2020-21 Division I Hockey Thread

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From: The Western Collegiate Hockey Association

WCHA Announces 2020-21 Individual Awards
Annual accolades presented by Sterling Trophy
Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021

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BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – March 4, 2021 – Prior to having a stellar, four-team field – of which all four teams are ranked in the Top 5 nationally – convene for the 2021 Final Faceoff, the Women's League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is proud to recognize and applaud six of its standout performances from this year's competition. Below are the 2020-21 WCHA Forward, Defenseman, Goaltender, Rookie, Outstanding Student-Athlete and Coach of the Year, along with the WCHA Scoring and Goaltending Champions, presented by Sterling Trophy.

"This is a fantastic group of honorees," WCHA Commissioner Jennifer Flowers said. "I want to congratulate the recipients who are being recognized for their outstanding accomplishments on and off the ice this season. The WCHA is proud to be the home of so many incredible student-athletes and coaches and we're proud to celebrate this special group who excelled in what has been a most-unusual season this year."

WCHA Offensive Player of the Year ... Daryl Watts, Sr., Wisconsin (Toronto, Ont.) ...

WCHA Defensive Player of the Year ... Ashton Bell, Sr., Minnesota Duluth (Deloraine, Man.) ...

WCHA Goaltender of the Year ... Emma Söderberg, Jr., Minnesota Duluth (Järved, Sweden) ...

WCHA Rookie of the Year, presented ... Jamie Nelson, Fr., F, Minnesota State (Andover, Minn.) ...

WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year ... Mak Langei, Sr., D, Bemidji State (East Grand Forks, Minn.) ...

WCHA Coach of the Year ... Mark Johnson, Wisconsin ...

WCHA Scoring Champion ... Daryl Watts, Sr., Wisconsin (Toronto, Ont.) ...

WCHA Goaltending Champion ... Emma Söderberg, Jr., Minnesota Duluth (Järved, Sweden) ...


Read more including Award Winner Profiles at: WCHA Announces 2020-21 Individual Awards - Western Collegiate Hockey Association

 

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From: College Hockey News > Best Bets

March 3, 2021
Out of the Cold

Son of Two Physicians, Rookie Aslanidis Part of Western's Playoff Push

by Avash Kalra/Senior Writer

Western Michigan freshman goaltender Alex Aslanidis may be getting his feet wet now in college hockey, but at one time, the Moorestown, N.J., native simply wanted to get his hands warm.

"I started playing street hockey," Aslanidis said, of his introduction to hockey. "It's a winter sport in New Jersey, so we were playing in the cold. I found out that our coaches were offering the goalies hand warmers because no one wanted to play goalie. So I took that opportunity."

Aslanidis grew up surrounded by medicine. His mother is a dermatologist, and his father is an otolaryngologist (an "ear, nose and throat," or ENT, surgeon). Aslanidis had other plans, though — now that his hands were warm.

"I ended up really liking it," Aslanidis said, laughing. "Past that point, it wasn't about the hand warmers.

"Personally, [medicine] wasn't something I wanted to pursue, but having [my parents] around was awesome, being able to learn about my body from an athletic standpoint and also a health standpoint, with them making sure I was on top of that as well. They've done a tremendous job supporting me too. The work they put in when they were my age makes my life so much easier now and so much more comfortable." ...

Read more at: Out of the Cold

 

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Beautiful deflection on the OT winner

 

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Women's Hockey East Championship Finals tonight @ 7 p.m. Eastern, free streaming on CBS Sports Live.

Gameday info & notes from WHEA ... 2020-21 Hockey East Women's Gameday - Hockey East Association

 

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Final game of the men's Hockey East ir-regular season, BU & UMass-Lowell skate through a 3-on-3 OT period with no added goals (Boston U hitting the crossbar & a post in the process). But the Terriers win the shootout 3-2 for a 3-3 tie & the extra win point, earning them the 2nd seed in the HEA post-season tournament.

 

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Providence @ Northeastern underway. Lady Friars playing once again with just 15 skaters (8 forwards & 7 defenders),

And Northeastern senior forward Katie Cipra put the Lady Huskies up 1-0 about 5 minutes into the 1st period.

 

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End of one period, PC 0 - NU 1. Huskies controlling play in all three zones; Friars having trouble with their line changes, which isn't allowing them any sustained offensive flow.

 

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Huskies senior forward Tessa Ward shoots on goal as she crosses the Providence blueline, the puck clangs off the far post. bounces off the back of Friars' senior goaltender Sandra Abstreiter and trickles into her net. 2-0 NU about 8 minutes into the 2nd period.

 

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And Friars' junior forward Caroline Peterson gets one back on a rebound. Score now 2-1 Northeastern , coming up on the halfway mark of the 2nd period.

 

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The Lady Huskies make Providence pay for an interference penalty, with junior forward Maureen Murphy (former Friar) scoring from close in on the PP to make the score 3-1. About 6 minutes left in the 2nd.

Up to that point, PC had taken control of the offensive flow & had Huskies senior goalie Aerin Frankel looking nervous like she did the other night vs. UConn. This game is still a helluva competition.

 

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End of two periods @ Matthews Arena, Friars 1 - Huskies 3. Some physical play in the final second behind the Northeastern end red line, and each team will start the 3rd shorthanded with 2-minute minors assessed to PC's Peterson and NU's senior defender Lauren MacInnis (St. Louis girl & daughter of former NHL-er & HHOF member Al MacInnis).

 

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Just as the 4-on-4 was expiring early in the 3rd period, NU freshman forward Molly Griffin penetrated the Friars' zone and scored to give the Lady Huskies a 4-1 lead.

 

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Now 5-1 Northeastern, after junior forward Miceala Sindoris steals the puck behind the Providence net & swings around to roof the puck past Abstreiter's left ear. About 12 minutes left, and the Friars are seeing what the Huskies can bring ... and bring, and bring, and bring ...

 

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Friars senior defender Giana Savastano bats down a shot from the point by junior forward Hunter Barnett, cutting the score to 5-2 with about 6 minutes left in the 3rd.

 

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Another 4-on-4 sequence with just over 3 minutes left in the third period. Only a miracle will change the outcome on Northeastern ice.

ETA: Friars pull Abstreiter for an extra skater.

 

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NU senior defender Skylar Fontaine scores a shorty into the empty net to make it 6-2 inside of 2 minutes.

 

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And the #1 ranked Northeastern Huskies win their 4th consecutive Hockey East Championship by a final score of 6-2 over the #9 Providence Friars. 20 games in a row without a loss, 15th straight victory, the Lady Huskies hold on to the Bertagna Trophy for another season.

And Northeastern's senior goaltender Aerin Frankel is awarded the tournament MVP award.

 

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From: USCHO.com

SATURDAY ROUNDUP: Wisconsin becomes first men’s Division I team in more than 25 years to go worst-to-first, capturing Big Ten title with 2-1 win at Michigan State

By USCHO Staff - March 6, 2021

For the first time since Maine accomplished the feat in 1994-95, Wisconsin capped an improbable second half of the season, completing a worst-to-first turnaround from last season to capture the Big Ten regular-season title with a 2-1 victory over Michigan State.

With a 17-6-1 mark in league play, Wisconsin finished with a .729 winning percentage, two-thousandths of a percentage point (ahead) of Minnesota, which played two less games and finished at 16-6-0.
As a result, the Badgers will have a bye through the first-round of the Big Ten tournament and play the lowest remaining seed after quarterfinal games are complete.

Hobey Baker front-runner Cole Caufield scored both Badgers goals, in a game where Michigan State jumped to a 1-0 lead on a Charlie Combs goal and held that lead until the final second of the second period. ...

Read & See more at: https://www.uscho.com/2021/03/06/sa...big-ten-title-with-2-1-win-at-michigan-state/

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Maine Will host UNH in the HEA Tournament.... school has been given clearance to use Alfond Arena for the 1st time this season time set for 4:30

NO Spectators allowed, though on March 10th

from Dan Demeritt @ Maine Athletics

 

[CutOnDime97]

Tyrone Bronte: Huntsville's Hobey Baker nominee - EP Rinkside

Interesting read on Alabama Huntsville's Hobey Baker Nominee from Australia

 

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From: College Hockey News

March 7, 2021
Maine Will Host Playoff Game; First Time at Home This Season

CHN Staff Report

Maine, which has played all 15 of its games on the road this season, will host the first round of the Hockey East Tournament this Wednesday against New Hampshire.

In the past week, the state of Maine lifted travel restrictions that have been in place. That paved for the way for the school to consider allowing opponents into Alfond Arena for the the first time.

"The in-person determination was reached through updates to game operation plans, and ongoing interpretation and clarification of existing state guidance by university leaders in consultation with state officials," the school said in a statement.

Fans will not be allowed at the game.

Maine (3-10-2) finished ninth in Hockey East, but Merrimack's withdrawal from the tournament moved the Black Bears up to the 8th seed. New Hampshire finished 10th, but gets the 9th seed.

The entire Hockey East Tournament is single-elimination, on campus. ...

Read more at: Maine Will Host Playoff Game; First Time at Home This Season

 

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From: ECACHockey.com

Colgate Wins First ECAC Hockey Championship in Program History

Posted: Mar 07, 2021

HAMILTON – For the first time in program history, the No. 6 Colgate women's hockey team are ECAC Hockey Tournament Champions after defeating St. Lawrence 3-2 Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Raiders are 15-6-1 overall and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. ...

Read more at: Colgate Wins First ECAC Hockey Championship in Program History

 

[Island Husky]

Maine Will host UNH in the HEA Tournament.... school has been given clearance to use Alfond Arena for the 1st time this season time TBD (4:30/7 PM);

NO Spectators allowed, though on March 10th

from Dan Demeritt @ Maine Athletics

Hear! Hear!

 

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Update on UNH @ Maine as part of the HEA Tournament tomorrow:

Fox 22 Bangor has acquired the rights to telecast it tomorrow; simulcast on the CW Affiliate (WPXT 51) in Portland

 

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Trying to keep up/catch up with 2021 DI men's conference tourney plans ...

• Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament Bracket Announced (Sunday, March 14 to Tuesday, March 16, at Compton Family Ice Arena-University of Notre Dame)
• 2021 Hockey East Men's Tournament Field Set (Wednesday, March 10 to Saturday, March 20, at various locations)
• NCHC Frozen Faceoff Quarterfinal Match-Ups and Times Finalized (Friday March 12 to Tuesday, March 16, at Ralph Engelstad Arena-University of North Dakota)
• Field Is Set For 2021 WCHA Postseason (Friday, March 12 to Saturday, March 20, at various locations)
• (ETA: Finally able to access the AHA website) 2021 Atlantic Hockey Tournament (Monday, March 8 to Saturday, March 20 at various locations)
  
• (and also from CHN because the ECAC website is a mess) ECAC Tournament Bracket/Info (Thursday, March 18 to at various locations)

ETA: CHN also has a handy 2021 Tournament Watch web page, so you don't have to rely on my fading memory & my web search skills.