RECAP: 2024 AAU College Hockey National Championships
03/19/2024
Four new national champions were crowned at this year's National Championships in West Chester, PA.
By Alexander Gagnon
West Chester, PA – The AAU College Hockey season ended just outside of Philadelphia as 48 teams converged to battle for the right to call themselves national champions. The one-week event kept the Ice Line busy as 85 games were played across four divisions of college hockey’s best.
Over 1300 athletes were represented as they battled for one of the Women’s division or Men’s DI, DII, or DIII championships. The event was a hit, with great action taking place on the ice and a lot of eyes watching it off the ice. The event was even featured on ESPN to recognize and congratulate the great athletes that took part in the tournament!
In the Women’s division, the finals saw the University of Tampa take on Paul Smith’s College. Despite the shorter bench, the PSC Bobcats came out victorious 4-2 on the back of Leah Coulombe’s two goal effort. The Bobcats also got a 28 save effort out of goaltender Ashley Finch to secure the victory to become the inaugural AAU College Hockey Women’s Division Champions.
In Men’s DI action, the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Buffalo Bulls met in the finals. South Carolina had gone 4-0 to that point through the tournament, and Buffalo at 3-1 with a critical win in the semi-finals game to advance. The Bulls would strike first midway through the 2nd period, but the Gamecocks would rally and take the game 4-1. Colin Reid and Tommy Marvin both had multi-point performances for the Gamecocks.
Men’s DII action saw an all-Florida final, as the Florida Gators met the Florida Atlantic Owls in a battle of undefeated teams to that point. Florida was dominant early, going up 5-1 after 30 minutes of play, but the Owls refused to back down. Three straight FAU goals over the next 20 minutes left it a 5-4 game with only ten minutes left. But the Gators would regain the upper hand with a few late tallies and take the DII championship in an 8-4 victory. Michael Katz’s hat trick and Michael McCoy’s two goals made the difference.
The second all-Florida final of the day was the DIII championship between Florida Southern College and the University of Miami. FSC had an incredible run to the finals despite their short bench, but the U had been a buzzsaw all tournament, taking care of business once again in the finals. The Hurricanes would win 10-0 thanks to two goals each from Elian Estulin and Devon Mussio.
With this season coming to a close, it’ll be a few short months before AAU College Hockey ramps up again to see if these schools can defend their national championships. Follow @aausports on Instagram and Facebook as well as @therealaau on Twitter / X to see photos and videos from the event!
West Chester, PA – The AAU College Hockey season ended just outside of Philadelphia as 48 teams converged to battle for the right to call themselves national champions. The one-week event kept the Ice Line busy as 85 games were played across four divisions of college hockey’s best.
Over 1300 athletes were represented as they battled for one of the Women’s division or Men’s DI, DII, or DIII championships. The event was a hit, with great action taking place on the ice and a lot of eyes watching it off the ice. The event was even featured on ESPN to recognize and congratulate the great athletes that took part in the tournament!
In the Women’s division, the finals saw the University of Tampa take on Paul Smith’s College. Despite the shorter bench, the PSC Bobcats came out victorious 4-2 on the back of Leah Coulombe’s two goal effort. The Bobcats also got a 28 save effort out of goaltender Ashley Finch to secure the victory to become the inaugural AAU College Hockey Women’s Division Champions.
In Men’s DI action, the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Buffalo Bulls met in the finals. South Carolina had gone 4-0 to that point through the tournament, and Buffalo at 3-1 with a critical win in the semi-finals game to advance. The Bulls would strike first midway through the 2nd period, but the Gamecocks would rally and take the game 4-1. Colin Reid and Tommy Marvin both had multi-point performances for the Gamecocks.
Men’s DII action saw an all-Florida final, as the Florida Gators met the Florida Atlantic Owls in a battle of undefeated teams to that point. Florida was dominant early, going up 5-1 after 30 minutes of play, but the Owls refused to back down. Three straight FAU goals over the next 20 minutes left it a 5-4 game with only ten minutes left. But the Gators would regain the upper hand with a few late tallies and take the DII championship in an 8-4 victory. Michael Katz’s hat trick and Michael McCoy’s two goals made the difference.
The second all-Florida final of the day was the DIII championship between Florida Southern College and the University of Miami. FSC had an incredible run to the finals despite their short bench, but the U had been a buzzsaw all tournament, taking care of business once again in the finals. The Hurricanes would win 10-0 thanks to two goals each from Elian Estulin and Devon Mussio.
With this season coming to a close, it’ll be a few short months before AAU College Hockey ramps up again to see if these schools can defend their national championships. Follow @aausports on Instagram and Facebook as well as @therealaau on Twitter / X to see photos and videos from the event!
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