Well, wasn’t that some playoff-style hockey to finish out the regular season! Everyone had to be scoreboard watching and calibrated on what the tiebreaker formulas looked like with shootout points, head-to-head and regulation wins coming into play across the conferences. There was great drama in the NE-10 playoffs where St. Anselm had to rally back from two goals down to win in overtime after tying the game with a 5-on-3 shorthanded tally late in the third period against Assumption. All this drama points to some very interesting playoff matchups that begin across the region on Wednesday. But before we go there, here is the recap of the wild finishes over the weekend in the east:
CNE
The CNE wrapped up their regular season on Friday night setting the stage for the conference tournament that will begin on Wednesday with the quarter final round.
Regular season champions Curry extended their win streak to fourteen games with a 3-1 decision over Johnson & Wales. Ryan Prewitt scored two goals and Shane Soderwall made twenty-one saves as Curry finished the regular season schedule at 22-3-0.
The University of New England closed out their conference schedule with a 3-0 road win over Wentworth. The Nor’easters were led by Drew Olivieri who recorded a goal and an assist while Stefan Carney earned the shutout making thirteen saves against the Leopards.
Endicott concluded their regular season schedule with an 8-1 rout of Western New England led by two goals from Domenic Garozzo. Michael Casey, Primo Self, and John Goldowski each chipped in with a goal and an assist for the Gulls win on home ice.
Suffolk and Nichols closed out the CNE schedule as a playoff teaser with the game ending in a 1-1 overtime tie and the Rams winning the shootout 2-1. CJ Hapward was stellar in goal for Suffolk stopping twenty-five of twenty-six Bison attempts on goal.
With the regular season complete Western New England and Johnson & Wales are eliminated from the playoffs. On Wednesday, No. 6 Wentworth will visit No. 3 Endicott and No. 5 Nichols will face No. 4 Suffolk in the quarterfinal round of the CNE tournament. On Saturday, the lowest remaining seed will travel to face No. 1 Curry and the remaining winner will travel to Maine to face UNE in the semifinals. The conference championship will be played at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 8.
Independent
Keene State closed out its season with a two-game series against Misericordia. On Friday, the Owls secured a 3-2 win with Jack Unger scoring the game-winning goal just thirty-eight seconds after Jack Tos had toed the score at 2-2 with a power play goal for the Cougars. Ben Skelton was sharp in the Owls net making thirty-four saves including eighteen in the final period. On Saturday, the last game of the season for both first-year clubs saw the Owls skate off with a 5-2 win to finish the season with a 13-10-1 record. A three-goal first period paced the visitors to a quick lead to help close their maiden season with a six -game win streak.
MAC
The MAC playoff slate was determined based on Friday’s games with Alvernia joining Wilkes, Stevenson, and Neumann in the tournament bracket. The Golden Wolves will travel to face No. 1 Wilkes on Saturday in one semifinal while No. 2 Stevenson will host Neumann in the second semifinal. The winners will play in the first MAC championship game on Saturday, March 8, where the winner receives and auto-bid to the NCAA tournament.
Alvernia took a 7-0 win over Lebanon Valley on Friday to clinch their playoff position. Vincent Servizzi scored two goals, and Patrick Del Vecchio scored a goal and setup two more in the runaway win over the Flying Dutchmen. Goaltender Jacob Stern stopped thirty-four shots, including seventeen in the third period to pick-up the shutout.
Stevenson closed out their MAC slate with a 2-1 win over Arcadia. Connor MacDonnell and Evan Beers provided the offense and goaltender Ford DeLoss finished with thirty-four saves, losing his shutout bis in the final minute of regulation on a goal from Cody Mastay for the Knights.
After Friday’s 3-3 overtime tie with King’s (King’s win shootout) where the Monarchs rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits inn the third period to earn the tie, Neumann closed out their regular season with a Saturday game against Lebanon Valley. The Knights finished the regular season with an offensive flourish in a 9-3 win over the Flying Dutchmen. Matt Dimaline paced the Knights’ attack with two goals and two assists.
With the top four teams clinched into the MAC playoff bracket, Arcadia, King’s, Lebanon Valley, and Misericordia ended their 2024-25 seasons.
MASCAC
The MASCAC standings were tight entering the final week of play with lots of different scenarios including who would be atop the conference at the end of regulation play with Anna Maria and Plymouth battling head-to-head on the final day. Lots of battles for position in the new one-eight playoff format (Thanks Coach Millerick for confirming format on Saturday) and games that ultimately saw Plymouth State repeat as regular season champions for the eighth consecutive season, and their last as a member of MASCAC.
Anna Maria moved into first place with Tuesday’s overtime win over Worcester State with Pearce Baker sealing the win in the extra session. Salem State was next on the schedule for the AmCats and the Vikings having aspirations of moving up in the standings picked up a big road win on Thursday, 5-2. Landyn Greatorex figured in four of the goals, scoring a hat trick and assisting on another Viking goal. With Plymouth State’s drubbing of MCLA on Thursday, the stage was set for a winner take all regular season title with the Panthers and AmCats playing on Saturday.
The Panthers were not about to cede their streak of conference championships to Anna maria as five different players scored for the Panthers and goaltender Brandon Shantz was stellar in goal stopping all twenty-six AmCat attempts on goal in a 5-0 victory that sealed their eighth straight regular season title.
Salem State remained unbeaten in February as they closed out the regular season with a 6-4 win over Worcester State led by two goals and an assist from James Tatro and two goals from Luke Day.
Fitchburg State needed a win in their season finale against Rivier to move into fourth place – last home-ice playoff position for quarterfinal round – and eked out a 4-3 win over the Raiders. The falcons started fast with three goals in the first period but needed Marcus Macchioni’s power play goal late in the third period to hold off the Raiders and pick-up the points needed to move into fourth place. Macchioni finished with one goal and two assists.
While Framingham State and Rivier were eliminated from playoff consideration, the playoff matchups for the quarterfinals this week look like this: No. 8 MCLA travels to No. 1 Plymouth State; No. 7 Westfield State plays at No. 2 Anna Maria; No. 6 Massachusetts-Dartmouth plays No. 3 Salem State and No. 5 Worcester State will face-off against No. Fitchburg State. Quarterfinal games will be completed on Thursday this week with semifinal action on Saturday March 1 and the conference championship game at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 8.
NE-10
The quarterfinal round of the NE-10 tournament was played on Tuesday with No. 3 Southern New Hampshire hosting No. 6 Franklin Pierce and No. 3 Assumption hosting No. 5 Post.
SNHU found themselves in a dogfight despite outshooting the Ravens by a 36-20 margin. Nic Dallaire provided the only goal of the game in the second period and goaltender Collin Berke kept the Ravens off the scoresheet with a twenty save shutout in a 1-0 victory for the Penmen. The win earned SNHU a semifinal date on Saturday against No. 2 St. Michael’s.
Assumption hosted a Post team that had beaten them thee of four games in the regular season. Dean Simeone scored a power play goal in the first period that would be all the offense Thomas McLarnon would need as the senior goaltender stopped all thirty Eagles attempts on net to earn a shutout win. Daniel Lemanski and Sean Donoghue added third period tallies for the final margin in the 3-0 win. Assumption earned a semifinal date with top seed St. Anselm.
On Saturday, SNHU traveled to Vermont where Patrick Last scored two goals in a 3-1 win for the host Purple Knights. Ryland Dukes iced the contest with an empty-net goal late and Evan Plunkett stopped thirty-five Penmen shots to earn St. Michael’s a spot in the conference championship game.
In the other semifinal, Assumption took a 2-0 lead on top seed St. Anselm but goals by Garrett Alberti and Richie Colarusso, shorthanded while killing a 5-on-3 late in the third period, tied the score at 2-2 sending the contest to overtime. In the extra session, it was Colarusso who sealed the win for the Hawks less than one minute after the puck drop in a 3-2 overtime win.
St. Anselm will host St. Michael’s in the championship game next Saturday, March 1.
NEHC
Hobart had clinched the top spot in the final season of the NEHC weeks ago but would figure prominently in the battle for second place as they visited Babson who was battling Norwich for the second position. On Friday, the Statesmen took a 2-0 win over the Beavers in what was a playoff atmosphere while Skidmore downed Norwich, 5-3 setting up a final game scenario for points to keep or take second place. If goals were at a premium on Friday, Saturday’s game at Babson saw outstanding goaltending by Mavrick Goyer for Hobart and Nate Mueller for Babson in a 0-0 OT tie. The one point for Babson meant Norwich needed a win against Skidmore on Saturday to jump over Babson in the standings. The Cadets led 3-0 before Skidmore mounted a comeback and cutting the deficit to 3-2 in the third period. Holden Daggett’s empty-net goal gave the Cadets breathing room in a 4-2 win that vaulted them into second place.
With Albertus Magnus splitting their two-game series with New England College over the weekend, Elmira needed a sweep of VSU-Castleton to move ahead of the Falcons into seventh place in the standings. Friday saw the Soaring Eagles rout the Spartans, 8-1 but Saturday’s finale was a dogfight that needed overtime to decide a winner. The Soaring Eagles held a 3-1 lead entering the third period but goals from Aiden Roben and Zach Papapetros tied the score at 3-3 requiring overtime. “Big Goal Bailey” Krawczyk netted the overtime winner to give Elmira the sweep and move into seventh place over Albertus Magnus.
With Massachusetts-Boston, VCU-Castleton, and Southern Maine all missing qualification for the conference tournament, the quarterfinal matchups look like this for Saturday, March 1: No. 8 Albertus Magnus travels to No. 1 Hobart; No. 7 Elmira plays at No. 2 Norwich; No. 6 New England College will play at No. 3 Babson and No. 5 Salve Regina will face-off against No. 4 Skidmore. The semifinal round and championship game will be held at the highest remaining seed on March 8-9.
NESCAC
Hamilton and Trinity had entered the weekend with the two top seed positions all but guaranteed but after those two positions the hunt for playoff positions three through eight were wide open among the remaining teams.
Amherst made a big move picking up six points with wins over Middlebury and Williams to guarantee the continued streak for Coach Jack Arena whose teams have not missed the conference tournament. On Friday, the Mammoth trailed 3-2 before scoring five unanswered goals in the third period for a 7-3 win over the Panthers. Ben Kuzma and Vincent Velocci each scored two goals while Josh Burke recorded four points with a goal and three assists. In Saturday’s season finale against the Ephs, Amherst continued to find goals with a 5-2 win.
Conn College moved from ninth into a playoff position with a win over Bowdoin on Friday and an overtime tie (with shootout win) over Colby on Saturday. Quinn Kennedy scored the game-winning goal early in the third period to give the Camels a 2-1 win over Bowdoin. On Saturday, goaltender Will McEvoy was the hero stopping forty-nine of fifty-one shots, including three in the shootout that earned Conn College the extra point and secure the eighth seed in the tournament.
Middlebury rebounded from Friday’s lopsided loss to Amherst with a come from behind win over Hamilton, 4-2, to secure their position in the NESCAC tournament. Jackson Morehouse assisted on the game-tying goal before scoring the game-winning and extra margin goals for Middlebury while goaltender Andrew Heinze made forty-three saves in the win.
Tufts secured their position in the playoffs with an overtime loss to Colby on Friday and dominating win over Bowdoin on Saturday. After dropping a 3-2 overtime game to the Mules, the Jumbos rebounded with a 5-0 win over the Polar Bears led by goals from five different players, two on the power play and twenty-six saves from Gus Bylin who earned the shutout win in goal.
Trinity won handily on Friday over travel partner Wesleyan, 5-0. In Saturday’s season finale, the Bantams needed a third period rally with goals from Theodore Griffin, Ty Broad, and Ryan Panico to erase a 3-2 deficit and win 5-3.
Williams and Wesleyan have their seasons come to an end having not qualified for the NESCAC tournament. Next Saturday’s quarterfinals will see these matchups. No. 8 Conn College will travel to No. 1 Hamilton; No. 7 Middlebury will play at No. 2 Trinity; No. 6 Amherst will face No. 3 Colby and No. 5 Tufts will face-off with No. 4 Bowdoin in a re-match of Saturday’s season finale. The semifinal and championship games will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on March 8-9.
SUNYAC
The regular season title was decided on Friday night with Cortland’s win over Morrisville and all the seeding for the SUNYAC tournament confirmed.
Cortland took advantage of Domenic Settimo’s hat trick as the Red Dragons scored ten goals in a 10-2 rout of Morrisville on Friday night to clinch the regular season title. On Saturday, the Red Dragons closed out the regular season against No. 2 seed Oswego, who dispatched Canton on Friday night, 7-3 paced by Brandon Cohen’s hat trick and four-point game. The Red Dragons remained unbeaten on the road eking out a 2-1 win over the Lakers with netminder Ronan Mobley playing great with thirty-two saves against the Lakers.
Buffalo State downed Fredonia 4-3, to lock up the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Jason Kwestel scored two goals and added an assist while Vadim Kiriakov scored one goal and added two assists in the Bengals win over the Blue Devils.
Plattsburgh downed travel partner Potsdam in what was a preview of the quarterfinal playoff round coming up on Wednesday. The Cardinals broke a 1-1 tie with three unanswered goals in the final two periods to post a 4-1 win over the Bears. Vlad Pshenichnikov opened and closed the scoring for the Cardinals to pace the offense.
Wednesday’s quarterfinal games find No. 3 Buffalo State hosting No. 6 Canton and No. 4 Plattsburgh hosting a re-match with No. 5 Potsdam. The lowest seed remaining will play No. 1 Cortland in one semifinal on Saturday while the second lowest seed will travel to play No. 2 Oswego. The championship game will be held on Saturday, March 8. With the end of the regular season Fredonia and Morrisville have seen their tournament hopes come to an end.
UCHC
With all six teams eligible for the playoffs, the biggest remaining question was which of Geneseo or Utica would take the regular season title and top seed in the UCHC tournament. Utica closed out their season with Manhattanville while Geneseo faced Nazareth in the final two games on the schedule.
Utica needed a sweep of the Valiants and maybe some help from Nazareth to take the No. 1 seed and that is exactly what happened. On Friday night, the Valiants scored first but the Pioneers answered with five unanswered goals in a 5-1 win. Johnny Mulera scored twice for Utica in the win. On Saturday, it was the Pioneers who took an early 2-0 lead only to see Manhattanville answer back on goals from Lane Paddison and Nicholas Rogers for a 2-2 tie midway through the second period. Mulera provided what proved to be the game-winner on the power play with just over a minute remaining in the middle stanza and Utica held on for a 3-2 win before scoreboard watching the result from Nazareth.
Geneseo had also taken care of business on Friday night with a 9-1 rout of Nazareth in their last home game on the schedule. Peter Morgan and Cooper Fensterstock each scored a goal and added two assists in the Knights lopsided win over the Golden Flyers. On Saturday, Nazareth was the home team and playing their last regular season game for the program’s only coach George Roll which may have added some additional motivation for a win. Zach Purcell and Alex Dameski helped the Knights to a 2-1 lead in the second period, but the host erupted for four unanswered goals and added two empty-net tallies in the third to skate off with a 7-4 win over Geneseo that gave Utica the regular season title.
With the standings finalized, the UCHC playoffs look like this: No. 6 Brockport plays No. 3 Manhattanville and No. 5 Nazareth plays at No. 4 Chatham in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, February 26. On Saturday, March 1, the lowest remaining seed will travel to No. 1 Utica while the highest remaining seed will play at No. 2 Geneseo. The championship game will be played at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 8.
Three Biscuits
Landyn Greatorex – Salm State – recorded four points with two goals and two assists in the Vikings’ 5-2 win over Anna Maria on Thursday night.
Domenic Settimo – Cortland – scored a hat trick for the Red Dragons and added an assist in their lopsided 10-2 victory over Morrisville on Friday.
Richie Colarusso – St. Anselm – scored a shorthanded goal during a 5-on-3 to tie the game at 2-2 and scored the game-winner less than a minute into overtime to send the Hawks on to a 3-2 OT win.
I do not think it is just me that feels like this regular season flew by so quickly. The action has been so great, it is hard to believe that we have already arrived at the win-or-go-home portion of the season where the games mean more because there are championships on the line starting this week. It is definitely going to be an exciting couple of weeks leading up to the NCAA tournament with a lot to be decided on the ice for who will be there.
