The Massachusetts hockey team secured its place in the 2025 NCAA tournament with a strong run in the second half of the season, going 10-3-3 since Jan. 16. It will join Western Michigan, Minnesota and Minnesota State as teams that will travel to North Dakota for the Fargo Regionals.
UMass (20-13-5, 10-9-5 Hockey East) v. Minnesota (25-10-4, 15-6-3 Big 10) on Thursday, March 27 at 8:30 p.m.
Last year, the Minutemen lost in the first round of the tournament to Denver, who went on to win the national title. On Thursday, they will have a chance to advance in the single-elimination contest, with a game against the Golden Gophers standing between UMass and its first appearance in the second round since its championship in 2021.
The Minutemen have proven themselves against top-ranked teams all season, highlighted by victories against all five of the other Hockey East members also competing in the tournament. This includes Boston College and Maine, who respectively hold the No. 1 and No. 3 all-around rankings in the Frozen Four.
Forward Cole O’Hara leads UMass with 51 points from 22 goals and 29 assists, tied for fourth in the NCAA. The Minutemen’s top lines have been incredibly productive in the second half of the season. Key forwards like O’Hara, Kenny Connors, Jack Musa and Lucas Mercuri will play huge roles in creating scoring opportunities on Thursday.
Facing an offensively charged Minnesota team, goaltender Michael Hrabal’s ability to stand tall in net will be the deciding factor in the game’s outcome, as he has been in the long stretch of Hockey East play recently.
These two teams last faced each other in the first round in 2022, with the Golden Gophers taking the match in overtime to advance to the Frozen Four quarterfinals.
Minnesota is coming off a much longer break than UMass. The Golden Gophers last hit the ice on March 9 when they fell to Notre Dame in the first round of the Big Ten conference tournament. They lost through a three-game series, ending with a 1-4 loss in the tiebreaking match despite outshooting the Fighting Irish 39-21.
The Minnesota team will have to power through the time away from official play with leadership from players like Jimmy Snuggerud. With 49 points through 22 goals and 27 assists, Snuggerud leads the Golden Gophers. The junior forward is a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Snuggerud is also one of six players wearing the “C” for Minnesota, all who have three to five Frozen Four appearances.
The goalie tandem of Liam Souliere and Nathan Airey has been consistent for the Golden Gophers throughout the season, recording .918 and .902 save percentages, respectively. In the quarterfinal series against Notre Dame, Airey came in to relieve Souliere in the second period of the first game. The sophomore netminder played the entirety of the last two games of the series.
Minnesota hockey has been a historically dominant team, holding the Division I record with 42 tournament appearances. Stepping on the ice in Fargo will extend its tournament appearance streak to five years, a feat that only Boston University currently matches.
Western Michigan (30-7-1, 19-4-1 NCHC) v. Minnesota State (27-8-3, 18-5-3 CCHA) on Thursday, March 27 at 5:00 p.m.
When the Broncos and the Mavericks take to the ice on Thursday, they will face each other for the first time in the organizations’ histories.
Both teams’ contrasting strengths will be put to the test in the matchup. Accumulating a typical 1.47 GAA through the season, Minnesota State ranks first in the nation in limiting opponent’s goals. Meanwhile, WMU tops the charts in scoring with an average of 4.05 goals per game. The Broncos have not been shutout once this season.
The Mavericks head into the regionals with an 11-game winning streak. They defeated St. Thomas 4-2 to take home their third CCHA Mason Cup title since 2022.
Alex Tracy, another Hobey Baker top-10 finalist, sits first in the nation with a .945 save percentage and 1.426 GAA. He has started in all but one game for Minnesota State this season.
WMU earned its bid with the first NCHC title in program history. In the conference championship, it took down Denver in double overtime after overcoming a three-goal deficit in the third period. The Broncos earned the No. 4 overall seed in the Frozen Four.
Alex Bump scored two goals in the match, including the game-winner. Bump’s 46 points top the WMU charts by a margin of 11, with the next player behind him, sophomore forward Grant Slukynsky, tallying 35.
The younger brother of the second offensive leader, freshman Hampton Slukynsky has been dominant in goal towards the end of the season, starting every game since late February. The Warroad, MN native holds a .918 save percentage and is very familiar with Scheels Arena, having played for the Fargo Force in the USHL last season alongside fellow first-year Bronco Iiro Hakkarainen.
WMU enters the Frozen Four with 11 freshmen on its roster, so it will lack some experience that the Mavericks’ lines will bring to the matchup.
Any two teams that will advance to the second round of the regionals would be the first meeting of the season.
ESPNU will broadcast the 5:00 p.m. contest and the 8:30 p.m. game will be available on ESPN2. The winners from each matchup will face each other on Saturday, March 29 for a ticket to St. Louis for the quarterfinals.
