D1 insider: Harvard, AIC coaches reflect after NCAA tourney losses

Adam Baughman (20) was one of several Harvard seniors to have their college careers come to an end in the NCAA tourney. (Getty Images)

While UMass and Providence prepare to represent Hockey East and the entire New England region in the Frozen Four next week, the Division 1 college hockey season is over for the remaining 18 teams that play within our six-state borders.

Last weekend’s NCAA regional tournaments marked the end of the line for American International, Quinnipiac, Harvard, and Northeastern. The two former teams were each one win away from the first Frozen Four since 2013 to include three New England clubs, but there had not been more than one representative from the region in each of the last two seasons.

Despite this past weekend’s losses, it was a banner season for many of New England’s advancing teams.

The end to the season in Manchester, N.H., was especially bittersweet for Harvard head coach Ted Donato, whose son, Ryan, began his collegiate career as a member of the Crimson’s graduating senior class before signing with the Boston Bruins last year. While the younger Donato now plays for the Minnesota Wild, captains Lewis Zerter-Gossage and Michael Floodstrand as well as Hobey Baker Award finalist defenseman Adam Fox led the 19-win Crimson to its fourth NCAA trip in five years.