Those championship belts aren’t coming off yet.
Freshman forward Scott Swanson scored his first collegiate hat trick to lead defending national champion Norwich back into the New England Hockey Conference title game, cementing a 6-3 semifinal win over UMass Boston late last month.
Swanson scored the first two goals of the game for Norwich and then added another in the third period to complete the hat trick, as he and Coby Downs combined for eight points on the night to lead the Cadets’ offense.
Top-seeded Norwich (19-6-2) entered March one win away from back-to-back NEHC tournament championships. It will host league newcomer and No. 2 seed Hobart (17-5-5) on March 3. The Statesmen went 2-0-1 against the Cadets in the regular season. …
Last year, Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) of the University of New England won the Concannon Award as the best American-born Division 2/3 hockey player in New England. This year, he has the Nor’easters on the brink of the NCAA tournament.
Fleurent delivered a goal and an assist to lift third-seeded UNE to a 4-1 win at No. 2 Endicott in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament. The Nor’easters (20-4-3) will host No. 5 Nichols (16-8-3) for the league title and NCAA auto bid on March 3. Fleurent’s 34 assists and 50 points are the most in Division 3.
Nichols got two goals from freshman Oliver Arnsberg in it 5-4 semifinal upset over top-seeded Salve Regina. …
For the first time in coach Blaise MacDonald’s six-year tenure, Colby won a game in the NESCAC tournament and will be part of the league’s final four.
Mario Benicky scored two goals and set up another, and Sean Lawrence made 19 saves as the sixth-seeded White Mules handed No. 3 Amherst just its second home loss of the season in the quarterfinals, 5-1.
"Great effort by the guys and in particular our seniors. Mario Benicky and Sean Lawrence led the way," said MacDonald (Billerica, Mass.). "We got what we earned and handed a very good Amherst team their first (in-league) home loss of the season. To have so many Colby fans and alums there supporting us provided extra inspiration for the guys."
The Mules (13-10-2) will play fifthseeded Wesleyan (13-7-5) in the NESCAC semifinals hosted by top-seeded Trinity on March 3. The Bantams (18-5-2) will face No. 7 Williams (14-10-1) in the other semifinal. Of those four teams, Trinity — last year’s national runner-up to Norwich — is the only one that’s captured a NESCAC title. …
The road to the title in the MASCAC once again goes through Hanaway Rink. Plymouth State (19-4-2) was a runaway winner in the regular season and was preparing to host fourth-seeded UMass Dartmouth (11-12-3) in the semifinals on Feb. 27.
The other semi pits No. 6 Salem State (10-11-5) at No. 2 Fitchburg State (16-6-3) that night, with the winners playing for the title on March at the home of the higher seed.
The List
The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston last month announced the 22 semifinalists for the 18th annual Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born Division 2/3 hockey player in New England. The list includes nine players from the Commonwealth Coast Conference, five from the MASCAC, four from the New England Hockey Conference, three from the NESCAC and one from the Northeast-10.
CCC
John Dutney (Hudson, Mass.), jr., F, Becker
Zachary White (Milford, Conn.), jr., F, Curry
Logan Day, so., D, Endicott
Ryan Bloom, so., F, UNE
Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine), jr., F, UNE
Scott Cuthrell, sr., F, Nichols
Jack Billings, so., F, Salve Regina
Blake Wojtala, jr., G, Salve Regina
Matt O’Dea, jr., F, Western New England
MASCAC
Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.), sr., F, Fitchburg St.
Jonathan Ruiz, jr., F, UMass Dartmouth
Evan Morelli (Reading, Mass.), jr., G, Plymouth St.
Ryan Stevens, jr., F, Plymouth State
Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.), jr., F, Worcester St.
NEHC
Matt Pompa, jr., G, Babson
Nick Albano (Beverly, Mass.), fr., D, UMass Boston
Colin Larkin, sr., F, UMass-Boston
Nolan Redler (Winchester, Mass.), so., F, UMass-Boston
NESCAC
Sean Lawrence, sr., G, Colby
Liam Feeney (Foxboro, Mass.), so., D, Trinity
Dylan Holze, sr., F, Wesleyan
NORTHEAST-10
Cam Laughlin (Natick, Mass.), sr., F, Assumption
In the Spotlight
Mario Benicky, sr., F, Colby
The Westminster School product helped the Mules break through a playoff glass ceiling. He scored two goals and set up another as they won a NESCAC quarterfinal at Amherst, 5-1.
Logan Day, so., D, Endicott
The offensive-minded Day was named CCC Player of the Year. He is the highest-scoring defenseman in the nation with 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points.
Tim Sestak, so., G, Wesleyan
The Cardinals knew goals were going to be hard to come by against Hamilton and standout goalie Evan Buitenhuis in their NESCAC quarterfinal, and Sestak’s 25 saves gave them a chance to win.
