Western Michigan claims first Penrose Cup; Penn State picks off Minnesota; Women's tournaments fire up - CHS 2-28-25

It’s the #CollegeHockey Scoreboard Show for February 28, 2025. Shortest month of the year with a ton of games regardless. The women have conference tournaments all over the place, while the men are in the home stretch. There’s No breakdowns. No Analysis. It’s JUST. THE. SCORES. 

Let’s start with the women, going that whole alphabetical thing by conference tournament. 

No. 8 Penn State took the opener of its AHA semifinals series with RIT, 3-2, behind a two-goal effort from Tessa Janecke. Mercyhurst blanked Syracuse 1-0 in the other semifinal. 

In the ECAC quarterfinals, No. 5 Colgate jumped out to a 3-0 lead on an Elyssa Biederman natural hat trick and went on to beat No. 13 Princeton 5-2. No. 10 Quinnipiac bested No. 9 Clarkson 3-1 thanks to two goals from Laurence Frenette. Third-ranked Cornell shut out Union 3-0 behind a pair of goals from Karel Prefontaine. No. 7 St. Lawrence edged Yale 3-2 in overtime when Claire Tyo buried the winner on a rare 5-on-3 in the extra session. 

In the NEWHA quarterfinals, Sacred Heart struck just a minute in and held on for a 1-0 win over Assumption. Post blanked Franklin Pierce 1-0. Stonehill and St. Anselm went to double overtime before the Skyhawks pulled out a 2-1 win. LIU shut out St. Michael’s 4-0. 

The top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers outshot Bemidji State 45-12 and picked up a 3-0 win in their WCHA quarterfinal opener. No. 4 Minnesota cruised to a 6-1 win over Minnesota State behind a four-point night from Emma Kreisz. No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth stunned No. 11 St. Cloud State with two goals in the final two minutes to win 3-2, Olivia Wallin netting the game-winner with just five seconds left. No. 2 Ohio State handled St. Thomas 5-1 as Joy Dunne racked up a goal and two assists. 

To the men,
In the Big Ten, No. 11 Michigan held on to top No. 8 Ohio State 4-3, getting an early 4-1 lead on T.J. Hughes’ 15th goal of the season. Third-ranked Michigan State is now tied for first place with a 5-2 win over Notre Dame, Isaac Howard tallying his 23rd goal of the year. No. 15 Penn State pulled off a huge 4-3 overtime win against No. 2 Minnesota as Simon Mack scored just his second goal of the season to push the Nittany Lions above the projected pairwise cutline. Penn State is 6-0-1 in its last seven and 8-1-2 in conference after starting the season 0-6 in the Big Ten.

In the CCHA, Bemidji State and No. 14 Minnesota State tied 1-1, but the Beavers took the shootout. Lake Superior State edged Bowling Green 4-3, St. Thomas nipped Michigan Tech 4-3, and Ferris State rolled past Northern Michigan 5-1. 

ECAC action saw Colgate win 4-3 in overtime against RPI, Union beat  Cornell 4-1, Dartmouth down Brown 4-2, and Harvard take a 4-3 overtime victory over Yale. Princeton beat St. Lawrence 4-2, while No. 19 Clarkson needed a goal from Ryan Bottrill with eight seconds left in overtime to top No. 13 Quinnipiac 4-3. Clarkson is now three points behind the Bobcats heading into Saturday. 

In Hockey East, No. 7 Providence edged Merrimack 3-2. Top-ranked Boston College pushed its lead atop the conference to five points with a 4-1 win over New Hampshire, Andre Gasseau scoring twice and Ryan Leonard notching his national-best 28th goal of the season. No. 9 UConn got two goals from Ryan Tattle in a 5-2 win over Northeastern. No. 5 Maine saw Taylor Makar register a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over Vermont. 

Talk about burying the lede as we go to the NCHC where No. 4 Western Michigan secured the first Penrose Cup in school history, beating No. 18 North Dakota 6-4 with goals from six different players. The Broncos were preseason picks to finish sixth but have won six of their last seven and lost in regulation just once in 2025. 
No. 12 Arizona State remained in second place with a 4-1 win over Omaha, powered by two goals from Cullan Potter. Minnesota-Duluth needed overtime to beat Miami 3-2, keeping the RedHawks winless in conference play. No. 6 Denver reclaimed fourth place in the conference with a 3-1 win over St. Cloud State, Carter King scoring twice. 

In Atlantic Hockey’s first round, RIT knocked off American International 3-2 in overtime and In non-conference play, LIU defeated Alaska 4-2. 

I’m Jason Bryant (@jasonmbryant). Leave a rating, review, or feedback at collegehockeyscoreboardpod.com. That’s the #CollegeHockey Scoreboard Show for February 28, 2025.