While most of the nation was focused on basketball last week with it being the first week of March Madness, there was another national tournament that was happening right here in Salt Lake City as Utah hosted the Division II ACHA Men’s Hockey National Championship tournament.
The tournament started on March 20 and the championship took place on Tuesday, March 24. The tournament consisted of the top 16 Division-II teams in the country and the games were played at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex, just south of the University of Utah.
“Hosting Nationals was a great opportunity for us, it really helped recognize where Utah hockey is heading and how far we’ve come in the last 5 years,” Utah junior Kurtis Kunz said.
While hosting the event is a huge privilege, it also provided the Utah hockey team with the opportunity to play in it. The team that plays in the venue selected to host Nationals earns an automatic berth in the tournament. It was something the Utah players were very excited about.
The format of the tournament involves four teams in four different pools, where all the teams played each other in their respective groups. Once all the games were played, the top team in each pool advanced to the national semifinals, and the winners of that game would then play for the championship.
Entering championship day, the two teams left remaining were New York and Florida Gulf Coast. The game sure didn’t disappoint either, as New York won a close 5-4 contest.
As far as the Utes’ performance goes, they made sure teams knew that they weren’t just content being in the tournament, but that they were there to compete for a national title.
The Utes started their first pool play game off on a very strong note, defeating Missouri State by a score of 4-2.
“We had confidence going into that game,” Utah senior Shane Storer said. “Our coaches had seen film of them and they prepared us for the things we would face. It was one of our best played games.”
Utah then squared off against one of the best teams in the tournament, and the eventual runner-up in the championship in Florida Gulf Coast.
Despite the fact that they were underdogs, it is March, where Cinderella stories find ways to make themselves appear.
“We came into that game riding the momentum from the first win,” Storer said.
The Utes hung tight with the Eagles and were tied entering the third period. But about halfway through the final slate, the Eagles took the lead for good. Utah had some close opportunities during the last few minutes of the game, but just couldn’t net the game-tying goal.
“It absolutely was one of the most heartbreaking losses,” Storer said.
This loss didn’t completely eliminate Utah’s chances of advancing to the semifinals but they needed some help. In order to advance, the Utes needed to win their last game, but they also needed Florida Gulf Coast to lose.
The Utes took care of their business in their final game, getting past Northeastern 5-2. But unfortunately for Utah, the Eagles won their matchup ending Utah’s chances to advance. So while the ending outcome of the tournament was a bit of a downer, Utah hockey gained a lot of respect and credibility for the way they competed during nationals.
“If there was any doubt that we can’t compete with some of the best talent in the nation, that has gone away,” Storer said.
Though Utah’s season is over, it has to be happy with the progress the organization has made and the things it has in store for the future.
“It’s not necessarily the way we wanted the season to end,” Storer said. “But we’re hungry and determined to get back to nationals.”
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