By Tyler Platz and Mike King
Quinnipiac’s journey to the Frozen Four in St. Louis begins today as regional play in Allentown kicks off the 2025 installment of the NCAA men’s ice hockey tournament. The 16-team bracket includes six conference tournament champions who earned automatic bids, while the remaining 10 teams received at-large selections.
Despite falling in the conference semifinals to the eventual ECAC champion Cornell, Quinnipiac once again makes its way into the tournament as an at-large team, thanks to the PairWise rankings. Hours out from puck drop, everything is set: Which teams are poised to make a run? Which players can change the game with the puck on their stick? And what needs to happen for Quinnipiac to advance to the Frozen Four?
Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. as Quinnipiac looks to make another NCAA run while UConn makes its tournament debut.
Who’s got a shot?
No. 1 Boston College: 26-7-2 (18-4-2)
There are many worthy contenders for this year’s chance at winning it all. Receiving the No. 1 rank in the USA Today poll as well as the top seed in regional play, Boston College looks like the team to beat in this tournament.
The Eagles boast two of the top point scorers in the country, with sophomore forward Ryan Leonard notching 29 goals and 18 assists alongside sophomore forward Gabe Perreault, who put up 15 goals and 32 helpers. With a high pace of play and multiple NHL draft picks on the roster, expect ferocity out of the boys from Chestnut Hill as they look to capture their first national championship since 2012.
No. 3 University of Maine: 24-7-6 (13-5-6)
Another team with the makings to win it all in 2025 is UMaine. The Black Bears are riding some serious momentum coming into regional play after receiving an automatic bid due to their recent Hockey East conference championship win over UConn.
Maine is led by senior forward and team leading point-getter Harrison Scott. The team will face off against Penn State for the first time in program history, looking to make a splash in the early stages of the Allentown regionals. With 10 wins over ranked teams this season, watch for the Black Bears to do damage early and often, as they’ve scored a whopping 16 goals in their last three games.
No. 4 Western Michigan: 30-7-1 (19-4-1)
To round out the podium of potential winners, the NCHC (National Collegiate Hockey Conference) presents its conference champion, Western Michigan. This season, the Broncos became the second team in conference history to win the regular season title as well as the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, marking a historic run for the program. On top of this, they led the NCAA in wins this year with 30 and tied the record of 19 victories against in-conference foes.
The Broncos provide a scary, top-tier offense in this tournament, with sophomore forwards Alex Bump, Owen Michaels, and senior forward Matteo Constantini combining for 98 points on the team’s top forward trio. Keep an especially close eye on Bump in this tournament, as he’s recorded a point in 20 of his last 22 games and was named the NCHC Forward of the Year this past regular season.
– Mike King
Key players to watch for
Jacob Fowler | So. | G | Boston College
The Eagles have the market cornered. Not only are they a threat to put up points – led by Walter Brown Award recipient Ryan Leonard – but they also have arguably the top netminder in the country holding down the back end in Jacob Fowler.
The 6-foot-2-inch goaltender has a 1.63 goals-against-average and seven shutouts heading into the tournament, both good enough for second in the nation. Not allowing goals will be huge for this Eagles team, which can lean on Fowler in close-scoring games. It’s difficult to beat a team that’s capable of outscoring you, it’s nearly impossible to beat a team that’s capable of both outscoring and shutting you out.
Aiden Fink | So. | F | Penn State
Penn State has been one of the more consistent teams over the past two months, sporting a 10-3-2 record in its last 15 games. Just as consistent has been Aiden Fink; he’s the classic chess piece— the perfect fit.
He finished second in the country in points per game at 1.41, amassing 52 points in 37 games played. If the Nittany Lions want to advance into the later rounds, they’ll need that consistency from Fink to carry over from the regular season and conference playoffs into the NCAA tournament.
Zeev Buium | So. | D | Denver
Most of the chatter around the defending champion Pioneers is about senior forward Jack Devine, who led the country in assists. However, Denver’s key player might be Zeev Buium, a two-way defenseman who can make an impact on the goal line and the blue line. The 12th overall pick from the 2024 NHL draft finished second in points among all defensemen with 43, making him a constant threat in transition.
The winner of the tournament will be decided by which team can produce the most when it matters. Buium’s 200-foot game forces opponents to account for him at all times and could be integral to Denver hoisting its third trophy in the last four years.
– Tyler Platz
How did Quinnipiac get here?
The Bobcats have come a long way since the start of the season. In its first nine games of the winter, Quinnipiac suffered through a 3-6 stretch that left fans and other programs wondering what was going wrong for the 2023 national title holders.
Since that stretch, the team found its groove and went on to finish the season on a scorching hot run, going 21-5-2 in that span.
However, Quinnipiac didn’t just rely on scoring goals and dishing sweet assists to make it to this point. Its goalie tandem of sophomore goalkeepers Dylan Silverstein and Matej Marinov has played a crucial role in getting the Bobcats back to national championship contention.
“Both are extremely talented with great work ethic,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “We feel that either one of them can win us a game.”
The duo ranked among the top five in the ECAC in individual goals against average, with Silverstein ranking fifth (2.22) while Marinov led the conference with 1.75. Marinov also led the conference in save percentage, finishing at a .928 rate.
– Mike King
How Quinnipiac can avoid another early exit
The Bobcats’ path to the Frozen Four begins with a rematch against UConn, the team that beat them 2-1 in a close CT Ice semifinals meeting in January. If Quinnipiac wants a different result, it needs to prevent UConn from keeping the game close. The Bobcats need to capitalize on any offensive opportunities to put points on the board, something they couldn’t seem to do in their last matchup with UConn.
“We did play in chaos,” Pecknold said. “We had chances. Our offense were, phenomenal. We just didn’t score.”
UConn kept the game tight thanks to its physical style of play, a style the Bobcats showed they could match. The Huskies stayed within reach until the final second when junior forward Ryan Tattle scored the game-winning goal. To advance, Quinnipiac will need to learn from its previous mistakes and, more importantly, execute when it counts.
– Tyler Platz