While Trine's NCAA men wrapped things up a week ago, the ladies closed out their inaugural season this past weekend with a pair of road losses to Concordia.  Despite their disappointing 4-17-1 record, this young Thunder lineup came a loooonngg way!  Teams better be on guard next season.  Head Coach Tom Hofman is quietly building a program to be reckoned with, and our guts says it won't take as long as some might think before they're going toe to toe with the likes of Adrian and Lake Forest.

As first-year ACHA D3 teams are ineligible for the postseason anyhow,  their #14 ranking in the North region was far from disappointing for Trine's M3 club.  In thumping Washtenaw CC by a combined score of 21-4 and racking up 13 wins and 2 ties in their inaugural season, the Thunder has put the ICHC (their new conference home next season) and the rest of the region on notice.  Trine's addition to the ICHC - along with Miami (OH) - give the conference a much-needed boost in prestige, not to mention two sweet new venues to play in.

Speaking of the ICHC, Indiana continued its conference dominance by sweeping both the regular season and the Crossroads Cup tournament for the third straight year.  After routing a depleted IPFW squad 12-0 on Saturday, the Hoosiers closed out the weekend and the three-peat by wearing down the fiesty Colonels 8-2.  Eastern Kentucky outlasted the Butler Bulldogs 4-1 Saturday to earn a berth in the championship game, but the deep Indiana bench proved to be too much to overcome.

The Hoosiers nabbed a bigger prize last week, earning their second consecutive berth in the ACHA D3 Regional tournament.  Indiana was ousted in the first round last year, but this deeper and more experienced lineup has a legitmate shot at punching their ticket to Columbus this time.

The year started off with such promise for the conference, offsetting the loss of Xavier with the addition of EKU.  Purdue looked as if they might give the Hoosiers a run for their money at first, but an undisclosed violation put an early end to their season and threw a monkey wrench into the Crossroads Cup.  Butler made some strong strides in year two, while the 'Dons and Cardinals struggled with short benches for most of the year.  Everyone should get at least a small recruiting boost from expansion, along with sending their first-ever All-Star team to Philadelphia this spring.

The state's two ACHA M2 teams squared off for round two of the Civil War, and although the scores were much closer this time around, the results were still the same.  As they had done all year long, the Thunder found a way to tilt the ice in their favor and completed the season sweep with 3-2 and 4-1 victories.  Unlike the ACHA M3, first year teams playing in M2 can be eligible for the postseason by paying their dues a year in advance.  Sources say this exemption will not be allowed following this season, but quite frankly we're glad its there now.  Finishing their inaugural season with an unbelieveable 29-0-2 record, it would be a travesty if the Thunder were unable to continue their magic carpet ride.

The Hoosiers wrap up their tumultuous season on the road against the Alabama Crimson Tide (ACHA M1).  Interm coach Joe Siers has helped bring some energy and enthusiasm back to the Indiana bench after taking the reins in November, but it remains to be seen if he ends up as the long-term solution to the Hoosiers' coaching dilemma.

The Irish lasses split their series with Central Michigan, winning game one 4-3 before dropping the rematch 5-1.  No matter.  The win was enough to earn Notre Dame a spot in the CCWHA playoffs.  The fun begins Friday night against Nothern Michigan, then concludes with a Saturday double-header with Loyola-Chicago and Adrian College.

Indiana Tech's second half struggles continued Friday as the NAIA club fell to Waldorf 6-4.  Tech rebounded Saturday with arguably their best game since the winter recess, dominating all aspects of the game en route to a 5-0 victory.  The Warriors have a handful of games left to get things straightened out again before hosting the WHAC Tournament, starting with a pair at home against Lindenwood-Belleville this weekend.  Tech desperately needs to recapture their first half swagger if they want to make a run at the first NAIA Hockey title since 1984.

The ACHA M3 team may have fallen to Davenport in the MCHC Tournament this past weekend, but not before they secured a berth in the North regional tournament.  The Warriors face a tough test in perennial powerhouse Oakland, but have all the makings of a Cinderella story...

Which brings us to Notre Dame.  The fairytale season continues for the Irish, who still found themselves ranked #5 in the latest USCHO.com poll despite being swept by the surging Wolverines.  Notre Dame locked up the B1G regular season title the week prior with their win over Ohio State, but Head Coach Jeff Jackson continues to preach staying focused on the bigger prize.  This weekend's season finale against Michigan State offers the Irish two opportunities to snap their mini-skid and get back on track heading into the B1G tournament.  Winning the conference tourney isn't a necessity, as Notre Dame still holds the second spot in the latest Pairwise rankings.  But an extended slide could certainly result in a lower seed and a much tougher path to a Frozen Four return.