Category: Big Ten

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Posted on Posted in Big Ten, CCHA, Michigan Wolverines, Minnesota State Mavericks
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The first time Michigan and Minnesota State faced one another was on a neutral sheet of ice within Bulldog country in northern Minnesota. The UMD Bulldogs hosted the 2021 West Ice Breaker Tournament at AMSOIL Arena early in the 2021-22 season. All four participating teams were ranked within the top 10 to begin the season. The #10 Providence Friars rounded out the field in addition to the #3 Wolverines, #1 Mavericks, and #5 host Bulldogs. There were two Ice Breaker Tournaments in the fall of 2021 to make up for the canceled 2020 Ice Breaker Tournament. The East version was held the week before and had a predetermined schedule unlike this seeded tournament.

The Wolverines easily skated by Minnesota Duluth on its home ice by a score of 5-1 on Friday, October 15. The Mavericks defeated Providence 5-2 in the other game that day. This set the stage for an early top 3 contest on neutral ice the following night. The first period of the championship game of the in-season tournament was evenly matched. The scoreless tie was broken in the second period on a power play goal from Wolverine Nick Blankenburg. Minnesota State answered with two goals before the end of the period but Michigan came back strong in the third with two goals of their own. Brendan Brisson scored the game winner for Michigan with less than five minutes to go in regulation.

This was the Wolverines fourth win in a row over a #1 ranked team in the nation. Michigan and Minnesota State would both ultimately end up in the 2022 Frozen Four in Boston at the end of the season. The teams never got a chance to bookend the season because eventual champion Denver defeated Michigan in the semifinals and then took down Minnesota State to win the championship trophy.

Flash ahead three years and Minnesota State and Michigan are set to face one another for the first time since that Ice Breaker Tournament. The teams will hit the ice early in the season once again. Michigan will host Minnesota State this weekend in Ann Arbor for the second and third games in the young series. Michigan is ranked #7/8 in the preseason polls.

Posted on Posted in Atlantic Hockey, Augustana Vikings, Big Ten, Boston College Eagles, Boston University Terriers, CCHA, Clarkson Golden Knights, Colgate Raiders, Denver Pioneers, ECAC, Hockey East, Michigan Wolverines, NCHC, Ohio State Buckeyes, Robert Morris Colonials, Wisconsin Badgers
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The content of this recap is also available in the 2020s page of our U.S. College Hockey History section of the site.

The 2023-24 season saw the return of Robert Morris to Division I men’s and women’s hockey. The program had been on hiatus since the end of the 2020-21 season. The university announced it was eliminating both hockey programs May 26, 2021, just months after the women’s team won its conference title. The school reversed the decision December 17, 2021, due in large part to the efforts from the hockey community, students, alumni, and men’s head coach, Derek Schooley, to raise funds to revive the program.

For the fourth season in a row, a new school added Division I men’s hockey. On October 5, 2021, Augustana University formally announced a new Division I hockey program to begin play in the 2023-24 season. The following May the CCHA announced Augustana would be its ninth conference member. The Vikings would start off with two seasons of a transitional schedule followed by a full schedule beginning in the 2025-26 season. Augustana’s first game was in Madison, Wisconsin, against the Badgers October 7, 2023. It was official: Augustana was the first Division I hockey team from the state of South Dakota.

The 2024 men’s Frozen Four included four college hockey blue bloods with a combined 96 Frozen Fours and 28 NCAA titles between them heading into the final weekend of the season. It was the 11th time Minnesota hosted a men’s Frozen Four and seventh time in Saint Paul. Denver defeated Boston University 2-1 in overtime in the first semifinal game. It was the first time these teams played one another in the Frozen Four since 1971. Boston College faced Michigan in the nightcap. These two teams met in the semifinals of the very first national tournament in 1948. Michigan won the game 76 years ago by a score of 6-4 but the Eagles would win this contest 4-0. This set the stage for the first championship game to be played between Boston College and Denver. The two teams have been around since 1917 and 1949, respectively, yet had never met in the championship game until 2024. In this final game of the season, Denver shut out Boston College 2-0 to put the Pioneers in the sole Division I championship lead with its 10th NCAA title. With Denver’s win, this was the third Minnesota city where the Pioneers were crowned NCAA champions (Minneapolis in 1958, Duluth in 1969, and Saint Paul in 2024). Of the 11 times Minnesota hosted the men’s Frozen Four, only one Eastern team has won (Harvard in 1989). This also meant the first time the Xcel Energy Center has hosted a Frozen Four where a team not based in Minnesota won. Previous teams to win the championship trophy at the arena include Minnesota in 2002 and Minnesota Duluth in both 2011 and 2019.

Seventeen-year-old freshman phenom Macklin Celebrini of Boston University won the 2024 Hobey Baker Award and became the youngest player to do so. Celebrini was the fourth freshman to win it and second in a row. In his freshman season, he broke the record for most college goals by a 17-year old with 32. He also added 32 assists. Celebrini was the first freshman to record at least 30 goals and 30 assists in the same season since 2005-06.

The Women’s Frozen Four took place in Durham, New Hampshire, for the fourth time. A Minnesota-based team was crowned champion at the Whittemore Center in each of the three previous title games New Hampshire hosted. The field in 2024 ensured that wouldn’t happen this time. Two teams represented the WCHA and two represented the ECAC. The championship game became an all-WCHA affair after Ohio State defeated Clarkson 4-1 and Wisconsin defeated Colgate 3-1 in the semifinals. It was the Buckeyes third title game in a row. This set the stage for the first championship rematch since 2007-2008 when Wisconsin met Minnesota Duluth back to back. The 2024 title game was scoreless until Joy Dunne of Ohio State netted a goal a little over halfway through the third period. The Buckeyes held on to win 1-0 and secured the program’s second NCAA title in three seasons. This was the 21st women’s hockey championship for the WCHA.

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In Division III men’s hockey, the Dubuque Spartans debuted in Dubuque, Iowa. This marked the first NCAA hockey program based in the state of Iowa. In the national tournament, Hobart defeated Curry College 4-3 in 4OT within the quarterfinals to win the second longest Division III men’s hockey game of all time. Curry College may have lost the game but its goalie, Shane Soderwall, made 98 saves to tie the all-time record for most saves in a game. This overtime thriller propelled the Hobart Statesman throughout the playoffs and ultimately to the program’s second NCAA title in a row after Hobart defeated Trinity 2-0 in the championship game in Hartford, Connecticut.

In Division III women’s hockey, the Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons won its first NCAA hockey championship in impressive fashion. The Falcons finished the season undefeated at 31-0-0 and set the Division III women’s hockey record for most wins in a season.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Boston College Eagles, Hockey East, Michigan Wolverines
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By the time the December 1987 series between Michigan and Boston College rolled around, it had been nearly 39 years since the two teams first met in the inaugural NCAA tournament semifinals in 1948. Throughout that time span, the Wolverines and Eagles had faced off five times in a combination of NCAA tournament and regular season games. Michigan had yet to lose a game to the Eagles.

Boston College traveled to Ann Arbor in December 1987 for just the second time ever; the first being in January 1980. The Wolverines took care of business with a score of 6-2 in the opening game of the non-conference series. The following game needed an extra period of hockey in order to decide the winner. Michigan scored the overtime goal and defeated Boston College 5-4, ensuring the team’s perfect record against the East Coast team remained intact.

These two teams will share the ice in the second Frozen Four semifinal in Saint Paul this Thursday. Both programs have come a long way since that first NCAA tournament. Boston College has indeed defeated Michigan since 1987. In fact, a big win for the program was the victory over Michigan in the 2004 regional final that sent the Eagles to the Frozen Four. The Wolverines are tied for the Division I men’s lead with nine NCAA titles while Boston College has five. This will be Michigan’s 41st NCAA tournament appearance and 28th Frozen Four; both NCAA records. The Eagles are second with 26 Frozen Four appearances. For two programs that share this much history in the sport, it’s only fitting they will face one another on the national stage yet again.

Photo Credit: “Bryan Deasley, UM Hockey, 1987/88; BL019271.” In the digital collection Art Images for College Teaching. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhl/x-bl019271/bl019271. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 04, 2024.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Michigan Wolverines, NCHC, St. Cloud State Huskies
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More than a decade before the NCHC and Big Ten Hockey were introduced, St. Cloud State and Michigan were a part of the WCHA and (original) CCHA, respectively. Prior to the 2001 NCAA tournament, the two teams had never faced one another on the ice. That changed during the national tournament that season where the teams met on the big stage.

Going into the tournament, the Huskies landed an automatic bid as the WCHA Tournament champions. This earned St. Cloud State the second seed in the West Regional and a first round bye. The Wolverines were an at-large bid after finishing third in the CCHA regular season and runner-up in the conference tournament to the rival Spartans. As a third seed in the West Regional, the Wolverines defeated Mercyhurst 4-3 in the opening round to advance to a date with the Huskies.

While Michigan was a lower seed, the team held the home ice advantage in the regional played in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Wolverines jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period before St. Cloud State got on the board in the second. Mike Cammalleri scored toward the end of the second period to extend the Wolverine lead to 3-1. A power play goal by St. Cloud State less than two minutes into the third period brought the Huskies to within one but the ultimate game winner was scored by Geoff Koch several minutes later. The Huskies added another power play goal late in the third period, but it wasn’t enough. Michigan won the game 4-3 and advanced to play Boston College in the Frozen Four. The Eagles defeated the Wolverines in the semifinal en route to its second national title.

Overall, this was Michigan’s 24th appearance in the NCAA tournament and third for St. Cloud State. Both teams will play a series this weekend at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. It will be the third and fourth games played between the programs and first time the teams will play one another in the regular season and outside the state of Michigan.

Photo Credit: St. Cloud State University, “The Chronicle [March 26, 2001]” (2001). Chronicle. 3477.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Boston College Eagles, Hockey East, Michigan State Spartans
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Heading into the 2006-07 season, the Michigan State Spartans men’s hockey team had high hopes. The reigning CCHA Tournament champions had narrowly missed out on the 2006 Frozen Four – losing by one goal to Maine in the Regional Final. The same could be said for the Boston College Eagles. The 2006 team lost in the NCAA championship game the year before to Wisconsin and the Eagles hoped to avenge that loss the following season.

The Spartans received an at-large bid as the three seed in the Midwest Region of the 2007 NCAA Tournament after losing in the semifinal of the CCHA Tournament. Boston College, on the other hand, won its Hockey East Tournament and was the two seed in the Northeast Region. The two teams made it to the 2007 championship game in St. Louis after impressive NCAA tournament wins.

The title game came down to the final minute as the teams were deadlocked 1-1 since halfway through the third period. A three-on-one breakaway for the Spartans resulted in a near-miss. But the team capitalized in the Boston College zone as Justin Abdelkader scored the game-winning goal with just 18.9 seconds left in regulation. Michigan State would score an empty net goal with two seconds left to seal it. This was the third NCAA hockey championship for Michigan State and first since 1986. It was the second title game loss in a row for Boston College. The Eagles perseverance would pay off in 2008. The third time was the charm as the Eagles defeated Notre Dame in the 2008 NCAA championship game.

The Eagles will play host to the Spartans this week in Chestnut Hill. Boston College has been victorious in the three games the teams have played since the 2007 title game. However, Michigan State holds the all-time series lead 16-9-1 dating back to December 1958.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, CCHA, Ferris State Bulldogs, Michigan State Spartans
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The 50th annual Great Lakes Invitational tournament took place at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in 2014. The participating teams in this event were Michigan, Michigan State, Ferris State and Michigan Tech. The Wolverines and Huskies faced off in the first game of the tournament with Michigan upsetting the Huskies 2-1 despite being outshot 41-21.

The second game of the tournament kicked off that same night. It was the third game of the season between the Spartans and Bulldogs after the teams split a series just two months earlier. There was no scoring in the first frame yet both teams saw plenty of time in the penalty box. Six penalties were awarded in the period with each team receiving two roughing calls. Brent Darnell started off the scoring for the Spartans with a goal early in the second period. The rest of the game went scoreless until Thomas Ebbing scored an empty netter to seal the game for Michigan State.

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Old foes Michigan and Michigan State met in the championship game the next night. The game took place after the Huskies defeated the Bulldogs in the consolation game. Andrew Copp scored for the Wolverines in the first period of the nightcap to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Zach Hyman added to the lead in the second period. Michigan State sophomore Rhett Holland cut the lead in half in the third but it wasn’t enough as the Wolverines claimed the 2014 Great Lakes Invitational tournament title. It was the team’s sixth win in a row at Joe Louis Arena and the Wolverines improved their record in the tournament’s championship games to 8-5.

The 2022 Great Lakes Invitational begins this week and will take place at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is the first time the arena and city has hosted the holiday tournament. Ferris State will take on Michigan State in the second game of the tournament. This will be the third time Ferris State has participated in the tournament and the Bulldogs are looking for the first tournament win. Both of these teams also faced one another in the 2019 Great Lakes Invitational Tournament. The Spartans are 49-39-4 all time during the tournament and will be looking to capture the first tournament title since 2009.

Posted on Posted in Atlantic Hockey, Big Ten, Mercyhurst Lakers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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The first Mercyhurst men’s hockey season was 1987-88. The Lakers spent that season as a Division III independent team before moving to ECAC East within Division III the following season. Mercyhurst posted an impressive inaugural season record of 16-7-0. One of the teams on the schedule that season was Division I Notre Dame. The game that took place November 25, 1987, between Mercyhurst and Notre Dame is important in that it’s the first time Mercyhurst played a Division I opponent. The visiting Fighting Irish won the game 7-3 and would end up with an impressive 27-4-2 record. The two teams met again during the 1990-91 season when Mercyhurst was still a Division III program. The first time the two teams met in a true Division I game was October 13, 2007, during a season-kickoff tournament in Ohio. The teams have met five times overall throughout the years.

Photo Credit: Mercyhurst Praeterita 1988 Yearbook

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, CCHA, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Minnesota State Mavericks
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The Minnesota State Mavericks elevated its men’s hockey program to Division I prior to the 1996-97 season. The Mavericks were known as the Mankato State University Mavericks at the time. While still considered an independent team the following season, MSU was scheduled to join the WCHA in 1999. The first time the Mavericks traveled up highway 169 to meet the Minnesota Golden Gophers was January 2, 1998.

The second year Division I program was facing a Minnesota team that was coming off a 28-13-1 season that ended in a tie for first place in the WCHA. The Mavericks posted a 17-14-3 record the previous season against a mix of Division I and III teams. The favored home team welcomed the Mavericks to Mariucci by defeating them 6-2. The following night was a closer affair with the Gophers victorious once again; this time in a one-goal game 4-3. The Mavericks would end up with a 15-17-6 record in the first-ever season against only Division I opponents. While not technically a part of the WCHA during the 1997-98 season, the Mavericks were invited to play in the WCHA playoffs due to the future admission of the team. At 17-22-0, the Gophers ended with a surprising losing record that season as well. It was the Gophers first losing season since 1976-77. Both teams would lose in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

Fast forward twenty-four years and both of these hockey programs have ascended to the top of Division I men’s hockey. While this is relatively new success for Minnesota State, it’s a return to glory for the Gophers. Minnesota State won the first NCAA tournament game in program history last season and rode the momentum to the 2021 Frozen Four. In fact, the Mavericks shut out the Gophers 4-0 to reach the Frozen Four last year in the first-ever meeting in the NCAA tournament between these programs. The same two teams will play Thursday, April 7, in the second semifinal of the night in Boston. The Gophers are out for revenge while the Mavericks hope to make the leap to the NCAA title game for the first time.

In the featured photo, Mavericks goalie Des Christopher blocks a shot January 2, 1998, in the first-ever meeting between these two teams.

Photo Credit: MSU Reporter, January 8, 1998

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Denver Pioneers, Michigan Wolverines, NCHC
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The Michigan Wolverines and Denver Pioneers have a long history against one another on the ice. The first meeting between these storied programs took place in 1951. The teams were long-time division rivals in the WCHA until Michigan left for the CCHA in 1981. The two teams met four times throughout the 1961-62 regular season with each team sweeping at home. All four games took place in February 1962. The tiebreaker would take place in the WCHA playoffs at the beginning of the following month.

The 1962 WCHA tournament included the top four teams in the conference and took place at the Weinberg Coliseum in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Third seed Denver faced second seed Michigan in a battle of familiar foes in the second semifinal game March 2, 1962. The other semifinal game took place between Michigan Tech and Michigan State the previous night. The Wolverines proved to be too much for the Pioneers and won 8-4 in front of the home crowd. The legendary Red Berenson scored a hat trick in the game. As in the previous season, Berenson was selected to the All-WCHA First Team during the 1961-62 season. He was honored as a West All-American in those two seasons as well.

Both teams lost their next WCHA playoff game. Denver lost the consolation game to Michigan State 4-3 and Michigan lost the WCHA title game later that night to Michigan Tech 6-4. This marked the end of the Pioneers season while the Wolverines were invited to the 1962 NCAA tournament as the West’s at-large bid. Michigan lost the opening semifinal game to Clarkson but defeated St. Lawrence to earn the Third Place trophy. Michigan Tech defeated Clarkson in the championship game 7-1 to earn the program’s first national title.

Red Berenson added another honor to his name when he was voted to the NCAA All-Tournament First Team in 1962. He would later play in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings. Berenson coached the Blues before heading back to his alma mater to coach the Michigan hockey team. He was the long-time head coach of the Wolverines from 1984 through 2017 and won two NCAA championships.

Denver and Michigan will meet Thursday, April 7, in the 2022 Frozen Four semifinal in Boston. This will be the 84th meeting in the series. The teams have only played each other twice since a 1981 WCHA playoff series and both games took place within the NCAA tournament. The winner on Thursday will play either Minnesota or Minnesota State in the NCAA Division I men’s championship game on Saturday.

In the featured image Red Berenson is shown scoring one of his three goals against Denver in the 1962 WCHA playoff game March 2, 1962.

Photo Credit: U-M Library Digital Collections. Bentley Image Bank, Bentley Historical Library.

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Michigan Wolverines, Wisconsin Badgers
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The first game in program history for the Wisconsin Badgers occurred January 14, 1922, against the Milwaukee Athletic Club. The game took place outdoors where the Library Mall currently sits on the Madison campus. The team played eight games that season and went winless. In fact, Wisconsin’s first collegiate hockey win took place in that rink January 20, 1923, against Michigan. Three years later, the Badgers played fifteen games, winning eight and tying four, and still played home contests in the same rink.

Scheduling was unpredictable at the time because games were at the mercy of the local weather. In the 1925-26 season, Wisconsin was able to play three exhibition games with two taking place before the new year. Playing three games at Eveleth (2) and Virginia (1) across the western border proved to be valuable practice. The Badgers opened the regular season with two shutouts the following weekend at Marquette and scored 14 goals in two shutouts. The team didn’t lose a game until the back-half of a two-game series at Michigan on February 13, 1926. This set the stage for a big Michigan series at home at the beginning of March. Wisconsin entered the series with a 6-1-4 record.

On the opposite side of the puck, Michigan didn’t play the first game of the season until January 23. Wisconsin had already played five games and three exhibition contests by that date. The Wolverines hosted rivals Michigan State that day and defeated the Spartans 4-0. Michigan travelled to Michigan State on February 5 for the second game of the season and won again; this time 4-1. By the time the series at Wisconsin showed up on the schedule in the spring of 1926, the team was looking to right the ship after having just been swept by Minnesota. The Wolverines had played eight games at that point with a record of 3-3-2 going into the series.

Both games in March 1926 between Michigan and host Wisconsin were close affairs. The Badgers eked out a 2-1 victory in game one on Thursday, March 4. Wisconsin shut out the Wolverines the next day 2-0. The losses ended Michigan’s season with a final record of 3-5-2. Wisconsin was able to play yet another series the following week at Minnesota. Wisconsin was swept yet the Badgers ended with an impressive 8-3-4 record.

This series in 1926 was the fifteenth and sixteenth games played between these two programs. This weekend will see games 160 and 161 take place in the all-time series. Both games will be played on campus in Madison. However, the setting will be a little different inside the Kohl Center.

In the featured photo, three Wisconsin players and a Michigan player chase the puck across the rink. Games regularly took place in the daytime at this point in hockey history. A string of lights can be seen in the photo that stretches across the width of the rink. These lights likely didn’t provide an appropriate amount of light in order to safely play a collegiate game. This photo was date stamped October 27, 1926. However, no Wisconsin game occurred on that date and there likely wasn’t outdoor ice at that time. Trees in the background also appear to have no leaves which would be very uncommon at that point in the fall. Details on the opponent aren’t included with the photo but the opposing player appears to be wearing a sweater that Michigan players wore at that time. The last time Michigan visited Wisconsin prior to October 27, 1926, was the March 1926 series. We at College Hockey History estimate that is when this photo was taken.

Photo Credit: University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives: Meuer Albums Vol 10. Photo by William Meuer.