60 NAHL Alumni Head to Final Weekend of the NCAA Division III Championship

March 28, 2025

The field of teams has been narrowed down to four as the final weekend of the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey Championship kicks off. 60 players with NAHL connections will hit the ice on their hunt to take home the championship trophy.

The four remaining teams are Curry College, Utica College, Hobart College, and SUNY Geneseo. Three of the four squads feature 16 alumni, while Utica College has 12 former NAHL players on its roster. The two-time national defending champion, Hobart College, returns to ice and faces SUNY Geneseo in the semifinal round of play.

As the four squads face-off, 26 NAHL teams are represented amongst the skaters. The Maine Nordiques feature the most alumni with 13 former players suiting up for the final weekend of play.

On the Hobart College Statesmen, Ignat Belov and Luke Aquaro have played impactful roles for Hobart. Belov skated three seasons with the Maine Nordiques and is currently a junior with the Statesmen. On the season he has found the back of the net three times and produced 12 assists. Alongside him is former Brookings Blizzard and St. Cloud Blizzard alum, Luke Aquaro. Aquaro is the second top scorer on the Statesmen with his 16 goals and 33 points on the year. He is a fourth-year skater for Hobart and hopes to lift his squad to three consecutive national championships.

Former Anchorage Wolverine, Shane Soderwall, served as the main goaltender between the pipes for the Curry College Colonels. In his 27 games played this season, he features a 1.45 goals against average and a .945 save percentage. He features a 24-3-0 record for his squad. Alongside him is Springfield Jr. Blue, Grady Friedman. Friedman skated in the NAHL for two seasons and is currently in his second season with the Colonels. He features the third most points on his squad with 21 and has tallied 11 goals on the year.

The top scorer of the SUNY-Geneseo Knights is former Kenai River Brown Bear, Peter Morgan. The Sarasota, Florida native is a fourth-year skater for the Knights. He leads his squad in assists (22) and total points (36). Not far behind him is Luke Panchisin. Panchisin also played with the Brown Bears and currently sits in third on his squad with 30 total points on the season. The last name Panchisin may sound familiar because his younger brother currently skates for the Philadelphia Rebels in the NAHL.

Wrapping up the last team to make it to the final weekend of the Division III Men’s Hockey Championship is the Utica University Pioneers. The top two scorers of the squad spent their time in the NAHL. Jakob Breault is a former Aberdeen Wing and features the most goals (17) and points (36) on the Pioneers. Following close behind him is former Shreveport Mudbug, Drake Morse. The Grand Rapids, Minnesota native has tallied 13 goals and 30 points on the year.

The four squads pick up play tonight. You can watch all of our former players HERE!

Number of Athletes From Each NAHL Team*:

Aberdeen Wings: 3

Amarillo Wranglers: 4

Anchorage Wolverines: 1

Austin Bruins: 1

Bismarck Bobcats: 1

Corpus Christi IceRays: 2

Danbury Hat Tricks: 2

Janesville Jets: 1

Johnstown Tomahawks: 1

Kenai River Brown Bears: 2