NFL
By Jason Gulden
Well, NCHC Hockey fans, we survived the regular season. Last weekend, we saw the 2025-2026 Penrose Cup champs crowned. I want to congratulate the North Dakota Fighting Hawks for a great season. The Arizona State Sun Devils’ season ended after finishing in 9th place in the conference.
Now it’s time for one of the best phrases in hockey. ITS PLAYOFFS NCHC HOCKEY TIME!!!!! Before we get into the playoffs, we need to recap last weekend, rankings, players of the week, players of the month, and conference awards.
Last weekend
Arizona State and Denver’s series was the only series that featured a sweep. Denver would win both games of the series. 5-2 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday. As I mentioned previously, Arizona State would see its season end while Denver would be locked into the 2nd seed in the playoffs.
Miami and Omaha, who were battling with Arizona State for a playoff spot, would each win a game this weekend. Omaha would win on Friday by the score of 5-3. Mimai (OH) would win on Saturday, 4-2. With the wins, Miami (OH) would lock up the 7th seed, while Omaha would lock up the 8th seed.
Colorado College took on Minnesota Duluth. Colorado College would win on Friday night by a score of 4-1. On Saturday night, the teams skated to a 2-2 tie with Minnesota Duluth, earning the extra point in the standings with a shootout victory. Colorado College would lock up the 6th seed while Minnesota Duluth was already locked into the 4th seed heading into the weekend.
I guess the series of the weekend took place in Kalamazoo. North Dakota needed one win in regulation on the weekend to secure the Penrose Cup. They took care of business on Friday night with a 5-3 victory and would win the Penrose Cup for the 7th time in conference history. Western would win on Saturday by the score of 4-3. Western would lock up the #3 seed.
Rankings
North Dakota and Western Michigan would remain in their spots after last weekend’s games. They are ranked #3 and #4, respectively. Denver would move up 1 spot to #7, while Minnesota Duluth would fall 1 spot to #10.
According to USCHO Bracketology for the NCAA tournament, those 4 teams will be the lone representatives from the NCHC this year. The NCHC would have 1 team in each region. Duluth would be in Albany. Western Michigan would be in Worcester. Denver, as I have said in previous articles, is a lock in the Loveland region (host team). North Dakota would be in the Sioux Falls region.
With conference tournaments starting this weekend or next weekend across the nation, those NCAA berths could change if an at-large team wins its conference tournament. The NCAA Men’s Hockey Selection Show takes place on March 22nd.
Players of the Week for Feb 23rd-March 1st
Forward of the Week goes to senior Samu Salminen from Denver. On the weekend, he would score 4 goals along with 1 assist for a five-point weekend. This is Samu’s first career NCHC Hockey weekly award in his last regular-season weekend.
Defenseman of the Week goes to Freshman Shaun McEwen from Miami (OH). He would help Miami clinch a playoff spot with 2 goals and 2 assists on the weekend. This is Shaun’s first NCHC Hockey weekly award.
Goaltender of the Week goes to someone very close and dear to my heart. I have had the privilege of watching him play the last 4 seasons at Colorado College. In his final regular-season game, Kaiden Mbereko would stop 39 of 40 of Minnesota Duluth’s shots on his way to a 4-1 victory on Friday. That game marked the 127th time he appeared in a game for the Tigers. Currently, that is tied for the school record with Jeff Sanger, who set the record during 1998-2002. This would be Kaiden’s 11th time winning Goaltender of the Week during his 4 years. It’s his first honor this season.
Rookie of the Week goes to Cole Reschny of North Dakota. He would help North Dakota clinch the Penrose Cup on Friday night with 2 assists in the game. Saturday, he would score his 5th goal of the season. This is his first Rookie of the Week win; however, he has won the forward of the week award twice this season.
Congrats to everyone who won player-of-the-week honors in the NCHC Hockey this season.
Players of the Month for February
Forward of the Month goes to Denver’s senior Rieger Lorenz. This month, Rieger was on fire. He would record a point in all 6 of the Pioneers’ games on his way to nine points in the month. He would have 4 goals and 5 assists during the month.
Defenseman of the Month comes as no surprise if you have read the last 3 articles this month. Abram Wiebe would end the month with 3 Defenseman of the Week honors. He would have 11 points total during the month, scoring 2 goals and dishing out 9 assists, helping North Dakota to a 5-2-1 record.
Goaltender of the Month goes to Denver freshman Johnny Hicks. He would lead Denver to a 5-0-1 record during the month. He would stop 152 shots during the month while posting a 1.50 goals against average and a .944 save percentage for the month. This is the third time Denver’s goaltenders have won the award this season. Previously, Quentin Miller, who is currently injured, won the award in November and December.
Rookie of the Month goes to Jeremy Loranger from Omaha. He would score three goals and add four assists during the month for the Mavericks. He would tally a point in four of the six games during the month with two multi-point games.
Conference Season Awards
These award winners will be announced over the next couple of weeks by the NCHC. Listed below are the finalists.
The Herb Brooks Coach of the Year
- David Carle, Denver
- Dane Jackson, North Dakota
- Anthony Noreen, Miami
The Player of the Year
- Tyson Gross, St. Cloud State
- Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
- Eric Pohlkamp, Denver
Senior Scholar-Athlete Award
- Kent Anderson, Denver
- Riley Bodnarchuk, Minnesota Duluth
- Dylan James, North Dakota
Rookie of the Year
- David Deputy, Miami
- Cole Reschny, North Dakota
- Jan Spunar, North Dakota
Goaltender of the Year
- Matteo Drobac, Miami
- Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan
- Jan Spunar, North Dakota
Offensive Defenseman of the Year
- Ty Hanson, Minnesota Duluth
- Jake Livanavage, North Dakota
- Eric Pohlkamp, Denver
Defensive Defenseman of the Year
- Adam Kleber, Minnesota Duluth
- Jake Livanavage, North Dakota
- Bennett Zmolek, North Dakota
Forward of the Year
- Tyson Gross, St. Cloud State
- Cruz Lucius, Arizona State
- Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
Defensive Forward of the Year
- Tyson Gross, St. Cloud State
- Dylan James, North Dakota
- Owen Michaels, Western Michigan
Three Stars Award
- David Deputy, Miami
- Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan
* This category only has two because there was a four-way tie for third place.
Sportsmanship Award
- Blake Mesenburg, Miami
- Grant Slukynsky, Western Michigan
- Trevor Wong, Omaha
Even though these award winners will be announced throughout the Frozen Faceoff, I will not announce the winners for a couple of weeks. It will be in the NCHC Hockey Frozen Faceoff Championship article once the tournament is over.
Frozen Faceoff and History
Well, it’s time, NCHC Hockey fans. PLAYOFF HOCKEY IS HERE!!!!!! This first round will be a best-of-three weekend series.
Colorado College (#6) will travel to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan (#3). This season, these teams met only once in a series, which took place February 20th and 21st in Colorado Springs. Western Michigan won the game on Saturday night. The Friday night game ended in a tie, with Western winning the shootout.
- These two teams have a history of facing off in the NCHC playoffs. Although Colorado College holds a 7-14-2 record against Western Michigan in school history, they have met twice before in a playoff series in Kalamazoo. Colorado College advanced both times: winning the series 2-1 in 2019 and 2-0 in 2023. Will this series end the same way for the Tigers, or will the Broncos get revenge?
Miami (OH) (#7) travels to face Denver (#2). These teams met in early December in Denver, where Denver dominated the series by winning 4-0 and 5-2.
- They have faced each other multiple times in the NCHC playoffs and the NCAA tournament. In 2004, Denver beat Miami 3-2 in the NCAA tournament. In 2009, Miami defeated Denver 4-2 in the NCAA tournament. In 2014, Denver won 4-3 in the NCAA tournament. In 2015, Miami took the win with a 6-3 score in the NCHC tournament. In 2022 and 2023, Denver swept Miami in the playoffs, advancing to the semifinals each year. What outcome can we expect this year between these two teams?
St. Cloud State (#5) travels to Minnesota Duluth (#4). These teams faced off 4 times this season. Minnesota Duluth would sweep St. Cloud State in early November in Duluth and then in mid-January at St. Cloud, St. Cloud would win on Friday by a 6-0 score before Duluth came back the following night and won 5-3.
- In 2016, St. Cloud State beat Duluth 3-1 in the Frozen Faceoff Championship game. In 2019, Duluth would get its revenge by beating St. Cloud 3-2 in double overtime to win the Frozen Faceoff. In 2021, St. Cloud State would win 3-2 to move on to the championship game of the Frozen Faceoff. In 2022, Duluth would sweep St. Cloud in the first round of the NCHC tournament. 2023 St. Cloud would beat Duluth 2-1 to move on to the semifinals of the NCHC tournament. What result will we see this year?
The final series features Omaha (#8) traveling to North Dakota (#1). This season, North Dakota swept both series against Omaha. In early November, North Dakota won 7-2 and 4-1 in Omaha. In mid-December, North Dakota would win 4-1 and 3-1 at home.
- In 2018, North Dakota swept Omaha in the first round. In 2023, North Dakota won 2-1. In 2024, Omaha beat North Dakota to advance to the conference championship game. In 2025, North Dakota swept Omaha in the quarterfinals. Will the results be the same this season?
As you can see, these four matchups haven’t been strangers this time of year. What will this weekend bring?
Closing
Well, like I have said, IT’S PLAYOFF TIME!!!!! It’s a win-or-go-home mentality this weekend. Four of our teams will move on to the semifinals next weekend, and the other four will join Arizona State, with their season potentially ending depending on who loses.
It’s not a better time than now to grab your favorite snack, favorite beverage, and sit in your comfy chair and root on your favorite NCHC teams or players. This possibly could be the last time you see them this season.
Talk to you all next week as we recap these games and look ahead to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semi-finals.
