Hope College hockey team falls in ACHA national final

Hope College Athletics
·2 min read
The Hope College hockey team finished in the ACHA finals.
The Hope College hockey team finished in the ACHA finals.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. - The Hope College hockey team's bid for a national championship three-peat was denied by a rival.

The University of Michigan's third-ranked ACHA Division 3 team jumped out to an early three-goal lead and held on for a 5-3 victory over the top-ranked Flying Dutchmen in Tuesday's title game at New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

In the team's fourth meeting this season, Michigan snapped an eight-game losing streak to Hope to capture the Wolverines' first ACHA national title.

The Flying Dutchmen finished their season with a 33-2 record that included their eighth appearance in a national championship game.

Hope became national runner-up for the fifth time in program history, joining teams from 2014, 2011, 2010 and 2003. The Flying Dutchmen previously claimed national titles in 2022, 2021 and 2018.

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Michigan opened the scoring with a Connor Chi power-play goal at the 12-minute, 17 second-mark of the first period.

The Wolverines struck twice in a span of 3:45 midway through the second period to extend their lead to 3-0.

Freshman forward Keegan McNamara (Linden, Michigan / Fenton) put Hope on the board at the 13:03 mark. Junior defenseman Ashton Bol (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) and freshman forward Hunter Maschke (Portage, Michigan / Portage Central) were credited with assists.

The Flying Dutchmen nearly pulled within a goal, but Michigan goalie Anthony Remick made a save on a penalty shot by senior forward Kevin Healy (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford).

Fifty-four seconds later, Michigan's Andrew Beggs scored to push the Wolverines' lead to 4-1 at the 14:45 mark. Michigan scored again two minutes into the third period.

Hope chipped away at its deficit beginning at the 12:16 mark when junior right wing Jake Adams (East Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Grand Rapids) scored an unassisted goal.

Three minutes later, senior left wing Colin Stecco (East Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Grand Rapids) brought the Flying Dutchmen within two goals at the 15:41 mark. Senior forward Mason Weiss (Flushing, Michigan / Michigan Connections Academy) was credited with assists.

Hope outshot the Wolverines by a 34-28 margin.

Remick, who finished with 32 saves, turned away the Flying Dutchmen's desperation chances.

Sophomore goalie Maclane Schick (Kohler, Wisconsin / Kohler) made 23 saves for Hope.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope College hockey team falls in ACHA national final