Florida Gulf Coast beat Liberty 3-0 tonight, sweeping the 2 game set. Since Liberty has wrapped up their regular season, this week's rankings will give us a pretty good picture of where things will end up. If we're still ahead of Liberty this week, we have a pretty good chance to finish that way, assuming we don't duplicate today's disaster in either of our final 2 games.

Winston-Salem: where NC State dreams go to die...

HUGE shoutout to @NCStateHockey for letting this sieve join practice last night! It was quite a sight in-between the pipes 🤣

All the fun airs on @WRAL soon! pic.twitter.com/GWX7z2nd3f

— Kacy Hintz (@KacyHintz) February 9, 2022

Game day in Wilmington. Winner takes the ACCHL Carolina East division. Really weird to still be fighting for a division title this late, but that's where we are after Saturday's disaster. Coach was pleased with practice last night. Unlike Wake, UNCW is not a team we've struggled with lately; we've won 11 in a row and the last 6 haven't been remotely close. If we learned anything from Saturday, there should be no shortage of motivation on our end. Streaming will be available on LiveBarn, which requires a monthly subscription.

T-8 hours until puck drop 🤘🏼 pic.twitter.com/ZQ7iEDeGCZ

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 9, 2022

Here's a closer look at the ACCHL standings going into the final week of the season. If there's one thing that's defined this season, it's the stark division between the top half and bottom half of the league. The 8 teams that will head to Winston-Salem have been pretty much set since mid November. The Carolina East division was by far the most competitive division, with all 3 teams spending the majority of the season in the regional top 20. On the flip side, the Carolina West may have been the worst division in the history of the league; Elon, Charlotte, and Duke are a mess and have no business playing at the ACHA division 2 level right now. A couple teams still have a small amount of work to do this week, but I expect George Washington and Wake Forest to take care of business. Here's a team by team breakdown with regard to seeding, along with the current league standings for reference. I reference potential tiebreakers a number of times; I don't know exactly how tiebreakers work in this league, and it seems to change every year, so I'm just going with a wait and see approach as things shake out over the next few days.

Virginia Tech - the Hokies have clinched the Virginia division and the #1 seed.

NC State - the Pack can clinch the Carolina East division with a win over UNCW tonight, and will be the #2 or #3 seed, depending on a potential tiebreaker with Georgetown. If the Pack lose tonight, they would fall to the #6 seed, unless West Virginia loses to Elon (unlikely), in which case there would be a tiebreaker situation for the #5 seed.

Georgetown - the Hoyas have clinched the Capitol division. If NC State wins its division, there will be a tiebreaker for the #2 seed, assuming Georgetown wins its final league game against James Madison.

Wake Forest - the Demon Deacons haven't clinched the garbage Carolina West division yet, but they will with a win over Elon tomorrow or an Elon loss to West Virginia on Sunday. Elon has 4 league wins this season, all against Charlotte, Duke, and James Madison, so I simply can't see them pulling 2 massive upsets this week. Should Elon win the division, Wake will need to hope for some help from George Washington, along with a possible tiebreaker for the #8 seed. Either way, the winner of the Carolina West will be the #4 seed, and for now we're going to assume that's Wake Forest.

West Virginia - the Mountaineers will finish 2nd in the Virginia division, and will almost certainly be the #5 seed; see NC State scenario for possible fall to #6.

North Carolina - the Tar Heels have 1 remaining league game against Duke, which they will almost certainly win. If NC State wins the division, the Heels and UNCW will likely finish with 14 points each. There is also the potential for a 3 way tie for #6 if George Washington wins its final 2 league games. If UNCW wins the division, then the #7 seed is the ceiling for the Heels with a possible tie with GW.

UNC Wilmington - the Seahawks can finish as high as #2 if they win the Carolina East paired with a Georgetown loss. If they don't win, they'll fall into the potential tiebreaker scenario described above for the #6, #7, and #8 seeds.

George Washington - the Colonials have 2 remaining league games against James Madison and St. Joseph's. If they win both, they'll likely end up in a tiebreaker scenario with North Carolina and/or UNC Wilmington as described above. If they only win once, they're in as long as Wake wins its division (knocks Elon out). If Elon wins its division, the Colonials would have to win the tiebreaker with Wake Forest for #8. If the Colonials lose twice this weekend, they need to hope for 2 Elon losses this week.

Elon - the Phoenix are currently on the outside looking in. They can get in by beating Wake Forest and West Virginia, which would give them the Carolina West division title and the #4 seed. They can also sneak in by winning 1 those games, along with 2 George Washington losses.

The ACCHL should release the full bracket and schedule on Monday after all games are completed.

Another lackluster effort tonight. But since shootouts don't count in the standings, the game goes down as a tie and we win the ACCHL Carolina East division, which isn't much of a consolation and does nothing to answer the growing list of questions for this team. We're definitely headed to Regionals at this point, so we need to get things figured out in a hurry.

Tough way to end our trip to Wilmington pic.twitter.com/V1jmSCWbkf

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 10, 2022

Got what we deserved. Last night's game at UNCW isn't factored in to these rankings, but I think we're pretty much locked into #3 at this point.

Penultimate M2 Rankings has new Southeast Leader

Logan, UT: With less than a week left in the 2021/2022 regular season for Men's Division, the ACHA has released the ninth of ten scheduled rankings. The results saw several teams' current standings in their respective Region change and some that were secure last week now seem to be more precarious, and vice versa.

Northeast

Sacred Heart University moved up one spot to #7 this week, and is looking to try to make a late charge to move up one more slot, and the first round bye in the NE Regionals that comes with it. Boston University again has a slim lead over Providence, Clarkson, and Westfield State for the #14 seed, which could potentially have an "At Large Bid." The SECHL will crown their Tournament Champion this weekend, and the Regional Autobid that comes with it.

Central

Illinois State is less then 4 days away from completing a late season rise from well outside of a Regional contention to a decent chance at an "At Large Bid." The Redbirds jump from #15 to #12 will make this weekend's MACHA playoffs something that needs to be watched closely. The WCCHA also will be having their playoffs this weekend and with six teams with various security for a Regional bid, it will make the Autobid that comes with the Tournament Champion all the more important.

Southeast

It took nine rankings and one week from the end of the season, but it appears that the top of the SE has been resolved. With NC State being upset by Wake Forest and FGCU sweeping Liberty last weekend, the Eagles are now in the top spot in the Region, with the IcePack tumbling to #3. Barring a major surprise vs. Northeastern this weekend, Florida Gulf Coast should wrap their seventh consecutive SE autobid to Nationals (excluding last year due to use of National Rankings). Rider's huge win of Delaware catapulted the Broncs from 10th to 7th and radically changed their outlook for the Regional seeding.

West

In a Region where the top seeds have been the same names all year, this region seems to be most volatile one. University of Oregon, which had seen their ranking this semester drop from #4 all the way to #11, rebounded this week to push them back into a seemingly safe position at #8. San Diego State was finally able to get back on the ice after been shut down for COVID restrictions in January and moved themselves back into an "At Large Bid" position. Seemingly out of nowhere, Grand Canyon University finds itself with postseason life sitting at #14 and having a shot depending on what happens this weekend. The TCHC and MWCHL will crown their Tournament Champions this weekend and with it their Regional Autobids. Any upsets will make things much more fluid for the teams in the lower area of the Top 15.

Leagues with Autobids

Northeast
NECHA: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
SECHL: Tournament Champions (Championship on 2/13)

Central
MACHA: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)
NCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/19)
WCCHA: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)

Southeast
ACCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
CSCHC: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
MACH: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
TSCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)

West
MWCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)
TCHC: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)
WCHC: Loyola Marymount University (Regular Season Champion)

Full M2 Rankings

Southeast Top 20:
#1 Florida Gulf Coast University
#2 Liberty University
#3 North Carolina State University
#4 Miami University
#5 Rowan University
#6 Penn State University
#7 Rider University
#8 Indiana University
#9 University of Kentucky
#10 University of Delaware
#11 University of Cincinnati
#12 Virginia Tech
#13 Ohio State University
#14 University of North Carolina
#15 University of Pennsylvania
#16 University of Michigan
#17 Ohio University
#18 Millersville University
#19 University of Louisville
#20 The College of New Jersey

It's senior night at WCC. Great opportunity for the Pack to right the ship. WVU is bad, we're at home, and we're celebrating a class that has taken this program to places that weren't even on the radar 5 years ago. Don't miss out on your last chance to see the Pack at home this season.

It doesn’t get better than this: senior night, the chance to win $50K, and some college hockey. Come out one last time to support the boys 🤘🏼

Get your tickets before 2pm to be entered for a chance to win $50K during our Bull Market Shot! 👇🏼https://t.co/yhzwp2MYVN pic.twitter.com/59M3MlpQNj

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 11, 2022

Pack got back to doing what they do well tonight. Probably should've won by more, but I'm certainly not complaining after the last 2 outings. 95% chance we're going to see UNCW in the ACCHL Tournament first round. Will post bracket and schedule once it's released.

Great way to end the regular season 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZnE5kJ9KY9

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 12, 2022

The ACCHL Tournament bracket and schedule are set. All games will be played at the Winston-Salem Fairground Annex. Free parking is available in the lot next to the building. Concessions are available, and have improved quite a bit over the last couple years. All seating is general admission; be advised that this building is a bit colder than the average rink. Also, the women's tournament will take place on Saturday and Sunday; NC State will be competing there as well. Come on out for some fun postseason college hockey.

Men's Tournament

Friday, Feb. 18:

#1 Virginia Tech vs. #8 George Washington -- 12:00 PM
#4 Wake Forest vs. #5 West Virginia -- 3:00 PM
#3 NC State vs. #6 UNC Wilmington -- 6:00 PM
#2 Georgetown vs. #7 North Carolina -- 9:00 PM

Saturday, Feb. 19:

Semifinal 1 -- 5:00 PM
Semifinal 2 -- 8:00 PM

Sunday, Feb. 20:

Final -- 1:30 PM

Women's Tournament

Saturday, Feb. 19:

#1 West Virginia vs. #4 George Washington -- 12:00 PM
#2 Georgetown vs. #3 NC State -- 2:30 PM

Sunday, Feb. 20:

Final -- 11:00 AM

Tickets can be purchased here. Day passes are $10, full weekend passes are $20.

All games can be watched here.

The final regional rankings will be released tomorrow night at 7pm, which will give us the majority of the ACHA postseason picture, pending conference auto bids. Here's a look at the numbers from last week's rankings.

In the list below: AGD = average goal differential (total goal margin divided by number of games), SOS = strength of schedule (calculated based on opponents' rating, computer expected results, and actual results), AWP = adjusted winning percentage (win percentage * 0.8, ties count for half a win). Rating is the sum of the other 3 statistics and is the basis for the rankings. These are the numbers from the most recent rankings, which is based on games played through Feb. 6.

1. Florida Gulf Coast: AGD - 2.5, SOS - 10.5, AWP - 0.693, Rating - 13.693
2. Liberty: AGD - 1.9, SOS - 11.0, AWP - 0.629, Rating - 13.529
3. NC State: AGD - 4.0, SOS - 8.6, AWP - 0.709, Rating - 13.309
4. Miami (OH): AGD - 2.6, SOS - 8.8, AWP - 0.622, Rating - 12.022

Our loss at Wake Forest alone knocked our rating down roughly 0.6. Even with the tie against UNCW, we're essentially a lock to stay #3. Miami (OH) lost twice to Lindenwood (Central #1), so they certainly can't make up the sizable gap. FGCU beat Northeastern (Northeast #2) twice over the weekend, so they've locked up the Southeast #1, and have certainly earned it. Liberty did not play this weekend, so it's a very safe bet this is what the top 4 will look like when the final rankings come out. FGCU and Liberty will take the Southeast region's 2 auto bids to Nationals, and we'll have to play our way there at Regionals in Columbus, which will take place Feb. 25 - 27. Our first game would be Saturday, 2/26 against the lowest remaining seed. I'll post more info once the rankings are released.

In other news, Colby Pederson is expected to be cleared on Feb. 22. Will be really nice to get him back.

Icepack1 said:

---

The ACCHL Tournament bracket and schedule are set. All games will be played at the Winston-Salem Fairground Annex. Free parking is available in the lot next to the building. Concessions are available, and have improved quite a bit over the last couple years. All seating is general admission; be advised that this building is a bit colder than the average rink. Also, the women's tournament will take place on Saturday and Sunday; NC State will be competing there as well. Come on out for some fun postseason college hockey.

Men's Tournament

Friday, Feb. 18:

#1 Virginia Tech vs. #8 George Washington -- 12:00 PM
#4 Wake Forest vs. #5 West Virginia -- 3:00 PM
#3 NC State vs. #6 UNC Wilmington -- 6:00 PM
#2 Georgetown vs. #7 North Carolina -- 9:00 PM

Saturday, Feb. 19:

Semifinal 1 -- 5:00 PM
Semifinal 2 -- 8:00 PM

Sunday, Feb. 20:

Final -- 1:30 PM

Women's Tournament

Saturday, Feb. 19:

#1 West Virginia vs. #4 George Washington -- 12:00 PM
#2 Georgetown vs. #3 NC State -- 2:30 PM

Sunday, Feb. 20:

Final -- 11:00 AM

Tickets can be purchased here. Day passes are $10, full weekend passes are $20.

All games can be watched here.

---

In addition to the YouTube stream, WRAL Sports Plus will air the entirety of the tournament, available on over the air channel 34.1 and online here.

Relive an emotional Senior Night with our All Access recap 🎥🥲@packpride || @hockeyhousepod pic.twitter.com/ZjfOM63zpr

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 15, 2022

As expected, the Pack finished #3 in the Southeast region and will be the top seed at Regionals in Columbus, OH. The Pack will face the lowest remaining seed after the first day of play on Feb. 26, and the lowest remaining seed after day 2 on Feb. 27 should they win. See the full seeding reveal and schedule below.



Friday, Feb. 25
1:00pm: #11 U of Cincinnati OR League Autobid vs. #10 Ohio State University
4:00pm: #12 U of Delaware OR League Autobid vs. #9 Rider University
4:30pm: #13 UPenn OR League Autobid vs. #8 University of Kentucky
8:00pm: #14 UNC OR League Autobid vs. #7 Indiana University

Saturday, Feb. 26
10:30am: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. #3 North Carolina State University
1:30pm: Second Lowest Remaining Seed vs. #4 Miami University
2:00pm: Second Highest Remaining Seed vs. #5 Rowan University
5:30pm: Highest Remaining Seed vs. #6 Penn State University

Sunday, Feb. 27
10:30am: Second Lowest Remaining Seed vs. Second Highest Remaining Seed
2:00pm: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. Highest Remaining Seed

Game day. Pack begin the quest for a 4th straight ACCHL title. Tickets here. Streaming on WRAL Sports Plus (also over the air channel 34.1) or HPU Hockey YouTube.

ACC Tourney Weekend is Upon Us 🤘🏼 pic.twitter.com/sEYmQhfzCE

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 18, 2022

Pack got the job done tonight. Did a lot of good things and really minimized mistakes. 3 goals from freshmen tonight, including 2 from Zack Robinson. Tawyer was fantastic in goal; we are definitely set between the pipes for the next few years. We'll get Wake Forest in the semifinals at 8pm. Hoping for a better effort than 2 weeks ago, but the good news is that we can't possibly play any worse. Virginia Tech and UNC are the other semifinal.

Round 1 of the ACC Tournament ✅ pic.twitter.com/LxNGTJtnHx

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 19, 2022

Really good game from the pack. The score could have been much more lopsided but their goalie was strong early. I'm surprised the holes won. That might be the prettiest hockey team I've ever seen.

Round ✌🏼 in the 336 pic.twitter.com/QHuAocXGsA

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 19, 2022

Pack score 3 goals in 33 seconds to tie the game in the final 2 minutes, and Matt Miller wins it 1:46 into OT. This was a game the Pack absolutely dominated (shots 50-15), so tonight certainly didn't answer any of the questions about why we seem to struggle to score against Wake in this building. But at least this one is a win, and the Pack will go for their 4th straight ACCHL title tomorrow (today) against UNC at 1:30pm.

That. Is. How. Its. Done. pic.twitter.com/qcxVV1H72F

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2022

Championship Sunday. Let's do this. Tickets here. Streaming on WRAL Sports Plus (also over the air channel 34.1)

All or Nothing pic.twitter.com/znC4oF9Dcw

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2022

Has the game not started yet?

Redwolf55 said:

---

Has the game not started yet?

---

I'm at the rink in W-S. Still warming up. Puck probably drops in about 10-15 minutes. The women's championship just finished 10 minutes ago on the same ice...the NC State women's team won.

Thanks for the info.

The Icepack won their 4th straight ACCHL Championship (tournament title) this afternoon, defeating UNC 3-0.

The women's ice hockey team, in only their 3rd year as a program, won the women's ACCHL Championship in the same rink just prior to the men's game.

We did it… again 😏 pic.twitter.com/0mwJGOAaOT

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2022

A clean championship performance from the Pack today. The bulk of UNC's chances came in the opening minutes of the 1st and the final minutes of the 2nd; otherwise it was all Pack. Probably should've had a few more goals, but once we took the lead early in the 3rd, we completely shut it down while adding a couple more late. Still not thrilled with the offensive output this weekend, but I try to avoid overreacting to our performance on a sheet of ice this bad.

Up next, the Pack will head to ACHA regionals next weekend in Columbus, OH. The Pack will need to win on Saturday and Sunday to advance to Nationals. Our opponent on Saturday will be the lowest remaining seed after the games on Friday.

We did that 👇🏼🥳 pic.twitter.com/yeDxOEllAJ

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2022

We caught up with @TimPHealy, @NCStateHockey coach, to discuss winning another ACCHL title and what it would take to elevate the #IcePack from club level to D1 status. https://t.co/DCQbRCg4I8

— Joe Ovies (@joeovies) February 22, 2022

Support the Icepack by going online and giving your opinion on things. Each user can complete up to 75 surveys.

It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3!
•
Give your opinion and Hundredx will donate $2 per survey to the Icepack Hockey Team! pic.twitter.com/ibDI3Gllsh

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 24, 2022

The Pack aren't in action until tomorrow, but Regionals action is already underway. You can catch all the games this weekend with a monthly all-access subscription at hockeytv.com. Use code ACHA2022 to get $5 off. This will get you all the way through Nationals. The broadcast quality is actually quite good and is definitely worth the $25. More details here.

The Pack will play the lowest remaining seed of the following teams tomorrow at 10:30am:

#10 Rider (Pack won only previous matchup in 2019 Regionals)
#11 Ohio State (no previous matchups)
#12 Delaware (Pack have won 6 straight, 2 this season)
#13 Penn (no previous matchups)
#14 North Carolina (Pack have won 12 straight, 4 this season)

Southeast Regionals day 1 results:

#11 Ohio State - 5
#10 Rider - 4 (OT)

#12 Delaware - 3
#9 Cincinnati - 6

#13 Penn - 6
#8 Kentucky - 4

#14 North Carolina - 2
#7 Indiana - 3

The Pack will open play at Regionals against #13 Penn tomorrow morning at 10:30am. I didn't get to watch a ton of their game, but it generally seemed like Kentucky (whom we beat twice this season) carried the play, but Penn was able to score on a few breakaways. I'm not entirely sure what to make of the Quakers; they didn't play any teams that qualified for Regionals during the regular season. Hopefully we come out strong and put it away early.

Drum Roll for Regionals 🥁 pic.twitter.com/Zk5aoVoHUY

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 26, 2022

A lot of the same recent issues got the Pack today. Got off to a slow start, lack of puck movement, blue line / neutral zone turnovers. Our offense essentially vaporized over the last 6 weeks. Don't have an explanation for it; the Pack looked like a team that could win a national title in early January and just never got back to that. All 4 higher seeds lost in the Southeast Regionals today. That's Regionals in a nutshell and also exactly why you want to avoid them if you have a shot at an auto bid. We were a bit unlucky; we were the #2 ranked team in the country most of the season. Our late slide dropped us to #6, but we went to Regionals since we were the #3 team in the Southeast region. Teams like Dakota College - Bottineau and Northeastern were #10 and #11 respectively, but received auto bids from their regions. It's not that there's a problem with the system, but it's going to be difficult for us with perennial juggernauts like Florida Gulf Coast and Liberty to deal with every year.

All that said, this was a terrific season for the Icepack. We excelled against an extremely tough schedule, and saw our highest regional and national rankings in program history. We broke in a brand new barn, and saw an attendance of over 1,000 fans for 6 home games this year. We also won our 4th straight ACCHL Tournament title; this kind of dominance is unprecedented in the league. We are going to lose a few important pieces from this season, but we return plenty of starters and have a few really good players coming in. Next year's schedule will also be even better than this year's. Thanks to everyone who followed along here all season; I'll get a new thread started up in a few months once there are more details to share.

Thank you to our fans, our families and our friends for all of the support during this incredible season. We couldn’t be more grateful! pic.twitter.com/osuE4OlRYF

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 26, 2022

Florida Gulf Coast and University of Mary will face off in the ACHA D2 championship game tonight. If you signed up for HockeyTV to watch the Pack in Regionals, your subscription will still work for tonight. Puck drop is 8pm.

It's no surprise whatsoever to see this matchup; these are definitely the 2 best teams. UMary bulldozed their way through pool play and beat Lindenwood in the semifinals last night 6-1. FGCU got stuck in a meat grinder pool and got a bit lucky to advance after dropping their 2nd game, but handled Dakota College in the semifinals 4-1. As has been the case all season, my money is on UMary to repeat; they're just bigger, faster, and deeper than everyone else.

If you still have an active subscription, I highly recommend tuning in to get a look at what championship hockey looks like at this level. The Pack are getting closer; just need to be more consistent.

Icepack1 said:

---

If you still have an active subscription, I highly recommend tuning in to get a look at what championship hockey looks like at this level. The Pack are getting closer; just need to be more consistent.

---

What is your assessment of how good the team can be next year? How much talent are they losing, and how much are they bringing back, and will the team be better or worse next year? Do we have any good freshmen joining next season? Do you think we'll be a top contender to win the ACCHL again next year? As I've said, I've been following the team for the last 4 seasons, but I'm still sort of a novice to hockey and being able to recognize talent. It seems to me that we are losing quite a lot of our best players (graduating seniors) after this season.

GuerrillaPack said:

---

Icepack1 said:

---

If you still have an active subscription, I highly recommend tuning in to get a look at what championship hockey looks like at this level. The Pack are getting closer; just need to be more consistent.

---

What is your assessment of how good the team can be next year? How much talent are they losing, and how much are they bringing back, and will the team be better or worse next year? Do we have any good freshmen joining next season? Do you think we'll be a top contender to win the ACCHL again next year? As I've said, I've been following the team for the last 4 seasons, but I'm still sort of a novice to hockey and being able to recognize talent. It seems to me that we are losing quite a lot of our best players (graduating seniors) after this season.

---

As of now, here are the returning players for next season:

Forward:
Chris Solomon
Matt Miller
Garrett Auriene
Zack Robinson
Emery Oliver
Philip Bailey
Charles Monteith
Drew Bresingham
Nick Costantino
Avery Shaffer

Defense:
Victor Hugo
Jackson Cowen
Alex James
Ricky Frosch
Logan Todd
Alex Robinson (50/50 if he's coming back, can also play forward)

Goalie:
Isaac Tawyer
Eric Daniel
Griffin Hunt

We're definitely set in goal with all 3 guys back. I expect Tawyer to be the #1 guy with Daniel getting the bulk of the backup duties. But you can never have too much goaltending. We have a solid group of forwards back; I expect Solomon and Z. Robinson to anchor the top 2 lines. Defense will still be a bit of a weakness, but we're returning 5 or 6 guys there, so hopefully that group is a bit better with another year of experience. I know we've got a couple really good forwards coming in, and I believe we're adding some defense as well. In short, we're going to be fine; championship programs aren't built overnight, but we're attracting top talent in NC and we've established a few pipelines up north as well. We're also going to be battle tested; we've got a couple elite tournaments on next year's schedule, plus we've booted most of the cupcakes. Should be another really fun season.

Chris Solomon and Riley Johnson both get all-region team selections.