| 2017 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 3–18, 2017 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Finals site | MacInnes Student Ice Arena Houghton, Michigan |
| Champions | Michigan Tech (10th title) |
| Winning coach | Mel Pearson (1st title) |
| Most Outstanding Player | Shane Hanna (Michigan Tech) |
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments | |
The 2017 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 58th conference playoff in league history and 63rd season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2017 tournament was played between March 3 and March 18, 2017, at four conference arenas, with the championship game being hosted by Michigan Tech at their home rink, MacInnes Student Ice Arena. By winning the tournament, Michigan Tech was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The first two rounds of the postseason tournament features a best-of-three games format. The top eight conference teams participate in the tournament. Teams are seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The higher seeded teams each earn home ice and host one of the lower seeded teams.
The final was a single game held at the campus site of the highest remaining seed.
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
| Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | SOW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Bemidji State † | 28 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 64 | 71 | 44 | 41 | 22 | 16 | 3 | 94 | 79 | |
| #19 Michigan Tech * | 28 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 54 | 80 | 59 | 45 | 23 | 15 | 7 | 131 | 100 | |
| Minnesota State | 28 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 51 | 89 | 68 | 39 | 22 | 13 | 4 | 119 | 95 | |
| Bowling Green | 28 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 79 | 65 | 41 | 21 | 18 | 2 | 120 | 102 | |
| Ferris State | 28 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 42 | 78 | 74 | 37 | 13 | 19 | 5 | 95 | 101 | |
| Alaska | 28 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 40 | 67 | 84 | 36 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 79 | 113 | |
| Lake Superior State | 28 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 35 | 78 | 87 | 36 | 11 | 18 | 7 | 103 | 119 | |
| Northern Michigan | 28 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 69 | 75 | 39 | 13 | 22 | 4 | 93 | 108 | |
| Alabama–Huntsville | 28 | 9 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 68 | 95 | 34 | 9 | 22 | 3 | 74 | 120 | |
| Alaska Anchorage | 28 | 6 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 52 | 80 | 34 | 7 | 21 | 6 | 59 | 102 | |
| Championship: March 18, 2017 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup); * indicates conference tournament champion (Broadmoor Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 6, 2017 | |||||||||||||||
Teams are reseeded after the first round
| Quarterfinals March 3–5 | Semifinals March 10–12 | Championship March 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Bemidji State | 3 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Northern Michigan | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Bemidji State | 3 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Bowling Green | 4* | 2 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Michigan Tech | 6 | 8 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Lake Superior State | 4 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Michigan Tech | 3** | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Bowling Green | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota State | 3 | 4 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Alaska | 0 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Michigan Tech | 5 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota State | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Bowling Green | 6 | 5 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Ferris State | 1 | 3 | — | ||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime periods
| March 3 | Bemidji State | 3–0 | Northern Michigan | Sanford Center | Recap | |||
| No Scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (G. Fitzgerald, Harms) Leo Fitzgerald (6) - GW - 01:22 (Marinaccio, G. Fitzgerald) Zach Whitecloud (3) - PP - 08:20 (Marinaccio, Baudry) Kyle Bauman (13) - 12:36 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 30 saves / 30 shots ) Michael Bitzer | Goalie stats | Atte Tolvanen ( 24 saves / 27 shots ) | ||||||
| March 4 | Bemidji State | 2–4 | Northern Michigan | Sanford Center | Recap | |||
| No Scoring | First period | 17:25 - Shane Sooth (5) (Hanson, Shine) | ||||||
| (Harms) Nate Arentz (6) - SH - 01:32 | Second period | 01:04 - PP - Gerard Hanson (7) (Hannoun, Shine) 17:25 - GW PP - Dominik Shine (19) (Hanson, Sooth) | ||||||
| (Muck, G. Fitzgerald) Dan Billett (2) - GW - 13:37 | Third period | 18:27 - EN - Dominik Shine (20) (Hanson, Yaremko) | ||||||
| ( 17 saves / 20 shots ) Michael Bitzer | Goalie stats | Atte Tolvanen ( 46 saves / 48 shots ) | ||||||
| March 5 | Bemidji State | 3–1 | Northern Michigan | Sanford Center | Recap | |||
| (Arentz, Muck) Myles Fitzgerald (5) - 05:18 (L. Fitzgerald, G. Fitzgerald) Brendan Harms (8) - GW - 05:52 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 17:40 - PP - Brock Maschmeyer (5) (Shine, Payne) | ||||||
| (unassisted) Phillip Marinaccio (10) - EN - 19:42 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 19 saves / 20 shots ) Michael Bitzer | Goalie stats | Atte Tolvanen ( 25 saves / 27 shots ) | ||||||
| Bemidji State wins series 2–1 | |
| March 3 | Michigan Tech | 6–4 | Lake Superior State | MacInnes Student Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| (L'Esperance, Watson) Alex Smith (7) - 03:34 (Hanna, Jackson) Reid Sturos (9) - 04:54 (L'Esperance, Watson) Alex Gillies (5) - 09:35 (Hanna, Lucchini) Mitch Reinke (6) - PP - 10:53 (Sturos, Neville) Jake Jackson (7) - GW - 11:33 | First period | 07:28 - Mitch Hults (11) (Saccoman, Bindulis) 15:36 - PP - Luke Morgan (7) (Hults, Cuglietta) | ||||||
| (Neville, Sturos) Jake Jackson (8) - 01:19 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:47 - Gage Torrel (14) (Hults, Bindulis) 05:12 - Gus Correale (6) (Hults) | ||||||
| ( 14 saves / 17 shots ) Angus Redmond / ( 0 saves / 1 shots ) Matt Wintjes | Goalie stats | Gordon Defiel ( 14 saves / 20 shots ) / Nick Kossoff ( 31 saves / 31 shots ) | ||||||
| March 4 | Michigan Tech | 8–0 | Lake Superior State | MacInnes Student Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| (Jackson, Watson) Reid Sturos (10) - GW - 03:30 (Roy, Auk) Joel L'Esperance (9) - PP - 18:38 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Sturos, Hanna) Mike Neville (6) - SH - 08:34 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Neville, Roy) Shane Hanna (7) - 01:42 (Roy, Auk) Gavin Gould (7) - PP - 05:49 (L'Esperance, Smith) Mark Auk (4) - PP - 11:56 (Gould) Chris Leibinger (8) - 12:08 (Heinonen, Lucchini) Joel L'Esperance (10) - 19:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 16 saves / 16 shots ) Angus Redmond | Goalie stats | Gordon Defiel ( 30 saves / 38 shots ) | ||||||
| Michigan Tech wins series 2–0 | |
| March 3 | Minnesota State | 3–0 | Alaska | Verizon Wireless Center | Recap | |||
| (Foguth, Stepan) Sean Flanagan (5) - GW - 02:05 (Huntebrinker, Flanagan) Parker Tuomie (7) - PP - 12:47 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Nelson, Flanagan) Parker Tuomie (8) - 15:15 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 23 saves / 23 shots ) Jason Pawloski | Goalie stats | Davis Jones ( 30 saves / 33 shots ) | ||||||
| March 4 | Minnesota State | 4–1 | Alaska | Verizon Wireless Center | Recap | |||
| (Tuomie, Coatta) Jordan Nelson (4) - 09:51 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Brickley, Franklin) Zeb Knutson (14) - GW PP - 08:24 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Nelson) Max Coatta (5) - 15:10 (Brickley, Tuomie) Max Coatta (6) - EN - 19:45 | Third period | 03:47 - Ross Heidt (14) (Frye, Thompson) | ||||||
| ( 29 saves / 30 shots ) Jason Pawloski | Goalie stats | Davis Jones ( 33 saves / 36 shots ) | ||||||
| Minnesota State wins series 2-0 | |
| March 3 | Bowling Green | 6–1 | Ferris State | Slater Family Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| (Spezia, Walker) Matt Pohlkamp (9) - 06:46 (Mercier, Friedman) Stephen Baylis (3) - GW - 09:15 | First period | 12:47 - PP - Jared VanWormer (9) (McDonald, Mayhew) | ||||||
| (D'Andrea, Spezia) Matt Pohlkamp (10) - PP - 02:58 (Pohlkamp) Sean Walker (10) - GW - 03:50 (McLain, Pohlkamp) Alec Rauhauser (4) - 05:49 (Walker, D'Andrea) Lukas Craggs (7) - 17:47 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 27 saves / 28 shots ) Chris Nell | Goalie stats | Justin Kapelmaster ( 9 saves / 11 shots ) / Darren Smith ( 18 saves / 22 shots ) | ||||||
| March 4 | Bowling Green | 5–3 | Ferris State | Slater Family Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| (Pohlkamp, Smith) Joe McKeown (1) - 03:39 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Dufour, Pohlkamp) Pierre-Luc Mercier (6) - PP - 01:23 | Second period | 11:48 - PP - Mitch Maloney (9) (Mayhew, Dorantes) | ||||||
| (McLain, Mercier) Kevin Dufour (14) - 17:12 (Mercier, Walker) Alec Rauhauser (5) - GW PP - 17:48 (Pohlkamp, Friedman) Tyler Spezia (8) - PP EN - 19:26 | Third period | 11:20 - PP - Jason Tackett (4) (Dorantes, Rutkowski) 12:24 - Trevor Recktenwald (4) (Hetz) | ||||||
| ( 27 saves / 30 shots ) Chris Nell | Goalie stats | Darren Smith ( 24 saves / 28 shots ) | ||||||
| Bowling Green wins series 2–0 | |
| March 10 | Bemidji State | 3–4 | OT | Bowling Green | Sanford Center | Recap | ||
| (Bauman, O'Connor) Phillip Marinaccio (11) - 14:09 | First period | 09:08 - Kevin Dufour (15) (Rauhauser) | ||||||
| (Bauman) Myles Fitzgerald (6) - PP - 04:45 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| (M. Fitzgerald, Struthers) Nate Arentz (11) - 01:45 | Third period | 00:32 - Matt Pohlkamp (11) (Spezia) 13:30 - Kevin Dufour (16) (Dalton, Pohlkamp) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 17:23 - GW - Kevin Dufour (17) (Smith, Schilling) | ||||||
| ( 30 saves / 34 shots ) Michael Bitzer | Goalie stats | Chris Nell ( 45 saves / 48 shots ) | ||||||
| March 11 | Bemidji State | 1–2 | Bowling Green | Sanford Center | Recap | |||
| (L. Fitzgerald, Whitecloud) Gerry Fitzgerald (13) - 03:16 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:35 - Kevin Dufour (18) (Friedman, Spezia) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:49 - GW - Matt Pohlkamp (12) (McLain, Baylis) | ||||||
| ( 30 saves / 32 shots ) Michael Bitzer | Goalie stats | Chris Nell ( 25 saves / 26 shots ) | ||||||
| Bowling Green wins series 2–0 | |
| March 10 | Michigan Tech | 5–1 | Minnesota State | MacInnes Student Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| (Smith, Gillies) Mark Auk (5) - 14:55 | First period | 17:31 - Charlie Gerard (3) (Lewis) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Gillies, Birks) Reid Sturos (11) - GW - 03:31 (L'Esperance, Hanna) Jake Jackson (9) - 06:55 (Auk, Redmond) Gavin Gould (8) - 10:07 (Roy, Smith) Dane Birks (2) - SH - 15:20 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 22 saves / 23 shots ) Angus Redmond | Goalie stats | Jason Pawloski ( 22 saves / 26 shots ) | ||||||
| March 11 | Michigan Tech | 0–1 | Minnesota State | MacInnes Student Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| No Scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:29 - GW - Zeb Knutson (15) (Lewis) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 22 saves / 23 shots ) Angus Redmond | Goalie stats | Jason Pawloski ( 15 saves / 15 shots ) | ||||||
| March 12 | Michigan Tech | 4–1 | Minnesota State | MacInnes Student Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| (Beretta, Auk) Gavin Gould (9) - 07:10 | First period | 07:59 - Ian Scheid (3) (Brickley, Pawloski) | ||||||
| (L'Esperance, Auk) Gavin Gould (10) - GW PP - 09:28 (Roy, Smith) Gavin Gould (11) - 10:53 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Neville) Chris Leibinger (9) - EN - 18:28 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 20 saves / 21 shots ) Angus Redmond | Goalie stats | Jason Pawloski ( 18 saves / 21 shots ) | ||||||
| Michigan Tech wins series 2–1 | |
| March 18 | Michigan Tech | 3–2 | 2OT | Bowling Green | MacInnes Student Ice Arena | Recap | ||
| No Scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Gillies) Joel L'Esperance (11) - 04:53 (Neville, Hanna) Jake Jackson (10) - 12:25 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:36 - Joe McKeown (2) (Rauhauser, Spezia) 07:00 - Matt Pohlkamp (13) (unassisted) | ||||||
| (Roy, Neville) Shane Hanna (8) - GW - 06:35 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| ( 36 saves / 38 shots ) Angus Redmond | Goalie stats | Chris Nell ( 27 saves / 30 shots ) | ||||||
Shane Hanna (Michigan Tech)