Ice Level 2024-25 Midseason Review

it’s time to check out the best players, teams and stories from across every conference in college hockey before we head into the winter break.

WRITTEN BY JAMES BLENNAU

The holiday season is here, and you know what that means; we're just about halfway through another season of college hockey. Surprises are all over this sport across every conference, and this review has everything you need to know so far about this season with a few extra stories from some conference experts. 

Atlantic hockey america

Atlantic Hockey America is year-in and year-out one of the most competitive conferences in the sport, but one of its powerhouse teams, AIC, is in trouble with the new NCAA roster rules this offseason. Here's what Chris Lerch Had to say.

Chris Lerch - Senior USCHO Writer

On Nov. 10, word began spreading that American International, winners of four of the last six Atlantic Hockey regular season championships and three of the last five AHA playoff titles, was declassifying its hockey program from Division I to Division II after 22 years. Cost considerations were the primary factor. 

This will mean AIC will leave Atlantic Hockey and most likely join the NorthEast-10, a multi sport Division II conference. The school will honor the scholarships of players who want to stay at AIC, but those players would likely not be eligible for the Northeast-10, which does not allow scholarships. Expect most AIC coaches and players to leave for other opportunities.

Another change expected for next year due to the House vs. NCAA ruling, rosters will be capped at 26 players, and all can receive scholarships. This is a double whammy to AIC, which carries 32-33 players and would be cutting tuition-paying players and having to increase from the current limit of 18 scholarships. These changes probably weighed heavily in the decision to downgrade the program. 

Many college hockey coaches have argued that 26 is too small a number and AIC coach Eric Lang has expressed that. In fact, the Yellow Jackets were unable to compete against Holy Cross on 12/7 because all three goalies were injured. 

conference standings

STAT CATEGORY LEADERS

Goals: Walter Zacher (Robert Morris) - 11, Liam McLinskey (Holy Cross) - 10, Felix Trudeau (Sacred Heart) - 10

Assists: Tyler Fukakusa (RIT) - 16, Shane Ott (Niagara) - 14, Mack Oliphant (Holy Cross) - 13

Points: Tyler Fukakusa - 21, Felix Trudeau - 20, Shane Ott - 19

Blocked Shots: Hunter Sansbury (Sacred Heart) - 43, Chris Hedden (Air Force) - 41, Dimitri Mikrogiannakis (RIT) - 40

Goals Against Average: JJ Cataldo (Army) - 2.02, Connor Hasley (Bentley) - 2.10, Ajeet Gundarah (Sacred Heart) - 2.32

Save Percentage: JJ Cataldo: .933, Dylan Meilun (Robert Morris) - .927, Thomas Gale (Holy Cross) - .923

Shutouts: Connor Hasley: 4, Guy Blessing (Air Force) - 2, Peyton Grainer (AIC) - 1

Big Ten

College hockey's super-conferfence has had no shortage of excitement and starpower this year, and the numbers can almost tell the story by themselves, Lucky for us though, they don't have to. Jacob Cheris gave us his take on the Big Ten through the first few months of this season. 

Jacob Cheris - Big Ten Writer, College Hockey News

The Big Ten this year has seen so many offensive explosions, more than I can remember from last year. Michigan beat Penn State 10-6, part of two barn burners. Minnesota blanked Michigan 6-0 in game 1 of that series. 

The conference has been known to be a high-octane offensive league, but teams like Michigan, Minnesota are scoring at alarming rates and it’s made for some exciting hockey. 

You need secondary scoring to be successful in this conference.

The big thing behind Wisconsin's surge is secondary scoring. Cody Laskosky, who I have harped on, had goals in three straight games from Nov. 15 to Nov. 29. He had two against Penn State and one against Anchorage. The power play could use some work but the big thing is that it is no longer the Quinn Finley show. 

conference standings

STAT CATEGORY LEADERS

Goals: Quinn Finley (Wisconsin) - 12, Brody Lamb (Minnesota) - 12, Michael Hage (Michigan) - 10

Assists: Aiden Hansen-Bukata (Ohio State) - 16, Aiden Fink (Penn State) - 15, Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota) - 15

Points: Jimmy Snuggerud - 24, Aiden Fink - 23, Quinn Finley - 22

Blocked Shots: Ryan Chesley (Minnesota) - 38, Paul Fischer (Notre Dame) - 30, Ben Dexheimer (Wisconsin) - 28

Goals Against Average: Kristoffer Eberly (Ohio State) - 1.35, Liam Souliere (Minnesota) - 1.66, Trey Augustine (Michigan State) - 1.98

Save Percentage: Kristoffer Eberly - .941, Liam Souliere - .933, Trey Augustine - .930

Shutouts: Trey Augustine - 2, Kristoffer Eberly - 2, Tommy Scarfone (Wisconsin) - 2

ccha

Tucked away in the central Midwest lies one of college hockey's hidden gems, the CCHA. It may not have the starpower that its neighbors in the NCHC or the big name schools of the Big Ten do, but the fight for a tournament bid is tight at the top. Remember, not too long ago Mike Hastings made a name for himself at Minnesota State, taking the Mavs all the way to the Frozen Four in 2022 with the help of a little goalie named Dryden McKay. Enough about the past though, let's hear Jared Rubado's takeaways from this year so far.

Jared Rubado - Sports Editor, Bemidji Pioneer

The CCHA is in a peculiar spot. On one hand, teams like Minnesota State, Augustana, Lake Superior State, Bemidji State and Michigan Tech have impressed in the first half of the season, with the Mavericks poised to make a run as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament if they don't win the Mason Cup. However, the CCHA is running into its yearly snags in the middle of the conference.

The CCHA is viewed as a one-bid league. This season was a chance for the nine teams to prove it could be more. But the proof is evident that the member schools will, for the foreseeable future, have an uphill battle in the pairwise rankings. CCHA schools have to find a way to be on the right side of more nonconference games to withstand the league's parity in conference play.

While schools like Bemidji State and St. Thomas were billed as the top-end schools in the preseason, bad losses in conference play are hurting more than the good nonconference wins help. That being said, it feels like seven teams, regardless of where they're positioned at the midway point of the league season, can win the Mason Cup -- Minnesota State, Augustana, Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State, Bowling Green, Bemidji State and St. Thomas. Minnesota State is the favorite, and everybody else is chasing. 

If any of the remaining six schools can sweep MSU in a given weekend, Minnesota State would likely fall out of an at-large spot, cementing the one-bid status the CCHA has garnered in recent years. If the CCHA wants two teams to play in the NCAA Tournament, its hope likely hinges on the Mavericks.

conference standings

STAT CATEGORY LEADERS

Goals: Sasha Teleguine (Lake Superior State) - 8, Brody Waters (Bowling Green) - 8, Caiden Gault (Ferris State) - 8

Assists: Liam Malmquist (St. Thomas) - 13, Nate Schweitzer (Lake Superior State) - 12, Ryan O'Hara (Bowling Green) - 11

Points: Liam Malmquist - 19, Stiven Sardarian (Michigan Tech) - 19, Rhett Pitlick (Minnesota State) - 19

Blocked Shots: Will Magnuson (Bemidji State) - 45, Kasper Vaharautio (Michigan Tech) - 42, Mason Wheeler (Minnesota State) - 37

Goals Against Average: Alex Tracy (Minnesota State) - 1.39, Josh Kotai (Augustana) - 1.74, Derek Mullahy (Michigan Tech) - 2.14

Save Percentage: Alex Tracy - .945, Josh Kotai - .942, Ryan Oullette (Northern Michigan) - .919

Shutouts: Alex Tracy - 3, Mattias Sholl (Bemidji State) - 2, Derek Mullahy - 2

ECAC HOCKEY

As Pierre McGuire says in its commercials, "the most historic conference in college hockey." He may not be wrong, but this certainly isn't the greatest season for the more historic teams in the conference. 

Barring Cornell and Dartmouth, neither of which are in the top two spots in the standings currently, the Ivy schools are struggling. It could be the perfect storm for such historic teams to be brought down between NIL, roster rules and the changing landscape of lower hockey leagues. 

For the first time in years, the bright spots of ECAC Hockey's Upsate New York teams don't involve the Cornell Big Red. Despite their continued presence in the USCHO Poll, they sit behind their Ivy rivals Dartmouth as Reid Cashman's Big Green have taken the throne of the best Ivy League team in the conference for now. 

Between Harvard and Cornell, usually one of them is within the conference's top three teams, but with Quinnipiac just starting to figure it out at the right time after a rag-tag bunch came together this offseason and Colgate ever-consistent throughout their conference games even taking down Cornell, the top is tough to topple. 

The second half of ECAC Hockey play is never short of upsets, though. These next weeks starting in late January will be extremely telling of who can make it to the conference semifinals in Lake Placid, who can take home the Whitelaw Cup, and who's gonna come in rolling but run into a wall in an upset one-game loss at Herb Brooks Arena. 

conference standings

stat category leaders

Goals: Brett Chorske (Colgate) - 10, Ben Muthersbaugh (Union) - 8, Daniel Panetta (Colgate) - 8

Assists: Tommy Bergsland (Colgate) - 14, Tomáš Mazura (St. Lawrence) - 13, Nikita Nikora (Dartmouth) - 12

Points: Brett Chorske - 18, Ben Muthersbaugh - 18, Alex DiPaolo (Colgate) - 16

Blocked Shots: Tristan Sarsland (Clarkson) - 39, Trey Taylor (Clarkson) - 35, Reid Irwin (Colgate) - 30

Goals Against Average: Ben Charette (Harvard) - 1.63, Emmett Croteau (Dartmouth) - 1.81, Dylan Silverstein (Quinnipiac) - 1.83

Save Percentage: Ben Charette - .950, Lawton Zacher (Brown) - .934, Arthur Smith (Princeton) - .932

Shutouts: Mason Kucenski (Clarkson) - 2, Ben Charette - 1, Dylan Silverstein - 1

hockey east

Ah yes, ECAC Hockey's breakaway conference that became more of a powerhouse than the one its members were formerly part of. The Hockey East's early season was certainly not what we expected, unless you're a Maine fan, in which case it's exactly what you expected. 

The Black Bears have been atop the conference or near it for the entirety of this season, and with players like Josh Nadeau, Harrison Scott, Taylor Makar and David Breazeale, it's not hard to see why. Even after losing stars like Victor Östman and Bradly Nadeau, Ben Barr's team has been rolling at the top of hockey's most competitive conference this year.  

One team though, is starting to get hot at the right time. In the absolute middle of nowhere Connectitcut, the UConn Huskies are making a name for themselves this year in a trash-compactor-tight Hockey East. The best part? They're doing it without their 2023-24 talisman Matthew Wood, who headed for the greener but certainly colder grasses of Minnesota in the offseason. 

The Toscano Family Ice Forum has been rocking this year with major home wins against teams like Boston College, Colgate and rivals UMass. Players like Jake Percival, John Spetz and Ryan Tattle have been leading the change for the Huskies even with much of the wealth being spread and no far leaders in offensive stats on the team. 

Their break from conference play is no easy one though, as they head to Milwaukee for the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off facing Alaska in game one and either Ferris State or more likely Wisconsin in game two. A few wins here and this team could be rolling into the second half of Hockey East play with telling games against Maine, Providence and UMass Lowell awaiting them. 

Conference standings

stat category leaders

Goals: Ryan Leonard (Boston College) - 12, Harrison Scott (Maine) - 10, Aydar Suniev (UMass) - 10

Assists: Cole O'Hara (UMass) - 16, Gabe Perreault (Boston College) - 16, James Hagens (Boston College) - 15

Points: Cole O'Hara - 23, Gabe Perreault - 23, James Hagens - 20

Blocked Shots: Gavin McCarthy (Boston University) - 38, Brehdan Engum (Boston University) - 32, Ben Meehan (UMass Lowell) - 28

Goals Against Average: Albin Boija (Maine) - 1.53, Jacob Fowler (Boston College) - 1.73, Jared Whale (New Hampshire) - 2.06

Save Percentage: Jacob Fowler - .933, Albin Boija - .932, Beni Halasz (UMass Lowell) - .925

Shutouts: Jacob Fowler - 4, Albin Boija - 3, Beni Halasz - 2

nchc

The national championship has, in the words of Joe Walsh, "Spent the last year Rocky Mountian way," but the reigning champs are crawling into the winter break, with some much-needed time to sit and look at their season. 

While Denver spent seven weeks at the start of the season as the number one team in the USCHO poll, that all changed when Arizona State came into Magness Arena. The Pioneers' 12-game winstreak to start the year was snapped in an instant, without any regard for momentum after sweeping North Dakota in Grand Forks. 

Since that fateful weekend in North Dakota, Denver has lost four of their last six games, all coming in conference play and only squeaking out an overtime win at Western Michigan. Also in that span, the offense has only scored more than two goals twice, and more than three once coming in Friday's rivalry loss at Colorado College. 

With his team struggling to find their once dominant and confident identity, Head Coach David Carle is moving his break to Ottawa as he leads the United States World Junior Championship team for the second time, fresh off a gold-medal performance last year in Sweden. With an incredible pool of talent to work with, the Pios' head-man will need to find out how to stop his team's skid soon before they play two games in Orono against Maine in early January.

STAT CATEGORY LEADERS

Goals: Aidan Thompson (Denver) - 11, Sam Harris (Denver) - 11, Carter King (Denver) - 11

Assists: Jack Devine (Denver) - 25, Zeev Buium (Denver) - 16, Aidan Thompson - 13

Points: Jack Devine - 27, Aidan Thompson - 24, Zeev Buium - 20

Blocked Shots: Ty Murchison (Arizona State) - 39, Jake Livanavage (North Dakota) - 37, Caleb MacDonald (North Dakota) - 35

Goals Against Average: Cameron Rowe (Western Michiagn) - 1.56, Isak Posch (St. Cloud State) - 1.68, Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan) - 1.84

Save Percentage: Cameron Rowe - .941, Hampton Slukynsky - .941, Isak Posch - .938

Shutouts: Isak Posch - 2, Kaidan Mbereko - 2, Matt Davis (Denver) - 1

As we wrap the first half of our season and conference play takes a break for a few weeks, teams are starting to look for what's gonna get them over the hump. More sources and fans will be looking at the Pairwise, coaches looking for byes in their conference tournaments, players looking for professional contracts by the end of this season and games are starting to mean more every week.

As conference standings stand still, I remind you all to keep your eyes out for tournaments over this break, whether they be between inter-conference opponets or the World Junior Championships, this break can change a season for the better or worse. Players will break out or stand still, and teams will either adjust or be left behind. 

I won't be posting any more content regarding this season in college until conference play starts up fully again, maybe a short piece about the World Juniors and a special project for all the new fans, but for now, I wish you a happy holidays and a wonderful break from worrying about your team's place in the magical world of college hockey.