Rivalry games, it doesn’t matter if they are in conference or not, the intensity level is always much higher than for a not so familiar opponent and sometimes the results are surprising. Add in incredible performances by a single player like Nolan Moore or Chance Gorman and the recipe for dropping a tough game goes up. Just ask Norwich and Hobart about that as the ranked teams that dropped decisions to Middlebury and Elmira respectively adding to the drama we see week in and week out this season. Lots of other thrillers were played as well as some teams showcasing why they should be ranked where they are or maybe even higher as the upsets continue across the region. Here is the recap from the action last week and over the weekend in the east:
CCC
Endicott continued their CCC domination with another weekend sweep, this time over Salve Regina. On Friday night the game was a defensive battle with goals coming at a premium. Despite holding a 41-34 edge in shots, the Seahawks could only find the net behind Atticus Kelly (40 saves) one time while the Gulls scored first and last to take a 2-1 road win. Connor Amsley opened the scoring for the Gulls in the first period and Conner Beatty scored the game-winner with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Back home on Saturday, Endicott spotted Salve Regina a 1-0 lead in the first period before tying the game at 1-1 in the middle frame. Three unanswered goals from Primo Self, Amsley and John Goldowski provided the offense in a 4-1 win and sweep that moved the Gulls to 13-0-0 in conference play.
Curry kept pace with Endicott by taking two games from Suffolk. On Friday, four different players scored to give the Colonels a 4-0 lead over the Rams who cruised to a 4-1 win. On Saturday, a hat trick from Timmy Kent and two goals from Mark Zhukov helped pace the Colonels to a 6-2 win extending their win streak to 10 games and their CCC record to 11-2-0.
Three goals from Ryan Kuzmich and a pair from Jayden Price jumpstarted the University of New England offense on Friday night against Nichols. Goaltender Joe Stanizzi made 25 saves in his first action of the season to earn the shutout in a road 7-0 win. UNE tried to keep the momentum going on Saturday against the Bison and fell behind 2-0 after one period of play. The second period saw four Nor’easter goals and two more in the third period for a 6-2 win. Logan DiScanio scored a pair for UNE who won back-to-back games on the weekend for the first time since early December.
Independents
Anna Maria rallied back from a two-goal deficit to Franklin Pierce on Tuesday to take a 4-2 road win. Cam Tobey chipped in with three assists for the AmCats who scored four unanswered goals in the comeback victory. On Saturday, the AmCats fell 2-0 to Amherst who received goals by Matt Toporowski and Spencer Kimball in support of goaltender Dan Dachille’s 18-save shutout.
Albertus Magnus took on Neumann from the UCHC in a two-game series and started strong with a 7-4 win on Friday night. Cameron Weitzman. Tim Manning and Alex Gagnon each scored a pair of goals for the Falcons. Gagnon finished the night with four points as he added a pair of assists.
Canton faced Brockport on Friday and took one-goal leads twice only to see the visitors rally to tie the score. Tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, the Kangaroos received the game-winning goal in overtime ff the stick of Sam Martin for the 3-2 win. The Golden Eagles earned a split with the Kangaroos with a 6-2 win on Saturday night.
MASCAC
Plymouth State remains one of the few undefeated teams (Utica and Endicott) in conference play and kept that record intact this week with convincing wins over Worcester State and Framingham State. On Thursday, the Panthers fell behind the Lancers 2-0 after one period of play and then proceeded to score five unanswered goals in route to a 5-2 road win. Cameron Patton scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at 2-2 and Myles Abbate scored two goals to give PSU the lead before closing it out in the final minute with a shorthanded goal. Back home on Saturday, the Panthers quickly moved to a 3-1 lead after two periods before icing the game in the third period with three more goals. The win moved the Panthers to 11-0-0 in MASCAC play and was the 209th for head coach Craig Russell at Plymouth State making him the winningest coach in program history.
After dropping an overtime thriller to Framingham State, 4-3 on Thursday night, Westfield State rode the exceptional goaltending of Valtteri Valtonen in shutting out Fitchburg State 4-0 on Saturday. Valtonen stopped all 43 Falcon shots he faced and Cullen Young paced the offense with a goal and an assist as the Owls moved to 4-7-0 in MASCAC play.
NE-10
The NE-10 saw a weekend of split series that included the top two teams splitting the two-game set between Assumption and St. Anselm with each team winning by a 4-3 score. On Friday it was the Greyhounds night when they reversed a 3-1 deficit in the third period on goals from John Woernle, Christopher Stalmok and William Smith to stun the Hawks 4-3. On Saturday, the Hawks again built a 3-1 lead after two periods but held off the Greyhounds with an unassisted insurance goal from Matt Hayes and superb goaltending from Nick Howard who made 47 saves in the win.
Post and SNHU played a crazy series that included the Eagles 6-5 overtime win over the Penmen on Friday night. Trailing 4-1, SNHU rallied to tie the game at 4-4 early in the third period only to see Lucas Baksay score on the power play to give Post a 5-4 lead. Jackson Aldritch tied the game for SNHU and the game went to overtime where Nick Weber played the hero for the home team in a 6-5 win. On Saturday, SNHU took advantage of a four-goal second period including three power play scores to take a 4-3 win and split of the series.
St. Michael’s and Franklin Pierce also split their weekend series in Vermont. The Purple Knights fell behind the Ravens 3-0 in the first period but quickly rallied with four goals in the second frame. The Ravens tied the game early on a goal from Vito Carlo but Jack Mcdonald would score the deciding goal and Quinn McCarthy would ice the 6-4 win with an empty-net tally. The three-game win streak for the Purple Knights came to an end on Saturday as the Ravens rallied for a 5-1 win behind a hat trick from Devan Rohrich.
NEHC
Massachusetts-Boston earned a weekend sweep with solid wins over Southern Maine and Babson extending their win streak to three games and leveling their NEHC record at 6-6-0. On Friday, the Beacons used goals from Jacob Banks, Corey Clifton and Dakota Concannon along with 18 saves from Sam Best in a 3-2 win over the Huskies. On Saturday against a ranked Babson squad, used strong goaltending from Darius Bell (27 saves) and a pair of goals from Kolye Bankauskas in a 3-1 triumph over the Beavers.
After dropping Tuesday’s rivalry game with Middlebury on Tuesday, Norwich traveled to Skidmore and played a 1-1 overtime tie with the Thoroughbreds. Goal tenders Andrew Albano (30 saves) and Tate Brandon (35 saves) were outstanding for their respective teams in the playoff style action. On Saturday, the Cadets parlayed a hat trick from Philip Elgstam into a 3-1 win over Castleton.
League-leading Hobart played a home-and-home series with rival and travel partner Elmira and dominated Friday night’s game at home in a 7-0 win. Zach Tyson scored two goals and added an assist for the Statesmen while goaltender Damon Beaver made 17 saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season breaking the Hobart single season record. On Saturday, Elmira returned home and played a much more energetic contest on the night the school celebrated 50 years of collegiate hockey, taking a 4-3 lead into the third period. That’s when things got interesting as the Soaring Eagles extended the lead to 6-3 only to see Hobart rally to within a goal at 6-5 with several minutes left in the game. Chance Gorman, the offensive star for Elmira would ice the game with an empty-net goal, his fourth goal of the game, in a 7-5 upset win.
NESCAC
Amherst only played a single NESCAC contest against travel partner Hamilton on Friday night and eked out a 2-1 win on the road. Greg McGunigle gave the Mammoths a 1-0 lead in the first period before Nick Hawkins leveled the game for the Continentals midway through the second period. Bobby Luca would score what proved to be the game-winner in the final minutes of the second period and goaltender Alex Wisco made the score stand up by making 36 saves in the game to keep the Mammoths atop the NESCAC standings.
Trinity has been on a torrid pace having won seven games in a row including back-to-back shutouts this weekend over Tufts and Connecticut College. On Friday, three goals from Gerard Maretta, three assists from Spencer Korona and 21 saves from Devon Bobak was the perfect Bantam combination in a 6-0 win over Tufts. On Saturday, Jacob Borgida and Maretta provided the offense and Bobak stopped all 17 shots he faced in a 2-0 shutout win over Connecticut College.
Wesleyan extended their unbeaten streak to eight games with a pair of one-goal wins over the Camels and Jumbos. Friday night, Liam Donelan’s second period goal stood up as the game-winner in the Cardinals 2-1 win over Connecticut College. On Saturday, the Cardinal offense needed a five spot to down Tufts, 5-4. After Brendan Fennell and Max Resnick scored in the third period to rally the Jumbos to a 4-4 tie, Wriggle Kerbat scored his second goal of the game just over a minute after Resnick’s tally to give Wesleyan a 5-4 win.
Middlebury has had a tough season so far but picked up a huge win against No. 5 Norwich on Tuesday night in Northfield. Nolan Moore provided all the scoring for the Panthers including the game-winner in overtime for a 3-2 win over the Cadets. On Friday, the Panthers lost to Colby 5-0 but rebounded with a 3-2 win at Bowdoin to earn a weekend split with the Maine schools. A three-goal second period gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead over the Polar Bears and goaltender Jake Horoho stopped 14 of 15 shots in the third period as part of his 27 save effort in the 3-2 win.
SUNYAC
Plattsburgh lost the championship game of their winter tournament to Oswego a couple of weeks back and clearly had the Lakers in the crosshairs for the game at home on Friday night looking to gain ground on the SUNYAC leaders. The Cardinals started fast with a 2-0 lead after one period of play and dominated the third period scoring four times on the way to a 6-1 win. Goaltender Eli Shiller made 17 saves in the win. On Saturday, the Cardinals faced-off with a Cortland team that had downed Potsdam on Friday 7-3, but scratched out a 1-0 lead after two periods on a goal from Joshua Belgrave. The Red Dragons tied the game in the third period before Bennett Stockdale scored the decisive goal for the Cardinals in a 2-1 win. Plattsburgh outshot Cortland by a wide margin, but Luca Durante made things tough on the Cardinals stopping 47 of 49 shots.
Oswego had a difficult time against Potsdam on Saturday but rallied for a 4-3 win on a late goal from Connor Sleeth to earn the Lakers a split in SUNYAC action over the weekend. After the Bears took a 2-1 lead early in the second period, Oswego scored twice to re-take the lead at 3-2 to close out the second period. Robert Clerc’s second of the game tied the game at 3-3 before Sleeth gave the Lakers an important road win.
Geneseo also moved closer to the top of the table with a 5-4 win over Morrisville on Friday night. The Knights scored three early goals and extended their lead to 4-1 early in the second period only to see the Mustangs rally for three straight goals, including two on the man advantage, tying the game at 4-4 with nine minutes remaining in the third period. Matthew Doran would break the tie with less than five minutes in regulation and Matt Petizian in goal would make it stand up for the SUNYAC win. On Saturday, the Knights downed Hamilton 3-0, led by two goals from Cooper Fensterstock and a 29-save shutout by Adam Harris.
Buffalo State won their travel partner game on Friday against Fredonia by a 6-2 score. The Bengals were led by Andrew Logar’s hat trick and a four-point game from Joe Glamos who scored twice and assisted on two of Logar’s tallies.
UCHC
Nazareth continued their strong play on home ice with a pair of wins over King’s this weekend. On Friday night, five different goal scorers and 17 saves from Raphael Provencher helped the Golden Flyers to a 5-0 win. On Saturday, Nazareth gave up a first period goal to King’s Denys Arhkypenko and struggled to get anything past goaltender Tyler Sayger who made 27 saves in the first two periods for the visitors. Four goals in the third period, including two from Jeremy Swartz gave the home team the 4-1 win and weekend sweep.
Chatham and Stevenson battled in a weekend series with both teams looking to move up in the UCHC standings. On Friday, Chatham took a one-goal lead three different times only to see Stevenson rally to tie the game, including Frank Vitucci’s unassisted goal in the final minute of regulation that leveled the game at 4-4. No one could score in overtime and Stevenson took the shootout, 2-0. On Saturday,
Utica took a weekend series with Lebanon Valley starting with a 6-1 win on Friday night led by Dante Zapata’s two goals. On Saturday, the Pioneers exceeded the Friday goal total in just the first period on the way to a blowout win over the Flying Dutchmen, 16-1. Remy Parker scored four goals while Regen Cavanaugh added a hat trick and seventeen players recorded a point in the win that keeps Utica undefeated in UCHC play.
Arcadia and Alvernia, the new kids on the block in the UCHC played a weekend series that saw the Knights take a pair of one-goal decisions. On Friday, three power play goals, including two from Brendan Dicker helped the Knights to an early lead that they made stand for a 5-4 win on the road. Back home on Saturday, four unanswered goals including two on the power play and one shorthanded from Kyle Peters helped Arcadia to the 4-3 win and weekend sweep.
Three Biscuits
Nolan Moore – Middlebury – provided all the scoring for the Panthers in an overtime upset win over Norwich on Tuesday. Moore completed his hat trick with the winner in overtime.
Andrew Logar – Buffalo State – scored a hat trick for the Bengals’ 6-2 win over Fredonia on Friday night. Logar’s teammate Joe Glamos assisted on two of his goals while scoring two of his own in the SUNYAC win.
Chance Gorman – Elmira – scored four goals including a late empty-net goal to ice a 7-5 upset win over rival Hobart on Saturday night.
There are just four weeks remaining in the regular season so everything is on the line for conference points, position in the standings and the seeding for conference tournaments which is not so far away in February. It’s a sprint to the finish!
