NSIC in MN: St Cloud State crowned 2023 Regular Season Champions, NSIC Tournament begins this Sunday with Equal Time on the mic!

NSIC in MN: St Cloud State win 1st Ever Northern Sun Regular Season Title, NSIC Tournament begins this Sunday with Equal Time on the mic!

11/3/2023

Mark Privratsky

In the preseason I made a general prediction of where the MN NSIC teams would be in the tiers of Conference. St Cloud was one of the "So you're saying there's a chance?" squads, and boy did they take their chance. Credit to an incredible leap forward from the Huskies, who didn't make the NSIC Tournament last year, and now are the #2 ranked squad in the Central Region with the posibility of an At Large bid to the NCAAs. Two weeks from now, the Division 2 NCAA Tournament will kick off all around the Country, and five Minnesota squads, including the rising Huskies, still have a chance of being there. St Cloud State enters the playoffs as the (surprise?) Northern Sun Regular Season Champs with MN State Mankato just behind them by a point. 4th place Bemidji State finished just 3 points ahead of 7th place Concordia St Paul in a tough middle of the table fight, and UMD just beat out Southwest MN State and Wayne for the 8th and final postseason spot. With the playoffs starting Monday, November 6th, we’ll dig into the D2 Minnesota squads NCAA chances, and set up the matchups for the ‘23 NSIC Tournament. Lastly, thanks to St Cloud State and the NSIC, you can hear Matt and Mark Privratsky on the call for the St Cloud State v UMD game this Monday at 2pm (and potentially more to come?) on the NSIC Network App or NSICNetwork.com.

NCAA Tournament Chances

The Central Region features (34) teams from the NSIC, the Mid America Athletic Association and the Great American Conference. Each Conference Tourney Champ gets an automatic bid to the NCAA’s, while the remaining five spots are At Large. What does that mean for the NSIC in MN? No one is a safe bet for the NCAA’s this year (maybe the Huskies or Mavs?). St Cloud won their first ever NSIC Regular Season crown but if they stumble early, their rivals could also stop their historic run. Mankato is in a decent spot for an At Large, but for Bemidji and Concordia St Paul, while you’d say they control their path to the NCAA’s, it’s a tough path given their ranking, especially given the Mavericks matchup with the Golden Bears of CSP in the opening round. Bemidji and Concordia both need a run to the Final (or more) to have a long shot At Large bid, more likely needing to win the whole thing. For UMD, making the NSIC Tournament was their main goal, and anything else, starting with a wild upset opportunity at St Cloud, would be historic. However, given their surprising 9 seed in the Central Region, our eyes will be on their opener at St Cloud.

2023 NSIC Tournament

The NSIC Tournament kicks off this Monday, November 6 on the NSIC Network and at 4 home sites around the Conference. St Cloud hosts UMD at 2pm, Bemidji hosts Augustana at 3pm, MN State Mankato hosts Concordia St Paul at 3pm, and Northern State hosts U Mary at 4pm. All of these games are easily streamed at NSICNetwork.com or on the NSIC Network App. The four quarterfinal winners will face off on Friday, November 6 Semi Finals, with the Champion determined on Monday, November, 12th. We break down each Minnesota squad's below with their key players and best results from the '23 season. Place your bets on the number of Minnesota squads in the field for the 2023 NCAA Tournament (over/under 2.5?)

#1 St Cloud State Huskies

2023 Record: 13-3-2 (10-2-2 NSIC)

Top Scorers: Lindsey Trapino (7g 3a), Elle Primerano (4g 8a), Brooke Quam (3g 8a)

Never Leaves the Field: Jaylee Strickland, Ana Spaine, Grace Olson, Rhena Zerna

Key Results: 2-1 win at Concordia St Paul, 0-0 tie at MN State Mankato, 2-1 win vs Augustana, 2-1 win at Northern State

#2 MN State Mankato Mavericks

2023 Record: 11-2-5 (9-1-4 NSIC)

Top Scorers: Allie Williams (6g 3a), Avery Korsching (6g 2a), Anna Van Wyngarden (5g 2a), Maddix Archer (4g 2a), Addison Clarey (3g 4a)

Never Leaves the Field: Libby Spangler, Mackenzie Rath, Courney Kovacs, Ashlyn Watt

Key Results: 0-0 tie with #16 Emporia State, 1-0 win over #20 Central Missouri, 1-0 win at #20 Augustana, 1-0 win over Concordia St Paul, 0-0 tie with St Cloud, 4-0 win vs Bemidji State

#4 Bemidji State Beavers

2023 Record: 9-3-6 (7-3-4 NSIC)

Top Scorers: Katrina Barthelt (10g 2a), Madeline Davey (3g 2a), Maria Stocke (4g), Halle Peterson (3g)
Never Leaves the Field: Edie Frantzen

Key Results: 2-0 win over St Cloud St, 1-1 tie with Northern State, 1-1 tie with Augustana, 0-0 tie with Concordia St Paul, 1-0 win over UMD

#7 Concordia St Paul Golden Bears

2023 Record: 8-6-4 (6-4-4 NSIC)

Top Scorers: Katie Anderson (11g 4a), Corynn Grabau (5g 2a), Tori Miller (2g 2a), Sophie Pawlyshyn (1g 4a), Sophia Haase (1g 4a)

Never Leaves the Field: Belle Abruzzo, Brittany Bordson, Mackenzie Leibiger

Top Results: 0-0 tie at Northern State, 4-1 win vs UMD, 4-1 win vs Augustana, 0-0 tie vs Bemidji State

#8 UMD Bulldogs

2023 Record: 6-6-6 (5-4-5 NSIC)

Top Scorers: Jackie Jares (8g 6a), Miriam Marsan (4g 4a), Anna Tobias (5g 2a)

Never Leaves the Field: Rachel Boelke, Jennifer Norris, Lauren Hansen

Key Results: 3-1 win over Northern State, , 2-1 win over Southwest MN State, 2-2 tie with Northern State, 1-1 tie with U Mary