Thursday, December 18, 2025

Men’s Notes: College Hockey Season Reaches Midway Point

Augustana-Omaha Nation’s Lone Series this Week

With all but two NCAA Division I men’s hockey teams on their respective holiday breaks, it’s an appropriate time for a snapshot of where things stand in each conference at the season’s midway point.

Note: standings leaders are according to conference winning percentage, scoring leaders are for all games, and goaltending leaders are by overall save percentage.

Atlantic Hockey
Standings Leader: Holy Cross, .867 (8-1-1 AHA, 10-6-1 overall)
Overall Scoring Leader: Nick Sajevic, Air Force (18 GP, 3-18—21)
Rookie Scoring Leader: Maxim Muranov, Niagara (16 GP, 8-7—15)
Defense Scoring Leader: Chris Hedden, Air Force (18 GP, 9-7—16)
Goaltending Leader: Nicholas Bevilacqua, Bentley (4-1-1, 1.65 GAA, .935 SV%)

Big Ten
Standings Leader: Wisconsin, .733 (8-2-0 Big Ten, 12-2-2 overall)
Overall Scoring Leader: Michael Hage, Michigan (20 GP, 10-18—28)
Will Horcoff, Michigan (20 GP, 19-9—28)
T.J. Hughes, Michigan (20 GP, 9-19—28)
Rookie Scoring Leader: Porter Martone, Michigan State (16 GP, 11-9—20)
Defense Scoring Leader: Paul Fischer, Notre Dame (16 GP, 5-10—15)
Goaltending Leader: Trey Augustine, Michigan State (10-4-0, 1.71 GAA, .937 SV%)

CCHA
Standings Leader: Bemidji State, .694 (7-2-3 CCHA, 9-8-3 overall)
Overall Scoring Leader: Stiven Sardarian, Michigan Tech (18 GP, 8-18—26)
Rookie Scoring Leader: Lucas Van Vliet, St. Thomas (18 GP, 7-9—16)
Defense Scoring Leader: Evan Murr, Minnesota State (20 GP, 6-12—18)
Goaltending Leader: Josh Kotai, Augustana (9-5-3, 2.04 GAA, .935 SV%)

ECAC Hockey
Standings Leader: Dartmouth, 1,000 (6-0-0 ECAC, 11-1-0 overall)
Overall Scoring Leader: Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac (18 GP, 9-16—25)
Rookie Scoring Leader: Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac (18 GP, 9-16—25)
Defense Scoring Leader: Tyler Dunbar, Union (19 GP, 8-13—21)
Goaltending Leader: Emmett Croteau, Dartmouth (5-1-0, 1.16 GAA, .953 SV %)

Hockey East
Standings Leader: Boston College, .700 (7-3-0 HEA, 10-5-1 overall)
Overall Scoring Leader: Justin Poirier, Maine (19 GP, 17-9—26)
Rookie Scoring Leader: Justin Poirier, Maine (19 GP, 17-9—26)
Defense Scoring Leader: Cole Hutson, Boston University (18 GP, 7-13—20)
Goaltending Leader: Lawton Zacher, Northeastern (8-5-0, 1.92 GAA, .935 SV %)

NCHC
Standings Leader: North Dakota, .833 (8-2-0 NCHC, 14-4-0 overall)
Overall Scoring Leader: Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth (20 GP, 16-14—30)
Rookie Scoring Leader: Cole Reschny, North Dakota (16 GP, 2-16—18)
Defense Scoring Leader: Ty Hanson, Minnesota Duluth (20 GP, 6-14—20)
Eric Pohlkamp, Denver (19 GP, 12-8—20)
Goaltending Leader: Jan Špunar, North Dakota (9-0-0, 1.67 GAA, .934)

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Scoring Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

And Then There Were Two:

All eyes will be on Sioux Falls, S.D., this weekend, where Augustana hosts Omaha in the country’s last remaining regular-season games prior to Christmas.

Augustana, unbeaten in its last five and currently ranked 11th in the NPI, is coming off a weekend in which the Vikings took five of six CCHA points from rival Minnesota State.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back after being swept last weekend by NCHC foe North Dakota.

The Friday-Saturday series can be seen on Midco Sports and Midco Sports Plus.

Wildcats Strike:

On Sunday, New Hampshire did what no other team in the country had been able to do up until that point: defeat Dartmouth.

Junior D Brendan Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) scored on a breakaway midway through overtime to give the Wildcats a 3-2 win over the Big Green. For Dartmouth, it was the team’s first loss after opening the year with 11 straight wins.

For UNH, it was a fifth consecutive victory. And for Fitzgerald, it was his first goal of the season – and just his second in 78 collegiate games.

Dartmouth was the nation’s last remaining unbeaten team, while UNH’s current five-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest active run in the country behind only North Dakota’s six-gamer.

Achievement Unlocked:

Arizona State teammates Bennett Schimek (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Cruz Lucius (Sr., Grant, Minn.) both eclipsed 100 career points in Saturday’s 6-3 win at Minnesota Duluth – and both did so in a big way.

Schimek erupted for a hat trick and five points in the win, taking his career point total from 96 to 101 in a single night, while Lucius added two goals and two assists to up his career total to 102.

They became just the fourth and fifth active NCAA Division I men’s players – and the only teammates – to reach the 100-point milestone:

Career NCAA Points Leaders (active)
150 – T.J. Hughes, Michigan
122 – Jeremy Wilmer, Quinnipiac
110 – Lucas Wahlin, St. Thomas
102 – Cruz Lucius, Arizona State
101 – Bennett Schimek, Arizona State

Boston University senior F Owen McLaughlin (Spring City, Pa.) is the next-closest player to joining that exclusive club; he’ll enter the New Year with 98 career points.

(Retired) SID Corner:

This week’s note comes courtesy of former college hockey SID and INCH contributor Mike Eidelbes.

It wasn’t found on a cocktail napkin (IYKYK) but rather in a recent text to College Hockey Inc., and it noted that each of the last four Montreal Canadiens’ goalies to win their NHL debuts were not only each NCAA alumni, but each also represented a different college hockey conference:

Mike Condon, Princeton/ECAC Hockey (10/11/15 @ OTT)
Charlie Lindgren, St. Cloud State/NCHC (4/7/16 @ CAR)
Jakub Dobes, Ohio State/Big Ten (12/28/24 @ FLA)
Jacob Fowler, Boston College/Hockey East (12/11/25 @ PIT)

A hearty stick tap to Mike, who was just trying to capture the spirit of the thing.

Notebook Quotebook:

“Analytics can’t really quantify who’s hell to play against. If there were, he would be 100 percent.”

— Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky (Colorado College ’89) on sophomore F Nic Chin-DeGraves (Edmonton, Alberta) (source: USCHO).

NHL Note of the Week:

Carolina Hurricanes G Brandon Bussi (Western Michigan, 2019-22) is off to an 11-1-0 start to his rookie season and recently became the fastest goalie in NHL history to reach 10 career wins. Bussi is currently riding a nine-game winning streak, which ties Cam Ward’s Carolina franchise record.

Bussi spent three collegiate seasons with Western Michigan, then followed with three full years in the AHL prior to making his NHL debut this season. He currently ranks second in the NHL with a 2.05 goals against average.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

UND freshman G Jan Špunar (Olomouc, Czechia) improved to 9-0-0 with Friday’s 4-1 win over Omaha, becoming the first goalie in school history to begin a career with nine straight victories. Jordan Parise (2003-06) and Hockey Hall of Famer Ed Belfour (1986-87) shared the previous record with eight each … Maine blocked an NCAA season-high 28 shots in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Lindenwood … Minnesota Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin (North Dakota ’86) coached in his 1,000th game in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Arizona State … Nominations for the 2026 Hockey Humanitarian Award close on Dec. 23.

Longest Active Team Winning Streaks:

6 games, North Dakota (began Nov. 28 at Bemidji State)
5 games, New Hampshire (began Nov. 22 at UConn)
5 games, Wisconsin (began Nov. 15 vs. Ohio State)

Longest Active Point Streaks:

7 games, F Brett Meerman (Augustana)
- 3-7—10, began Nov. 15 vs. St. Thomas
6 games, F Tyson Gross (St. Cloud State)
- 6-2—8, began Nov. 21 at Miami
6 games, F Nick Sajevic (Air Force)
- 2-9—11, began Nov. 21 at Army
5 games, 10 players tied

Longest Active Goal Streaks:

3 games, 8 players tied

Conference Websites

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

Did you know? 93% of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degree!