Hockey East announced Saturday that Boston College sophomore goaltender Jacob Fowler has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 4:49 of the second period on Nov. 15 at UConn.
On the play, Fowler was given a five-minute major penalty for roughing and a game misconduct.
Fowler is ineligible to play Nov. 19 at Providence and can return to the Eagles lineup on Nov. 22 against Northeastern.
Connecticut pulled off the upset Friday night, knocking off No. 2 Boston College 5-4 at the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn.
Hudson Schandor, Kaden Shahan, Tristan Fraser, Tom Messineo and Ryan Tattle scored for the Huskies and goaltenders Tyler Muszelik and Thomas Heaney combined on a 28-save night in net. Muszelik started and played 40 minutes before leaving the game with an injury and Heaney played the third period and earned the win.
CHAOS IN STORRS!!! TRISTAN FRASER HAS THE ICE BUS COOKIN❄️🏒🚌💪
Huskies lead 3-1
Watch: ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/BKwiWROFzU
— UConn Men's Hockey (@UConnMHOC) November 16, 2024
Aidan Hreschuk scored twice for the Eagles, while Andre Gasseau and Ryan Leonard added single goals.
Jacob Fowler started in goal for BC and made 25 saves before getting ejected after Fraser’s goal for roughing. Jan Korec played the rest of the game and finished with 16 saves.
POLL | SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS
No. 1 Denver 5, No. 9 North Dakota 2
Zeev Buium’s hat trick led Denver to a 5-2 win over North Dakota at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
This goal by Aidan Thompson late in the 2nd period was a momentum changer. pic.twitter.com/4LbWdVhNRS
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) November 16, 2024
Aidan Thompson and Sam Harris added goals for the Pioneers and Matt Davis made 22 saves between the pipes.
Ben Strinden and Dane Montgomery posted the Fighting Hawks goals and T.J. Semptimphelter made 34 stops in goal.
No. 4 Michigan State 8, Notre Dame 3
Karsen Dorwart scored two goals and goaltender Trey Augustine stopped 27 shots in goal as Michigan State romped to an 8-3 win over Notre Dame at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.
Unselfish! Vansaghi drives up the right side to the doorstep and dishes to David Gucciardi for the shorthanded marker in the final minute of the game. pic.twitter.com/MolWwhrcu9
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 16, 2024
Tiernan Shoudy, Red Savage, Mikey DeAngelo, David Gucciardi, Charlie Stramel and Joey Larson also scored for Michigan State.
Danny Nelson netted a pair of goals for Notre Dame, Michael Mastrodomenico had the other, and Owen Say and Jack Williams combined to make 33 saves between the pipes.
No. 17 Dartmouth 4, No. 6 Cornell 3
Dartmouth captain Steven Townley’s goal with 3:24 to play in the third period snapped a 3-3 tie and the Big Green held on the rest of the way to beat Cornell 4-3 at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H.
The game winner from Captain Towns 🙌#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods🌲 pic.twitter.com/8co64ahGEo
— Dartmouth Men's Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) November 16, 2024
Sean Chisholm, Hayden Stavroff and John Fusco also tallied for Dartmouth and Roan Clarke made 29 saves in goal.
For the Big Red, Kyle Penney scored twice, Tyler Catalano posted a goal, and Ian Shane finished with 19 saves in the blue paint.
No. 7 Maine 5, No. 11 Boston University 2
Maine jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back, downing Boston University 5-2 at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.
Owen Fowler had two goals for the Black Bears, while Frank Djurasevic, Harrison Scott and Thomas Freel added goals of their own.
buzzer beater!
📊: https://t.co/oM0IA2mmPd
💻: https://t.co/ZvwDbxr24x | @ESPNPlus
📻: https://t.co/2wt8e0WEuG https://t.co/Zzw9S6cOGF pic.twitter.com/M7igsayd5f— Maine Men’s Ice Hockey (@MaineIceHockey) November 16, 2024
In goal, Albin Boija made 23 saves for Maine.
Doug Grimes and Ryan Greene scored for the Terriers and Max Lacroix turned aside 29 shots between the pipes.
No. 13 Western Michigan 3, No. 8 Colorado College 2 (OT)
Western Michigan captain Tim Washe scored 3:22 into overtime to give the Broncos a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Colorado College at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoon, Mich.
🚨 OT GAME WINNER OT GAME WINNER OT GAME WINNER 🚨#BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/gzwJ3ItmjM
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) November 16, 2024
Gavin Lindberg and Zaccharya Wisdom gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first period, only to see Tristan Lemyre and Grant Slukynsky answer in the third period for the Broncos, setting the stage for Washe’s game winner.
WMU goalie Cameron Rowe finished with 12 saves, while Kaidan Mbereko stopped 36 for the Tigers.
No. 14 Ohio State 5, Lindenwood 2
Riley Thompson and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine each scored two goals as Ohio State downed Lindenwood 5-2 at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.
Goal ✌️ of the night for Riley Thompson⬇️ pic.twitter.com/q7eK7a87cX
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) November 16, 2024
Noah Powell also scored for the Buckeyes and goaltender Kristoffer Eberly made 23 saves.
Jake Southgate and David Gagnon scored for the Lions and Owen Bartoszkiewicz also finished with 23 saves in goal.
No. 15 UMass Lowell 5, Vermont 2
Five different players scored for UMass Lowell as the River Hawks defeated Vermont 5-2 at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt.
Dillan Bentley, Mirko Buttazzoni, Stefan Owens, Chris Delaney and Scott Truman found the net for UMass Lowell and goalie Henry Welsch made 19 saves.
Too easy for this freshman duo🥱
Buttazzoni➡️Delaney
📺ESPN+: https://t.co/9PhC5F35C5#UnitedInBlue | #HockeyEast | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/T1HWD078ZM
— UMass Lowell Hockey (@RiverHawkHockey) November 16, 2024
For the Catamounts, Timofei Spitserov and Simon Jellus scored and Axel Mangbo made 22 saves in net.
No. 16 Minnesota State 3, Northern Michigan 0
Alex Tracy fashioned a 21-save shutout as Minnesota State blanked Northern Michigan 3-0 from the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn.
Ralfs Bergmanis buries his first @MinnStMHockey goal to make it 2-0 Mavericks!
Watch live on @midcosports
💻: https://t.co/FwkzD2GuCc #CCHAHockey | #HornsUp pic.twitter.com/mW79D832aK— CCHA (@CCHAHockey) November 16, 2024
Will Hillman, Ralfs Bergmanis and Jakob Stender scored the Mavericks’ goals.
Wildcats goalie Ryan Ouellette made 20 saves.
Wisconsin 5, No. 18 Penn State 4 (OT)
Daniel Laatsch’s goal at 3:48 of overtime lifted Wisconsin over Penn State 5-4 in overtime from Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa.
Danny Dzhaniyev had tied it for Penn State at 19:10 of the third period.
Not all heroes wear capes 🫡
Laatsch tallies his SECOND overtime game-winning goal of the year! pic.twitter.com/QiHDlfpyQF
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 16, 2024
Ryland Mosley, Sawyer Scholl, Cody Laskosky and Ryan Botterill also scored for the Badgers and Tommy Scarfone made 32 stops in goal.
Aiden Fink, Charlie Cerrato and Ben Schoen added markers for the Nittany Lions and Arsenii Sergeev had 23 saves.
No. 19 Quinnipiac 3, Brown 2
Elliott Groenewold’s goal at 14:53 of the third period stood as the game winner as Quinnipiac edged Brown 3-2 at Meehan Auditorium in Providence, R.I.
GamE WinnEr 😎#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/PatyTEt16J
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) November 16, 2024
Aaron Bohlinger and Aaron Schwartz also scored for the Bobcats and goalie Matej Marinov made 18 stops.
For the Bears, Tanner Hartman and Tyler Kopff scored and Tyler Shea stopped 35 shots in goal.
Colgate 4, No. 20 Harvard 2
Four different players found the net for Colgate as the Raiders doubled up Harvard 4-2 at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Boston.
Brett Chorske, Simon Labelle, Daniel Panetta and Ryan Spinale scored in the win.
✌️ goal lead for the Raiders.#GoGate pic.twitter.com/ixr7za0gMB
— Colgate Men's Hockey (@ColgateMIH) November 16, 2024
Colgate goaltender Andrew Takacs made 33 saves.
Mason Langenbrunner and Marek Hejduk scored for the Crimson and Aku Koskenvuo made 29 saves between the pipes.
Alaska at Alaska Anchorage (in progress)
The annual battle for the Governor’s Cup between Alaska and Alaska Anchorage was midway through the second period from the Chuck Homan Ice Arena in Anchorage, the two teams tied 2-2.
Brendan Ross and Matt Koethe scored for the Nanooks and Conor Cole and Dylan Contreras for the Seawolves.
Nicholas Grabko has 15 saves for Alaska and Greg Orosz eight for Anchorage.
It’s the middle of the month and the hockey just keeps getting better. Several ranked teams are in action, including in a showdown featuring Adrian and Aurora.
Let’s dive right in with a few game picks for this weekend.
Friday
UW-Eau Claire at Concordia
The Blugolds (0-1-1) are searching for their first win. Max Dronen has two early-season goals and having Max Gutjahr in goal always means Eau Claire has a shot to win. He already has one shutout this season.
Concordia (3-1) won its first three games before dropping a game and looks to bounce back. The Cobbers have scored four or more goals twice and have held an opponent to a single goal twice as well. This is also Concordia’s home opener.
Concordia, 4-3
UW-Superior at St. Scholastica
The Yellowjackets (1-0-1) are off to an unbeaten start and face a big test on the road against the Saints. They only have one goal off the power play in nine chances,but on the flip side, they have forced to just 1-for-10 in those situations.
St. Scholastica (1-2-1) has had a tough start to the year, dropping its last two, and hope to get back on track this weekend. Minimizing opportunities for the opponent is key as the Saints have given up eight goals in their last two games.
UW-Superior, 4-2
Saturday
UW-Eau Claire at Augsburg
Eau Claire faces a big early-season test against an Augsburg team that is always a contender in the MIAC and beyond. It’s a chance for the Blugolds to make a statement on the road.
The Auggies (2-2) are feeling good after a big win over Concordia last weekend and they look to keep that momentum going into the weekend. Graham Harris is among the players off to a great start, dishing out four assists while scoring a goal. Having this one at home could prove to be a big advantage.
Augsburg, 3-2
UW-Stout at Saint John’s
The Blue Devils (3-0) are unbeaten coming into this one and face a big road test here. Twice this season Stout has come through with a shutout and it’s offense has shown how dynamic it can be, scoring five or more goals twice.
Saint John’s (3-1) is coming off a big time win over nationally ranked UW-River Falls on Thursday, winning 3-0, and Jon Howe was stellar in goal, stopping a career-best 44 saves. It was his second collegiate shutout and the 10th win of his career.
Saint John’s 3-1
UW-River Falls at Concordia
The Falcons (3-1) are ready to bounce back after a tough road loss to Saint John’s, but it won’t be easy against a Concordia team that has been playing well. River Falls has been pretty good offensively, having averaged five goals per game prior to Thursday’s loss. Jonny Meiers has tallied three goals to lead the way.
Concordia knows this game provides an opportunity to potentially get into the national ranking discussion and having this game at home is a big deal.
UW-River Falls, 3-2
Friday and Saturday
Aurora at Adrian
Does it get better than this? Two NCHA rivals, both of which are nationally ranked, going at it in a weekend series.
Aurora (4-0) comes in No. 11 nationally and has looked sharp offensively, scoring at least five goals in every game it has played so far. Matt Weber has helped fuel the offense with four goals.
Adrian (3-1) is ranked No. 2 in the nation and this will mark the fourth time in the last five games that the Bulldogs have gone up against a team ranked in the top 15 of the USCHO.com poll. Adrian has to be feeling good about its offensive production lately, scoring four or more goals in its last three games.
I’ll be surprised if this is a sweep either way. It should definitely be entertaining.
Adrian, 5-4; Aurora, 4-3
Marian vs. St. Norbert
Marian (2-0) has given up just one goal in its first two games and now gets ready for a big-time test on the road against one of the nation’s best teams. The Sabres are going to need to strike early offensively and come through with their best defensive effort of the year.
St. Norbert (4-0) is still perfect and ranked fifth nationally. And the Green Knights are coming off an impressive 6-2 win over national power UW-Stevens Point on Tuesday. They are 5-0 for the first time since their national title season in 2017-18 and Liam Fraser led the way with a hat trick, doing that in the first 10 minutes of the game.
St. Norbert, 5-2 and 4-1
Here we are in mid-November and now everyone in the east is joining the party with NESCAC games scheduled this weekend. The action to open the first two weeks has been stellar and I do not anticipate that is going to change this week with more conference action getting underway along with some intriguing non-conference matchups on tap.
The weekly picks were a respectable 8-4-0 (.667) last week but I missed on several ranked opponent matchups and feel like the numbers are actually worse. Overall, my season numbers are 18-6-0 (.750) which is a great start, but I really want to stop the downward trend despite the small sample size. And speaking of sample size, teams that started the first week of November are fast approaching 20% of the season completed already (based on a 24-game schedule). With that in mind, it would be nice to get on a roll like a lot of teams who want to establish a winning trend for their upcoming schedule. Here are this week’s picks for the east:
Friday, November 15, 2024
Lebanon Valley v. Wilkes
The Colonels rebounded nicely last week after an opening game loss to Geneseo. Time to keep the positive momentum and high-powered offense going this week against the Flying Dutchmen. This one is closer than one might expect but a win for the home team – Wilkes, 4-3
Endicott v. (10) University of New England
The Gulls found a way to score on Curry netminder Shane Soderwall last week in earning a split of the weekend series. Now they face a UNE team that has yet to surrender a single goal this season. Tough place to play especially when Nor’easters are playing well. Close game goes to the home team – UNE, 3-2
Salve Regina v. Babson
The Seahawks scored in bunches against Massachusetts-Boston last weekend but will find a tougher Babson squad on deck this weekend. Special teams are the difference in this one for the visitors who eke out a win – Salve Regina, 4-3
Connecticut College v. (4) Trinity
The Bantams have been waiting for the 2024 re-boot since their last game a=on home-ice against Hobart. Enter the Camels who are a tough opening act for this new edition of Trinity hockey. New or old, both have Devon Bobak so expect goals to be at a premium for the visitors – Trinity, 3-1
Southern New Hampshire v. St. Michael’s
The Purple Knights had to earn their wins last weekend against Post on the road and this week does not get any easier with an experienced SNHU team looking to rebound after back-to-back losses at Assumption. David Ciancio and Case Kantgias may be the best pair of offense/defense players in the NE-10 and that helps pick-up another win – St. Michael’s, 4-2
(12) Plattsburgh v. Oswego
The Lakers are young and still figuring things out while the Cardinals are coming off a loss to Plymouth State and a high-scoring exhibition win. It is back to the basics for these two longtime rivals and in this case, it is the depth and experience that gets it done for the visitors – Plattsburgh, 5-2
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Salem State v. Rivier
The Raiders meet the Vikings in MASCAC action and both teams display some high-end skill in all situational aspects of play. Do not think I would want to be in the crease on either end for this one but think Luke Newell will have a save or two that earns the home squad a victory – Rivier, 5-4
(7) Skidmore v. Elmira
The Soaring Eagles swept Southern Maine last weekend and return home to face a ranked Thoroughbred team building some momentum with their unbeaten start. Expect this game to be a track meet as both teams feature offensive skill. A power play goal for the visitors is the difference and it might even come in overtime – Skidmore, 4-3
Colby v. Middlebury
The Panthers finished last season in the final four of the NESCAC tournament and are looking to build on the positive momentum from last season. Strong returning group upfront will need some validation in goal for the home team to see more success. New season and home crowd help the Panthers to an exciting win – Middlebury, 3-2
Manhattanville v. (6) Geneseo
Two undefeated teams meet in this two-game series where they battle for UCHC points in the standings. The Knights make it difficult for any opponent in their barn and have the depth to pressure mistakes all over the ice. Goaltending will be the difference maker for the home team along with a well-timed empty-net goal – Geneseo, 5-3
Buffalo State v. (13) Cortland
The Red Dragons look to bounce back from their loss at home to Adrian against a Bengals squad that has been idle since their hosting a tournament to open the season. Second of five straight road games for the Bengals and the home team is less than hospitable in a high-scoring game – Cortland, 5-4
Massachusetts-Boston v. (1) Hobart
The Beacons have struggled to start the season so playing a two-game set against the defending national champions is not a recipe for capturing wins. Or is it? Not going to call this a TRAP GAME but the Beacons do have some talented players like Jazz Krivtsov that can be dangerous. Home team does not let its guard down – Hobart, 5-1
Every week there has been another team to drop from the ranks of the unbeatens and places in the USCHO poll have been transient already. What changes are waiting in this week’s action where all eight conferences in the east are now playing meaningful hockey games. If you are lacing them up, you better be ready to play – “Drop the Puck!”
Nicolas Pigeon gravitated to hockey when he was younger. Growing up in Canada, it made sense.
“Oh for sure. I started playing when I was a kid,” Pigeon said. “We had outdoor rinks everywhere, but in the summer, I would play some soccer.”
Pigeon’s passion for the game, and his consistent development in the game led to an opportunity at the college level. Pigeon is now in his second season at UW-Stout, where he is looking to build of last year’s success.
Pigeon led the team in assists as a freshman, tallying 21, and also scored eight goals, earning All-WIAC recognition. Eight times last season he recorded a multi-point game.
This season, with Stout off to a 3-0 start, Pigeon has already come through with three goals and three assists.
“I feel like I’m playing pretty good. And the team is looking good. It’s good to be back for another season,” Pigeon said.
Stout is looking to improve on its 13-14-2 record from a year ago and Pigeon is ready to do whatever he can to help make it happen.
He put in a lot of work this offseason to get himself ready.
“I tried to focus on getting a little bigger, a little stronger,” Pigeon said. “Coming in from juniors last year, this league is tough, so I focused on the physical aspect. I gained a few pounds and definitely feel better this year.”
He feels good about the way Stout has started as a team as well.
“We’re looking good ad moving in the right direction,” Pigeon said. “We have some good wins and want to prove ourselves against the best this year. We have good players on this team and I think the future is bright.”
A native of Quebec, Pigeon always had a goal of playing college hockey. And Stout appealed to him because so many of the players on the team were from Canada.
“There were some guys from juniors I played with here and a lot of Canadians on the team. That was something that interested me about coming to Stout,” Pigeon said.
With a strong passion for hockey, Pigeon said what he loves most about the sport is the escape the sport provides and the bond he has forged with teammates.
“It takes your mind off other things. Life is on pause and you can have fun for a few hours being with the boys,” Pigeon said. “I know a lot of of guys on the team are going through the same things as me, being away from home, and I’m grateful for the friendships I have on the team.”
Pigeon said that while he’s enjoyed the early season success, he’s looking forward to making the most of the rest of the season.
“I want to keep having fun. Last year hockey wasn’t as fun at times as it should have been, so I’m focused on having fun. I am going to work hard, too, but I don’t want to forget that hockey is just a game. It’s something that should bring you joy and make you happy.”
With lines for Friday unavailable at recording time because of two Thursday night games, USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly, Dan Rubin, and Ed Trefzger take their first look at national championship futures for this season, including an explanation of how futures work.
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Heather Weems saw an example of how tight-knit the hockey community is when she attended a memorial service earlier this fall for former NCHC officiating supervisor Brent Rutherford.
The NCHC’s commissioner had traveled from her home base in Minnesota to Madison Heights, Mich., a northern Detroit suburb, to help celebrate the life of Brendan “Brent” Francis Rutherford, who died Sept. 20 at the age of 73, following an illness.
“I flew out and met his family, and the cool thing that I see among the officials is that there’s a brotherhood, just like there’s a brotherhood on teams and among the coaches,” Weems said. “His family, including a couple of his nieces who he was really close to and a sister, they were so blown away by the number of phone calls and visits, and people who had flown in to talk to him and spend time with him.
“(Family members) knew that he did this officiating stuff but were blown away by the level of care, concern and friendship that had developed over time. It’s a behind-the-scenes thing in sports, but that whole brotherhood of officials and people who support the sport, it’s so great to see.”
Rutherford was a supervisor of officials for the NCHC for nine seasons, from 2015 through this past 2023-24 campaign. All told, he served as an officiating supervisor in college hockey for nearly 25 years, including over a decade between the former CCHA and WCHA conferences. He had also joined the officiating supervisor staff for the Federal Prospects Hockey League, a single-A minor league, ahead of the FPHL’s 2023-24 season.
He previously was an on-ice official in NCAA hockey for 20 seasons, refereeing for 18 and working another two as a linesman. He was selected to officiate conference playoff games across 12 consecutive seasons and worked several NCAA tournament games.
The NCHC has six largely geographically-based supervisors of officials, plus Mike Schmitt, the conference’s director of officiating. Owing to the NCHC’s increasingly large reach, Rutherford primarily worked closest to home with games at Western Michigan and Miami. Weems said that the conference will likely intend to find a successor to Rutherford in that area of the country, although for now, the NCHC is flying officials out to work games in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Oxford, Ohio, respectively.
Throughout this season, NCHC officials are sporting helmet decals that feature the initials of Rutherford, who would’ve turned 74 last Friday.
“Obviously you want to be thoughtful about the process, but also you want to be able to honor him,” Weems said of the helmet decals’ creation. “It came up at that point that, ‘How do we make sure that Brent knows he’s being thought of?’
“The stickers are our way of recognizing him and the challenge he was going through. When we were at an officiating camp, shortly before he passed, that was a discussion among all our officials, and they did a nice ad hoc video for him, as well, just to talk to him and thank him for his service and let him know how much they appreciate and were thinking about him.”
Conference officials moved quickly to make sure that this season would run in Rutherford’s memory, but his influence is bound to extend much further into the future.
“What’s special about our league is the supervisor relationship with all of the officials,” Weems said. “I think it’s so beneficial that the guys, as they’re going out there, essentially have a coach. During the game, in between periods if anything goes wrong, or after the game, there’s a critical feedback loop that gives the officials a level of support, and a time of reflection about what happened with the game.
“Brent was passionate about the game. He’d been an official, he knew what it was to live that life, and they identify with each other, and they know what it’s like to get screamed at by the fans or get criticized by the coaches and the student-athletes. He was passionate about the game, and he understood the officials and the need to support them and help them be their best.”
Last year, Hobart won the national title game against an incredibly good Trinity team backstopped by goaltender Devon Bobak who returns to the Bantam crease. Key losses among the senior defense and forward groups along with the departure of assistant coach Kim Weiss to the Colorado Eagles (AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche) will mean new opportunities for a deep group at Trinity. With balance always being a hallmark of the conference from top to bottom, there are a host of schools who will challenge for the top spot and look to unseat the defending champions. Unlike the other conferences, NESCAC immediately jumps into real games in conference play, so the points are valuable early as well as the need to get out of the gate strong in what amounts to a spring to the end of the first half of the season and upcoming semester break.
The Favorites
While Trinity will be a little younger this season, they return several key pieces in front of netminder Devon Bobak and play a system conducive to pressuring opponents for the full 200-feet. Defenseman Teddy Griffin leads a mobile back-end, and the forward group has great balance led by Nicholas Siffringer, Richard Boysen, Connor Sedlak and Spencer Korona. Assistant coach Paul Russell joins from Curry College following an outstanding career as a player at Norwich. The Bantams will be a targeted group, but coach Matt Greason and staff will make sure this year’s group is focused on the details needed to win.
The Continentals have been on the brink of something special for awhile under head coach Rob Haberbusch. A skilled set of forwards led by Grisha Gotovets, Ben Zimmerman, Luke Tchor and Alex Danis will provide ample offense in front of James Philpott and a versatile defensive group. Goaltending has long been a strength for the Continentals who return Charlie Archer, Josh Nadler, and see the additions of first-year Tyler Bloomfield and Union transfer, Aksel Reid. It all starts in the blue paint where solid play could help Hamilton be a contender come February.
The Dark Horses
It may have been a surprise to see Tufts among the top echelon in the conference last season, but coach Pat Norton has been steadily building the Jumbos program and this year could be another inflection point. Tyler Sedlak and Max Resnick are critical to the energy level for the rest of the team and offensive production on the ice. The defensive group and goaltending will be young but if the group comes together quickly, the Jumbos will contend for a NESCAC title this season.
Amherst has seen remarkable success under longtime head coach Jack Arena and this year’s team has several key elements returning for the Mammoth. Ben Ritter and Max Thiessen lead a skilled defensive group in front of goaltender Connor Leslie. Upfront Amherst has skill and experience with Matt Toporowski, Bobby Luca, Ben Kuzma, and Josh Burke. The Mammoth usually excel on special teams which is critical to success in today’s game so look for Amherst to be in the mix if their specialty teams excel this season.
Never count out a Williams squad that always finds their game at the right time of the season. Coach Bill Kangas has key pieces to lean on in each of the positional groups starting in goal with Cal Sandquist, Conner Berg on defense and Owen Stadheim leading a deep forward group. There are nine first-year players to integrate but historically, the Ephs upper classmen do that as well as any roster in D-III hockey. If pieces gel and the team stays healthy, things could be interesting for the Purple Cows this season.
Players to watch.
Amherst: Ben Kuzma – forward; Max Thiessen – defense
Bowdoin: Bryce Bollman – forward; Luke Wheeler – forward
Colby: Bobby Falvey – defense; James Tepper – forward
Connecticut College: Cole Eichler – forward; Rocco Testa-Basi – forward
Hamilton: Grisha Gotovets – forward; James Philpott – defense
Middlebury: John Burdett – defense; Jin Lee – forward
Trinity: Devon Bobak – goaltender; Theodore “Teddy” Griffin – defense
Tufts: Max Resnick – forward; Tyler Sedlak – forward
Wesleyan: Patrick Morrissey – defense; Owen Sweet – forward
Williams: Cal Sandquist – goaltender; Owen Stadheim – forward
USCHO Predicted finish
This weekend’s opening schedule finds Middlebury and Williams hosting Bowdoin and Colby while Wesleyan and Trinity play host to Connecticut College and Tufts. Amherst and Hamilton will also play each other to open the season in a single game on Saturday between the two travel partners.
Two weeks ago, Lake Superior State came back from their trip to Columbus, Ohio, in something of a daze.
The Lakers were swept by Ohio State and took both games on the chin, losing 9-3 and 6-2.
That caused a little soul searching for everyone involved with the program.
“We talked about it that Ohio State week: Who are we? We don’t really know,” LSSU coach Damon Whitten said in a phone interview on Thursday. “We’re just trying to figure out chemistry, continuity and who we are.”
The Lakers, now 3-5-0, responded the next weekend, sweeping rival Northern Michigan in turn, 5-0 and 5-1 in Marquette. But Whitten said he’s still unsure exactly how the team is going to play from week to week.
“When we have guys playing the right way, we’re pretty damn good, and if we don’t have the right bodies and we’re not into it, it could be a long weekend,” he said. “So I think we are excited about where we can get to and who we can’t be. We just need to be more consistent in getting there.”
One reason for LSSU’s issues come down to injuries and illnesses. Star forwards Connor Millburn, Timo Bakos and Carter Batchelder have all missed time, as have two of the team’s three goalies in senior Easton Hesse and sophomore transfer Grant Riley.
“It seems like every day we show up, we don’t know who we have for practice and who’s available,” Whitten said, noting that the team wasn’t using that as an excuse. Good teams, he said, are able to overcome those injuries no matter who’s out. “That is what it is. You’ve got to overcome it. You’ve got to play through that, get different guys to step up.”
One who has stepped up big time is freshman goaltender Rorke Applebee. The Chateauguay, Quebec, product has been the only goaltender available to the Lakers for every game this season, and he has stepped up admirably. He’s played in seven of LSSU’s eight games and has given up 19 goals and made 209 saves. Applebee has two shutouts this season, one against Stonehill earlier this season and the second came against NMU last weekend.
“I’ve always been a big believer that you want to put guys in positions to be successful, and I don’t think what we’ve had to do to our freshman goalie has been ideal, but fortunately, Rorke he’s extremely confident and he’s extremely capable. I think he’s outstanding,” Whitten said. “It’s not been easy. We’re trying to manage practice workload, because we’re down to one goalie or two goalies, and so it’s really been disruptive to our team to try to practice in a normal fashion, but Rorke has been really good through it all.”
Another bright spot for the Lakers has been a pair of defensemen. Nate Schweitzer and Evan Bushy have led LSSU in scoring with six points apiece. Schweitzer had four points in last weekend’s series with NMU (a goal and three assists). Bushy had a pair of assists.
“They’re 1-2 on our team in scoring, and we’ve been a little slow out of the gates with our scoring, but our ‘D’ core has played well. It’s been the same lack of continuity,” Whitten said, noting that blueliners like Mike Brown and Johnny Druskinis have both missed time recently with injuries as well. “Bush and Schweitz have played every game, and that’s allowed them to be a little bit more game ready, and they’ve done a good job.
“You can’t get rid of the Ohio State weekend, it’s there, but I think beyond that weekend, we’ve been pretty darn good defensively overall as a team, but that one weekend was really, really out of whack, and you got to make sure that isn’t happening again.”
The Lakers hope their next performance is much closer to the NMU series than it was in the OSU series, but even this weekend’s series is going to be a little out of the ordinary. LSSU takes on Ferris State in a two-game series. The first game will be in Sault Ste. Marie, but the second game of the series will be in a brand-new location for both teams: Traverse City, Mich. The teams will be playing at the Centre Ice Arena, which is the home of the Detroit Red Wings annual prospects and training camp.
“Traverse City is a great hockey town, going from the Red Wings hosting their camp there for many, many years now, they’ve made a great investment in that arena. There used to be a North American Hockey League junior team out of that arena. So it’s a great little venue there,” Whitten said. “And we’ve got a couple of great alumni who all coach hockey down in that area as well. It’s maybe a little bit kind of a hidden gem of a hockey town, just because of its location up in northern Michigan.”
This is believed to be the first Division I college hockey game played in the Traverse City area. Traverse City is approximately 175 miles from Sault Ste. Marie and 90 miles from Big Rapids.
“All of northern Michigan is so important to our university, and playing Ferris there, geographically, it was a natural fit,” Whitten said. “On the ice, it’s been an intense rivalry with them. It’s probably not ideal in our schedule, giving up a home game. We’ve got one home game the whole month of November because we took the game down there. So it took a little bit of finessing from our point of view, but this is the right partner for this event, and they shared the excitement. So we’re really excited about the opportunity to meet up there.”
The ride from Dartmouth to Princeton is one of the longest in ECAC Hockey.
It’s certainly the longest commute between hockey-playing members of the conference’s six-team Ivy League contingent. The drive is nearly a straight shot traversing the north-south poles at either end of the league’s geographic footprint, but the 315 miles between New Hampshire’s rural outpost along the Vermont border and its chic New Jersey counterpart is just as long as Brown’s travel to the North Country schools at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
The bus ride is five-odd hours without traffic, but not even the bumper-to-bumper threat surrounding a trip through New York City would have ruined the Big Green’s commute home after their 5-1 win over their Ancient Eight rivals clinched a six-point weekend and the team’s best start in nearly 80 years at 4-0-0.
“We have gotten some excellent goaltending, some timely goals, and our power play’s been good through four games,” said Dartmouth coach Reid Cashman. “That’s kind of been the biggest part of getting our results, but the lead-up, there are a lot of things to the lead-up that have made it better than the actual results, and it’s been a little bit of [everything] that’s built a good start for us.”
Last month opened a vacuum near the top of ECAC’s traditional power structure, but nobody expected Dartmouth to fill the void even after the Big Green finished last season with a first-round bye. Persistent questions about how they intended to turn ties into wins raised eyebrows whenever discussion about the top four began, and analysts believed the team would backslide since the curtain of uncertainty had been fully removed.
The abstract reasons overshadowed the truth about Dartmouth’s roster, which returned nearly every major part to a team that received significant buy-in over the past three years. Having been forged together by the resurgent run to a first-round bye, the opening game against Harvard felt more like a continuation than a restart for the Big Green, and the momentum from last season’s trip to Lake Placid’s ECAC semifinal likewise carried over to the 2-1 win over the Crimson and the 5-2 win over Stonehill.
“Our guys came into this season in really good shape,” said Cashman. “We did an excellent job in the offseason, and I think we had continuity for the first time as a staff. As far as our seniors, this is the first senior class that’s had four years in the program, and we were able to hit the ground running in September, both from a structural standpoint and a cultural standpoint.”
Seizing the electrical charge from those first two games propelled the Big Green to its first road sweep over Quinnipiac and Princeton since realignment created their travel partnership in 2005-06. Unranked at the start of the weekend, Dartmouth actually had to make the longer trip to Princeton on the second night after starting the weekend at the league’s preeminent and perennial powerhouse.
For its part, Quinnipiac long served as Dartmouth’s house of horrors, but the Big Green vanquished their first set of ghosts with a 4-2 victory. Having gone scoreless through the first period, the team scored twice across a five-minute stretch of the second period after Alex Krause and Sean Chisholm scored, and with four minutes remaining in the third period, Nikita Nikora was able to find John Fusco for a neat little wrist shot in the slot.
Less than a minute later, CJ Foley scored an empty-net goal to take home the two-goal win, which counted as Dartmouth’s first victory over the Bobcats in Connecticut in 18 years and the first win over Quinnipiac since a Nov. 2018 game at home.
The win pushed Dartmouth to its best start since the late-1970s before more history books fodder fell victim to a 5-1 win on Saturday night. Having already played with bursting confidence, the Big Green raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second period after Nikora, Chisholm and Hayden Stavroff added their own goals to extend a one-goal advantage in the first.
An extra goal in the third from Steven Townley put the host Tigers on their heels before a late goal avoided the shutout, but the victory established the best start to a Dartmouth season since Edward Jeremiah’s Indians went 13-10-1 during the third season of Ivy League play, a full four years before ECAC formed its hockey league in 1961.
“A big part of what we do at Dartmouth is try to give the players a really strong foundation with really strong habits,” said Cashman. “The guys have to go play hockey. We can’t tell them what to do in every situation, the game is too fast, but we can really develop habits of the foundation. I think there’s been growth. There’s been individual growth within the guys, and I think there’s been growth as a team.
“Adding [assistant coach] Byron Pool has been incredible because he’s been a fresh set of eyes while not changing what we do. There’s been the timing of him coming into our program that’s helped us really well.”
It’s still early enough in the season that rankings and Pairwise notes don’t mean much, but the Big Green entered the national poll for the first time in five years this week when voters moved them to No. 17 in the USCHO.com rankings. They remain one of three undefeated teams but sit third in the Pairwise Rankings – for what it’s worth, at least – with one of those unbeaten teams sitting at No. 1 with defending national champion Denver.
Dartmouth returns to action this week when it hosts No. 6 Cornell on Friday and Colgate on Saturday. A potentially titanic game against No. 2 Boston College lurks in two weeks when the Big Green visit the Eagles before the first semester ends with games against Vermont, St. Lawrence, Clarkson and New Hampshire.
While Sacred Heart was the consensus pick to finish first in Atlantic Hockey this season, coach CJ Marottolo, in his 16th year behind the Pioneers bench, knows his team is a work in progress.
His roster includes seven rookies as well as nine transfers, and it will take some time to gel.
After a split with Holy Cross to open league play, the Pioneers were swept by Bentley on Nov. 1-2, losing 4-2 and 6-4.
But Sacred Heart rebounded last weekend with an impressive road sweep against Mercyhurst. According to Marottolo, Saturday’s 4-1 win was the first time his team had played a complete 60 minutes.
“We’ve been inconsistent,” said Marottolo. “Up and down. A lot of good chunks, and some not-so-good chunks.
“We have a lot of new guys, and it does take time. I think (last) Friday night’s game (4-3 win) was better than most and Saturday was even better. It was a 60-minute effort from start to finish.”
The new guys are working out. Seven of the Pioneers’ top 11 scorers are transfers new to SHU, including leading scorer Felix Tredeau (11 points), a Maine transfer, as well as his former Black Bears linemate Reid Pabich (five points).
Also joining were a pair of former star Holy Cross players in Tyler Ghirardosi and Matt Guerra, who were linemates for multiple seasons in Worcester. Also new to SHU are former Army West Point players John Driscoll and Jake Hewitt.
Because Holy Cross does not offer graduate studies and could not offer a fifth year of eligibility that players were granted because of COVID, Ghirardosi and Guerra had to transfer if they wanted to play one more year.
“I think they would have stayed at Holy Cross,” said Marottolo. “But we are very glad to have them.”
Marottolo says that their new facility, the Martire Family Arena, which opened in Jan. 2023, and the school itself are what bring talented transfers to SHU. Case in point were Ghirardosi and Guerra.
“We hosted Holy Cross the second game after we opened,” said Marottolo. “The atmosphere was wild. Both of those guys mentioned it to me, the unbelievable atmosphere. They wanted to play in that environment.
“My coaching staff does a great job making connections and recruiting. Players have a great facility to help them develop to be the best they can be, and we provide a great education. If we can get players on campus, the school sells itself.”
Last weekend’s wins were the first for rookie goaltender Ajeet Gundarah, who stopped 60 of 64 shots in the series.
“Ajeet saw some time against Bentley, and while he might have wanted a goal or two back, we liked how he played,” said Marottolo. “We have confidence in both of our goalies.”
Veterans making big contributions include defensemen Mikey Adamson (nine points) and Hunter Sansbury (seven points) as well as forward John Jaworski (eight points)
“Guys are stepping up,” said Marottolo. “We have a good mix of new players and veterans, and hopefully we will continue to develop.”
Next up is a four-game homestand, leading off with a pair against Robert Morris this weekend. The Colonials are off to an excellent start at 4-1-1.
“They’re a good hockey team,” said Marottolo. “Derek (Schooley) has done a tremendous job considering where they were two years ago. They improved throughout last season and their freshmen last year were big contributors.
“I expect them to be hard to play against and a couple of good games.”
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When the Wolverines were picked by coaches in the preseason to finish fourth in the Big Ten, there were a number of factors that contributed to the impression that Michigan is going to be a middle-of-the-conference team.
For starters, Michigan lost offense that accounted for 100 or so of its 169 total goals scored in 2023-24.
Another factor was the hole in net left by starter Jacob Barczewski.
Additionally, the Wolverines finished fourth last season with an 11-11-2 record in Big Ten play.
“On paper, we’re not supposed to be doing what we’re doing,” said Michigan coach Brandon Naurato, now in his third season behind the bench. “As a coach, I know what we’re doing well and we’ve got to keep it going.”
The Wolverines are 7-2-1 to start the season, having just swept Notre Dame at home to open their Big Ten season. Those wins followed a huge road sweep of Boston University (Nov. 1-2) that included a pair of five-goal games, a 5-1 win and 5-4 win in overtime.
In spite of that 10-goal weekend against the Terriers, the Wolverines are struggling offensively, averaging 3.20 goals per game and converting on the power play at just 14.7 percent.
Heading into their third consecutive Frozen Four last April, the Wolverines were averaging 4.22 goals per game – third in the nation – and Michigan’s power play was tops in the nation (34.5%).
Naurato is confident that the lack of offense is a temporary situation.
“T.J. Hughes has zero goals and he’s a 50-point guy,” Naurato said. “Wait until he starts going. Our power play is extremely snakebit, but the meta data is as good as last year. We’re just not scoring.
“I don’t think anyone would have picked us to do what we’re doing now, so that’s all credit to the kids.”
Michigan has a bye week this weekend before heading to Penn State Nov. 22-23. Naurato said that that participation in the Frozen Confines Big Ten Hockey Series Jan. 3 helped the Wolverines build a bye into their schedule and that he’s looking forward to the team working on some basics.
“Right back to our core, just all the fundamental stuff,” said Naurato. “Overall individual development. That doesn’t mean skill sessions only … basically working on the parts that make up the whole style of play and identity because we have that luxury this week.”
“We haven’t had bye weeks since I’ve been here because of our big breaks over Christmas. Now that we’re playing that Wrigley game, we’ve got a couple. I don’t mind it. Reset in general.”
Naurato’s had a lot to contend with in his first two seasons behind the Michigan bench. Naurato became interim coach in August 2022 when Mel Pearson was let go following a season of off-ice controversy in 2021-22. In the first half of his first season, an adenovirus infection went through the team, hospitalizing several players and nearly killing defenseman Steven Holtz.
In spite the transition from Pearson to Naurato and the illnesses of that first half, the Wolverines made their second consecutive Frozen Four trip in Naurato’s first season, and they followed it with another at the end of 2023-24, in spite of that .500 Big Ten record.
Now they’re No. 5 in the USCHO.com Poll and 12th in the early PairWise Rankings – and still trying to learn a few things about their team.
“We lose a lot every year,” said Naurato, “but we lost 300 points and a lot of culture inside of that, with 17 NHL contracts over the last three years. You can’t really replace it.”
Another blow was losing the team captain, Rutger McGroarty, prior to the start of fall semester. In late August, McGroarty signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. McGroarty, picked by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft, was traded to Pittsburgh and plays for the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Even with all the Wolverines have experienced in the past three seasons and with the significant player turnover from just last April, Naurato remains impressed with how his players have handled it all.
“Our culture is stronger than ever,” said Naurato. “I think that’s a huge compliment to our leadership group and our upperclassmen. I think through individual pain and success, all these guys have grown and learned how to play winning hockey and be winning members of society off the ice.
“Even before the BU weekend, we had some really good talks to kind of get everyone on that same page again and learning from the past. It’s a team right now, with depth and healthy competition in every area, splitting goalies every weekend and both are stepping up. It’s been good.”
One of the best developments so far this season is the play of freshman Cameron Korpi and graduate student transfer Logan Stein, a pair of goaltenders who have split time evenly for the Wolverines.
Stein, who spent four seasons at Ferris State, is 4-1-0 on Friday nights, with a .934 save percentage and 1.59 GAA. Stein’s first game was Michigan’s season opener, a 5-2 home loss to Minnesota State. In his three subsequent games, he’s allowed just three goals and never more than one in a contest.
Korpi, a 20-year-old rookie who spent two seasons with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm has played every Saturday with a 3-1-1 record, .906 SV% and 2.54 GAA.
Naurato said that both Stein and Korpi are calm and composed in net, “making the saves that they need to make or we expect them to, and then making some that they shouldn’t.”
The goalies are at a disadvantage, said Naruato, because they’re new to Michigan and its culture.
“think Logan’s experience for four years at Ferris State helps him,” said Naurato. “I think he and Korpi are good buddies and they kind of feed off each other and push each other in a good way. Korpi’s a young, really good prospect. It’s important to give him games. He’s finding ways to win and probably playing the tougher game on Saturday if we do win Friday.”
And the Korpi-Stein combo is giving the rest of the team the space to find its identity.
“They’re just doing what they need to do,” said Naurato. “They’re both good kids and there’s healthy competition and we’re comfortable with both of them in net to help Michigan win hockey games.”
That team in front of two new goaltenders has “confidence and belief,” said Naurato. “If we play by committee, we have success.”
After his first two seasons behind the Michigan bench, Naurato doesn’t know what the season will bring but he knows he’s not going to waste energy thinking about it.
“It’s something with every team, but we’ve got a lot of people that listen and work hard,” Naurato said.
Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski are celebrating one year of the PodKaz with another look at a series between Ohio State and Wisconsin with both teams ranked in the top two in the USCHO.com poll. But that’s not the only big series this weekend: No. 3 Minnesota plays at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth, No. 6 Clarkson faces No. 9 St. Lawrence and No. 11 Boston College squares off with No. 14 Boston University.
Plus this week, we look back at Northeastern claiming a pair of 1-0 victories against UConn last week and give thoughts on the trio of Rivalry Series games between the U.S. and Canada.
The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for our mailbag? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email [email protected].
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Sometimes, the reason a team struggles is obvious.
Through his team’s first six games, all New Hampshire sophomore forward Ryan Conmy had to do was look up.
“You can look at the scoreboard and think, you can’t win games without scoring,” Conmy said. “(I) think everyone kind of knows that. You want to score goals and win games.”
UNH went into last Saturday’s home matchup vs. Long Island averaging a mere 1.5 goals per game and having been twice shut out. Then the Wildcats got six goals from five different players in a 6-1 win.
Whether or not this means UNH’s scoring woes are in the rear-view mirror remains to be seen, but it’s an encouraging start.
“‘Consistency’ would be the word — or lack thereof, early,” said UNH seventh-year coach Mike Souza. “And that pains me, because I want to be known as a group where you know what to expect when you play UNH. That they’re going to be a hard team to play against, and if you beat them, it’s going to be damn hard.”
In addition to a lack of offensive punch, a brand-new goalkeeping roster and a tough schedule have contributed to UNH’s struggles so far this season. Also, injuries.
Yet after seven games the Wildcats stand at 3-3-1, and, for at least one night, appear to have gotten out of their scoring rut.
UNH was 20-15-1 in 2023-24, breaking a streak of five losing seasons under Souza (save for 2019-20, when the Wildcats were .500), and were knocking on the door of their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013.
Injuries have been a problem for the Wildcats, with top scorers Conmy and junior forward Cy LeClerc each missing time. Both were absent from UNH’s Hockey East opener at Merrimack, a 0-0 tie which the Wildcats lost in a shootout.
Comny and LeClerc each found the back of the net vs. Long Island, Comny for the fifth time this season.
As for goalkeeping, all seven of UNH’s starts have gone to junior Jared Whale, a transfer from Alaska Anchorage. Whale was thrust into the spotlight after the departure of Jakob Hellsten, who signed a pro contract with Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League; and Tyler Muszelik, a 2022 Florida Panthers draft pick, who transferred to Connecticut.
So far this season for UNH, Whale has recorded a .894 save percentage with a 2.50 goals-against average. Last year with the Seawolves, Whale was 10-12-1 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.67 GAA.
“Our goaltending (has) been inconsistent,” Souza said. “But (goaltending coach Sean Maguire) has done a really good job with Jared saying, hey, listen, we need you to be dialed in each and every night. I think it’s been a learning curve for him, but I know our group is confident in front of him. I’m certainly confident with him in the net.”
The rout vs. Long Island provided the Wildcats a brief respite from a brutal schedule stretch that saw UNH get outscored 19-8 in four games vs. Quinnipiac and Providence. The lone bright spot was a 3-2 win at Quinnipiac after getting slammed 8-2 the previous night. This weekend, UNH will play a home-and-home series vs. Northeastern (1-4-2), another team looking to gain traction in Hockey East after a slow start.
Ultimately, UNH believes the answers it’s looking for can be found right inside their own locker room.
“They’re a very competitive group,” Souza said. “They’re competitive against each other. They’re not afraid to get on each other in a positive way. (The) guys know it’s not about some ‘rah-rah’ speech. It’s about execution, it’s about preparing. (I) think the attitude’s in the right place.”
Conmy noted that with little roster turnover from last year’s winning season, he believes the pieces are in place for UNH to be competitive.
“We’ve got a handful of new guys, so it’s pretty much the same team as last year,” he said. “Showing up to the rink, everyone loves seeing each other. That vibe’s unbelievable. We’ve started off a little slower than we’d like to (but) I think we’re on the rise.”
American International informed players earlier today that it will end its Division I program at the end of this season and field a Division II team starting next year.
Coach Eric Lang confirmed this via a text to USCHO, as well as posting the following on X:
AIC has been the place I've called my home for over 15 years of my life, as a player, a graduate assistant, and Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach. There have been some stops here and there along the way, but something always brings me back to the institution I love.
The information…
— Eric Lang (@ericlang9) November 12, 2024
AIC, a Division II school, has been Division I in hockey since 1998, when it moved the program to D-I and joined the MAAC, which eventually became Atlantic Hockey.
The Yellow Jackets have had recent success under Lang, winning four straight regular-season and three straight playoff titles from 2019 to 2022. AIC upset No. 1 St. Cloud State in the 2019 NCAA tournament.
The school and Atlantic Hockey America have yet to release statements, but it is assumed that AIC will end its relationship with Atlantic Hockey America. The school is a member of the Northeast 10, a Division II conference that sponsors men’s hockey. Current members are Assumption, Franklin Pierce, Post, Saint Anselm, Saint Michael’s and Southern New Hampshire.
There is no NCAA Division II tournament and teams in the NE-10 typically play Division III schools in non-conference play.
It is also likely that the program will end its relationship with the Mass Mutual Center, its home since 2017. Before that, AIC’s home rink was the Olympia Ice Center.
This is a developing story.
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Paula: Jimmy, it’s great to be working with you again this season and to throw around the college hockey talk the way we do.
While there’s a lot to discuss about the current season, I want to start with the NCAA’s decision to allow Division I eligibility for Canadian major junior players, starting with the 2025-26 season.
Dan Rubin and I talked about this a little in an earlier column this season when the proposal was still on the table. Honestly, I surprised myself with my own take about it. These are young players who gain so little financially from playing professional hockey that I am in favor of allowing them to play, especially now that players who opt for NCAA hockey without the major junior experience may be able to take advantage of NIL. I understand how few student-athletes playing hockey may benefit from NIL, but still.
In fact, one of my issues all along with Canadian major junior teams is how exploitive they can be, promising young players incentives – including tuition reimbursement – that may be unattainable given the terms of their contracts. That’s just one example.
What are your thoughts on how this will impact the Division I hockey landscape and the game itself?
Jim: Well, first off, great to be back with you on TMQ yet again!
I don’t think anyone can accurately predict the impact this ruling will have. Ed and I will speak with Sean Hogan from College Hockey Inc. on our USCHO Spotlight podcast this week and I think that will be revealing.
Where I see the biggest challenge for CHL players joining college hockey is what those players do to maintain their eligibility while playing major junior. Will they keep attending high school and maintain the minimum grade-point average to qualify for the college of their choice? That’s been one of the biggest points coaches have addressed with me thus far.
The other point to consider is how leagues like the OHL, WHL and QMJHL will react. What will they tell players? I am sure as players age out of that league, there will be some coaches who encourage players who aren’t ready for the pro game to head to an American college team?
But what happens when a college team poaches an elite 17- or 18-year-old from those leagues? All of a sudden, the relationship between college and major junior could become a little more tarnished.
We projected on USCHO Weekend Review that it will take 3-5 years to see what the impact of this decision is. Do you agree?
Paula: I do see the potential for an even more acrimonious relationship between major junior hockey and the NCAA.
I found the wording of the statements from the different major junior leagues interesting, especially OHL commissioner Bryan Crawford, who said, in part, “The OHL will continue to maintain a high standard as a leading supplier of talent to the National Hockey League.”
I know I’ll be accused of parsing language here, but this only enforces my rather negative opinion of major junior leagues – and the OHL specifically – who see themselves only as suppliers of talent, and who see young humans only as commodities. I understand the difference between major junior leagues and the NCAA. The leagues are businesses, and for all the criticism that people heap on the NCAA – sometimes justifiably – the NCAA is not, at least at the core of its mission.
In contrast, the statement from the USHL reads in part, “All aspects of the league are focused on preparing athletes for collegiate and professional hockey, inclusive of on-ice, academic and character development.”
You are completely correct, Jimmy, in bringing up all of the questions you pose. As many people know, I teach college English and the part of the USHL – and the NCAA – mission that addresses the well-being of student-athletes is something that I think is one of the primary goals of all college athletics. Will major junior leagues be forced to address the off-ice development of players – academics especially, but also the mental and emotional development of some pretty young guys – to boast in the future that they placed X number of students at X number of elite D-I schools? I mean, I don’t see them doing any of that for altruistic reasons.
Or will D-I programs who sign players from the major juniors be forced to vet potential recruits differently and perhaps do more off-ice developmental work with players who go that route?
I wish I had answers to these questions, but my crystal ball isn’t working well right now. As for your last question, though, I do agree. Based on what we’ve seen from the portal – and from the additional COVID eligibility, even though that’s going away – it will take at least three years to see the real impact of this decision, both on the ice and off.
One aspect of D-I hockey that I think it may affect – and I do mean “may” – is the further divide between the haves and have nots. I think this is something that all of us at TMQ – you, Ed Trefzger, Dan Rubin and I – have touched on this season to some extent, and in varying contexts. In October, you and Ed talked a little in a TMQ about the “tiers” in college hockey, the hows and whys of them and the implications for the future.
In the here and now, though, it seems evident to me that there is some separation occurring this season. I’m looking at the starts that Denver, Boston College and Minnesota have had, specifically, plus a handful of other teams who are starting well but perhaps not as decisively. I know it’s mid-November. I know how early it is. Do these – and other – early performances indicate that some teams are poised to pull ahead and dominate for the duration, or is it just too soon to tell?
Jim: Before I answer your closing question, I wanted to make one more point on major junior and it has nothing to do with how the CHL leagues and teams will respond.
I see a trickle-down impact on other junior leagues and players, the result of which could hold a positive in the overall landscape of hockey.
If more college players come from the CHL, maybe less players head to really low-tier junior leagues when players are younger (let’s think 8-15 year olds as opposed to 16-18). Right now, I consider our hockey development system in a state of crisis with far too many parents spending thousands of dollars when kids are eight, nine and 10 years old.
As a youth hockey parent, I’d love to see some of those leagues self-destruct. I miss the days when high school hockey was a competitive and enjoyable product (outside of the state of Minnesota, where it is still elite – though some players still leave for junior hockey).
I think this decision could influence players either to develop closer to home or head to a CHL team in one of the major junior leagues. That could be a benefit.
As for your question about blue bloods, I’m actually less concerned about this ruling on creating a haves and have nots situation. I could be wrong, but I see a larger player pool differentiating the coaching staffs at all 64 Division I schools. The best recruiters now have more players to choose from and will find a way to not rely only on, say, the USHL for the top-tier talent.
Paula: I second your point about those low-tier junior leagues, Jimmy, and I share your hope that the trickle-down effect does what you anticipate it can do.
I do want to get back to my last question, though, which is about this season and the tiers that are developing right before our very eyes (at least in my mind) and not future impact of the recent major junior ruling.
Looking back at a month of TMQs, it seems to me that all four of us have touched in some way on parity as well as separation. I think we can all agree that college hockey is deeper – so to speak – than it was even a few years ago. For my Big Ten column last week, I talked to Bob Motzko about Minnesota’s quick start, and two things he said really struck me. The first was that just a few years ago, “there were probably eight or nine teams that had a true chance to win a title,” but now there could be 15 or 16 “that have a true chance to win it.”
Obviously, that addresses the parity we’ve seen in the national tournament in recent years, but the second thing he said that sticks with me still is this: “You don’t win championships early, but you could lose them.”
There are a number of teams here in the early going off to such fast starts, I’m wondering if they’re already positioning themselves to make it nearly impossible to miss the tournament.
I’m also wondering if that’s a dichotomy – that parity in a one-and-done tournament makes the season-ending PWR irrelevant.
Jim: I think that Motzko quote is interesting because I maybe feel differently. I guess the key is how Bob Motzko defines a “few” years ago.
I have felt since around 2010 or so, that we’ve had more teams than ever capable of winning a national title. Ferris State made the 2012 finals, Yale won in 2013, Union in 2014 and Providence in 2015.
Yes, Quinnipiac won two years ago, but the Bobcats had been on the uptick leading in, losing in the finals in 2013 and 2016.
I actually don’t feel as hopeful that, say, we’d have a first-time national champion this season, just looking at the current USCHO.com poll (and granted, not my favorite measuring stick).
As for teams already positioning themselves for an NCAA bid, I think you’re correct. We have a few already. Denver is 10-0-0 out of conference, they’d have to collapse in NCHC play to miss the NCAAs. Boston College is 7-1-0 but has six wins over top 20 teams and five over top 15 teams. Same can be said for Minnesota. With a 9-1-0 record to this point, they’d need to really struggle with B1G opponents.
My podcast co-host Derek Schooley doesn’t like me handing out NCAA bids at this point and says if all the teams I say “will make it,” we’d need a 22-team field. I get it. But we’re seeing a lot ironed out nationally very early this season.
St. Norbert took care of business at home over the weekend, sweeping Dubuque in an NCHA series.
The fifth-ranked Green Knights won the opener 5-2 and capped the series with a 5-0 victory.
In Saturday’s win, St. Norbert went 3-for-5 on the power play after going 4-for-5 in the first game.
Gustav Portillo scored a goal and dished out two assists while Calvin Hanson added a goal and a pair of assists as well.
T.J. Koufis and Braden Lindstrom each tallied a goal and assist while Grant Adams made 14 saves. St. Norbert took 54 shots as it improved to 4-0.
The Green Knights have scored five or more goals in each of their wins, including on Friday when Logan Dombrowsky punched in two goals and dished out three assists. Carter Hottman had a strong performance, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists.
Adrian in New York state of mind
Adrian escaped from two New York with a pair of wins, beating nationally ranked Cortland on Friday and capping the sweep with a win over Oswego.
The No. 2 team in the nation has won two in a row and is 3-1 overall, with three of its last four games coming against a ranked opponent.
In a 5-3 win over then No. 10 Cortland, Adrian trailed 3-1 before scoring four unanswered goals, including two in the third by Bradley Somers.
Ian Amsbaugh played a key role in the victory, tallying two goals and two assists. Riley Murphy rose to the occasion as well, dishing out three assists. Dershawn Stewart racked up 34 saves.
In Saturday’s finale against the Lakers, Adrian jumped in front 2-0 and never looked back. The Bulldogs held a 41-24 advantage in shots and Amsbaugh came through with two assists. Ryan Pioscia scored a goal and added an assist to his stat line.
A MIAC split
Concordia and Augsburg each took a game from each other over the weekend. It won the opener 4-1 but lost 3-2 in the finale to the Auggies.
The Cobbers scored twice in the first and twice in the third to earn the win over Augsburg and open MIAC play on a high note.
Caden Triggs stepped up with two goals and Jackson Lucia tallied his first collegiate assist. Dane Couture made 35 saves as he earned his third straight win.
Augsburg battled back on Saturday to claim a one-goal win thanks to a pair of clutch goals by Landon Parker, who scored once in the final minute of the second and again in the final minute of the third.
His game-winner came with 54.3 seconds to go. Augsburg held a 15-5 advantage in shots in the third and Carsen Stokes made 25 saves.
Augsburg is 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC. Concordia is 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Blue Devils win the weekend
Tyler Masternak recorded his second shutout of the year in UW-Stout’s 5-0 win over Hamline on Saturday. He made 18 saves against the Pipers.
Nicholas Stevens helped provide offensive support for Masternak, scoring two goals, while Kullan Daikawa tallied a goal and two assists. Hayden Stocks scored his second goal of the year in the win.
The Blue Devils opened the weekend with a 3-2 win over Saint Mary’s. Stout led 3-0 before the Cardinals got on the board. Masternak made 12 saves. Nicolas Pigeon handed out a pair of assists as Stout is off to a 3-0 start on the year and has allowed a total of two goals.
Oles get in the win column
St. Olaf found its way into the win column for the first time this season with a 4-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire on the road
The Oles got a huge lift from Matthew Malin, a freshman who was nothing short of impressive as he made 44 saves against a tough Blugolds team. St. Olaf has won three of the last four against Eau Claire.
Jonathan Young and Jonathan Panisa led the way offensively, with Young scoring twice and Panisa tallying a goal and assist.
St. Olaf took on UW-Superior Saturday and the two teams played to a 2-2 tie.The Oles are 1-2-1 on the year.
Pointers stay on a roll
UW-Stevens Point stretched its win streak to three games with a 7-4 win over Saint Mary’s on Saturday. The Pointers, ranked 11th at the time, opened the weekend with a 5-2 win over Bethel.
The seven goals are a season high for the Pointers, who outscored the Cardinals 3-1 in the final period.
Ryan Hintz notched his first career goal in the win while Chris Englebert came through with two goals.
Englebert’s first goal was the first of his career at the college level. Blake Norris also scored the first goal of his career in the victory. Alex Proctor racked up 13 saves.
Peyton Hart finished with a goal and two assists while Dawn Sciarrino came through with a goal and two assists as well. Owen Dean stepped up for the offense as well, coming through with three assists.
Sciarrino led the way in the victory over Bethel, tallying a goal and two assists.
Falcons continue to soar
UW-River Falls stayed unbeaten with a pair of wins.
The Falcons wrapped up the weekend with a 4-1 over Gustavus on Saturday. Jonny Meiers, Connor Brust and Dylan Smith all scored while Brennan Boynton tallied 26 saves.
A balanced attack fueled a 6-3 win over Hamline on Friday. Boynton made 16 saves in his second consecutive start. Reid Lune helped the way with a goal and two assists. Meiers finished with a goal and assist. Owen Belilse dished out three assists.
The Falcons have scored four or more goals in each of their three wins, which have all come against MIAC opponents.
Trine Time
The Thunder remain unbeaten and nationally ranked after storming past Concordia 6-2 and 3-0 in an NCHA series.
Cristian Wong-Ramos recorded the shutout behind a 16-save effort.
Alexander Babic helped lead the charge offensively with a goal and two assists. Drew Welsch finished with a goal and assist.
In Friday’s win, a total of 14 players tallied at least one point. Blake Tierney finished with two assists and Michael DiPietra tallied a goal and assist. Tyler Blanchard added a goal and assist as well. Kyle Kozma started in goal and made 10 saves.
Trine has two shutout wins this season and has scored three more or goals in its last three games.
Spartans still unbeaten
Aurora is now 4-0 after sweeping Lake Forest in an NCHA series.
The Spartans won the opening game 5-2 and needed overtime for a 5-4 victory on Saturday.
Saturday’s game was no doubt a thriller. Lake Forest scored twice to force OT before Lukas Sedlacek tallied the game a little more than minute into the extra period.
Sedlacek, Juliano Santalucia and Jackson Hay all finished with two points apiece. Sedlacek tallied a goal and assist while Braedyn McIntosh made 33 saves.
Five different players scored for Aurora in Friday’s win, with Jakson Kirk, Santalucia and Cayce Schmidt all tallying a goal and assist.
Aurora’s offense has been clicking in the early part of the year, with the Spartans scoring at least five goals in every game they have played.
Philip Quetell led the way for the Foresters, tallying a goal and three assists.
Vikings and Raiders split series
MSOE salvaged a split in its two-game NCHA series against Lawrence, beating the Vikings 2-0 on Saturday.
Eddie Shepler and Cole Beilke each scored a goal while Spencer Northway made 17 saves.
It was the first win of the year for the Raiders, who are now 1-2-1.
Lawrence won the opener 3-1, scoring twice in the third to seal the deal. The Vikings improved to 2-1 with the win.
Miles McCue tallied two goals while Jack Michels added a goal and assist for the Vikings in their conference opener. Nolan Mahaffey made 27 saves.
Denver is off to a 10-0-0 start and remains the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll this week, garnering 48 first-place votes.
Boston College is again No. 2, picking up the other two first-place votes.
Minnesota stays No. 3, Michigan State is again fourth, and Michigan is up two spots to No. 5.
USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll – Nov. 11, 2024
Cornell holds steady at No. 6, Maine falls two to No. 7, Colorado College remains eighth, North Dakota is up one to No. 9, and Providence is up one to sit 10th this week.
Boston University falls out of the top 10, going from ninth to 11th in this week’s rankings.
Two previously unranked teams enter the poll this week, Dartmouth at No. 17 and Harvard at No. 20.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 13 others received votes in the poll this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. Media outlets may republish this poll as long as USCHO.com is credited.
Happy Veteran’s Day! Thanks to all who have served for their collective service and sacrifice for our country.
This weekend saw many of the ranked and expected teams having clean weekends including Hobart, Utica, Adrian with an east sweep against Cortland and Oswego, Skidmore taking a pair from Babson and the University of New England scoring a pair of shutout wins in CNE conference play. Elsewhere some teams earned that all-important first wins with Plymouth State downing Plattsburgh and New England College, Endicott defeating Curry on Friday, and Norwich sweeping Albertus Magnus in NEHC action. Also, Alvernia earned a split with Stevenson in the MAC to remove the Mustangs from the list of the undefeated. Yet, more overtime action in several games raising the excitement level in the region. Here is this week’s recap of the action in the east:
CNE
Pre-season favorites Curry and Endicott played a home-and-home series with both teams capturing wins on the road to split the weekend set. On Friday, the Gulls found a way to score on Curry’s Shane Soderwall as Primo Self scored in the first minute of the second period to break Curry’s seven period shutout streak. The Colonels answered with a pair of power play goals to take a 2-1 lead into the third period. Therien Theising tied the game for the Gulls just past midway of the third period and neither team could find the decisive goal in regulation time. In overtime Domenic Garozzo scored an unassisted goal past Soderwall to give the Gulls their first win of the season and important points in the CNE. On Saturday, the Colonels started quickly with Victor Daigneault and Grady Friedman scoring in the first four minutes of the game. Shane Soderwall stopped 35 of 36 shots and the Colonels cruised to a 4-1 win for a weekend split.
The University of New England kicked their game into high gear with a pair of shutout wins over Western New England. On Friday, the Golden Bears and Nor’easters skated toa scoreless first period but just over a minute into the second period, Anthony Sciucco broke the ice for the visitors with the only goal of the period. UNE extended their lead to 4-0 with a three-goal third period and goaltender Stefan Carney stopped all nineteen shots he faced in a 4-0 win. Back home on Saturday, UNE’s Cam Bergeman scored in the first period and the Nor’easters broke the game open with a four-goal second period on the way to a lopsided 7-0 win over WNEU. Joey Stanizzi picked up his second shutout of the season making nineteen saves to help UNE move to 3-0-0 on the season.
Suffolk and Wentworth opened conference play with a weekend split where each team earned a shutout win. On Friday, Wentworth benefited from 37 saves from goaltender Topher Chirico and an overtime goal from George Kolovos for a thrilling 1-0 road win against the Rams. On Saturday, the Rams returned the favor without the overtime drama as Scott McManus’s shorthanded goal in the second period broke the ice and Ralph Berry’s empty-net goal iced a 2-0 win over the Leopards. Goaltender CJ Hapward earned the shutout win making 22 saves.
MAC
League favorite Stevenson faced Alvernia in two-game series this weekend and the teams skated to a split of the set which was delayed a day due to facility issues. On Saturday, the Mustangs were led by forward Aiden Lindley who figured in all the offense with one goal and two assists in a 3-0 win. Ford DeLoss stopped all 23 shots he faced to pick-up the shutout for Stevenson. On Sunday, Alvernia rebounded with a big offensive game as the Golden Wolves broke open a 3-2 game with four goals in the third period to post a 7-3 win over Stevenson. Easton Inglis led the Alvernia attack with one goal and two assists.
Wilkes opened MAC play seeking their first win of the season against King’s in a weekend series that saw the Colonels sweep the Monarchs on the road. On Friday night, Max Cocchi, and Carter Jordan each scored two goals in a 5-2 win for Wilkes. On Saturday, seven different players scored for the Colonels in a 7-1 romp. Patrick Roginski and Miles Harrington each chipped in with a goal and an assist in the Wilkes victory.
MASCAC
Pre-season favorite Plymouth State got off to a slow start last weekend dropping games to UNE and Babson and faced two more challenging non-conference games this weekend looking for their first “W” of the season. On Friday, a Connor Tait hat trick and three third period goals helped the Panthers to an exciting 5-3 win over visiting Plattsburgh. On Saturday, the offense kept going as Will Redick scored two goals and added an assist with Tait chipping in with two assists in a comfortable 5-1 win over the Pilgrims on the road.
Salem State opened league play with a matchup against MCLA and skated away with a 4-0 win at home. The Vikings broke open a scoreless contest with four third period goals. Carson James recorded a goal, and an assist and goaltender Will Nepveu stopped 39 Trailblazer shots to earn the shutout win.
After falling behind to newcomers Keene State by two goals on Saturday, Massachusetts-Dartmouth scored four unanswered goals in a 4-2 win. Kevin Johnston and Collin Patterson each picked up a goal and assist as the Corsairs scored twice on the power play to pick up their first win of the season.
Anna Maria kept their fast start going with a 5-0 non-conference win over Morrisville. The “Matthews” (Byrne and Hennessey) starred for the AmCats as Bryne finished with a hat trick while Hennessey stopped 24 shots in the shutout win.
NE-10
After back-to-back losses in the Woo Cup tournament, Assumption opened conference play with a re-match of last year’s championship battle against Southern New Hampshire and swept a weekend series to get the NE-10 campaign off on the right foot. On Friday, four different players scored goals for the Greyhounds in a 4-1 win over the Penmen. On Saturday, the Greyhounds jumped out early to a 2-0 lead only to see the Penmen battle back to tie the score early in the third period. Three more Greyhound goals opened the advantage to 5-2 before Kurt Watson scored two times to narrow the deficit to just one goal. Assumption was able to hold on for the 5-4 win and earn the weekend sweep that leveled their record at 2-2-0 on the season.
St. Michael’s opened their conference schedule with a series against Post. On Friday, the Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage on goals from Jacob Howell and Scotty Swain that saw the host leading into the third period. A four-goal third period, including one power play goal and one shorthanded goal helped the Purple Knights to a 4-2 comeback win. On Saturday, the contest was equally close as Ty Bloom’s two goals matched Post tallies from Howell and Baxter Kimball for a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation time. In overtime, defenseman David Ciancio scored with just thirteen seconds remaining on the clock for a 3-2 win and weekend sweep over a pesky Post team led by goaltender Benjamin Cunneen and his 47 saves on 50 shots.
St. Anselm faced Franklin Pierce to begin the NE-10 conference schedule and the Hawks also captured a weekend sweep on the road. On Friday, Hunter Brackett and Max Burum scored in the second period and goaltender Cam Carroll surrendered just one third period goal for a tight 2-1 win. On Saturday, five different players scored for the Hawks who maintained two-goal leads throughout the game in route to a 5-2 win over the Ravens. Chase Reynolds (1G-1A-2P) and Patrick DiMarinis (0G-2A-2P) each recorded a multiple point game for the Hawks.
NEHC
Hobart began the NEHC conference schedule with a two-game series against VSU-Castleton. While the two-game sets are new to the NEHC this year, the battles on the ice were hard-fought. On Friday, Matthew Iasenza scored one goal and added an assist as the Statesmen built a 3-0 lead on the way to a 3-1 win. On Saturday, Tanner Daniels, Chris Duclair, and Adam Mendelson scored to pace the home team to a 3-0 win over the Spartans.
Skidmore hosted Babson for two games over the weekend and took the battle of the green with a pair of wins. On Friday, the Thoroughbreds picked up a goal and an assist from Ethan Heidepriem and held off a Babson team that scored twice on the power play in a 3-2 win. Goaltender Joshua Seeley stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn the win. On Saturday, Zach Frisk scored two goals and added an assist in a 5-2 Thoroughbreds win.
Norwich entered their weekend series with newcomer Albertus Magnus looking for their first win and had a battle with the Falcons on Friday night in earning a 4-3 decision. After building a 3-1 lead, the Cadets saw the visitors rally with a pair of power play goals from William Lavigne and Tyler Ignazzito to tie the score in the third period. Matt Harvey scored the game winner and goaltender Sami Molu stopped 16 shots to earn the win. On Saturday, Clark Kerner scored a goal and added an assist in a 4-1 Cadet win and weekend sweep of the NEHC slate.
Salve Regina opened their conference schedule against Massachusetts-Boston and the series featured a lot of offense with a total of 17 goals in the two-game series. On Saturday, Jonathan Hammel recorded a goal and two assists while Walter Baumann and Sacred Heart transfer, Aidan Connolly each scored a goal and added an assist in a 5-4 win over the Beacons. UMB’s Jazz Krivtsov had two goals and an assist to keep the Beacons close throughout the game. On Sunday, the Seahawks started fast and finished strong in a comfortable 7-1 win. Hammel added two more goals and an assist while Logan Calder added a goal and an assist for Salve Regina who moved to 3-0-0 on the season.
SUNYAC
Fredonia and Potsdam faced each other in a two-game series that does not count in the conference standings and each team took away a win in the games hosted by the Bears. On Friday, Max Klanow and Jack Loran scored late in the third period to help Potsdam rally from a 3-2 deficit to earn a 4-3 win over the Blue Devils. On Saturday, the contest was equally close with Fredonia emerging with a 2-1 win to earn the weekend split. Antoine St. Onge set-up Ryan Bailey’s goal in the first period with under 15 seconds remaining and scored the game-winning goal late in the third period for the Blue Devils. Goaltender Jameson Kaine stopped 29 of 30 shots to earn the win.
Canton hosted MASCAC opponent Framingham State over the weekend and skated away with a pair of wins to level their season record at 2-2-0. On Friday, Nolan Zotter scored twice for the kangaroos in a 4-1 victory over the Rams. Brayden Fryfogle also chipped in with a goal and an assist. In the second game on Saturday, the Rams rallied from a two-goal deficit early in the third period only to see Jordyn Mughal give the Roos a 3-2 lead less than two minutes after Jake Barcelou had tied the score. Zotter iced the win with an empty-net goal in the 4-2 final.
UCHC
Utica entered the weekend after a weekend split against Adrian and found their offense quickly in UCHC play against Nazareth. On Friday, the Pioneers scored in double figures to down the Golden Flyers, 11-4. Vladislav Pshenichnikov (3G-1A) and John Gutt (2G-2A) each recorded four-point games for the Pioneers who scored five times in the second period and four more in the third period to blow open a 2-1 contest. On Saturday, Drake Morse, Chris Carroll, and Matt Wood each scored a goal and added an assist in a 6-1 win for Utica to sweep the weekend series.
Geneseo traveled to Chatham to open UCHC play and left with a pair of victories over the Cougars. On Friday night, the Knights raced to a 3-0 first period lead and cruised to a 5-1 victory. Two goals from Stefan Miklakos paced the Knights attack. On Saturday, the Cougars fell behind 3-1 but rallied on goals from Milan Cermak and Bekk McClaine early in the third period to tie the score at 3-3. Geneseo then scored the final three goals of the game, including an empty-net tally from Luke Panchisin, for a 6-3 win that moves the Knights to 3-0-0 on the season.
Manhattanville opened their season and conference slate with two games against Brockport where the Valiants prevailed 5-4 and 6-3 in the two-game series. On Friday, Ryan McKenna’s goal in the third period had given the Valiants a comfortable 5-2 lead but the Golden Eagles fought back two goals eighteen seconds apart from Dominic Chirico and Jacob Gates to close the deficit to just one goal. Goaltender Sebastien Woods made the advantage stand up for the one-goal win. On Saturday, another seesaw affair saw Johno Hoins score two goals and add a pair of assists, including a shorthanded helper to extend the Valiant lead early in the third period. The 6-3 win swept the weekend for the Valiants in their home opening games.
Three Biscuits
Domenic Garozzo – Endicott – scored the overtime winning goal that gave the Gulls a 3-2 win over Curry to kick-off conference play in the CNE.
Connor Tait – Plymouth State – scored three goals in 5-3 non-conference win over Plattsburgh on Friday night to give the Panthers their first win on the season.
Vladislav Pshenichnikov – Utica – scored a hat trick and added an assist for a four-point game in an 11-4 victory over Nazareth on Friday night.
Week two saw several delays, postponements and facility related issues that did not seem to have an impact on any of the action once the games were played. Week three upcoming will bring NESCAC into the playing mix so all eight conferences will be active in the 2024-25 campaign moving forward.
