Another weekend in the books. A good weekend for two teams looking to make splash in the ECAC Northeast this year. Johnson & Wales downed Suffolk 3-0 Sunday to move to 2-0 in conference play, while Wentworth pulled even across the board at 1-1-1 with a convinving 7-2 win at home against upstart Western New England, dealing the Golden Bears their first loss of the season Sunday. Meanwhile, Curry can’t find a win, as a 2-2 with Becker Saturday left the Colonials with a 0-2-2 overall mark on the year. Nichols sent Salve Regina to 0-2 with a connving 11-4 win Saturday.
In the MASCAC, Salem State upped it’s record to 4-0 overall with a 3-1 win over Fitchburg. The Vikings have to be the favorite in the MASCAC early on. This also marks the third straight week that Salem has received votes in the USCHO.com national poll. In other action around the league, UMass-Dartmouth and Plymouth State skated to a 1-1 draw, while Worcester State notched it’s first win of the season with a 4-3 victory over Framingham State.
Weekly Honors
ECAC Northeast
Player of the Week: Danny Kaufmann, Johnson & Wales: The sophomore scored a goal in the Wildcats’ 4-3 win against Wentworth on Wednesday and followed that up with a goal and an assist in J&W 3-0 victory over Suffolk Sunday night.
Goalie of the Week: Matt Copper, Johnson & Wales: The sophomore turned away 35-of-38 shots in a 2-0 week for the Wildcats.
Rookie of the Week: Jon Stauffer, Suffolk: Stauffer led the Rams’ attack against Salve Regina Thursday, netting a hat trick and two assists in the 8-4 win. Each of goals came on the power play and Suffolk scored eight power play goals in the game to tie an NCAA mark. Stauffer became the first New England Division III skater to score at least three power play goals in a game since the 2000-01 season.
Honor Roll
Chris Beaudoin, Western New England: Senior had two goals and an assist for WNEC, including the game winner in overtime Thursday night against Curry.
JoJo Bojanowski, Nichols: A four point week (2-2) for the senior helped Nichols move to 3-1-1 on the year.
Shaun Jameson, Wentworth: Sophomore added a goal and five assists for a six point week.
MASCAC
Player of the Week: Giancarlo Capodanno, Salem State: Salem State moved to 4-0 on the season, thanks to a three goal week by the junior out of Mountainside, N.J.
Goalie of the Week: Collin Tracy, UMass Dartmouth: Tracy posted a win and a tie with an 0.96 GAA and .966 save percentage in a 1-0-1 week for the Corsairs. The senior has already set a career high with three wins.
Honor Roll
Justin Quinn, Fitchburg State: Netted a goal and a pair of assists in 1-1 week for the Falcons.
Robert Vorse, Fitchburg State: Made 32 stops in a 5-1 win over Framingham State and finished the week 1-1 with a .937 save percentage.
James LaCour, Salem State: Senior went 2-0 with a 1.50 GAA for the Vikings, notching 25 and 33 saves, respectively.
Dennis Zak, Westfield State: The sophomore chipped in four points in a 1-1 for the Owls.
Bryan Kalczynski, Worcester State: Turned away 45 shots in a 3-2 loss to Franklin Pierce and made 29 saves in a 4-3 win over Framingham State.
Midweek Picks
Tuesday, 11/23
Salve Regina at New England College: New England College 5, Salve Regina 1
Western New England at Manhattanville: Manhattanville 5, Western New England 3
Suffolk at Southern New Hampshire: Suffolk 3, Southern New Hampshire 1
Curry at Tufts: Tufts 4, Curry 3
Westfield State at Williams: Williams 3, Westfield State 2
Framingham State at UMass Boston: UMass Boston 4, Framingham State 0
UMass Dartmouth at Babson: UMass-Dartmouth 5, Babson2
Worcester State at Plymouth State: Plymouth State 6, Worcester State 1
With the holiday upcoming, the usual Thursday notes column will be taking a break this week. … Head coach Craig Russell has been engaging in several charity and community events at Plymouth State. Check his and the team’s latest one here. Fun fact courtesy of the MASCAC weekly release, put out by Director of Media Relations Jim Seavey: Worcester State’s Marvin Degon posted the second highest single-season goal total in NCAA Division III history with 71 goals to go along with 31 assists in the 1971-72 season.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the football, food, beer (or sparkling cider for you younger readers), and of course hockey. Check back Friday for a weekend preview.
