Hockey / 2024 NCHL Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal Previews

2024 NCHL Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal Previews

Date:  Source: Northern Collegiate Hockey League
Quarterfinal #1 - #1 Concordia University WI v. #8 Roosevelt University:
The 2024 NCHL Conference Tournament kicks off with #1 seeded Concordia University WI taking on #8 seeded Roosevelt University. CUW placed first in the Black Division while Roosevelt finished in third place in the Orange Division. This will mark the first time these two teams have met in the postseason and the first time they have been on the ice together since December 2021. During that last meeting, CUW swept the series to push their overall record against Roosevelt to 4-2.
 
CUW has a dominant offense, averaging just shy of seven goals per league game. This will put Roosevelt’s defense, which is giving up 4.5 goals per game, to the test. On the defensive side, CUW is giving up 2.6 goals per game which is one goal better than Roosevelt’s offense is producing.
 
Two players from CUW to watch during this game are Charles Emme and Ian Malcolmson. Emme leads the ACHA D2 in points, with 73 (43 goals and 30 assists) over the course of 27 games. Not far behind is Malcolmson, who sits in second place with 65 points (21 goals and 44 assists) through 22 games.
 
From Roosevelt, Jack Selby and Braden Silver are two players to watch. Selby leads the team in points with 30 (8 goals and 22 assists) in 27 games and Silver leads the team in goals, having tallied 17 over 26 games.
 
Both teams were in action last weekend. CUW split with UW Madison and Roosevelt was swept by the University of Illinois.
 
Quarterfinal #2 - #4 Aurora University v. #5 Marian University:
#4 seeded Aurora University and #5 seeded Marian University square off in Quarterfinal #2. These two teams are no strangers to one another in the conference tournament, having met twice before. Each team has one victory to their name, with Aurora holding a slight 3-2.5 goals per game average.
 
Aurora and Marian both tied for fourth place in the Black Division with eight points. Also, their divisional series was split, with Marian winning the first game 8-3 and Aurora the second 6-4. Over the course of their 10 divisional games this season Marian averaged just over a half a goal more per game than Aurora and offensively they were almost equal, 34 goals for Aurora and 35 for Marian.
 
Aurora has two players to be on the lookout for, Jack Pomillo and Tyler Heinz. During their regular season meeting Pomillo notched three points (1 goal and 2 assists) and he is second on the team in points with 20 (11 goals and 9 assists over 21 games). Heinz put home two goals during their regular season series to help him lead the team in goals (26) and points (42) over 22 games.
 
Marian’s players to watch are Gavyn Galloway and Simon Ellingson. Galloway had a four point (1 goal and 3 assists) weekend against Aurora earlier this season and is second on the team in points with 20 (11 goals and 9 assists) through 21 games. Ellingson scored twice during their earlier meeting, and he leads the team in points with 29 (12 goals and 17 assists) over 23 games.
 
Neither team comes into this series with much momentum after last weekend’s results. Aurora faced DePaul and was swept for the very first time by DePaul. Marian went on the road to Lindenwood University and was unable to come away with a victory.
 
Quarterfinal #3 - #2 DePaul University v. #7 UW Oshkosh:
Hitting the ice in Quarterfinal #3 will be #2 seeded DePaul University and #7 seeded University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. This battle will be a first as DePaul and UWO have yet to meet in the Conference Tournament.
 
DePaul finished in second place in the Black Division while UWO finished in sixth. Helping DePaul to their second place finish was their series sweep of UWO. DePaul also holds a 75% winning percentage against UWO throughout their history of play.
 
During their series, which was spaced out due to a winter storm, two players from DePaul stood out. The first was Brock Ash who tallied six points (3 goals and 3 assists) and who also is fourth on the team in points with 35 (21 goals and 14 assists) through 31 games. Second is Danny Mannarino, the team’s leader in points with 55 (15 goals and 40 assists) over 31 games who scored three goals and assisted on two others during the series.
 
For UWO, two players to watch are Trent Bachman and Mike Chavez. Bachman had a goal and an assist during the season series and leads the team in goals (22) and points (36) through 29 games. Chavez is a big part of the UWO offense, sitting second on the team in goals (12), assists (14) and points (26) over 26 games.
 
Neither team comes into this matchup on an extended break as both were in action last weekend. DePaul pulled out their first ever sweep of Aurora University and UWO split with UW La Crosse.
 
Quarterfinal #4 - #3 Marquette University v. #6 UW Milwaukee:
Quarterfinal #4 will be the third quarterfinal matchup where the teams will be meeting for the first time in the Conference Tournament. Concluding the opening night of play will be #3 Marquette University and #6 UW Milwaukee. This will also be UWM’s first ever Conference Tournament game.
 
Marquette finished in third place in the Black Division and UWM led the Orange Division. While they were not in the same division, Marquette and UWM did play an inter-division series this season and Marquette came out victorious in each game. Each played a total of 14 games against league members and Marquette ended with three more victories than UWM.
 
Over the course of their earlier matchup Marquette’s Chase Breslin totaled five points (2 goals and 3 assists) and he also led the team in points (34) and assists (16) over 24 games. Michael Helm is also another person of interest, having scored a goal and assisted on two others in their series. Helm also leads the team in goals (21) and is second in points (30) through 24 games.
 
Two players to watch for UWM are Peter Morrell and Jake Boudreau. Morrell tallied a goal and an assist during their series against Marquette and Boudreau assisted on three goals. Also, not only does Morrell lead the team in goals (22) but points (38) as well. Boudreau leads the team in assists (19) and is second in points (30).
 
Marquette will come into this series on a high, having swept Southern Illinois-Edwardsville University last weekend. UWM also played an Illinois team last weekend, Illinois State University, but came up short in each contest.