The impressive list of former Waterloo Black Hawks who have won an NCAA championship will be a little longer by the end of next week.  Waterloo players skate for each of the Frozen Four qualifiers.  The national semifinal games will be in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 9th, with the championship matchup two nights later.

The #1 overall seed Michigan Wolverines dispatched Bentley and Minnesota-Duluth to win their regional.  Garrett Schifsky and Ben Robertson will meet former Black Hawks teammate Garrett Brown, as well as Denver freshman Brendan McMorrow during a matchup with the Pioneers.  Brown was part of Denver's 2024 NCAA championship team, while McMorrow's 2025/26 season was already highlighted with a solid showing during the World Junior Championships.
 
There's an opportunity for an all-Big Ten final, if Michigan wins and Wisconsin surprises North Dakota.  Grady Deering and the Badgers are still playing thanks to a 4-3 win against Michigan State in the regional final.  Deering goes to the Frozen Four with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) so far in his freshman season.  Fellow freshman David Klee has missed some time out of North Dakota's lineup during his first college season, but skated in both of the Fighting Hawks' shutout wins to start the NCAA tournament.  The Hawks are also represented by Matt Smaby and Bryn Chyzyk on the North Dakota staff.
 
With those big games still a week away, here are the standout former Waterloo players who gave their teams a lift in March.

#3 Star – John Mustard, So.
Providence

In just three March games, Mustard produced four points (two goals, two assists).  He recorded a goal and an assist during a 3-2 loss against Merrimack in the Hockey East Tournament.  Then in an opening-round NCAA game versus Quinnipiac, Mustard's third period score brought the Friars within a goal briefly, but the Bobcats ultimately pulled away to a 5-2 decision.

Providence ended the year with a 23-11-2 record and Mustard at the top of the stat sheet.  He scored a team-high 17 goals and also paced the Friars with 29 total points.  For good measure, Mustard was also +7.  The Chicago Blackhawks prospect now has 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists) in 73 career appearances at the college level.

#2 Star – Emmett Croteau, Jr.
Dartmouth

Croteau was in goal for all five of the Big Green's games during the ECAC and NCAA Tournaments.  The junior went 4-1-0 with one shutout.  Despite the pressure of the postseason, Croteau delivered a sparkling 1.16 goal-against average and  .953 save percentage.  He finished the season as one of just six NCAA netminders with a GAA under 2.00 (1.93).

During the ECAC quarterfinals, Croteau was the foundation of back-to-back 4-1 wins against Colgate.  The next weekend, he shutout his former team – Clarkson – with 31 stops in a 4-0 semifinal decision.  The ECAC title game went to overtime, and Croteau delivered another 25 saves in just over 71 minutes of action, with Dartmouth topping Princeton 2-1.  Wisconsin finally got through for three against the Montreal draft pick during the first round of the NCAA tournament; the Badgers added a pair of empty-netters in a 5-1 contest.

Croteau ended the season with a 15-5-4 record and two shutouts.

#1 Star – Garrett Schifsky, Jr.
Michigan

During the latter part of February, Schifsky was held without a point during Michigan's final five Big Ten regular season games.  Fortunately, the points have been stacking up since the beginning of March and tournament time.  The junior has at least one goal or assist in each of the Wolverines' five postseason games, and that includes three multipoint nights.  It adds up to four goals, four assists, and a +9 differential in five appearances last month.

The Wolverines' offense has been clicking, generating four or more goals in each of their Big Ten or NCAA Tournament contests.  Facing Ohio State for the Conference Tournament championship, Michigan skated away with a 7-3 win.  The closest game during the run was a 4-3 decision over Minnesota-Duluth to claim the regional.  Schifsky's goal that night made the score 3-0, and the Wolverines held off the Bulldogs' comeback bid.

For the season, Schifsky is tied for sixth in scoring among Michigan's top producers (26 points from 14 goals and 12 assists).  As he prepares for his second Frozen Four, Schifsky's college career includes 80 points (41 goals, 39 assists) in 116 Wolverines games.

Honorable Mention
Alex Gaffney, Gr. – St. Thomas: 4 GP, 1G, 2 A, 3 Pts, +3
Brendan McMorrow, Fr. – Denver: 6 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 Pts, +5
Gavin O'Connell, Jr. – Michigan State: 5 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 Pts, +1
Ben Robertson, Jr. – Michigan: 5 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 Pts, +5

Where Are They Now features are presented by Karen's Print Rite, 2515 Falls Avenue in Waterloo.