Conference Player of the Year Awards Part I and National Honors Finalists: Puck Drop

1. Puck Drop: Wednesday, March 11, 2026
2. AHA Tournament
3. Big Ten Tournament
4. CCHA Tournament
5. ECAC Tournament
6. Hockey East Tournament
7. NCHC Tournament
8. Women’s NCAA Tournament
9. Hockey Quote of the Day
10. We’ll Leave You With This …

The last of the college hockey conference tournaments are set to get under way, with the opening round of the Big Ten and Hockey East playoffs set to start Wednesday, never mind the regional semifinals in the Women’s NCAA Tournament scheduled for Thursday. By the end of the weekend, the majority of teams will have seen their season conclude.

While we hate to see the final games for so many, it also means it’s time for season accolades. There’s no set schedule for when each conference will reveal its top honors, so we’re going to compile and post them as best we can. Thus, the reason why th headline includes “Part I.”

Check back for more in the days ahead. As usual, we list the conferences in alphabetical order, men, then women, including the finalists for a pair of national honors.

All-CCHA First Team: Oliver Peer, Jr., Bemidji State; Stiven Sardarian, Sr., Michigan Tech; Lucas Wahlin, Sr., St. Thomas; Jack Anderson, Sr., Michigan Tech; Evan Murr, Jr., Minnesota State; Josh Kotai, Jr., Augustana

CCHA All-Rookie Team: Leo Bulgakov, Augustana; Nathan Pilling, St. Thomas; Lucas Van Vliet, St. Thomas; Brayden Crampton, Bowling Green; Hayes Hundley, St. Thomas; Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, Northern Michigan

ECAC All-Rookie Team: Ethan Wyttenbach, F, Quinnipiac; Antonin Verreault, F, Quinnipiac; Rasmus Svartstrom, F, St. Lawrence; Thomas Klassek, D, RPI; Xavier Veilleux, D, Cornell; Alexis Cournoyer, G, Cornell

All-NCHC First Team: F Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth, So.; F Tyson Gross, St. Cloud State, Jr.; F Cruz Lucius, Arizona State, Sr. ; D: Eric Pohlkamp, Denver, Jr.; D: Jake Livanavage, North Dakota, Jr.; G Jan Špunar, North Dakota, Fr.

NCHC All-Rookie Team: F Cole Reschny, North Dakota; F Will Zellers, North Dakota; F David Deputy, Miami; D Keaton Verhoeff, North Dakota; D Eric Jamieson, Denver; G Jan Špunar, North Dakota

Women’s AHA: Player of the Year and Forward of the Year Tessa Janecke, Sr., Penn State; Best Defender Kendall Butze, Sr., Penn State; Goaltender of the Year Katie Desa, Sr., Penn State; Rookie of the Year Danica Maynard, D, Fr., Penn State, Best Defensive Forward Jessica MacKinnon, So., Robert Morris; Sportsmanship Award Kaitlin Finnegan, F, Gr,, Delaware; Scholar-Athlete of the Year Molly Henderson, Sr., Lindenwood; Coach of the Year Jeff Kampersal, Penn State

Women’s ECAC: Player of the Year Clarkson freshman Sara Manness; Rookie of the Year Clarkson freshman Sara Manness; Forward of the Year Clarkson freshman Sara Manness; Defender of the Year Yale’s Molly Boyle; Coach of the Year: Yale’s Mark Bolding

Women’s Hockey East: Player of the Year Northeastern freshman F Stryker Zablocki; Co-Rookie of the Year Northeastern freshman F Stryker Zablocki and Boston College F Ava Thomas; Coach of the Year Holy Cross’ Katie Lachapelle 

NEWHA: Player of the Year Brooklyn Schneiderhan, Saint Anselm; Defensive Player of the Year Justina Valentini, Assumption; Goaltender of the Year: Jill Hertl, Franklin Pierce; Rookie of the Year: Addison Andre, Franklin Pierce; Coach of the Year: David Stockdale, Franklin Pierce

Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Finalists: Tia Chan, G, Gr., Connecticut; Joy Dunne, F, Jr., Ohio State; Lacey Eden, F, RSr., Wisconsin; Laila Edwards, D/F, Sr., Wisconsin; Caroline Harvey, D, Sr., Wisconsin; Tessa Janecke, F, Sr., Penn State; Kahlen Lamarche, F, Jr., Quinnipiac; Abbey Murphy, F, Gr., Minnesota; Kirsten Simms, F, Sr., Wisconsin; Issy Wunder, F, Sr., Princeton

NCAA Goaltender of the Year Finalists : Felicia Frank, Quinnipiac; Eve Gascon, Minnesota Duluth; Tia Chan, Connecticut

Puck Drop: Wednesday, March 11, 2026

• Former Denver forward Bobby Brink, who was recently acquired by the Minnesota Wild at the trading deadline, went hard head-first into the board against Utah (perhaps ironically it was former Gophers center Logan Cooley who had knocked him off-balance) and left the game, only to return and get his first goal before his hometown fans.

Bobby Brink – Minnesota Wild (14) pic.twitter.com/YJEgd8hIX6

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 11, 2026

Here are then-and-now photos of Brink, who grew up in Minnetonka, just outside of Minneapolis, wearing a No. 10 Marian Gaborik jersey on the ice as a kid. Take notice of his jersey number with the Wild.

how it started vs how it’s going pic.twitter.com/BvD7bn9pTE

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 9, 2026

• The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team defeated China 7-1 in its final preliminary-round game of the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Italy. Declan Farmer registered his 54th-career Paralympic point to secure the all-time record with a power-play goal. Team USA outshot China 31-9, and went 5-9 on the power play. Team USA will play Czechia in a semifinal at 9:30 a.m. Friday, which will be shown on USA Network and streamed on Peacock. The other semifinal will feature Canada against China.

• When former Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini extended his active scoring streak to four games against Buffalo, he reached 90 points (33 goals, 57 assists) in just 62 games. It’s the third-fewest games by a teenager in NHL history to reach the mark behind Sidney Crosby (54 games, 2006-07) and Wayne Gretzky (56, 1979-80).

• Michigan State announced the death of Dylan Pavelek, a four-year letterman from 2015-18. No other details were included. Pavelek was 30.

Meanwhile, the NHL continues to mourn the loss of former North Dakota standout Troy Murray:

Emotional interview with Eddie O today on “The Check In” as he talked about former teammate and longtime friend Troy Murray who passed away last weekend after a long battle with cancer. Beautiful stories about a great man. #NHLJets #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/9wx6UH0XsX

— Jamie Thomas (@JamieThomasTV) March 10, 2026

• The sons of former St. Cloud State center Matt Cullen are set to play together at Minnesota. Wyatt Cullen, who is on the U.S. National U18 Team, confirmed to the USHL YouTube page that he plan to join his brother Brooks with the Gophers next season.

• Check out the first NHL goal from former Massachusetts defenseman Ryan Ufko:

First NHL goal from Ryan Ufko. Nastiest first ever goal for a Nashville Predator? 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZHpZn18jKH

— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) March 11, 2026

All times are local to where the game is being played.

AHA Tournament

Semifinals
Best of 3
Friday, March 13 (Through Sunday)
Robert Morris at Bentley, 7 p.m. ET
Holy Cross at Sacred Heart, 7 p.m. ET

Big Ten Tournament

Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 11
Ohio State at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. CT
Notre Dame at Michigan, 7 p.m. ET
Minnesota at Penn State, 7 p.m. ET

Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
Lowest seed remaining at Michigan State
Quarterfinal winner at highest seed remaining

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Semifinal winners at top-advancing team

CCHA Tournament

Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
Augustana at St. Thomas
Michigan Tech at Minnesota State

ECAC Tournament

Quarterfinals
Best of 3
Friday, March 13 (through Sunday)
Clarkson at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m. ET
Colgate at Dartmouth, 7 p.m. ET
Harvard at Cornell, 7 p.m. ET
Union at Princeton, 7 p.m.

Hockey East Tournament

Opening Round
Wednesday, March 11
Vermont at Boston University, 6:30 p.m. ET
New Hampshire vs. Northeastern (at Boston College), 7 p.m. ET
UMass Lowell at Merrimack, 7 p.m. ET

Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 14
Third-lowest remaining seed at Connecticut, 1 p.m. ET
Second-lowest remaining seed at Massachusetts, 4 p.m. ET
Maine at Boston College, NESN, 7 p.m. ET
Lowest remaining seed at Providence, 7 p.m.

NCHC Tournament

Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
Minnesota Duluth at North Dakota, 6 p.m. CT
Western Michigan at Denver, 7 p.m. MT

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Semifinal winners at higher seed

Women’s NCAA Tournament

Regional Semifinals
Thursday, March 12
Minnesota Duluth vs. Yale, 5 p.m. CT
Princeton vs. Connecticut, 6 p.m. CT
Franklin Pierce vs. Quinnipiac, 7 p.m. CT

Regional Championships
Saturday, March 14
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. winner of Quinnipiac-Franklin Pierce, 2 p.m. ET
No. 3 Penn State vs. winner Princeton-Connecticut, 2 p.m. ET
No. 5 Northeastern at No. 4 Minnesota, 2 p.m. CT
No. 1 Ohio State vs. winner of Yale-UMD, 6 p.m. ET

Frozen Four
Friday, March 20
Winner of Ohio State Regional vs. winner of Minnesota Regional, 4/7:30 p.m. ET
Winner of Wisconsin Regional vs. winner of Penn State Regional, 4/7:30 p.m. ET

Championship Game
At Pegula Ice Aren, Penn State
4 p.m.

Hockey Quote of the Day

“Even then we were highly competitive with each other, but we were twice as competitive with anybody that challenged either one of us. I got in many a fight for Tony and he got in many a one for me, and we had some groovy fights with each other. Once I knocked a hole right through our basement wall when we were fighting. My father never found out. We covered the hole with a picture of Jesus.”

Phil Esposito

We’ll Leave You With This …

The former Boston University defenseman is just having a nasty season physically.

McAvoy broke his front teeth and lost more bottom teeth tonight but came back and scored the Bruins’ game-winning goal in overtime. pic.twitter.com/VBsUnjG9WE

— Bridgette Proulx (@bridgetteproulx) March 11, 2026

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