Looking back at the Thanksgiving tournament games has led me to believe that the NCHA is the strongest conference in the Midwest, from Wis.-Eau Claire’s run to the Adrian Thanksgiving Tournament title to St. Scholastica winning its two games at the MCHA/NCHA Showcase. St. Norbert fared well at the Showcase as well, with a victory and a come-from-behind tie at Marian, which hosted the MCHA/NCHA showcase.
Wis.-Eau Claire’s impressive run at the Adrian Thanksgiving Tournament was in part to great goalie play from Brandon Stephenson, but he had great defensive help in front of him. He faced 18 shots against Adrian during the first game of the tournament.
Both teams had power-play goals in the game, but Adrian had nearly twice as many penalties as Wis.-Eau Claire, resulting in more scoring chances. Jon Waggoner scored Wis.-Eau Claire’s power-play goal after three Adrian players were called for penalties in a four-minute time span to tie the game at 1-1. Tyler Romasco scored the game-winning goal two minutes into the second period, as Wis.-Eau Claire held on for the 2-1 victory.
It was Wis.-Eau Claire’s second victory in a row over Adrian at the Thanksgiving tournament. Wis.-Eau Claire had a 4-3 overtime win in last year’s tournament.
Wis.-Eau Claire went on to defeat Buffalo State, 3-1, to claim the title. Once again, Stephenson stopped 18 shots as Wis.-Eau Claire outshot Buffalo State 28-19. Stephenson and Romasco were named players of the tournament.
Adrian lost the consolation game to St. Thomas 3-1, making it the first time in a year Adrian has lost back-to-back games at home.
Wis.-Eau Claire is 4-0 this season against non-NCHA teams.
St. Scholastica has built itself a three-game winning streak, with two wins Thanksgiving weekend at the MCHA /NCHA showcase at Marian.
Six different players scored goals for St. Scholastica, as they controlled play, defeating Lawrence 6-1 on Saturday.
After being down 3-1, St. Scholastica roared back with three-consecutive goals in the third period for a come-from-behind victory over Marian, 4-3
Carter Davis and Jeremy Dawes each scored two goals for the series to lead the way for St. Scholastica offensively. St. Scholastica is also 4-0 outside of the NCHA this season.
Usually, St. Norbert receives top billing in the NCHA, but the defending D-III national champions have been marked men this year.
St. Norbert erased a two-goal deficit in the final period to forge 5-5 overtime ties with Marian. The ebb and flow of the game was a back-and-forth contest. St. Norbert started off with a two-goal lead, but Marian came back to take a 3-2 lead. Seth Soley tied the game at three with a goal for St. Norbert. Marian answered with two more goals of its own. Cody Keefer and Brandon Hoogenboom would score two third period goals to bring St. Norbert back, tying game at five goals apiece.
It was much easier the night before against Lawrence. Alain Joanette scored two goals for St. Norbert, as it cruised to a 5-1 victory.
St. Norbert is 3-0-2 outside the NCHA and 6-2-3 overall, which is a fantastic record, but the defending NCAA champions have looked beatable at times during the season.
St. Norbert had to come from behind to tie Gustavus, 2-2, early in the season at home. Then, a few weeks later on the road, St. Norbert held a 4-0 third period lead at Wis.-River Falls, but let that lead slip. St. Norbert settled for a 5-5 tie after a furious third period comeback by Wis.-River Falls. Wis.-River Falls scored three power-play goals in the game as part of the comeback.
St. Norbert’s two losses have come at the hands of conference foes Wis.-Stevens Point and Wis.-River Falls.
Overall this season, NCHA teams are 21-5-2 in nonconference games.
Weekly Awards
The MIAC and MCHA have announced player of the week awards, for Thanksgiving week.
MIAC
Hockey Athlete-of-the-Week: Sascha Pettit (Jr.), St. John’s. Pettit led the way with four points. He scored two goals, including the game-winner in the first game of the series against Concordia (Wis.), and the game-tying assist in the second game. He is tied for St. John’s team lead with five goals, and ranks second with eight points.
MCHA
Player of the Week: Colin McIntosh (Sr.), Northland College. McIntosh scored four goals and had one assist in the 8-4 victory over Bethel. In an amazing span of less than three minutes, he tallied the natural hat trick in the process.
Defensive Player of the Week: Connor Toomey (Sr.), Milwaukee School of Engineering. Claimed for his work against St. Mary’s. Toomey’s 20-save shutout, the eighth of his career, tied Matt Burzon for the most by an MSOE goaltender. It is the 11th time he has been named Defensive Player of the Week.
Freshman of the Week: Brian Berger, Marian University. Berger scored a goal each game, including a power-play tally against No. 7 St. Norbert, Saturday.
After last week’s 3-2 win over Manhattanville, Western New England coach Greg Heffernan admitted he wasn’t even aware of a once long-standing streak Manhattanville owned.
Instead, like any coach, Heffernan was preparing his team for the challenge that was in front of them, rather than focusing on a certain aura or milestone surrounding a team or a program.
“We’ve been trying to have the approach that’s treat every game as the most important of the season,” Heffernan said. “It was one game in which we’ve done a good job of preparing, and the guys did a good job of executing.”
John Kelly, who had a goal and an assist against Manhattanville, regarded the win as a benchmark for his program. The Valiants entered last week’s contest with a 21-game nonconference, regular-season unbeaten streak that began December 8, 2009 with a 4-2 win at Connecticut College. Manhattanville’s last nonconference loss was a 5-1 loss to Williams on Nov. 29, 2009.
“It was a big win for the program and in the locker room, and it was a big confidence booster,” said Kelly, a sophomore forward who leads the Golden Bears (4-2, 1-1 ECAC Northeast) with three goals and seven assists in Western New England’s first six games. “In the locker room, we know we are a very good hockey team, and we realized that if we play like this, we can win many more games.”
Heffernan believes Western New England’s early success this season is a result of the culture of the program.
“Our culture has grown into one of repetition and structure,” Heffernan said. “That’s something I feel our guys know what to expect every day. They know what to expect from me. There’s no hidden messages or mixed meanings. It’s a sit where we have honesty and integrity. Does that mean it will be a cushy ride the whole way? We’re going to face adversity. We have a (nonconference) stretch coming up that’s going to be difficult.”
The key for the Golden Bears, Heffernan said, is not to look too far ahead in the schedule. Western New England’s focus this week? First, Wednesday’s game at Salve Regina, and once that game was over, the focus will shift to Saturday’s home game against Becker.
“If we’re not at our best,” Heffernan said, “we won’t find success.”
Kalczynski emerging
While Worcester State’s MASCAC schedule is only three games old after this past weekend, Lancers goalie Bryan Kalczynski has quietly emerged as one of the league’s top goalies.
After Saturday’s 1-1 tie with Massachusetts-Boston and Sunday’s 6-1 win over Southern New Hampshire in the PAL Stovepipe tournament in Hooksett, N.H., Kaczynski earned MASCAC goalie of the week honors.
Entering this week, Kaczynski is 2-2-2. The senior leads the MASCAC with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .922 saves percentage, and is second in total saves with 153.
Kalczynski is starting his senior season on a strong note — last season, Kaczynski was 7-11-1 with a .911 saves percentage and a 3.13 goals-against average in 20 games.
Winning more
With a 3-2 win Sunday over Colby in the Bowdoin/Colby Face-off Classic tournament, Salve Regina eclipsed its win total from last season.
However, the Seagulls (3-4-0, 1-2-1 ECAC Northeast) also hit a milestone with the win, as Chad Goodwin’s goal with 1:14 left in the third period lifted Salve Regina to its third win of the season. Per Salve Regina’s sports information department, Sunday’s win was the Seagulls’ first win over Colby. Since 2004, the teams have met four times, with Colby going 3-0-1.
Numbers of N0te
I’ll abbreviate the Numbers of Note this week, and look at three games from last weekend:
Amherst 5, Salem State 1: Ian Flanagan scored Salem State’s only goal in the first period, and Sam Avoine finished with 27 saves.
Number of note: Amherst outscored its two MASCAC opponents — Westfield State and Salem State — 13-2 last week.
Wentworth 4, Trinity 3: Shaun Jameson had two assists for Wentworth, which scored three goals in the second period, including two power-play tallies.
Number of note: Wentworth won despite being outshot 15-5 in the third period; Leopards goalie Mike Jarboe finished with 36 saves.
Brockport 7, Nichols 3: Louie Educate scored two goals in Nichols’ loss in the consolation game of the Skidmore Invitational in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Number of note: Nichols gave up 15 goals to its two opponents at the Skidmore Invitational, and averaged 23 shots a game both nights.
Starting in the 2012-13 season, NCAA Division III women’s hockey is expanding to the state of Maryland. Stevenson University, located about 30 minutes north of downtown Baltimore in Owings Mills, Md., will become the 50th D-III college to have a varsity women’s ice hockey program.
The Mustangs will begin play next fall under the guidance of Shera Vis, who was a four-year letterwinner at Division I Minnesota State.
“Being the first coach in this program’s history is such an awesome opportunity,” Vis said. “I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to come here and help start women’s ice hockey. It’s pretty amazing what they are doing here at Stevenson. The school is expanding and adding programs when a lot of places are getting rid of them.”
Last June, Vis finished up a two-year stint at Elmira College as an assistant coach working under Greg Fargo while she obtained her master’s degree. The Soaring Eagles went 40-13-3 with an NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 2010 while Vis was there.
“I knew from my experience at Elmira I was ready for a head coaching job,” Vis said. “Elmira really sets you up for it by doing everything from head JV coach to assistant varsity and all the things that come with it.”
Vis was named the head coach in mid-August, and has immediately hit the ground running to prepare for the Mustangs’ inaugural season in 2012-13.
“They do things the right way here, and after I came on campus I just knew that this was some place I could be successful with the support and resources that are in place. That’s something you want as a head coach.”
Vis also noted that the school’s facilities were a major draw factor when she visited and interviewed for the head coaching position.
“Stevenson is very serious about all their sports here,” she said. “The facilities are unbelievable and our athletic director, Brent Adams, grew up with hockey in Vermont, and when he came here that was something he wanted to start.”
Vis and her full-time assistant coach, Joey Lye, have the luxury of having a full season to recruit their inaugural class without having to worry about the day-to-day duties of coaching a team on the ice this season.
“It’s an adjustment not going to the rink everyday and being on the ice,” Vis said. “It’s such an opportunity though to get out on the road and get our name out there. We’ve been able to get out on the recruiting trail almost every weekend. We’ve been chipping away at it. We’ve had quite a few visits and have a lot of applications in, which is really positive. The biggest thing for us right now is trying to get the girls down here, because we’re kind of an unknown right now.”
Although Stevenson is the new kid on the block and relatively unknown, Vis said that they have received great feedback from kids that have visited the campus.
“Once we get them down here, our campus is so attractive from our dorms to our academic buildings and our athletic facilties,” she said. “Almost every kid that has come down has applied, so we’re pretty happy with how things have been going so far.”
Starting next year, Stevenson will have the unique opportunity to now take over as the southern-most women’s varsity college hockey program, which has drawn the attention of other schools in the area.
“Another aspect of my job here is that I’m kind of catalyst here to grow the sport,” Vis said. “I’ve heard rumblings of other schools in the area maybe thinking about starting hockey, and I think when we do things the right way that might attract other schools’s interest in starting it up.”
However, one drawback to being the farthest south and only school in Maryland to have college hockey is trying to find an existing conference to call home.
“We applied to the ECAC West, and unfortunately they said no,” Vis said. “We’re going to be independent for our first year. We’re going to have a full schedule and we’re still working on it right now but we’re going to be eligible for the NCAA tournament.”
Vis hasn’t let the initial denial get her down though, and remains optimistic of the prospects of finding a home in the near future.
“We’ll reapply for the ECAC West next year and see what happens,” Vis said. “I think there is always the possibility of some shuffling going on in D-III women’s hockey in the next couple of years, and hopefully we’ll be able to find a home.”
Stevenson’s home rink for the next year will be the Reistertown Sportsplex, which is a Balitmore County rink that officially opened in February 2008.
“The rink is located just six miles from campus and it will be a good spot for us for now until we can hopefully build a rink on campus,” Vis said.
With a seemingly strong support system in place, Vis and the Stevenson Athletic Department have a model in place that should lead to the Mustangs becoming competitive Division III team sooner rather than later.
“It’s kind of refreshing to take a step back this year and just have the recruiting,” Vis said. “But, it’s going to make us that much more anxious to get on the ice on Oct. 15 next year for the first day of practice.”
Todd Sheridan has never wavered from his true passion as a hockey player. It wasn’t the four years of playing goaltender at Brockport, or the year as their goaltending coach. His true passion has been the Saves For A Cure charity.
“I have to be active with Saves For A Cure!” Sheridan said. “It is one of the most important things to me.”
The goal for Saves For A Cure remains the same — to raise money to help make the hospital stays of young cancer victims a little more bearable. Last spring, Saves For A Cure replaced the floor in the Child Life Play Deck at the Galisano Childrens Hospital in Rochester, donating $15,000.
The fourth annual Saves For A Cure Brockport game takes place this Saturday, December 3 against Morrisville.
“Even though a lot of people think SFAC is affiliated with Brockport, it is not,” Sheridan said. “They are obviously the biggest supporters of SFAC, and I could not ask for more from the school, but it is independent.”
The format is the same. There will be special jerseys worn and auctioned off. On Sunday there is the second annual Saves For A Cure Benefit Luncheon. It will be held at 58 Main Restaurant, 58 North Main Street, Brockport, N.Y. from 12:00-4:00 p.m., with a Chinese Auction. Items from Buffalo and Rochester sports teams will be available, including a Nathan Gerbe autographed stick.
This year, 12-year-old Phillip Massey will perform the ceremonial puck drop with Sheridan.
“I think I am most excited for him,” Sheridan said. “I hope this is something that inspires him and shows him that other people out there are fighting next to him so that when he goes back to the hospital for treatments, he can be determined to finish his cancer off for good.”
Real life did intervene a bit in Sheridan’s efforts this year. He moved back to his home state, New Jersey, and spent two months job hunting, a successful hunt which landed him at Weichert Realtors as a corporate recruiter.
“This is my first time organizing this from a distance, and it has been a huge learning experience,” he said. “I am most excited to raise more money.”
Therefore, his expansion efforts from last year, which included games at Oswego and Morrisville, were curtailed a bit this season. There will most likely be one other Saves For A Cure game this season at Cortland, thanks to the help of Joey Christiano and Mike Reilly. Details are still to be worked out.
If you can’t make it to this weekend’s activities and still wish to donate, you can send a check to Saves For A Cure, Inc., 304 Hoover Avenue, Edison, NJ 08837.
Pink the Rink
While we’re talking about charity games, here’s an early heads up for Fredonia’s Pink the Rink game. It will take place on Friday, January 27 against, coincidentally, Morrisville.
This is the sixth annual event, and like the recent past, the special pink jerseys can be pre-ordered for $250 and have the last name of a loved one printed on the back of the jersey, which will be worn throughout the warm-up and game. A special ceremony after the game will be held to present each jersey.
SUNYAC Players of the Week (selected by the conference)
Player of the Week: James Cody (Sr.), Brockport. Scored four goals and added three assists on the weekend at the Skidmore College Invitational. Saturday night, Cody scored a power-play goal late in the third period and then picked up a short-handed assist in the final two minutes. On Sunday, Cody netted a hat trick against Nichols College. He reached 50 career-goals and needs two points to reach the 100-point mark. Cody was named to the All-Tournament team.
Rookie of the Week: Patrick Stillar, Morrisville. Posted two goals (one on the power play) in the 4-2 victory over Tufts, and added a goal and assist in the 4-3 loss to Castleton State at the Rutland Herald Invitational. Stillar is second on the team in scoring, netting five goals and six assists for 11 points, and currently leads all freshmen in scoring in the conference. This is Stillar’s second Rookie of the Week honor.
Goalie of the Week: Ryan Malinowski (Jr.), Buffalo State. Helped Buffalo State knock off St. Thomas, 3-2, in his first collegiate start. Malinowski stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced, including nine in the third period. The win advanced the Bengals to the championship game of the Adrian Bulldogs Thanksgiving Tournament.
For the previous week:
Player of the Week: Adam Place (So.), Potsdam. Scored two goals in each of Potsdam’s victories over Geneseo and Brockport. Place gave Potsdam a 3-2 lead midway through the second period at 10:19, and then added a power-play goal seven minutes later against Geneseo. Saturday night, Place scored two goals in a span of 1:35 to give the Bears a 4-1 advantage over Brockport.
Rookie of the Week: Trevor Cope, Potsdam. Recorded six points in a league weekend sweep of Geneseo and Brockport. Cope scored Potsdam’s second goal Friday night just 3:30 into the game for an early lead over the Knights before picking up an assist on a power play. He finished with a goal and three assists in 5-3 Brockport win. Cope leads all SUNYAC freshman with 1.43 points per game.
Goalie of the Week: Mathieu Cadieux, (So.), Plattsburgh. Earned back-to-back wins for the Cardinals over the weekend. On Friday night, Cadieux allowed just one goal on 26 shots as Plattsburgh defeated Brockport, 6-1. In Saturday’s 2-0 win against Geneseo, Cadieux stopped all 23 shots he faced, earning Plattsburgh’s first shutout of the season. After the weekend, Cadieux led the conference with a .938 save percentage.
When Robert Morris fell to Quinnipiac on Saturday by a 3-2 score, it snapped the Colonials’ program-record eight-game unbeaten streak, over which they went 7-0-1. Perhaps that isn’t on par with the NCAA-best 33 game streak that Wisconsin set earlier in the season; however, for a program only in its seventh season, it was a big step in the right direction.
New head coach Paul Colontino, previously associate head coach at CHA rival Mercyhurst, felt experiencing some early success was a real positive for his new charges.
“I think it was great for them in that they hadn’t had a run like that before, they did put together a number of wins,” he says. “In a lot of ways, I think they gained some confidence from it, and sometimes it’s just that realization that you can do it.”
One Robert Morris player that has steadily proven that she can do it at this level is senior center Brianna Delaney. With 107 career points, she is the only RMU player to ever reach triple digits. Her 58 assists for the Colonials is also an all-time best for the program, and with 49 career goals, Delaney trails only Sara O’Malley’s 52 in that category.
Delaney says that setting team marks, such as the unbeaten string, is even more rewarding because it is something that everyone on the team can celebrate together.
However, you can’t have the team success without players that continually produce on the offensive end.
“It’s not easy sometimes getting points when your team isn’t getting a ton of points,” Colontino says. “She’s been steady in her past, and this year, she’s been steady as well.”
The Colonials averaged under 80 goals per season over Delaney’s first three years, so her reaching the century mark in points indicates that she’s been involved in much of their success, and her new coach recognizes her dedication to the team.
“As long as she can get the skates on, she’s going out there,” he says.
Brianna isn’t the only Delaney on the Robert Morris roster; Cobina Delaney is a junior forward and frequently skates on her big sister’s line. Brianna says that it is nice to have her sibling playing a part in setting records at RMU and contributing to her success.
This season, freshman Rebecca Vint is leading the Colonials in scoring (13 goals, 10 assist, 23 points), averaging close to two point a game.
“I’m very glad that she has been able to get some of those points, because it has exposed her a little bit more to a lot of different people such as yourself,” Colontino says. “Like, ‘Wow, this freshman is putting up these numbers.'”
“You can throw her in on any situation — power play, PK, last minute, first minute — and she’ll work hard and get the job done. She has provided a little bit of everything. She’s got scoring, she’s got grit, she’s a two-way player — plays obviously the offensive side of things as you can see from her points, but what you don’t see in many cases is her defensive play.”
With Vint anchoring one line and Delaney another, Robert Morris has been in good shape up front.
“Between those two with Delaney, Vint, you’ve got two very offensive players combined with defense-oriented, where they play both ends so well,” Colontino says. “So having two centers like that has been a huge bonus for us.”
At 10-2-1, the Colonials are off to their best start ever. Some of that has been due to a mild early schedule that has been devoid of highly-ranked opponents, allowing the coach and his new team to get settled.
“As your season begins, like this year for me and the program, you’re taking steps in different directions in some cases,” Colontino says. “You’re trying to do one thing at a time. It has been nice being able to focus on just our team and what we’re trying to do, both on the ice and off the ice. Obviously with the on-ice stuff again, some of those wins, we’re trying to define our style of hockey with how we want to continue the Robert Morris tradition. We haven’t played a powerhouse per se, that can impose. For each game, I think, we’ve been very competitive.”
According to Delaney, the team is taking to heart some of Colontino’s lessons.
“Before when we went on the road, we’d try to get a split, but he’s taught us that isn’t enough, and now we go for the sweep,” she says.
Delaney says that Colontino also has the team looking beyond their usual goal of contending in the CHA and seeing the NCAA tournament as a possibility. The Colonials aren’t that far removed from making such a dream a reality, as they sit tenth in the current PairWise Rankings.
“In all honesty, the players have been so absorbent of things that the coaching staff has either told them or trying to teach them that in some ways, it hasn’t been very tough, because they’ve allowed us to coach a lot as opposed to do other things,” Colontino says. “So when we go out to practice, we’re coaching, and when we’re not there, we’re talking hockey. They’re a great group of gals in the sense that they take care of their schoolwork, and when they come to the rink, they’re ready to work out and they’re ready to practice. For us, changing that culture has been relatively easy, because I think the players specifically know what they want to do. So when you give that to them, it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re going to do it.'”
For Robert Morris to have success on a broader scale, they’ll need to be able to take on conference giant Mercyhurst and win, something that they’ve never done. Colontino denies that his presence will yield RMU any inside edge that can tip the scales.
“Obviously, I know that staff and that team extra special, as you’re alluding to, as I’m fresh out of there,” he says. “They’re a great club. I think you could ask any coach around the country, hey, we’re playing Mercyhurst, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get that very hard-working team that’s very talented, that can do a little bit of everything and is never going to give up. We know that as well at Robert Morris. I agree with you, those games will be huge. They’ve had a much longer history in doing what we want to start doing.”
The first crucial home-and-home series with the Lakers arrives on January 20 and 21. Prior to that, RMU hosts Bemidji State as 2011 winds down for a pair of games. However, Colontino doesn’t believe that the Colonials can afford to look beyond a visit by Syracuse on December’s second weekend.
“For us, it’s definitely one game at a time, one weekend at a time,” he says. “Teams like Bemidji, having a phenomenal season, you see them over the past three, four years, they’re growing extremely well and they’ve become just a great hockey school there. Mercyhurst has had that tradition as well for a while. For us, sometimes you take care of the little things and the big things take care of themselves. We’re focusing on us and how we want to play and win each game of each weekend. If we can do that, if we can take care of what we need to take care of, I think those other things will take care of themselves.”
Elmira played in arguably the most difficult tournament of the season after turkey day, the Primelink hosted by Middlebury this year. Entering the weekend, the tournament was made up of No. 1 Norwich, No. 6 Plattsburgh, No. 10 Elmira and No. 11 Middlebury. Tough competition indeed.
“It was fun getting a chance to play those teams that we don’t often get to play,” said Elmira coach Aaron Saul. “The way it worked out this year with the four teams in the top eleven in the country was great.”
The Soaring Eagles opened up against Middlebury and scored three goals across a 1:45 span midway through the first period to jump into the lead, but the Panthers battled back with a goal six minutes later in the first period and again early in the second.
“Our guys were excited to play and took advantage of our momentum early,” said Saul. “Middlebury bounced back. We knew they weren’t going to sit back and wait. We got in some penalty trouble in the third period.”
Elmira took a pair of penalties early in the third period and Middlebury poured on the pressure. Compounding the problems for the Soaring Eagles was an equipment issue for starting goaltender Darren McDonald. A lace that holds one of the leg pads near the toe had broken, and he was tripping on it as Elmira was trying to kill off the first of the two penalties. When the second penalty got called, a fix was attempted.
“Coach Beaney called a timeout, so we had Darren skate to the bench to fix it with tape,” said Saul. “I called a timeout right after that, but it still wasn’t enough.”
Freshman goaltender Ryan deMelo skated to the net and helped kill off the two-man Middlebury power play.
“deMelo made two very fine stops,” said Saul. “He is a confident kid in his own abilities. He is definitely a talented goaltender who is making himself better.”
Elmira killed off the remainder of the penalty and held on for the 3-2 victory, moving on to take on Norwich in the championship game Saturday. Darcy Vaillancourt got Elmira on the board just 41 seconds into the contest, but a series of penalties midway through the first period led to Norwich scoring three straight goals to take control.
“The penalties that were taken were our own fault,” said Saul. “Norwich is a great team with a great power play. When you take dumb penalties like that, those are always the ones that seem to get you. They took full advantage of that.”
Elmira poured 21 shots on net over the final two periods, but couldn’t tie the game, eventually losing 5-2.
The tournament highlighted the difficult schedule Elmira has played through. During the first eight games of the season, every opponent has been either ranked in the USCHO poll or receiving votes, including three games against No. 1 teams.
An official RPI hasn’t been published yet, but I am hard pressed to find another Division III team with a schedule anywhere near as difficult.
“Pretty much every year we are up there,” said Saul. “There is no let up in our schedule. That is by design. We want to play the best teams to get there at the end. That is the way we feel as a coaching staff. It is a great learning tool when we watch video. We want the challenge.”
Tournament for a cause
Hobart played in the inaugural Cape Code Lighthouse College Hockey Invitational Tournament over the weekend. The tournament was put together to raise money for Donate Life, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for organ donation. Hobart, Babson, Amherst, and Salem State sold T-shirts and wore special jerseys to help out.
“Eddie Gallagher did a great job putting it together, and the Hyannis Center did a wonderful job hosting,” said Hobart coach Mark Taylor. “Jamie Rice at Babson called and asked if we wanted to be involved in a tournament with the proceeds going to Donate Life, something that can change someone’s life, and it was an easy yes.”
Hobart faced Babson in the first round and quickly fell behind by two goals just eight minutes into the game. Then starting goaltender Nick Broadwater went down with an injury and the cards were stacked against the Statesmen.
“I don’t think we came out of the gate like we should have,” said Taylor. “We had to persevere a bit.”
Tommy Fiorentino scored at the 14-minute mark of the first period to steady the team. It was the first of three goals in the game for Fiorentino, the sophomore’s first career hat trick, and Hobart edged out a hard-fought 5-3 victory..
“It was nice to see him get rewarded,” said Taylor. “He brings the same energy to all of the games that he has played since being a freshman. He is maturing within the game.”
The Statesmen faced Amherst in the championship game, a team that plays a similar style as Hobart. Greg Ciciola tallied just 24 seconds into the game as Hobart started out much better. Amherst answered back early in the second period, but Hobart rallied for a 3-1 victory to win the tournament.
“Good hockey game back and forth,” said Taylor. “We had some good success getting in their zone and putting some pressure on. Neither team was giving up much until the pucks got into their zone. There weren’t any breakaways in the game.”
Goaltender Marty Ausserhofer, who came in as relief against Babson and played the full game against Amherst, was named the tournament MVP after stopping 40 of the 42 shots he faced.
“He is A+ as a teammate,” said Taylor. “He has persevered behind Broadwater. He got the opportunity to show what he can do and did it.”
Tournament organizer Eddie Gallagher’s brother Tim, a three-time organ transplant recipient, presented the championship trophy to Hobart captains Greg Ciciola and Brad Richard, but the captains handed it back to Tim as a representative of all organ recipients, the true winners of the tournament.
“We thought wouldn’t it be nice to give the trophy to someone who has had multiple transplants,” said Taylor. “His fight is a lot more than a few hockey games. He said he would rather see it in a school’s trophy case rather than in his house, so we brought it home, but it exposed us to how real the Donate Life program is. It is pretty simple for everyone to check it off on their driver’s license and change someone’s life.”
“It is hard to explain how great this past weekend was,” said Eddie Gallagher. “These schools pulled together to help out a cause. The class shown by all the teams was amazing.”
ECAC West Weekly Awards:
Player of the Week: Tommy Fiorentino (So.), Hobart. Fiorentino recorded a hat trick to lead Hobart to a 5-3 comeback win over Babson in a first-round game at the 2011 Cape Cod Lighthouse Invitational. Fiorentino was named to the all-tournament team.
Goaltender of the Week: Marty Ausserhofer (Jr.), Hobart. Ausserhofer earned two wins by posting a 1.11 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage over the weekend. He was named the 2011 Cape Cod Lighthouse Invitational MVP. He came in to play the last 48:19, and stopped 16 shots while allowing one goal in a 5-3 win over Babson. Ausserhofer played all 60 minutes and made 24 saves in a 3-1 victory over Amherst.
Rookie of the Week: Bronson Kovacs, Hobart. Kovacs tallied three points in a 2-0 weekend for the Statesmen. He scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in a 5-3 victory over Babson on Saturday. Kovacs joined Fiorentino and Ausserhofer on the 2011 Cape Cod Lighthouse College Hockey Invitational All-Tournament team.
It’s a rarity for goaltenders to share Atlantic Hockey goaltender of the week honors, rarer still to have them both come from the same team. But that’s what happened this week as Canisius senior Dan Morrison and sophomore Tony Capobianco were named co-netminders of the week by the league.
Each won a 2-1 game at American International, Capobianco stopping 39 shots on Saturday and Morrison making 38 saves on Sunday.
At 4-1-2, the Golden Griffins are off to their second-best start in AHA play ever, in major part due to the dynamic duo in net. Coach Dave Smith has rotated them and seen great results: a 1.40 team goals against average in conference play.
“It’s worked out really well,” said Smith. “John Daigneau, our goaltending coach, has done an outstanding job. [Morrison and Capobianco] have both been very positive and receptive, as has our freshman, Keegan Asmundson. The chemistry goes back to them and the coach that’s been working with them.”
Smith especially appreciates Morrison’s leadership. The senior has seen a lot of action in his four years, playing in 84 games and posting 2,513 saves, 258 shy of the school record.
“It starts with the old man,” said Smith. “Dan Morrison has been open, receptive and accommodating [to the platoon system]. He’s been a friend and mentor to our other goalies.”
Canisius lost a lot of offense to graduation, but has seen other players step up to fill the void. A trio of sophomores, forwards Kyle Gibbons (9 points so far), Taylor Law (7) and defenseman Ben Danford (6) lead the team in scoring.
“They’ve been thrust into the spotlight,” said Smith. “It hasn’t been without some bumps along the way but this team has been very positive with taking a fun approach and wanting to get better.
“Our seniors, Scott Moser and Dan Morrison and [junior] Preston Shupe have provided good leadership and our players have bought into everything we are trying to do as coaches. It sounds cliche but it’s just about getting better every day.”
The Griffs travel to Holy Cross this weekend for a pair of games that, based on where the teams are in the standings and are expected to finish, could do a long way in deciding home ice down the road.
“I look at the standings but they don’t really matter right now,” said Smith. “I’m not over thinking this. I told the guys in practice today, ‘This is Tuesday. Let’s get better on Wednesday and keep getting better going forward.’ It’s been really simple.”
From the home office in Haverhill, Mass.:
Atlantic Hockey player of the week:
Matt Gingera, Sacred Heart
The senior had four goals and an assist in three games last week, including a goal in the Pioneers’ upset of Yale. Gingera has 51 career goals, sixth all-time at SHU.
Atlantic Hockey goalies of the week:
Tony Capobianco and Dan Morrison, Canisius
Capobianco made 39 saves on Saturday to lead Canisius to a 2-1 win at AIC. His .942 save percentage is best in the league and fifth in the nation. Morrison helped the Griffs complete a sweep against AIC with 38 saves in a 2-1 victory on Sunday. The senior has a 0.99 goals against average in league play.
Atlantic Hockey rookie of the week:
Scott Jacklin, Robert Morris
Jacklin had two goals and an assist to help the Colonials to a three-point weekend against Army. He leads all RMU rookies with five points.
Besides the awards given by the league, there were several excellent performances turned in last week:
• Brooks Ostergard (Robert Morris) made 83 saves last weekend in a 5-2 win and 3-3 tie with Army. That included 47 saves on Saturday, the fifth-most in a single game in team history.
• Tim Kirby (Air Force) had three goals and an assist to help the Falcons to a home sweep of Connecticut.
• Marc Zanette (Niagara), the younger brother of last year’s AHA player of the year (Paul) had a four-point weekend (two goals, two assists) in a win and tie at Sacred Heart. One came short-handed.
• Thomas Tysowsky (Holy Cross) stopped all 21 shots he faced in a 2-0 win against Brown. He is now tied for third in wins (18), third in saves (1,209) and fourth in goals against average (2.79) all-time at Holy Cross.
Like Canisius, Air Force is off to its second-best start in league play at 6-2-1. The first-place Falcons are 6-0-1 at home this season.
Connecticut entered its two-game series at Air Force with the best power play in Division I (30.1 percent) but was only 1-for-10 on the weekend, dropping them to second (27.3 percent) behind Harvard (28.6 percent).
American International’s 3-0 win over Brown was the first time in school history that the Yellow Jackets defeated an ECAC team. Ben Meisner stopped all 38 shots he faced for the victory.
Rochester Institute of Technology is 2-1 when allowing five or more goals this season, but has a worse record (2-2-1) when allowing two goals or fewer.
Sacred Heart has won just seven games over the last two seasons, but is 4-1-2 at the Webster Bank Area in Bridgeport, Conn., where they occasionally play home games. The Pioneers are 1-1 so far this season and have six more games scheduled there.
Thanks for the players, coaches and pundits who follow me, and keep them coming @chrislerch on Twitter. No really outstanding tweets this week but I did see an awful lot of players commenting on a certain fashion show that was on TV Tuesday night. Thanks for your insights on that very important event.
I was trying to mention Canisus’ Dan Morrison in the notes last week for moving into second place all-time for career saves at the school, but had the player he moved past, Andrew Loewen, on my mind and got them confused. Thanks to all of you paying attention for pointing out at Loewen graduated three years ago. He’s playing for the Columbus (S.C.) Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League. I’m blaming it on advanced age and too much (wild?) turkey.
Ryan Massa is in the middle of the most competitive battle for a No. 1 goalie spot he’s ever been a part of. He said that himself.
Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais gave freshmen Massa and Dayn Belfour the opportunity to challenge opening-night starter and senior John Faulkner for the starting goalie spot.
“All of us get along off the ice but on the ice, we’re trying to outdo each other,” Massa said. “It’s helping us improve. Strong goaltending makes a good team a great team.”
Faulkner gave up seven goals on 30 shots in his last start, Nov. 18 at Denver, and he hasn’t played since. Belfour played the next night and stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced.
Blais started each freshman last weekend against St. Cloud State. Massa allowed three goals on 29 shots in Saturday’s 4-3 win. Belfour had 22 saves in a 2-2 tie Sunday.
For Blais, it’s a simple philosophy that will help him find his new guy for the job.
“We’re hoping one of them gets hot and we can ride him,” Blais said. “Whether that’s Faulkner, Belfour or Massa, but right now they’re all playing pretty well. It’s healthy when they’re all in competition.”
Massa said he didn’t know who would be in net this weekend when the Mavericks take on Alabama-Huntsville in Nashville, Tenn. More will become of each goaltender when the Mavericks go to North Dakota for a series Dec. 9-10.
UNO will have plenty of time to figure out who that No. 1 guy is going to be, with two weeks off after the UND series. The Mavericks host Quinnipiac in late December, then have another week off, then home games against Minnesota-Duluth.
The time off will be beneficial for UNO, which doesn’t have a bye on the schedule from the start of the season until after the UND series. It became a grind for the team, much like last season was for Faulkner, when he played 93 percent of the minutes in goal for the Mavericks.
“Last year, poor John,” Blais said. “If he wasn’t the guy, we were in big trouble but he managed to stay healthy all year.
“It looks like we have a better situation now than we had with just one guy.”
UNO isn’t the only team in the WCHA with a quirky goaltending situation.
Colorado College is trying to find stability, whether that’s with Joe Howe (8 games, .894 save percentage, 2.99 goals against average) or Josh Thorimbert (6, .899, 2.97).
Junior Aaron Dell has played 13 of the Sioux’s 17 games despite an .877 save percentage and a 3.27 goals against average. His backup, and former starter, Brad Eidsness, has played better, statistically (.914, 2.61). Most recently, Eidsness came on in relief to replace Dell halfway through the first game against CC last weekend with the Sioux down 6-5.
Eidsness shut the Tigers out in the final 30 minutes and UND pulled out a 7-6 win.
And in St. Cloud, Ryan Faragher was thrown into the fire in late October after Mike Lee went down with a lower-body injury in practice. He has a .916 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average.
As if Blais didn’t have enough to focus on already in Omaha. He has one hand in control of UNO’s quest to finish near the top of the WCHA and the other on guiding the U.S. Under-20 Team to another gold medal at the World Junior Championship.
Blais and his staff will make cuts Monday via conference call to determine the preliminary roster that will attend a pre-tournament camp.
“That’s getting to be a lot, too,” Blais said. “We had a conference call yesterday and we will again today. There’s constant communication about the tournament. It takes a lot of concentration and work.”
The tournament runs Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta. The U.S. opens play Dec. 26 against Denmark.
Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin will be one of Blais’ assistants.
The WCHA-connected players still on the 29-man roster: former Minnesota-Duluth defenseman Justin Faulk; North Dakota defenseman Derek Forbort and forward Rocco Grimaldi; Minnesota forward Nick Bjugstad; and Denver forwards Nick Shore and Jason Zucker.
With double-digit goal scorers such as Matt Frattin (36) Jason Gregoire (25), Evan Trupp (17) and Brad Malone (16) lost to a combination of graduation and professional hockey in the offseason, a lot was going to be asked of those selected to join returning leading scorer Corban Knight (14 goals, 30 assists) on North Dakota’s top line.
Sophomore Brock Nelson and junior Danny Kristo were Dave Hakstol’s choices to begin the season alongside Knight. Although Nelson and Kristo had combined for just 16 goals in 2010-11, the early results were promising as the trio produced 27 points in the Sioux’s first six games.
But the season’s next half-dozen contests proved troublesome offensively for North Dakota as a team and, in turn, the Nelson-Knight-Kristo line. The trio registered just nine points in the subsequent six games culminating with Bemidji State shutting out the Sioux on Nov. 20.
In North Dakota’s series at Minnesota in November, Sioux coach Dave Hakstol went so far as to experiment with shifting Nelson to center on another line while inserting Mark MacMillan into Nelson’s place at left wing beside Knight and Kristo.
The experiment was short lived, however, and Nelson could not have been happier reuniting with Knight and Kristo.
“Corban and Danny are both awesome players,” Nelson said of Knight and Kristo. “It’s definitely fun to play with them and be able to be on the ice with them when they make good plays.
“It’s pretty fun to watch.”
That being said, North Dakota’s sweep of Colorado College last weekend could not have been more entertaining for Nelson and his linemates as they exploded for 16 points in the series and potted both game-winning goals.
Nelson understatedly referred to the series opener in which the teams were tied 6-6 after two periods as “kind of a crazy game.” The product of Warroad, Minn., said that it felt during the game like his line’s scoring mojo had been restored and the grip on their sticks had eased a bit.
“We felt good about the offense but, at the same point, we needed to worry about some defense,” said Nelson. “It quieted down in the third and we were able to get a goal, but I think after the game we were able to just look and say that we can put up some numbers when we need to.”
When they needed to in the third, it was Nelson, assisted by Kristo, who scored the period’s lone goal at 11:54 to provide the winning margin. When it was all said and done, Nelson, Knight and Kristo finished with nine points and followed that up with seven more, including Kristo’s game winner, the next night in the Sioux’s 4-3 win to complete the sweep.
Getting blanked by the Beavers was clearly an eye-opener for Nelson, his linemates and the Sioux as a whole.
“We realized that we needed to take a step forward as a line and as a team and produce some more, and I think last weekend was a good step,” Nelson said. “We created a lot of chances and we were able to finish a lot of plays so, hopefully, that keeps going.”
Nelson finished the weekend with six points (3-3–6) to earn him a share of the WCHA offensive player of the week honors. Kristo (3-2–5) and Knight (1-4–5) each had five points in the series. All three have 17 points through 14 games to put them among the nation’s leaders.
Nelson recognizes that the challenge is to find a way to build off the momentum created against CC and maintain it through a tough road trip to Anchorage for this weekend’s series with the Seawolves.
“We just have to keep going and not sit back and think that we had a good weekend and now we can take a little bit off,” said Nelson. “We’ve just got to keep focusing on our games and keep developing, keep pushing the envelope, just play with intensity and do everything we need to do to be successful.”
Colorado College traveled to Grand Forks last weekend as the No. 4 team in the nation and fired 64 shots in two games, scoring nine goals, including three each night by one player alone, against an unranked North Dakota team just days removed from a miserable 1-0 loss in Bemidji.
How did things turn out for the Tigers?
“It would have been nice to get a win out of it,” CC coach Scott Owens said in a manner that conjures up an image within the listener of him at his desk still shaking his head in disbelief over the North Dakota sweep.
The weekend’s saving grace, however, was the performance of Tigers forward Rylan Schwartz, whose six goals garnered him the other half of the WCHA offensive player of the week award.
“The bounces were going my way; it was nice to have that going for me,” said Schwartz. “Two wins or even one win would have been a lot nicer.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t happen but I was happy with my play.”
Nelson said what Schwartz was able to accomplish in two games was incredible to witness.
“It just seems that he was able to be in the right spots, he was able to finish off plays, and he was playing really well,” Nelson said. “It was kind of fun to see him do that.”
“Lots of pucks were coming to me right in the slot, both of my linemates were finding me there and pucks were going in for me,” said Schwartz. “I wasn’t really planning on aiming; I was just trying to get it off as hard as I could.”
“I don’t recall having seen that anywhere, especially on that stage,” Owens said of the high-profile games in a road setting in which North Dakota controlled the matchups. “It was pretty remarkable.”
What’s also remarkable is that the hat tricks were Schwartz’s second and third of the young season (his first was at home against Bemidji State on Oct. 15) which, when combined with a two-goal effort against Rensselaer, means he has 11 of his team-leading 13 goals in just four games.
“He’s shooting the puck so well and just getting himself in the right spots and getting the puck at the right time,” said Owens. “It was a lot of fun to watch, especially the second night when he scores the first goal in the first minute and then you go, ‘Oh boy, here we go.'”
“I don’t usually score fancy goals at all,” said Schwartz. “I usually just get the shot on net, not usually highlight-reel goals.”
His 13 goals to go along with just four assists this season have flipped around his career totals coming into the season — 16 goals and 50 assists. Owens says Schwartz is no less of a playmaker; it’s simply that he’s acquired a taste for shooting more often and is feeding off the results.
“This is kind of the first year I’ve been shooting a lot more and it’s been working out for me,” said Schwartz. “I’ve always had a pretty good shot but I think this year I’m just utilizing it a lot more.”
“He can’t wait to get the puck right now,” said Owens.
Getting the puck is never an issue though when your teammate, linemate and brother is Jaden Schwartz. After posting 47 points (17-30–47) in just 30 games as a freshman, Jaden’s 17 points this season matches his older brother’s output but the distribution is nearly reversed (5-12–17).
While Rylan is scoring goals in bunches, Jaden has been the model of consistency as he is riding a 17-game point scoring streak dating to last season’s WCHA first-round playoff series against Wisconsin. Jaden had four assists in the North Dakota series.
“They both have really good hockey sense and real good vision,” said Owens. “But they both have playmaking ability and they both can finish.
“Jaden can finish too. He just hasn’t been quite as prolific this year yet.”
Due to the Tigers’ light early season game schedule, the Schwartz brothers’ 1.55 points per game is second only to the nation’s leaders in that category. Wisconsin’s Justin Schultz and Mark Zengerle along with Minnesota’s Bjugstad lead the country at 1.56 per game.
While they may share a school, a team, and a line, the Schwartzes are actually quite different.
“Rylan’s a bit looser, he’s a little bit more of a jokester while Jaden is a little more solemn in his approach from a preparation standpoint,” said Owens. “They don’t hang together all the time but yet when they are on the ice, they look like they do.
“They look like they have that sixth sense in that they know where each other is going to be. But yet off the ice they kind of run in different circles.”
“I kind of almost know what he’s going to do before he does it,” Rylan Schwartz said of Jaden. “I think that helps me read off of him and probably the same for him off of me as well.”
A Wilcox, Saskatchewan, native, Jaden has once again been chosen to participate in Team Canada’s World Junior selection camp and will likely represent his country at the World Junior Championship.
Jaden, a St. Louis Blues prospect (2010 first-round pick, No. 14 overall), made last year’s team as well but fractured an ankle in a Dec. 28 game against the Czech Republic. Schwartz missed the remainder of the tournament and a total of 15 Colorado College games due to the tournament and the injury, a span in which the Tigers went 8-7.
Owens said he knew recruiting and signing Jaden was a double-edged sword in that he was courting an elite player who would have an excellent chance to play for Team Canada at mid-season while at Colorado College.
But Jaden’s performance has made the risk worth the reward for Owens and he’s proud of his player’s opportunity to shine on a world stage.
“We support him wholeheartedly,” Owens said of Schwartz’s international aspirations. “Though we’re situated in the town [Colorado Springs] where USA Hockey is located we want Jaden to have tremendous success with Team Canada.”
Offensive: Colorado College junior forward Rylan Schwartz and North Dakota sophomore forward Brock Nelson
See above.
Defensive: Wisconsin junior defenseman Justin Schultz
The Anaheim Ducks prospect and Hobey Baker Award finalist last year as a sophomore tallied seven points (3-4–7) in Wisconsin’s sweep of Mercyhurst (7-2, 5-2). Schultz’s 25 points on the season (7-18–25) ties him with Zengerle and Bjugstad for the nation’s scoring lead.
Rookie: Denver freshman goaltender Juho Olkinuora
The third man on Denver’s goaltending depth chart behind Sam Brittain and Adam Murray has filled in admirably when called upon this season, which has been more often than expected. Filling in for the injured Murray in last weekend’s Denver Cup Classic, the Helsinki, Finland, native stopped 38 shots in earning his first career shutout in a win over Princeton (3-0) and turned away 24 more in a 4-2 loss to Miami. Olkinuora has a 1-2-2 record with a 1.91 goals against average and a .933 save percentage.
The Boston College Eagles narrowly averted what would have been a three-game losing streak last Saturday night at Yale. Trailing 2-1 late, the Eagles got a short-handed goal from Barry Almeida with 2:19 to play. Then, a player who is perhaps having the best year of what has already been a successful hockey career at the Heights scored the game-winner with just 39 seconds remaining.
Chris Kreider, tied for the most overall points among Hockey East players (10 goals, eight assists, 18 points), scored on a designed faceoff play in front of the Yale net, using his large frame to slide the deciding goal past Yale’s Jeff Malcolm and turn what would’ve been another tough loss into BC’s most exciting win of the season.
“Sometimes hockey changes so quickly,” said BC coach Jerry York.
That statement can be true not just for Saturday’s game but also for its hero. In the past two years, Kreider has seen his season change on a dime — both times for the positive — as the calendar changed for the new year.
If you compare statistics in Kreider’s freshman and sophomore seasons, you’ll see a distinct difference in months October through December and January through April each year.
As a freshman, Kreider had two goals and three assists before the new year (finished with 15 goals and 23 points). Last year was a tiny bit more balanced, as Kreider had five goals and six assists (finished with 11 goals and 24 points).
Both seasons, Kreider spent the holiday break playing for Team USA at the World Junior Championship. In each tournament, Kreider was a standout player for the Americans, which won the gold medal two years ago and the bronze last year.
York said that playing among his peers helped the 6-foot-3 forward.
“From my vantage point, we get young players — 18- and 19-year-old players like Chris was his freshman and sophomore years — they’re playing [in college] against players who are 22, 23 and, in some cases, 24,” said York. “The age process is difficult for [the younger] players.”
“So when he got to the World Juniors, it was his age bracket and he’s going against 18- and 19-year-old players. He’s able to do some things there that, even though they’re the best players in the world, they’re still his age.
“It’s hard to be a great player when you’re 18 against seasoned 23- and 24-year-old hockey players.”
York said the confidence that Kreider earned each season was critical to his second-half success both years. That success, though, nearly led the oversized forward to head to the NHL, where he is property of the New York Rangers.
Instead, Kreider decided to work further toward his college degree and, in doing so, has become one of the most dominant players in Hockey East.
“He was trying to do what he felt was best for him when he combined the academic goals of getting a college degree with his aspirations of being an NHL player,” said York. “He looked at both situations and one more year of college hockey where he could become a more dominant player while getting a year closer to a degree, that was something he was very well aware of.”
The dominance has been obvious throughout Kreider’s junior season. To the naked eye, he possesses a second speed that most players don’t have and his large frame and strength has been extremely beneficial in front of the net for the Eagles, as it was on Saturday.
For York, though, strength and speed are important, but it’s one of the “intangibles” of the college hockey game that has paid dividends.
“What most has evolved is his maturity,” said York. “He’s blessed with great size and strength. Now he’s put everything together: his maturity and how he handles the whole 60 minutes of the game, his hockey IQ, everything is taking great strides over the last few years and it’s most evident this year.”
When a reporter asked Boston University coach Jack Parker about the future of the every-other-year “Red Hot Hockey,” a post-Thanksgiving game between the Terriers and the Cornell Big Red, he seemingly had a hard time holding back laughter.
“The future of this game is we make money and we fill the building,” joked Parker. “We’d be insane not to keep this going.”
The fact of the matter is that Red Hot Hockey is possibly the most successful new tradition in college hockey. In just its third installment, the game is a seemingly better draw than the annual Beanpot, which after 58 years struggles to fill the TD Garden (regardless of the announced attendance numbers), though that is due in part to the fact that neither Harvard or Northeastern has reached the winner’s circle in nearly two decades.
Red Hot Hockey isn’t just another game for anyone involved. It’s played in New York the days after one of the biggest days of the year in the city. Millions flock to New York City for Thanksgiving weekend and the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. It’s likely only New Year’s Eve is a bigger day in Manhattan.
Bringing players, fans and coaches to the Big Apple at any time of year, let alone the days after Thanksgiving, is something not easily lost on those involved.
“I think the trip [is special],” said Parker. “It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by it all. You’re driving the bus into New York City and all of a sudden you’re in Times Square and near Macy’s and you can’t believe the sea of people.
“They were walking around after dinner [on Friday] and then again [on Saturday] and I’m sure they were saying, ‘Wow, this is the real thing.’
“But that all compares to the sea of red they saw tonight and how loud that crowd was. That crowd was fabulous.”
There is no contract in place to return the BU-Cornell rivalry to Madison Square Garden in 2013, but according to Parker, there’s little chance it won’t happen once again.
“We’ve said we’re going to play it every other year unless there’s a lack of interest,” said Parker. There’s definitely not lack of interest.”
Merrimack’s current success has been well documented on these pages in recent weeks. Let’s look inside some of the key numbers that have led to that 9-0-1 record and No. 1 national ranking. Begin with the power play, which is cranking along at 24.6 percent. Despite scoring once every four power plays, the Warriors are ranked eighth in the nation (though first among Hockey East teams). Merrimack’s penalty kill is 55-for-60 but has scored twice short-handed, a net of only three goals allowed when shorthanded. Both of those special teams stats are mind blowing to this scribe.
• Northeastern is making a valiant effort to climb out of its 1-7-2 start, having posted three straight wins. Last weekend’s 4-1 victory at Michigan deserves recognition, even if most feel the Wolverines are struggling right now. It was probably the program’s biggest non-conference win since a victory two seasons ago at Colorado College.
• It’s probably too soon to be talking about PairWise Rankings. But if you take an occasional peek like I do, you’ll see Hockey East would get only two teams into the tournament — BC and Merrimack — if the season ended today. BU would be the bubble team and, get this, Massachusetts-Lowell would be right in the picture, currently at 17th.
• Quote of the week: “It’s a hard job. I don’t make comments on officiating.” Those words came from the mouth of Parker, the never-shy coach when it comes to the referees, though on Saturday night the Terriers were beneficiary of a controversial call. He followed that up by asking, “Is my nose out to here?” referencing, of course, Pinocchio.
Candace: So Arlan, once again Bemidji State split with one of the powers of the WCHA. They’ve now beaten everyone but Wisconsin. Is it time to consider the Beavers a possible playoff team?
Arlan: In terms of their ability, yes. I believe that BSU compares favorably with teams that have reached the NCAAs in past seasons, such as Dartmouth last year. The early PairWise has BSU seventh, safely in that range of teams that qualify. The problem for the Beavers lies in their own conference and the schedule that comes with it. They are currently fifth in the WCHA standings. They have four games remaining with Wisconsin, and still must travel to Grand Forks and Minneapolis. How many of those games are they likely to win? That puts a lot of pressure on games on the road versus Robert Morris and home series with Ohio State and Minnesota-Duluth. BSU definitely can’t afford any more bad results against SCSU or MSU, as they’ve already lost in Mankato. The WCHA will get three teams into the field, and a fourth is possible, but too much strength at the top will work against that.
Before the season, coach Brian Idalski of North Dakota said his team needed to place itself firmly in the top three of the league. Are you at all surprised that UND has succeeded in that regard heading into its first showdown with Minnesota, although both OSU and BSU are within a game?
Candace: I tend to think good players get better as they hit their junior and senior year. We all knew the Lamoureux sisters were amazing players, but to me they’ve stepped up their game this season. In a one-game playoff like the NCAA tournament, that makes North Dakota very dangerous. So I would have to say I am not surprised at where the Sioux are.
Right before Thanksgiving, Quinnipiac upset Boston College with a dramatic last second comeback. Is it time to consider the Bobcats again?
Arlan: I think it is, in part because no one team has stepped up and declared their intention to be the second NCAA team from the ECAC. Dartmouth, Harvard, and Clarkson all look good one minute, and are flirting with .500 the next. The Golden Knights at 8-4-4 actually have the second-best overall winning percentage of ECAC teams with a .625 mark.
Earlier in the season, we speculated whether Victoria Vigilanti was off her game, or if failings of the Bobcats’ team defense was to blame for the team’s struggles. I noticed something puzzling in the recent box scores for the “Q.” Freshman Chelsea Laden got the start against BC, only her second for the Bobcats. She did well, stopping 33 of 34 Eagles’ shots, and was named ECAC Rookie of the Week. For the two games on the weekend against supposedly weaker opponents, Connecticut and Robert Morris, Vigilanti was back in net as the Bobcats won. So why the switch to Laden versus the highly-ranked Eagles? Was one of the goalies battling injury or illness? Did coach Rick Seeley want to avoid wearing Vigilanti out during a stretch where the team played five times in nine days? Was he just playing a hunch after BC put up five goals against Vigilanti earlier in Boston? In any case, Laden’s activity isn’t what one would expect from a lightly-used rookie, as her three appearances have all come against top-10 teams: a start at Northeastern, a relief appearance versus Cornell, and now the gem against BC. Seeing that Quinnipiac went 3-0 on the week, I guess that’s yet another reason why Seeley is a D-I coach while I’m scanning box scores.
One team that experienced the worst of times in the league was Harvard, going 0-3 and losing Michelle Picard to an ankle injury. Given the Crimson bench was already short, do you think Katey Stone’s troops will rebound?
Candace: I think Harvard will do OK. We’ll learn more when the Crimson have their rematch with Dartmouth on Wednesday. Harvard may just be another mercurial ECAC team. Dartmouth has totally messed up my picks on a weekly basis. Maybe the ECAC women are becoming more like the ECAC men. We discussed last week whether Hockey East is stronger. Maybe the ECAC will only be sending one team to the dance from now on.
Let’s look at Mercyhurst now. The Lakers swept St. Lawrence last week. Maybe they will make the tournament after all?
Arlan: Mercyhurst’s schedule and attempt to make the tournament remind me a little bit of Minnesota in the Gophers’ first year as a varsity program. The rules said that there had to be at least one western team, and Minnesota was the only team in the West playing D-I, so it was difficult for the Gophers to play themselves out of the tournament field. They had some games versus established teams in the East early, patched together a schedule of spare parts in January and February, and were in tough at the national tournament against seasoned competition. While many were hurt by the loss of Wayne State, the Lakers probably miss the games with the Warriors the most. They are left with a 31-game slate, four of them with Lindenwood. The PWR still loves the Lakers; they are nearly even with BC for the final home ice berth in the quarters, but they’ve yet to play a Team Under Consideration. Quinnipiac is their only opponent at .500 or better to date, and the Lakers and Bobcats split. MC has upcoming series with Cornell and BC, and a single game with the Big Red in February. Can they still qualify if they don’t win any of those? I guess it’s possible, even probable. Eight teams have to advance, and there’s not a lot of separation right now. But were that the case and Mercyhurst ran the CHA table, it would be one of the least inspiring 26-7 marks of recent history. I suspect that the Lakers will get a win on the road at BC, because those games will be more vital to MC than to an Eagles team focused on Hockey East. It would really help the Lakers if RMU or Niagara continue to improve.
In the meantime, we may start to hear some Bailey Bram buzz for the Kazmaier, and I’m sure she’s having a dynamic season, but it will be a little easier to evaluate once the competition that she is facing ratchets up. You mentioned the Lams earlier — are there others putting together individual campaigns that have impressed you in particular?
Candace: I’m not going to be so quick to write off the Eagles as too focused on Hockey East when they play Mercyhurst. BC has an excellent shot at home ice at this point, and games against teams like Merychurst will be key to that. I think BC will come out blazing, led by Alex Carpenter, who has impressed me very much. Yes, two other freshman, Jillian Saulnier and Rebecca Vint, are outscoring her, but Saulnier has a much better supporting cast at Cornell than Carpenter at BC, and Vint has gotten to put up mucho points against Lindenwood four times. Imagine how many points the Lamoureux sisters, Brianna Decker, and Amanda Kessel would have if they had four games against Lindenwood. And now, I will give the Easterners a shot at labeling me a WCHA homer. The scoring that has been put up by Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota is terrifying. Wisconsin has four players in the top 10 in the nation in scoring: Decker, Brooke Ammerman, Carolyn Prévost, and Hilary Knight. Decker is a junior, while the other three are seniors, so I am giving the underclasswoman some love and feel that Decker being second right now is amazing. I also feel that while Noora Räty has put up impressive numbers, Zuzana Tomcikova might be the best goalie in the WCHA right now, and she is a big part of the success the Beavers are having.
I also have to give props to Jen Schoullis of Minnesota. Yes, Kessel is one of the best pure offensive talents in the game, but when Schoullis went down, Minnesota lost. You get to see the Gophers play a lot; to finish off this week, what’s your take on Schoullis?
Arlan: Schoullis isn’t from the conventional speedy goal-scorer mold. She’s a very physical player, and my guess is that opponents who go up against her over the course of a series come out of the weekend with a few bruises. The Lamoureux twins are similar in that regard, but Schoullis is a little bigger. Maybe it is a Shattuck thing, because all three are great at battling in the corners, they protect the puck well, and when it is time to unleash a shot, they do so in a hurry.
You mentioned games against Lindenwood. Both Decker and Ammerman did have seven points in the season-opening series for Wisconsin versus Lindenwood. The Lams get their shot against the Lions with a single game in January, and they could put up huge point totals in a game like that if they are so inclined.
Knight has surprised me thus far. I expected her to come out and lay an emphatic claim to the Kaz, but her numbers really aren’t much different from those of Emily Erickson at Bemidji, and the Beavers are a far less explosive team. It could be that Knight is sacrificing personal glory to strengthen a second line for the Badgers, and if so, more credit to her.
The Cornell trio of Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, and Saulnier has played fewer games than those in the WCHA, so that makes their numbers, such as points per game, more volatile. If they have a huge game or a slump, their averages will move up or down more than the Wisconsin, UND, or Minnesota players. It will be interesting to see how they perform against the Lakers, and on the flip side, how Bram and Christine Bestland respond for MC versus the Big Red.
Welcome to the blackout edition of This Week in ECAC Hockey. Not because of Rensselaer’s Black Friday — that was a few weeks back. Nor is it because of last week’s capitalist post-Thanksgiving orgy.
Instead, it’s because my block was left as powerless as a Dartmouth advantage for a solid 13 hours Monday night and Tuesday morning … right in my compositional sweet spot. So here comes some improvisational journalism!
One month ago, who would’ve predicted Cornell, Colgate and Harvard to lead the ECAC in offense? The Big Red lost a lot of scoring strength to graduation, the Raiders were coming off a historically bad year and Crimson sticks have been seemingly snake-bit for the last half-decade.
So where did all these goals come from?
Cornell, with 25 goals in six league games (4.17 goals per game), has benefited immensely from the puck-potting prowess of one Brian Ferlin. The big, 6-foot-2, 200-pound freshman hasn’t exactly come out of nowhere — the Boston Bruins thought highly enough of him to draft him in the fourth round last year — but then in another sense, he really did come out of nowhere: Jacksonville, Fla., isn’t exactly a fertile breeding ground for icers.
Ferlin has made a seismic splash with five goals and five assists in his first six league games (11 points in nine games overall), leading the conference in league scoring and points per game (1.67). Junior defenseman Nick D’Agostino actually leads the Red in overall scoring (6-6–12), and five other players have already notched multiple goals through nine games of overall action.
Travel partner Colgate is flying high on the wings of another player from a non-traditional hockey market: senior Austin Smith of the Lone Star State is hotter than August in Odessa, filling the net with 15 goals in 14 overall games. His 21 points and 1.50 points per game are the best overall figures in the league to date, and he’s not slacking against conference foes either with eight strikes in six outings.
Unlike Ferlin at Cornell, however, Smith is practically carrying the Raiders’ offensive load so far. He has accounted for a solid third of Colgate’s overall goals, and nearly half (eight of 18) of the league scores.
Down Boston way, the Crimson have enjoyed a consistent attack borne of a deeper lineup than many — myself included — originally gave them credit for. Senior Alex Killorn leads the way, of course, with five goals and 10 points in eight games overall and 3-4–7 in seven games of ECAC action. Killorn is supported by seven other multiple-goal scorers (overall), and 18 different Crimson players have earned a point in league play alone. Of additional note, Harvard leads the league in goals in any period with a dozen in seven second periods.
Yale leads the league in team defense — surrendering six goals in four games (1.50 goals against per game) — but the way Union buckles down as games wear on has been truly impressive.
The Dutchmen, who are right behind Yale with 1.60 goals allowed per league game, have given up eight goals in five games. All well and good, right? Well how about this: Of those eight goals, six were endured in the first period. In five second periods played against ECAC competition, Union has allowed one goal. Ditto the third. How long until new strength and conditioning coach Dan Gabelman — a protégé of Mike Boyle and former practice-team goalie at Boston University — is getting bigger and better offers, I wonder?
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Princeton is still trying to earn its stripes. The Tigers have taken a league-low 7.4 penalty minutes per game — always a good sign — but have still surrendered a league-high 24 goals in seven games (3.43 goals against average).
Combined with a mediocre 2.14 goals per game on the attack and 11 third-period goals against, you’ve got the makings of a 2-5-0 start.
Goalies Sean Bonar and Mike Condon have been subpar, seeing roughly 29 shots per league game but each saving fewer than 90 percent of those bids.
Dartmouth looked good. The squad is staffed with proven veterans, anchored by a well-respected goalie and guided by one of the true icons of the national coaching fraternity. They started the season 3-1-0, dropping a nail-biting 2-1 decision to Yale but beating Brown, Quinnipiac and Princeton.
But then what? A 1-4-1 skid? How did this happen?
For starters, 11 goals in those six games aren’t good enough when simultaneously allowing 20. That’s called a negative differential. Going 2-for-16 on the power play isn’t so hot, either, but somehow that’s an improvement: Dartmouth was 0-for-15 with the advantage in its opening four games.
Senior James Mello’s save percentage is mired at .892, and his team is allowing more shots than it’s taking at this point. Dartmouth has to hope that its last game of the semester — on Dec. 11 against Sacred Heart — will allow the goal spigot to open once more. Otherwise, the 2012-opening five-game road swing might put the Green very much in the red.
With last week’s Thanksgiving holiday, there wasn’t a lot of CCHA league action to follow, but the two conference series that were played were very telling. In fact, when we get to the end of February, we may be glancing back at the last weekend of November as a definitive moment in the 2011-12 season.
Early in the season, Lake Superior State took advantage of a favorable schedule to rack up league points by sweeping both Michigan State and Miami while those teams were apparently down. As a result, the Lakers flirted with first place for much of the first half of the season.
I’ll admit that when their schedule got tougher, I expected Lake to fall farther behind. Instead, LSSU has hung tough, taking points from every league opponent the Lakers have faced, including last weekend’s home split with now-No. 2 Notre Dame. Because of their timely points, the Lakers are still in the hunt for the CCHA’s top spot, four points behind first-place ND, three points behind second-place Ohio State.
How have they maintained pace with the top of the pack? Well, it isn’t the offense. LSSU averages 2.69 goals per game, 36th-best in the nation. The defense — anchored by sophomore Kevin Kapalka (2.30 goals against average, .919 save percentage) — is tied for eighth in the country, but other than Kapalka and perhaps junior Zach Trotman, it’s not comprised of players with name recognition.
One of those defenders, though, is instrumental in LSSU’s success this season. In fact, two seniors, blueliner Kyle Haines and forward Fred Cassiani — two guys with 32 career goals between them and two honors for league player of the week — are providing the essential ingredient for LSSU’s first-half success.
“The biggest things we’ve had from day one is really good leadership,” said LSSU coach Jim Roque. “Freddy Cassiani and Kyle Haines have been really good. You don’t see it in points, but Fred’s probably been our best forward from the beginning, willing to play with different guys, willing to do whatever it takes.”
Roque said that Cassiani and Haines have been able to keep the rest of the team level while building on the success of reaching the CCHA championship tournament at Joe Louis Arena last season. They’re selfless, said Roque, and they are enjoying their senior seasons.
“Sometimes seniors get really worried about themselves, through no fault of their own,” said Roque. “They wonder, ‘Where am I going to play next year? What am I going to do?’ Fred and Kyle have been focused on the moment.”
Each had an assist in LSSU’s 5-2 win over Notre Dame Saturday, the game that snapped the Fighting Irish’s 11-game unbeaten streak.
That was an important game for the Lakers, said Roque, because confidence has been another factor in his team’s success this season. “You start winning and you get some confidence,” he said. “For us to come back from that on Saturday meant a lot to our team.”
The No. 11 Lakers will be tested on the road this week when they face the No. 7 Buckeyes, a team they face four times this season. “We compete really hard,” said Roque, “and we’ve had a lot of one-goal games. Our concern is still scoring goals.”
LSSU will look to stop another streak this weekend, OSU’s nine-game unbeaten streak. This is the first meeting between the teams since the Lakers eliminated the Buckeyes from the first round of the 2010-11 CCHA playoffs, outscoring OSU 7-2.
In last week’s notes, I related a story I’d been told about Alaska senior goaltender Scott Greenham, a player that is by all accounts a class act.
Last weekend, that class act schooled visiting Bowling Green, posting back-to-back shutouts by stopping all 39 shots he faced in the 3-0 and 2-0 wins — and he still managed to stay classy.
“I wish you could have seen the way that Hammond played,” Greenham told me by phone Monday night. We were chatting about Greenham and his season and the weekend against the Falcons, but Greenham wanted to be sure that everyone knew how well BGSU goalie Andrew Hammond performed in those two losses.
“The way he played was unbelievable,” said Greenham. “I knew that when I had my chance to make a save I had to because of the way he was playing.
“I didn’t really know much about him. I heard that he was a really good goalie, but he was making unbelievable saves. That second night, they had 44 penalty minutes … so we were on the power play quite a bit. It was all on him at that point.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised when the conversation took this turn. Greenham was very frank about how his season had been going, completely guileless and totally honest. Until last weekend against BGSU, Greenham’s save percentage had been under .900; in 77 games during the past two seasons, his save percentage averaged .918.
“I think it came down to that I wasn’t making that one key save kind of thing,” said Greenham. “Really, when you looked back at my college career this is the only time I’ve really been faltering. It’s kind of nice to go through the adversity, too — although I’m kind of hoping that we’re through it.”
The Nanooks have won three of their last four, and those three games are the sum total of their conference wins this season. It’s an unusual phenomenon for Alaska under coach Dallas Ferguson, but I was unclear as to how it would be “nice” to experience it. Greenham had the perfect answer.
“Obviously, losing isn’t nice, but — I shouldn’t even say that because it’s only been two weekends — but I’m hoping that it’s kind of behind us now and we’re moving forward,” he said. “A little different experience for our team. We haven’t really gone through that before. It’s nice for us to see what it tastes like to lose. We were in the games [we lost] and we just couldn’t win. This will teach us what it tastes like to win. Just the experience of going through that kind of loss makes you a more complete player.”
If I hadn’t been talking to him myself, I never would have been able to appreciate the sincerity and logic of his answer.
As for his own personal slump this season, Greenham said that he went through a crisis of confidence after the Nanooks lost 6-0 to Ohio State Oct. 28.
“My mental side of the game took a little bit of a lapse after that time,” said Greenham. “We have a lot of young freshman defensemen … and I wasn’t stepping my game up trying to counter for those. As a senior and one of the leaders on this team, that’s something I have to do.”
Getting over it was mind over matter. “I think it was just talking with some of my support systems like my parents, my girlfriend, and Coach Ferguson especially,” said Greenham. “I had a few meetings with Coach about my feelings and his and the team play and my play … and how my play has affected the team. It made me realize what kind of position that I’m in, how goalies in general can influence the outcomes of games.
“To me, the belief that Coach Ferguson had in me got me to realize that I shouldn’t be over-thinking games.”
Clearly, Greenham’s head was in Alaska’s games against Bowling Green, when he had long stretches of time to watch his counterpart at the other end of the rink, long stretches where Greenham didn’t face a shot but had to be ready when challenged.
For the record, Hammond stopped 61 shots in the series. I think Scott Greenham would want you to know.
Everyone loves a trophy, and I love a team that can bring hardware to the CCHA. Congratulations to Miami and Michigan State for their hard work defending the realm during the Thanksgiving weekend.
Miami captured the Denver Cup Classic by beating Providence 6-2 Friday and Denver 4-2 Saturday. Senior Cody Reichard had 32 saves in the title game, one on Denver’s Jason Zucker on a penalty shot. That victory was Reichard’s 50th with the RedHawks.
Michigan State defeated visiting Minnesota 4-3 Friday before tying the then-No. 3 Golden Gophers 4-4 Saturday. That was enough for the Spartans to defend the Bessone-Mariucci Trophy, the hardware awarded to the winner of this annual series, for the second consecutive season.
Daultan Leveille had the tying goal Saturday less than two minutes after Kyle Rau put the Gophers ahead by one. It was Leveille’s second goal of the season.
Michigan’s slump continues. The Wolverines, now winless in six games, lost 4-1 to Northeastern on Friday and 6-3 to Union on Sunday — at home, in the comfort of Yost Ice Arena. No current Wolverines player was alive the last time Michigan dropped four in a row at Yost, because the last time it happened was in 1986.
The Wolverines still have the fourth-best scoring offense in the country (3.75 goals per game), but during their slump they had three games in which they scored a single goal.
Rookie of the week: For the second time this season, it’s Miami’s Austin Czarnik, who had a goal and three assists in the Denver Cup Classic, earning him a spot on the all-tournament team.
Offensive player of the week: For the second time this season, it’s Miami’s Reilly Smith. The junior had three goals combined against Providence and Denver and was named the Denver Cup Classic MVP.
Defenseman of the week: For the second time in his career, it’s Alaska senior Aaron Gens, who had three assists and seven blocked shots in the Nanooks’ double-blanking of Bowling Green.
Goaltender of the week: For the first time this season, it’s Michigan State senior Drew Palmisano. Palmisano made 75 saves (.915 save percentage) in MSU’s victory over and tie with visiting Minnesota.
1. Boston College
2. Notre Dame
3. Merrimack
4. Minnesota-Duluth
5. Minnesota
6. Colorado College
7. Ohio State
8. Ferris State
9. Lake Superior State
10. Denver
11. Boston University
12. Western Michigan
13. Michigan State
14. Miami
15. Union
16. Michigan Tech
17. Colgate
18. Cornell
19. Northern Michigan
20. Nebraska-Omaha
I don’t remember the last time I didn’t include Michigan in my weekly poll.
Remember to be civil, though. Seriously, it’s no fun if people are rude to each other. Tweet (@paulacweston), email ([email protected]) or comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer.
The Tuesday, Nov. 29, episode of USCHO Live! features Ted Donato, Harvard head coach, and Paul Shaheen of the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation.
Donato, a Harvard alumnus and 13-year NHL veteran, is in his eighth year behind the Crimson bench. Donato was a member of Harvard’s 1989 national championship team where he was named Most Outstanding Player and was on the 1992 U.S. Olympic hockey team.
Shaheen will announce major news about the Hockey Humanitarian Award exclusively on tonight’s broadcast.
Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Nov. 29, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET. If you can’t listen live, check out the podcast of USCHO Live! available on the player at the right (click through if you’re reading this via RSS.)
Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach and play college hockey and journalists who cover the sport. Your calls are welcome at (646) 200-4305, as well as questions via Twitter at @USCHO or via email to [email protected].
Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.”
Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and now as RIT’s play-by-play voice for the last several seasons. Ed is based in Rochester, N.Y.
Jim: Well, Todd, another week and, for once, our No. 1 team doesn’t change in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. Merrimack held its position, even solidified it, with a 6-0 win over Alabama-Huntsville. I was one of the 48 (of 50) voters to put Merrimack No. 1, but I had a difficultly in doing so. I know we’ve talked about it before, but I’m pretty torn about the fact Merrimack has played just ONE team under consideration. Ohio State, on the other hand, is 10-3-1 and has played all but two of those games against a team under consideration (and is 8-3-1 in those games). The fact is, no team besides Merrimack really makes a case for No. 1. Rarely in my years have I been so conflicted in balloting. Am I being overdramatic?
Todd: I think you’re well within your rights as a voter to feel conflicted about that particular situation, but let’s take something else into consideration: With the exception of one measly tie, Merrimack has done everything it has needed to do to be the No. 1 team in the country right now. When you look around the rest of the landscape, you can find holes in everyone else’s argument. So if someone wants to downgrade the Warriors on their schedule, fine. I would just advise to be prepared to downgrade everyone else as well because of some criteria.
Jim: And therein lies my problem. As weak as Merrimack’s schedule is, the Warriors don’t have a loss. This reminds me so much of Air Force in the 2008-09 season, when the Falcons were 13-0-0 and beat then-No. 3 Colorado College. That same weekend, though, Air Force played then-No. 9 Denver for its first loss and that erased all of the talk of Air Force as No. 1 (for those who wonder, Air Force was ranked 10th while ranked 13-1-0). Back to the point, though, Air Force got to 12-0-0 and never got above 10th in the poll and its schedule wasn’t that much weaker than Merrimack at this point. I guess the league you play in matters?
Todd: I think that’s a fair statement. Now, whether it in itself is fair is another topic altogether. It seems pretty common that teams from the quote-unquote power conferences get more of a boost in the polls when they are on a hot streak. To me, that’s going to make the conference realignment coming in a couple of seasons all the more volatile. Which league will get the benefit of the doubt most then?
Jim: Now that’s a good question. Will the Big Ten always get more appreciation in the poll? Maybe the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Or Maybe it’s Hockey East just because that conference will be the most stable of all. Distribution of voters is a very important part of that and I know, without bias, USCHO has always done its best to balance things. Going forward, that will be an important part of the poll. But assuming balance, there will be a curiosity whether one or two conferences will be given more credit than others.
Todd: For whatever reason, my instinct is that Hockey East is going to get a lot of that appreciation, if only because it’s a known quantity (not withstanding the addition of Notre Dame and a potential companion). Hockey East has proven over the years that its top teams are going to be among the top in the country. We’ll have to see how things develop for the Big Ten and the NCHC.
Jim: And in that we don’t even mention the WCHA. Every year, that conference has had the nation’s best among its members. Somehow I have a feeling that still may ring true once realignment takes effect, but I guess we’ll wait and see.
Speaking of the WCHA, an interesting occurrence this weekend in that league. Colorado College lost two games to North Dakota but in BOTH games CC’s Rylan Schwartz netted hat tricks. Obviously, nothing more than a silver lining, but if anything you now have to think of Schwartz as an early season candidate for the Hobey Baker Award.
Todd: If nothing else, it brought him even with his brother, Jaden, who was the more likely Hobey candidate going into the season in my mind, with 17 points on the season. I still think both are a little bit out of the picture among forwards right now, but if Rylan puts up a few more hat tricks, who knows?
You’ve got to think that CC coach Scott Owens and North Dakota’s Dave Hakstol were pulling their hair out over a series like the Tigers and Sioux just played. Last Friday’s game was 6-6 before the game was 34 minutes old. Saturday’s game was 2-2 after the first period. Those are the kinds of games that you just want to get out of ahead on the scoreboard, and North Dakota had enough to get it done.
Jim: Agreed. Most fans love the high-scoring games. Coaches hate them. I had the pleasure (again, not coaching) of watching possibly the comeback of the season as Harvard came from 4-0 down and beat New Hampshire 7-6. That game showed off a freshman for Harvard named Colin Blackwell. He scored twice that night in the third period to give the Crimson the win. I put him on my “Remember that kid’s name” team because two years from now we’ll be talking about him in the Hobey conversation. The kid is one great young forward.
Todd: It’s always great to see those kinds of comebacks, because you always think back to them the next time a team’s up big. It’s a good reminder that anything can happen.
Speaking of New Hampshire, just when it looked like the Wildcats were going to start going onto the good side of .500, that collapse against Harvard happened. UNH still hasn’t won a game away from home this season. Where do you think the Wildcats go from here?
Jim: Every time I feel like I know the UNH team I am watching, they do a complete 180. I was really impressed with UNH for 20 minutes last Tuesday and thought to myself, “This is the Wildcats team I expected to see.” Then, suddenly, everything fell apart. No defense. Little urgency. Spotty goaltending. What I can tell you is the rough start gives UNH little room for error in the second half of the season. This team has made 10 straight NCAA appearances and 14 of the last 15. Keeping that streak alive will become difficult if it continues to struggle.
Todd: You could apply that last sentence to Michigan as well. The Wolverines have the longest streak with 21 straight tournament appearances, but the streak they need to be concerned with right now is six, as in games without a win. They’ve gone from 7-2-1 to 7-7-2, and now they get a trip to Alaska before going into the holiday break with a home-and-home series with Michigan State. That’s a couple of pretty important weekends for Michigan.
Jim: It’s incredible to think how quickly Michigan has fallen. Three weeks ago, the Wolverines were in the top five and receiving first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll. Now they are .500 and barely in the top 20.
Looking ahead, interesting weekend of games on tap. In Hockey East, you have Boston College and Boston University locking horns again in a home-and-home. Last time, BU crushed BC 5-0, and that’s something I’m sure the Eagles will remember. Same can be said for Massachusetts-Lowell playing two with UNH. The River Hawks have played well of late, the only exception a blowout against the Wildcats. UNH, of course, has the Harvard loss fresh in its head. In the ECAC, Clarkson and Colgate, two teams we may not have mentioned preseason, will face one another on Friday, both having excellent seasons to date. How about out West?
Todd: No. 8 Colorado College and No. 10 Denver get together for the second time this season on Friday, but it might not be the matchup we were expecting as little as a week ago. Denver is on to its third-string goaltender, having lost Sam Brittain in the offseason and Adam Murray recently. Juho Olkinuora is the starter for the time being for the Pioneers, who have won just three times in their last nine games. The Tigers, meanwhile, have last weekend to get over.
There are a few other matchups of ranked teams to keep an eye on as well: No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 20 Michigan Tech, No. 6 Ferris State and No. 12 Western Michigan playing a home-and-home series, and No. 7 Ohio State hosting No. 11 Lake Superior State for two. That makes for a lot of potential for change in next week’s poll.
Over the last 20-plus seasons in Houghton, Mich., the Michigan Tech Huskies have had two consistencies. One was losing more often than winning, and the other was solid goaltending.
While Huskies goaltenders might not be household names, several have seen more than enough pucks to hone their skills and advance to the professional ranks.
After three seasons of wondering who was going to be the next in line, Huskies players and fans are privy to the evolution of one Josh Robinson. A senior from Frankenmuth, Mich., Robinson had just six career victories in 55 games over his first three seasons. In just 11 games so far this season, he already has seven wins with a goals against average of 2.08, more than a goal per game fewer than his previous best (3.09 as a freshman).
“I think he’s been playing more aggressively and that has helped him,” Minnesota State coach Troy Jutting said after playing the Huskies this season. “As a senior, there’s a focus and a concentration that may not have been there in previous years.”
When former Huskies coach Jamie Russell stepped down after last season, the Huskies had won just 15 times over the last three seasons. New coach Mel Pearson and his staff has already coaxed eight wins out of this year’s group. One big reason for the improvement has been a defensive philosophy change from which Robinson seems to be thriving.
“We are playing a different style,” said Pearson. “We’re trying to give up less shots than we saw last year. I think last year, [the] goalies were just inundated with shots.”
When Pearson took over, he determined that Robinson and juniors Kevin Genoe and Corson Cramer could all stand to learn from a friend and former player of his during his time at Michigan, Steve Shields. Shields played for six teams in the NHL from 1995 to 2006.
Convincing Shields that Michigan Tech would be a good fit for him took a bit longer than Pearson might have hoped, but early returns show that his persistence has paid off.
“I talked to Steve about it in Ann Arbor of all places,” said Pearson. “We happened to be there at the same time and we talked about it there. One thing led to another, and he thought it would be good himself as far as where he was in his career and wanting to be a coach.”
Robinson spent the majority of the offseason in the Minneapolis area working with young goaltenders and also getting the opportunity to work with a number of professional coaches.
Shields met with Robinson after the summer ended and was pleased with Robinson’s ability and his willingness to learn while setting the bar high.
“I asked [Josh] what was the best game he played last year; he said it was against Michigan at the GLI,” said Shields. “I said, ‘Josh, that’s the only game I was going to watch from you because that’s the standard you set for me, so that’s what I expect from you and you should expect that from yourself.'”
Shields was also impressed with who Robinson had learned from, and felt that incorporating what Robinson had learned with where he would need to improve was going to prove doable as all the coaches share a similar philosophy.
“[Josh] works with a goalie coach in the summer who I am familiar with and is a friend of mine,” Shields said, referencing former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Valley, now goaltending coach for the Dallas Stars, whom Robinson works with in the summer. “In that respect, it makes it easier because that goaltending coach has the same philosophy as I do pretty much. We’ve come from the same school of goaltending. When Josh is out on the ice, I think he does get that assurance that somebody is watching him who feels the same way he does about how he feels he should be playing.”
Shields has been on the ice with Robinson, Genoe and Cramer four days a week, working on more than just stopping pucks or improving reaction time. Robinson attributes work on his positioning as a huge step forward in his ability to stop pucks.
“Before [team] practice we go out with him and work on specific things, what he sees in the games,” said Robinson. “It’s more technical, the small, little details, the small movements like how you position yourself on the post … all the small, little stuff that goes into goaltending that people don’t notice but are the difference between getting that push over and making that save with your chest as opposed to sprawling and trying to make that save.”
With Robinson playing the way he has thus far, the Huskies have served notice to the rest of the WCHA that they have no intention of being the pushover they’ve been in years past. This season, the Huskies have already defeated Wisconsin twice and Denver once.
Robinson is quick to recognize that he wouldn’t be in the position he’s in most nights without the help of his friends. After his 1-0 shutout against Minnesota State, Robinson was quick to mention that it was a total team effort that led to victory. The Pearson-led Huskies have changed their defensive scheme this season, and that gives Robinson more room to see pucks.
“A lot has to do with communication with the defense, how I communicate with them and how they communicate with me,” said Robinson. “Instead of coming right back at me when there are guys coming at me, they go to the corners, give me options. It’s how we work as a D corps back there more than anything.”
UNE Wins PAL Cup
Of the three ECAC East tournament winners this past weekend, two are not surprising. Norwich and Castleton both remained unbeaten for the season in winning the Primelink Tournament and Rutland Invitational, respectively. The new kid on the block is the University of New England, which collected its first hardware as a member of the ECAC East in beating conference foe Massachusetts-Boston in a shootout to win the PAL Cup tournament.
After beating the host school SNHU by a score of 6-3 on Saturday, the Nor’easters started out strong in the championship game, taking a 3-1 lead in the second period before the Beacons rallied in the final minutes to tie the score at 3-3. A scoreless third period and overtime showcased UNE’s Craig Ryan in goal, as UNE was outshot 14-6 over the final 25 minutes of play. Ryan continued his strong play into the shootout, blanking the Beacons as UNE scored twice to win the shootout and the tournament.
Ironically, Mass.-Boston had earned its way into the finals with a 1-1 tie and shootout win over Worcester State in the opening round, so the Beacons lived and died at the hands of penalty shot proficiency. For UNE, it was a real confidence-building win for a young team that had to overcome some late-game struggles in order to hoist the trophy.
While the game is officially a tie on both teams’s records, UNE certainly will be looking to build on its strong play from the weekend when league play resumes this upcoming weekend and the Beacons get another shot at UNE on the road in Maine Saturday night.
Tough Weekend for NESCAC teams
Other than Hamilton’s win over Skidmore in the Skidmore Invitational, the remainder of the conference teams struggled in tournament or nonconference games after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Amherst finished 1-1 in the Cape Cod Classic, having beaten Salem State in a first round contest before losing on Sunday afternoon to Hobart by a score of 3-1. Middlebury, which hosted the Primelink this year, lost 3-2 to Elmira on Friday and tied Plattsburgh 0-0 on Saturday to finish 0-1-1 in the tournament, which was won by Norwich over Elmira by a score of 5-2. Tufts split its two games in Rutland, losing to Morrisville before blanking Becker College 3-0 in the consolation game on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Trinity split two nonconference games with a win over Assumption and a one-goal loss against Wentworth. Wesleyan dominated Assumption in shots by a nearly two-to-one margin, but lost where it counts on the scoreboard to Assumption by a score of 4-3.
The U-18 U.S. team took honors at the Bowdoin/Colby Tournament by beating both NESCAC schools by scores of 2-1 and 5-4 respectively. The Polar Bears won their other match-up with Salve Regina by a score of 5-2, while the host Mules dropped two one-goal decisions to finish 0-2 for the weekend. Sunday’s loss to Salve Regina saw the Seahawks score with just over a minute remaining in regulation to take a 3-2 win.
In a wild nonconference affair, John Rolli’s Massachusetts-Dartmouth squad scored six times on 20 shots to beat the host Connecticut College Camels by a score of 6-4. Connecticut put up 40 shots, but couldn’t solve Corsairs goalie Ben Vandervies enough to grab the win in a seesaw game which was decided in the final five minutes of play in the third period.
Finally, Williams and Manhattanville played to a 1-1 tie when the Valiants finally found a way to get the puck by Ryan Purdy with just over six minutes remaining in the third period to tie the score. Purdy finished the game with for 41 saves in 65 minutes of action for the Ephs.
Offensive Spartans
Both sophomore Colin Murray (4-2-6) and junior Chris Weiland (1-4-5) nearly doubled their season point totals in just 60 minutes of hockey when Castleton laid one on Becker College in the first round of the Rutland Invitational. The 10-0 win was also the first career college start for goalie Thomas Shelley, who earned his first two wins and secured his first shutout over the weekend.
No matter where you might have caught the action this weekend, there was a lot of it, and great balance in most of the games across the multiple New England conferences. Look for more of the same with a bit more at stake this weekend when teams return to conference play before the semester break.
