UMass men's hockey falls to Western Michigan in NCAA Fargo Regional final
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
After failing to capitalize on a power play after UMass forward Aydar Suniev was whistled for boarding, Western Michigan (32-7-1) cashed in when Suniev took another penalty. The Broncos' challenge for a major was successful, and Suniev's night was done when the call was upgraded to a five-minute major and a game misconduct for hitting NCHC player of the year Alex Bump from behind at 18:14 of the second.
Advertisement
The Minutemen, who were the third least penalized team in the NCAA this season, would not only be a man down for the next five minutes, but also without their second leading scorer in Suniev. The sophomore had 20 goals this season, two coming in the 5-4 win over Minnesota in Thursday's semifinal, including the overtime winner.
The Broncos needed just 21 seconds to convert, with Providence College transfer Liam Valente blasting a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a pass from Grant Slukynsky at 18:35. Western Michigan landed the last 10 shots of the period and held a 20-18 edge through 40 minutes.
When the third period resumed, Western Michigan still had 3:14 remaining on the power play and took advantage, grabbing a 2-1 lead when Tim Washe re-directed a shot from Brian Kramer past Michael Hrabal (25 saves) at 2:47.
Advertisement
Less than a minute later, UMass (21-14-5) went on the power play when Western Michigan's Iiro Hakkarainen went off for elbowing. The call was upgraded to a standalone five-minute major for contact to the head, but the Minutemen failed to find the back of the net.
UMass had several opportunities in the closing minutes with Hrabal pulled for the extra skater, but failed to get a shot by Slukynsky as the Broncos held on to clinch their first trip to the Frozen Four in 10 NCAA tournament appearances.
Follow Andrew Mahoney
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
40 minutes ago
- USA Today
Diversity in College World Series field reminds us what college sports is all about
Diversity in College World Series field reminds us what college sports is all about Show Caption Hide Caption Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams on cover of EA Sports College Football '26 EA Sports chose Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Alabama's Ryan Williams to be on the cover of College Football '26. We talk to the athletes about what this moment means to them. This week, with the approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement, college sports officially split into two. The power conference schools are going to pay their athletes, make their own rules and take the responsibility of enforcement and punishment from an NCAA that was never very good at it in the first place. Is there fear and resentment across the rest of the college sports landscape about where this is all headed? Of course there is. Schools at the lower end of Division I see a power grab led by the Big Ten and SEC and wonder if the clock is ticking on their conference's automatic access to NCAA championships and perhaps even a full divorce. To many folks in the smaller conferences, it feels like they're paying the price for a problem they didn't cause. But in a world where it increasingly feels like the new financial realities of the Big Ten and SEC are driving a land grab for postseason bids, starting with the College Football Playoff but undoubtedly trickling down to every sport in the future, this year's College World Series shows why some traditions are worth preserving. The eight teams that advanced to Omaha over the last few days represent seven different conferences: The SEC (LSU and Arkansas) The Big 12 (Arizona) The ACC (Louisville) The Big Ten (UCLA) The Sun Belt (Coastal Carolina) The Missouri Valley (Murray State) The Pac-12 (Kind of. Oregon State played as an independent this season but was crucial in the effort to resurrect a new Pac-12, which will begin play in the 2026-27 academic year.) Is such a huge conference spread a bit of an anomaly? Absolutely. In recent renditions of the CWS, you'll see a whole lot of SEC and ACC representation, some strong Big 12 and Pac-12 programs (before it imploded) and your occasional interloper from outside the power conferences. But this year's field underscores a very simple point that the SEC and Big Ten would be wise to remember as they go about the business of remaking college sports: At the end of the day, competition is what this is all about. And even if that means you come up on the short end some years, it's nothing to be afraid of. That's just sports. Though we can find a thousand things the NCAA has done wrong on its journey toward the professionalization of college sports, it did one thing that was really genius. In constructing its format for national championship tournaments, it ensured that all Division I conferences would be represented by an automatic qualifier. This means that when the men's basketball players at SIU-Edwardsville began last season, they could dream of playing in March Madness. Was there a realistic chance to win a national championship? Of course not. Were they even likely to win a game? Heck no. Were they better than dozens of basketball teams who missed the tournament? According to the computers, they weren't even in the top 200. But they won their conference, earned their moment on the big stage and got blown off the court by Houston. That's what usually happens. But every now and then, you get an upset everyone remembers. Either way, the possibility of that moment keeps those programs viable and those communities invested in college basketball. Overall, it's a pretty great system. Folks at those lower levels have good reason to wonder if they'll keep those automatic bids going forward, not just in basketball but a variety of sports. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, in particular, has made public comments that could be considered threatening to the notion of equal access regardless of conference size or strength. Meanwhile, there was talk a few weeks back that the SEC and Big Ten could be interested in a 16-team CFP format where they get four automatic bids each, with the ACC and Big 12 getting two apiece and one going to the top-ranked Group of Five champion. It seems as if that idea has subsequently died down. Even though the ACC and Big 12 locking in two bids each might have been tempting on the surface, formalizing an existence as second-class citizens would not have gone over well with those fan bases. If you were to construct the CWS on the same kinds of principles that the Big Ten and SEC have been flirting with this year in their CFP expansion discussions, you'd never have seven conferences involved like this year. And the reason it's such a timely development for college sports is that it should remind people in the industry why they do this in the first place. Everyone understands that a true level playing field is impossible, but competition is about more than revenue on a spreadsheet. And when it comes to the structure of Division I, giving an automatic bid to every conference underlines that they are partners in an enterprise whose mission is to deliver a good product – even if a lot of those partners can't stack up competitively to the mighty SEC. You can't deliver as good of a product for the sport – the entire sport – by stacking the deck and using historical performance to engineer future outcomes in your favor. You can only do it by making the postseason possibility available to everyone and letting the chips fall where they may. Even in a more complicated and professionalized world, you don't need to apologize for the outcome when you just let sports do its thing.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
NCAA implements coach's challenge in men's CBB to 'enhance the flow of the game'
NCAA implements coach's challenge in men's CBB to 'enhance the flow of the game' Show Caption Hide Caption Duke, Auburn, Houston players talk NCAA age limit before Final Four Men's Final Four players weigh in on if college basketball should have an age limit If there were a defining image of the 2024-25 men's college basketball season, it wasn't a buzzer-beater, a stunning upset or even the Final Four itself, when Florida completed a frantic comeback to defeat Houston in an instant classic of an NCAA championship game. It was officials gathering around a monitor to review a call at a late stage in the game. Two months after the season ended, the powers that be in the sport are looking to remedy the issue. REQUIRED READING: The 2025 NBA draft deadline has passed. Who are the college basketball winners and losers? The NCAA's playing rules oversight panel approved several changes on June 10 that will aim to 'help enhance the flow of the game,' the organization announced Tuesday. Most notable among them is the introduction of a coach's challenge, which can be used at any point during a game to review out-of-bounds calls, basket interference and goaltending, and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted arc area underneath the basket. Teams must have a timeout in order to use a challenge. If the challenge is successful, the team will be permitted one additional video review request for the rest of the game, including overtime. If the contested call isn't overturned, a team can't bring forth a challenge for the rest of the game. The NBA has employed a similar challenge system since 2019. Referee-initiated video reviews on out-of-bounds calls in the final minutes of games were a constant source of frustration for fans in recent years, with the deliberations regularly interrupting close, exciting games and extending the game well beyond its allotted broadcast window. Even with the coach's challenge, officials can still decide to turn to instant replay for timing mistakes, scoring errors, shot-clock violations, flagrant fouls and whether a shot is a 2-pointer or a 3-pointer, among other things. They can also initiate reviews for restricted-arc plays and goaltending/basket interference in the final two minutes of a game and overtime. REQUIRED READING: ESPN signs Dick Vitale to multi-year extension, creates annual event in his honor The advent of the coach's challenge was one of several measures that was approved Tuesday. The continuous motion rule has been tweaked so that a player driving with the ball who has absorbed contact can complete their step and attempt a field goal, another step that brings the college rules closer to their NBA counterparts. Players are currently only awarded free throws if they're fouled while shooting. Under new rules, officials will also have the option to call a Flagrant 1 foul if a player has been contacted in the groin. Previously, they could only rule it a common foul or a Flagrant 2 foul, the latter of which results in an ejection. Perhaps the biggest change is one the NCAA ultimately didn't implement. In its release, the organization noted that the NCAA men's basketball committee had conversations and 'positive momentum' to move men's games from halves to quarters. While there are logistical challenges — namely, how media timeouts would be structured during a game — the committee has recommended that Division I conferences form a joint working group to offer feedback on the potential halves-to-quarters move. Halves are largely a relic of the men's college game, as women's college basketball, the NBA and international basketball all use quarters.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
NCAA basketball to allow challenges, among other rule changes, to ‘enhance the flow of the game'
Major rule changes are on the way for both men's and women's basketball in the upcoming season, with coaches now able to challenge calls after the NCAA rules panel approved new rules ahead of next season. In men's basketball, coaches will now be able to challenge some calls, including reviewing 'out-of-bounds calls, basket interference/goaltending and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted-area arc.' Teams will need to use a timeout to challenge. If successful, they'll be allowed one additional review for the rest of the game, including overtime. Advertisement The NCAA said the changes in men's basketball aim to 'enhance the flow of the game.' Women's basketball coaches will also be issued a challenge, though their rules are different. Coaches will be able to challenge 'ruled out-of-bounds violations; ruled backcourt violations; whether a change in team possession occurred before the ruling of a foul where free throws would be involved; whether a foul was assessed to the correct player.' In the women's game, teams will not need to have a timeout to challenge. Instead, a lost challenge will result in a technical foul for 'an excessive timeout.' Officiating across NCAA sports has come under major scrutiny in the last few years, with coaches, players and administrators clamoring for change. Advertisement The men's rules include that officials' points of emphasis this year will include addressing delay-of-game tactics. They also want to 'limit time spent at the monitor, improve game administration and reduce physicality.' Another rule change in the men's game: Officials will now have the option to issue a Flagrant 1 foul when a player is fouled with contact to the groin. Previously, any contact to the groin area considered not incidental was automatically issued a Flagrant 2 foul, as happened during the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the BYU-Wisconsin game, when BYU's Dawson Baker was whistled for a Flagrant 2 and ejected late in the second half. During the regular season last year, Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin was also the victim of a Flagrant 2 foul call in Texas Tech's game at Houston. Toppin was ejected as a result of the call; coach Grant McCasland's reaction got him ejected, too. The rules panel also discussed a move to quarters in the men's game, but did not make any changes. Currently, the men's college game is the only level of basketball that plays halves instead of quarters. The women's college game switched to quarters years ago, while both the NBA and international FIBA rules also require quarters. High school games are also played with quarters. In its release Tuesday, the NCAA said the rules committee has had conversations that included 'positive momentum for moving to quarters,' but acknowledged there are 'hurdles' when it comes to media timeouts and having enough time allotted for commercials. Advertisement The NCAA is recommending that conferences put together a committee to provide feedback on the potential move to quarters and share that feedback by next year. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Men's College Basketball, Women's College Basketball 2025 The Athletic Media Company
