Former Vees Travis St. Denis and Michael Garteig lead the No. 1 ranked Quinnipiac Bobcats against the Boston College Eagles on Thursday in Tampa Bay for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Frozen Four championship, while the No. 3 ranked North Dakota Fighting Hawks will face the Denver Pioneers.
The Bobcats advanced to the final four by defeating UMass Lowell 4-1. St. Denis scored, while Garteig made 13 saves. For the season, St. Denis finished with 22 goals and 46 points, while Garteig went 31-2-7 with a 1.83 goals against average and .926 save percentage. Garteig was also among the players nominated for votes for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey’s best player. The Eagles feature Penticton’s Adam Plant, who is in his sophomore season.
Stecher, who plays for the Fighting Hawks, was named to the All-CHN First Team, which was unveiled by the College Hockey News website. Stecher has been a two-way standout on North Dakota’s blue line this season, establishing career highs in points (28), goals (eight), assists (19) and plus/minus (+20). The junior from Richmond was named to the All-National Collegiate Hockey Conference Second Team and was a finalist for both the NCHC Defenceman of the Year and NCHC Offensive Defenceman of the Year. Stecher has been a plus or even in 37 of his 41 games this season and leads all NCHC defensemen with 105 shots on goal. He has also anchored a UND defensive unit that is allowing only 1.86 goals against per game, the lowest such mark in school history.
