COLLEGE HOCKEY: NOTRE DAME AT NO. 2 MICHIGAN STATE

By JOHN FINERAN

After stunning the college hockey world by eliminating then third-ranked Minnesota from the Big Ten Tournament last weekend, Notre Dame travels to East Lansing for a Saturday semifinal matchup at No. 2 Michigan State. The Spartans have swept the Irish in four games this season. Retiring Irish coach Jeff Jackson, who earned two degrees at Michigan State in the late 1970s, earned his 600^th and 601^st career collegiate victories last weekend thanks in large part to the 99-save performance of junior goaltender Owen Say and 45 blocked shots by Irish defenders. A victory Saturday will send Notre Dame into the tournament championship game at either Penn State or Ohio State on March 22 with a chance to earn the automatic NCAA tournament berth which goes to the Big Ten Tournament champion.

WHAT: Big Ten Tournament semifinal.

WHERE: Ron Mason Rink at Clarence L. “Biggie” Munn Ice Arena (6,114), East Lansing, Mich.

WHEN: Saturday at 6 p.m.

RADIO: WSBT-AM (960), WSBT-FM (96.1) and UND.com (Tyler Reidy).

TV/STREAMING: Big Ten Network (Ben Holden and Fred Pletsch).

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH: Notre Dame, which finished seventh in the Big Ten with a 4-19-1 record for 14 points, enters the semifinal with a 12-24-1 overall record after winning two of three games last weekend at No. 2-seeded Minnesota, which tied Michigan State for the regular-season title with 50 points. … Junior goaltender Owen Say faced 105 shots from the Gophers, allowing six goals (2.00 goals-against average) and making 99 saves (.943 percentage). … Sophomore center Cole Knuble, who had a goal and assist last weekend, continues to lead the team with 39 points on 12 goals and a team-high 27 assists. … Senior right wing Justin Janicke, the team captain, is right behind Knuble with a team-high 15 goals, 19 assists and 34 points. … They are followed by graduate right wing Blake Biondi (12-15-27), sophomore center Danny Nelson (13-13-26), junior defenseman Axel Kumlin (6-15-21), sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer (2-19-21), sophomore left wing Brennan Ali (7-12-19), senior center Hunter Strand (8-8-16), junior defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico (4-11-15), graduate right wing Ian Murphy (4-7-11), sophomore left wing Carter Slaggert (4-6-10) and graduate left wing Grant Silianoff (5-3-8). … Say has played in 26 games for the Irish with a 10-14-0 record, a 2.89 goals-against average and .917 saves percentage, while freshman goaltender Nicholas Kempf is 2-10-1 with a 3.74 goals-against average and .895 saves percentage. … Danny Nelson is third in the nation with 464 faceoff wins and has 339 losses for a .578 faceoff-win percentage with Strand second at 258-239 and a .519 faceoff-win percentage. … Fischer leads the team with 60 blocked shots followed by graduate defenseman Zach Plucinski 51 and sophomore defenseman Henry Nelson (40). … Janicke leads team with eight power-play goals, one more than Biondi and four more than Danny Nelson. … Janicke also has two shorthanded goals this season and Silianoff one.

NCAA team statistics: Scoring offense, 2,76 goals per game (37th); scoring defense, 3.41 goals per game (56th); scoring margin, -0.65 goals per game (48th); power-play percentage, 0.231 (25 of 108) (16th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.775 (86 of 111) (43rd); faceoff-win percentage, 0.517 (1174-1095) (19th); penalty minutes per game, 9.81 (26th).

Coach: Jeff Jackson, who owns two degrees from Michigan State, is 419-290-74 in his 20th and final season at Notre Dame with NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2008, 2011, 2017 and 2018 and eight conference titles. … His 601-342-99 overall record includes a 182-52-25 record in six seasons at Lake Superior State where his teams won national championships in 1992 and 1994 and finished runner-up in 1993. … Jackson also was the first coach and senior director of the United States National Team Development Program when it was formed in 1996, leading Team USA to the silver medal at the 1997 World Junior Championships, then the team’s best finish ever.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: Michigan State, which shared the regular-season title with Minnesota with 50 points after finishing 15-5-4 in the Big Ten, is coming off a bye week and is ranked No. 2 nationally with its 24-6-4 record. … Junior left wing Isaac Howard, a former teammate of Blake Biondi at Minnesota Duluth, leads the Spartans in scoring with 46 points thanks to team highs of 23 goals and 23 assists. … Howard is on Michigan State’s top line that includes junior-transfer (from Wisconsin) Charlie Stramel (9-16-25) and junior Dannie Russell (12-11-23). … Junior center Karsen Dorwart (11-15-26) anchors the second line with junior Joey Larson on his right (10-13-23) and sophomore Gavin O’Connell (5-6-11) on his left. … Junior Tiernan Shoudy (8-9-17) centers the third line which includes senior right wing Tanner Kelly (7-9-16) and sophomore Tommi Männistö (3-8-11). … Fourth-line freshman right wing Shane Vansaghi (6-10-16) is another forward to watch. … Junior Matt Basgall (6-19-25), sophomore Maxim Štrbák (3-15-18), senior David Gucciardi (6-8-14) and grad-transfer (from Colorado College) Nicklas Andrews (2-5-17) lead the blueline corps in front of sophomore goaltender Trey Augustine (17-6-4 record, 2.09 goals-against average, .925 saves percentage, two shutouts) and fellow sophomore Luca Di Pasquo (7-0-0 record, 1.70 goals-against average, .933 saves percentage, two shutouts). … The third-string goalie is junior Dolan Gilbert who played at South Bend Saint Joseph and is the son of David Gilbert, who played for Jeff Jackson on Lake Superior State’s 1992 NCAA title team and currently is Notre Dame’s assistant athletics director overseeing athletic facilities. … Andrews leads team in blocked shots with 48 followed by Basgall (40) and Gucciardi (35). … Shoudy (227-186, .550) and Stramel (340-334, .504) are top faceoff men. … Dorwart leads team with four power-play goals while Howard, Basgall and Larson have three each. … Stramel, Russell, Gucciardi, Männistö and Red Savage have one shorthanded goal each.

NCAA statistics: Scoring offense, 3.56 goals per game (7th); scoring defense, 2.06 goals per game (4th); scoring margin, 1.50 goals per game (4th); power-play percentage, 0.233 (20 of 86) (15th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.817 (83 of 104) (24th); faceoff-win percentage, 0.508 (1117-1083) (27th); penalty minutes per game, 10.88 (14th).

Coach: Adam Nightingale, a 2005 graduate of Michigan State, is 67-34-9 in his third season as head coach of the Spartans. … In the 2023-24 season, Michigan State won both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. … Nightingale returned to Michigan State after being head coach of the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2020-22, leading Team USA to the 2022 silver medal in the IIHF U-18 World Championship. … He was an assistant coach for the NHL Detroit Red Wings in 2019-20.

QUOTING IRISH COACH JEFF JACKSON

(Last weekend) “It was probably some of the better hockey we’ve played this year – playing the game smart, playing it simple. We weren’t going to out-skill Minnesota; it was more of doing a good job away from the puck not just defensively but offensively. I thought our guys battled and competed hard, did a lot of the little things that help you win games at this time of the year. … I just thought our guys played hard and smart.”

(From Gophers to Spartans) “We might have a little bit of a competitive advantage going in (since the Irish played last weekend and the Spartans didn’t). But that will only last about 10 minutes. I just want to make sure our guys are fresh come Saturday because it’s hard. I would hope they (his players) have a little more confidence after winning that series. We’re still the seventh-place team; we still have 20-some losses. We bought in for last weekend and we’re going to have buy in at an even higher level this week.

(Winning the dirty areas) “For us it’s about will – a willingness to win (in) the dirty areas of the ice – on the walls, at the faceoff dots, at the net fronts at both ends. It’s part of the reason why the team we’re playing (Michigan State) is where they are. They are very good at those things. They are very consistent in what they do, and they do it as well if not better than anybody else in the country. They know their game and they stick with it. They grind you; they grind you down.”

(Spartans’ depth) “The team we’re playing has some of the best depth in the country. You have to have depth; you have to have depth scoring (more than two lines) at this time of the year.”

THE RIVALRY: Michigan State leads 81-53-16 in series which began with 3-1 Notre Dame victory on Jan. 18, 1922 at the Aggie Rink in East Lansing. … The Spartans are riding a five-game winning streak which started with 4-0 victory Feb. 3, 2024 at Compton and continued with 8-3 and 4-3 victories at Munn Ice Arena Nov. 15-16 and a pair of 5-2 victories Feb. 28-March 1 at Compton. … In games played in East Lansing, the Spartans are 44-21-5. … This season recaps:

Michigan State 8, Notre Dame 3 (Nov. 15): In East Lansing, Danny Nelson scored Notre Dame’s first two goals and Michael Mastrodomenico tied the game at 3-3 at 7:58 of the second period. … But MSU’s Charlie Stramel scored 13 seconds later and the Spartans never looked back, leading 5-3 after two and then adding three goals in the third period. … Karsen Dorwart, who had two goals, and Red Savage each had three-point nights and five other teammates notched two points each. … Michigan State outshot Notre Dame 41-30, including 19-6 in the third period. … Owen Say started for Notre Dame and had 25 saves before he was relieved at 4:40 of the third period by Jack Williams, who had eight saves to finish. … Trey Augustine got the win for the Spartans, making 27 saves, 14 of them in the second period.

Michigan State 4, Notre Dame 3 (Nov. 16): Blake Biondi, who had a three-point night for the Irish, scored power-play goal at 19:38.5 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. … But the Spartans’ Matt Basgall stunned Notre Dame at 19:59.4 to give his team a 2-1 lead after the first period. … MSU’s Gavin O’Connell then scored at 1:14 of the second period for a 3-1 lead before Notre Dame’s Ian Murphy (12:52) and the Spartans’ Daniel Russell (18:02) made it 4-2 Michigan State after two periods. … The Irish got their final goal from Axel Kumlin at 18:30 with an extra attacker but couldn’t get the equalizer against Trey Augustine, who had 13 of his 28 saves in the final period. … Nicholas Kempf made 26 saves for the Irish.

Michigan State 5, Notre Dame 2 (Feb. 28): Spartans spoiled Senior Night at Compton for Irish when defenseman David Gucciardi (11:55) and Matt Basgall (14:12) gave MSU 2-0 lead after first period. … Justin Janicke answered with a power-play goal at 14:59 of the second period for the Irish, but Karsen Dorwart (18:05) put MSU up 3-1 entering the third period. … Maxim Štrbák made it 4-1 at 8:37 before Axel Kumlin of Notre Dame (9:20) and Isaac Howard of Michigan State (8:42 empty net) closed out scoring. … MSU outshot Notre Dame 38-24. … Trey Augustine made 22 saves for Spartans while Owen Say had 33 saves for Irish.

Michigan State 5, Notre Dame 2 (March 1): Spartans ruined Alumni Night and Jeff Jackson’s final night behind Compton bench by outshooting Irish 50-31. … After Shane Vansaghi (2:25) gave MSU a 1-0 first-period lead, Notre Dame’s Grant Silianoff tied it 32 seconds into the second period. … But Tiernan Shoudy (4:23) and Vansaghi (6:15) sent the Spartans into the third period with a 3-1 lead. … Justin Janicke scored a power-play goal for Notre Dame at 9:11, but Michigan State added goals by Tanner Kelly (11:57) and Shoudy (17:31, empty net) for the final score. … Nicholas Kempf made 45 saves for Notre Dame while Trey Augustine had 29 for Michigan State.

Irish against Spartans: Danny Nelson has two goals and three assists for five points in four games. … Next are Blake Biondi (1-3-4), Justin Janicke (2-1-3), Paul Fischer (0-3-3) and Cole Knuble (0-3-3). … In two games, Owen Say has allowed 11 goals and made 58 saves while Nicholas Kempf has allowed eight goals and stopped 71 other shots.

Spartans against Irish: Shane Vansaghi (3-3-6) and Nicklas Andrews (0-6-6) pace the team with Tiernan Shoudy (3-2-5), Karsen Dorwart (3-2-5), Matt Basgall (2-3-5) and Joey Larson (1-4-5). … Trey Augustine has been between the pipes for all four victories and has allowed 10 goals and made 106 saves.

LAST TIMES OUT: Michigan State was idle during the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament which began last weekend after sweeping Notre Dame in South Bend with a pair of 5-2 victories Feb. 28 and March 1 (see above). … Notre Dame won its Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal series at Minnesota two games to one and here are the recaps:

No. 7-seed Notre Dame 3, No. 2-seed Minnesota 2 (March 7): The Irish gave retiring coach Jeff Jackson the 600^thvictory of his collegiate coaching career with the stunning victory in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal opener over the Gophers who entered the game ranked No. 3 nationally. … Defensemen Axel Kumlin (1:30) and Michael Mastrodomenico (15:07) gave Fighting Irish a 2-0 lead in the first period before Matthew Wood scored a power-play goal at 19:54 for the Gophers before the intermission. … The Irish then scored 1:18 into the second period when Brennan Ali stole a puck and put it between the pads of Gophers goalie Liam Souliere, who was replaced by Nathan Airey after the goal. … Defenseman Sam Rinzel scored at 8:16 of the third period to cut the Irish lead to 3-2. … Minnesota outshot Notre Dame 32-24. … Junior Owen Say got the start for the Irish and made 30 saves in the win as Souliere (8) and Airey (13) combined for 21 for Minnesota. … The Irish also had a 15-4 edge in blocked shots led by Cole Knuble’s three.

Minnesota 4, Notre Dane 2 (March 8): The Gophers rallied to tie the best-of-three quarterfinal series by outshooting the Irish 35-23 in the game, including 26-16 in the first two periods. … Notre Dame hit four pipes in the game. … After a scoreless first period, Notre Dame’s Hunter Strand scored at 2:40 after batting home the rebound of a Jack Larrigan that went off the pipe behind Gophers goalie Nathan Airey. … Minnesota sent the game into the third period tied at 1-1 on a goal by Oliver Moore at 12:30. … The Gophers then got goals by Connor Kurth (4:16) and Matthew Wood (7:18) to take a 3-1 lead before Notre Dame’s Henry Nelson cut the lead to one with his goal at 9:42. … Minnesota then put the game away with an empty-net goal by Brodie Ziemer at 19:31. … Airey finished with 21 saves while Notre Dame goalie Owen Say made 31 saves and his teammates blocked another 17 shots with Brennan Ali and Paul Fischer having four each.

Notre Dame 4, Minnesota 1 (March 9): Irish goaltender Owen Say made 38 saves (giving him 99 in three games) and his teammates blocked 23 shots (defensemen Ryan Helliwell had six, Axel Kumlin five and Paul Fischer 4) including 10 in the final period. … All four Irish lines figured in the scoring. … Fourth-line center Jayden Davis batted a rebound past Minnesota goalie Nathan Airey at 17:25 of the first period for a 1-0 Irish lead. … Then in the second period, Airey got his pads on Blake Biondi’s stuff-in try from behind the net, but Grant Silianoff got to the rebound to score for a 2-0 Irish lead at 3:44 that stood up after two. … Matthew Wood cut the Irish lead in half at 8:07 on a Minnesota power play. … But Justin Janicke set up Cole Knuble for a backhand goal at 12:09 and Hunter Strand added an empty-net goal at 17:40 to secure coach Jeff Jackson’s 601^st victory and Notre Dame’s advancement to the semifinal round at Michigan State, the coach’s alma mater.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

Single-elimination semifinals

Saturday, March 15

No. 7-seed Notre Dame (12-24-1) at No. 1-seed Michigan State (24-6-4), 6 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

No. 5-seed Penn State (20-12-4) at No. 3-seed Ohio State (23-12-2), 8:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

Single-elimination championship

Saturday, March 22

Lowest remaining seed at Highest remaining seed, 7:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

BIG TEN HOCKEY AWARD FINALISTS

(As chosen by league coaches and a media panel; the winners will be announced Tuesday, March 18 on the Big Ten Network’s Big Ten Today)

Coach of the Year: Adam Nightingale, Michigan State; Steve Rohlik, Ohio State; Guy Gadowsky, Penn State.

Player of the Year: Isaac Howard, F, Michigan State; Jimmy Snuggerud, F, Minnesota; Aiden Fink, F, Penn State.

Defensive Player of the Year: Matt Basgall, D, Michigan State; Sam Rinzel, D, Minnesota; Simon Mack, D, Penn State.

Goaltender of the Year: Trey Augustine, Michigan State; Logan Terness, Ohio State; Arsenii Sergeev, Penn State.

Freshman of the Year: Michael Hage, F, Michigan; Charlie Cerrato, F, Penn State; Gavin Morrissey, F, Wisconsin.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

(Numbers in parentheses before school are its standings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll, this week’s USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll and its current PairWise rating)

BIG TEN

1t. (2/2/2) Michigan State 15-5-4, 50 points (24-6-4 overall, 121 GF, 70 GA)

1t. (5/4/4) Minnesota 15-6-3, 50 points (25-10-4 overall, 150 GF, 96 GA)

3. (10/10/10) Ohio State 14-9-1, 42 points (23-12-2 overall, 117 GF, 91 GA)
4. (16/15/14) Michigan 12-10-2, 36 points (18-15-3 overall, 112 GF, 118 GA)
5. (11/11/12) Penn State 9-11-4, 33 points (20-12-4 overall, 127 GF, 110 GA)
6. (rv/nr/30) Wisconsin 7-16-1, 27 points (13-21-3 overall, 108 GF, 110 GA)
7. (nr/nr/38) Notre Dame 4-19-1, 14 points (12-24-1 overall, 102 GF, 126 GA)

Saturday’s semifinal games

Notre Dame at Michigan State, 6 p.m.

Penn State at Ohio State, 8:30 p.m.

HOCKEY EAST

1. (1/1/1) Boston College 18-4-2, 55 points (26-6-2 overall, 120 GF, 58 GA)
2. (4/5/3) Maine 13-5-6, 50 points (21-7-6 overall, 107 GF, 64 GA)
3. (9/7/6) Boston University 14-8-2, 46 points (20-12-2 overall, 129 GF, 100 GA)
4. (8/9/7) Connecticut 12-8-4, 40 points (20-10-4 overall, 114 GF, 85 GA)
5. (7/8/8) Providence 11-8-5, 39 points (21-9-5 overall, 101 GF, 88 GA)
6. (14/14/11) Massachusetts 10-9-5, 37 points (19-12-5 overall, 123 GF, 87 GA)
7. (19/19/17) UMass Lowell 8-13-3, 30 points (15-15-4 overall, 89 GF, 92 GA)
8. (nr/nr/31) Merrimack 9-14-1, 28 points (13-20-1 overall, 79 GF, 109 GA)
9. (nr/nr/28) Northeastern 7-14-3, 26 points (12-19-3 overall, 79 GF, 105 GA)
10. (rv/rv/18) New Hampshire 5-14-5, 23 points (13-15-6 overall, 94 GF, 97 GA)
11. (nr/nr/32) Vermont 6-16-2, 22 points (11-20-3 overall, 99 GF, 114 GA)

Wednesday’s opening-round games

New Hampshire at UMass Lowell, 7 p.m.

Vermont at Massachusetts, 7 p.m.

Northeastern at Merrimack, 7 p.m.

Friday’s quarterfinal game

Providence at Connecticut, 7 p.m.

Saturday’s quarterfinal games

Massachusetts or Vermont at Boston University, 4:30 p.m.

UMass Lowell or New Hampshire at Maine, 6 p.m.

Merrimack or Northeastern at Boston College, 7:30 p.m.

NCHC

1. (3/3/5) Western Michigan 19-4-1, 57 points (26-7-1 overall, 134 GF, 71 GA)
2. (12/13/16) Arizona State 14-9-1, 47 points (19-13-2 overall, 124 GF, 91 GA)
3. (6/6/9) Denver 15-8-1, 45 points (26-9-1 overall, 141 GF, 75 GA)
4. (20/rv/27) Omaha 14-9-1, 44 points (18-15-1 overall, 101 GF, 93 GA)
5. (17/18/19) North Dakota 14-9-1, 42 points (19-14-2 overall, 112 GF, 103 GA)
6. (rv/nr/37) Colorado College 11-12-1, 32 points (17-16-1 overall, 98 GF, 97 GA)
7. (nr/nr/42) Minnesota Duluth 9-13-2, 30 points (13-18-3 overall, 91 GF, 107 GA)
8. (nr/nr/34) St. Cloud State 7-16-1, 23 points (14-19-1 overall, 75 GF, 98 GA)
9. (nr/nr/63) Miami 0-23-1, 4 points (3-28-3 overall, 63 GF, 143 GA)

Friday’s quarterfinal games

St. Cloud State at Western Michigan, 7 p.m.

North Dakota at Omaha, 8 p.m.

Colorado College at Denver, 9 p.m.

Minnesota Duluth at Arizona State, 10 p.m.

Saturday’s quarterfinal games

St. Cloud State at Western Michigan, 6 p.m.

North Dakota at Omaha, 8 p.m.

Colorado College at Denver, 8 p.m.

Minnesota Duluth at Arizona State, 9 p.m.

Sunday’s quarterfinal games (if necessary)

St. Cloud State at Western Michigan

North Dakota at Omaha

Colorado College at Denver

Minnesota Duluth at Arizona State

ECAC

1. (13/12/13) Quinnipiac 16-5-1, 50 points (22-10-2 overall, 124 GF, 75 GA)
2. (18/17/20) Clarkson 15-6-1, 45 points (21-10-3 overall, 109 GF, 77 GA)
3. (rv/rv/24) Colgate 13-7-2, 42 points (18-13-3 overall, 113 GF, 109 GA)
4. (rv/rv/33) Union 12-8-2, 40 points (19-12-3 overall, 108 GF, 99 GA)
5. (rv/rv/23) Dartmouth 12-9-1, 39 points (16-12-2 overall, 99 GF, 76 GA)
6. (rv/nr/22) Cornell 10-8-4, 36 points (14-10-6 overall, 93 GF, 72 GA)
7. (nr/nr/39) Harvard 9-10-3, 31 points (12-15-3 overall, 79 GF, 90 GA)
8. (nr/nr/43) Brown 9-11-2, 28 points (14-13-3 overall, 78 GF, 77 GA)
9. (nr/nr/44) Princeton 7-12-3, 25 points (12-15-3 overall, 71 GF, 86 GA)
10. (nr/nr/51) Rensselaer 7-15-0, 23 points (12-21-2 overall, 101 GF, 131 GA)
11. (nr/nr/56) Yale 5-14-3, 19 points (6-21-3 overall, 67 GF, 121 GA)
12. (nr/nr/58) St. Lawrence 5-15-2, 18 points (9-24-2 overall, 71 GF, 121 GA)

Friday’s quarterfinal games

Harvard at Clarkson, 7 p.m.

Cornell at Colgate, 7 p.m.

Brown at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.

Dartmouth at Union, 7 p.m.

Saturday’s quarterfinal games

Harvard at Clarkson, 7 p.m.

Cornell at Colgate, 7 p.m.

Brown at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.

Dartmouth at Union, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s quarterfinal games (if necessary)

Harvard at Clarkson

Cornell at Colgate

Brown at Quinnipiac

Dartmouth at Union

CCHA

1. (15/16/15) Minnesota State 18-5-3, 0.718 (25-8-3 overall, 104 GF, 54 GA)
2. (nr/nr/36) Augustana 9-5-2, 0.625 (18-13-4 overall, 97 GF, 75 GA)
3. (rv/nr/35) St. Thomas 13-9-4, 0.564 (18-13-5 overall, 106 GF, 96 GA)
4. (nr/nr/40) Bowling Green 12-10-4, 0.551 (18-13-4 overall, 89 GA, 82 GA)
5. (nr/nr/46) Michigan Tech 12-11-3, 0.513 (16-17-3 overall, 95 GF, 96 GA)
6. (nr/nr/53) Ferris State 12-13-1, 0.462 (13-20-3 overall, 89 GF, 128 GA)
7. (nr/nr/45) Bemidji State 10-12-4, 0.462 (15-17-5 overall, 93 GF, 110 GA)
8. (nr/nr/50) Lake Superior State 10-15-1, 0.449 (12-22-2 overall, 93 GF, 115 GA)
9. (nr/nr/62) Northern Michigan 4-20-2, 0.205 (5-27-2 overall, 55 GF, 115 GA)

Saturday’s semifinal games

Bowling Green at St. Thomas, 5:07 p.m.

Bemidji State at Minnesota State, 8:07 p.m.

ATLANTIC HOCKEY

1. (rv/rv/25) Holy Cross 19-5-2, 56 points (22-13-2 overall, 119 GF, 85 GA)
2. (rv/rv/21) Sacred Heart 16-7-3, 53 points (21-11-5 overall, 116 GF, 93 GA)
3. (rv/nr/29) Bentley 16-9-1, 51 points (20-14-2 overall, 100 GF, 75 GA)
4. (nr/nr/49) Niagara 15-9-2, 45 points (18-16-3 overall, 124 GF, 109 GA)
5. (nr/nr/47) Army 14-10-2, 43 points (16-18-2 overall, 102 GF, 109 GA)
6. (nr/nr/55) Canisius 11-13-2, 37 points (12-23-2 overall, 98 GF, 120 GA)
7. (nr/nr/48) Air Force 11-13-2, 32 points (16-21-3 overall, 86 GF, 112 GA)
8. (nr/nr/52) American International 9-16-1, 31 points (13-23-2 overall, 92 GF, 117 GA)
9. (nr/nr/60) RIT 9-15-2, 29 points (10-23-2 overall, 82 GF, 133 GA)
10. (nr/nr/57) Robert Morris 7-15-4, 26 points (10-20-5 overall, 95 GF, 114 GA)
11. (nr/nr/64) Mercyhurst 4-19-3, 16 points (4-27-4 overall, 77 GF, 150 GA)

Friday’s semifinal games

Army at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.

Bentley at Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.

Saturday’s semifinal games

Army at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.

Bentley at Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s semifinal games (if necessary)

Army at Holy Cross

Bentley at Sacred Heart

INDEPENDENTS

(rv/nr/26) Long Island (20-12-2 overall, 111 GF, 77 GA)

(nr/nr/39) Alaska (12-14-6 overall, 73 GF, 89 GA)

(nr/nr/61) Stonehill (11-22-0 overall, 65 GF, 106 GA)

(nr/nr/54) Lindenwood (8-22-2 overall, 65 GF, 86 GA)

(nr/nr/59) Alaska Anchorage (6-23-5 overall, 75 GF, 117 GA)