Men's Hockey Skates into ACHA Division 3 Semifinals after Thrilling Comeback

The Hope College ice hockey team skated back from the brink.

The third-ranked Flying Dutchmen are returning to the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 3 national semifinals for the eighth time in program history after winning their final two games in pool play this week in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hope (33-4-1) bounced back from a 3-2 loss to 15th-ranked Michigan State University on Tuesday to defeat Dordt University (Iowa), 9-0, on Wednesday and sixth-ranked Grand Valley State University, 3-2, on Thursday.

The Flying Dutchmen won the head-to-head tiebreaker vs. GVSU, which also went 2-1 in pool play.

Hope will face second-ranked and defending national champion Lawrence Tech in the national semifinals on Friday, March 21, at 7 p.m. Central after Lawrence Tech topped Calvin University, 3-1, in a winner-advances showdown on Thursday.

The Flying Dutchmen beat Lawrence Tech, 5-2, in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference Vezina Cup final on March 8 in Grand Rapids.

This is Hope's final season in ACHA Division 3 before moving up to the Division 1 level next season.

Head coach Chris Van Timmeren was proud of his team's determination after the loss to MSU.

"We said we needed four miracles to happen for us to get into the semifinals," Van Timmeren said. "We needed Grand Valley to beat Michigan State. We needed to beat Dordt. We needed goals-against to go our way. We needed to beat Grand Valley. They all went our way.

"The team is super resilient. They were pretty devastated after losing to Michigan State. We said we needed to play and see what happened. It all came up Flying Dutchmen."

This is the Flying Dutchmen's ninth national semifinal appearance and first since 2013. Hope previously won national titles in 2018, 2021 and 2022.

Against GVSU, the Flying Dutchmen snapped a 1-1 tie with two second-period goals.

Sophomore right wing Brady Breit (Byron Center, Michigan / Byron Center HS) scored the go-ahead goal 2 minutes, 13 seconds into the period. Freshman left wing Cade Pratt (Byron Center, Michigan / Byron Center) extended the lead to two goals with 6:06 remaining in the period.

Pratt's goal proved critical as GVSU pulled within striking distance by scoring on the power play with 1:23 remaining in the third period but could not get an equalizer.

Senior goalkeeper Maclane Schick (Kohler, Wisconsin / Kohler) stopped 39 shots for Hope.

Schick stopped 24 shots against Dordt.

The Flying Dutchmen scored three times in each period. Senior defenseman Nolan Holtrop (Walker, Michigan / Kenowa Hills) scored the game-winner 3:56 into the first period and finished with a hat trick.

Hope lost to Michigan State after the Spartans overcame a 2-1 deficit with two second-period goals. The Flying Dutchmen outshot MSU, 45-28, but were shut out after the first period.

Gallery: (3-21-2025) ACHA Pool Play vs. GVSU, Dordt, MSU

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Players Mentioned

#10 Brady Breit: RW; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#9 Nolan Holtrop: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#30 Maclane Schick: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#15 Cade Pratt: LW; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Brady Breit
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: RW

#9 Nolan Holtrop
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#30 Maclane Schick
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#15 Cade Pratt
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: LW