GRAND FORKS — David Carle was busy Monday when news hit social media that he signed a contract extension at the University of Denver.

He was in a Zoom meeting with NCAA president Charlie Baker.

Other NCAA head coaches, assistant coaches and administrators were in it, too.

They discussed issues surrounding college hockey.

Baker told the group that the NCAA will reveal a new governance structure in July — one that will streamline processes and give more control to each sport instead of blanket policies.

There will likely be a hockey board or committee to oversee championships and rules.

When discussing championships, Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky put Carle on the spot about his push to go to home sites for NCAA men’s hockey regionals.

Carle put forth several of his arguments — better atmospheres, better pictures for television, fairness, revenue and growing local fan bases.

Baker said home-site regionals work for other NCAA sports — every sport except men’s basketball does it — and asked why there’s opposition.

Carle called on Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf to produce a counterargument.

The NCAA has scheduled neutral-site regionals through 2028. Carle and others are going to push for a change beginning in 2029.

Support for home regionals has increased over the last 10 years, but as of last spring, there was not enough for a change.

With Carle shunning NHL offers to stay in college, he will continue to be at the forefront of the push to bring regionals home.

The discussion with Baker went beyond regionals, though.

Central Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner Don Lucia talked about college hockey’s unique deferred enrollment rule, which allows players to start college at age 21 without losing eligibility.

Although there was previously talk about removing that rule and forcing players into college earlier — an attempt to standardize things across all sports — Baker seemed supportive of it if it works for the sport and helps students graduate.

The Pairwise Rankings, which have long been used to determine the NCAA tournament field, are likely on their way out.

The Pairwise Rankings are expected to be replaced by the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI), which is used on the women’s side.

Like the Pairwise, the NPI will have weights for different criteria such as winning percentage, strength of schedule, home-road bonuses, quality win bonuses and overtime wins.

The coaches were presented a document that showed last year’s final Pairwise Rankings alongside how the NPI would have looked at the end of the season, depending on different weights.

The NCAA tournament field would have looked relatively similar. In a couple of NPI formulas, Arizona State would have replaced Penn State as the final team in the tournament.

The NPI will likely be used beginning this season.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s national television contract expired at the end of last season.

The league is currently exploring options, including punting on regular-season national television coverage and going exclusively on local broadcasts and streaming on NCHC TV.

CBS Sports, the league’s rights holder since Year 1, asked schools to pick up additional production costs for this season. The schools aren’t interested in doing that.

The NCHC is still working on a potential deal with CBS Sports to broadcast the league’s postseason tournament.

“We’re still in negotiations with CBS,” NCHC commissioner Heather Weems said. “We want to focus on the playoffs and what we possibly have with CBS.”

The NCHC has two years left on its streaming deal with Sidearm Sports. That deal brings significant revenue to some of the teams.

Each team’s revenue share is different depending on how many subscribers the school pulls in. UND makes more than a half million dollars annually on it.

The NCHC wants both its TV rights and streaming rights to open at the same time in 2027, so it can package them together.

Right now, there’s a 45-day window to enter the transfer portal for men’s hockey players in the spring.

But that could change.

The men’s hockey coaching body wants to shrink it to 30 days.

The portal opening date to non-graduates would still occur after the NCAA regionals.

As of Tuesday morning, the men’s hockey transfer portal has been open for 38 days. However, portal entrants always slow to a trickle by this point. Only six players have entered in the last 11 days.

The U.S. won bronze at the IIHF Men’s World Under-18 tournament in Texas last week.

UND commit Garrett Lindberg of Moorhead had a notable tournament.

Lindberg, a defenseman, served as USA’s alternate captain. He scored a goal and tallied four points in seven games. His plus-12 rating ranked first on Team USA and third among all players in the tournament.

Lindberg was selected No. 2 overall by the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League’s Phase 2 Draft on Tuesday morning. The high selection indicates the Steel believe Lindberg will play 2025-26 in junior hockey before arriving on campus.

UND forward commit Andrew O’Neill of Fargo played in one game at the IIHF World Under-18 tournament. Arizona State defenseman commit Lincoln Kuehne of West Fargo played in three games and tallied an assist.

The USHL held its Phase 1 Draft — players born in 2009 — on Monday night.

Several local and area players were selected.

Forward Colin Grubb of Burlington, N.D., was the third pick of the draft, going to Dubuque in the first round. Grubb plays at Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

Muskegon picked Grand Forks forward Nolan Marto in the second round. Marto is the nephew of former UND defenseman Jake Marto.

Other notable picks included West Fargo forward Jack Larkin (Dubuque, second round), Thief River Falls forward Spencer Anderson (Youngstown, third round), Dilworth forward Evan Wanner (Youngstown, fourth round), West Fargo forward Grayden Peterson (Fargo, ninth round), Warroad forward Gavin Anderson (Omaha, 10th round), Alexandria goaltender Aaron Lenarz (Green Bay, 11th round) and Moorhead defenseman Gunnar Schock (Fargo, 13th round).

Fargo picked UND commit Eli McKamey in the final round. McKamey played for the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League this season. Next season, Penticton is moving to the Western Hockey League.

Victoria holds McKamey’s rights in the WHL and will keep them.

McKamey, of Cowichan Bay, B.C., suffered a lower-body injury in the BCHL playoffs and is currently out of the lineup.

The Phase 2 draft — all eligible players for USHL — started Tuesday morning.

In addition to Lindberg, Warroad defenseman Ryan Lund was selected in the first round. Lund, who played for Austin in the North American Hockey League this season, went No. 6 overall to Tri-City. He is uncommitted.

Former UND center Shane Pinto is headed to the IIHF Men’s World Championship for a second-straight year.

Pinto has joined Team USA for the event, which will be held in Herning, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden, from May 9-25.

Last year, Pinto tallied nine points in eight games for USA in Czechia. He was USA’s fourth-leading scorer behind Matt Boldy, Brady Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau.

Pinto scored 21 goals and tallied 37 points in 70 games for the Ottawa Senators this season.

• One of the biggest discussion points at the NCHC meetings was this year’s league tournament, which will be played entirely at home sites for the first time. “We talked significantly about what we need to do in this transition to have the best student-athlete experience and what we need to do to standardize things on campus,” Weems said.
• College hockey coaches showed support to keep the recruiting window the same. Right now, coaches can begin speaking with recruits on Jan. 1 of their sophomore years. They can offer scholarships and obtain commitments beginning Aug. 1 ahead of their junior years.
• Coaches also showed support for the current rule, which allows 19 players to dress per game.
• Sioux City (USHL) forward Tate Pritchard, who recently de-committed from Minnesota State, has announced a commitment to Minnesota on Monday. Pritchard visited UND last week.
• Colorado College assistant coach Andrew Ogilvie has accepted an assistant coaching position at his alma mater, Notre Dame, opening a second assistant position at Colorado College. The Tigers have spoken with longtime Notre Dame assistant Paul Pooley and Michigan Tech assistant Jordy Murray as potential candidates.
• Michigan is widely believed to be the frontrunner for a pair of top Ontario Hockey League players in forward Malcolm Spence and goalie Jack Ivankovic, who starred at the U18s for Canada.

Missouri junior gymnast Amy Wier high-fives teammate Olivia Kelly on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2024, at the Tiger Performance Complex in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers finished the national championship in third place, the best result in program history. (Hannah Henderson/Maneater)

Missouri gymnastics catapulted to a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, marking its best finish in program history. 

Missouri had a historic performance in the semi-final, edging Florida for a spot in the final. Senior Helen Hu clinched the qualification to the final with a massive 9.9875 beam score, which simultaneously won her the beam title. For the first time in program history, Missouri gymnastics qualified for the Final Four at the National Championship — better known as “Four on the Floor.”

Missouri’s historic finish was highlighted by controversy on balance beam. Junior Amy Wier completed a strong routine, but was initially given a 9.550 due to missing a connection. The routine was followed by a judging conference, forcing Senior Amari Celestine to a lengthy wait to compete. However, Celestine prevailed, earning a 9.8625. Freshman Railey Jackson matched Celestine’s score. It was Hu who once again anchored the rotation, earning a massive 9.9625. Initially, Missouri wrapped up a fourth-place finish, but after the meet, Wier’s routine was evaluated and given a 10.0 start value and a 9.850 total score. This bumped Missouri to third place, earning the Tigers a 197.2500 to Utah’s 197.2375. Oklahoma won the team title, with UCLA following behind. 

 Missouri began its meet on vault. Freshman Kaia Tanskanen took a step on her Tsuk full for a 9.8125, while sophomore Hannah Horton earned a 9.8375 on her Yurchenko 1.5 that she shuffled back on. Senior Jocelyn Moore took a hop forward on her Yurchenko 1.5 for a 9.850 and senior Amari Celestine wrapped the rotation with a solid 9.9 for a 49.200 team score. 

Missouri moved to bars in Rotation 2. Graduate student Kyra Burns brought in a 9.825 for her final career routine, and Moore displayed high-flying releases and a stuck dismount for a 9.850. Celestine stuck her signature “Celestine” dismount one final time to bring in a 9.8625. Graduate student Mara Titarsolej finished her career with a 9.850 for a 49.175 total. 

In the final rotation, Missouri did what Missouri tends to do on the floor: it brought the party to the mat. Tanskanen executed two solid tumbling passes for a 9.8875, setting up the last three athletes perfectly. Celestine performed her energetic floor routine one last time with a 9.9125, while sophomore Kennedy Griffin performed a perfect punch-front-plus-double-tuck combination for a near perfect score of 9.950. Moore anchored the rotation with a 9.9 for a 49.4875 total. 

Missouri completed the 2025 season as a season of firsts. It logged the first score of 198, first qualification to the night session at the SEC Championship, first qualification to the Final Four and first top-three finish at the national championship. If such success continues, the Tigers will bring a heavy head of  momentum from their historic season into 2026. 

Edited by Killian Wright | kwright@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Ava Mohror | amohror@themaneater.com 

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com

The Chicago Blackhawks will select third overall after the ping-pong balls fell at the NHL Draft Lottery. The New York Islanders were the surprise winners of the first pick. The Utah Hockey Club won the second drawing and will select fourth since they could only move 10 spots. The San Jose Sharks get the second overall pick in a wide-open draft.  

We have until June 27 to debate who will go where, but let’s start by quickly examining the top five prospects.

D-Matthew Schaefer

Defenseman Matthew Schaefer is still at the top of most draft boards despite not playing since Dec. 27 due to a shoulder injury. He is the type of blueliner that NHL general managers drool over. He’s got size, speed, and his already an elite-level skater. Schaefer is a future No. 1 defenseman in the making, in the mold of Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. While he excels offensively, he’s no slouch in the defensive zone. He plays a fearless brand of hockey, with an active stick and excellent gap control.

F-Michael Misa

Michael Misa seems to be the player most Blackhawks fans want to see added to the prospect pool. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound forward scored 62 goals and 134 points in 65 Ontario Hockey League games for the Saginaw Spirit this past season. The only player who scored more goals than Misa in the OHL was Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis. He would be an ideal running mate for Connor Bedard. Misa is great scoring off the rush, who already has NHL-level speed and edge work. He has the hockey IQ to be an NHL player from day one.

F-James Hages

James Hagens could help the Blackhawks at the center position if they want to go with another pivot under six feet tall. He scored 11 goals and 37 points in 37 games for Boston College. He was one of the best players at the World Junior Championship, helping Team USA to its second straight gold medal with five goals and nine points in seven games. He’s a dual offensive threat, both with his shot and passing. Hagens has the hockey sense you want in someone down the middle. He thinks the game on a different level, and his awareness constantly puts him in the right places.

F-Anton Frondell

Anton Frondell is a player who has risen up the draft rankings as the season progressed. The 6-foot, 196-pound center had 11 games and 25 points in 29 games in Sweden’s equivalent of the AHL. He has good speed, but he needs to work on getting up to full speed better. He’s willing to play in the tough areas of the ice, be it in front of the net, along the boards, or below the goal line. Frondell has impressed scouts with his strong shot, physical play, and 200-foot game.

F-Porter Martone

Porter Martone is another forward whom the Blackhawks might use the third pick on if he’s there. At 6-foot and 208 pounds, he has the size and the toughness the Blackhawks need in their system. His biggest knock is his skating, but that is something that can improve. If Ryan Donato can become a better skater at 29, Martone can at 18. He’s a mix of an old-school power forward and a sniper. He might be too good to pass up at No. 3 if he’s there.

There is plenty of intrigue with this pick, and the unknown of who will be available makes the debate even more fun. No matter who the Blackhawks take third overall, he will be an impactful player and an important part of the rebuild.

COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland Athletics and Blueprint Sports have named Mandy Allendorfer the new executive director of One Maryland, the official NIL (name, image, and likeness) entity supporting Terp student-athletes. Allendorfer will lead the Terps’ efforts in the new era of NIL partnerships, events, and media opportunities for all Maryland student-athletes across 20 sports. The parties also announced a multi-year partnership extension that establishes Blueprint Sports as the internal NIL marketing agency for Maryland Athletics, helping solidify the Terps’ position as a leader in the hyper-competitive NIL marketing and sponsorship space.

Allendorfer assumes the new role after serving as the Director of Collegiate Partnerships for Athletes First, an NFL agency representing elite players, coaches, personnel and broadcasters, where she represented, among others, former Terp quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. Prior to that, Allendorfer worked for 18 years for super-agent Scott Boras at the Boras Corporation as the Director of Strategic Marketing and Collegiate Partnerships and other roles. Allendorfer is herself a former Terp student-athlete, competing in softball from 2000-03, with a career batting average of .429 and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. 

“It is the professional and personal honor of a lifetime to return to Maryland in this new role, just as the University deepens its partnership with Blueprint Sports,” said Allendorfer. “As a former Terp student-athlete, this opportunity is deeply personal. I’m passionate about creating pathways for our athletes to thrive on the field, in the classroom, and now in building their personal brands. Together, we’ll ensure Maryland is at the forefront of NIL innovation and athlete empowerment.” 

“We are building a best-in-class NIL ecosystem here at Maryland,” said Brian Ullmann, Deputy Athletics Director. “We are excited to extend our partnership with Blueprint and are thrilled to bring Mandy back into the Maryland family. Her hire is a home run.”

“We are proud to extend our partnership with Maryland Athletics and its outstanding leadership team,” said Rob Sine, CEO of Blueprint Sports. “From the start, Maryland has demonstrated such forward-thinking leadership in the NIL space, and we’re excited to continue that momentum with Mandy at the helm. Maryland exemplifies the kind of creative, data-driven athletic department we strive to support as we shape the future of collegiate athletics through innovative NIL data and revenue solutions.”

Since 2023, One Maryland has acted as the athletic department’s primary collective, offering NIL opportunities for the more than 500 student-athletes who proudly wear red, white, black, and gold. One Maryland is managed by Blueprint Sports, the industry-leading agency for in-house Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) technology and services, supporting more than 65 athletic departments nationwide.

For questions, to work with an amazing Maryland student-athlete or to learn about corporate partnership opportunities, visit onemarylandnil.com or contact the One Maryland staff at info@onemarylandnil.com. 

 

About Blueprint Sports

With over 65 athletic department partners, Blueprint Sports is the largest in-house tech and services NIL agency for athletic departments across the country. Blueprint Sports has raised and facilitated over $135 million in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) earnings for NCAA student-athletes since 2021. We navigate the complexities of modern college athletics and NIL to provide next-generation, scalable services to Power Four and mid-major athletic departments and conferences across Division I and Division II. 

About One Maryland

One Maryland is the official Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) entity for University of Maryland student-athletes. Fans, sponsors and community members who commit their support to One Maryland are pledging to maximize opportunities for student-athletes to build their brand, earn compensation, and maximize their potential. In addition, One Maryland supporters, sponsors and members gain access to exclusive events, autograph sessions, merchandise, and more. One Maryland is powered by industry-leader Blueprint Sports, the largest internal tech and services NIL agency for athletic departments across the country. For more information visit onemarylandnil.com and follow @OneMarylandNIL on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.

ECAC Announces 2025 Men’s Gymnastics All-Academic Team

5/6/2025 9:25:45 AM

Danbury, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced the all-academic team for Men’s Gymnastics. The team includes all student athletes from Army, Navy, William & Mary, Springfield, Greenville, and Simpson who have a cumulative 3.0 GPA, along with freshman and first-year student athletes who have achieved a 3.0 GPA in the fall semester.

Army

Gabe Almeida

Tucker Blanchard

Jaden Blank

Jacob Brenner

Joseph Buselmeier

Noah Duran

Conor Heary

Cash Johnston

Nick Lester

 

Navy

 
ABOUT THE ECAC
The ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) is an eighty-five-year-old organization with well over 200 member schools across all three NCAA Divisions – I, II and III. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics and provides great value for universities and colleges by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. The ECAC also hosts a comprehensive esports program that presently involves 160 schools fielding 1100 teams across 14 different esports games, streamed live four nights a week. The ECAC’s esports platform has and continues to expand the geographic footprint of the Conference nationally.  

STAY CONNECTED

Stay updated on the latest news, championships and more by connecting with the ECAC on Facebook (ECACSports), Twitter (@ECACSports) and Instagram (@ECACSports).