On the fly
Friday, November 12
Harvard 4 at St. Lawrence 2
SLU’s third-period rally came up a goal short, as Harvard junior Eric Kroshus scored twice – once to open the game, and once into an empty net – to boost the Crimson in Canton. Kroshus’ classmates accounted for all of Harvard’s scoring, as Alex Killorn and Colin Moore also found the twine. Senior Kyle made 41 saves in the hard-fought victory, besting Saints rookie Matt Weninger’s 32 stops. Junior Peter Child and senior Nick Pitsikoulis scored for the hosts.
Dartmouth 7 at Clarkson 1
The Big Green tagged 54 shots and seven goals on the host Golden Knights, as six different Dartmouth players scored en route to a 7-1 demolition at Cheel. Clarkson earned only one power play (and failed to score), while Dartmouth scored twice on five advantages. Junior James Mello stopped 34 of 35 for the Green, who got goals from frosh Matt Lindblad and Taylor Boldt, sophomore Dustin Walsh, juniors Nick Walsh and Troy Mattila, and senior Adam Estoclet. Rookie blue-liner Alex Boak scored Clarkson’s lone goal in the third period with the score already 7-0, and juniors Paul Karpowich and Richie Laveau teamed up for 47 saves.
Quinnipiac 1 at Cornell 4
Sophomore Braden Birch scored his first career goal to open the scoring, and the Big Red never looked back in a 4-1 win at Lynah Rink. Second-year defenseman Nick D’Agostino joined Birch and juniors Locke Jillson and Sean Whitney in solving QU junior goalie Dan Clarke (12 saves), while junior Mike Garman made 23 stops for the victory. Bobcats freshman Connor Jones scored QU’s lone goal.
Princeton 4 at Colgate 3
The Tigers scored three goals on 14 first-period shots, but it wasn’t quite enough: senior Mike Kramer had to light the lamp for the second time in the game halfway through the third stanza to lift Princeton past scrappy Colgate. Senior Alan Reynolds saved 32, supported by the two goals from Kramer as well as snipes by rookie Andrew Calof and sophomore Rob Kleebaum (the first of his career). The Raiders clawed back into a 3-3 tie before Kramer’s second strike, getting goals from sophomores Kurtis Bartliff, Thomas Larkin and Jeremy Price… but junior Alex Evin’s 26 saves were just one too few in the end.
Rensselaer 1 at Union 2
While Union’s two power-play goals earned it the win, the story of the night ended up being a controversial no-goal call against RPI and junior defenseman Mike Bergin with 7.6 seconds left in the game. Referee Bryan Hicks immediately waved off the game-tying goal, deeming sophomore C.J. Lee to have made contact with Union sophomore goalie Keith Kinkaid (19 saves) during the course of the play. Freshman Daniel Carr and soph Jeremy Welsh scored for the Dutchmen, while sophomore Nick Bailen was credited with RPI’s only “legitimate” goal. Junior Allen York saved 18 for the Engineers, who were blanked on six power-play opportunities.
Saturday, November 13
Quinnipiac 3 at Colgate 1
The Bobcats picked themselves up over .500 with three goals in under 15 minutes, erasing a 1-0 Colgate lead and dropping the Raiders to 0-3-1 in ECAC play (2-5-1 overall). Junior Scott Zurevinski scored the equalizing and go-ahead goals for QU late in the second period, and in the third rookie Connor Jones scored his second of the weekend to bury Colgate. Sophomore Eric Hartzell made 30 saves, while rookie counterpart Eric Mihalik stopped 24 with his lone support coming from classmate Chris Wagner. Colgate was held scoreless on six power plays, sinking it to one-for-24 in its current four-game winless slide (0-3-1).
Harvard 1 at Clarkson 3
Sophomore defender Nick Pokulok scored his first collegiate goal late in the second period, and it wound up being his first game-winner, too. Rookie Allan McPherson and senior Scott Freeman also tallied for the Knights, who ended a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) to get their first ECAC victory of the season. Karpowich (35 saves) and Richter (32) each played well, but senior Michael Biega’s third-period goal – which cut Clarkson’s lead to 2-1 – wasn’t enough for the Crimson.
Dartmouth 6 at St. Lawrence 1
The Big Green scored four times in under eight minutes in the third period to bury their second straight North Country opponent. Sophomore Mike Keenan scored one of Dartmouth’s two power-play goals to start the fray, while seniors Scott Fleming, Matt Reber, Rob Smith and Kyle Reeds also piled on with goals. Freshman Greg Carey’s goal early in the third halved Dartmouth’s lead, but Weninger (19 saves) didn’t get any more help than that in the loss. Sophomore backup David Grilk also made a save for SLU.
Princeton 2 at Cornell 1 (ot)
Rookie Will Ford’s first career goal emptied Lynah Rink in a hurry Saturday night, lifting visiting Princeton to its third straight victory… all on the road, no less. The Tigers only scored once on nine power plays, but sophomore Eric Meland’s first-period PPG held up in unfriendly territory until senior Mike Devin tied the game with only nine seconds left and the extra attacker on for the Big Red. Freshman Sean Bonar and his defense held Cornell at bay, making 24 saves and blanking the Big Red on five power plays of their own. Rookie Andy Iles made 36 hard-luck saves in defeat.
Union 3 at Rensselaer 4 (ot)
Only 21 hours after a breathtaking finish in Schenectady, UC and RPI played another classic in Troy. Sophomore Marty O’Grady’s power-play, extra-attacker goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock forced overtime, and rookie Nick Bailen’s five-on-three PPG in the third minute of extra hockey sealed the win for the Engineers. All this happened as Union blew 2-0 and 3-2 third-period leads, as junior Patrick Cullen and senior Joel Malchuk brought raucous Houston Field House to its feet long before O’Grady and Bailen did. York saved 20 for RPI, Kinkaid 31 for Union, and the Dutchmen scorers were frosh Matt Hatch and Josh Jooris, and senior Justin Pallos.
Yale 5 at Colorado College 1
The Bulldogs met their challenge in Colorado Springs, and made a national statement in offing the Tigers in resounding fashion. Junior forward Charles Brockett scored his first collegiate goal to open scoring, classmates Chad Ziegler and Kevin Limbert lit the lamp, as did sophomore Andrew Miller and senior Chris Cahill. Senior Ryan Rondeau made 24 saves in the win against what is likely to be Yale’s toughest non-conference opponent of the regular season.
Sunday, November 14
Yale 3 at Air Force 4
Yale’s 3-0 lead through 45 minutes disappeared with their perfect record Sunday night, as Air Force rolled off four goals – two on the power-play and one shorthanded – in 10:13 to stun the undefeated Bulldogs. Sophomore Jeff Malcolm sustained his team’s first L despite 25 saves; junior Brian O’Neill and seniors Denny Kearney and Jimmy Martin accounted for Yale’s goals.
In retrospect…
Me: 6-6-0 (.500) last week, 31-17-8 (.625) overall
Meli Mathis: 5-7-0, Four Guys: 4-8-0
Guest guessers: 26-25-6 (.509) overall
Head to head: Sullivan 4, Guests 1
Pretty sweet. Colgate and USCHO.com Fan Forum celebrity Stephen Shablak is now on the clock… bring the heat, because I’m swinging some heavy lumber right now.
Tweet at me… or twit, or peep, or whatever the heck it is now… at SullivanHockey.
