The opening game of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament pits the second-seeded Terriers against the third-seeded, No. 9/11 Western Michigan, and the fifth-ranked Boston University men’s ice hockey team against each other. The puck will drop at 2 p.m.
The game on Thursday will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+, with an audio-only broadcast available here.
How To Watch
There is a live streaming service that you can access easily to watch the Divisional Men’s Ice Hockey tournament if you are unable to see them on television. To access the streaming site just check out GamePassLive.
Boston University vs Western Michigan Preview
With seven straight victories, including the Hockey East Tournament, BU has been among the nation’s hottest teams in recent weeks.
This season, Boston and Western Michigan didn’t face many of the same opponents, although both squads faced Michigan, Notre Dame, Northeastern, and Michigan Tech. The Broncos split with Notre Dame, defeated Northeastern and Michigan Tech, and lost to Michigan in three games.
The Terriers were defeated by Notre Dame, split their games with Michigan, split their games with Northeastern, and fell to Michigan Tech.
Hobey Baker finalist Lane Hutson, who leads Boston University in both points scored and assists with (47 and 33), is the team’s captain. In addition, he has added 14 goals, which is the most among defensemen and is tied for second on the team.
Matt Brown, the team’s top scorer up front, has 15 goals so far this year. Only he and Hutson have scored 40 or more points for the squad.
Drew Commesso has started 31 games in goal for his team, making him the preferred choice. He has a 22-7-0 record, a 2.51 goals against average, and a.912 save percentage for the season.
Hockey prepares for its matchup against Boston University in the NCAA Tournament.
This Week
On Thursday, March 23, Western Michigan will play Boston University in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The contest will serve as the opening round of the 16-team tournament.
The winner of the match will compete in Manchester against the victor of the other regional semifinal between Colorado and Cornell. Denver has the top seed in the area, followed by BU with the No. 2 seed, WMU with the No. 3 seed, and Cornell with the No. 4 seed.
TRAILING HISTORIA
Jason Polin, the senior captain for Western Michigan, is about to go down in the annals of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. On March 4, Polin tied the NCHC single-season goal record in a 5-4 victory over Miami (29). Josh Archibald of Omaha now holds the record; he achieved it during the 2013–14 season.
If he succeeds with his next attempt, he will move to the top of that chart and become only the second player in the nation in the past five years to score 30 or more goals in a season.
SEASON SETTING RECORDS
The Western Michigan hockey team built on their success after a strong 2021–22 season by achieving its highest NCHC regular-season finish in program history.
Three clubs were in striking distance of second place as the regular season’s final weekend approached. Nonetheless, Western Michigan won that award as the Broncos defeated Miami in Oxford. In the end, WMU triumphed by two points over Omaha and by three points over St. Cloud State.
Not only was WMU’s second place the best result in program history, but its 15 conference victories and 44 points were also school records. The group scored 43 points and amassed 14 NCHC victories last season.
ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
- 1986 vs. Harvard (Cambridge, Mass.) L, 2-4, 2-7
- 1993 vs. Wisconsin (Albany, N.Y.) L, 3-6
- 1996 vs. Clarkson (Albany, N.Y.) L, 1-6
- 2011 vs. Denver (Green Bay, Wis.) L, 2-3 2OT
- 2012 vs. North Dakota (St. Paul, Minn.) L, 1-3
- 2017 vs. Air Force (Providence, R.I.) L, 4-5
- 2022 vs. Northeastern (Worcester, Mass.) W, 2-1, OT
- 2022 vs. Minnesota (Worcester, Mass.) L, 0-3
- 2023 vs. Boston University (Manchester, NH) TBD
ALL-TIME NCAA POINTS LEADER
- 3 – Troy Thrun 2 gp, 1-2-3 (1986)
- Several tied at 2 points
ALLTIME NCAA GOALS LEADER
- 2 – Dan Dorion (1986), Frederick Tiffels (2017)
SINGLE GAME NCAA GOALS LEADER
- Dan Dorion – 2 vs. Harvard, 3/22/1986
- Frederick Tiffels – 2 vs. Air Force, 3/24/2017
SINGLE-GAME NCAA ASSISTS LEADER
- Matheson Iacopelli – 2 vs. Air Force, 3/24/2017
MOST SAVES IN A NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME
- Jerry Kuhn – 35 vs. Denver, 3/18/2011
