Well, consistent with the first half of the season, the second half is already off to a flying start that included some terrific holiday tournaments, great non-conference action and ranked opponents wasting no time in getting re-acquainted on the ice.
Here’s this week’s wrap-up of the many tournaments and other exciting matchups that took place over the New Year’s holiday weekend:
Boston Landing Invitational
Host school Nichols played Potsdam in the opening round while Connecticut College faced off with Southern New Hampshire in the tournament played at Warrior Ice Arena. With a 3-1 win over the Bears, Nichols would face Conn College for the title on Sunday as the Camels downed the Penmen, 6-4.
In the title game, the Bison started fast with goals from Jeremy Tremblay and Christian Holden to take a 2-0 lead and then rode the stellar goaltending of first-year Ryan Henry who stopped 45 of 36 shots to help the bison to the title with a 5-1 win. Luca Ricci finished with a goal and two assists to pace the offense while Henry earned tournament MVP honors with his exceptional play.
Codfish Bowl
The oldest continuously played tournament at the D-II/III level (this year was the 60th edition) is hosted by Massachusetts-Boston and the Beacons found a way to take the tournament title that has frequently eluded them in the past.
The Beacons opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over MCLA led by two goals from forward Chris Repmann. With Worcester State’s comfortable 6-2 win over Western New England, the championship matchup was set for Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers started fast with a goal from Cam Quigley in the first fifteen seconds of play but Repmann provided the equalizer for a 1-1 score after the first period. The Beacons blew the game open in the second period scoring three times to take a 4-1 lead and Jude Kurtas provided the final goal into an empty-net, his second of the game for the 5-1 final score and seventh Codfish title for the Beacons. Repmann earned tournament MVP honors with his three goals in two games.
Lobster Pot
The first ever Lobster Pot (long overdue) featured all four Maine D-III schools and did not disappoint with great action in all four games. Bowdoin defeated Southern Maine in their opener by a 5-0 score with sophomore netminder Jacob Osborne earning the 23-save shutout. UNE downed Colby, 5-1, to set up the title game between the Polar Bears and the Nor’easters on Saturday.
In the title game, each team rallied from a one-goal deficit to send the game to the third period tied at 2-2. Bowdoin took control in the final period scoring four times to skate off with the inaugural trophy in a solid 6-2 win over UNE. Jake Minella and Gabe Shipper scored in the opening four minutes of the final period to give the Polar Bears a lead they would extend with late empty-net goals from Michael Dinges and Justin Wright. Osborne stopped 31 shots in the win and earned the tournament MVP honors.
Northfield Bank Tournament
The host Norwich Cadets saw their tournament winning dreams ended in dramatic fashion in their opening round contest with Nazareth. Boyd Stahlbaum scored a pair of power play goals for the Cadets including the game-tying goal in the final thirty seconds of regulation only to see Charles Ross stun the crowd with an overtime goal in the first thirty seconds of bonus hockey for a 3-2 win. Cortland downed Misericordia, 3-1, to earn their spot in the title game.
The championship game did not disappoint as both teams took advantage of penalties to exchange goals on the power play in a see-saw affair. Blake Frost gave the Golden Flyers a 3-2 lead early in the third period but like the game previous, Nazareth surrendered a goal in the final minute by Nathan Garnier to send the game to overtime. Logan Tobias wasted no time with his game-winning goal just ten seconds after puck drop to give Nazareth the 4-3 win and tournament title.
Oswego State Classic
Oswego, like Norwich, found their first-round opponent to be a tough out as Williams skated the Lakers to a 5-5 overtime tie before winning a shootout, 2-1 to advance to the championship game. The Ephs had built a 5-3 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation only to see the Lakers score two power play/extra attacker goals from Niklas Miller and Connor Gatto in a 37 second span to tie the score at 5-5 and send the game to overtime where neither team could find the game-winner.
Babson took advantage of four-point games from Ian Driscoll and Jimmy Fallon in an 8-4 win over Elmira to set up the title game against Williams.
The Beavers and Ephs had faced each other back in late November with Babson taking a 4-2 win on home ice. In this neutral site affair, the outcome was the same as a three-goal third period helped Babson to the tournament title. Driscoll earned MVP honors while teammates, Nate Mueller, Charlie Andrioli and Jimmy Fallon joined him on the All-tournament team.
Plattsburgh Holiday Classic
Amherst and Suffolk played a terrific opening round game in the Holiday Tournament hosted by Plattsburgh. Both teams enjoyed one-goal advantages but finished regulation tied at 2-2. Midway through overtime, the Mammoth found the game winner off the stick of Caden Olenczak for a 3-2 win over the determined Rams.
The host Cardinals downed the Wesleyan Cardinals scoring once in each period and backstopped by 22 saves from goaltender Brady Spry in a 3-1 win to set up the title game matchup.
The championship game saw goals in abundance on special teams as both teams took advantage of power plays in the opening forty minutes for a 2-2 score entering the final period. While forward Josh Burke scored the first two extra-man goals for the Mammoth, it was his assist that set up John Small with the game-winner early in the third period on the power play for a 3-2 win.
Tampa College Hockey Invitational
The three-team round robin tournament featured Geneseo, Salve Regina, and Tufts in the warmer Florida climate where the hockey was naturally hotly contested.
On New Year’s Day, the Seahawks downed the Jumbos 5-2 led by two goals apiece from Jack Arizo and Cody Plaza.
On Friday, the Seahawks faced the Knights and rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead with three consecutive goals in the opening seven and half minutes of the third period. Sterling Wolters responded for Geneseo with the game-tying and game-winning goals as Geneseo survived with a 4-3 win.
On Saturday, the Knights looked to close out the tournament title against a Tufts squad with other ideas. Entering the third period with a 3-1 lead, the Jumbos fought back with goals from Liam O’Hare and Eli Pilosof to tie the score at 3-3. Pilosof’s goal in the final 30 seconds of regulation set the table for Ethan Ullrick who scored the game-winner in the final minute of overtime for a 4-3 win over the Knights.
Spartans and Bulldogs open second half with non-conference series
Like the schedule in the NCHA isn’t already tough enough, Adrian and Aurora opened the second half of their seasons with a home-and-home series that saw the Spartans take a series sweep over the Bulldogs.
On Friday, Jakson Kirk paced the Spartan attack with a pair of goals as the visitors extended a 2-1 advantage with two goals in the third period to take a 4-1 win.
On Saturday, Juliano Santalucia’s second goal of the game into an empty net provided the final margin in a hard fought 4-2 win over the Bulldogs. Goaltender matt O’Donnell stopped 33 Bulldog shots to earn the win.
It’s not how you start the season…
This weekend saw two pre-season favorites continue their recovery from 0-4 starts on the season.
Utica has won eight of their last nine games and extended their current win streak to three games with wins over Neumann and SUNY-Canton over the weekend. On Saturday, goals from Eric Vitale, Andrew Della Rovere and Stepan Kuznetsov broke open a 1-1 tie to give the Pioneers a 4-1 win over the Knights. On Sunday, the Kangaroos struck first with a first minute goal by Evan Pringle before Utica scored five unanswered on the way to a 5-1 win.
Trinity extended their win streak to six games with wins over Albertus Magnus and Western Connecticut State over the weekend. Saturday saw the Bantams respond with four goals in the first period after falling behind to the Falcons early as Will Diamond’s two goals helped pace a 5-1 home win. On Sunday, the Bantams repeated the four-goal first period on the way to an 8-0 win. Ryan Panico scored two goals and goaltender Jack Fialkoff made 17 saves to earn the shutout win.
Johnnies sweep Thunder to open second half
St John’s from the MIAC played host to Trine from the NCHA over the weekend and took the series sweep in two close games. On Friday, the Johnnies rallied from a 2-1 deficit with two goals from Lyke Logan in the second period that held up in a 3-2 win.
On Saturday, the game scenario was almost identical as the home team saw Logan knot the score at 2-2 in the second period before Naeve Cashen scored late for a 3-2 lead. Borst Jackson added a goal late in the third period for the 4-2 final and weekend sweep. Goaltender Jon Howe was stellar in both games as the senior finished the weekend with 86 saves in the two games to backstop the victories.
And then there was one…
Hobart wasted no time getting back to business as the Statesmen took down Middlebury by a 7-0 score on Saturday. Conor Lally, Adam Ondris and Josh Doolan each scored two goals while goaltender Damon Beaver earned the 17-save shutout to keep Hobart unbeaten at 12-0-0 on the season.
The other unbeaten, Hamilton saw their first regulation loss of the season as the Continentals fell to Curry in a battle of ranked opponents. Killian Rowlee scored twice for the Colonels who skated to a 3-0 advantage and held on for a 4-2 win at home. Goaltender Cam Smith stopped 35 shots including 17 in the final period to earn the win for Curry.
USCHO Game Pucks (overtime thrillers)
Logan Tobias – Nazareth – needed just ten seconds to net the overtime and tournament championship winning goal for Nazareth in a 4-3 win over Cortland in the Northfield savings Bank Tournament hosted by Norwich.
Ethan Ullrick – Tufts – netted the game-winner in overtime as the Jumbos rallied to tie Geneseo in the final minute of regulation before Ullrick’s game-winner with less than a minute remaining in overtime for a 4-3 win over the Knights in the Tampa College Hockey Invitational.
Everest Schneider – Western New England – gave the Golden Bears a consolation game victory over MCLA with his overtime goal in the Codfish Bowl that produced a 3-2 comeback victory.
Well, here we are in 2026, and the race is on in earnest for conference titles and a spot in the NCAA tournament. There has been no lacking of entertaining hockey everywhere you look so get ready for a crazy ride to the finish line.