As it was, the stage was set for the D3 equivalent of the Frozen Four with the best teams in the nation up against one another. The four remaining squads were the best teams in the nation by both the USCHO and Pairwise standards. However, it was made all the sweeter by the final round being booked by quality play that more than lived up to expectations.

At the beginning of the proceedings on Thursday in Hartford CT, we saw the defending champions in the form of the Hobart vying to return to the promised land against #2 USCHO ranked/#3 Pairwise ranked Utica. The first period would be quite intriguing, as we did not see overwhelming attacking prowess from Hobart as one would expect. However, their typically stout defense was as reliable as ever, and they would create good chances that they made count despite not generating very many in the volume sense. On the backs of two goals, one tally by senior Austin Morar utilizing screens and another good finish by sophomore/recent Elite 90 Award recipient Tanner Hartman, the Statesmen left the first frame looking in control of the game. It seemed as though they would expand on this in the second period as their attack ramped up; however, the Utica Pioneers would hold firm and eventually would be beneficiaries of a fortuitous bounce as Michael Herrera trimmed the deficit to 1 around the halfway mark of the middle stanza. Despite threatening many times over, particularly on the power play, in the back half, Hobart was not able to bring their lead back to 2 before the second frame ended.

In the final frame, the teams appeared pretty level in possession and pace. Ultimately, there was not a ton of excitement in this frame, and things did not get truly intriguing until the Pioneers pulled netminder Ethan Roberts with just over two minutes remaining. Initially, the Pioneers did not put much pressure on the attack, but were able to tilt the ice for a bit. However, all it took was one very good stop/breakout by Hobart to ice it, as Shane Shell put the puck in the empty net to cement the defending champion Statesmen’s return to the national title game.

Later that evening, there was the other semifinal matchup, pitting the hosts Trinity College against the Adrian College Bulldogs, last year’s runners-up and the champions in 2022. This was a good old fashioned 5v5 skill matchup, as 4 minor penalties (2 by each team) were assessed during the game, with neither team scoring on either of their power play opportunities. Adrian had the advantage in shots on goal in the first stanza (13-10) and looked to be in solid form. However, it would be the Trinity Bantams that opened the scoring, with James Barbour getting a fairly impressively angled one-timer past Adrian G Dershahn Stewart off a feed by Connor Sedlak with approximately 6.5 minutes to go in the first period. They would waste no time growing this lead less than two minutes into a dominant second period performance wherein they outshot Adrian 16-7, as Sedlak got another assist as he helped Devan Tongue beat Stewart on what was effectively a 2-on-1. Adrian’s Bradley Somers would bring the score to 2-1 with a timely touch on a tightly-angled shot attempt by Zachary Heintz with 6:03 remaining. However, the two teams would play each other evenly in the final frame, with no change in score. As a consequence, Adrian’s season was ended and the hosts were booked to play Hobart in the finals, marking their first appearance in the big dance since 2017.

The finals matchup that has been booked for Trinity College’s Koeppel Community Center is prime college competition, as Hobart look like the undisputed kings but will have a good test in front of them as the host institution will be hungry to capture their first title since 2015. Tomorrow night’s showdown in Connecticut’s capital will be a great capoff to another excellent season of NCAA Division III men’s ice hockey. Both teams will have a lot of drive for this one. The Statesmen will want to prove themselves as the elite of the elite, while the Bantams will strive to win in front of their devoted crowd and end their national championship drought and exact some revenge for the close loss their adversaries inflicted upon them at home in the regular season. In a little less than a full day, we will get to watch this narrative unfold, and it should be an instant classic.