Our final two first-round match-ups in the 2023 NCHC Play of the Year Tournament take center stage on Saturday and are available for fan voting. All four plays featured in the last first-round match-ups are goals, including one by a defenseman.

In the penultimate first-round match-up, Colorado College forward Noah Serdachny scores from his stomach facing away from the goal against Princeton in Week 12, while Denver blueliner Mike Benning dekes and dangles around the Minnesota Duluth defense for a goal in Week 19.

In the final first-round match-up of the tournament, Western Michigan blocks a shot that leads to Jason Polin completing a hat trick with a short-handed goal while muscling off a Miami defender in Week 6. Polin faces Miami's Max Dukovac, who uses some nifty stickwork for a back-hand, top-shelf tally at UMass Lowell in Week 2.

Winning our two match-ups from Friday were North Dakota's Jake Schmaltz and Ethan Frisch, as well as Omaha goalie Jake Kucharski. Schmaltz/Frisch upset St. Cloud State's Adam Ingram with 55 percent of the vote, while Kucharski rolled to the second round with 72 percent of the vote. Schmaltz/Frisch and Kucharski will meet in a quarterfinal on April 4.

Videos for both of today's match-ups are below with the poll to vote below each video. Voting will remain open until Monday at 2 p.m. ET, when the first two quarterfinal match-ups will be posted and our last first-round winners are announced. Today's winners move on to meet in the quarterfinals on April 4. The entire bracket (with schedule) can be seen at the bottom of the page.

NOAH SERDACHNY vs. MIKE BENNING

NCHC Poll
 

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NCHC Poll

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