NCAA Weekender: Bracket set, Merrimack wins first league title

NCAA

Recapping the biggest stories of the NCAA weekend.

BOSTON, Massachusetts — For the first time in almost 40 years, Hockey East was guaranteed a first-time champion on Saturday.

UConn joined in 2014 amid a big push to make the hockey team more competitive nationally. They went to the championship game and made the NCAA tournament for the first time ever just last season.

Merrimack took the longer road, joining the conference back in 1989 and despite getting close a few times, never crested that hill. Until Saturday.

And boy did it take a colossal effort to get there. Max Lundgren made 49 saves, Ryan O'Connell and Caelan Fitzpatrick scored early in the second and third periods, respectively, and the team really ground out a 2-1 win over UConn. The Warriors are league champions for the first time,

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NCAA Bentley Univ.Dartmouth College Merrimack College Minnesota State Univ. (Mankato)Ohio State Univ.Princeton Univ.Sacred Heart Univ.Univ. of Connecticut