2022 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

A penalty taken by AIC at the end of the first period resulted in a Michigan power play goal less than a minute into the second. A quick passing play a few minutes later put Michigan ahead by 3 and the Wolverines looked to be just too much for the Yellow Jackets. A few minutes later, however, AIC scored their second goal of the game after a turnover at the Michigan blueline. The Wolverines responded the very next shift when Dylan Duke potted his team's 5th goal, however, the play was reviewed for offsides. While a Michigan player had entered the zone before the puck, it was unclear whether or not an AIC player had shot the puck into the zone. While it appeared that Michigan had caused the puck to cross the blueline, the video was ruled inconclusive and the goal was allowed to stand. AIC continued to play hard, forcing Michigan to take consecutive penalties in the middle of the period, but weren't able to capitalize on their opportunities.

Michigan tried to play a sleepy third period and bleed away the clock but AIC kept playing hard. After Garrett Van Wyhe took an inadvisable holding penalty in the middle of the period, Bennett found himself alone in front of the net and slid the puck around Portillo. Near the end of the game, after the Yellow Jackets pulled their goaltender, Nick Blankenburg cross-checked Elijiah Barriga into the board from behind. There was some concern that the Michigan captain might receive a suspension for the hit and miss the team's next game.[3]

The play evened out in the second but Quinnipiac handed Michigan a golden opportunity when Michael Lombardi took a hooking call 5 minutes in. Just 30 seconds later, Thomas Bordeleau got free in the middle of the Quinnipiac box and fired a shot past Yaniv Perets, who was moving side-to-side. The third goal appeared to take the wind out of the Bobcats' sails and Michigan again took control of the play. Quinnipiac slowly got back into the game and, after a gaff behind the goal, Erik Portillo took an interference penalty to stop a scoring chance. The 50th-ranked power play wasn't able to generate much and it wasn't until the sides had evened-out that Quinnipiac got a quality scoring opportunity. Michigan took another penalty just before the end of the period but Quinnipiac flubbed the puck along the wall after the faceoff. Michigan raced down the ice, flipped the puck into the crease, and Perets couldn't find the puck as it hit the Bobcat goalie and rolled into the net.

Desperate to change something, Quinnipiac opened the third period with Dylan St. Cyr in goal. The Bobcats went on the offense and relentlessly attack the Michigan goal. Portillo made several saves until Jayden Lee shot the puck while falling, sending it in off of Nick Blankenburg's skate. Over the next several minutes Quinnipiac had trouble keeping the puck in Michigan's end but, when Ethan Edwards caught an edge and fell down, Ethan de Jong grabbed the loose puck, passed it across the front of the net to team captain Wyatt Bongiovanni, who deposited it into a wide-open cage. Just a few minutes later the Bobcats won a battle behind the Michigan net which led to Ty Smilanic passing the puck out to Desi Burgart, who had been left alone at the top of the Michigan goal crease, and the Wolverines' lead was down to 1. Immediately afterwards, Portillo went to the bench to get a skate issue taken care of and Michigan was forced to take its timeout on the delay. The delay didn't stop the Bobcat avalanche when Jimmy Lambert took a hooking penalty deep in the Quinnipiac zone. the Wolverines killed off the penalty but Quinnipiac's assault did not relent. Surprisingly, Rand Pecknold pulled St. Cyr just after the 4-minute mark and though they won the ensuing faceoff, a bad pass by Oliver Chau gave Michigan the puck. The Wolverines skated down the ice and potted it in an open goal to double their lead and take all of the momentum away from the Bobcats. A further empty-netter essentially salted the game away and Michigan advanced to the Frozen Four.[4]

With Minnesota State completely dominating the first half of the game, Harvard needed to find something to change the momentum. In the later part of the second, US Olympian Sean Farrell collected a puck behind the goal-line and fired it out in front of the net. MSU's goaltender, Dryden McKay, was unable to get back to his post quick enough and the puck deflected off of his pad and into the net. Less than a minute later, Harvard got its second goal to cut the Mavericks' lead to one.

Harvard continued to press but MSU closed ranks and managed to prevent the Crimson from tying the game despite several chances. In the third period, the game began to open up and the two teams traded chances. After a save at one end, the Mavericks' got on a break and Ondrej Pavel fired the puck past Gibson's glove into the top corner. The two-goal cushion proved vital for Minnesota State as Harvard's continued attack eventually forced Nathan Smith to take a tripping penalty. On the ensuing power play, Harvard pulled Gibson and scored to pull within one. Harvard kept up the pressure in the final 3:31, twice finding a half-open net on the left side of the Minnesota State cage. Unfortunately for the Crimson, they fanned on both opportunities, failing to get the puck on goal. Their loss was MSU's gain as the Maverick's advanced out of the first round of the tournament for just the second time in eight appearances.[5]

The pace of play picked up afterwards but the two teams still remained steady defensively. North Dakota received a golden opportunity in the third when Riese Gaber was hooked while going towards the Notre Dame goal and received a penalty shot. Matthew Galajda stopped the attempt to keep the game tied at 1-all. With just over 90 seconds remaining, the Fighting Hawks got another boon when Jack Adams was called for hooking and the team went on their third power play. Notre Dame, however, had one of the best penalty kills in NCAA history, stopping opponents at a more than 90% rate. They were able to prevent UND from scoring and, with just a few seconds left in the game, streaked into the North Dakota end and fired the puck into the goal after a scramble in front of the net. Before any real celebrations could begin, however, the referees had to check the replay to see if time had expired before the puck entered the net. After a long review, the goal was waved off and the two teams headed to overtime.

While North Dakota began overtime still on the power play, a missed pass just 14 seconds into the period caused Chris Jandric to take an interference penalty in order to prevent a breakaway. On the ensuing Notre Dame advantage, Graham Slaggert ended the game with a shot that beat Driscoll on the far side.[6]

Notre Dame got a chance to even the score early in the second with a power play but, despite getting several shots on goal, Dryden McKay kept his team clean. Minnesota State returned to their first period form thereafter and continued to threaten the Notre Dame net. Past the midway point of the game, Matthew Galajda, aided by several of his teammates, made a series of spectacular saves that kept their team within one. The Fighting Irish got another man-advantage at the end of the period but the defense from MNS shut down the Notre Dame attack.

Minnesota State came out hard in in the third getting several great opportunities for goals early but Galajda remained strong in goal. Notre Dame started tilting the ice in the middle of the period but they couldn't sustain the pressure. While the Mavericks held onto the puck for much of the middle pert of the period, ND nearly tied the game when they hit the post on the short side and caused a melee as both teams scrambled for the rebound. The Irish tried to take control of the play after the near-miss but the Mavericks defense held. After Galajda was pulled, Notre Dame was able to keep the puck in the Minnesota State end for most of the final 2 minutes but they could hardly get a shot on goal and Dryden McKay raised his NCAA record totals to 37 wins on the season and 34 career shutouts.[7]

Northeastern picked up their play during the second period, at one point outshooting Western Michigan 10–2, but they couldn't find the twine. The Broncos again carried the play in the second half, clogging up the neureal zone and counterattacking to even the shot clock. Neither team was able to score but both teams kept on hitting, much to the delight of the sparse crowd.

The play continued on the same path in the third. With both teams blocking shots to great effect, neither team could get great looks at the net. As the time ticked away, Northeastern began to press a bit harder, trying to open up the game, and finally got their shot with just over three minutes remaining. Sam Colangelo turned the puck over at the Broncos' blue line and slipped it to Aidan McDonough. The big forward moved around Jacob Bauer, who had fallen to the ice, and then skated through the crease, jamming the puck past a sprawled-out Brandon Bussi. With the score now tied, both team's traded chances, trying to earn the game-winner, but 60 minutes wasn't enough to decide the game and overtime was needed.

Western Michigan got a tremendous chance just past the 90 second mark when Luke Grainger knocked down a clearing attempt by Levi, wrapped the puck around and tried to score. Initially it appeared that Levi got back to make a save just in the nick of time but, after a review, it was clear that the puck had crossed the line and Western Michigan won their first NCAA tournament game in eight chances.[8]

From the start of the second, UMass got on its horse and drove into Minnesota's end. After collecting the puck behind the net, Cal Kiefiuk walked out in front but Close stopped the shot. In the resulting scramble, the Minnesota netminder thought he had the puck trapped beneath his glove, but it was still loose. Lebster grabbed the biscuit and fired it around several sets of legs into the goal. The Gophers set about trying to get the goal back but missed on several opportunities. Minnesota was not deterred, however, and they continued to attack. Near the end of the period, Tristan Broz deflected a bouncing puck past Murray and cut the lead back to 1.

UMass tried to slow the game down in the third and were able to limit Minnesota to a small number of shots. On the second Minnesota power play of the frame, Matthew Kessel collected the puck behind his own net and attempted to clear. Instead of leaving the zone, the puck hit Matthew Knies in the body, dropped to the ice and he shot it into the top corner in one motion to tie the game. With both teams now needing to score, the game opened up once more.

Both teams traded chances in the third period and overtime with multiple end-to-end rushes. Near the midpoint of the first overtime period, team captain and US Olympian, Ben Meyers, received a pass from behind the net and fired it past Murray on the far side, winning the game for Minnesota.[9]

Western Michigan upped their game in the second half and started firing on the Gopher net. Justen Close made several key saves to keep the Broncos off of the scoresheet. Just past the mid-way point of the game, Justen Close stopped a shot from between the circles but he punched it back into the slot with his blocker. Ronnie Attard was following the play and took a swing at the loose puck, causing it to arch over Close into the net. Unfortunately for Western Michigan, replay revealed that the play was offside and the goal was waved off. The two proceeded to trade opportunities for the remainder of the period but neither could score.

On the opening faceoff of the third period, Ethen Frank took a slashing penalty and gave Minnesota their first power play of the game. It only took the Gophers 23 seconds to make the Broncos pay when Aaron Huglen fired the puck short-side from the left circle. Just shy of the 5-minute mark, Western Michigan gave away the puck at their own blue line and Minnesota went in on a 2-on-1. Brandon Bussi made a tremendous save to keep his team in the game. In the later part of the game, however, Minnesota's legs were fine form and they continued to win races to the puck. The Gophers kept WMU in their own end and gave no life to one of the best offenses in the country. On one of the few sustained rushes into the Minnesota end, Matt Staudacher took a hooking call and put Western on the power play. Curiously, Bussi remained in net for the first half of the advantage and nothing materialized for the Broncos. Once the goalie was pulled, however, it only gave Minnesota an empty net to shoot at and the third goal for Minnesota all but ended the game.[10]

While UML had their moments in the middle frame, the River Hawks took three separate penalties in the second, giving the nation's top power play unit ample time to give the Pioneers the lead. Massachusetts Lowell, however, was up to the task and killed off each disadvantage. Denver switched things up after failing on their first three power plays and started the second five-man unit. The ploy almost worked when the puck bounced off of the post, hit Owen Savory in the back, and headed for the net. UML's Jon McDonald arrived to knock the puck away before that could happen.

In the third period, Denver slowly took over control of the game, threatening the Lowell goal on several occasions. The game changed after Carter Mazur took a delay of game penalty by closing his hand on the puck. After a faceoff halfway through the power play, Connor Sodergren cross-checked Brett Stapley in the head. Stapley replied by jamming the butt-end of his stick into Sodergren's mid-section. While Sodergren got a 2-minute penalty, Stapley received a major penalty and a game-misconduct. When play resumed, Mass Lowell continued their power play, which was now played at 4-on-3. After Mazur was let out of the box, Denver broke towards the UML cage and Carter Savoie gave Denver the lead. With the momentum now fully with the Pioneers, they held the fort during the 3-minute power play for Lowell and looked ready to cruise to victory. The River Hawks, however, wouldn't go away. McDonald, who found himself in front of the Denver net, kicked the puck to an open Sodergren who fired the puck into the net.

With less then three minutes remaining, Mazur flipped the puck in the air towards the Lowell net. Cameron Wright extended his stick as far as he could and deflected the puck through Savory and it slid just over the goal line. Desperate to tie the game, Lowell pulled their goalie with 101 seconds to play but Denver was able to hold off the River Hawks and held onto their lead for the victory.[11]

Another feature of the game was a bouncing puck that didn't seem to be able to settle down. This helped UMD more as several rushes by Tech were ruined by the inability to control the puck during the middle part of the game. In the second period the Huskies began to tilt the ice in their favor, but none of their 7 shots on goal managed to find the back of the net.

Just over six minutes into the third, Tech's chances dwindled when senior Eric Gotz fumbled the puck in his own zone. Before anyone else could get to it, Kyler Kleven pounced on the biscuit, took a few strides towards the MTU goal, and fired the puck over Blake Pietila shoulder. Michigan Tech increased their offensive output afterwards but were unable to solve Ryan Fanti, who posted his third consecutive shutout. Kobe Roth, who opened the scoring, capped off the game with a empty-net goal and saw Minnesota Duluth advance for the seventh straight tournament.[12]

The play evened out in the second as both teams continued their physical play. Near the middle of the period, Denver got into penalty trouble when they took consecutive penalties and gave UMD a 5-on-3 power play. The Pioneers managed to kill off the disadvantage and then went on the attack. Denver spent much of the second half of the period in Duluth's end but the Bulldogs' defense kept most of the shots to the outside.

Denver and Duluth traded chances for most of the third period but their respective netminders kept playing up to the moment. With just over 6 minutes left in regulation, Sean Behrens fired a puck from the blue line but missed wide. Fanti had attempted to grab the puck but it was so far away from the net that it drew him out to the side. After it eluded his glove, the puck bounced off of the glass strait back towards the front of the net. Before he could get out of the way, it struck Fanti in the skate and he inadvertently kicked it across the goal line. The puck struck the far post and bounced out, however, Carter Savoie was standing in perfect position and deflected the puck back towards the goal. It then careened off of Fanti's leg, as he was trying to slide back into position, and rolled into the net. Duluth was eventually forced to pull their goalie to try and tie the game but, after Kobe Roth missed a half-open net, Koby Bender had to take an interference penalty to prevent a sure empty-net goal. The now-shorthanded Bulldogs were held off and Denver took the game to advance to the Frozen Four.[13]

While the shot total was closer in the middle frame, the balance of play remained decidedly in Minnesota State's favor. The Mavericks finally got on the board when Benton Maass came out from behind the net and fired the puck far side along the ice. Five minutes later, MSU took their first lead of the game after a second wrap-around, this time from Reggie Lutz. As the game progressed, it became apparent that the referees were loathe to call penalties and neither team was charged with an infraction despite several instances where both the teams and fans clamored for a whistle.

Minnesota entered the third needing to change the momentum but the Gophers could never keep the puck in the offensive zone long enough to threaten the Mavericks. Their task became all the more difficult when Ondřej Pavel deflected a point shot past Close two minutes into the third. Even with a 2-goal lead, Minnesota State's offense didn't pull back and outperformed the Gophers for most of the third. A perfectly placed shot by David Silye found the top corner of the net and, with less than seven minutes to play, Minnesota tried to fid some way to get back into the game. The Gophers were forced to pull their goalie with four minutes remaining and the additional player did help Minnesota pressure the MSU cage but they could not get the puck past Dryden McKay. Eventually the inevitable happened and Minnesota State was able to get the puck on a break towards the vacated net. Brendan Furry's empty-netter put the final nail in the Gopher's coffin and sent the Mavericks to their first Division I championship game.[14]