The ECAC Northeast finally has resumed its conference schedule, yet one of the most intriguing matchups will come in the MASCAC, when Plymouth State hosts Worcester State on Saturday, a game that will pair two of the conference’s top goalies: Plymouth State’s Jack Astedt and Worcester State’s Bryan Kalczynski.
Last week I finished 5-1 (.833) — the only blemish being Johnson and Wales’ 7-5 loss on Saturday to Buffalo State — and I’m 32-18-7 (.622) this season.
ECAC Northeast
Wentworth at Curry, 4:35 p.m. Saturday
Curry plays in its first ECAC Northeast game since Dec. 3, a 5-1 win at Suffolk, yet the Colonels are winless in their last seven games, despite averaging 4.2 goals a game (tied for eighth in the nation with Manhattanville). Wentworth has won four of its last five games, and this could be a potentially high-scoring affair between a pair of teams that are first and third in the conference. Wentworth 5-4
Salve Regina at Becker, 6:50 p.m Saturday
Becker has won three of its last four games, but has six days of rest entering Saturday’s game against Salve Regina. Salve Regina resumes its ECAC Northeast schedule after playing six nonconference games in the past month, and enters with a week off after a 7-2 loss to Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Becker 3-2
Johnson and Wales at Nichols, 7:40 p.m. Saturday
Johnson and Wales senior Jeremiah Ketts leads all Division III scorers with 14 goals and 24 assists, after a five-point night Wednesday in a 6-4 win over Western New England, and paces an offense that is second in the nation, averaging five goals a game. Nichols forward Louie Educate is still going strong as the nation’s leading scorer among freshmen, entering Saturday’s game with 15 goals and nine assists. Johnson and Wales 6-3
MASCAC
Fitchburg State at Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Against Fitchburg State, Massachusetts-Dartmouth wraps up what its coach, John Rolli, described as one of his team’s tougher stretches of hockey this season. The Corsairs entered the week 11th in the nation in scoring (4.14 goals a game) and second in the nation on the power play (18 for 56, 32.1 percent). Fitchburg State has won two of its last three games, but has been plagued by inconsistency. Massachusetts-Dartmouth 5-2
Worcester State at Plymouth State, 6 p.m. Saturday
Expect this to be a goaltending duel between two of the MASCAC’s top netminders. Worcester State’s Bryan Kalczynski entered Thursday’s game at Framingham State tied with Concordia’s Chris Neamontis for fifth in the nation with a .936 saves percentage and 10th in the nation with a 2.05 goals-against average, and leads the MASCAC in both categories, ahead of Plymouth State’s Jack Astedt, who is second with a 2.12 goals-against average yet sixth with a .918 saves percentage. Plymouth State 3-2
Western New England at Westfield State, 7:35 p.m. Tuesday
The Golden Bears and the Owls meet in a regional nonconference matchup; it’s Westfield State’s last nonconference game until Feb. 21, when it hosts Franklin Pierce; likewise, Tuesday’s tilt is Western New England’s last nonconference game of the regular season. Western New England 4-1
