday, the conference tournament shapes up like this. On Tuesday, No. 3 SNHU will host No. 6 Post and No. 4 Franklin Pierce will play their third game in the last five days against No. 5 St. Anselm. The winners will advance to the semifinal round where No. 1 Assumption and No. 2 St. Michael’s eagerly await playoff hockey.
NEHC
The NEHC began their conference tournament on Saturday with four quarterfinal games that provided a big upset and an overtime thriller.
Top seed Hobart had no difficulty with VSU-Castleton as the Statesmen broke open a scoreless game with a five-goal second period and cruised to an 8-1 win over the Spartans. Luke Aquaro scored a pair of goals and added three assists to lead the offensive charge for Hobart.
The No. 2 seed Norwich Cadets hosted a Southern Maine squad they had just defeated on the road to close out the regular season last Saturday and the result could not have been more different. The Huskies fell behind 1-0 in the first period on Nick Cordeiro’s goal for the Cadets. The score remained 1-0 until midway through the third period when Kadin Ilott tied the score for USM. Curtis Judd gave the visitors the lead with just over three minutes remaining and Jakub Suran iced the upset win with an empty-net goal for the 3-1 final score. Mason Palmer was outstanding in goal making thirty-seven saves.
No. 3 Skidmore scored the first four goals of their game with Massachusetts-Boston, including two from Danny Magnuson and skated away with a 5-1 win over the Beacons. Kevin Urquhart’s shorthanded goal and Cooper Rice’s power play tally in the second period helped break open a 1-0 contest and lead the Thoroughbreds to the quarterfinal win. Goaltender Tate Brandon made thirty saves.
The final quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 Elmira and No. 5 Babson (home ice decided on a tiebreaker) ended the night with a dramatic overtime win for the home team. Nicholas Domitrovic twice gave the Soaring Eagles one-goal advantages only to see the Beavers respond with tallies from Nolan Woudenberg and Wyatt George for a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation. In the extra session, defenseman Amadeo Mastrangeli’s shot from the point after an offensive zone face-off eluded goaltender Mason Rosado for the 3-2 win.
On Saturday, the semifinals find No. 7 Southern Maine traveling to No. 1 Hobart while No. 3 Skidmore hosts No. 4 Elmira.
NESCAC
Trinity had already secured the top seed entering the final weekend of regular season action and seemed to be in tune-up mode against travel partner Wesleyan capturing a pair of shutout wins over the Cardinals, 1-0 and 2-0. Despite outshooting the Cardinals 41-17 on Friday, Joseph Harney’s third period goal was all goaltender Devon Bobak needed in the one-goal shutout win. On Saturday, the shot differential was even bigger as the Bantams sent sixty-one shots at Cardinal goaltender Marc Smith but managed only two goals from John Campomenosi and Devan Tongue in a 2-0 win. Bobak earned another shutout making sixteen saves for the Bantams.
The rest of the action in the conference was all about playoff position and qualification with teams looking for home-ice positioning and further down the standings, a battle to extend the season into conference tournament play.
Bowdoin secured the No. 2 seed with a split of games against Tufts and Connecticut College. After Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Jumbos that secured the No. 3 seed for Tufts, the Polar Bears bounced back with a 4-1 win over the Camels. Jesse Lycan scored two goals in the win for Bowdoin.
Hamilton secured the final home-ice berth with a weekend sweep of Middlebury and Williams. On Friday, the Continentals raced to a 3-0 lead over the Panthers and held on for a 4-3 win with Alex Danis picking up a goal and an assist. Saturday provided another one-goal game as the Continentals eked out a 3-2 win over the Ephs. Danis provided what proved to be the game-winner early in the second period and helped extend Hamilton’s current win streak to three games.
The Williams loss on Saturday kept Colby in the eighth and final playoff berth as the Mules picked up some big points with a 1-0 overtime win over Conn College on Friday and a 4-4 overtime tie with Tufts on Saturday. Griffen Grise scored the only goal of the game on Friday in the overtime session while Saturday saw the Mules rally from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to earn the overtime tie.
Saturday’s quarterfinal games will see No. 8 Colby travel to No. 1 Trinity and No. 7 Middlebury will play No. 2 Bowdoin. The two other games are matchups between travel partners as No. 6 Conn College will face No. 3 Tufts and No. 5 Amherst will play No. 4 Hamilton.
SUNYAC
Entering the final weekend of the season, five of the six playoff teams were qualified with final position to be determined beyond No. 1 Geneseo and No. 4 Cortland. Three teams were in a battle for the No. 6 seed as Buffalo State, Fredonia and Potsdam all needed points from their final two games of the regular season.
Potsdam kept up its end with a pair of victories over the Bengals and Blue Devils while travel partner Plattsburgh helped the Bears out with a weekend sweep of their own. On Friday, Jack Loran scored a pair of goals, including an empty-net goal to ice a 4-2 win over Fredonia. On Saturday, Jakub Hall gave the Bears an early 2-0 lead and Loran netted the game-winner in a 4-3 victory over Buffalo State giving Potsdam the final playoff position based on tiebreakers between three teams tied on points.
Cortland had previously locked in as the No. 4 seed but sent a pre-conference tournament message to Oswego with a 2-1 overtime win on Friday to close out the regular season. John Kuhl scored the game-winner for the Red Dragons while senior goaltender Jack Riedell made forty saves in the win.
Brockport clinched the No. 5 seed with a monster third period against Morrisville where the Golden Eagles erased a 2-1 deficit with five goals on the way to a 6-3 win over the Mustangs. Andrew Harley and Chase Maxwell each recorded a goal and an assist in the win.
On Wednesday, the quarterfinal round takes place with No. 3 Plattsburgh hosting No. 6 Potsdam while No. 4 Cortland will play host to No. 5 Brockport. The winners advance to play No. 1 Geneseo and No. 2 Oswego in the SUNYAC semifinal round.
UCHC
While Utica, Stevenson and Wilkes had all clinched the top three spots in the UCHC standings, the final weekend saw five teams playing for the final three spots in the conference tournament. With Alvernia and Manhattanville locking in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, the battle was on for the remaining seeds as only Arcadia was eliminated from contention.
Chatham and Nazareth played a weekend series with both teams needing points and a split provided both teams with enough to get into the playoffs. On Friday, the Golden Flyers scored once in each period while goaltender Matt Sayles stopped all seventeen shots, he faced in a 3-0 shutout win. On Saturday, the Cougars bounced back with a 5-2 win to earn the split and lock in the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.
After dropping a 6-0 decision at Manhattanville on Friday night where goaltender Sebastien Woods picked up the shutout win, King is needed some points on the weekend to secure their spot in the post-season. On Saturday, the Monarchs rallied from a 4-2 deficit including scoring the tying goal in the final minute of regulation to send the game to overtime, 4-4. In the extra session Brendan Krawczyk added another final minute goal for the game-winner in a 5-4 victory over the Valiants moving King’s into the No. 7 playoff seed.
Neumann had picked up a big 7-1 win over Wilkes on Friday night led by Tyler Inlow’s hat trick but needed points on Saturday to jump over a Nazareth squad that held the tiebreaker over the Knights. On Saturday, the goals that came in abundance the night before dried up as goaltender Luc Fox stopped all twenty Neumann shots in a 2-0 shutout win that eliminated the Knights from the playoffs.
The final standings set up Wednesday’s quarterfinal round like this: No. 1 Utica hosts No. 8 Nazareth; No. 2 Stevenson hosts No. 7 King’s; No. 3 Wilkes plays No. 6 Chatham and No. 4 Alvernia plays No. 5 Manhattanville. The winners will be re-seeded for Saturday’s semifinal round.
Three Biscuits
John Kuhl – Cortland – netted the overtime winning goal in a 2-1 win over Oswego to close out the SUNYAC regular season on Friday night.
Billy Girard IV – University of New England – stopped all thirty-six shots he faced in the Nor’easters 2-0 win over Salve Regina to close out the CCC regular season and move UNE into third place in the standings.
Gabriel Pigeon – Lebanon Valley – stopped fifty-one shots to backstop the Flying Dutchmen to a 4-0 win over Alvernia keeping their playoff hopes alive on Friday night.
Bonus Biscuits
Griffin Grise – Colby – broke a scoreless tie with his overtime goal in the Mules 1-0 victory over Connecticut College on Friday night.
Mason Palmer – Southern Maine – stopped 37 of 38 shots as the Huskies stunned No. 2 seed Norwich in the quarterfinal round of the NEHC tournament on Saturday.
Tyler Inlow – Neumann – recorded a hat trick in the Black Knights 7-1 romp over Wilkes on Friday evening.
Straight to quarterfinal action without a lot of rest is on tap for teams that didn’t earn a bye or have all eight teams playing mid-week to sort out who advances. Will only be picking for the weekend games but check out @D3Pucks on X for early round picks and monitoring of what should be great action across the week, league and region.
