NCAA Hockey Tourney starts with two forfeits, one replacement

Senior forward Kobe Roth navigates the puck toward Western Michigan’s goal in the NCHC quarterfinal game. Photo by Hunter Dunteman

The NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championships began with multiple forfeits in arguably some of the most important games of the season for the top 16 teams in the NCAA.

As the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs geared up Friday for their 3 p.m. contest against the University of Michigan in the Fargo regional semifinals, news broke of a positive COVID result within Michigan’s program, forcing the Wolverines to withdraw from the tournament entirely, per NCAA protocol.

"I'm devastated for these players. These student-athletes have done a wonderful job all year of making sacrifices to get to this point of the year," Michigan coach Mel Pearson said in a statement. "It's unfortunate. I don't completely understand the final decision but I have to respect it.”

UMD moves on to play the winner of Friday night’s University of North Dakota vs. American International College game.

The news regarding Michigan came a day after Notre Dame announced their withdrawal from the tournament.

The Fighting Irish were “removed” from the NCAA championships due to “positive COVID-19 test results,” according to an official Notre Dame press release. The number of positive tests is unclear.

Notre Dame’s withdrawal moved Boston College directly to the regional final against the winner of Saturday’s matchup between St. Cloud State and Boston University.

While Michigan and Notre Dame’s withdrawals nixed them out of their first game, COVID issues within the Eastern College Athletic Conference ended St. Lawrence University’s season on a sour note.

While the Skating Saints were celebrating their ECAC championship title and automatic berth to the NCAA tournament, the virus would intervene.

Less than 24 hours after securing their bid, St. Lawrence head coach Brent Brekke announced that his own positive COVID test would be the end of the season for his team.

“I'm extremely sorry that this group has lost the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament," Brekke said in a statement. "It was my own test that came back positive today.”

With enough time before the first puck drop of the NCAA championships, the ECAC was able to replace St. Lawrence with Quinnipiac — though Quinnipiac likely would have received an at-large bid regardless.