BOSTON — For Merrimack to make history, it needed a championship performance. It got one from goalie Max Lundgren.
Clinging to a one-goal lead for almost the entirety of the third period, the junior from Angelholm, Sweden, held off a furious Connecticut attack over the final minutes to preserve a 2-1 win for Merrimack and the school’s first Hockey East championship Saturday night before a crowd of 15,759 at TD Garden.
“I was just trying to stay focused, not thinking about how many shots they had or what’s coming next,” said Lundgren, who finished with 49 saves and was named tournament MVP. “Just focus on the next shot. The guys did a great job in front of me, blocking shots, helped me with the rebounds. Such a team effort.”
The Huskies finished with a whopping 50-25 advantage in shots. UConn goalie Tyler Muszelik finished with 23 saves.
Caelan Fitzpatrick’s goal just 26 seconds into the third period broke a 1-1 tie and was all Lundgren and the Merrimack defense needed to hold off the Huskies, who were also seeking their first league tourney crown.
“We were tired, that was obvious,” said eighth-year Merrimack coach Scott Borek. “Fortunately, Max wasn’t.”
No. 8 Merrimack became the lowest seed ever to lift the Lamoriello Trophy, completing the most remarkable run in the history of the Hockey East tournament. After an opening-round win over No. 9 UMass-Lowell, Merrimack dispatched seeds No. 1 (Providence), No. 2 (Massachusetts) and No. 3 (UConn) in that order.
“To get that trophy first was probably the best thing that will ever happen to me in my life,” said Merrimack grad-student captain Mark Hillier. “I’m going to carry that with me for as long as I live. That was an unbelievable moment for me, and an unbelievable moment for this whole team.”
After a scoreless first period, the Warriors drew first blood when Ryan O’Connell scored his sixth goal of the season at 2:29 of the middle frame. The Huskies’ Ethan Whitcomb notched the equalizer at 17:22 and the teams headed to the locker rooms tied 1-1 after two.
“Disappointing result for our team, but I was proud of the way we played,” Huskies coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “This game can be a cruel game sometimes. If this was a basketball game, we probably win by 20. But it’s not. Hats off to Lundgren, I thought he was terrific all night long.”
Merrimack will head to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in school history and first since 2023. UConn will qualify for the NCAAs as an at-large selection, thanks to Dartmouth (ECAC) and Michigan (B1G) holding serve in their respective conference tournaments.
ECAC championship
Dartmouth 2, Princeton 1 (OT)
Tim Busconi scored at 11:18 of overtime to give Dartmouth its first ever ECAC tournament championship with a 2-1 win over Princeton on Saturday night in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Dartmouth (23-7-4, 17-5-4 ECAC) was playing in the ECAC championship game for the first time since 1980 and will head to the NCAA tournament as the ECAC automatic bid recipient.
Hayden Stavroff put Dartmouth ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 12:45 of the first period. Princeton got the equalizer at 8:46 of the third on a goal by Joshua Karnish.
For Dartmouth, Emmett Croteau had 25 saves. Arthur Smith of Princeton had 21 saves.
Princeton’s season is over at 18-13-3 (14-10-2 ECAC). It was the first ECAC final to go to overtime since 2022, when Harvard beat Quinnipiac 3-2.
Atlantic Hockey America championship
Bentley 3, Sacred Heart 2
For the second straight year, Bentley is the champion of Atlantic Hockey America.
Kellan Hjartarson scored the game-winner (his second of the night) at 12:47 of the third period to lift the Falcons to a 3-2 win over Sacred Heart. Bentley trailed 2-1 after two, before Hjartarson tied it at 3:12 of the third.
Bentley goalie Lukas Swedin had 24 saves, while Sacred Heart’s Ajeet Gundarah had 32.
Bentley (23-11-5, 21-4-4 AHA) automatically qualified for the NCAA tournament as the AHA champion. Sacred Heart’s season is over at 23-13-3 (19-9-3 AHA).
B1G championship
Michigan 7, Ohio State 3
A four-goal third period blew open a tied game and gave Michigan a 7-3 win over Ohio State in the championship game of the B1G tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich.
T.J. Hughes, Jayden Perron and Luca Fantilli all scored in a span of 4:24 midway through the third period, before Adam Valentini added an empty-netter in the waning minutes of the frame.
Wolverines goalie Jack Ivankovic turned away 25 shots. Ohio State’s Kristoffer Eberly had 22 saves.
For Michigan (29-7-1, 20-6-1 B1G) it was the program’s 14th conference tournament title, fourth in the current incarnation of the B1G, and first since 2023.
Ohio State, which was looking to crash the NCAA tournament as the league’s automatic qualifier, saw its season end at 14-21-2 (10-16-1 B1G).
NCHC Championship
Denver 4, Minnesota Duluth 3 (2OT)
Kristian Epperson scored at 1:54 of double overtime to life Denver to a 4-3 win over Minnesota Duluth in the championship game of the NCHC Saturday night at the Magness Center.
Denver is now the NCHC champion for the fourth time, and for the first time since 2024. Boston Buckburger, Riger Lorenz and Clarke Caswell also scored for the Pioneers (25-11-3, 21-6-1 NCHC).
There was no bubble drama in this game — both squads were assured a spot in the NCAA tournament. Denver is the NCHC’s automatic qualifier and Duluth will represent the league as an at-large selection.