The journey continues for some and others hit the end of the line.
In the NCAA tournament, it's win or go home.
Freshman winger Kenny Hausinger and UMass-Lowell won their opener at the Northeast Regional in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday to advance. Hausinger had two shots on goal and a plus-1 rating.
Also moving on is Denver, which pumped Michigan Tech for four first-period goals on the way to a 5-2 win in the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati. The Pioneers' assistant coaches are David Carle of Anchorage and former UAF bench boss and stud forward Tavis MacMillan.
Moving on too is Penn State, which is coached by former Nanooks bench boss Guy Gadowsky. Not too put too fine a point on it, but the Nittany Lions basically delivered a public mugging with a 10-3 victory over Union.
On the other hand, it was the end of the line for Minnesota and sophomore goaltender Eric Schierhorn of Anchorage, and Gophers coach Don Lucia, the former UAF head coach and UAA assistant — the Gophers fell 3-2 to Lucia's alma mater, Notre Dame, after leading 2-0.
In the Division III men's championship, Trinity, which includes senior brothers Ryan and Brandon Cole of Anchorage, fell 4-1 to Norwich. Ryan Cole assisted on his team's lone goal. The Cole brothers won a national title in 2015.