Hagens, Martone among players to watch in build to NCAA Tournament

The stretch run to the NCAA Tournament begins this week with conference tournament games in each of the six Division I leagues.

After conference tournament champions are crowned, the 16-team field for the NCAA Tournament will be announced March 22. The six conference tournament winners will earn automatic NCAA Tournament bids. 

NCAA regionals will start in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Worcester, Massachusetts on March 26, and in Albany, New York and Loveland, Colorado on March 27.

Winners of the four regionals will move on to the Frozen Four at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 11 and 13.

In alphabetical order, here are 10 players to watch.

Jake Black, F, Bentley University

The senior led Bentley to the regular season title in Atlantic Hockey and has continued to set the pace during the postseason.

His goal in the third overtime lifted Bentley to a 4-3 win against Mercyhurst on March 6 in the Atlantic Hockey tournament quarterfinals. It capped a two-goal, two-assist night for the 24-year-old, who played two seasons at the University of Connecticut before transferring to Bentley for the 2024-25 season.

Black, a free agent, has 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) and a team-best plus-17 rating in 36 games.

Bentley, at No. 27 in the NCAA Percentage Index, hosts College of the Holy Cross in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals Friday. It likely will need to win the conference championship to get into the NCAA Tournament.

Jonathan Castagna, F, Cornell University

The junior leads his team with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) and a plus-25 rating in 29 games.

Among his highlights this season is a hat trick at Yale on Jan. 30 and a goal and three assists at Quinnipiac on Feb. 20.

Castagna was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round (No. 70) of the 2023 NHL Draft, and the 20-year-old had his rights traded to the Calgary Flames on March 4 as part of the deal that sent defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth.

Cornell, No. 9 in the NPI, hosts Harvard in the ECAC quarterfinals Friday.

James Hagens, F, Boston College

There hasn’t been a hotter scorer in the country in recent weeks.

The 19-year-old has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) during a 12-game point streak, giving him a team-leading 42 points (21 goals, 21 assists) in 32 games.

Hagens, who has played for the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championship each of the past two years, was selected by the Boston Bruins in the first round (No. 7) of the 2025 NHL Draft.

Boston College, which is No. 18 in the NPI, hosts Maine in a Hockey East quarterfinal game Friday.

Michael Hrabal, G, University of Massachusetts

The 21-year-old junior is 12-2 with one tie in his past 15 games, and is the main reason his team has climbed into contention for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth if it doesn't win the conference tournament.

Hrabal is 18-8 with one tie, a 2.02 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and four shutouts in 27 games this season, including 50 saves in a 3-3 tie with Connecticut on Feb. 28. He was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award as college hockey's top goaltender Feb. 13; the finalists for the award will be announced later this month.

He was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the second round (No. 38) of the 2023 draft.

UMass, which is No. 14 in the NPI, will host a Hockey East quarterfinal game Saturday, against an opponent to be determined.

Porter Martone, F, Michigan State University

The 19-year-old freshman leads Michigan State and is tied for fifth nationally with 46 points (23 goals, 23 assists) in 32 games.

Since returning from his role as captain for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, Martone has 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 16 games, including a hat trick against Notre Dame on Feb. 20.

Martone was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round (No. 6) in the 2025 draft.

Michigan State, No. 3 in the NPI, will host the lowest remaining seed in the Big Ten semifinals Saturday.

Zam Plante, F, University of Minnesota Duluth

The sophomore center had a weekend for the ages against St. Cloud State University in a two-game sweep in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinals on March 6 and 7.

Each night, he tied the game in the final minute of the third period and then scored in overtime.

The 21-year-old has 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 36 games, including 10 power-play goals.

Plante was chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round (No. 150) of the 2022 NHL Draft.

A member of a distinguished Minnesota hockey family, Zam's father, Derek Plante, was a forward for eight NHL seasons and now is a pro scout for the Ottawa Senators. One of his younger brothers, Max Plante, is a linemate at Duluth. Another younger brother, Victor Plante, is No. 36 in NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters for the 2026 NHL Draft and is committed to playing at Minnesota Duluth next season.

Duluth is No. 8 in the NPI, and plays at North Dakota in the NCHC semifinals Saturday.

Eric Pohlkamp, D, Denver University

The 21-year-old junior, a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award as the top men's NCAA hockey player, does it all for Denver.

He runs their top power play and leads NCAA defensemen with 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 37 games.

Pohlkamp, in his second season with Denver after playing at Bemidji State as a freshman in 2023-24, had two points (one goal, one assist) and a game-high nine shots on goal in a 6-2 win against Miami University in the NCHC quarterfinals March 7.

The San Jose Sharks selected Pohlkamp in the fifth round (No. 132) of the 2023 draft.

Denver, No. 6 in the NPI, hosts Western Michigan University in the NCHC semifinals Saturday.

Cole Reschny, F, University of North Dakota

The freshman forward has eight points (one goal, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak. 

For the season, the 18-year-old has 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) in 32 games. He was named to the NCHC All-Rookie team this week.

Reschny was chosen by the Flames in the first round (No. 18) of the 2025 draft.

North Dakota, No. 2 in the NPI, hosts Minnesota Duluth in the NCHC semifinals Saturday.

Stiven Sardarian, F, Michigan Tech University

The senior, from St. Petersburg, Russia, leads his team with 44 points (12 goals, 32 assists) in 36 games.

Sardarian had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win against Bowling Green in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals March 7.

The 23-year-old played two seasons at the University of New Hampshire  before transferring to Michigan Tech in 2024-25.

Sardarian was chosen by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round (No. 88) in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Michigan Tech, No. 19 in the NPI, plays at Minnesota State in the CCHA semifinals Saturday.

Jack Stockfish, F, College of the Holy Cross

The 23-year-old junior forward leads Holy Cross in goals (14), assists (21) and points (35) in 36 games this season.

His biggest goal of the season came March 7, when he scored his second of the game in overtime to lead Holy Cross to a 5-4 win against RIT in the Atlantic Hockey tournament quarterfinals.

Stockfish is a free agent who attended development camp with the Nashville Predators during the offseason.

Holy Cross, No. 34 in the NPI, plays at Bentley in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals Saturday. They likely will need to win the tournament to get into the NCAAs.