{"id":152372,"date":"2025-03-23T09:02:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T14:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/?p=152372"},"modified":"2025-03-23T09:02:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T14:02:33","slug":"hockey-seasons-end-for-aurora-trine-and-st-norbert-in-ncaa-tourney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2025\/03\/23\/hockey-seasons-end-for-aurora-trine-and-st-norbert-in-ncaa-tourney\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey seasons end for Aurora, Trine and St. Norbert in NCAA tourney"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Aurora’s NCAA tourney run came to an end Saturday against Geneseo. (Photo Credit: Steve Woltmann\/Aurora Athletics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At one point Saturday night on its home ice, Aurora had momentum and hopes of an NCAA Division III Frozen Four trip intact.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fifth-ranked Spartans led SUNY Geneseo 3-0 late in the second period and 4-2 early in the third. And then the heartbreak unfolded.<\/span><\/p>\n

The No. 4 Ice Knights wouldn\u2019t go away and eventually tied the game. Then, with a little over four minutes to play, they took the lead and never looked back. A couple of empty-net goals in the final minutes made the 7-4 score look a little more decisive than it truly was.<\/span><\/p>\n

With that, the Spartans\u2019 special year comes to a close. It was a year where they won a program-record 24 games and played in the NCAA tournament for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was a game that seemed destined to end differently early on. Chase Broda scored with under two minutes to play in the first and Juliano Santalucia scored only 30 seconds into the second to extend the Aurora lead to 2-0.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in the period, Landry Schmuck, the team\u2019s leading goal scorer, found the back of the net for the 31st time this season to stretch Aurora\u2019s lead to 3-0.<\/span><\/p>\n

Geneseo refused to fold, pulling within one before the end of the second, but the Spartans answered four minutes into the third for a 4-2 lead thanks to a goal by Andrew Schultz.<\/span><\/p>\n

What the Spartans couldn\u2019t do, however, was hold the lead. Aurora finished with a 30-28 advantage in shots and JaCob Mucitelli made 28 saves. Santalucia also recorded an assist in addition to his goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The loss at home for Aurora was only its second of the season and the Spartans finished the year winning 14 of their final 17 games, losing only twice after the calendar flipped to 2025. Aurora ends the year at 24-5-1.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thunder nearly pull off upset of top-ranked team<\/b><\/p>\n

Forget that Trine was on the road against the No. 1 team in the country and two-time reigning champs.<\/span><\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t matter to the Thunder, who put up a fight right up until the end in a 3-2 overtime loss to Hobart Saturday night at The Cooler.<\/span><\/p>\n

Playing in its second ever NCAA tournament game, the seventh-ranked Thunder, after a scoreless first period, struck first off a goal by Logan Furstenau. Sam Antenucci pushed the lead to 2-0.<\/span><\/p>\n

That lead would hold until the third when the Statesmen scored twice to tie the game and send this showdown into overtime, where Trine\u2019s dream of playing in the Frozen Four melted away.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ronnie Petrucci was stellar in defeat, making 38 saves. The defense in front of him rose to the occasion as well, recording 16 blocks, the Thunder sticking to a defense effort that has served them well all season. Tim Organ led Trine with three blocks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even in defeat, it\u2019s been quite a year for Trine, which won a program-record 21 games. The Thunder finish the year at 21-7-2. Include in that win total is Trine\u2019s first ever NCAA tourney win as the Thunder opened the postseason with a 4-1 win over Oswego last weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Green Knights fall short of Frozen Four bid<\/b><\/p>\n

It was a matchup of two of D-III hockey\u2019s premier programs. St. Norbert facing off against Utica on the road in a showdown featuring two programs with nearly 1,100 wins between them over the course of their histories.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Aurora’s NCAA tourney run came to an end Saturday against Geneseo. (Photo Credit: Steve Woltmann\/Aurora Athletics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This game had high stakes, a trip to the national semifinals on the line, and the No. 3 Green Knights led 3-2 going to the final period.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the momentum changed. The sixth-ranked Pioneers scored three goals in the third and skated to a 5-3 win.<\/span><\/p>\n

For St. Norbert, which started the year 12-0 and ends it with 24 wins, only six losses and one tie, it was a heartbreaking ending to the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a while, it looked like things would play out differently. Brock Baker gave St. Norbert the early lead before Utica tied it. It was 1-1 at the end of one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Goals by Calvin Hanson and Carter Hottmann pushed the St. Norbert lead to 3-1 but Utica cut the lead to 3-2 going to the final period.<\/span><\/p>\n

St. Norbert was outshot 38-27 but Hunter Garvey made 33 saves. Baker tallied an assist to go along with his goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The loss to Utica was the first for the Green Knights since Jan. 25. St. Norbert came into the night on an 11-game unbeaten streak.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Green Knights will have to wait another year to make a run at the program\u2019s first national title since 2018, they did repeat as champions of the NCHA, which is quite the accomplishment considering three teams from the league made the NCAA tourney.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At one point Saturday night on its home ice, Aurora had momentum and hopes of an NCAA Division III Frozen Four trip intact. The fifth-ranked Spartans led SUNY Geneseo 3-0 late in the second period and 4-2 early in the third. And then the heartbreak unfolded. The No. 4 Ice Knights wouldn\u2019t go away and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":152374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[820],"coauthors":[821],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHockey seasons end for Aurora, Trine and St. Norbert in NCAA tourney - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At one point Saturday night on its home ice, Aurora had momentum and hopes of an NCAA Division III Frozen Four trip intact. 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