2018 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

Last updated

The 2018 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 59th conference playoff in league history and 64th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2018 tournament was played between March 2 and March 17, 2018, at four conference arenas, with the championship game being hosted by Northern Michigan at their home rink, Berry Events Center. By winning the tournament, Michigan Tech was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Contents

Format

The first two rounds of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. The top eight conference teams participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standings, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The higher seeded teams each earned 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.

Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

Conference recordOverall record
GPWLTSOWPTSGFGAGPWLTGFGA
#9 Minnesota State 28225106711658402910115384
#20 Northern Michigan 28197226185644325153130108
Bowling Green 28176525887634123126122100
Bemidji State 2813964497763381614810395
#16 Michigan Tech*281211524382754422175134117
Ferris State 28111610346886381423187122
Alabama–Huntsville 28101621336986371223284121
Alaska 2891721307485361122397118
Lake Superior State 2881730275990361022476121
Alaska Anchorage 2842133185510234426465124
Championship: March 17, 2018
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Broadmoor Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 5, 2018

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round

Quarterfinals
March 2–4 [1]
Semifinals
March 9–11
Championship
March 17
             
1Minnesota State86
8 Alaska 2 2
1 Minnesota State 22 1
5Michigan Tech1 42*
2Northern Michigan72 5
7 Alabama-Huntsville 1 32
5Michigan Tech2
2 Northern Michigan 0
3Bowling Green2* 5
6 Ferris State 1 2
2Northern Michigan60 3*
3 Bowling Green 1 12
4 Bemidji State 3 4
5Michigan Tech55

Note: * denotes overtime periods

Results

Quarterfinals

(1) Minnesota State vs. (8) Alaska

March 2Minnesota State8–2Alaska Verizon Arena Recap  
(Rivera, Spooner) Brad McClure (10) - 02:18
(Spooner) Reggie Lutz (7) - 10:53
(Zmolek, Suess) Marc Michaelis (17) - GW - 15:58
First period04:04 - Ross Heidt (7) (Staley, Leiter)
(Brickley, Gerads) Max Coatta (5) - 05:58
(Knutson, Hookenson) Jake Jaremko (13) - 06:16
(Spooner, Rivera) Brad McClure (11) - 08:04
(Suess) Parker Tuomie (9) - 10:34
Second period05:29 - Tristan Thompson (5) (Staley, Frye)
(Tuomie, LaCouvee) C. J. Suess (22) - PP - 08:53Third periodNo scoring
( 19 saves / 21 shots ) Connor LaCouvee Goalie stats Anton Martinsson ( 16 saves / 22 shots ) / Niko DellaMaggiore ( 15 saves / 17 shots )
March 3Minnesota State6–2Alaska Verizon Arena Recap  
(Frye) Tayler Munson (8) - PP - 00:51
(Lutz, Scheid) Dallas Gerads (6) - PP - 15:21
First period10:50 - Edwin Hookenson (2) (Rivera, Lewis)
No scoringSecond periodNo scoring
(Lewis) Nick Rivera (8) - GW SH - 05:43
(Spooner, Brickley) Connor Mackey (6) - 06:08
(Knutson, Tuomie) Daniel Brickley (10) - PP - 07:36
(Tuomie, Knutson) Marc Michaelis (18) - PP - 10:38
Third period18:03 - PP - Zach Frye (11) (Van Tetering, Woods)
( 22 saves / 24 shots ) Connor LaCouvee Goalie stats Niko DellaMaggiore ( 33 saves / 39 shots )
Minnesota State wins series 2–0

(2) Northern Michigan vs. (7) Alabama–Huntsville

March 2Northern Michigan7–1Alabama–Huntsville Berry Events Center Recap  
(Rockwood, Beaulieu) Troy Loggins (18) - SH - 01:59
(Heikkila, Paskaruk) Demico Hannoun (2) - GW - 04:47
(Diamantoni, Rockwood) Robbie Payne (21) - 05:35
(Beaulieu, Rockwood) Denver Pierce (10) - PP - 08:50
First periodNo scoring
(Rockwood, Loggins) Denver Pierce (11) - 17:19Second periodNo scoring
(Klimek, Craighead) Philip Beaulieu (10) - 06:51
(Diamantoni, Tolvanen) Robbie Payne (22) - 07:20
Third period18:58 - PP - Brandon Parker (1) (Dunn, Kestner)
( 13 saves / 14 shots ) Atte Tolvanen Goalie stats Jordan Uhelski ( 4 saves / 8 shots ) / Mark Sinclair ( 28 saves / 31 shots )
March 3Northern Michigan2–3Alabama–Huntsville Berry Events Center Recap  
No ScoringFirst periodNo scoring
(Klimek, Beaulieu) Troy Loggins (19) - 03:52
(Beaulieu, Rockwood) Mitchell Slattery (2) - 14:18
Second period11:47 - Josh Kestner (22) (McHugh)
17:22 - Adam Wilcox (2) (Poulsen)
No scoringThird period19:31 - GW - Josh Kestner (23) (unassisted)
( 11 saves / 14 shots ) Atte Tolvanen Goalie stats Jordan Uhelski ( 22 saves / 24 shots )
March 4Northern Michigan5–2Alabama–Huntsville Berry Events Center Recap  
(Loggins, Beaulieu) Denver Pierce (12) - 02:45First period10:54 - Josh Kestner (24) (Poulsen)
(Nardi, Black) Mitchell Slattery (11) - 00:55
(Beaulieu, Rockwood) Troy Loggins (20) - GW PP - 13:11
(Loggins, Beaulieu) Denver Pierce (13) - PP - 14:58
Second period06:41 - PP - Max McHugh (3) (Gosselin, Larson)
(Rockwood) Troy Loggins (21) - EH EN - 19:38Third periodNo scoring
( 16 saves / 18 shots ) Atte Tolvanen Goalie stats Jordan Uhelski ( 28 saves / 32 shots )
Northern Michigan wins series 2–1

(3) Bowling Green vs. (6) Ferris State

March 2Bowling Green2–1OTFerris State Slater Family Ice Arena Recap  
(McLain, Spezia) Brandon Kruse (7) - 15:38First periodNo scoring
No scoringSecond period15:50 - PP - Jason Tackett (2) (Rutkowski, Recktenwald)
No scoringThird periodNo scoring
(McLain, Spezia) Brandon Kruse (8) - GW - 12:05First overtime periodNo scoring
( 34 saves / 35 shots ) Ryan Bednard Goalie stats Darren Smith ( 62 saves / 64 shots )
March 3Bowling Green5–2Ferris State Slater Family Ice Arena Recap  
(Reichert, Johnson) Sam Craggs (3) - 05:25
(Baylis, Rauhauser) Max Johnson (11) - PP - 14:22
First periodNo scoring
(Pohlkamp, Ford) Alec Rauhauser (9) - GW - 04:11Second period07:44 - Jason Tackett (3) (Rutkowski, Recktenwald)
14:08 - Jasen Fernsler (3) (Killins, MacDougall)
(Wright, Baylis) Brett D'Andrea (9) - 02:25
(Johnson, Baylis) Mitchell McLain (17) - PP - 15:55
Third periodNo scoring
( 33 saves / 35 shots ) Ryan Bednard Goalie stats Darren Smith ( 32 saves / 37 shots )
Bowling Green wins series 2-0

(4) Bemidji State vs. (5) Michigan Tech

March 2Bemidji State3–5Michigan Tech Sanford Center Recap  
(Harris) Hampus Sjödahl (3) - 06:46
(Bauman, Miller) Justin Baudry (8) - PP - 17:41
First period07:20 - Gavin Gould (13) (L'Esperance, Meek)
(Miller, Baudry) Brendan Harris (4) - PP - 03:18Second period16:43 - PP - Jake Lucchini (14) (Reinke, Auk)
No scoringThird period13:19 - PP - Jake Lucchini (15) (Auk, Reinke)
18:30 - GW - Seamus Donohue (3) (Steman)
19:44 - EN - Jake Jackson (10) (Lucchini, L'Esperance)
( 27 saves / 31 shots ) Michael Bitzer Goalie stats Devin Kero ( 22 saves / 25 shots )
March 3Bemidji State4–5Michigan Tech Sanford Center Recap  
No ScoringFirst period00:41 - Mitch Reinke (3) (L'Esperance, Lucchini)
04:13 - SH - Jake Lucchini (16) (L'Esperance)
(Whitecloud, Brady) Gerry Fitzgerald (7) - PP - 11:03Second periodNo scoring
(G. Fitzgerald, Whitecloud) Jay Dickman (15) - EA - 17:48
(L. Fitzgerald) Justin Baudry (9) - EA - 18:47
(Brady, Whitecloud) Charlie Combs (13) - EA - 19:04
Third period13:01 - PP - Justin Misiak (7) (Auk, Reinke)
12:24 - Joel L'Esperance (9) (Lucchini, Birks)
18:32 - GW EN - Mark Auk (8) (Steman)
( 20 saves / 24 shots ) Michael Bitzer Goalie stats Devin Kero ( 33 saves / 37 shots )
Michigan Tech wins series 2–0

Semifinals

(1) Minnesota State vs. (5) Michigan Tech

March 9Minnesota State2–1Michigan Tech Verizon Arena Recap  
(Rivera, Brickley) Jared Spooner (4) - 18:26First periodNo scoring
(Tuomie, Scheid) Jake Jaremko (14) - GW PP - 01:22Second periodNo scoring
No scoringThird period09:19 - Joel L'Esperance (10) (Gould, Lucchini)
( 18 saves / 19 shots ) Connor LaCouvee Goalie stats Devin Kero ( 26 saves / 28 shots )
March 10Minnesota State2–4Michigan Tech Verizon Arena Recap  
(Brickley) Jake Jaremko (15) - 12:57First period09:19 - Justin Misiak (8) (unassisted)
15:20 - Mark Auk (9) (Jackson, Beretta)
(Jaremko, Scheid) Dallas Gerads (7) - PP - 13:13Second period12:04 - GW - Raymond Brice (4) (Gould, L'Esperance)
No scoringThird period19:53 - EN - Dylan Steman (7) (unassisted)
( 17 saves / 20 shots ) Connor LaCouvee Goalie stats Patrick Munson ( 31 saves / 33 shots )
March 11Minnesota State1–2OTMichigan Tech Verizon Arena Recap  
No ScoringFirst periodNo scoring
(Tuomie) Zeb Knutson (14) - PP - 10:30Second period06:09 - Jake Jackson (11) (Baltus, Donohue)
No scoringThird periodNo scoring
No scoringFirst overtime period15:07 - GW - Jake Jackson (12) (unassisted)
( 26 saves / 28 shots ) Connor LaCouvee Goalie stats Patrick Munson ( 41 saves / 42 shots )
Michigan Tech wins series 2–1

(2) Northern Michigan vs. (3) Bowling Green

March 9Northern Michigan6–1Bowling Green Berry Events Center Recap  
(Rockwood, Pierce) Troy Loggins (22) - PP - 14:30First period01:49 - PP - Max Johnson (12) (Baylis, Rauhauser)
(Rockwood, Beaulieu) Robbie Payne (23) - GW PP - 02:20
(Loggins, Rockwood) Philip Beaulieu (11) - 09:17
(Hannoun, Beaulieu) Anthony Paskaruk (1) - 09:44
Second periodNo scoring
(Craighead) Mitchell Slattery (4) - 10:28
(Diamantoni) Robbie Payne (24) - 16:55
Third periodNo scoring
( 19 saves / 20 shots ) Atte Tolvanen Goalie stats Ryan Bednard ( 23 saves / 29 shots )
March 10Northern Michigan0–1Bowling Green Berry Events Center Recap  
No ScoringFirst periodNo scoring
No scoringSecond periodNo scoring
No scoringThird period03:05 - GW PP - Connor Ford (8) (Schilling, Wright)
( 19 saves / 20 shots ) Atte Tolvanen Goalie stats Ryan Bednard ( 23 saves / 23 shots )
March 11Northern Michigan3–2OTBowling Green Berry Events Center Recap  
(Payne) Zach Diamantoni (6) - 18:55First periodNo scoring
No scoringSecond period00:52 - Max Johnson (13) (McLain, Baylis)
(Black, Diamantoni) Joseph Nardi (9) - 10:53Third period19:52 - EA - Mitchell McLain (18) (Rauhauser, Baylis)
(Black, Vermeulen) Troy Loggins (23) - GW - 15:53First overtime periodNo scoring
( 30 saves / 32 shots ) Atte Tolvanen Goalie stats Ryan Bednard ( 39 saves / 42 shots )
Northern Michigan wins series 2–1

Championship

(2) Northern Michigan vs. (5) Michigan Tech

March 18Northern Michigan0–2Michigan Tech Berry Events Center Recap  
No ScoringFirst periodNo scoring
No scoringSecond period05:36 - GW - Greyson Reitmeier (5) (Misiak, Meek)
No scoringThird period19:13 - EN - Joel L'Esperance (11) (Lucchini, Birks)
( 19 saves / 20 shots ) Atte Tolvanen Goalie stats Patrick Munson ( 21 saves / 21 shots )

Tournament awards

Most Outstanding Player

Patrick Munson (Michigan Tech)

References

  1. "Field Is Set For 2018 WCHA Postseason Tournament". wcha.com. February 25, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2018.