2025 Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal Notes

While last weekend provided us with six intriguing opening-round games, the true contenders are starting to show, as we have four incredibly intriguing and crucial quarterfinal games starting this Saturday afternoon.

Saturday Schedule

1:00 PM ET- #5 St. Norbert (24-5-1) @ #4 Utica (22-4-2)

3:00 PM ET- #9 Hamilton (21-6-1) @ #1 Curry (24-3-0)

7:00 PM ET- #7 Trine (21-6-2) @ #2 Hobart (26-1-1)

7:00 PM CT- #6 Geneseo (23-4-1) @ #3 Aurora (24-4-1)

#9 Hamilton @ #1 Curry

In this matchup, someone will be making history.  Neither of these teams have ever advanced to the Frozen Four, and clinching one this season would be quite the boost for either program’s status in the sport.  After last week’s bye, Curry is looking to advance past the quarterfinal round, and into the Frozen Four for the first time in school history.  In their past six appearances, they’ve made it to the Elite 8 four times, including the last 2 seasons.  Now, they have a tremendous opportunity to take the next step, which would cement them as one of the powers of D-III men’s hockey.

Hamilton already pulled off a road win against one of the big boys in the CNE last weekend.  In a very competitive game, the Continentals were able to hang on against UNE, scoring an empty net goal in the last minute of the game to seal the 4-2 win in Biddeford.  It was arguably the most impressive win of the season for HC, and it came at the perfect time.  Now, Hamilton will try to ride that momentum into Canton, Massachusetts, facing a team who has played as consistently great as just about anyone.

Curry has played a tough schedule, and is on a 16-game winning streak headed into the tournament.  Curry is definitely the favorites, but given how UNE played the Colonels tough this year, Hamilton will surely be a tough test.  The programs have rather surprisingly, only met one prior time, with Hamilton defeating Curry 2-0 back on New Year’s Eve of 2012.

Common Opponents:

• Curry has a home shutout of Norwich, while Hamilton defeated Norwich on the road in the NSB Holiday Tournament championship.
• Curry went 2-1 against fellow NCAA tournament team UNE, including a 1-1 road record, while Hamilton took down the Nor’Easters last weekend in the First Round matchup on the road.
• Curry won a home game against Trinity, while Hamilton went 1-1 against the Bantams, including dropping their home contest versus TC.
• Both teams won a game against a good Anna Maria squad, with Curry’s win at home, and Hamilton’s win coming on the road.

Against common opponents, Curry went 5-1, while Hamilton went a very similar 4-1.

Final Look:

Hamilton’s clampdown defense can cause opponents to go crazy, taking unnecessary risks, which usually end up costing them.  Curry seems like they’re the team who will be willing to play the long game with the Continentals, trusting their systems and elite goaltending to keep them close, and let their offense do the work to generate enough chances to get the needed goals.  As high as the stakes are, there’s a slim chance Curry could potentially even host next week dependent on results around them, and who put in bids to host.  Also, whose bids were accepted?

If HC can keep this close, look for Curry to potentially tighten up, as they haven’t had to sweat too many close games down the home stretch of the season.  This Colonels team is resilient though, so even if Hamilton gets a lead, look for CC to put the hammer down and make a strong comeback attempt.  I see this one being pretty low-scoring, and whoever can break through with the first goal may be the winner.

#7 Trine @ #2 Hobart

While the last matchup featured two teams trying to get to the final weekend of the season, we go to a program that has made it to the very end of the last 2 seasons, walking away with championship hardware both times.  Hobart College has broken through as the top program in the sport, and is ready to attempt a three-peat, which would be the first since Middlebury in the mid-2000’s.

Incredibly, this is also the 1st of 3(!) east vs. west quarterfinal games.  Trine has made its first-ever NCAA appearance, and won their first-ever NCAA game last weekend, defending the home ice against a dangerous Oswego team.  It was a decently competitive game, but there’s no doubt the better team won, as Trine controlled play more often than not.  This weekend will be a much harder task for Trine.

Having to take a quarterfinal flight to a packed, hostile environment will prove to be quite challenging.  However, on the other hand, this will be the best team Hobart has faced by a good deal.  Unsurprisingly, this will be the first-ever meeting for these cross-region foes.

Common Opponents:

• Obviously, Trine earned the massive home playoff win against Oswego last weekend.  Hobart also defeated Oswego in the season opener at home.
• Hobart defeated a good Buffalo State team on the road 3-0, while Trine swept the Bengals on the road in a 2-game set, with one win coming in overtime.
• Similarly to above, Hobart shutout Fredonia on the road, while Trine earned a road sweep of the Blue Devils to open their season, with one of the two wins being an overtime win.

Against common opponents, Trine is 5-0, while Hobart is 3-0.

Final Look:

I truly don’t know how this one is going to shake out.  Hobart clearly has the recent playoff pedigree and someone will have to beat the champs to be the champs.  That being said, this is the best team the Statesmen have seen this season by a good bit.  However, the last couple playoff runs, Hobart has beaten elite programs the likes of Curry, Endicott, Adrian, Utica, and Trinity.

Trine is more battle-tested, but has gotten tripped up in many more games than Hobart.  Home ice advantage is sure to make a difference, as the Cooler is one of the toughest rinks to play in.  That being said, the Thunder have played in hostile environments before.  I expect a low-scoring game if I had to pick, and I bet this one is close.

#6 Geneseo @ #3 Aurora

In our 2nd west vs. east quarterfinal, we have another very first meeting between schools, and two teams who earned impressive victories this past weekend.  Geneseo will be flying into the Chicagoland area for this one, setting up another rare pre-Frozen Four flight.

Aurora has had a record-breaking season in its rather young program, and was able to win a game last weekend in which they didn’t play their absolute best.  However, come playoff time, those are the types of games you often have to show up and earn the win for.  UW-Eau Claire battled hard, but the Spartans were the better team, and won their first ever NCAA Tournament game played.  This weekend will be a much tougher test though.

In Geneseo’s 11th NCAA appearance, they were able to hang tough against Stevenson in Round 1, before going ahead in the game rather late, adding an empty-netter to seal it with a 3-1 victory.  Now, the Knights will hit the road, looking to qualify for their 5th Frozen Four in program history, and first since their National Runner-Up finish in 2022.

Common Opponents:

Unlike the last east vs. west matchup we analyzed, these two have no common opponents from the 2024-25 schedules, so it might be a little trickier to get any sort of preconceived read on this one.

Final Look:

Both of these teams are pretty battle-tested, but there’s no doubt AU has played the more challenging schedule, no matter how flawed the NPI’s strength-of-schedule metric is (It’s very flawed).  Aurora has beaten a plethora of very good teams.  Geneseo might just be the best of the bunch, if they can get the job done this weekend.  In my opinion, it helps for the Spartans that this game, unlike last weekend, is at night.  For AU, the hope is to give fans a little more time to get ready and filter in to the off-campus arena.

Geneseo has already gone further than last year’s team, who fell in the first round to Curry in 2024.  Now, they’re hoping the momentum from their last two wins helps carry them back to the Frozen Four.  After throttling Utica in the UCHC title game, and now getting a hard-earned NCAA playoff win against Stevenson, this team believes they can go all the way.  I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if they continue this hot streak towards a title.

This is a matchup between the two highest scoring offenses in the country.  Naturally, most people might expect a barnburner with the potential for so many goals.  However, playoff hockey tends to tighten up the game, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect a 7-6 game.  However, there’s no denying the amount of skill that will be playing on the Fox Valley Ice Arena sheet Saturday night.  Each of these teams are incredible, and can easily go the distance.

#5 St. Norbert @ #4 Utica

With our last quarterfinal preview, we have what could be one of the most anticipated pre-Frozen Four games in D-III history.  There are so many angles to attack this game, but let’s start with the narrative between these two elite programs in a third east vs. west quarterfinal game.  This will be the first meeting between the two powers.  The fact we get this game in the quarters, with the NCAA actually paying up, forcing the correct matchups (according to seed) is a sight to behold.  Hopefully, this is a turning point, and the nonsense can finally stop.

Utica has a fanbase as big as anyone and gets just about as much support as anyone.  Despite the gaudy win totals and year-over-year success, they haven’t been able to bring home a national title.  After what seemed like an eternity of early exits, the Pioneers made the Frozen Four last year for just the 2nd time and first time since 2014.  Hopefully for the Pioneers, last year’s FF experience can help guide this team to another one, and maybe a potential championship.

On the other hand, St. Norbert also has a massive fanbase and school that supports the program heavily.  But the Green Knights have been able to bring home hardware, winning five national titles, the third most of all-time.  This program hasn’t won since 2018 though, which seems like an eternity for SNC fans.  The winner of this one has a great shot to win the whole thing, and potentially, host the Frozen Four as well.  There’s a whole can of worms in determining who hosts, and although it is supposed to go to a west team, I won’t get into the semantics of it all just yet.  I’m sure we’ll be having conversations about it Saturday night instead.

Common Opponents:

There’s only one common opponent between these two, and it’s a biggie.

• Utica split a road series at Adrian to open up the 2024-25 campaign, while St. Norbert went 3-0 against their rivals this year, including 2 convincing road wins.

Against common opponents, St. Norbert went 3-0, while Utica went 1-1.

Final Look:

This matchup should be crazy, and there won’t be one open seat in Utica either.  Akin to the Aurora situation, Utica does have to play this a home playoff game at 1 PM for the second straight weekend.  That’s the price you have to pay sometimes when sharing such an amazing facility with an AHL team.  Utica looked very dominant last weekend against an overmatched Fitchburg team.  They took control early, and were definitely the better team.  Credit to the Falcons for skating hard and giving them a decent game, but SNC is in a whole other ballpark.

St. Norbert hosted an upstart Gustavus team, and although the Green Knights were the better team, they were pushed very hard by the Gusties, as St. Norbert won a very competitive game overall, and barely hanging on for the 3-2 win at home.  It was very close, and closer than the Knights and their fans would have liked, but it might prep them for what looks like a potential classic.

I really don’t know what more I can say about these two.  Everything about this game is top-notch and I truly believe this one could be one to remember.  Aside from the early puck drop, everything is perfect about this game and the intrigue is off the charts.  Bust out the extra TV this weekend folks, not for March Madness, but for Pioneers-Green Knights.