NH college hockey: Plymouth State headed to NCAAs again; UNH to visit Providence

The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

Mar. 5—The "straights" just keep coming for the Plymouth State University men's hockey team.

The Panthers won their fourth straight title in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 5-2 victory over Worcester State on Saturday night at Hanaway Rink. The victory marked PSU's 19th straight, a program record.

And now the Panthers have qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament for a fourth straight time — they qualified for the 2020 tourney that was canceled by COVID-19 and they played a truncated schedule the following year with no postseason — and sixth overall. PSU will learn its opponent and site when the NCAA Division III selection show is held Monday at 10 a.m.

On Saturday night, the Panthers (23-3-1) received goals from Matt Tartaglio, Connor Tait, Niks Krollis, Dante Moretti and Will Redick, and a 20-save effort from goalie Brendahn Brawley, who was named the MASCAC tournament MVP.

UNH to visit FriarsThe final weekend of the Hockey East regular season is in the books, and first-round matchups are set, including UNH at Providence College. The 10th-seeded Wildcats and seventh-seeded Friars will battle Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Schneider Arena.

All first-round matchups are single-elimination. The other two games, to be played Wednesday night, feature No. 11 Vermont at No. 6 Maine, and No. 9 UMass at No. 8 Boston College.

Quarterfinals are set for Saturday. One matchup has been determined: No. 5 UMass Lowell at No. 4 UConn.

The top three seeds, Boston University, Merrimack and Northeastern will host teams to be determined by Wednesday's first round.

UNH (11-20-3 overall) and Providence (14-13-7) split 1-1-1 during the regular season, with the Friars winning 3-1 on Oct. 29 in Durham and the Wildcats prevailing 2-0 on Jan. 6 in Rhode Island. The clubs tied 2-2 on Oct. 28 in Durham, with the Friars taking the shootout.

Since beating Merrimack on Jan. 13, Providence has gone 2-8-2, including a pair of losses this past weekend against Boston University.

PC was nationally ranked as high as eighth in the USCHO poll, on Nov. 21.

St. Anselm women fall shortThe Saint Anselm College women's hockey team fell 2-0 at Long Island University in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) tournament final on Saturday night. LIU will advance to the NCAA Division I tournament because the NEWHA winner for the first time receives an automatic bid.

The Hawks, who finished 18-17-4, received 24 saves from goalie Allie Kelley. LIU's Tindra Holm stopped 18 shots for the shutout.

Saint Anselm landed two players on the all-tournament team: senior Gabrielle Huson and junior Claire Weber.