The puck stops where?

-

January 13, 2011

Usually discussions with coaches contain a lot of “coach-speak,” the noncommittal type of responses that evoke many of the usual clichés.

“You know we need to get better on special teams.”

“I really liked the way we competed tonight; we just needed a little puck-luck.”

“We didn’t create enough traffic in front of their net and didn’t get enough second chances.”

So when you have one of those “what if” conversations that leads to looking at the game or stats a little differently, it can be thought provoking and fun to analyze. Case in point, Bowdoin head coach Terry Meagher has long contended that teams need to have goaltenders with a save percentage of at least .900, and in fact says .910 will have you in about every game.

The discussion came up in reference to the fact that the Polar Bears so far this year have been a very strong offensive team led by Kyle Shearer-Hardy, Jeff Fanning and Daniel Weininger. The concern expressed by the coach is that the team has really focused on the offensive part of the game and needs to commit to the defense a bit more. Of course we came back to the save percentage statistic which coach Meagher thought was an area that Bowdoin needed to improve on if they wanted to go far this season.

I sat down after the call and thought that this year has been a crazy season in terms of game results and the ability of teams to string together victories with any great consistency. What do the goalie save percentages look like for the teams at the top vs. the bottom, and how significant is the statistic overall?

After all, hockey is a team sport, and although the netminder is the last line of defense, there are usually other breakdowns that lead to the Grade ‘A’ scoring chances, so let’s take a look at the goalies in the respective conferences and see how telling the save percentage stat really is.

In the ECAC East, there are only five of 15 goalies who have played at least one-third of their team’s minutes/games played with a save percentage over .910, and just six above .900. There should be no surprise that Castleton, Norwich and Massachusetts-Boston are in the top three in the league, with Erick Cinotti, Alex Dubois and Thomas Speer well above the .910 line. All three teams are at the top of the standings.

Additionally the same three lead the league in goals against average, which probably more accurately reflects strong team defense and goalies that are making the routine and big saves when needed to backstop their team. With everyone in the hunt for playoff seeding, teams like Babson, Southern Maine and Skidmore are going to need to see the their netminder’s percentage move north of .900/.910 in the second half to help their teams to more victories.

Over in the NESCAC conference, all but four of 12 goaltenders playing at least one-third of the minutes have save percentages above .900, and five have SP’s over .910. Ryan Purdy, Cole Anderson and Wes Vesprini lead the way in the conference with two of the top teams covered, and Vesprini and Trinity an anomaly.

Then again, maybe not.

“Wes has been asked to do a lot for this team,” stated coach Dave Cataruzolo. “When he has been on, he has been really on, but we have pressed a lot to score goals, which continues to be a challenge and have often left him to fend for himself; he has done a really good job in keeping things close for us and giving us a chance. Hopefully, we will score more goals in the second half here.”

That may be one of the telling statistics in terms of identifying root causes for lower save percentages — teams that have struggled offensively have pushed forward often, leaving themselves open for odd-man rushes and great scoring chances from turnovers. To be certain, the goalies have needed to be able to make the really big save to keep things close and their team in the game.

Another area that may be creating an impact is the frequency and success rates of special teams. Power play rates have been up this year across both conferences; only Williams has a penalty kill rate over 90 percent. More penalties equals more special teams, and that results in more scoring opportunities where the goaltender truly needs to be the team’s best penalty killer.

“There are probably a lot of factors in why the numbers seem down,” noted Cataruzolo. “Goaltending will always be a big key for success in the game, and I don’t think the level of performance or ability has changed over the past several years in terms of any decline. I think the game situations have created more and better opportunities to challenge defenses and goalies and with goals so hard to come by, teams really need the guy between the pipes to play well and be very consistent all the time.”

Everyone is looking for the little edge each and every game, and if your goaltender can get hot and give his team that kind of lift, then the confidence for all players goes up and pressure to score in bunches dissipates. Just a couple more saves, a couple of points higher on the SP, and teams could see two points in the standings.

All the goalies are ready to rock — drop the puck!

Circle-the-date encounter here in MCHA

By Larry O'Connor

-

January 13, 2011

No. 8 Adrian holds a 14-0 series advantage over No. 9 Milwaukee School of Engineering heading into this weekend’s clash of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association titans.

“The record speaks for itself,” MSOE coach Mark Ostapina said.

Said coach Ron Fogarty: “What’s happened in the past is irrelevant.”

While stating the obvious, both coaches are right. The series at Adrian’s Arrington Ice Arena Friday and Saturday will likely chart the course of how both squads fare in the run up to the MCHA playoffs.

Yes, the Bulldogs (10-3, 7-1) have dominated the four-year series, but the Raiders (11-2, 8-0) are a former shell of the past, especially compared to last season’s injury-riddled campaign.

The Raiders’ torrid 8-0 start this season, coupled with the Bulldogs’ three-year MCHA title run, made this a circle-the-date-on-the-calendar encounter in November.

In sophomore Jordan Keizer (14 goals, 9 assists, 23 points), MSOE boasts one of the more lethal scorers in D-III. Keizer’s 1.08 goals-per-game ranks second in the nation, while his 1.77 points-per-game is tied for fourth. He’s complemented by junior forward Todd Krupa (10-7-17).

In MSOE’s two losses (2-1 St. Thomas, Dec. 10; 4-1 to then-No. 12 Hamline, Jan. 1), Keizer was held scoreless while Krupa only mustered an assist in each game.

“If they are going to be successful, (we have) to force them to go 200 feet,” Fogarty said. “We can’t turn the puck over or they will capitalize on it.

“We just look to play a hard physical game and slow them down.”

MSOE is also getting production from the point, ranking third nationally in scoring defense (23 goals in 13 games, 1.77 points-per-game). Freshman Michael Thompson (4-6-10) leads team defensemen in scoring.

The Raiders have been buoyed by the superlative play of junior netminder Connor Toomey (9-2, 1.58 goals-against, .934 save-percentage).

“Obviously with his numbers, he has been Steady Eddie,” Ostapina said. “It’s just been incredible in what he’s been doing.”

MSOE’s goalie will have to repel Adrian’s sizeable arsenal, which includes proven scorers in seniors center Brad Houston (9-11-20) and winger Shawn Skelly (9-11-20).

The Bulldogs offense (59 goals in 13 games, 4.54 goals per game) ranks fifth in the nation among D-III schools. The team’s power play (23 of 72, 31.9 percent), led by Skelly’s five man-advantage goals, registers third nationally.

While scoring 14 goals in its last two wins (7-3 Nichols, Jan. 1; 7-5 Buffalo State, Jan. 7), Adrian has been letting a few slip in.

Senior goalie Brad Fogal (10-3, 2.70 GAA, .901 save-pct.) was pulled briefly in the second period after surrendering three goals on 13 shots in the Buffalo State victory. He returned after 22 seconds and finished the game with 27 saves to earn the win.

“I just brought Fogal in to talk to him a bit,” Fogarty said. “…It was just a case of Fogal being focused.”

Despite first place being at stake, the respective coaches are down-playing the weekend series.

“It’s big for us to keep turning the corner and play our style of game,” Fogarty said. “I think we come in as the underdog. They are in first place and have things rolling over there. We just have to be ready to counter punch.”

Said Ostapina: “We’re excited. It’s youthful enthusiasm in regards to looking forward to this weekend just like every weekend.”

MCHA Player of the Week
Shawn Skelly, Adrian: The senior winger netted two goals, including his 200th career point, in the No. 8 Bulldogs’ 7-5 victory over Buffalo State Jan. 7. The Wolverine Lake, Mich., native also had a three-assist performance in his team’s 7-3 win over Nichols in the Northfield Bank Tournament Third Place game Jan. 1. Skelly (9-11-20) is tied for the team scoring lead with center Brad Houston (9-11-20).

MIAC Player of the Week
Brian Arrigoni, Hamline: The junior forward went on a seven-point scoring tear during the No. 11 Pipers’ 2-1 stretch to ring in the new year. The St. Paul, Minn., product scored twice in the team’s 4-1 triumph over then-No. 9 Milwaukee School of Engineering on Jan. 1 and collected two assists and a goal in a 4-1 victory over Wisconsin-Superior on Friday. The former USHL Indiana Ice player capped off the weekend with a goal and an assist in Hamline’s 3-3 tie with St. Scholastica Sunday.

NCHA Player of the Week
Alain Joanette, St. Norbert: The junior forward had a five-point weekend in leading the No. 1 Green Knights to a weekend sweep over nonconference foes St. John’s, 6-0, and Concordia (Minn.), 5-1. In Friday’s victory, the Chelmsford, Ontario, product snagged a pair of goals, including the game-winner, and an assist. He assisted on two goals in Saturday’s win over the Cobbers.

SUNYAC Rookie Report

By Russell Jaslow

-

January 13, 2011

There are a handful of freshmen who have made a quick impact on this season so far. Heading that list are the Geneseo forward duo of Zachary Vit and Rich Manley.

They are certainly hard to miss on the ice. Vit stands at 6-3 and 200 lbs. while Manley is 6-5. Sometimes, these numbers are inflated, leaving some to wonder whether they measure the players with their skates on. However, I can attest, having met Manley in the Brockport press box when he was injured, there was no need to pad his height. I would hate to run into him on the ice when he gains a few inches with his skates on.

They have been playing together on the same line with center Jonathan Redlick. It is no surprise those three players are the top three on their team for points (Danny Scagnelli is tied with Redlick for third with 15 points).

Vit is at the head of the list with nine goals and 12 assists. In fact, his 21 points leads the nation amongst freshmen. Vit has had a few more games than others, as his points per game (1.40) is third best.

Manley is tied for third in the nation amongst all players for game-winning goals at three, one behind the leaders. In total, he has eight goals and eight assists.

Within SUNYAC play, which is all that is considered when selecting the conference’s rookie of the year, Vit is the leading freshmen scorer with 10 points (five goals, five assists). Manley’s statistics aren’t as impressive within the conference because he missed three games with an injury, though he still sits fifth among freshmen scoring.

The line with these freshmen wingers is a key reason why Geneseo is sitting in second place halfway through the season and is a serious contender to grab an NCAA playoff spot.

In my season preview, I said Vit and Manley should make an immediate impact. They have.

I was told at the start of the season to keep an eye on Plattsburgh’s Nick Jensen. Sometimes, a new player can get “lost” in the Plattsburgh system with so much depth and talent. However, the freshman from Sweden has held his own, scoring six goals and six assists for 12 points, fifth best on the team.

His six points (two goals, four assists) in conference play has him tied for third amongst freshmen scoring with Morrisville’s Curtis Renaud, who has the exact same breakdown. Shane Avery (4-3-7) of Buffalo State is second.

Other first year players who have done well so far scoring for their teams are Potsdam’s Brandon Couto (4-7-11), Brockport’s Bobby Conner (3-7-10), and Buffalo State’s Mike Zannella (5-4-9), who gets the pleasure of playing on the line with Nick Petriello.

The top freshman defenseman point getter is Cortland’s Stephen Nardi (2-5-7).

There are two freshmen goaltenders who are making an impact for their teams — Fredonia’s Mark Friesen and Buffalo State’s Kevin Carr.

Carr is a key reason why the Bengals have turned their season around this year and are in contention for a bye, never mind a home playoff spot. Carr has played in all but one game, supplanting senior Alan Fritch. In conference play, he has a .934 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average. He has clearly become the guy Buffalo State will ride into the playoffs.

Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said at the start of the season, “Last year, our goaltending was hit or miss, inconsistent. That’s one thing we’ve been fortunate about — we’ve always had very good goaltending. We brought in two freshmen that we’re looking to compete.”

Well, the Blue Devils once again have very good goaltending thanks to one of those freshmen, Friesen. He has played in 10 of his team’s 15 games. His numbers are 2.38 GAA and .929 save pct. in SUNYAC play. Unfortunately, Fredonia is tied for the second worst in league play scoring goals, so there will be even more pressure on Friesen to bail his team out.

Game of the Week
Elmira at Geneseo on Saturday is shaping up to be a dandy of a contest.

Give Elmira credit. They are playing the top SUNYAC teams in their nonconference schedule — Oswego twice, Fredonia twice, Plattsburgh, Morrisville, and now Geneseo. Thus, this game has huge ramifications for each team when Pool C bids are allotted for the NCAA tournament.

If Elmira doesn’t grab the Pool B slot and/or Geneseo doesn’t win the SUNYAC automatic qualifier, it is games like this that can ultimately decide who gets a second chance. Elmira has been tested in 2011 with a tie at Plattsburgh and a win against Fredonia. The Ice Knights have been playing a soft schedule heading into this showdown.

However, that may be a benefit for Geneseo. They were banged up at the end of the last semester, and they returned this year healthier with some “tune up” games. I like Geneseo’s talent, style, and goaltending this year, and they have done very well despite their depleted lineup at times. It won’t be easy, but I’m taking Geneseo being at home to win this one.

A runner-up candidate is Williams at Plattsburgh Monday afternoon. Williams made some noise being undefeated before last weekend, but they dropped two. The Cardinals continue their improvement as the season goes on, going 8-0-1 in their last nine games. It’s the second longest current unbeaten streak in the country. This will be a good test for Williams to see if their strong start was for real or a fluke against weak competition.

It will also be an opportunity for Plattsburgh to continue to add to their streak; I think that’s exactly what Plattsburgh will do.

Last Batch of Nonconference Games
This past week, we saw 16 nonconference games. I went 11-3-2 picking them for a season total of 54-19-6 (.722).

This week, there are 11 nonconference games. Then, that’s it, with the exception of four nonconference games sprinkled in amongst the second half of the SUNYAC season.

Tonight, Geneseo should have no trouble at Western New England College. Fredonia will also have no problems sweeping Franklin Pierce this weekend. Ditto for Buffalo State over Johnson and Wales in a weekend pair. Potsdam should get back on the winning track with a win against Southern New Hampshire.

Morrisville has three tough contests coming up. They host Neumann twice and then travel to New England College. I like Morrisville against New England College, even though the Pilgrims are better than their record indicates. Against Neumann, they at least get to play at home. I think the Mustangs can steal one here and get a split against the Knights.

Willer coming into his own at Elmira

By Scott Biggar

-

January 13, 2011

Junior Kevin Willer has improved each season of his college career, and he has continued that this season, leading Elmira in goals with 12 and is third in assists with 11. This compares to the 15 goals and 19 assists he tallied all of last season.

Willer scored both goals in Elmira’s 2-2 tie last Saturday at Plattsburgh. His first came late in the second period to tie the game 1-1, answering the Cardinals’ opening goal less than five minutes earlier.
His second also tied the game, this time 2-2, with 1:21 left in the third period while Elmira had an extra attacker on the ice after pulling goaltender Darren McDonald.

“Kevin is having an outstanding year,” said Elmira coach Aaron Saul. “He has really come into his own. I think he is one of the best players on our team, if not the best, and one of the better players in the league. It is good to see him finally get some credit. He is the kind of guy that is sometimes overshadowed. He competes every day and is a great two-way player.”

Willer’s ability to finish salvaged the game for Elmira and extended the Soaring Eagles unbeaten streak to four. This unbeaten streak is in stark contrast to the state of the team at the end of November. Over the course of six game during the last three weeks of that month, Elmira went 1-3-2 and started to see its season slip away.

Things came to a head Thanksgiving weekend at the Skidmore tournament, where Elmira tied Southern Maine on Friday and then lost to host Skidmore on Saturday, causing the Soaring Eagles record to dip below .500.

As the calendar turned into December, Elmira started to rally and defeated Fredonia, Neumann, and Cortland to make the Christmas break a little more jolly.

“We won three games before break and had a great effort at Plattsburgh,” said Saul. “I think we’ve turned the corner. We had two bad weekends in a row over Thanksgiving break. We got to rock bottom at the Skidmore tournament and kind of regrouped together. We were beating ourselves. We had to face some adversity and got through it as a team.”

A nonconference record of 5-3-3 leaves Elmira with very little margin of error for the remainder of the season. An additional challenge for the Soaring Eagles is the loss of their leading freshman scorer, Etienne Archambault, who returned to Canada at the end of first semester. Archambault scored seven goals and added three assists in the 13 games he played during the first half of the season.

“He returned to a French speaking school in Montreal,” said Saul. “It was more personal reasons than anything else. His GPA was as high as it can be. The culture and environment were very different than from which he came and I don’t think he was 100 percent comfortable here. Whatever is best for the individual is the most important thing.”

Freshmen lead
Before the season began, Utica coach Gary Heenan looked at his roster filled with 16 freshmen, and said “With so many freshmen, they are going to have to play. Leadership for us will be very, very important.”

And play they have. Seven of the top 10 scorers for the Pioneers are freshmen, and they have led the team in a resurgent season with an 11-4 overall record and inclusion in the national poll.

Topping the list of freshmen scorers is Jon Gaffney, who has nine goals and nine assists. Gaffney tallied a hat trick last Saturday against Cortland, assisting on two other goals that game and scoring a short-handed goal late against Curry last Friday to seal that victory.

“He came from a winning program and was a huge leader for them on the score sheet and with toughness,” said Heenan. “As young as our team is, he has stepped up and become a leader on the ice and in the locker room as well. He did great in the classroom as well. Things are going well for him.”

Gaffney’s linemate Trever Hertz is only a step behind with eight goals and nine assists. Hertz leads the Pioneers with a pair of short-handed goals. His three goals and one assist effort last weekend earned Hertz the ECAC West Rookie of the Week award as he has found his scoring touch.

“It has been a bit of an adjustment,” said Heenan. “He went seven games in a row where he didn’t score. He is used to scoring goals where he is coming from. He was aware of that and came to the staff about it. Guys who score a ton in juniors come to expect that, but it is a different game with bigger, stronger guys. To get him scoring again this last weekend will be big for us down the stretch.”

A big part of Utica’s success so far this season has been the power play. Skating with one more skater than the opponent has been anything but an advantage for Utica historically. The Pioneers have only achieved a power-play success rate of 20 percent, a standard that most consider average, once in the last five seasons. However, the Pioneers’ power play is clicking at 29.3 percent so far this year, a level never seen before in Utica.

“It is a big reason why we are winning hockey games,” said Heenan. “We continue to change our system with scouting reports and rolling four lines. We are not doing power-play units at all and are giving every guy an opportunity. We have all kinds of guys scoring power-play goals.”

Rolling four forward lines on the power play is certainly an unorthodox strategy, but it is hard to argue with the success Utica is experiencing.

ECAC West Weekly Awards:
Player of the Week: Tommy Capalbo (Sr.) — Hobart. Capalbo recorded a team-high seven points in the Statesmen’s last four games. He recorded a goal and an assist to help Hobart to a 6-3 win over Wis.-Stevens Point on Dec. 30, and earned an assist in a 2-1 win over Hamilton in the championship game of the PathFinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic on Dec. 31. Capalbo registered his third goal this season and an assist in a 5-2 win at Brockport on Tuesday, and tallied two helpers in a loss at Fredonia on Saturday.

Goaltender of the Week: Nick Broadwater (So.) — Hobart. Broadwater has tallied a total of 83 saves in his last three games in goal. He stopped 24 shots in a 6-3 win over Wis.-Stevens Point on Dec. 30, and recorded 35 saves in a 2-1 win over Hamilton in the championship game of the PathFinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic on Dec. 31. Broadwater was named to the all-tournament team. He turned aside 24 shots in a loss at Fredonia on Saturday.

Rookie of the Week: Trever Hertz — Utica. Hertz tallied three goals and added one assist as Utica defeated Curry and Cortland on consecutive nights by scores of 5-2 and 10-1, respectively. Hertz registered a goal in the win over Curry and went on to tally three points (two goals, one assist) in the Pioneers’ win over Cortland. Hertz went +4 on the weekend and recorded a team-best nine shots on goal.

Astedt providing an answer for Plymouth

By Nate Owen

-

January 13, 2011

With 26 players returning from last year’s squad that went 17-9-1, including 12-5-1 in the MASCAC, first-year Plymouth State head coach Craig Russell had every reason to believe this season could be just as successful.

However, while their are still some kinks to be worked out (the Panthers are 7-1, but have four ties on the year, including Sunday and Monday to Wentworth when they led entering the final minute), an improvement of one of the team’s few weaknesses from last year has Plymouth State primed to be in the thick of things once again.

“Goaltending was our biggest weakness last year,” Russell said prior to the season. “We were searching for consistency in that position all year, but were unable to find it. Jack Astedt proved in a couple of games last year that he has what it takes to be a dominant goalie in this league, and I fully expect to see him bring that to the table more often this season.”

Russell’s prediction has held true so far, as the sophomore from Sweden has made a major leap in his second year of college hockey.

“He’s stepped up huge,” Russell said of Astedt following Monday night’s tie at Wentworth. “He’s played all but 80 minutes this year. Not that [freshman backup] Tyler Ingerson isn’t capable, but Jack has far exceeded anyone’s expectations. He’s working hard on and off the ice. He’s doing well in the classroom; he’s a very well-rounded kid. It’s nice to have him back there.”

Astedt played in 13 games his freshman year, posting an 8-4 record but a 3.37 goals-against-average and .899 save percentage. This year, his GAA (2.00) and save percentage (.928), rank 11th and 15th nationally, respectively, while his conference numbers rank among the top three in the MASCAC. He is also the only goaltender to record a shutout in conference play thus far.

“The entire season I’ve felt a lot more comfortable,” Astedt said following Monday’s game. “I know what college hockey is about. It’s not Swedish junior hockey anymore. I feel like you can see that in the results.”

Astedt’s comfort level and communication with his defense was apparent in Monday night’s game at Matthews Arena. The Panthers were forced to kill off a host of early penalties, many in rapid succession, but wound up denying Wentworth on all seven of its power play chances, including a brief five-on-three.

“I’m more relaxed this year, and not just because of the school work,” Astedt said. “I realize I can take it easy instead of [getting stressed]. It’s making it easy and helping the defense.”

PSU will need Astedt and the rest of the team to firing on all cylinders as they begin their 2011 conference portion of the schedule by traveling to upstart Worcester State Thursday night. As detailed last week, the Lancers closed 2010 with a bang, knocking off several of the conference’s top squads. The teams have already met once this season, a 3-3 tie at Hanaway Rink on Nov. 23. The Lancers currently sit one point ahead of Plymouth State in the conference standings.

“Worcester State is a scary team at home,” Russell said. “It’s a whole different game at Horgan Rink. It’s a lot smaller and and lot uglier and that’s the kind of team they are. They’re a blue collar team and they’re going to try and outwork you. It’s not something where you can roll into the game and look at the past. We tied them earlier, although we shouldn’t have. We had a bit of an injury bug then, so we won’t really know how good they are against our team when we’re at our best. Thursday will be a great test, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Pieces still coming together for Wentworth
After a strong finish to the first semester, it was bit was a bit of a hectic start to the second half for Wentworth, mostly due to outside factors. Head coach R.J. Tolan said his team barely had enough players for the Codfish Bowl at the end of December due to weather-related flight cancellations. And some of those that did make it to Massachusetts-Boston for the opening game were hustled straight from Logan Airport, in similar fashion to Doug Mirabelli’s dramatic return to the Red Sox several seasons ago.

With Wentworth’s coop program, the team has lost several of its juniors for practice time due to their jobs in Boston. While Tolan said the program is good for the students, he admitted it did make the coaches’ jobs a bit tougher. The Leopards will have a tough test when No. 12 Utica travels to Boston on Sunday, but while their record has slipped to 6-5-4, they’re 3-1-1 in ECAC Northeast play, only one point behind first place Johnson and Wales.

“We’re a young team with some older guys on coop,” Tolan said after Monday night’s game against PSU. “We’re just trying to be patient and play hard the next couple weeks before we get back into the league.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum
First place Johnson and Wales and Wentworth are the only two ECAC Northeast teams with an overall winning record. Defending conference champion Curry is 2-1-1 in ECAC play, but 5-5-2 overall, and the Colonels are in the midst of a brutal four-game stretch which saw them visit No. 12 Utica and No.1 Oswego over the weekend, losing to each by a three-goal margin. Next up is a pair of games at home against No. 4 Manhattanville on Thursday and Hobart, a team which received several votes in the latest USCHO.com poll, on Saturday. On the flip side, the MASCAC features only two teams (Framingham State and Westfield State) with a losing overall record. Fifth place Fitchburg State is 3-3 in the MASCAC, but 9-3 overall. However, it could be argued that the MASCAC hasn’t quite played opponents with the pedigree of those faced by the ECAC Northeast.

ECAC Northeast Weekly Honors
Player of the Week: Casey Shade, Wentworth. Shade recorded at least one point in all four of Wentworth’s games since the last report, scoring a pair of goals and adding five assists for seven points. Shade had a goal and an assist in the Leopards’ 8-6 loss to Fitchburg State in the opening round of the Codfish Bowl before assisting on two goals in a 6-1 win over Assumption in the consolation game. Against No. 4 Bowdoin, he assisted on one goal in a 5-3 loss before closing out the week with a goal and an assist in a 2-2 tie against Plymouth State. His goal came with 58 seconds left in regulation, 13 seconds after the Panthers had taken a 2-1 lead.

Goalie of the Week: Matt Cooper,Johnson and Wales. Cooper has won his last three games for the Wildcats, including a 32-save performance in the 3-0 shutout win over Becker on Sunday afternoon. He tallied 38 stops in the 4-2 win against St. Michael’s and added 28 saves in the 10-2 victory over Southern New Hampshire.

Rookie of the Week: Guillaume Cyr, Johnson and Wales. Cyr scored his first collegiate goal and added an assist in the Wildcats’ 3-0 win over Becker in an ECAC Northeast contest on Sunday.

Loose Pucks
By far one of the best Christmas gifts I received (outside of “Inception” of course) was “The Best American Sports Writing of 2010.” Guest edited by Peter Gammons (one of my all time favorites), the book is about more then simply just sports. I’ve been captivated by the first two selections, which have dealt with college softball and boxing, two sports I’d hardly consider myself a fan of. Definitely a recommended read.