It was a strong start to March Madness on ice for New England’s Division 1 men’s college hockey teams on Thursday and Friday.
All four NCAA regional sites will feature one local team playing for a Frozen Four berth, with wins by No. 1 overall seed Boston College, Boston University, UMass and UConn.
BC will have a chance to get revenge against Denver, which beat the Eagles in last season's national championship. UConn will face Penn State, BU takes on Cornell and UMass will battle Western Michigan.
Here are five takeaways from the NCAA first-round action involving New England teams.
BC survives Bentley’s best
Bentley, which was playing in its first-ever national tournament game as the reigning Atlantic Hockey America champions, gave No. 1 overall seed Boston College absolutely everything it could handle on Friday afternoon in Manchester.
The Falcons quickly proved that they would be no pushover, building off their strong defensive-zone game, which looked very similar to that of the teams that second-year coach Andy Jones assisted during his tenure at UMass Lowell — as the contest drew on and carried a 1-1 score into the waning minutes.
Bentley captain Ethan Leyh scored a power-play goal early in the second period, but it was not quite enough, though, as star Eagle freshman James Hagens made a great individual effort for a game-winning wraparound goal with 1:32 left in regulation, guiding the Eagles to a 3-1 win.
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“We knew they were going to be sound defensively,” BC coach Greg Brown said of Bentley. “We knew they could be dangerous — creating 1-on-1 chances through the neutral zone, getting loose pucks with some great speed, and that’s how it played out. … It was a tight game, and the longer it goes like that, we’ve become more and more comfortable getting into those types of games.”
BC’s opening goal with 3:15 left in the first was a moment of individual brilliance in a season full of them, as sophomore Gabe Perreault finished a rush with linemate Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and Hagens and tucked in a backhand shot after a deke around Bentley’s Connor Hasley in the goal crease.
The high-flying Eagles were going to get their chances — as Jones put it, “that’s what they do” — but despite a 44-21 advantage in shots, having 20 shots blocked, Halsey making some quality saves, and Leonard and Hagens missing multiple open nets led to some level of frustration.
The Game Winner! pic.twitter.com/MASZcRrI5J
— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) March 28, 2025
Another high-level play from Hagens helped BC over the proverbial goal line, but it was not easy.
“You look down on the bench and you just see all the belief in there,” Leonard said. “We’ve gotten very good at having patience and we knew we were going to crack one.”
Huskies strong in first NCAA game
Dating back to his days at BC, UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh has been involved in many trips to NCAAs. This was the Huskies’ first-ever, but it didn’t feel like it.
Facing a Quinnipiac team that is just two years removed from a national title and was an overtime goal away from the Frozen Four again last year, graduate Hugh Larkin and former Cushing star Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass.) scored first-period goals that gave UConn a lead it would not relinquish.
“That's a real battle-tested program over there. They've been coming to these tournaments for a long time now,” Cavanaugh said. “For us to play as well as we did, I was really proud of our guys and proud of our team.”
Gardula amassed plenty of big-game experience through his prep days, but this is a new stage. He made a great individual effort on the eventual game-winner with 5:32 left in the first, forcing a turnover at the blue line and slipping in a backhander as he charged down the slot. It was his eighth goal of the season, but first since potting four in seven February games.
The key to success? Playing the same game no matter the stage.
“We just try to go into every game the same way,” Gardula said. “We know what works for us and just trying to stay on script with that has proven to be successful.”
Terriers’ talent too much
The outlook of Thursday’s tournament-opening game between Boston University and Ohio State in Toledo was bleak for the Terriers after 20 minutes. The Buckeyes played suffocating defense and seemingly had more energy, taking a 1-0 lead on Windham, N.H., native Joe Dunlap’s first of two goals while allowing just two shots.
The teams scored five combined goals in the second period, including three in a late 42-second span to make it a 3-3 game. But in the third, it was Terrier takeover mode, as unusual offensive suspect Aiden Celebrini’s goal — just the second of the season for the sophomore defenseman — at 2:18 in started a five-goal flurry to the finish.
“I think we kind of relaxed and we started playing our game where we started skating, we started to put pucks behind them,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “We were just making smarter decisions, winning hockey more so than anything else. This group needs their backs against the wall sometimes, but at the end of the day, they always respond.”
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The strong finish was not unusual for BU, which is now one win shy of its third straight Frozen Four berth. There were plenty of usual suspects contributing, too, as stud freshmen Cole Eiserman (two goals) and Cole Hutson (one goal, three assists) combined for six points.
What a comeback from UMass
Hockey East’s second team in action on Thursday also needed a third-period comeback to survive and advance, but 60 minutes were not enough for the Minutemen of Massachusetts after erasing a 3-1 deficit during a three-goal frame against Minnesota.
At 4:49 of overtime, sophomore Aydar Suniev finished a backhand feed from classmate and Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis for his 20th goal of the season to propel the Minutemen to their first NCAA win since capturing the national championship in 2021.
"Magic!"
UMass 5, Minnesota 4. Our radio call of Aydar Suniev's OT winner. pic.twitter.com/y7nYxrtysE
— Nathan Strauss (@NathanPStrauss) March 28, 2025
The following year, the Gophers ended their season, incredibly, by overcoming the same 3-1 deficit and winning in extra time.
Despite just three players from that team remaining, including graduate defenseman and captain Liden Alger (Centerville, Mass.), it is safe to say that UMass coach Greg Carvel’s team set out to make sure that memory would not happen again. This was their turn.
“We talked all week that this was probably going to be a similar type of game where we’re going to have to find a way in overtime, and the kids did a tremendous job,” Carvel said. “I liked our game plan, but we just weren’t competing (early).”
Following the game, Carvel pointed out Denver transfer Lucas Olvestad as an unsung hero, providing national championship experience to his new program. The junior helped set up Suniev’s first goal of the game in the third and was one of four defensemen who played more than 26 minutes.
“He was the one guy that was like, ‘Come on guys, this is not us. We’ve got to get going,'” Carvel said. “He’s an older guy that’s been through it, and his voice — he was the leader tonight.”
Best of the rest
You have to tip your cap to Bentley.
A Falcon win wouldn’t have been the first-ever by a No. 16 seed in the tournament (looking at you, AIC), but the Eagles often set the standard in New England and have a chance to take their uber-talented team to the Frozen Four for a second straight year.
Again, this was no pushover. The Falcons belonged, winning a program-record 23 games. Incredibly, Halsey — who prepped at Northfield Mount Hermon — won 11 by shutout. On Friday, he made 41 saves.
“My heart could not be filled with more pride for our hockey team. We left every single thing we had on the ice,” Jones said. “I always tell our guys when I’m proud, but I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of them than I am tonight.”
Later in Manchester, Providence never really found its footing after allowing a strange opening goal on Philip Svedeback’s misplay behind the net 2:25 in, and reigning champ Denver took off from there. The Friars allowed just 20 shots, but it was not the effort that the Friars were looking for in their first NCAA contest since 2019.
“I thought (Denver) played a much more mature, simple game than we did,” Providence coach Nate Leaman said. “I just thought their experience really showed throughout the game. Hopefully we can take that lesson and grow with it.”
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It was a tough end for new Hockey East champion Maine, falling to Allentown Region host Penn State, but it finished 24-8-6 for its winningest season since 2006. Sophomore Bodie Nobes scored his first career goal 4:08 in, but the Nittany Lions responded less than a minute later, led 3-1 after one and never looked back.
After an early exit in Lake Placid on ECAC Championship Weekend, Quinnipiac was ousted in the first round of the national tournament for the first time since 2021. A Jeremy Wilmer rush goal brought the Bobcats within 2-1 in the middle period, but they got no closer.
