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NCAA tournament day 1 recap: North Dakota and Quinnipiac move to regional finals, Merrimack heads home
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Photo credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff
Ryley Delaney
Mar 27, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 27, 2026, 02:44 EDT
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The NCAA National Tournament tournament is officially underway.
This tournament, the Calgary Flames have eight representatives on six different teams. On Thursday, five Flames prospects were in action on three teams. Ethan Wyttenbach’s Quinnipiac took on Providence in the early game, while Abram Wiebe, Cole Reschny, and Cade Littler’s North Dakota took on Trevor Hoskin’s Merrimack.
Let’s take a look at how those two games went, how the other two games on the docket went, and what’s next.

Quinnipiac vs Providence

Quinnipiac and Providence remained scoreless after 20 minutes, but six minutes into the middle frame, Elliott Groenewold scored to open the scoring. The game stood at 1-0 for eight minutes, but then Chris Pelosi scored an even strength goal to make it 2-0. Then, Antonin Verreault scored with 1:55 on the clock to give Quinnipiac a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame.
They coasted to an easy victory, right? Nope. Midway through the third period, Logan Sawyer scored to get Providence on board. Less than four minutes later, John Mustard (elite name, by the way) scored to cut Quinnipiac’s lead to one.
Things got hairy when Wyttenbach got a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head. Thankfully, Quinnipiac killed it off, and as the Flames’ fifth-rounder in 2025 stepped out of the box, he received the puck and buried it for his 25 goal of the season. Quinnipiac added a second empty-netter.

North Dakota vs Merrimack

Two teams which have Flame prospects duked it out in the first round, as North Dakota took on the Cinderella-run Merrimack. Just four minutes into the first period, Cody Croal scored to open the scoring, with none of Wiebe, Littler, or Reschny picking up an assist.
Late in the second period, Merrimack was pretty hard done by, as a quick whistle nullified what should have been the game-tying goal. Instead, North Dakota jumped out to a 2-0 lead just over four minutes into the third period, and despite a push, North Dakota held on and even got an insurance goal.
None of the four Flame prospects playing in this game got a point. Sadly, Merrimack’s Cinderella-run has come to an end, but man, what a fun team they have. With Quinnipiac and North Dakota both winning, that sets up a showdown between Wyttenbach and Reschy to earn a place in the Frozen Four.

Other brackets and setting up Friday’s games

There were two other games in action on Thursday, as Wisconsin defeated Dartmouth 5-1. Michigan State had an impressive victory over UConn, defeating the Huskies 2-1. That sets up a showdown between the two teams on Mar. 28.
Eight teams are in action on Friday, with three Flame prospects playing. Luke Misa and Penn State take on Minnesota Duluth at 7:00 PM MT. The winner of that game will face either Michigan or Bentley, but let’s be real, it’ll be Henry Mews’ Michigan. Unfortunately, the defenceman won’t be active until next season.
The reigning National Tournament winners, Western Michigan, take on Minnesota State at 12:30 PM MT. Whoever wins that game will face one of two Flame prospects, as Eric Jamieson’s Denver takes on Jonathan Castagna’s Cornell. Whichever team wins that game will have a chance to fight for a Frozen Four spot, with the regional final coming on Mar. 29.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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