Here's a close look at Thursday's NCAA Tournament men's hockey matchups
Cole Eiserman is tops among NCAA freshmen with 21 goals. Goalie Mikhail Yegorov ranks in the top 10 for goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.931)
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The Terriers will face an old nemesis in forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, who transferred from Northeastern for his graduate season and leads the Buckeyes with 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists). The Rhode Island native
Former UConn goalie Logan Terness (2.27 GAA, .925 save percentage) has started each of the last five games after splitting time with Kristoffer Eberly during the regular season. The Buckeyes are the third seed in their 11th trip to the tournament.
The winner will move on to face top seed Michigan State or No. 4 Cornell on Saturday. The Big Red finished sixth in the ECAC but won the conference tournament to extend Mike Schafer's tenure at least another week. The coach announced last June that he would call it a career after the 2024-25 season, his 30th.
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The first day of the tournament will conclude when UMass takes on Minnesota in the second game of the Fargo, N.D., regional in a scheduled 8:30 p.m. start.
It will mark the first game for the Minutemen since the top 10 candidates for the Hobey Baker Award were announced, a list that somehow did not include forward Cole O'Hara, whose 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists) are fourth most in the nation. The junior is a true two-way player, playing on the top units on the power play and penalty kill.
UMass had four other players post 30 or more points — Aydar Suniev (36), Jack Musa (35), Lucas Mercuri (31), and Bruins draft pick Dans Locmelis (30). The Minutemen are the No. 3 seed and have qualified for five of the last six tournaments.
UMass has not played since
Minnesota was co-champion of the Big Ten with Michigan State. However, the Spartans took 7 of the 12 points during the regular season to earn the No. 1 seed and a bye in the conference tournament. That proved costly for the Gophers, who had to play Notre Dame in the quarterfinals, and dropped two out of three and were eliminated. They will have gone 18 days between games by the time the puck drops Thursday night.
The upset, combined with Western Michigan rolling to the NCHC championship, was enough for the Broncos to finish fourth in the PairWise and take the last No. 1 seed. Minnesota finished fifth overall and is the second seed.
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The Gophers are making an NCAA-best 42nd tournament appearance and are led by Hobey Baker finalist Jimmy Snuggerud
's
49 points, while Connor Kurth and UConn transfer Matthew Wood each have a career-best 38. Sophomore Sam Rinzel was named the conference's defensive player of the year.
Should the Minutemen prevail, they'll advance to Saturday's final against the winner of the Western Michigan-Minnesota State game.
The setup has a familiar feel. In 2022, Western Michigan, Minnesota, and UMass were the top three seeds in the Worcester regional. The Gophers rallied from a two-goal deficit
Thursday's NCAA Tournament schedule
Toledo, Ohio, regional
Boston University (21-13-2) vs. Ohio State (24-13-2): 2 p.m. ESPNU
Michigan State (26-6-4) vs. Cornell (18-10-6): 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Fargo, N.D., regional
Western Michigan (30-7-1) vs. Minnesota State (27-8-3): 5 p.m., ESPNU
Minnesota (25-10-4) vs. UMass (20-13-5): 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
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