Overtime Frenzy in the SUNYAC
There is nothing in sports like overtime playoff hockey. Nothing.
This SUNYAC semifinal round graced us with not one, but both, games going into overtime.
“We could have made this place erupt two or three times in overtime,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said.
However, both results left the home crowd going home quiet and disappointed, as the top two seeds fell to the fourth and sixth seeds.
The first stunner was top nationally ranked and top-seeded Oswego falling to sixth seed Fredonia, 2-1. The winning goal was scored at 11:34 of overtime by Ben Waldman. The play was created behind the net when Mitch Kulikoski passed it over to Mat Heh, who continued to skate it behind the net. The Oswego defense collapsed behind the net to cover these two players, leaving Waldman wide open in the slot.
Hehr saw Waldman and fed him with a perfect pass. Waldman didn’t waste it, one-timing a wrist shot which Paul Beckwith had no chance at. Suddenly, Oswego was out of the playoffs, and for the first time ever, a sixth seeded team is in the finals. Oswego has now failed to win the championship for the fifth out of eight times they have been the number one seed.
Fredonia got on the scoreboard first when Alex Morton scored a power-play goal at 6:08 of the first period. Morton’s shot from the left face off circle appeared to be deflected by defenders on the way in.
Luke Moodie tied it up in the second at 8:50. The goal was a result of a terrible giveaway, as Fredonia tried to clear their zone. Oswego picked up the loose puck, and because the Fredonia defenders’ momentum was leaving the zone, the Blue Devils gained a two-on-one advantage.
Paul Rodrigues fed Moodie down the right side. Moodie then appeared to hang onto the puck too long until he was at an almost impossible angle. However, he was able to shoot the puck behind Beckwith just inside the far post milliseconds before the net was knocked off its moorings.
The third period went by without a goal, as Oswego outshot Fredonia, 17-10. The Lakers also had the shot advantage in the extra period, 8-4. However, Mark Friesen was solid in net, making 43 saves, enabling Waldman to perform his heroics.
Over in Geneseo, the crowd got to bite their nails for a longer time, as overtime went to the 17:47 mark before Ryan Craig scored the game-winner for Plattsburgh, 3-2.
“Working hard down low, then my linemate, Nick Jensen, was caught from behind and threw it to me,” Ryan Craig explained. “I walked out and was surprised no one was on me. I just kind of threw it up top. I didn’t see it go in, but I heard the cheers.”
“I saw Craig on the side of the net,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “If I could have pushed him to the front of the net faster, I would have, because it seemed like it took him forever to step out and shoot it.”
For a more complete description of the exciting contest, plus a photo gallery, go to the game recap.
Craig’s goal kept two streaks intact. It is the 20th consecutive time Plattsburgh will be playing in the SUNYAC championship game. Also, ever since the playoff format has been used to decide a SUNYAC champion, the finals have always consisted of either Plattsburgh or Oswego (and the seven times prior when the regular season record was used to determine the champion, it still consisted of either Plattsburgh or Oswego).
It was also a milestone game for Geneseo — their 1,000th hockey game in school history. The program was started in 1974 after a year as a club team when they brought in Paul Duffy, then an assistant at Michigan State. Duffy wound up staying as their head coach until he retired in 2001, winning one SUNYAC title (1986) and making the NCAA playoffs (1990) once.
He was replaced by Brian Hills from 2001-2005. After winning the conference championship in 2005, Hills moved to RIT. Jason Lammers replaced him for one year, and in that year won a repeat SUNYAC title, getting them to their second consecutive NCAA appearance. When Lammers suddenly left, Chris Schultz was brought in.
Duffy won the SUNYAC Coach of the Year three times, and it was just announced that Chris Schultz won that award for the first time this year. The Ice Knights produced eight All-Americans.
In these first 1,000 games, Geneseo is 497-448-55 (.525). Unfortunately, Geneseo ended its 1,000 game mark the same way they started, with a loss like they did before 1,400 fans at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena back in 1974.
SUNYAC Players of the Week (selected by the conference)
Co-Player of the Week:  Ben Waldman, Fredonia (F, So., Pittsford, N.Y.). Scored four goals in two SUNYAC tournament games. Waldman scored all three goals in a 3-2 first round win at Buffalo State, posting the sixth post-season hat trick in Blue Devil history. He then scored the game-winning goal in overtime at Oswego in the semifinal round.
Co-Player of the Week:  Ryan Craig, Plattsburgh (F, Jr., Easton, Maryland). Tallied eight points on four goals during two SUNYAC tournament games. Craig recorded a hat trick in Plattsburgh’s 4-3 quarterfinal game against Morrisville, including the game-tying goal in the third period to force the overtime. In the SUNYAC semifinal game against Geneseo, Craig buried the game-winner with just over two minutes left in overtime.
Rookie of the Week: Nick Jensen, Plattsburgh (F, Helsingborg, Sweden). Assisted on Plattsburgh’s first three goals against Morrisville in the SUNYAC quarterfinal, including the game-tying goal that came at the 13:08 mark of the third to send the game to overtime, where the Cardinals prevailed 4-3. In Saturday’s semifinal game against Geneseo, Plattsburgh also needed overtime to seal the win. This time, Jensen assisted on the game-winning goal with just over two minutes left in overtime for the 3-2 win.
Goaltender of the Week: Mark Friesen, Fredonia (Fr., Calgary, Alberta). Helped the Blue Devils to a 2-0 week in the SUNYAC tournament. He recorded 26 saves in the quarterfinal 3-2 win over Buffalo State, including a pad save in the final minute while the Blue Devils were killing a penalty and were skating two men down due to a pulled goalie. Friesen finished with 43 saves in the semifinals. Friesen and the Fredonia players killed off all three Laker power play opportunities.

And then there were two.  The top two seeds were victorious in the semifinal round of the ECAC West playoffs and have moved on to the championship game on Saturday night in Elmira.
Elmira defeated Hobart in rather convincing fashion, 5-2, on Saturday.  Soaring Eagles coach Aaron Saul left the team midweek to be with his brother Adrian, who also played four years at Elmira, who injured his neck while playing hockey in Germany.  Assistant coach Dean Jackson took the reigns and the players rallied around their missing coach.
“We played well for the 60 minutes,” said Jackson.  “Our guys were very focused and prepared heading into the game.  The guys didn’t want to let this game slip away knowing that coach Saul would want to come back and coach the following weekend.  We made a point as a team to get this win for Aaron and Adrian, so the guys were prepared.”
The second period was the turning point of the game, as the offenses kicked into high gear.  The Soaring Eagles were able to tally three goals in the stanza, and keep Hobart off the board, and that proved to be the difference.
“The second period was very even,” said Jackson.  “Hobart was pressing on us.  There was some time where we were struggling to get out of our zone.  We were fortunate enough to capitalize on our opportunities, which gave us some room to enter the third period feeling pretty confident.”
Trailing 4-0 entering the third period, Hobart became even more desperate and threw everything at Elmira.  The Statesmen outshot Elmira 16-7 in the final stanza and notched two goals in the middle of the period, but couldn’t pull any closer than the 5-2 final score.
“Hobart played a very strong game,” said Jackson.  “Goaltender Darren [McDonald] made some huge saves for us.  Hobart really stepped it up a couple notches in the third period.”
Neumann also won its semifinal game 5-2 over Utica, but it was a much more back-and-forth type game.  Each team scored a goal in the first period before the Knights ripped in a pair of power-play goals in the second period to take control.
Special teams were truly special for Neumann, as the Knights went two-for-eight on their power plays while killing off all nine Utica power plays, including killing off three five-on-three advantages.
“Special teams had a major impact on the outcome of the game,” said Neumann coach Dominick Dawes.  “Our penalty killing guys especially stepped up and killed off some big penalties.  Our power play buried a few too.”
Utica trailed by only a goal heading into the third period, but Neumann held on, scoring a pair of goals late in the game to finish off the Pioneers 5-2.

An upset-free weekend will see the top four seeds in the ECAC Northeast meet in the semifinals on Wednesday night.
Fourth-seeded Becker used three unanswered goals following a 2-2 first period to down visiting Nichols, 5-2, Sunday. Branden Parkhouse had two goals and an assist for the Hawks, while Korby Anderson added two assists.
Western New England kept it close in the day’s other quarterfinal game, but four third period goals by Johnson and Wales turned a 3-1 lead into a commanding 7-1 advantage
Jason Piestrasiak had two goals for the Wildcats, while ECAC  Northeast Player of the Year Jeremiah Ketts turned in three assists.
With the loss, WNEC finishes 8-17-1, a five-win improvement over last season.
Both teams will hit the road Wednesday, with Becker set to take on Curry at 7:35 and JWU facing Wentworth at 8:00.
MASCAC Quarterfinals
With a lack of upsets in the Northeast, can the MASCAC deliver any?
Quarterfinal action begins Tuesday night. Here’s a breakdown of those games. All stats referenced are from conference play only.
No.6 Westfield State at No. 3 Plymouth State, 7:00
It’s the second meeting in less then a week for these teams, as Plymouth’s 7-4 win on Saturday closed out the regular season. The Owls lost the bookends of the regular season series, but grabbed a 4-0 win on freshman Eddie Davey’s first collegiate shutout.  Davey will need to replicate that performance and not the one he turned in Saturday (seven goals on 32 shots) if Westfield is to advance.
For the Panthers,  Jack Astedt  emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the conference during his sophomore year.  The Owls, led by Dennis Zak (14-19), have the firepower to challenge Astedt, but need to stay out of the box after being the second-most penalized team in the country during the regular season.
If Davey can stand on his head again, Westfield State should have a shot, but the Panthers have a lot of talent starting from the net  out,  so an upset appears unlikely.
No. 5 Worcester State at No. 4 Fitchburg State, 7:30
The first time these teams met, the Lancers used a 3-2 overtime win to propel them to one of the program’s most impressive weeks ever to close out 2010.
Things have slowed down since then, as Fitchburg took the remaining two games in the series.  However, neither team enters the playoffs on anything resembling a hot streak.
Despite struggling down the stretch, the Falcons boast the conference’s top goaltending duo in Robert Vorse and Bobby Leiser. Whoever draws the start will face a grind-it-out kind of Lancers team led by forwards Nick Asterito (5-10), Chris Wallin (7-8) and John Cahalane (10-5).
In net, Bryan Kalcynski has drawn the majority of the starts, although it was freshman Taylor Fant’s 38-save effort that gave the Lancers a 3-2 win over Salem State in Saturday’s finale.
The Falcons have eight players with 10 points or more in conference play, led by Chris Riggs (9-11) and Kris Threlkeld (8-11).
With a strong duo in goal, and a number of threats on the ice,  it’s hard to call an upset against Fitchburg State. Look for the Falcons to prevail here.

The quarterfinals are in the books, and as expected, there were some locks, some mild upsets and a couple of shockers.  It comes as no  surprise with all of the ups and downs of the regular season that the first round of the conference tournaments did anything but hold to form, so my 4-4 (.500) percentage maybe isn’t as bad an indicator of my team knowledge as I might think it is.  Regardless of the outcomes of the games, there was a lot of excitement from the very first drop of the puck, and both conferences now have their final foursomes set for a very familiar locale for the ECAC East, as well as a new host for the NESCAC Conference.
In the ECAC East, the top two seeds moved on in convincing fashion while the fifth and sixth seeds joined the party scheduled for this weekend in Northfield, Vt., home of the Norwich Cadets.  Norwich simply dominated an out-manned UNE squad with a 10-2 win that saw the Nor’easters muster just seven shots on net for the game while being assaulted with 50.  Down the road in Rutland, Vt., the shot totals were a bit closer between Castleton and New England College, but the home team broke open a 1-1 tie after the first period with a pair of goals in each of the remaining periods and cruised to a 5-1 win.  Five different players scored for the Spartans, who will be looking to create the rubber game with Norwich should both win their semifinal match-ups.
But let’s not jump to any conclusions about this weekend just yet, as the ECAC East has had its share of lower seeds winning the tournament, including the current fifth seed Babson who won it from the lower echelon twice in the past four seasons.  The Beavers apparently saw their playoff shadow and decided they wa-nted another two weeks of hockey.  On the road at Skidmore, Babson leveraged multipoint games from Matt O’Neill (0-3-3), Ryan Heavey (2-0-2), Ryan Smith (0-2-2) and Jay Hassely (1-1-2) in a convincing 5-0 win against the Thoroughbreds.  It was the four vs. five match-up, so not a big surprise as to the winner, but definitely a surprise as to the dominance and balance displayed by Babson on the road, where they have struggled this season.
The sixth seeded Huskies from USM also made it to the final foursome and a date with the host Cadets this weekend when they defeated the third seeded Beacons from Massachusetts-Boston.  The shocker here was the Beacons outshooting USM by a 61-23 margin and losing the game.  Braely Torris stopped 60 of 61 shots and veterans Paul Conter, Zach Joy and Dan Rautenberg all scored for the Huskies on their way to an improbable victory to extend their season.  Conter’s goal was an empty-netter, but all of the other goals came during five-on-five play.  After a scoreless first period where the Huskies withstood an onslaught of shots (22-6), three unanswered goals built a lead that Eric Tufman and the Beacons could not overcome.  The Huskies have been looking for consistency in the goal all season and maybe after stealing this one, Torris is getting hot at just the right time of the season.
So the match-ups for next week see the top -seeded Cadets facing Southern Maine in one semifinal while Castleton hosts Babson in the other match-up for the ECAC East title.  Predictions from yours truly on both playoff weekends will be upcoming later in the week.
Over in the increasingly volatile NESCAC conference there were lots of thrills and spills in the opening round, including the No. 8 Wesleyan Cardinals upsetting the No. 1 Continentals from Hamilton College.  When Norm Bazin, Hamilton’s head coach, told me just a week or so ago that it was going to be very difficult for teams to have their season end abruptly once the actual playoffs began, I am sure he was not thinking that his team was going to be one the team’s now hanging the skates up.  Yes, Wesleyan beat Hamilton way back in November, but not many people saw this one coming except maybe coach Potter and his Cardinals.
Over a month ago, Chris Potter was looking to see more offensive production, and in the last game of the regular season, Wesleyan laid 14 goals on UNE.  One player who was working very hard but not seeing the positive results was Tom Salah.  Potter noted how Salah was making other contributions on the penalty kill and elsewhere and thought that before the end of the season, Salah would regain his scoring touch and score a big goal or two in a game that would help the Cardinals win.  Well, don’t you know that Salah made good on that premonition by scoring to extend a 2-1 lead in the second and putting the game away with an empty-net goal, his second goal of the game, and just fifth of the season.  The Cardinals outplayed and outshot Hamilton by a wide margin in the first two periods in building a 3-1 lead then held on in the third when Geoff Mucha scored to offset Joe Houk’s power-play goal that had closed the game to 3-2.  This is Wesleyan’s first appearance in the final four since the tournament’s inception.
So with No. 1 gone, Williams had a chance to claim hosting rights if they could get by No. 7 Trinity.  The Ephs came back with two third period goals to erase a 3-2 deficit and won a thrilling quarterfinal by the final score of 4-3 behind goalie Ryan Purdy and forward Ben Contini who setup the tying goal and John Wickman’s game-winner with just over three minutes remaining in the third period.
For No. 3 Middlebury, a trip to the final four and pursuit of their 11th consecutive title game meant having to beat Colby on home ice.  The Panthers got behind early and could not overcome a two-goal deficit in losing to Cody McKinney and the White Mules by a score of 2-1.  McKinney made 37 saves on 38 shots in posting the win, surrendering just one power play goal in the third period to Middlebury.
Yet another one-goal game and we weren’t done just yet with the close games.  The final match-up between Amherst and Bowdoin also saw a one-goal game as well as being the only overtime game of the quarterfinals in either league.
Bowdoin kept answering the bell after falling behind three times by a goal before finally winning the game with just a minute and a half remaining in the first overtime period.  The 4-3 final saw specialty teams on display in the middle stanza, but the seesaw battle was ultimately decided in even strength play on a goal by Colin Downey assisted by Owen Smith.  Bowdoin’s comeback reversed the regular season game where Amherst came from behind to beat the Polar Bears and now sets up a dramatic third game with cross-state rival Colby in the final four this weekend.
Wesleyan will take on the host team from Williams and regardless of the outcomes on Saturday, there will be a new and first time conference tournament champion crowned, as none of the final four have handled the hardware since the inception of the NESCAC tournament.
So it all comes down to one more weekend and hopefully two more games to win the league and play for something more.
Trophies on the line – drop the puck!

With little surprise, two favored teams – Milwaukee School of Engineering and Lawrence — advanced to the Harris Cup Four by sweeping their respective Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal series during the weekend.
MSOE (21-5-1) meets Marian (18-7), which received a first-round by finishing on top of the Northern Division, in the second semifinal at 6 p.m. Saturday at Arrington Ice Arena. Host and No. 5-ranked Adrian (21-3-1) takes on Lawrence (14-12-1) in the first  semi at 2 p.m.
Winners will meet for the Harris Cup championship at 2 p.m. Sunday at Adrian’s Arrington Ice Arena.
MSOE had little trouble disposing of Lake Forest, 6-1 and 6-3, on Saturday and Sunday while Lawrence dispatched Northland, 2-1 and 3-1, Friday and Saturday.
The Vikings’ Josh DeSmit scored midway in the second period to break a 1-1 stalemate in Friday’s contest. The LumberJacks’ Colin Moberly answered with a goal at 6:44 of the first period after Jonathan Bellotti’s opened Lawrence’s account with a goal one minute in.
In Saturday’s rematch, DeSmit notched his second game-winner in as many days after the Vikings (Huck Saunders) and Northland (Nick Hewko) traded goals in the second period. Sam Johnson added an empty-netter with 30 seconds left.
Evan Johnson (13-10-1) stopped 52 of 54 shots during the series to earn victories.
MSOE scored five unanswered goals to break a 1-1 deadlock in Saturday’s quarterfinal game against Lake Forest. Kyle Smith scored twice, including the game-winner, while Steven Shaffroth scored a goal and added three assists.
Austin Grosvenor, Todd Krupa and Michael Soik also had MSOE goals. Zak Borowski’s goal at 16:05 tied the game after Shaffroth opening the scoring at 5:25.
On Sunday, Wes Bauman netted two goals while Michael Thompson, Nick Gorup, Grosvenor and Soik also had Raider goals. Chad Thompson scored twice and Michael Violette added a goal for the Foresters (5-21-1).
Connor Toomey (18-5-1) made 45 saves to earn two playoff victories.
St. Norbert, UW-Superior advance
Nick Tabisz’ second-period goal help lift No. 2-ranked St. Norbert to a 5-3 victory over visiting Wisconsin-River Falls Saturday to send the Green Knights to their second consecutive the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association finals.
St. Norbert (21-4-1) hosts Wisconsin-Superior (16-11-1) in the Peters Cup final on Saturday. The Green Knights are 12-0 at their Cornerstone Community Center home this season.
In the semifinals, Kyle Stroh scored twice while Cody Keefer and Kurt Astle added single markers. Ben Beaudoin, Jason Yuel and Alec Hagaman replied for the Falcons (12-14-2), which forged a 1-1 tie in the first period.
“The fifth goal that Kyle scored — he’s the only player on the roster who’s got the ability to score that goal,” St. Norbert Coach Tim Coghlin told the Green Bay Press Gazette. “That puck should have ended up in the corner, but he’s got that really long reach and incredibly soft hands and scored that goal.”
B.J. O’Brien (18-2-1) stopped 12 of 15 shots to earn the playoff victory.
St. Norbert’s Peters Cup opponent parlayed a three-goal second period into a 4-2 semifinal victory over visiting Wisconsin-Stevens Point (13-14-1) Saturday. Kyle Leahy, Tyler Klein and Talon Berlando scored in the second frame for the Yellowjackets, who outshot the Pointers, 25-19, in the first 40 minutes.
Justin Faryna unassisted goal at 3:53 into the contest opened the scoring. Kyle Politz tied the game with a goal at 14:55 of the first. UW-Steven Point’s Chade Boeckman scored to narrow the host’s lead to 3-2 at 4:44 of the second period. Berlando’s 11^th goal of the season restored the Yellowjackets’ two-goal margin.
Drew Strandberg (10-8-1) made 31 saves, including 14 in the third period, to preserve the victory.
MIAC showdown set
No. 15 Hamline (15-6-5) blanked Gustavus Adolphus, 3-0, in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference semifinal Saturday, sending the pre-season favorite to next Saturday’s final against Concordia (Minn.). Gustavus (15-10-2) entered the semis having survived a double-overtime playoff less than 24 hours earlier, outlasting Augsburg, 4-3, on Friday. Zach May scored 1:07 into the second OT session to settle things.
Jordan VanGilder, Brett Burgau and Brian Arrigoni scored for the Pipers while Beau Christian stopped all 36 Gusties’ shots to earn the shutout.
Ben Payne scored twice while Brian Kang and Aaron Wheeler added goals as Concordia (12-10-4) knocked off host St. Thomas, 4-2, in Saturday’s other semifinal.
Payne’s second goal broke a 1-1 tie in third. Kang scored three minutes later to open a two-goal before the Tommies’ Chris Hickey replied at 16:52. Wheeler’s empty-netter capped off the Cobbers’ three-goal outburst. Andrew Kappers also scored for St. Thomas, (14-10-2), which outshot the visitors, 29-18.
“The biggest part of the game was the second period,” Concordia Coach Chris Howe told the The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. “(St. Thomas) had us on the ropes outshooting us 12-2, but we played smart in the third period and took advantage of opportunities.”