2023 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament

2023 NCAA Division III men's
ice hockey tournament
Teams	12
Finals site	Raymond J. Bourque Arena; Beverly, Massachusetts;
Champions	Hobart (1st title)
Runner-up	Adrian (3rd title game)
Semifinalists	University of New England (2nd Frozen Four); Endicott (1st Frozen Four);
Winning coach	Mark Taylor (1st title)
MOP	Damon Beaver (Hobart)
Attendance	812 (final)
	← 2022 ; NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournaments; 2024 →;

The 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 2022–23 season, the 38th such tournament in NCAA history. Hobart defeated defending champion Adrian 3–2 in overtime to win the program's first national championship.^[1]

Qualifying teams

Before the season, the NCAA amended its bylaws, lowering the requirement for conferences to receive automatic qualifiers from seven conference members to six.^[2] This meant that the WIAC champion would now be guaranteed a spot in the tournament field.

Twelve teams qualified for the tournament in the following ways: (Pool A) nine teams received bids as a result of being conference tournament champions from conferences that possessed an automatic bid, (Pool C) three additional teams received at-large bids based upon their records.^[3]

East							West
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth Type	Appearance	Last Bid	Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth Type	Appearance	Last Bid
1	Utica (1)	UCHC	25–2–1	Tournament Champion	4th	2022	1	Adrian (4)	NCHA	23–4–2	Tournament Champion	11th	2022
2	Endicott (2)	CCC	22–2–2	Tournament Champion	3rd	2020	2	Wisconsin–Stevens Point	WIAC	19–5–4	Tournament Champion	16th	2019
3	Hobart (3)	NEHC	26–2–0	Tournament Champion	12th	2022	3	Augsburg	MIAC	16–9–2	Tournament Champion	8th	2022
4	Curry	CCC	21–5–1	At-Large	5th	2011
5	Plattsburgh State	SUNYAC	20–5–2	Tournament Champion	20th	2017
6	Plymouth State	MASCAC	23–3–1	Tournament Champion	6th	2022
7	University of New England	CCC	19–6–2	At-Large	4th	2022
8	Norwich	NEHC	19–6–2	At-Large	20th	2020
9	Bowdoin	NESCAC	14–9–3	Tournament Champion	7th	2014

Format

The tournament featured four rounds of play. All rounds were single-game elimination.

The top four rated teams received byes into the quarterfinal round and were arranged so that if they were to advance to the semifinals, the first seed would play the fourth seed and the second seed would play the third seed. Because there were three western teams and only one received a bye into the quarterfinals, all three were placed into the same bracket. Of the nine eastern teams, the six that did not receive byes were arranged so that the fourth eastern seed played the ninth eastern seed with the winner advancing to play the third eastern seed; the fifth eastern seed played the eighth eastern seed with the winner advancing to play the second eastern seed; and the sixth eastern seed played the seventh eastern seed with the winner advancing to play the first eastern seed. The higher-seeded team played host in all first round and quarterfinal matches.

Bracket

First round
March 11

Quarterfinals
March 18

Semifinals
March 24

National Championship
March 25

E1

Utica (1)

4

E6

Plymouth State

0

E7

University of New England

5*

E7

University of New England

2

E7

University of New England

7

W1

Adrian (4)

8*

W1

Adrian (4)

3*

W2

Wisconsin–Stevens Point

2****

W2

Wisconsin–Stevens Point

2

W3

Augsburg

1

W1

Adrian (4)

2

E3

Hobart (3)

3*

E2

Endicott (2)

3

E5

Plattsburgh State

1

E8

Norwich

0

E8

Norwich

2*

E2

Endicott (2)

1

E3

Hobart (3)

3

E3

Hobart (3)

5

E4

Curry

1*

E4

Curry

1

E9

Bowdoin

0

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Results

First round

March 11, 2023
7:00 PM

(E6) Plymouth State

0 – 2
(0–0, 0–0, 0–2)

(E7) University of New England

Plymouth State University Ice Arena – Holderness, New Hampshire
Attendance: 1,145

Game reference

Brendahn Brawley

Goalies

Billy Girard

Referees:
Ronald Morello
Matthew Hallock
Linesmen:
Patrick Sharron
Kevin McManus

	0–1	47:38 – Ryan Kuzmich (15) (Fuss, Sheehy)
	0–2	59:38 – EN – Chad Merrell (1) (Sciucco, DiScanio)

4 min

Penalties

4 min

28

Shots

25

March 11, 2023
9:00 PM

(W2) Wisconsin–Stevens Point

2 – 1 (4OT)
(0–1, 1–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 1–0)

(W3) Augsburg

K.B. Willett Arena – Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Attendance: 1,662

Game reference

Ryan Wagner

Goalies

Samuel Vyletelka

Referees:
Adam Knutson
Eric Thorn
Linesmen:
Jason Peters
Cody Koemptgen

	0–1	13:11 – PP – Erik Palmqvist (1) (Chladek, Reichenbacher)
(Heneghan, Hill) Cody Moline (1) – 30:15	1–1
(Moline, Moberg) David Hill (1) – 129:27	2–1

12 min

Penalties

14 min

74

Shots

48

March 11, 2023
7:00 PM

(E5) Plattsburgh State

1 – 2 (OT)
(0–0, 1–0, 0–1, 0–1)

(E8) Norwich

Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena – Plattsburgh, New York
Attendance: 2,577

Game reference

Eli Shiller

Goalies

Drennen Atherton

Referees:
Chris Shepley
Trevor Waite
Linesmen:
Ryan Merrimack
Rick Urnek

(Thomas, Belgrave) Jake Lanyi (8) – 23:01	1–0
	1–1	59:40 – Philip Elgstam (9) (Chladek, Reichenbacher)
	1–2	69:54 – Callum Jones (2) (Thibodeau, Doggett)

0 min

Penalties

0 min

30

Shots

40

March 11, 2023
7:00 PM

(E4) Curry

1 – 0 (OT)
(0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 1–0)

(E9) Bowdoin

Canton Ice House – Canton, Massachusetts
Attendance: 603

Game reference

Reid Cooper

Goalies

Alexander Kozic

Referees:
Kenneth Gates
Matthew Fuller
Linesmen:
Steven Riley Jr.
Patrick Philbin

(Kent, Galassi) Mark Zhukov (13) – 71:02

1–0

2 min

Penalties

8 min

49

Shots

37

Quarterfinals

March 18, 2023
7:00 PM

(E1) Utica

4 – 5 (OT)
(0–0, 1–3, 3–1, 1–0)

(E7) University of New England

Utica University Nexus Center – Utica, New York
Attendance: 3,978

Game reference

Bryan Landsberger

Goalies

Billy Girard

Referee:
Matthew Terreri
Linesmen:
Matthew Fuller
Anthony Perez

(Larsson, Zapata) Buster Larsson (10) – PP – 25:53	1–0
	1–1	26:11 – SH – Anthony Sciucco (7) (Merrell)
	1–2	30:15 – PP – Garrett Devine (10) (Heinold, Courtmanche)
	1–3	34:16 – Kevin O'Keefe (1) (Devine, Winslow)
	1–4	40:45 – Logan DiScanio (7) (Szretter, Winslow)
(Cavanagh, Moncovich) Justin Allen (5) – 45:52	2–4
(unassisted) Brandon Osmundson (8) – 57:31	3–4
(Fedorek, Zapata) Buster Larsson (11) – 58:13	4–4
	4–5	65:00 – Anthony Sciucco (8) (Winslow, Discanio)

4 min

Penalties

6 min

62

Shots

28

March 18, 2023
7:00 PM

(W1) Adrian

3 – 2 (OT)
(1–1, 1–1, 0–0, 1–0)

(W2) Wisconsin–Stevens Point

Arrington Ice Arena – Adrian, Michigan
Attendance: 1,259

Game reference

Nic Tallarico

Goalies

Ryan Wagner

Referees:
Shane Dillon
Eric Thom
Linesmen:
Trenton Gerew
David Sell

(Shields) Alessio Luciani (11) – 04:48	1–0
	1–1	16:01 – PP – Andrew Poulias (14) (Sciarrino, Heneghan)
(Enns, Spodniak) Alessio Luciani (12) – PP – 22:19	2–1
	2–2	26:42 – Dawson Sciarrino (8) (Anderson, Gonrowski)
(Enns, Shields) Matus Spodniak – (28) – 69:38	3–2

6 min

Penalties

10 min

36

Shots

39

March 18, 2023
7:00 PM

(E2) Endicott

3 – 0
(0–0, 0–0, 3–0)

(E8) Norwich

Raymond J. Bourque Arena – Beverly, Massachusetts
Attendance: 1,200

Game reference

Atticus Kelly

Goalies

Drennen Atherton

Referee:
Ronald Morello
Linesmen:
Douglas Place
Patrick Philbin

(Sterrett, Kurapov) Ryan Willett (8) – 43:26	1–0
(Self, Amsley) Noah Strawn (8) – 57:30	2–0
(Martinelli, Ring) Cameron Speck (4) – 57:49	3–0

4 min

Penalties

2 min

39

Shots

25

March 18, 2023
7:00 PM

(E3) Hobart

5 – 1
(0–0, 3–1, 2–0)

(E4) Curry

Geneva Recreation Complex – Geneva, New York
Attendance: 580

Game reference

Damon Beaver

Goalies

Reid Cooper

Referees:
Derek Sylvester
Matthew Hallock
Linesmen:
Dan Barreca
Cameron Goebert

	0–1	28:56 – PP – Tarek Paranica (8) (Pitts, Vonakis)
(Aquaro, Wuth) Brenden Howell (6) – 36:50	1–1
(Buzoverya) Cooper Swift (2) – 37:13	2–1
(Howell, Crane) Kahlil Fontana (2) – 37:25	3–1
(Tyson) Tanner Daniels (10) – 43:38	4–1
(unassisted) Ignat Belov (11) – EN – 59:47	5–1

2 min

Penalties

4 min

35

Shots

18

Semifinals

March 24, 2023
3:00 PM

(W1) Adrian

8 – 7 (OT)
(2–1, 1–4, 4–2, 1–0)

(E7) University of New England

Raymond J. Bourque Arena – Beverly, Massachusetts
Attendance: 610

Game reference

Nic Tallarico
Dershahn Stewart

Goalies

Billy Girard

Referees:
Matthew Hallock
Ed Moberg
Linesmen:
Patrick Philbin
Robert Griffin

(Enns, Babiak) Jake Suede (7) – 03:50	1–0
(Shields) Riley Murphy (17) – 13:53	2–0
	2–1	16:10 – PP – Garrett Devine (11) (Heinold, Courtmanche)
	2–2	21:09 – PP – Alex Sheehy (3) (DiScanio, Courtmanche)
	2–3	22:17 – Dawson Ellis (3) (Fuss, Christy)
	2–4	26:17 – Chad Merrell (2) (Kuzmich, Devine)
	2–5	30:26 – Collin Heinold (6) (Fuss, Merrell)
(Murphy, Wendt) Bradley Somers (7) – 34:55	3–5
(Spodniak, Shields) Ty Enns (19) – PP – 40:45	4–5
(unassited) Ryan Pitoscia (13) – SH – 47:52	5–5
(Suede, Heintz) Ty Enns (20) – 50:06	6–5
	6–6	45:00 – Daniel Winslow (17) (unassited)
	6–7	45:51 – Jared Christy (13) (Fuss)
(Somers) Ryan Pitoscia (14) – 58:51	7–7
(Enns, Shields) Alessio Luciani (13) – PP – 66:34	8–7

6 min

Penalties

19 min

44

Shots

35

March 24, 2023
7:00 PM

(E2) Endicott

1 – 3
(0–0, 1–1, 0–2)

(E3) Hobart

Raymond J. Bourque Arena – Beverly, Massachusetts
Attendance: 1,110

Game reference

Ryan Wilson

Goalies

Damon Beaver

Referee:
Matthew Terreri
Linesmen:
Matthew Fuller
Dan Barreca

(unassisted) Jackson Sterrett (13) – 24:34	1–0
	1–1	32:59 – Brenden Howell (7) (Wuth, Buzoverya)
	1–2	53:09 – PP – Austin Mourar (4) (Shell, Swift)
	1–3	59:21 – EN – Luke Aquaro (20) (Wuth, Swift)

12 min

Penalties

8 min

26

Shots

26

National Championship

March 25, 2023
7:00 PM

(W1) Adrian

2 – 3 (OT)
(1–2, 0–0, 1–0, 0–1)

(E3) Hobart

Raymond J. Bourque Arena – Beverly, Massachusetts
Attendance: 812

Game reference

Nic Tallarico

Goalies

Damon Beaver

Referees:
Matt Fuller
Matt Terreri
Linesmen:
Dan Barecca
Cam Goebert

	0–1	07:24 – Shane Shell (4) (Aquaro, Alexander)
	0–2	11:23 – Luke Aquaro (21) (unassited)
(Rehding, Luciani) Ty Enns (21) – PP – 12:19	1–2
(Rehding, Luciani) Matus Spodniak (29) – 54:30	2–2
	2–3	74:56 – Wil Crane (5) (Lassman, Burke)

6 min

Penalties

6 min

39

Shots

35

All-Tournament Team

^[4]

G: Damon Beaver* (Hobart)
D: Austin Mourar (Hobart)
D: Jaden Shields (Adrian)
F: Luke Aquaro (Hobart)
F: Wil Crane (Hobart)
F: Ty Enns (Adrian)

* Most Outstanding Player(s)

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Quarterfinals	Frozen Four	Championship Game	Champions
CCC	3	4–3	.571	3	2	-	-
NEHC	2	4–1	.800	2	1	1	1
MASCAC	1	0–1	.000	-	-	-	-
MIAC	1	0–1	.000	-	-	-	-
NCHA	1	2–1	.667	1	1	1	-
NESCAC	1	0–1	.000	-	-	-	-
SUNYAC	1	0–1	.000	-	-	-	-
UCHC	1	0–1	.000	1	-	-	-
WIAC	1	1–1	.500	1	-	-	-

References

^ "Statesmen win National Championship 3-2 in OT over Adrian". Hobart Statesmen/William Smith Herons. March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
^ "Division III Legislation - Search Results". NCAA. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
^ "NCAA Division III men's hockey tournament". USCHO.com. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
^ "Crane's overtime goal lifts Hobart to first-ever national championship with 3-2 win over Adrian". USCHO.com. March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.

"Division III Men's Ice Hockey Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved February 17, 2020.

External links

2023 Division III Bracket

[1] "Statesmen win National Championship 3-2 in OT over Adrian". Hobart Statesmen/William Smith Herons. March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.

[2] "Division III Legislation - Search Results". NCAA. Retrieved March 6, 2024.

[3] "NCAA Division III men's hockey tournament". USCHO.com. Retrieved September 18, 2019.

[4] "Crane's overtime goal lifts Hobart to first-ever national championship with 3-2 win over Adrian". USCHO.com. March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.

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v t e NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament
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Records & achievements	All-time team records Tournament appearances Frozen Four appearances Tournament Most Outstanding Player