USCHO Edge hosts Jim Connelly, Dan Rubin, and Ed Trefzger look at money lines and over/under as well as providing further analysis of five weekend college hockey matchups.
This week’s games:
New Hampshire (+170) @ Maine (-220); over/under 5.5
Boston University (-166) @ Merrimack (+130); o/u 6
Cameron Berg looks to make a play in a recent game for North Dakota (photo: Russell Hons).
North Dakota coach Brad Berry knows the importance of doing due diligence on recruits from the NCAA transfer portal, but junior forward Cameron Berg’s commitment may have been secured easier than most.
A West Fargo native with family elsewhere in North Dakota, including a grandmother living three hours west in the Bottineau area, Berg spent the last two seasons at Omaha and is fresh off a 10-goal, 24-point sophomore campaign with the Mavericks.
So when Berg entered the portal, Berry moved quickly.
“We did some video work and background work, calling previous and youth coaches and stuff to get the character side checked out,” Berry said of Berg, a New York Islanders draft pick who now leads UND in faceoffs won, winning draws at a 63 percent clip.
“We obviously had a recollection of playing against him, but I think it was a situation where last year, we weren’t as deep as we are this year, and he fit a role that we needed as a guy who’s a strong-bodied centerman, a guy that can finish plays and score, a guy that’s very good on the power play and someone who’s just a strong body up the middle of the rink.
“We desperately needed that, and I think he saw that as far being an opportunity,” Berry continued. “The other part is the development side. He sees what we have in and around our facility with coaches and infrastructure, and he saw it as a way of not only winning a championship here, but also to invest in himself to hopefully one day play in the NHL.”
So far, so good for Berg in his time with the second-ranked Fighting Hawks. He has 12 points through 14 games, with three of those points coming last weekend in a home sweep of Bemidji State. Berg scored twice Friday in a 3-2 UND overtime victory, in which the Fighting Hawks were made to crawl out of an early 2-0 hole.
UND only trailed by a goal at the first intermission after Berg fired a shot from high at the right circle in off the iron at 18:05. He then tied the game 5:18 into the third period, on a one-timer that he connected on between the blue line and that same faceoff circle.
“He scored two really nice goals that were out from a distance, but he has such a quick, hard release with accuracy that he picked a couple of corners and caught the goaltender off guard a little bit,” Berry said.
“(Berg) has that in his game, and there are some guys who are playmakers but not quite finishers, and I think he’s both. He makes plays, and he can also finish.”
Berg finished a good weekend for him by assisting on UND’s second goal in a 5-0 win Saturday. He had the second assist on a goal by Jackson Blake, who netted Friday’s overtime winner.
Early in his time back in the Red River Valley, Berg has performed exactly as advertised.
“Everything we saw on video and saw playing against him (indicated that Berg is) a guy who competes extremely hard, and it fits into our culture that way,” Berry said. “We have skilled players, but they’re skilled players who are high competitors and compete hard every day in practice, which leads to games, and he does that, as well.
“From the onset here, the first couple of months, he’s loving it here and he’s getting ingrained and embedded into our team, and the feeling is mutual, both ways.”
Jaden York has been scoring big goals for the Thoroughbreds to help keep them unbeaten through the start of the 2023-24 season (Photo by Bill Jones)
It is hard to believe but December begins this weekend and that means there are now limited opportunities for teams to get their mojo going before the impending semester break. Finishing the first half strong is on every coach’s to-do list and that should mean even more great hockey this weekend. Last week I finished my super-sized Thanksgiving week of picks going 14-6-0 (.700). That brings the season total to 48-23-5 (.664) which is still well below my goal of 70% but trending in the right direction. Lots of interesting conference action on the docket this week that can hopefully keep my recent trajectory moving up with this week’s picks for the East:
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Westfield State v. Fitchburg State
This Owls have seen some recent success and goaltender Kevin Chandler has been a big contributor in goal. The Falcons have found a bit more of their game recently and I suspect this battle shows some prolific special teams results in a win for the home team – FSU, 5-4
Worcester State v. Salem State
The Lancers are coming off a drubbing from Plymouth State and will want to get back to some winning hockey against a Viking squad that can be tough to play against. Third period decides this one with the visitors skating off with a win – Worcester State, 3-2
Friday, December 1, 2023
(14) Salve Regina v. (10) Endicott
The Seahawks will be looking to show the defending champions in the CCC just why they are a serious contender this season. It won’t take much for the Gulls to get motivated against a quality opponent visiting their arena. This game probably needs an overtime session to decide a very close contest with Andrew Kurapov being the difference – Endicott, 4-3
Massachusetts-Boston v. (2) Hobart
The Beacons have had some ups and downs already this season but Hobart will want to make sure that they don’t allow the visitors to hang close for very long. Important NEHC points are on the line and the Statesmen cruise to a win – Hobart, 4-1
Assumption v. St. Michael’s
The two favorites in the NE-10 tangle in what could be a championship preview. The Purple Knights have been off to a very strong start and don’t want to let the Greyhounds build confidence in their rink. Power play is decisive for the home team – St. Michael’s, 5-4
Hamilton v. Trinity
The Continentals are off to a 4-0-0 start and play their first full weekend of conference play starting with the Bantams. Lots of talent on both sides but it is the visitors who score late to steal a big road win – Hamilton, 4-3
Cortland v. (1) Plattsburgh
The Cardinals have proven they can win one-goal games and playoff-style hockey like last weekend’s victory over Norwich in the LayerEight title game. This game will be a one-goal affair as well but with a bit more goal-scoring for the fans – Plattsburgh, 4-3
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Canton v. Albertus Magnus
The Falcons have won three in a row to get on the plus side of .500 and don’t want to go backwards so close to the semester break. It helps to play at home and that is the difference in this one with a late goal for the win – Albertus Magnus, 4-3
Bowdoin v. Colby
Throw out the records in this rivalry and also the home-ice factor as familiarity and bragging rights on campus and amongst the alums feed intensity inside the glass. The Polar Bears are off to a good start and Alex Kozic wins the goaltending battle over Andy Beran in a very entertaining affair – Bowdoin, 3-2
Stevenson v. Nazareth
The Mustangs lost a close game with Adrian but take some very positive momentum back to UCHC play this weekend. Nazareth will be a tough out and an empty-net goal helps the margin in a big road win – Stevenson, 4-2
(13) Skidmore v. Babson
Technically, the Thoroughbreds are still unbeaten despite a shootout loss to Brockport in their Thanksgiving tournament. Babson is coming off a 1-1-1 week against NESCAC and finds it challenging to score against Tate Brandon and company – Skidmore, 1-0
Nichols v. (12) University of New England
The Nor’easters have found their footing after a slow start but should not look past the dangerous Bison who can certainly create a CCC upset. Better depth and balance for the home team creates enough to take the big conference win – UNE, 4-3
Conference wins and points are always important so staying focused and playing your team’s brand of hockey is critical in any matchup. There are no guarantees for just showing up – effort for the full sixty or more is a requirement – “Drop the Puck!”
Bowling Green goalies Cole Moore (34) and Pete Eigner (31) and Brett Pfoh (13) celebrate the Falcons’ win over Northern Michigan on Nov. 24 (photo: Michael Leopardo/BGSU Athletics).
After all the turmoil that has surrounded the Bowling Green hockey program this season, it was hard to know where to begin when interviewing head coach Ty Eigner earlier this week.
Luckily, it was easy: Eigner opened up right away.
“First and foremost, the situation we had with our team in our program early in the year, it’s something that you don’t want to be associated with,” he said, referring to an alleged hazing incident that resulted in Eigner and multiple players being suspended while both the Bowling Green Police Department and the BGSU administration investigated. “We’re all grateful that the process worked out the way it worked out, and we’ve got all our players back and we’re able to get back and start moving forward.”
The whole story is complicated, but to be somewhat brief, it goes something like this, according to the police report: Former BGSU player Austen Swankler accused some teammates of hazing during an optional, off-campus “rookie day.” The players interviewed by authorities denied that the allegations happened as Swankler described, and in turn accused Swankler of refusing to accept accountability after he was caught stealing from the team, which was causing a rift in the locker room.
On Nov. 14, the BGPD released its investigation report and found that no hazing charges were warranted. In the end, there were no legal consequences for anybody, but Swankler has since transferred to Michigan Tech. The Bowling Green players who were suspended have been reinstated, along with Eigner, who returned to the bench in late October after missing the team’s first four games.
Without going into too many details, Eigner said there are lessons to be learned for everybody.
“Our goal in terms of that is to be better and do a better job in those kinds of situations and learn from it. And we will,” he said. “As far as our team goes, we believe our group has a chance to be a good team when it’s all said and done and hopefully we’ll continue to move forward and improve as the year goes on and be that kind of team when it’s all said and done.”
The Falcons, currently 4-10, understandably started the season poorly. After beating Robert Morris in their season opener, they lost six straight games, including sweeps at the hands of Augustana and WMU. They were doing so without a full complement of players–in one game against WMU, a combination of suspensions and injuries meant they had to dress an injured player
“There was a stretch where we were playing games with literally every single available player,” Eigner said. “And then we had the Western Michigan series. We had six guys that were unavailable, and we were dressing a player who physically couldn’t play due to an upper body injury, but we just dressed in case we had to serve a penalty and he could skate across the ice to the penalty box. That’s not ideal, but the guys handled it great.”
Eigner credits assistant coaches Curtis Carr, Stavros Paskaris and Dylan Schoen with making sure the team didn’t get their heads too far below water during the difficult early season.
“There’s nothing in the coaching manual or any coaching history that you have to deal with,” he said. “But it’s on us, and we own it. And our guys have handled it great. Once we got all our players back, our mindset was there’s nothing we can do about what has happened on the ice prior, and we can’t go backwards. We can’t press reset. We can’t rewind. But we can learn from it.”
Eigner said it’s been helpful for the team to look at it this way: Forget about the first 10 games of the season and focus on the rest.
“So that would mean we have 24 games left in the regular season. We took those 24 games where we just said listen, fellas, we’re going to break these 24 games up into three, eight-game segments and we’re going to take them just like that,” he said.
That seems to have paid off. In BG’s past four games, they are 2-2 against Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan and have taken seven of the available 12 points.
One benefit of having so many players missing is that it has forced some younger players to step in and gain experience, which can only help BG in the long run. Take, for instance, freshmen Brody Waters, Gustav Stjernberg and Cole Moore. All three have been getting a ton of minutes.
Waters, a forward, has 11 points and scored three goals in the team’s past four games. Stjernberg, a defenseman, has seen major power play minutes and leads all BG blueliners with four goals and three assists. Moore has seen a lot of time in net after starter Christian Stoeever has been battling injury, he has a 3.14 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage.
“Because of the situation we were in earlier a lot of guys, whether they were freshmen or maybe older guys who have been around a little bit that hadn’t played a bunch, have been put in a situation where they where they played, and that’s pretty good for them,” Eigner said. “Hopefully down the road all this experience that some of these guys are gaining pays off. You look at Cole Moore in the net. Cole’s played well for us as a freshman and we weren’t exactly sure how many games you would play, because we had Christian Stover coming back.
“So that’s just an example of an opportunity presenting itself, and you take advantage of the opportunity, and you do the best you can with it.
“We’ve had a lot of guys who have done that and so ideally, everybody gains that experience and gets some confidence and gets more comfortable. And now when we get our 27 healthy bodies, there’s competition for playing time and then the practices get better and and you see then that translates into a better on ice product.”
The Falcons still have some significant injuries and won’t be 100% healthy until likely after Christmas. Returning all-rookie defenseman Dalton Norris is dealing with a knee injury and should be back in December, while Stoever’s wrist injury might also keep him sidelined for another few weeks still.
The Falcons have three more CCHA series to close out the first half of the season. This weekend, they travel to Michigan Tech, then return home to Ohio to host Ferris State before ending 2023 at Bemidji State.
“This has been one of the positive things about this group. They genuinely enjoy coming to the rink and spending time around each other, which as a coach really energizes you and makes you want to come to the rink and do your job to the best of your ability,” Eigner said. “And so I think we’ve got two road series, at Tech and then at Bemidji in a couple of weeks, and then we’re home next weekend. So our guys are focused, just like in school, and we’re getting toward the end of the semester.
“The focus is to finish this first semester in the classroom and on the ice. We’re going to spring through the finish line, and we don’t want to, we don’t want to limp through it.”
UW-River Falls vs Northland 11/11/23. (Photo via Carly Lynch)
This past weekend out west it was very quiet in the D-III Women’s hockey space. Only a few games due to the Thanksgiving break, so in that case, we’ll look ahead to what’s to come now that the break has concluded and we have a few more weekends before the semester break occurs. So, here’s your west outlook for this upcoming week/weekend!
Games to keep an eye on
#8 Adrian at #3 UW-River Falls – 11/30/23 (today) – 7pm CST
These two teams meet for the first time (records via school websites) since 12/1/2019. UW-River Falls leads the all-time series with a record of 10-5-1, so it’s not too common that these teams face each other, but it’s good to see them back playing as it’s a fun matchup on paper and in terms of them both being top-ranked teams.
River Falls enters with an undefeated record of 8-0-0, whilst Adrian holds a record of 7-1-0, their only loss coming at the hands of #9 Utica in the Utica University Kickoff Tournament in overtime 2-1.
UWRF is loaded on offense, they’ve got four skaters with 14+ points through eight games played. Arguably the best in D3, Maddie McCollins (8G & 11A), Megan Goodreau (7G & 11A), MaKenna Aure (6G & 9A), & Alex Hantge (7G & 7A), not to mention their senior goaltender Jordan O’Connor (.956 save %) who’s been holding it down in net.
For Adrian, they’ve had a more balanced approach in points, less points as a team relative to UWRF. Their leaders have been Une Bjelland (5G & 5A), Maya Roy (2G & 7A), & Jocelin Hudanish (4G & 3A), their goaltending has been evenly split, so it’ll be interesting to see who gets the start in this one as River Falls is the best team they’ve faced thus far and the best team they face all season until the potential NCAA tournament. It’ll be between the sophomore Annie Gilbert & the grad. senior Michaela O’Brien, a transfer from Endicott College.
Adrian defeats Marian 5-1 on 11/4/23. (Photo via Mike Dickie – Adrian Athletics)
Both top defenses, UWRF being the top offense in women’s D3, it’ll be interesting to see how they fare. One stat I believe should be looked out for is penalty minutes. Adrian hasn’t exactly played clean games; they’re averaging just over 11 minutes per game (39-for-89). Meanwhile, UWRF only averages 6 minutes per game (24-48). To go along with Adrian’s heavy penalty minutes, River Falls enters with the 8th ranked powerplay, rolling at 32%, so Adrian’s best shot in this one is to stay out of the penalty box or UWRF may run away with this one.
This one’s worth a watch, tune in tonight at 7pm CST!
MIAC
#1 Gustavus vs Saint Mary’s – 12/1/23 / 12/2/23 – 7pm CST & 2pm CST
These games in my opinion are the most intriguing of the weekend. This series I could easily see being split between these two, Saint Mary’s is a team many are sleeping on and not realizing their potential.
Gustavus defeats Bethel 4-0 on 11/17/23. (Photo via Jordan Modjeski – Gustavus Athletics)
Gustavus enters at 5-0-0 with their best win being vs Augsburg, they’ve only allowed one goal this season, which came vs Augsburg. Saint Mary’s enters at 7-2-0, their best wins have been #7 UW-Eau Claire, two wins vs Augsburg, & one of their losses was slim vs #4 UW-River Falls.
Gustavus currently has the 2nd-ranked offense (4.6 GPG), 2nd ranked defense (0.20 GAPG) & 4th ranked powerplay (33%). Keep in mind they haven’t played the strongest schedule and their sample size isn’t as big as most, but still, impressive numbers.
Saint Mary’s currently has the 13th ranked offense (3.67 GPG), 23rd ranked defense (1,44 GAPG), & 43rd ranked powerplay (12.5%). SMU will need to capitalize on the powerplay if they want a good shot in this game, Gustavus has star goaltender Katie McCoy between the pipes so they’ll need to strike at every opportunity they get if they want to come out on top.
Saint Mary’s vs Augsburg 11/17/23 (Photo by Chris Ebert – SMU Athletics)
Even if Saint Mary’s doesn’t come out on top in either game, if they keep it close, it’ll show how close they are to taking that next step as a program. This shows how far they’ve come in just a year, as last year we’d be thinking Gustavus would win by at least 5+, but now, I think it comes down to the last period.
Other MIAC Games (All dates/times via USCHO):
Friday:
St. Olaf @ Augsburg – 7pm CST
St. Scholastica @ St. Catherine – 7pm CST
Hamline @ Concordia (Minn.) – 7pm CST
Saint Benedict @ Bethel – 7pm CST
Saturday:
Augsburg @ St. Olaf – 3pm CST
Hamline @ Concordia (Minn.) – 2pm CST
Bethel @ Saint Benedict – 5pm CST
St. Catherine @ St. Scholastica – 6pm CST
NCHA
Besides the huge game between Adrian & UW-River Falls, there’s a few games occurring:
Friday:
#8 Adrian @ Concordia (Wis.) – 7pm CST
Trine @ Marian 7pm CST
Dubuque @ Aurora 7pm CST
Lake Forest @ Lawrence – 8pm CST
University of Dubuque vs Marian on 11/11/23 (Photo by University of Dubuque Athletics)
Saturday:
#8 Adrian @ Concordia (Wis.) – 3pm CST
Trine @ Marian – 4pm CST
Dubuque @ Aurora – 3pm CST
Lawrence @ Lake Forest – 5pm CST
It’ll be intriguing to see how the Univ. of Dubuque fares vs Aurora. Aurora coming off two losses to Adrian and a late comeback win vs Concordia (Wis.), will be looking to get back on track, while Dubuque is looking to get the biggest wins in the early program history.
WIAC
UW-Stevens Point Women’s Hockey (Photo by Vincent Villareal)
The lone WIAC conference game of the weekend is UW-Stevens Point @ Northland (12/2/23 – 2pm CST). The Pointers are coming off their biggest program win as of late; it was on the road vs #15 St. Norbert. Northland, a program with a 1st year head coach, is trying to get a win or two under their belts and get some momentum which is true for both teams.
The rest of the WIAC returns to action midweek/next weekend, stay tuned.
Collin Graf has posted 16 points in nine games this season for Quinnipiac (photo: Rob Rasmussen/P8Photos.com).
It was almost unfair how the start of the college hockey season saddled this year’s Quinnipiac team with the expectations and overarching shadow cast from last season.
In a way, it was ironic because it built requisite pomp around a situation that this iteration never experienced.
For the first time in program history, the Bobcats raised a national championship banner to the M&T Bank Arena rafters right before a team with a dozen new players took the ice for the first time this season. On the other side of the rink stood Boston College, the preseason No. 5 team in the nation that had no problem breaking cleanly from missing the national tournament last season, and with a night built around a memory, Quinnipiac lost in overtime after a first-year player tied the game in the third period.
For many in college hockey, the loss kicked off a so-called national championship hangover, but an overtime game against AIC and losses against New Hampshire and Maine were all part of a process that never truly tested head coach Rand Pecknold’s patience. He and his coaching staff started the season understanding how this team looked different from last year, and after smoking past Cornell and Colgate, not even a third-period comeback by Boston University looks to derail the team that hasn’t lost a regular season ECAC game since consecutive losses last January.
“We’re doing well,” Pecknold said of the team’s overall turnaround. “We basically lost half of our team [from last year], but I love the transfers that we brought in, and our freshman class is really good, so we’re excited about that. But it’s still a work in progress, and we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of an all-in buy-in of our culture, that this is how we play, and this is what we need to do to win.”
Winning games has never been the problem at Quinnipiac, but this year’s team stumbled out of the gate after the BC loss. It twice trailed AIC before rallying for an overtime winner on the road, and the 5-4 loss to UNH included a seven-goal first period that produced a one-goal lead for the Bobcats before the Wildcats tied and won the game with an overtime goal. The next weekend against Maine, a second period goal by Christophe Fillion sent the first game to overtime before Brandon Chabrier’s three-on-three goal with just over one minute remaining in the extra session.
Getting nipped in those games felt decidedly un-Quinnipiac-like for a team that infamously won its national title in the first 15 seconds of overtime against Minnesota, but the results forged the roster together prior to the three-straight weekends of ECAC play in November. A 2-2 tie against Dartmouth ended with the Big Green earning a second point in the shootout, but the Harvard game the next night found the mojo in a 6-0 victory that enabled the team to rear its head over the following sweeps of the Brown-Yale and Cornell-Colgate weekends.
“We’re really resilient,” Pecknold said. “I liked our confidence in both games [over the Cornell-Colgate weekend], especially in that Cornell game. We let them back in, but when it was 5-4, there was just no panic at all, and I liked that a lot. But we need to continue to work and get better at defending and become a better defensive team, and probably possess the puck better. I think that’s the thing we’ve done really well over the last few years [because] when you have the puck, you don’t have to defend, and we just haven’t had the puck enough.”
Quinnipiac’s success on the back end makes it easy to forget how good the Bobcats played over the years, but they still maintain the seventh-best scoring defense in the nation despite being winless in the four games where they haven’t scored three goals. The penalty kill is third-best in the nation at .920 – one of four teams killing at a 90 percent rate or higher and one of three that’s higher than both .905, .910, and .915 – and goaltender Vinny Duplessis is 14th in the nation with a 2.15 goals-against average.
That 15-goal outburst against Cornell and Colgate also came after 10 goals scored against Brown and Yale and the aforementioned six-spot against the Crimson. Combined with the performances from earlier in the year, Quinnipiac left even the 3-2 loss last week to fifth-ranked Boston University averaging just under 4.5 goals per game, a number that’s second only to Denver’s 5.5 goals per game, with an absurd 9-1 record when scoring three or more goals against opponents.
It’s incredibly unfair to measure any current team against an older team’s great numbers, but this year’s Quinnipiac roster is starting to grow into the hard truth of its changeover. Mason Marcellus, the goal scorer on opening night, had a three-game, four-goal streak snapped against BU but registered an assist to keep a revelating first season going with 14 points, and he’s tied for the team lead in goals with Jacob Quillan, a third-year player who was fourth on last year’s teams with 38 points.
Both Collin Graf, a returning First Team All-American, and Travis Treloar, a transfer from Ohio State, missed time with an injury – Treloar is still out of the lineup – but both registered five goals for the explosive offense. Even in their absence, six different players have at least that number, including the aforementioned team leaders.
“The interesting thing for me is that you’re going to have issues with new players [playing together] because you have to acclimate them [to each other],” Pecknold said. “It’s a wake-up call for freshmen when they get to college hockey because the way we play isn’t junior hockey, and the transfers are coming from all different things that they’ve done at their last place. So you have to create new habits.
“The interesting thing to me is our returners,” he said, “because I don’t know if it’s a hangover from a national championship or what, but our returners have struggled with their buy-in a little bit. They’re great kids and have great work ethic, and I think we’ll get there. We’re getting closer. That was a huge struggle in the month of October, and I get it because when you make a Frozen Four, you think it’s going to be easy, but it’s not.”
Playing as the “defending national champion” is wonderful pressure for any program, and facing opponents’ best on a nightly basis is something this year’s Quinnipiac team is embracing. Pecknold, his coaches, the players – they all know their uniform and the tradition holds something every team is playing to win, and despite all of the changes, the Bobcats are right back where they’d expect: No. 2 in the Pairwise rankings, undefeated in ECAC play, No. 5 in the latest national poll.
“Every game is a grind,” Pecknold said. “This has been three, four, five years, maybe more or longer running, but I can’t tell you how many times goalies have their best game against us. They play really well because they’re all fired up, so I think we have to get better with that and embrace the grind. It will come, and we’re on the path, and even this BU loss was probably, in the long run, something that will get better.”
North Dakota head coach Brad Berry joins hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger to talk about this year’s Fighting Hawks, building a culture with a lot of rookies and transfers, the current state of the game, the NCHC, and more.
Logan Terness made 15 saves in Ohio State’s 4-3 win over Princeton last Saturday (photo: Ohio State Athletics).
What a good weekend it was for Big Ten hockey – and what an interesting season this is already proving to be.
B1G teams went 6-2-1 in nonconference play last week, bringing the league’s overall nonconference record to 36-14-4 on the season for the best win percentage (.704) among all conferences in nonleague play.
Especially welcome were the sweeps by Ohio State and Penn State, and the number of goals each team pocketed. In two games against Princeton, the Buckeyes scored 10 goals to the Tigers’ six and Ohio State halted a four-game losing streak.
“It was a good weekend getting back to our winning ways,” said OSU coach Steve Rohlik. “It’s always hard to win at this level.”
Cam Thiesing and Scooter Brickey each had five points in the series, and Brickey is very quietly having his best collegiate season. A fifth-year player in his second season with the Buckeyes, Brickey’s five goals in 11 games are two more than he scored in 40 with Ohio State last season and two more than he had in 59 games in his three seasons at Western Michigan prior to that.
For the Nittany Lions, the wins were even more lopsided. Penn State beat Lindenwood 9-3 and 7-1, extending the Nittany Lions’ win streak to three games.
The sixteen total goals are two fewer for a single series than PSU’s all-time high of 18. Rookie Aidan Fink had a goal and two assists in each of the games against Lindenwood. Fink leads all Nittany Lions in scoring (9-12—21) and is riding a five-game goal streak into Penn State’s series against Minnesota this weekend.
Rounding out the nonconference play was Wisconsin’s split with visiting Alaska Anchorage and Michigan’s win and tie on the road against St. Cloud, plus Notre Dame’s single loss at home to Boston College.
Most of this is positive. Some big wins, the best nonconference record in D-I hockey, some players having nice seasons.
Little of this does anything to help the Big Ten’s collective NCAA playoff chances a little over four months from now.
Only two B1G teams are among the top 10 teams in the PairWise Rankings. Michigan State is No. 9, Wisconsin is No. 10, Minnesota is No. 12. Then Penn State (15), Michigan (16) and Notre Dame (18) are bubble teams with the Irish out at the moment.
Yes, it’s the end of November. Yes, this matters.
Between now and the midseason holiday break, there is nothing but conference play for Big Ten teams. Nonconference games in the second half feature no team currently ranked higher in the PWR than Ohio State, the lowest-ranked B1G team at No. 24.
Given all of that, there is little room for PWR movement for Big Ten teams between now and March. That likely means low seeds for B1G teams in the NCAA tournament and could result in as few as just two B1G teams playing their way into the NCAA tourney, depending on how teams near them in the PWR fare throughout the season.
Thank goodness, then, that there’s Big Ten hockey to be enjoyed for its own sake.
The single Big Ten series between Michigan State and Minnesota Thanksgiving weekend revealed a bit about each team and proved highly entertaining. The Spartans tied the Golden Gophers 3-3 Friday and gained the extra point in the shootout. Minnesota took the Sunday game in overtime 6-5.
The five points that the Gophers earned moved them from sixth to fourth place in the conference standings, although Minnesota remains nine points behind the first-place Spartans.
In the OT win, the Gophers were two ahead of the Spartans with 10 minutes remaining in the third. Nash Nienhuis – another B1G player having a career season with six goals in 16 games, one shy of his total goals scored in 96 previous games in three season – pulled the Spartans to within one at 15:14 in the third and Joey Larson’s eighth goal of the season tied the game for Michigan State in the final minute of regulation.
It was freshman Jimmy Clark’s fourth overall goal and his first game-winner at 3:58 that lifted the Gophers past the Spartans. It was a game in which the Gophers themselves at one point had to come from behind and in which they were uncharacteristically outshot by their opponent. Shots were 46-41 in Michigan State’s favor at the end.
“That’s kind of a microcosm of our season,” said Gophers coach Bob Motzko after the win. “It was the good, the bad and the ugly at times.”
It was also a game in which the Spartans took seven penalties and allowed three power-play goals. “Five-on-five, I really liked us,” said Adam Nightingale. “Obviously, special teams didn’t go our way tonight and we need to work on it.”
The loss snapped Michigan State’s seven-game (5-0-2) unbeaten streak, with every point in that stretch earned against B1G opponents. The Spartans don’t return to play until Dec. 8, which means that everyone in the league will be looking to gain ground on Michigan State this weekend.
Wisconsin and Notre Dame are tied for second with 12 points each and each has two games in hand on Michigan State. Three points separate unranked Notre Dame from No. 13 Michigan as the Irish travel to Yost to take on the Wolverines. No. 6 Wisconsin hosts unranked Ohio State. The Buckeyes have no wins yet in six B1G contests.
“The difference between winning and losing as you see in college hockey is minute,” said Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings. “Little things make a difference.”
Hastings called said the Buckeyes have “an aggressive-style mentality” and that Rohlik “does a really good job of getting them to try and force you into mistakes.”
After starting hot and spending a week at No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, the Badgers floundered a bit and ended a three-game losing streak with their 5-0 over Anchorage Saturday.
“For us, we’re still focusing a little bit on what we’re trying to get done,” said Hastings. “One, for us to be a little bit more aggressive at possessing some pucks and holding on to them and trying to spend a little bit more end-zone time with the puck.”
Hastings knows that the last-place Buckeyes will be “hungry” in the series.
“From top to bottom, there isn’t a soft weekend when you play in league play,” said Hastings.
No. 7 Minnesota travels to No. 19 Penn State to fill in the Big Ten schedule this weekend. In fourth place, the Golden Gophers are two points ahead of the Nittany Lions.
Graduate student and captain Logan vande Meerakker leads Alvernia on and off the ice as the Golden Wolves pursue the top of the UCHC standings (Photo by Haleigh Lackner)
While no one should be surprised that Utica again sits atop the current UCHC standings after eight games, the second-place team, just one point in arrears is a new challenger in Alvernia University. The Golden Wolves in just their second season are off to a great start going 5-1-0 in UCHC play and 6-1-1 overall heading into a weekend off over the Thanksgiving holiday. Alvernia already has captured a pair of weekend sweeps over conference foes Neumann and Nazareth while gaining a split of two-games with perennial contender, Stevenson. While the calendar hasn’t quite turned to December yet, there is optimism with the coaching staff for continuing their strong play when they return to the ice in a two- game series against Manhattanville next weekend.
“We are really looking at this as our “Year 1,” said head coach Andrew Burke. “Last year was “Year Zero” with 35 people coming together for the first time and learning how we do things as a program. Everything from the players and systems, coaches and road trips, working with the strength and conditioning coach; it all was a year of learning and adjustment for everyone. This year, the commitment in the off-season by our leaders like Logan (vande Meerakker) and Isaac (Chapman) have built the culture and accountability from within the room. Logan had a great summer and his physical fitness set the tone for every player as we worked through pre-season lifts and runs and eventually on to the ice. It isn’t a surprise he is leading us statistically early in the season but to se the other guys step up and accept the challenge to be better and compete – that has been great for the culture. They collectively have earned what they have done on the ice so far because they put in the work.”
In just the first eight games this season, vande Meerakker has five goals, eight assists and is a plus 13 while Chapman, a transfer from Norwich, has six goals and four assists and sits at a plus 12. Other players including defensemen Matthew Davies (5-4-9 +6) and Jordan Gagnon (0-4-4 +8) have also been key adopters and leaders in coach Burke’s culture at Alvernia and coming out of the Thanksgiving break, the Golden Wolves have an opportunity to reach some lofty win-loss goals before the end of the semester.
“While the team would say we are focused on practice today,” noted Burke. “Our Friday night against Manhattanville is the only thing we are focused on in preparation this week. We didn’t play at all this week and had some optional skates over the Thanksgiving break so the guys should be rested and ready to go. That said, Manhattanville played on Tuesday last week and had the weekend off so we should be in the same condition going into the weekend and I know our guys are really focused on continuing to improve and playing a complete game against a quality opponent. When you look at our 6-1-1 record, we know we are going to get any opponent’s A-game. That will definitely be the case this weekend against M-ville.”
Another area of strength for the Golden Wolves has been their trio of goaltenders. Senior Ian Graiff, a transfer from Western New England has set the course for a pair of talented freshmen in Jackson Fellner and Jacob Stern. All three are immensely supportive of each other and push each other to be successful while posting some robust numbers for Alvernia early this season. Graiff was solid in his only game played so far this season while Fellner (3-0-0 1.67 GAA; .956 SP) and Stern (3-1-0 2.75 GAA; .911 SP) have developed quickly as key contributors to Alvernia’s early success.
“We have a great situation with out goaltending trio this year,” stated Burke. “We didn’t have this last year and how they support each other even more when they aren’t playing in the game is great to see and sends a great message to the team on the work ethic and discipline they all share. We know that in any game or any five-minute increment there will be gaps or mistakes and those saves that we have been getting from all three netminders so far are a big part of why we are 6-1-1 so far. We can be a better team and will continue to focus on being better playing a 200-foot game so that our goaltenders don’t have to make several of those game-saving stops.”
The final two weekends find Alvernia playing host to Manhattanville and a resurgent Wilkes team before the semester break. A 10-win first half is possible for the Golden Wolves but their coach doesn’t want them to get to far in front of themselves.
“A 10-1-1 start is pretty rarified air for any D-III team at the break,” stated Burke. “We have four challenging games right in front of us and luckily, they are all on home ice. We can only worry about Friday and Manhattanville as we start this week back on the ice. We will stay focused on practice today and be ready for Friday when it gets here.”
Episode 4: A dominating week for the WCHA and more on officiating
Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski look back on results from Thanksgiving weekend, where Ohio State, Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth got impressive performances. Plus, hear part two of Nicole’s conversation with Krissy Langley, the NCAA national coordinator of women’s ice hockey officiating. And the episode finishes with a look ahead to the first games of December.
Make sure you like and subscribe to The PodKaz on your favorite streaming network to get access to new episodes as soon as they post.
Hunter Sansbury has been a stalwart on the back end this season for Sacred Heart (photo: Josh Gee).
“I’m fine. My wife tells me that I’m hard-headed,” reads a text from Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo.
The Pioneers’ coach caught a puck to the forehead last Friday in a 4-2 win at Robert Morris. I was watching the game and later texted him to see how he was doing.
Marottolo was in good spirits as he relayed the incident when I spoke to him on Tuesday.
“Guys were battling for the puck near our bench,” he said. “I was standing where the players sit, and the puck came flying out. It was fast, and I’m not as quick as I used to be.”
Six stitches by the Robert Morris trainer after the game did the trick, and SHU came back with a 3-1 victory on Saturday to sweep the weekend and get six big points in the Atlantic Hockey standings.
After an 0-3-0 start, Marottolo’s team is 7-2-0 over the next nine games, with both losses by a single goal.
“The structure has gotten better,” said Marottolo. “We lost the first three, then we’re looking at getting swept by RIT (after a 4-2 loss on Oct. 20). That was a hard place to be. But we won (5-2) the second night, and that was a big turning point for us.”
Since then, the Pioneers have captured 19 of a maximum 21 league points and are alone in first place in Atlantic Hockey, leading second-place Rochester Institute of Technology by five points.
Marottolo’s team, which has five freshmen and eight transfers, has come together quickly.
“We’ve had a lot of new faces, transfers and freshmen,” he said. “It can take some time to teach the system and how we want to play.”
While the octet of transfers brings the experience of over 450 career games to SHU, sometimes it takes a while for new players to adjust. Marottolo says this group learns fast.
“We’re at the point now where there’s some familiarity and understanding of how we want to play, zone-to-zone,” he said. “That’s allowed us to play faster, more in blocks of five.”
Marottolo gives returning fifth-year players Braeden Tuck and Kevin Lombardi credit for pulling the team together quickly.
“We have some great leadership,” he said. “They’re a big part of what we’re trying to build. We’re very happy that (Tuck and Lombardi) decided to come back.
“Guys have found their roles. Each line has an identity in how they want to play, and that’s helped.”
Six of the Pioneers’ top eight scorers are seniors or grad students, led by Rensselaer transfer T.J. Walsh (seven goals, eight assists).
Rookie forward Jake Bongo has a pair of goals so far, including the game-winner on Saturday, a breakaway tally midway through the third period.
“We’re getting support up and down the lineup with guys scoring timely goals,” said Marottolo.
The Pioneers are also getting support in net from sophomore Chase Clark, who has played every minute so far, recording a 7-5 record with a 2.35 GAA and a .939 save percentage.
Clark transferred in from national champions Quinnipiac, where he saw limited action behind All-American Yaniv Perets.
“He’s been great for us,” said Marottolo. “It’s an adjustment to play every night, both Friday and Saturday. But he’s grown into that role.”
The Pioneers travel to American International this weekend. The Yellow Jackets are currently in sixth place but have the second-best winning percentage in the conference, behind Sacred Heart.
“They’ve been the standard in this league for a while,” said Marottolo. “Their goaltending has been very good. They manage the puck well.
“It will be a great test. It’s our last (conference) games before the break so we’ll be sitting on this for a while.”
Providence’s Graham Gamache scored his first-career goal Nov. 18 against UMass (photo: Providence Athletics).
To anyone who might look at Providence’s schedule and see three straight losses as a cause for concern, coach Nate Leaman would like to point out an important fact.
“We only trailed six minutes of those three games,” Leaman said after the Friars earned a split of a weekend series at Arizona State with a thrilling 2-1 win on Sunday at Mullett Arena. “We’ve been playing some good hockey, (final scores) just haven’t been going our way.”
With a 9-4-2 record that includes four wins vs. teams currently ranked in the USCHO.com men’s Division I poll — at Michigan (B1G, 4-2 in the season opener Oct. 7), home vs. Denver (NCHC, 4-3 on Oct. 20), home vs. New Hampshire (2-0 on Nov. 4) and the aforementioned win vs. the Sun Devils — no one can besmirch the Friars’ performance so far this season. As Leaman noted, the Friars led or were tied for the vast majority of three straight losses (a weekend home-and-home sweep vs. Massachusetts and Friday night’s game at Arizona State), all three decided by a single goal.
Scoring has been a community effort for the Friars this season, with four players tied for the team lead in goals with five apiece. Junior forward Riley Duran notched his fifth of the season to put Providence on top 2-1 late in the second period at Arizona State on Sunday, a lead the Friars held on to thanks in large part to a 19-save effort from goalie Philip Svedebäck.
Also with five goals this season for Providence are sophomore forward Jaroslav Chmelar, senior forward Chase Yoder and freshman forward Hudson Malinoski, with Chmelar standing out as the team’s top overall scorer with nine assists (14 total points). Svedebäck has started every game in the Friars’ net, sporting a 1.94 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
“We’re a depth team,” Leaman said. “That’s just what we are. I don’t mean that to slight our guys. We got a lot of guys that can make a lot of plays. But I think we’re deep like that, and we’re big and we’re heavy like that. When we get to our game, we can be a real heavy team.”
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country has only helped Providence. The Friars peaked at No. 5 in the USCHO poll before the three-game losing streak, and have since settled in at No. 9.
“We got better because we made this trip (to Arizona State),” Leaman said. “We got better because we went to Michigan. We’re not playing fluff teams, and I like that about us. We’re going out and we’re testing ourselves. And I think we got a lot better this weekend.”
Only a bye this weekend will give Providence a respite from its daunting schedule — the Friars face a major test when they travel to current No. 1 Boston College on Dec. 9. The BC clash is one of only two games Providence will play in December, a visit to cross-town rival Brown (ECAC Hockey) on Dec. 30 will close out 2023 for the Friars.
The Friars won’t return to their home rink of Schneider Arena until Jan. 13, the second game of a home-and-home weekend series vs. BC.
Leaman said the time away from Schneider can only be beneficial for his players.
“I think it’s going to bring our team together,” Leaman said after the Friars’ 3-2 home loss to UMass on Nov. 16. “I like the team. They’ve shown good toughness.”
Atlantic Hockey announced Tuesday a one-game suspension for RIT forward Christian Catalano, effective for the Tigers’ next NCAA Division I game.
The suspension is a result of Catalano’s major penalty and game misconduct for direct contact to the head, which occurred at the 4:20 mark of the first period in RIT’s home game on Nov. 25 against New Hampshire.
Upon review, the infraction was deemed to warrant a suspension.
RIT’s next scheduled Division I game is Dec. 1 at home against Robert Morris. Catalano is eligible to return for the Tigers’ home game on Dec. 2 against Robert Morris.
#4 Plattsburgh defeats #5 Middlebury 3-1 to win the Panther/Cardinal Classic, hosted this year by Middlebury. (Photo via Will Costello)
We had a great weekend of Women’s D-III hockey out East, including arguably the best tournament each year, the Panther/Cardinal Classic! To go along with that, one team headed out West for a non-conference matchup, and we also had the annual Codfish Bowl! Lots to cover from this past weekend on the eastern front and we’re almost to the semester break, hard to believe, but we’re almost there, time flies!
Panther/Cardinal Classic *Hosted by Middlebury*
It’s always a fun tournament every year it’s played, whether it’s in Plattsburgh, NY or Middlebury, VT, we’re always in for a fun time. This year featured #4 Plattsburgh, #5 Middlebury, #9 UW-Eau Claire, & #15 Endicott. The opening round matchups were Middlebury vs Endicott & Plattsburgh vs UW-Eau Claire.
#5 Middlebury vs #15 Endicott 11/25/23 3pm EST
As most games with a NESCAC team go, we had a low scoring, defensive affair. Middlebury took this 1-0 to advance, with the lone goal coming late in the 1st period from Britt Nawrocki at the 16:02 mark. This would hold up as the game-winner. Sending Middlebury to the title game.
Overall, there wasn’t much to say about this game, penalties were one per team, the Panthers led in shots 23-16, Sophia Will got the shutout victory for Middlebury.
#4 Plattsburgh vs #9 UW-Eau Claire 11/25/23 6pm EST
The score of this game doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story here, it’s a lopsided win, Plattsburgh running over Eau Claire 6-1, but the Blugolds surprisingly outshot the Cardinals 24-20. Penalties were four minors for UWEC & three minors for Plattsburgh, no powerplay goals.
Things started off quite quickly for Plattsburgh, scoring a pair of goals in the first two minutes, 44 seconds apart, by the same player funny enough. Zsofia Pazmandi buried two quick ones at 1:14 & 1:58 to put her Cardinals up an early 2-0 lead. Lilli Bills added the third Cardinal goal in the 2nd period at 3:27 to put them up 3-0. The Blugolds lone goal came at 7:31 of the 2nd period by Maddie Hulter at 7:31. Aizah Thompson would score a pair for Plattsburgh, one in the 2nd period (9:31) and the other in the 3rd (18:06), Riley Calhoun tossed a cherry on the win with a goal at 19:14.2 to give Plattsburgh a dominant 6-1 victory.
UW-Eau Claire vs Endicott 11/26/23 2pm EST *Consolation Game*
Gulls’ vs Blugolds, don’t see that too often, sounds cool though. In this one, Eau Claire wouldn’t fly back west winless, they defeated Endicott 3-2 to finish the weekend (1-1). This was a close game, the Blugolds winning the shot battle 24-16 and this was a clean game on the stat sheet, with zero penalties being committed by either team.
UWEC got on the board first, midway through the opening period, Sophie Rausch, the point leader in D-III Women’s hockey (14G & 6A = 20 pts) through her ten games played, scored at 10:29, which would be answered by the Gulls’ Mackenzie Graham at 17:33. Another pair of goals were scored in the middle frame, Sydney Johnson a quick 55 seconds into the period (00:55) for Eau Claire, and then Payton Hansen tied it back up at 7:30 for the Gulls.
The winner was scored by Quinn Hartmetz at the 11:05 mark, just over halfway through the final period. Eau Claire’s Josie Mathison, who didn’t play in game one vs Plattsburgh, was credited with the 14-save victory.
Plattsburgh vs Middlebury 11/26/23 6pm EST *Championship Game*
Two familiar faces meet again, UW-River Falls spoiled the reunion last season, beating both teams in their own tournament, but the Panthers & Cardinals returned to the championship game.
Middlebury scores vs Plattsburgh in the Panther/Cardinal Classic championship game. (Photo via Steve James)
It must be a while since Plattsburgh was outshot two games in a row, but Middlebury dominated on the stat sheet, winning the shot total 38-17. Unlike the consolation game, this game was loaded with penalties, Plattsburgh committing 6 for 12 minutes & Middlebury 3 for 6.
Cardinals’ goaltender Lilla Nease was the story in this one, stopping 37 of 38 shots to get the victory over the #5 Panthers.
This game had zero goals through two periods… then it all started. Finally, after 47 minutes, Plattsburgh’s Julia Masotta scored at 12:44 to put her team up 1-0, while her teammate Emily Kasprzak doubled the lead at the 15:38 mark. Kate Flynn scored the lone Panther goal late at 18:02, to which Plattsburgh’s Zsofia Pazmandi continued her great weekend, scoring in the last second of the game shorthanded to give the Cardinals the 3-1 championship victory.
Codfish Bowl (16th Annual for Women’s Hockey)
This year’s Codfish Bowl featured the normal UMass-Boston, along with #2 Amherst, Suffolk, & Bowdoin. Opening round games were Amherst vs UMass-Boston & Suffolk vs Bowdoin.
#2 Amherst defeats UMass-Boston 1-0 in the opening round of the Codfish Bowl *Hosted by UMass-Boston*. (Photo via UMass-Boston Athletics)
The longest-running tournament on the men’s side, this year in their 58th year, now in its 16th on the women’s side, continues to be a fun tradition, whilst also carrying a great name.
The opening round games resulted with #2 Amherst defeated the host UMass-Boston a slim 1-0, Natalie Stott picking up yet another shutout victory, as per usual. While Bowdoin defeated Suffolk 2-1 to help the pair of NESCAC’s go 2-0 vs the NEHC in these games. Despite the loss, Suffolk’s Lily O’Neil made 30 saves in the loss.
#2 Amherst vs Bowdoin 11/26/23 4pm EST *Championship Game*
We had a battle between the ice ages, the Mammoths, now extinct, but still playing hockey, against the currently endangered Polar Bears.
Amherst came in undefeated, seeing across the ice a familiar NESCAC foe in Bowdoin. This was obviously a non-conference game between the two conference members being it’s a neutral tournament.
Shots in this one was 30-20 in favor of the Mammoths, while penalties were one-sided, Bowdoin committing 5 for 10 minutes, Amherst committing none.
The scoring began at the 6:56 mark of the 1st, Marie-Eve Marleau scored her first of two goals, while later in the period (16:38), her teammate Mary Thompson scored on the powerplay, putting Amherst up 2-0 after one.
Alyssa Xu added another to her season total, scoring very late in the 2nd at 19:28.4, giving Amherst the 3-0 lead headed into the 3rd period. It was then Marie-Eve Marleau once again, scoring her second of the game, this one coming on the powerplay, giving Amherst the 4-0 shutout victory over Bowdoin.
Natalie Stott picked up another shutout victory, making 20 saves in the effort.
East/West crossover action in Adrian, MI
Oswego State continued their opening stretch of away games by making the eight-hour drive to Adrian, MI for Thanksgiving weekend. The Lakers played well overall, falling to the #8 Bulldogs 2-1 & 1-0.
#8 Adrian sweeps Oswego State on the weekend, defeating them 2-1 & 1-0. (Photo by Mike Dickie – Adrian College Athletics)
In game one, most of the scoring came early on, Adrian’s Paige Pomerleau scoring 1:47 into the 1st, while Jocelin Hundanish added a shorthanded goal at 6:58 to give Adrian a quick 2-0 lead over Oswego.
Oswego got their lone goal at the midway point of the middle period, Ashlyn McGrath at 9:58 of the 2nd.
Adrian led in shots 29-18 and penalties were common, Adrian committing 7 for 14 minutes, Oswego 6 for 12 minutes.
In game two, the lone goal was scored by Adrian’s Tia Liscelle early in the 2nd period at 1:32, holding up to be the game-winner and giving her Bulldogs the weekend sweep over the Lakers.
Oswego outshot Adrian 32-31 in this game, both goaltenders with stellar performances, Michaela O’Brien with the 32-save shutout victory, Lexi Levy with the 30-save defeat. Adrian continued their success vs Oswego, this was their fourth straight win, holding an overall record of 7-2, with the pair of losses coming back in 2010 & more recently in 2021.
Denver pitched two shutouts over the weekend against Yale (photo: Martin Gonzalez).
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.
Jim: Happy belated Thanksgiving, Ed. There were plenty of leftovers to go around in college hockey this weekend as one of the bigger nonconference weekends of the year took place.
Taking a look over the results, the conference that probably feels most full is the NCHC. The eight-team league posted a 9-2-1 non-conference record over the weekend including a 4-0-1 mark on Saturday night. The NCHC now has the second-best out-of-conference winning percentage at .685, just decimal points behind the B1G at .704.
It’s a tiny bit early to get into the PairWise, but if the season ended today, the NCHC would once again get half of its teams into the NCHC field as Denver is currently fourth, North Dakota sits sixth, and Western Michigan (12th) and St. Cloud State (13th) hover around the bubble.
Despite North Dakota sitting atop the USCHO poll last week, I still feel like there hasn’t been enough buzz around the NCHC to this point in the season. Do we need to really begin pumping this league’s tires?
Ed: Jim, I think somehow the NCHC has been flying a bit under the radar. And I’m not sure why.
North Dakota’s slip from No. 1 to second place in the USCHO men’s D-I poll this week really surprised me as I don’t think you penalize a team for winning in overtime that much. But it seems like a lot of people had BC at No. 2 on their ballots while many might have had the Fighting Hawks at No. 3 or No. 4.
I think all eyes in the college hockey world should turn to what is the premier matchup of next weekend as North Dakota visits No. 3 Denver for a pair of NCHC games. Both teams are in the top 10 in scoring, with Denver’s nation-leading 5.5 goals per game helped a bunch by 5-0 and 9-0 stompings of Yale. Meanwhile, North Dakota has the second-best goals against in the nation at 1.93.
However, nobody’s overlooking NoDak or DU. I’m interested in seeing what Western Michigan and St. Cloud do over the next couple of weeks. The Huskies got off to a slow start but strung together six league wins in a row, while the Broncos have put together four straight, including a pair over St. Lawrence last weekend. Omaha has quietly put together a solid record and is just outside the poll. Maybe the one big disappointment in the conference is Minnesota Duluth, winless in NCHC play and just 3-7-3 overall.
In any case, I’ll wager that we’ll pay more attention once the national broadcasts of NCHC games start in January.
You mentioned the Big Ten at the top of the national nonconference standings. Five teams from that league are inside the PairWise bubble right now. How likely is it that conference play will cannibalize that?
Jim: I think the B1G is the most interesting league when we look at today’s PairWise.
The league has the highest out-of-conference winning percentage. Everything about the league is strong, but you don’t have any team at or near the top and probably most concerning is having both Michigan and Penn State right on the bubble.
It seems very early to be concerned about anything related to the NCAA field, but in reality there aren’t a ton of major weekends of nonconference play that will significantly move the PairWise needle.
Speaking of concerns, how concerned do you think the ECAC and CCHA be at this point? The ECAC only has Quinnipiac in the top 16. The CCHA has no one with St. Thomas ranked 30, ineligible this year for the NCAA tournament, and Minnesota State at 37.
Things will change as the season goes along, but are the red flags raising on the ECAC and CCHA?
Ed: Red flags are definitely up for both conferences.
I think that the ECAC has the better prospects of the two, but not great. I expect Cornell to have a winning percentage high enough to overcome the league’s poor nonconference schedule, especially with a strength-of-schedule bump coming up with a holiday tournament and a pair of games with Arizona State. Harvard could be in that mix, too, assuming a strong record in conference and a possible lift from the Beanpot and Arizona State’s Desert Hockey Classic.
The CCHA will be hard pressed to get more than one team in. I don’t see a scenario there unless one team runs away with the league and gets upset in the finals.
Atlantic Hockey is in its best position for an at-large in several years, at least at this point. American International at No. 17 is closest, but the Yellow Jackets have played seven of their eight nonconference games and have little room to improve there. Rochester Institute of Technology is at No. 21 and moved up from the mid-30s with the pair of games against New Hampshire last weekend. The Tigers still have Maine, Dartmouth or Lake Superior State, Clarkson, and St. Lawrence on their docket, so I might even give Atlantic Hockey a better chance than the CCHA.
Around this time a year ago, Hockey East was in a similar position as it is now with six teams within the bubble. But only Boston University and Merrimack made the NCAA tournament. How is it looking this season, especially with the early success of Maine and UNH?
Jim: You bring up painful memories for those around Hockey East from a year ago. Yes, around this time last year Hockey East had six teams in PairWise position, but the league was horrific in non-conference play during the Thanksgiving week and again through the two weeks following the late-December exam break.
The conference has already improved a bit on that. Hockey East was 9-5-1 over the weekend and, if you add in Boston University’s win over Quinnipiac on Wednesday, finished 10-5-1 over the holiday weekend. That’s better than decent.
Now the question is how strong the league can perform over the remaining major nonconference weekends. New Year’s is always a big one and you have matchups in that span like UMass traveling to the Adirondack Winter Invitational, Northeastern heading to Wisconsin for the FISERV Holiday Faceoff and Maine at the Ledyard Bank Tournament.
You also have the possibility that the Hockey East standings could become an accordion like a year ago, where conference place decimates some of the top teams.
Right now, it’s certainly all roses for Hockey East, though.
Ed: “But I thought it was too early to look at the PairWise,” several readers who made it this far are saying.
Jim noted why it might be in his bitter remembrance of last season for Hockey East. Still, every game counts, whether it’s in October or late March. Enough games have been played on the non-conference schedule to show us some trends.
Before we wrap, we haven’t mentioned independents. A month ago, this column and its rotating columnists – as well as our USCHO Weekend Review podcasts – were talking about one or two unaffiliated teams getting into the NCAAs.
Arizona State still has the best chance, but as in past years, it needs to win the games it should and needs to do well against top teams on the schedule to make it. That would be an excellent conclusion to the Sun Devils’ indie era.
Hosts Jim Connelly, Derek Schooley, and Ed Trefzger discuss the results of the weekend and the news of the week in college hockey on the November 27, 2023 edition of USCHO Weekend Review.
They look at 11 great top-20 matchups from the weekend. What is the non-conference record fallout, and where do conferences stand in the PairWise?
Boston University is up one to No. 4 and Quinnipiac is down two to sit fifth this week.
Wisconsin remains sixth, Minnesota rises one to No. 7, flip-flopping with Michigan State, while Providence stays at No. 9, and UMass is up one to No. 10 in this week’s poll.
Maine falls out of the top 10, sitting 11th this week.
Previously unranked Omaha enters the rankings at No. 20.
In addition to the top 20 teams, 10 other teams received votes in this week’s rankings.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s 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.
Brockport downed No. 10 Salve Regina and then defeated host Skidmore in a shootout to capture the Skidmore Invitational tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Photo by Brockport Athletics)
What a difference one week can make for a team – just look at the Soaring Eagles from Elmira who took down No. 5 Geneseo on Tuesday and then No. 7 Oswego on Friday and No. 3 Utica on Saturday to capture the Utica Thanksgiving tournament and knock the Pioneers from the ranks of the unbeaten. Another group of Eagles from Brockport also knocked off a pair of nationally ranked teams in route to a tournament championship at Skidmore. Lots of other great action and tournament champions crowned over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Here is a recap of the great action in the East:
Utica Thanksgiving Showcase
The tournament featured the host Pioneers along with Elmira, Oswego, and St. John’s from the West. In the first round, the Johnnies battled the host Pioneers to a 1-1 overtime tie behind 52 saves from goaltender Bailey Huber. The outcome now hinged on a shootout where three Utica players found the back of the net and Ethan Roberts stopped to final attempt by the Johnnies to advance the Pioneers to the title game.
In the other first round matchup, the Elmira and Oswego game produced a lot more scoring with the Soaring Eagles putting up seven goals in the comfortable 7-1 win. Chance Gorman scored a hat trick that featured a power play goal, a shorthanded goal, and an even-strength goal.
In the title game on Saturday, neither Utica nor Elmira could score in the opening period, but the second period produced five goals. After Dante Spagnuolo gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead, Kerfalla Toure and Janis Vizbelis scored just 30 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead. After Brian Scoville tied the score at 2-2, Shawn Kennedy scored what proved to be the game winner in the final second of play in the second period for a 3-2 Elmira lead. Bailey Krawczyk and Gorman extended the lead in the third period for a 5-2 win and the tournament title. Kennedy earned MVP honors for the Soaring Eagles.
Skidmore Invitational
The Thoroughbreds hosted Tufts, Salve Regina and Brockport in their annual Thanksgiving tournament and punched their ticket to the championship game with a 3-1 win over the Jumbos on Saturday. Cooper Rice, Jaden York, and Jack Strauss provided all the scoring and Tate Brandon made 20 saves in the win.
In the other first round matchup, the Golden Eagles knocked off No. 10 Salve Regina, 3-2 to advance to the championship game. After falling behind 2-0, Brockport scored three unanswered goals, including Scott Ramaekers game-winner early in the third period. Goaltender David Filak stopped 33 shots in the win.
On Sunday, it was Brockport that jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the unbeaten Thoroughbreds. Skidmore rallied to tie the game on goals from Jaden York and Kaeden Patrick and neither team could find the game-winner in overtime setting up a shootout for the title. The Golden Eagles would score once in the shootout and that was all Filak needed as he stopped all three Skidmore attempts to earn the shootout win and tournament title. Filak stopped 37 of 39 shots as Brockport was outshot by a 39-16 margin for the game but saw their goaltender help steal a pair of wins over ranked teams.
LayerEight Tournament hosted by Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh played host to their usual Thanksgiving weekend opponents in Middlebury and Norwich with St. Olaf joining as the fourth team in the newly sponsored LayerEight Tournament. On Friday, two goals from Bennett Stockdale and 19 saves from Eli Shiller carried the Cardinals to a 2-1 win over the Oles.
Familiar foes Norwich and Middlebury squared off in the other opening round contest with the Cadets routing the Panthers, 7-1. Seven different players scored for Norwich with Devon Thibodeau chipping in with one goal and an assist for the Cadets.
In Saturday’s championship game, Kevin Weaver-Vitale and Tio D’Addario scored for Plattsburgh less than 30 seconds apart to help the Cardinals eke out a 2-1 win over Norwich. Jacob Hearne made 34 saves in the victory that kept Plattsburgh undefeated at 8-0-0 on the season. Forward Bennett Stockdale who setup the game-winner from D’Addario, was named the tournament MVP.
Terry Moran Invitational
Vermont State – Castleton played host to Rivier, Morrisville and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in their annual holiday tournament and took advantage of a first period goal by Anthony Persi and 22 saves from Simon Brenter to capture a 1-0 win over the Trailblazers.
In the other first round matchup, Rivier used a four-goal third period to erase a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 5-2 win over the Mustangs. Tyler Sitnikov scored a pair of goals for the Raiders who advanced to the championship game.
In Saturday’s championship game, the Raiders started fast and dominated the host team scoring seven goals on the way to a 7-1 victory. Liam Hennessy opened the scoring for Rivier and finished the game with two goals and two assists. Damon Kiyawasew, who also had a four-point game earned tournament MVP honors in the first ever tournament win for Rivier.
Bowdoin/Colby Face-off
Bowdoin and Colby played hosts to Suffolk and New England College in their annual Face-off Tournament. On opening night, NEC upset Colby, 2-0 on the strength of two power play goals from Wyatt Andres. Goaltender Kai Tomita made 25 saves to earn the shutout win.
Bowdoin netted three goals and Kevin Clark made 12 saves in the Polar Bear’s 3-0 win over Suffolk that set up Sunday’s game against NEC to decide the tournament championship.
The Polar Bears used goals from Jack Gilligan and Jack Studley along with 20 saves from goaltender Alex Kozic to eke out a 2-1 win over the Pilgrims to earn the tournament title.
North Country Tournament
The tournament was hosted by Canton and featured Hamilton, Potsdam, and Trine from the West. In the opening round, Trine downed the host Kangaroos 6-4 while Hamilton skated past Potsdam, 3-1 to setup the title game on Sunday.
Goaltender Jack Grant made 37 saves while four different Continentals scored to help Hamilton to a 4-0 win over the nationally ranked Thunder. Noah Leibl, Jackson Krock, Ryan Brown, and Luke Tchor provided all the scoring for the Continentals who have opened the season with four consecutive victories. Grant earned tournament MVP honors for Hamilton with the shutout win.
Non-Conference
Curry faced a pair of NESCAC schools and came away with a pair of wins over Wesleyan and Trinity. Against the Cardinals, Jacob Crespo, Ryan Prewitt, and Austan Bellefeuille scored all the goals goaltender Shande Soderwall needed in a 3-0 win for the Colonels. Soderwall stopped all 33 shots he faced to earn the shutout win. On Sunday, the Colonels rallied from one-goal deficits twice and Nicolas Lariviere delivered the overtime winning goal to help Curry skate past Trinity, 3-2.
Geneseo rallied back from its Tuesday loss against Elmira with a pair of weekend victories over Amherst and Williams. On Saturday, the Knights scored three unanswered goals to erase a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 4-2 win over the Mammoths. Cooper Fensterstock scored two goals for the Knights in the win. On Sunday, a four-goal third period broke open a high-scoring affair against the Ephs in an 8-3 win. Tyson Gilmour and Peter Morgan each scored a goal and added two assists to move Geneseo to 9-2 on the season.
Albertus Magnus moved to 5-3-0 on the season with a pair of wins during the week. On Tuesday, the Falcons needed Paden Hicks’ goal in the final minute of regulation to earn a 3-2 win over Manhattanville. Zane Kindrachuk and Caden Pattison each scored one goal and one assist as the Falcons raced to an early 4-0 lead before downing Connecticut College, 4-2.
Saturday saw a matchup between instate rivals Southern Maine and the University of New England. Jayden Price’s shorthanded goal setup by Jack Murphy late in the third period added some cushion in the Nor’easters 3-1 win over the Huskies.
Wilkes took a pair of games from King’s during the week to improve their record to 6-3-0 on the season. On Wednesday, Nick Swain’s hat trick paced the Colonels to a 6-2 win over the Monarchs. On Sunday, Swain added two more goals and Michael Paterson-Jones made 29 saves in a 5-0 win on home ice.
Three Biscuits
Chance Gorman – Elmira – scored a hat trick featuring even-strength, power play and shorthanded goals to pace the Soaring Eagles to a 7-1 win over Oswego in the opening round of the Utica Thanksgiving tournament.
Jack Grant – Hamilton – stopped all 37 shots in backstopping the Continentals to the championship in the North Country Tournament. Hamilton downed Trine 4-0 to earn the title.
Liam Hennessy – Rivier – scored a pair of goals and added a pair of assists in Rivier’s 7-1 win over Castleton to earn the title in the Terry Moran Invitational tournament. The championship was Rivier’s first ever as a D-III program.
December is looming ahead and that means there are just a couple more weekends of action in the first half of the season. Just a couple of unbeatens remain in the east but still more challenges before the semester break for teams to set the tone for the second half.
Parker Gnos and the Johnnies knocked off nationally ranked Oswego over the weekend.
Parker Gnos is only a freshman. But that didn’t matter Saturday at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica.
Gnos came through the biggest goal of his collegiate career so far, scoring with a little over 11 minutes remaining to put the Johnnies up for good in their battle with No. 8 Oswego.
Matt DeRosa added an empty-netter with 43 seconds to go to seal the deal on a 4-2 win over the Lakers. That goal by DeRosa was his third of the season and the 10th of his career.
Gnos was one of three rookies to find the back of the net. Jackson Bisson and Jack Wandmacher also punched in goals as the Johnnies won their third game of the year and improved to 3-5-1.
Jon Howe started in goal and made 29 saves for his second win of the year and helped the Johnnies end a three-game winless streak.
One night earlier, Saint John’s was on the brink of opening the weekend with a win, giving third-ranked Utica all it could handle in a 1-1 tie.
Bailey Huber was the hero of the night in that one, stopping a career-best 52 shots. The Johnnies managed only 21 shots in the game but were 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Max Borst scored the lone goal for the Johnnies.
Here’s a look at some of the other games from Thanksgiving weekend.
Oles fare well out East
St. Olaf didn’t come away with a win in its trip out East this weekend but the Oles did compete hard.
It nearly upset the No. 1 team in the nation on Friday, losing 2-1 to Plattsburgh, and then came away with a 2-2 tie against Middlebury on Saturday.
St. Olaf and Middlebury were playing for the first time ever and the Oles held a 37-24 advantage in shots. Michael Webster and Ben Luscko both scored.
The Oles trailed 2-0 after two periods against Plattsburgh before Tyler Cooper scored with under two minutes to play in regulation. They nearly tied the game in the final seconds as Jonathan Young took a shot attempt that would have force overtime.
St. Olaf was up against a No. 1 team for the fifth time since 2008 and was playing its first against a top-ranked team since 2019 when they lost 8-2 to UW-Stevens Point. Lukas Haugen made 29 saves.
Royals hold off Aurora
Bethel struck for two short-handed goals to carry itself to a 4-2 win over Aurora Sunday on the road.
Tyler Kostelecky scored the first short-handed goal at the 14:02 mark of the third and Luke Posner scored in similar fashion 27 seconds later to help the Royals pull in front 4-2.
Travis Allen took care of the rest in goal as Bethel bounced back from Saturday’s loss to MSOE and improved to 6-2-2 on the season. The Royals are now 2-2 on the road this season after snapping a two-game losing streak
Raiders roll
It was a pretty good weekend for MSOE. The Raiders edged Buffalo State 4-3 in overtime on Friday and then beat Bethel 4-1 on Saturday.
In the win over the Bengals, four different players scored, with Jackson Yee tying the game at 3-3 late in the third to force overtime. Carson Jones then came through with the game winner to lift MSOE to its fifth win of the season.
The Raiders didn’t have as much trouble on Saturday as Jones got things rolling with a goal in the opening two minutes of action.
It was tied at 1-1 after one before MSOE took control. Preston Park put the Raiders on top for good. Austin Schwab performed well in goal, stopping 26 shots as the Raiders improved to 6-3-1 on the season and close out their November schedule on a four-game winning streak.
Green Knights earn split with Blugolds
St. Norbert is playing well right now. The Green Knights had won five of their last six heading into a weekend series with UW-Eau Claire, the No. 7 team in the nation, and they opened the series with a 2-0 win.
Part of their success is attributed to special teams play as the Green Knights killed off six power-play attempts by the Blugolds.
Dayton Deics and Liam Fraser both scored goals for St. Norbert, which improved to 7-3 win with the win. Logan Dombrowsky assisted on both goals.
Hunter Garvey was impressive between the pipes, stopping 28 shots for his second shutout of the year and helping St. Norbert improve to 4-0 at home.
Max Gutjahr stopped 26 shots for UW-Eau Claire.
Saturday’s game on the road ended with a 5-3 loss to the Blugolds.
UW-Eau Claire led 4-2 after two periods and held St. Norbert to an 0-for-7 showing on the power play. The Blugolds converted on one of their five opportunities but were outshot 29-24 overall.
Garvey made 19 saves for UW-Eau Claire. Gutjahr came through with 26 saves.
Tyler Herzberg and Trenten Heyde each tallied two goals to lead the Blugolds.
A hat trick for Welsch
Trine’s Drew Welsch came through with the seventh hat trick in program history Friday as Trine defeated SUNY Canton 6-4 Saturday in the opening round of the North County Tournament.
Welsch also added an assist to his stat line. He came through with the game-winning goal at the 18:21 mark of the third and added an empty-netter 30 seconds later to help seal the deal.
Chase McCardle, Jackson Clark and Jack Cooper also scored for the Thunder while Trey Miller made 31 saes.
Trine lost 4-0 in the finale of the tournament on Sunday. Kyle Kozma made 14 saves but only allowed two of the goals as the other two were scored in empty net situations.
Thrilling finish for Bulldogs
Adrian scored twice in the third period against Stevenson Saturday, with Bradley Somer scoring the game winner with four seconds to play as the Bulldogs held on for a 3-2 win.
Ryan Pitocia finished with two goals to pace the offense and Dershahn Stewart tallied 14 saves.
Fourth-ranked Adrian improves to 6-2-1 on the year.
Big day for Boschert
UW-Superior won its fourth in a row Saturday with a 4-1 win over Northland in WIAC play. Goaltender Jack Boschert allowed an early goal as the Yellowjackets fell behind 1-0 but he went on to make 24 saves for his fourth win of the year. He stopped a total of 49 shots in the two games against Northland.
UW-Superior is now 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the WIAC. It won by a 4-1 score on Friday against Northland as well.
The Ohio State Buckeyes made another statement this weekend as they absolutely shut down the number two team in the ECAC. The Saints were completely unable to get anything going as OSU outshot them 41-15 and 41-9 in the two games. On Friday, Makenna Webster and Jocelyn Amos each had two goals and an assist, Kelsey King had two goals and Stephanie Markowski, Kenzie Hauswirth and Hadley Hartmetz each had three assists to lead Ohio State to an 11-0 win. Sixteen of OSU’s 18 skaters showed up on the scoresheet and the team set a new program record for goals in a game. Saturday’s game was closer in score, but the Buckeyes held SLU to just two power play shots in the first period. Joy Dunne’s goal late in the frame made it 1-0 Ohio State. Abby Hustler scored an equalizer on the power play in the second to make it 1-1. But OSU pulled away in the third. Amos scored a shorthander in the first minute of the period. Jenn Gardiner added a power play goal a few minutes later and Webster and Jenna Buglioni each scored to make it a 5-1 win.
(2) Colgate at (9) Minnesota Duluth
Sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod made 29 saves for UMD and earned her first shutout against a ranked opponent on Friday to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 win. After a back and forth first period, Clara Van Wieren put Minnesota Duluth up 1-0 in the opening minutes of the second. Danielle Burgen got a feed from Olivia Wallin to double the lead later in the period. Reece Hunt gathered a puck off the boards to score in the third and secure the win. MacLeod got the nod in net for Saturday and delivered another standout performance, making 37 saves and falling just shy of a shut out weekend – Colgate scored in the final minute of regulation. The Raiders outshot UMD 38-21 as they tried to push back in the second game. The Bulldogs got on the board early in the second when a Jenna Lawry shot hit the crossbar and popped out to Grace Sadura, who did not miss the second-chance opportunity. UMD looked to be on their way to the weekend sweep, but Colgate pulled their goalie on a penalty kill, put on the pressure and Ally Simpson found the tying goal with 42 seconds left on the clock. Overtime could not decide a winner and it ended 1-1.
(4) Minnesota vs. Harvard
The Gophers outshot Harvard 44-12 in Washington DC on Friday and skated away with a 3-1 win. Ella Huber’s goal in the first put Minnesota up 1-0. Gwynn Lapp scored on the power play at the midpoint of the second to tie the game 1-1. Ava Lindsay scored an extra-attacker goal of her own late in the middle frame to put the Gophers back on top 2-1. Redshirt junior Abbey Murphy continued her scoring tear, netting her 50th goal in just her 71st game played to close out the 3-1 win.
(4) Minnesota vs. (8) Cornell
Minnesota showed they aren’t a team to overlook with a convincing win over Cornell on Saturday. The Gophers outshot the Big Red 32-13. Abbey Murphy is now tied for the national lead with 15 goals thanks to the two she netted in this game. The Wethington sisters had Minnesota up 2-0 after one – Madeline opened the scoring and Audrey added a shorthander. Murphy scored in the second before Cornell ended the shutout bid with a goal from Katie Chan. But Murphy struck again in the opening minute of the third to push the lead to 4-1 and Madison Kaiser scored a few minutes later to secure the 5-1 win.
(5) Clarkson vs. Syracuse (home and home)
These two upstate New York colleges played a split series, with one game on Tuesday and another on Saturday. Syracuse hosted first and took advantage of being at home to hit the ice with momentum. The Orange took a 1-0 lead into the first break thanks to a power play goal from Tatum White. Clarkson seemed to shake out of it in the second, holding Syracuse to just one shot on goal. It took half the frame, but the Golden Knights broke through with a power play goal from Anne Cherkowski at the game’s midpoint. Alexie Guay and Jenna Goodwin scored just more than a minute apart in the final minutes of the second to help Clarkson pull away and make it 3-1. Brooke McQuigge’s goal in the opening minute of the third put the end to any comeback vibes and the Golden Knights took a 4-1 win. On Saturday, Clarkson hosted and used four third-period goals to earn themselves a 5-0 win and sweep. Cherkowski had two extra-attacker goals, McQuigge added a power play tally and Rebecca Morissette and Laurence Frenette each lit the lamp in the win.
Northeastern vs. (14) Boston College
These two Boston schools traveled out to Gloucester, MA for a special game on Saturday. Peyton Anderson scored the lone goal in the first to give Northeastern a 1-0 lead. Sidney Fess’ power play goal evened the score midway through the game. In the final frame, Taze Thompson scored what would prove to be the game-winner and Skylar Irving added an empty-net goal to give the Huskies a 3-1 win.
Northeastern at (15) Vermont
Natálie Mlýnková put the Catamounts up 1-0 early, taking advantage of a Northeastern turnover and scoring on the breakaway 68 seconds into the game on a fake shot and backhander. Northeastern responded in the second with a backhanded goal of their own as Allie Lalonde made it 1-1. Brooke George set up Alaina Tanski on a breakaway and she scored five hole to make it 2-1 Vermont. Just before the second intermission, a power play gave Peyton Anderson the opportunity to go bar down to tie the game 2-2. The Catamounts put the pressure on in the second and found the game winner from Rose-Marie Brochu to life Vermont to a 3-2 win.
Nutmeg Classic
(7) Quinnipiac vs. (11) Connecticut
Julia Nearis’ wicked wrister had the Bobcats up 1-0 after the first. Midway through the second, UConn scored twice in a minute to go up 2-1. Claire Peterson and Camryn Wong each lit the lamp for the Huskies. However, Quinnipiac quickly countered when Kendall Cooper’s shot deflected into the net off a UConn stick. Nearis broke out her wrister again in the third to make it 3-2 and Nina Steigauf scored a few minutes later to put the game out of reach of Connecticut as Quinnipiac took a 4-2 win.
(7) Quinnipiac vs. (13) Yale
In the final of this battle for Connecticut state supremacy, Yale outshot Quinnipiac 36-28, but Logan Angers was perfect in net and the Bobcats earned their fourth straight Nutmeg Classic trophy. Kate Reilly, Kendall Cooper and Nina Steigauf each scored in the 3-0 win.
Sacred Heart vs. (11) Connecticut
Jillian Petruno made a career-high 53 saves, but the Huskies overwhelmed Sacred Heart, outshooting them 56-5 to take a 3-1 win in the consolation game of the Nutmeg Classic. Jada Habisch’s shot late in the first trickled past Petruno to put UConn up 1-0. In the second, Paige McNeil’s wrister tied the game 1-1 early, but Habisch struck on the power play to make it 2-1 and a minute later Brooke Campbell made it 3-1. Sacred Heart could not push back in the third and Connecticut took the 3-1 win.
Sacred Heart vs. (13) Yale
Gracie Gilkyson had a goal and five assists, Stephanie Stainton had two goals and three assists and Cara DiAntonio had two goals and an assist to lead Yale in an 11-0 win.
