There is a ton of mid-week first-round or quarterfinal round action to take note of this final week of February. Winners won’t get to relax for long with semifinal games scheduled for the weekend. Picking GOTW slates in two phases based on early results so here is Part 1 for the mid-week excitement upcoming.
It’s officially conference playoff time everywhere across the D-II/III landscape so here are some fun matchups to watch in early round conference tournament action:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 – Thursday, February 26, 2026
CNE
Nichols v. Curry
After getting shellacked by Suffolk on Friday, the Colonels did what Peter Roundy coached teams do – they rebounded with a nice win on Saturday against the Rams. No bye this year so Curry needs to be ready to go at puck drop against a Bison team poised for the upset. Senior leadership shows the way in a hard-fought win – Curry, 3-2
Little East
Massachusetts-Boston v. Southern Maine
The initials J&J have represented confidence in medical products around the world and for Beacons coach Peter Belisle, they represent Jude {Kurtas] and Jazz [Krivtsov] who also bring reliability in performance to the ice every game along with their veteran leadership. Visitors eke it out with a special teams’ goal – UMB, 3-2
MASCAC
Worcester State v. Westfield State
The Owls might still be on a high from Saturday’s win over Fitchburg State and should not look past a very pesky Lancers squad. Home ice matters in this one as the Owls start fast and make it comfortable with an empty-net goal to seal the opening round playoff win – Westfield State, 5-3
MIAC
St. Olaf v. Bethel
These teams literally just finished their regular season matchups this past weekend so familiarity is not going to be a problem. Three games resulted in a 1-1-1 record so this one decides much more than the season series. Overtime win on Saturday was a big boost for the Oles who thrive in close games and overtimes. Add another such game to the resume as the visitors earn a semifinal berth the hard way – St. Olaf, 3-2
NE-10
Southern New Hampshire v. St. Anselm
The battle of Manchester, NH finds a pair of teams seeking to play a full sixty minutes when the stakes are at their highest. Both teams have talented rosters and the question is whose players are going to show up to make a deep playoff run for the NE-10 title? Hard to argue with the Cams (Collins and Carroll) who make things go for the home team Hawks – St. Anselm, 5-4
SUNYAC
Plattsburgh v. Skidmore
The Thoroughbreds have been very successful in playoff runs dating back to the NEHC and now make their first appearance in the SUNYAC tournament. Home ice matters to most teams but a lot more to the team that is built for success on their large ice surface. See-saw affair that sees the home team celebrate an overtime victory over the Cardinals – Skidmore, 4-3
UCHC
Albertus Magnus v. Nazareth
The Golden Flyers should be thrilled to be playing the Falcons in their barn as the recent winter driving conditions are sure to make for a long road trip for the visitors. This game is a coin-toss but a fast start by Nazareth sets the tone and a lead the Falcons cannot recover from – Nazareth, 4-3
Does not matter how you got here, just that you are playing your best when it matters the most – “Drop the Puck!”