The WCHA announced Friday announced a date change for two series slated for the opening weekend of league play in January.
The Bowling Green at Ferris State and Minnesota State at Northern Michigan series originally scheduled for Jan. 1-2, 2021 will now be played Jan. 2-3, 2021.
Both games of the BGSU-FSU series will start at 3:07 p.m. EST.
Start times for the MSU-NMU series are to be determined.
Additionally, Ferris State and Northern Michigan announced Friday that they will play a pair of nonconference games in December. NMU will host FSU on Dec. 16 and FSU will host NMU on Dec. 30. Puck drops for the two games are 6:07 p.m. EST and 3:07 p.m. EST, respectively.
Save Seawolf Hockey has collected donations and pledges worth more than $1 million to date, according to a news release sent Friday afternoon.
With about 65 days remaining to raise funds, the group continues to make good progress to keep the Alaska Anchorage hockey program in operation for many years to come.
Alaska Anchorage announced in November that it was opting out of the 2020-21 season after previously announcing in August the 2020-21 season would be its final season due to state funding.
Individual donors, alumni and Alaska-based businesses are stepping forward to save the program from elimination. The Eugene Giza Fund gave a $250,000 match, Paul and Leigh Bates donated more than $50,000, Northrim Bank donated $40,000, alumni Brian Kraft and Steve Bogoyevak each contributed $25,000 and a number of other donors stepped up to push the fundraising efforts over the $1 million mark.
A number of fundraising efforts are underway.
Split the pot
The Benton Bay Athletic Lions Club is hosting a split the pot with half of the proceeds going to a lucky ticketholder and the other half to Save Seawolf Hockey. As of Dec. 11, the pot was over $17,000. Buy tickets.
Text to donate
Text UAAHOCKEY to 41444 to make a donation. This is open to everyone.
Yard signs
Outdoor signs to support Seawolf hockey, gymnastics and skiing are available for a nominal donation. The signs were provided by the Benton Bay Athletic Lions Club. Funds collected for the yard signs will go directly to the desired sport’s fundraising efforts. Signs can be ordered on the Benton Bay Lions website.
Save Seawolf Hockey gear
Individuals can order Save Seawolf Hockey gear – hats, T-shirts, hoodies and more to show their support. All profits go directly to the fundraising efforts. Place an order.
Buy a car, donate to UAA hockey
Lithia Kia of Anchorage will donate $100 to Save Seawolf Hockey for each vehicle sold between Dec. 15, 2020 and Feb. 15, 2021.
Alumni game
A rivalry game between UAA alumni and UAF alumni is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 9 in Anchorage. The location has not yet been finalized and game will be live-streamed in order to comply with the municipality of Anchorage’s health mandates regarding gathering size limitations.
Virtual silent auction
A virtual auction will take place Jan. 6-16 with proceeds benefitting UAA hockey, gymnastics and skiing. Details will be available through the Save Seawolf Hockey website.
Pod play is like a mini-Frozen Faceoff every day, and it has already produced some stellar games. Matthew and I are off to a good start, with each of us going 8-3-2 in the first week of play. We’ll be picking an entire week’s worth of games each Friday. Let’s see how we do this time out.
Friday, Dec. 11
Colorado College versus Western Michigan
Candace: Another tough game to choose. Western Michigan looked good finally but so did CC the last time these two played, which ended in a tie. Western Michigan 3-2
Matthew: Western is starting to find its feet without the Broncos’ No. 1 goalie available, and I think they’ll grab another win here. Western Michigan 3-2
Saturday, Dec. 12
Minnesota Duluth versus Denver
Candace: Another huge game in the NCHC. Denver has started with a brutal schedule. Duluth rallied at the end of the third to win against Denver 10 days ago. Denver flipped a script against North Dakota; can they do it against a Duluth team that they haven’t beaten in two years? Denver 3-2
Matthew: I’m really excited about this game, and there’s not a lot between these teams. Total toss-up for me. Minnesota Duluth 3-2
St. Cloud State versus North Dakota
Candace: St. Cloud has come back down to Earth just a smidge, but so has North Dakota. This will be close, but I like the Fighting Hawks. North Dakota 3-2
Matthew: St. Cloud will be about as rested as a team can be in the pod, but I still like North Dakota to take this game. North Dakota 4-2
Omaha versus Miami
Candace: Last time out these two went to OT. Can Miami earn a win? Possibly, but I like Omaha. Omaha 4-1
Matthew: If you’re a UNO fan, you should be pretty happy with how your team has looked so far. A fourth win from their last five games is very possible here. Omaha 4-2
Sunday, Dec. 13
Colorado College versus Minnesota Duluth
Candace: I am a big fan of what I’ve seen of Duluth so far. The Bulldogs should win. Minnesota Duluth 4-2
Matthew: I’m taking UMD here, but that’s more down to what I’ve seen from the Bulldogs than what I’ve seen so far from CC. Minnesota Duluth 5-2
Western Michigan versus North Dakota
Candace: Hard to see this as anything but a North Dakota win, but it will be closer this time. North Dakota 5-2
Matthew: It won’t be 8-2 like last time, but I’ve got the Hawks winning again. North Dakota 4-1
St. Cloud State versus Omaha
Candace: This will be an exciting, back-and-forth game. Last time out St. Cloud won 5-3. I think St. Cloud wins again. St. Cloud State 4-3
Matthew: St. Cloud started pod life (anyone else have a Blur song stuck in their heads?) pretty well. You want your team to have fewer close wins, and I think this will be another tight game, but I like the Huskies. St. Cloud State 4-3
Tuesday, Dec. 15
Denver versus Western Michigan
Candace: Series between these two are always tight, no matter what is going on with each team. Denver 3-2
Matthew: Denver has started to heat up, and that could be bad news for the Broncos. Denver 5-2
Miami versus Colorado College
Candace: CC has looked fairly good to start the season after a two-week break. This is a tough game to pick. Colorado College 3-2
Matthew: We don’t know if these teams will be near the bottom of the league standings again by the time we’re done, and CC hasn’t played enough games yet to get a great read on the Tigers. Tough one to call. Colorado College 2-1
Wednesday, Dec. 16
Omaha versus Minnesota Duluth
Candace: Duluth already looks like a championship contender, which should scare the rest of the country. Minnesota Duluth 4-1
Matthew: UNO will want to take revenge on the scoreboard here after Duluth beat the Mavericks when the pod got underway, but I’m not sure the Mavericks take this one. Minnesota Duluth 4-2
North Dakota versus St. Cloud State
Candace: North Dakota has picked up where it left off last season. St. Cloud is improved, but inconsistent. This will be tight, but I like NoDak. North Dakota 3-2
Matthew: I’m seeing another one-goal game for St. Cloud, but I’m not sure it’ll go the Huskies’ way. North Dakota 4-2
Thursday, Dec. 17
Miami versus Denver
Candace: Denver has looked good even in its losses. I think they win this won. Denver 4-1
Matthew: Hard not to like the way the Pioneers have looked. Denver 4-1
Despite some cancellations, a lot of games are a go this week, and with that, more picks.
Jim last week: 3-1-0
Jim to date: 5-1-1
Marisa last week: 2-2-0
Marisa to date: 3-3-1
UConn vs Boston College (at BC on Fri.; at UConn on Sat.)
The Eagles look dominant to start the season, but this week will be a little different as they’re even more shorthanded, especially in net as Spencer Knight is in Canada following a double shutout week. Still, tough to see the Eagles slowing down.
Jim’s picks: BC 4, UConn 1; BC 3, UConn 2 Marisa’s picks: BC 4, UConn 2; BC 3, UConn 1
New Hampshire vs. Maine (Fri. at Maine; Sun. at UNH)
It’s the first series of this season for both of these squads after UNH’s season was delayed from its original opening series at the end of November. The Black Bears have a lot to adjust to with Jeremy Swayman out of the fold, while the Wildcats have needed to recover from some positive cases on campus.
Jim’s picks: UNH 3, Maine 2; UNH 3, Maine 1 Marisa’s picks: UNH 4, Maine 1; UNH 3, Maine 2
Northeastern vs Merrimack (Fri. at NU; Sun. at MC)
The Huskies are finally on the ice following a delay to their season, and they host their first contest at Matthews Arena. The Warriors have some action behind them following an upset against UMass last week in their series split.
Jim’s picks: NU 4, MC 3; NU 4, MC 2 Marisa’s picks: NU 4, MC 2; MC 3, NU 2
Providence at UMass Lowell (Sun. at UML)
Lowell opens its season at home while the Friars limp in following their double shutouts against Boston College. The River Hawks haven’t been on the ice in some time and Providence has already faced some lofty competition.
Jim’s picks: UML 3, PC 2 Marisa’s picks: UML 4, PC 1
Sophomore Kevin Wall leads Penn State in scoring. (photo: Craig Houtz).
There are eight games remaining in this condensed first half of B1G Hockey, including the four scheduled for this week. Given my 0-for performance of a week ago, I am grateful that my picks are creeping up toward .500.
Last week
Drew: 7-3-0 (.700)
Paula: 5-5-0 (.500)
This season
Drew: 19-10-1 (.650)
Paula: 13-16-1 (.455)
After a perfect first-half performance, Minnesota will take first place and 24 points into January, as no one behind them can catch up with what remains to be played before the break. Ohio State or Notre Dame — or both — will move ahead of third-place Michigan with this weekend’s series. The Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish are a point apart from each other, too. All times here are local.
No. 14 Ohio State at No. 15 Notre Dame
7:00 p.m. Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Sunday
In their most recent play, both the Buckeyes and the Irish split a pair of games, Ohio State against Wisconsin and Notre Dame against Arizona State. Last season, Notre Dame swept Ohio State in South Bend and the Irish were 2-1-1 overall versus the Buckeyes in 2019-21. After being swept by Wisconsin to start their season, the Irish are 3-1-0 in their last four games and look mighty improved. Much depends on the consistency of team defense in this series, and although Drew’s calling a split and I’m saying Notre Dame will sweep, the Buckeyes could pick up two as well.
No. 20 Arizona State at Penn State
6:00 p.m. Friday, 2:00 p.m. Sunday
Last weekend, Arizona State split with Notre Dame, scoring eight goals in two games. Penn State, meanwhile, picked up its first win of the season by outscoring Michigan 9-5 in a single road contest after having dropped a 3-1 decision the night before. Each of these teams is capable of explosive offense, and the Sun Devils and Nittany Lions play very similar up-and-down-the-ice styles of hockey, with some serious physicality thrown in. Penalties? Probably, and more than a few. These should be fun to watch.
Drew: Penn State 6-4, Arizona State 4-2 Paula: Penn State 5-4, Arizona State 5-4
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Minnesota Duluth goaltender Ryan Fanti saved 26 of the 28 shots he faced in regulation and overtime and all three shots he faced in a shootout as the No. 3 Bulldogs earned an extra point in the NCHC over No 1 North Dakota, 3-2 (photo: NCHC/Mark Kuhlmann)
An intense, back-and-forth game between No. 1 North Dakota and No. 3 Minnesota Duluth proved unable to produce a winner through 60 minutes of regulation and a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime.
Thus, a shootout led to Minnesota Duluth’s Nick Swaney scoring the only goal in the final round of a shootout as the Bulldogs earned the extra NCHC point, 3-2.
Junior Jesse Jacques opened the scoring for the Bulldogs, skating through the neutral zone and firing a shot that broke through the arm of North Dakota goaltender Adam Scheel at 7:03 of the first. It was Jacques first goal since December 7, 2018 against Western Michigan.
The Bulldogs held a 15-9 shot advantage through 20 minutes.
Midway through the second, Jordan Kawaguchi intercepted a pass at the offensive blue line and made a quick feed to Riese Gaber. Skating a few strides, Gaber unleashed a wrist shot through the five hole of Ryan Fanti to even things at 12:08.
North Dakota grabbed the lead in the third on Shane Pinto’s power play goal at 12:24. But Cole Kopeke’s goal with 3:25 left sent the game past regulation and to a shootout.
Miami’s Chase Pletzke scored 1:34 into the game, but from there it was all Denver as the ninth-ranked Pioneers scored the game last five goals in a 5-1 victory over the Red Hawks.
Carter Savoie, the rookie who has scored in each and every Denver game this season, registered a goal and an assist as did Mike Benning and Ryan Burrow.
AGAIN! ?
Make it 6⃣ goals in ?️ games for @EdmontonOilers prospect & freshman Carter Savoie as he pulls @DU_Hockey even
St. Cloud State players celebrate a goal earlier this week in Omaha in NCHC pod play (photo: Mark Kuhlmann).
When former Omaha coach Mike Kemp became the school’s associate athletic director for events and facilities in March of 2019, he couldn’t have anticipated the kinds of hours he’s working these days.
Under normal circumstances — remember those? — Kemp would keep regular weekday hours at his Baxter Arena office and show up a couple hours before games on weekends. Now, though, the five-year-old arena is midway through hosting the three-week NCHC pod as the conference looks to safely begin the season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
For Kemp, this means working 18-hour days at Baxter, leaving shortly before midnight to the same hotel that Omaha’s hockey team is staying at for the duration of the pod event. It had always been stipulated that all eight teams would be accommodated equitably, and the Mavericks, Kemp and two of his former players, current UNO head coach Mike Gabinet and assistant Dave Noel-Bernier, are being sequestered when not at their home arena.
“I’m certainly here longer during the day, and this is more like a tournament where you’re accommodating eight teams,” Kemp said in an interview Tuesday. “You’re constantly looking at how teams are moving from locker room to locker room, and there are more responsibilities.”
Kemp still has his other administrative responsibilities for UNO’s athletic department, on top of overseeing what happens in the NCHC pod. Games aren’t going late into the night, but Kemp holds regular review meetings with NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton, and Kemp also helps to make sure Baxter Arena’s overnight ice maintenance staffers are ready to help make sure that the arena’s sheet is good to go for the following day.
To that end, Cory Portner, director of St. Cloud State’s Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, has been brought in to coordinate the ice crew. Portner is a former U.S. Ice Rink Association membership and training director, and was a lead instructor for the organization’s certified ice technician training program.
Baxter Arena has about 300 employees, although around 50 are at the arena at any one time during the duration of the NCHC pod. Staff members are rotated through, and Kemp and other arena officials work to make sure the right people are in the right places. There are other moving parts too, as teams are cycling between UNO’s home locker room, the regular hockey visiting team’s locker room, plus UNO’s men’s and women’s basketball teams’ dressing rooms at Baxter.
In all, six locker rooms are used for games during the NCHC pod, and two more spaces by the adjacent practice ice sheet are also seeing use.
Arena workers, hockey players, coaches, team staffers and media members aren’t the only people coming and going during the NCHC pod, though. The Omaha-based University of Nebraska Medical Center brings workers to Baxter to help with coronavirus testing.
Players, official team travel party members, Kemp and other Tier 1-designed personnel inside the pod are tested four times per week. All Baxter Arena employees are being tested, with the frequency depending on where in the arena they’re working.
“This is probably the biggest reason it was brought to Omaha, and it’s the real reason we’re doing this: the safety of the athletes, and the ability to test,” Kemp said. “UNMC is incredible as far as the ability to safely test, and the protocols we had to put in place for health and safety are the things that are the most important, and the Med Center gave us the advantage there.
“They’re the foremost experts in epidemiology, and you think back to the Ebola crisis (in 2014), and they brought people from Africa to UNMC. That made it a no-brainer for the college athletic directors and presidents to make the decision to bring (the NCHC pod) here.”
Not that the NCHC pod is the first event of its kind. Kemp and other UNO officials took notes on what the NHL did in finishing its 2019-20 season in two separate Canadian bubbles.
“We picked their brains, and when someone does something as well as they did it, you want to learn from them,” Kemp said. “There are certain things that are significantly different between what a NHL can do compared to a collegiate situation, but for the most part, we took the things they did that we wanted to do here and applied them, and it’s been extremely successful.
“For example, it’s how teams move around the building and how they secure practice locker rooms, where they store and how they store excess equipment. When you travel with a team, you travel for a four-day weekend, but now we have teams here for a month, so it’s what we do with excess equipment, how they store it, are they going to ship it here, and all these kinds of things that we needed to get a grasp on.”
Just as the NCHC pod isn’t a totally new concept, it may not be the last of its kind either. The 2021 NCAA men’s basketball national tournament is expected to take place entirely in Indianapolis, and similar pods could be set up for the college hockey postseason.
If that’s the case, Kemp has some advice based on what he has seen so far in Omaha.
“I think the whole key to doing anything like this is the ability to maintain health and safety of the athletes, and that’s the critical area,” he said. “As long as you can be in a situation where you can ensure that, you can probably run an event that you can count on being able to complete.
“The testing protocols that each of the (NCHC member) institutions instituted before coming here, under the direction of the league, and then the processes that we’ve had in place since everyone has arrived, helps to monitor and ensure and gives us the ability to react quickly to a potential problem that could develop should a positive test show up. Those are the things that are the greatest benefit of doing something like this, where everybody’s in one place and you have a controlled environment where you’re testing frequently.”
Kemp might be longing for his own bed, but he’s happy with how the NCHC Pod has worked thus far.
“We’ve got a good handle on the ice, and that and health are your big concerns,” Kemp said. “That has worked well, and the hotels have worked with us to shut down the hotels the teams are in, where the players are safe in a sequestered environment.
“The things that are controllables, we’ve been able to control, and at this point in time, hopefully that continues for the next two weeks and we’re able to pull this thing off.”
CC starts late, wins shootout in first game
A player’s positive COVID-19 test result recently forced Colorado College to pause all team-related activities for 14 days, leading the Tigers to begin their time in the NCHC Pod later than the league’s other seven teams.
When CC finally hit the Baxter Arena ice late Tuesday morning, though, they got to work on what would become a 3-3 tie against Western Michigan. The Tigers then won a shootout, 2-1, to grab a second point in the NCHC standings.
The Tigers never trailed but were still taken beyond the 3-on-3 overtime period. Grant Cruikshank and Ben Copeland had given CC a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, but back-to-back goals from WMU’s Paul Washe tied the game in the second period. Hunter McKown soon put CC ahead again, but the Broncos’ Hugh Larkin forced overtime on a goal with 5:54 left in regulation.
McKown and Josiah Slavin scored for CC in the shootout, and Tigers goaltender Matt Vernon stopped three shots to go with his 33 saves during the game.
CC continued NCHC pod play Wednesday night against Omaha, falling 6-1, with freshman Jack Millar netting his first collegiate goal.
UND’s Bernard-Docker, Weatherby kneel before opener
In a demonstration against racial injustices and inequities, North Dakota juniors Jacob Bernard-Docker and Jasper Weatherby both kneeled while the national anthem was played last Wednesday, Dec. 2, ahead of UND’s season-opener against Miami.
Bernard-Docker and Weatherby are believed to be the first NCAA Division I men’s hockey players to take a knee for the anthem, in a years-old form of athlete demonstration that came out of a 2016 discussion between then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Nate Boyer, a Green Beret.
The two UND players involved in last Tuesday’s demonstration have stated that they are strong supporters of military members. Both of Bernard-Docker’s grandfathers fought in world wars.
They only planned to kneel for the anthem for UND’s first game, and haven’t done so since. They are, however, striving to continue antiracist work off the ice, and they both belong to UND’s student-athlete inclusion and diversity organization.
Minnesota State has announced that the Dec. 12-13 nonconference series between the Mavericks and NCAA D-III Milwaukee School of Engineering has been cancelled due to recent COVID-19 testing results within the MSOE hockey program.
This weekend’s Robert Morris-Niagara home-and-home men’s hockey series has been postponed.
A decision regarding potential makeup dates for the games has not been made at this time.
No reason was given for the postponements, but a Robert Morris news release said, “The health and safety of the RMU and Moon Township community remains paramount as RMU Athletics continues to follow university, local, state and national guidelines in response to the global pandemic.”
This Week’s Picks*: *All games are subject to change.
Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12: Long Island University at RIT
RIT’s wild five-point weekend against Niagara last week loudly announced the Tigers’ arrival into the Atlantic Hockey foray. This weekend’s games against LIU are going to be equally interesting because the Sharks are a compelling story as the league year gets underway. This is their first long trip, so to speak, and how they respond to the bus ride out to Rochester will speak to how the weekend goes. LIU is going to face some growing pains when the season settles in, but for now, its games are simply too unknown to call, one way or the other. RIT sweeps.
Niagara vs. Robert Morris
This has “series of the season” potential between two teams favored to make a run at the league’s top spot. RMU swept Air Force, and Niagara beat Clarkson, 4-1, after losing angrily losing five points at RIT. That’s right: “beat.” Those wins aren’t upsets anymore, and they shouldn’t be treated as such. Atlantic Hockey teams are legitimate contenders, and the second league win over the Golden Knights isn’t surprising for anyone who understands what happens within the league’s ranks. Nevertheless, back to this weekend, a rematch of the Purple Eagles late-season sweep. At some point, the fast and furious schedule might catch up to RMU, but head coach Derek Schooley is a master motivator. Niagara, meanwhile, didn’t play poorly last weekend but walked out of its series without a victory. To that end, it’s worth counting on the higher seeded team. RMU sweeps.
Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13: Clarkson at Mercyhurst
If Mercyhurst wins, Clarkson might never schedule another Atlantic Hockey team ever again as a non-conference opponent. That said, it wouldn’t be an upset – repeat, it would not be an upset – if Mercyhurst won. The Lakers just split with Bowling Green, and goalie Hank Johnson is every bit as advertised as the mysterious transfer from Bemidji STate. Maybe it’s worth a second look here, but Clarkson sweeps…barely.
Monday, December 14 and Tuesday, December 15: Sacred Heart at Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac lost the Connecticut Ice Championship to a dominant Sacred Heart team, and these two games are the first games of the Bobcats’ season. It’s kind of ironic to face a team with games played since Quinnipiac normally has five or six games played before its travel partner, Princeton, gets into the mix, but it’ll be good to see the team on the ice in the first two of its six non-conference games against Atlantic Hockey before the 2021 league schedule is released. Something about those Pioneers screams a win here after the split with a better-than-everyone-thought Holy Cross team. Sacred Heart wins.
Tuesday, December 15:
Army West Point at American International
The Black Knights split with the Yellow Jackets last year after pushing them to three games in the playoffs in 2019. This should feel like a legitimate Atlantic Hockey rivalry that reluctantly requires a winner. AIC wins.
Wednesday, December 16: Niagara at Mercyhurst
Niagara hasn’t lost to Mercyhurst since a January 12-13 sweep in the 2017-2018 season. That’s a span of six games in a row. Make it seven this week, but expect a one-goal game and probably an overtime. Niagara wins.
The NCHC Pod in Omaha is producing top 10 matchups almost every day. Our game of the week comes from that bubble as No. 1 North Dakota, fresh off a loss to No. 9 Denver, takes on unbeaten No. 3 Minnesota Duluth on Thursday. Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, beat writer covering the Fighting Hawks.
We also look at other NCHC games, including Denver vs. Minnesota Duluth. In the Big Ten, only one weekend conference series is scheduled, with No. 14 Ohio State visiting No. 15 Notre Dame.
In Hockey East, it’s a home-and-home between No. 2 Boston College and UConn, while No. 8 UMass Lowell finally gets its season underway against No. 19 Providence.
Among non-conference games, we look at a couple added to the schedule as other games were canceled: No. 7 Clarkson at Mercyhurst and No. 6 Minnesota State playing host to D-III Milwaukee School of Engineering. Plus, No. 20 Arizona State has a pair at Penn State and LIU visits RIT for two.
Boston College leading scorer Matt Boldy is pumped after scoring a goal last weekend against Providence (photo: Boston College Athletics).
No one should be terribly surprised Boston College is off to the start it is.
A 9-0 win over a decent Providence squad, without Alex Newhook, though, tends to stand out.
For the first time in 18 years, the Eagles are 4-0 to start a season. It’s a weird time to be celebrating anything, especially as more college hockey games have been moved around the schedule than played.
The vibes surrounding everything in sports is strange, but there’s not much the Eagles as a team can do about it, so they’ve gone out there and performed as well as anyone could hope.
“This is not a typical college year,” said Eagles coach Jerry York on a conference call with the media on Tuesday. “There’s not the things you’d normally do. Most of (the players) don’t go in class or sit in classes, social life, they just have to give up all that to play, and even that doesn’t guarantee you escape COVID.”
The Eagles have gotten off without a hitch more than most programs, and Boston College is one of a few schools in the country that has competed in most of its regularly scheduled sports since the ACC didn’t shut down field hockey and soccer.
So as an institution, they’re pretty used to protocols and the like, perhaps moreso than some of the other universities just beginning their sports seasons now.
It’s scary to imagine it won’t be until January we see a full Eagles squad, and they’ve already lit the lamp in the fashion they have. Newhook, who is with Canada’s World Juniors team, was starting to shine a year ago with 30 points in 19 games after he was snubbed from Canada’s roster this time last year.
With a Tim Taylor Award behind him, it looks like Newhook can be a dominant force again this year, post-World Juniors.
This weekend, the Eagles have UConn, and they’ll be shorthanded even more so as goalie Spencer Knight heads to Team USA World Junior camp. It sounds like freshman Henry Wilder will get a look on Friday.
“He’s gonna step up,” said York. “He’s anxious but we’re all excited about him getting in the net. I think he’ll play really well.”
Sophomore goalie Jack Moffatt — with 10 minutes of NCAA experience — will also be available.
Forward Matt Boldy — the Eagles’ early leading scorer — and defenseman Drew Helleson will also be off at camp, but that presence in net is going to be the most noticeable. Along with the 9-0 shellacking of the Friars, Knight had back-to-back shutouts with a 3-0 win the night prior.
Even without Knight, the Eagles depth is on another level compared to the rest of the conference. UConn has already had to face a tough early season schedule first against UMass and now BC, and the Eagles have shown they can score, if they’re getting a shutout performance or not.
Either way, this weekend should be a good indicator of how deep the Eagles are.
“It’s a small sample size,” said York. “… It’s a great group of guys but who knows who stays healthy, how this works. Right now they’re progressing well.”
New Hampshire begins anew
Like many other programs across the country, it’s been a long time coming for the Wildcats. UNH will finally take the ice — after a two-week delay — against Maine this weekend.
UNH coach Mike Souza said the team had a couple of positive cases before the scheduled series with Boston College in late November that forced the program to shut down, but since then, things have been going well.
“My biggest responsibility was continually just checking in, because we had guys in different scenarios,” Souza said to the media via conference call on Tuesday. “There were some guys that were positive, other guys who were quarantined, other guys who’ve had it before. We kind of ran the gamut here, so my biggest responsibility was just making sure that the guys were in a good place mentally, or in as good a place as possible.”
Maine was in a similar spot, having paused before their season, making this series an opener for both squads.
It’s been nine months since both teams have taken to the ice, so perhaps some rust can be expected. For the Wildcats, the added travel element will make it different, as teams are expected to travel on the day-of road games now.
“I like the fact that we’re going to play earlier in the day,” Souza said. “There’s no sense in waiting around. We’ve been waiting around long enough so let’s get up there and play.”
UNH will stay overnight in Orono before heading back to Durham for the second half of the weekend series.
Merrimack making moves
With their split against UMass last weekend, Merrimack saw some inspired performances from freshman Alex Jefferies and sophomore Zach Vinnell, both earning weekly awards from Hockey East.
Jefferies scored his first career goal in his first time on the ice for the Warriors, ending the weekend with three points and picking up the Rookie of the Week award.
Vinnell added two assists to take home the conference’s Defenseman of the Week award.
BU on pause
Boston University was supposed to open against UConn last weekend but COVID protocols within the program have them on pause, now until January.
They were going to face UMass this weekend.
The recent outbreak also affects the players who were slated to leave the program for World Juniors, with Robert Mastrosimone, Alex Vlasic and Drew Commesso all being replaced.
Michigan blueliner Nick Blankenburg was honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2019-20 after tallying four goals and 16 points in 35 games for the Wolverines (photo: Michigan Photography).
As Michigan was preparing to host Minnesota in a marquee Big Ten match early this week, Wolverines coach Mel Pearson had a thought or two about his young, talented, and inconsistent team.
“We’ll be fine,” said Pearson. “We’ll be more than fine. Just give us another month together as a team, and we’ll be alright.”
No one doubts that Michigan will be fine, given the names that grace the Wolverines’ roster and the program’s recent penchant for strong second halves. It’s that another-month-together part that’s tricky.
In their series against Minnesota Dec. 8-9, their last games before the holiday break, the Wolverines are without five key players – two sophomores, three freshmen – who have joined Team USA in Plymouth, Mich., in advance of the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Temporarily gone are Johnny Beecher, Matt Beniers, Thomas Bordeleau, Brendan Brisson and Cam York and the 11 goals they’ve scored among them in the first eight games of the season.
Their absence comes immediately after Michigan suffered a rough 9-5 road loss to Penn State Dec. 3 and at the tail end of a two-week period in which the Wolverines went 1-3-0.
While losing players to the World Juniors isn’t new to Michigan and playing through a stretch when rookie talent is adjusting to college hockey is something the Wolverines have seen before, doing both at once during a schedule condensed by a global pandemic adds an extra dimension of necessary acclimation to the end of Michigan’s first-half play. Beecher, Beniers, and Bordeleau have been centering lines, so the Wolverines will experiment against Minnesota.
“You’ll see Kent Johnson slide into the middle,” said Pearson. “You’ll see Jimmy Lambert in the middle. He’s played some center before.”
Johnson and Lambert each have a goal this season, and Johnson leads the nation in assists with eight, averaging one per game. That duo flanked Beniers against Penn State.
Pearson said that another freshman, Philippe Lapointe, may see time at center, too.
“He’s come into the lineup and he’s played one game,” Pearson said. “We’ve thrown him in the middle. It’s just one of those things.”
Sophomore defenseman Jay Keranen will “probably play forward” said Pearson.
“I’m going to have to throw it in the blender and mash it up, too, so you’re going to see a little bit of everything,” Pearson said.
One bright spot for the Wolverines in their road split with the Nittany Lions was a power play that went 2 for 6 after Pearson tinkered a little the makeup of two units.
“So much for that,” said Pearson, “because you’re going to see two different ones this weekend.”
Pearson said that he has faith in how his team, especially his veterans, will respond to the shortened bench. Junior defenseman Nick Blankenburg is someone that the Wolverines will look to for leadership on both sides of the puck, especially on that power play.
“He brings everything,” said Pearson. “He can shoot it. He sees the ice. With his skating ability he can get around people and create scoring chances not only for himself but for different people because people have to respect him because he can beat somebody and draw another guy to him. He’s got a little bit of everything there.”
Blankenburg has three goals this season, two on the power play, after netting six total goals in 69 games through his first two seasons.
“He was one of the guys we were thinking of putting up in forward this week,” said Pearson. “Two years ago, I put him up front and he was awesome. He was one of our best forwards in the game, scored. Then we got some injuries on defense and had to put him back. He’s the kind of guy that can play anywhere for us. Watch where he lines up this week. Who knows where we’ll have him?”
Pearson did clarify one thing about Blankenburg, saying, “He’s not a very good goalie, though.”
Fortunately for the Wolverines, Blankenburg won’t be needed in net. In spite of having given up six of the nine goals that Michigan surrendered to Penn State in that loss last week, Strauss Mann is ready to go, said Pearson.
“He’s fine,” Pearson said of Mann. “He’s a grounded guy. He has a routine.”
Pearson’s confidence in his team doesn’t diminish the difficulty that the Wolverines – that all B1G teams – are facing in this shortened first half.
“I think it’s been really different these last couple of weeks,” said Pearson. “The excitement of the year getting going has sort of faded and now we’re in the grind. You have to embrace and love the grind, and it’s been a challenge for us. How much do we practice? What days do we practice? You have some guys who play 24 minutes in a game and some guys aren’t playing. Some guys are playing 10 minutes.”
Pearson said that the first time he saw the season take a toll on his team was in that loss to Penn State.
“Mentally, I felt we were off, tired, making bad reads and when you get tired you start to mentally make mistakes,” said Pearson. “I thought we had more in that game than we probably had in the previous five games, so we gave them the day off.”
That was Monday, the day before the start of the Minnesota-Michigan series.
“We told them, ‘Stay away. Get to bed early and be ready to go,'” said Pearson.
“Normally when you have new players coming into the fold like we do who haven’t played, you get a good four days, five days to practice. It’s not what you normally have, but it is what it is and we have to embrace that and make the most of this opportunity.”
Another shortened bench
The Golden Gophers will be three players short themselves for the series against Michigan. Three defenseman – sophomores Ryan Johnson and Jackson LaCombe plus freshman Brock Faber – are also training with Team USA.
Minnesota coach Bob Motzko said that their absence “will throw a little wrinkle into” how the Gophers have been playing. Allowing 1.17 goals per game, Minnesota has the third-best defense in the nation.
“We’ve got other guys that will step up,” said Motzko.
There is little doubt about that. Entering the series against Michigan, Minnesota was undefeated through its first six games of the season.
Looking ahead
In addition to the series between the Gophers and Wolverines, Wisconsin was set to meet Michigan State Dec. 8-9, but that series was postponed because of players testing positive in the Wisconsin program.
Sunday, Dec. 20, marks the end of the first half of the season for the Big Ten. There are two conference series scheduled and two nonconference tilts with Arizona State.
Notre Dame hosts Ohio State Dec. 12-13 before ending the first half with a home series against Michigan State Dec. 19-20.
Arizona State plays Penn State Dec. 11 and Dec. 13 before heading to Columbus to meet the Buckeyes Dec. 17-18.
Clarkson is back in action tonight for the first time since playing a two-game series with RIT on Nov. 27 and 29. The Golden Knights scored 13 goals in that series, but had to settle for a split after an uncharacteristic 8-5 loss in the opening game against the Tigers. It’s the most goals Clarkson had allowed in a game since a 7-3 loss to Harvard on Dec. 3, 2016. The Golden Knights only allowed one goal in the series finale against the Tigers; look for more of the same against a Niagara team that has scored two goals in two games this season.
ECAC Hockey announced Wednesday its men’s and women’s schedules for 2021, with league games featuring the four participating schools – Clarkson, Colgate, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence – beginning in January.
The schedules feature six games against each team for the men’s programs (18 total), and four games against each team for the women’s programs (12 total). The schedules also align to ensure multiple teams do not travel to the same site on a given day in order to minimize contact tracing, and include “open” weekends, which can be utilized in the event there are interruptions to the originally scheduled contests due to COVID-19.
“We are excited to announce our men’s and women’s league schedules for 2021,” said ECAC Hockey commissioner Stephen Hagwell in a statement. “The compilation of the league schedules are the result of the collaboration of our administrators and coaches, who have worked tirelessly to create, to the extent possible, a safe and healthy environment in which our student-athletes have an opportunity to compete. We look forward with great anticipation to see how things play out during the season.”
The four participating programs will compete in single-elimination championships at the conclusion of the regular season. All postseason games will be held on campus sites.
The championship weekends will be held March 5-7 for the women, and March 18-20 for the men. The winners of the respective championships qualify to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
It will mark the first time since the 2014 season that the ECAC Hockey men’s championship will not be conducted at the 1980 Rink in Lake Placid, N.Y.
In accordance and compliance with regulations and guidelines set forth by State and local governments, and the NCAA, ECAC Hockey has adopted extensive protocols and standards that must be met by each program in order to compete safely. Protocols on testing, masking, travel, and several other potential areas of concern have been addressed. A working group consisting of physicians, trainers, league administrators, equipment managers, communications staff, and on-ice officials was formed to create the document over the course of several months.
At this time, fans will not be permitted in arenas during ECAC Hockey contests. For the third consecutive season, however, all games will be available on ESPN+ for $5.99 per-month or for international viewers on Stretch Internet.
The WCHA nonconference game between Alabama Huntsville and Ferris State scheduled for today at 5:07 p.m. EST will not be played due to COVID-19 concerns.
The two schools were slated to play on Tuesday night at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.
However, daily testing on Tuesday of the Alabama Huntsville men’s hockey team produced a presumptive positive result. The follow-up test was inconclusive, therefore not allowing the postponed contest to be played as part of the WCHA’s return to competition protocols.
The New England Women’s Hockey Alliance announced Wednesday the league’s intent to return to play, starting in January 2021.
“The New England Women’s Hockey Alliance is moving forward with plans to play a condensed conference schedule starting in January,” said NEWHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio in a statement. “Administrative representatives from each member institution have met on a weekly basis over the prior weeks and months to discuss schedules, postseason formats, and most importantly, the health and safety of NEWHA student-athletes, coaches, officials and the campus communities at large.
“Outside of a regular season schedule carefully crafted by the NEWHA office, member institutions will be able to schedule non-league contests should they elect to do so. Furthermore, all NEWHA members will implement a rigorous testing program that includes student-athletes, officials, coaches and support staff members. All return to play guidelines are rooted in local, state and NCAA health and safety protocols.”
Detailed information regarding the NEWHA return to play plans is forthcoming. A complete league schedule will be released on an institution-by-institution basis.
The NEWHA is comprised of two NCAA Division I schools and four NCAA Division II schools. Members of the league include Franklin Pierce, Long Island, Post, Sacred Heart, Saint Anselm, and Saint Michael’s.
Post, however, has canceled winter sports and is not playing this season.
Stonehill will add women’s hockey as its 23rd varsity athletic program and has accepted an invitation to compete in the NEWHA starting with the 2022-23 academic year.
Hockey East announced Wednesday the following schedule updates:
The men’s series between New Hampshire and Maine on December 11-12 will now take place in Durham, N.H. Both games will be aired live on NESN+ at 7 p.m. from the Whittemore Center
The UConn at Boston College men’s game on Friday, December 11 will be aired live on NESN at 6 p.m.
The UConn women’s team is now scheduled to host Boston University for one game on Friday, December 11 at 6 p.m.
The men’s teams at UMass Lowell and Providence are now scheduled to play a single game on Sunday, December 13 at the Tsongas Center. The game will be aired live on NESN+ at 5 p.m.
The Boston College at Northeastern women’s game on Sunday, December 13 will be seen live on NESN at 5 p.m.
The men’s series between Boston University and Massachusetts and the women’s series between UConn and Providence will not be played.
Hockey East upcoming schedule
Friday, December 11
Maine at New Hampshire (women) – 1 p.m.
Northeastern at Boston College (women) – 2 p.m.
Holy Cross at Merrimack (women) – 4 p.m.
Boston University at UConn (women) – 6 p.m.
UConn at Boston College (men) – 6 p.m. (NESN)
Maine at New Hampshire (men) – 7 p.m. (NESN+)
Saturday, December 12
Maine at New Hampshire (women) – 1 p.m.
Merrimack at Holy Cross (women) – 3 p.m.
Boston College at UConn (men) – 3:30 p.m.
Merrimack at Northeastern (men) – 6 p.m. (NESN)
Maine at New Hampshire (men) – 7 p.m. (NESN+)
Sunday, December 13
Northeastern at Merrimack (men) – 4 p.m.
Boston College at Northeastern (women) – 5 p.m. (NESN)
Providence at UMass Lowell (men) – 5 p.m. (NESN+)
Robert Morris’ Jordan Timmons and Gavin Gulash celebrate a goal during recent Atlantic Hockey play (photo: Justin Berl).
The Air Force home-ice advantage is a mythical piece of Atlantic Hockey lore.
The geographical outlier in the conference is nestled more than 7,000 feet above sea level, and the very real impact of Cadet Ice Arena and its legendary altitude enabled six consecutive seasons with nine regular seasons in league play.
That changed three years ago when the Falcons finished under .500 in home Atlantic Hockey games, and almost every team in the conference won there even though the program bounced back with eight and seven wins, respectively, over the last two.
Only two teams left Cadet Ice Arena over that stretch without a point.
This weekend, one removed its name from the list when Robert Morris swept Air Force in Colorado Springs.
“I thought we played pretty well,” RMU coach Derek Schooley said. “I thought we were prepared to play. We handled adversity well throughout the weekend, and we were ready to go. It was a challenging week for us to play (five games in two weeks), and to travel cross-country, I’m proud of how our guys handled it. From the drop of the puck both nights, we were ready, and we had a good weekend.”
The road wins fixed one of the few potholes in the Colonials’ decade-long road of success. It snapped an eight-game overall winless streak against the Falcons and won Robert Morris’ first game at Cadet Ice Arena since 2017.
It also marked the first road sweep in Colorado since the 2015-16 season and secured first place with six points towards the Atlantic Hockey table with the best goal differential against the cadets since that plus-4 sweep during the 2014-15 season.
The team dominated with a 4-1 victory on Friday night but displayed a very different brand of success in Saturday’s 4-2 win. Four different goal scorers opened the weekend, and the team’s two goals in the third period occurred within 14 seconds of one another to open a 4-0 lead. The Falcons responded with one before the game ended, but freshman goalie Noah West otherwise slammed the door with his defense for his first career win after he debuted the weekend before against Canisius.
“We have three good goaltenders, and all three guys started over our seven games,” said Schooley. “Noah was calm. Did he make a freshman mistake or two? Yes, he did, but his save percentage was high, and he got two wins. That’s what you judge goaltenders on – save percentage and wins. Our guys played well in front of Noah, and he mixed in a few big ones as well.”
It contrasted with Jordan Timmons’ Saturday night special the next night when he singlehandedly staked RMU to a 3-0 lead in the first period. He scored in the game’s first minute before adding two power play goals before the halfway point to register a natural hat trick, the first such accomplishment for the Colonials since 2013.
Air Force’s Jake Levin scored before the intermission, and it buoyed the Falcons into the second. They evened out after being outshot 12-3 in the first, and Thomas Daskas’ first career goal brought them back within one by the locker room break. But the Colonials again slammed the door when Justin Addamo scored on the power play to stake a 4-2 lead into a two-game sweep.
“Air Force put a push on at the end of the second period,” Schooley said. “So I challenged our group to have our best period of the weekend in the sixth period and our 15th period in eight days. I challenged (the players), and they responded well. We extended the lead and played well with the lead. We got very good goaltending from a freshman goaltender in Noah West, and we played the game the right way.”
RMU flew home with six points and first place in the Atlantic Hockey table, but the Colonials succeeded on an all-important road trip this season.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the league into a creative format in order to limit travel, and it abandoned a traditional schedule in order to avoid overnight trips whenever possible. Ten of the conference’s 11 teams broke into two distinct divisions based on geography, and each division slotted five games against the other four teams.
Air Force was the lone exception without a division, but the Falcons scheduled two games either at home or on the road against each of the other 10 teams. It gave each team 22 league games at the start of the year while working around the geographical outlier, but Robert Morris was the first team to travel to Colorado under the format.
This is currently the only weekend for the Colonials featuring a flight and an overnight stay, and the two wins are equally as important to the team’s future goal as it is to the present game success.
“We know that we have to put wins up and get off to a good start because you don’t know if your next games are going to happen,” Schooley said. “It’s not just your team. You have to worry about the other team, and to put up three league wins (in four games) is big for us. We have a challenge coming up this weekend against Niagara, another team that’s had our number as of late, but we’re excited to play every game.”
The one with the bad ending
Saturday night’s game between Niagara and RIT was nearly an instant classic for all the right reasons.
It had a little bit of everything — the Purple Eagles built a 3-0 lead in the first period before the Tigers stormed back to cut it to 3-2 after two. Andrew Petrucci’s sixth career goal completed the comeback in the third, and neither team took a penalty over a full, 60-minute game. It felt like a playoff game even before both teams earned their single regulation standings point with a three-period tie.
What happened after that turned the game into an instant classic for all the wrong reasons.
First came Niagara’s near-winner in the 3-on-3 overtime period. Defenseman Croix Evingson split goaltender Logan Drackett and forward Kobe Walker with a silky dangle, and the puck slid past Drackett into the back of the net. It touched off a wild celebration on the Niagara bench, but referees Chris Ciamaga and Donald Jablonski Jr. overturned the call upon review.
Seconds later, RIT’s Jake Hamacher drew the game’s first penalty when a wild collision with Niagara’s Walker Sommer and goaltender Chad Veltri sent bodies into the cage and dislodged the net with authority.
Nobody scored on that powerplay, and the expiration of overtime sent Atlantic Hockey into its first three-round shootout. Niagara’s Ludwig Stenlund scored first, and an RIT miss gave the Purple Eagles a clear 1-0 advantage as the second shooters readied themselves.
And then the officials declared the game over.
Everything sort of spiraled from there. Niagara jubilantly exited down its tunnel, but an angry Wayne Wilson pleaded his case with RIT officials. They produced the rulebook and correctly proved their case to both referees, who then walked to the visitors’ locker room to retrieve the Purple Eagles. The delay promptly produced two Niagara misses and two RIT goals, and the turn of events handed the second standings point to the Tigers.
It was surreal to watch, even on replay, and there’s no denying the incorrectness of the call. It led to an unenviable and possibly inconceivable walk into Niagara’s dressing room to get the team back on the ice, and it occurred after a series of events I still don’t entirely understand. The shootout was bizarre, and the blame, rightfully so, wound up on the officials after they applied last year’s one-and-done rule.
It was a really, really bad mistake, and there’s no real way around it. A baseball coach once explained how umpires call hundreds of successful pitches and plays per game, but the wrong ones always stick out. It too often paints a broad stroke over the individual and the profession when it shouldn’t.
I might just be softer in my old age, but I feel the same way here. Chris Ciamaga officiated Minnesota Duluth’s win over Providence at the 2019 Final Four, and I repeatedly make it a point to call out good jobs on air. It’s happened more and more frequently over the past five to six years. This just wasn’t their finest hour, to say the least.
Silver lining, though. I guess we all know the rule now.
How ‘bout some numbers?
This season is particularly difficult to statistically predict for obvious reasons this year, but it didn’t stop me from mining a special teams nugget comparing Atlantic Hockey to other leagues.
AHA programs are a combined 21 for 114 on the power play this year with every team scoring at least one goal except for Army West Point and Niagara. The only team with more than two goals is Robert Morris, which is operating at an absurd 26.7 percent with eight goals, but the balance between the power play and penalty kill is an early season delight.
Compare that to how UMass anchors Hockey East’s 12 percent with a 6 for 27 success rate or how Bowling Green and a Division I-leading Alabama Huntsville are pacing the WCHA. The Big Ten has a clear advantage over Atlantic Hockey, but that’s because Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota are a combined 22 for 76, but the NCHC is right in line with the AHA at a crisp 19 percent.
Games of the Week
The usual college hockey holiday break won’t happen this year even with the World Junior Championship lurking around the corner at Christmas, and this weekend continues the season with a couple of pretty notable matchups.
— RIT will host LIU in the Sharks’ first games against a western division team. Their games last weekend against AIC were postponed, but they will face a Tiger squad still riding its high after taking five points from Niagara.
— Niagara plays Robert Morris in the first meeting between two preseason favorites. The Purple Eagles swept the Colonials last season at Dwyer Arena in the last weekend of the regular season, but they haven’t been swept by their former CHA rivals since the last weekend of the 2016-17 season.
— Mercyhurst’s Hank Johnson made 86 saves last weekend in his debut performances for the Lakers and earned his first victory of the season with an opening night win over Bowling Green. This week, Mercyhurst hosts Clarkson for a pair in Pennsylvania before hosting Niagara on Wednesday.
— Sacred Heart has two early week games scheduled against in-state rival Quinnipiac on Monday and Tuesday. They are the first games of the season for the ECAC’s Bobcats, who lost the Connecticut Ice championship to the Pioneers, 4-1, last season.
— Former Army West Point assistant coach Eric Lang hosts Brian Riley and the Black Knights on Tuesday. The teams split four games last year, but the Yellow Jackets’ last win came in the final game of the regular season.
— The U.S. National Under-18 has a pair of games out at Air Force over the weekend, but the real winner there is the United States of America’s hockey culture.
Michigan Tech’s Justin Misiak gains possession of the puck Monday afternoon against Minnesota State (photo: Michigan Tech Athletics).
As Michigan Tech and No. 6 Minnesota State took the ice Sunday, neither team had played a game in at least two weeks, which appears to be part of a new normal during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Mavericks lost the chance to play the second game of their season-opening series with Bemidji State due to a positive COVID-19 test, leading to the team having to quarantine for three weeks.
The Huskies suffered a similar fate after their opponent last weekend, Northern Michigan, also had its first three series of the season shut down due to a positive test.
Both teams looked out of sorts for much of Sunday’s contest, which might seem a bit out of the ordinary, as by this point in the season, typically coaches have a pretty good idea of what type of team they have. However, when the dust settled after Monday night’s game, both teams came away with a win.
Huskies assistant coach Chris Brooks felt that his team had the better of the situation in the first half of the Sunday night game. Given that his team had been able to practice throughout their break, unlike the Mavericks, Brooks said his team did have some strong moments. However, he pointed out some of the issues the Huskies have been running into just preparing for whatever comes next.
“There’s really no excuses,” said Brooks after Sunday’s 3-1 win. “This is just a different time right now. The thing about hockey players is that they are creatures of habit. It has been very, very difficult for us to get into a routine because you just sort of take things day by day.
“These are just situations where you have to turn negatives into positives; try and help the guys grow.”
The Huskies seemed to grow quickly as they took advantage of a pair of miscues by the Mavericks in the game’s first 26:32, scoring twice. Both goals were the direct result of turnovers by Minnesota State skaters.
The first was the result of Huskies forward Carson Bantle chasing down Mavericks defenseman Andy Carroll, forcing him to throw the puck from the right corner of the defensive zone right out in front of goaltender Dryden McKay. The second goal, which came in the middle frame, came off a similar play as Huskies forward Logan Pietila pressured Mavericks forward Jake Jaremko and forced him to throw a clearing pass right up the middle of the rink. Huskies defenseman Tyler Rockwell knocked the puck down and quickly moved it over to his partner, Eric Gotz, who blasted a one-timer over McKay’s right shoulder.
From that point forward, the Mavericks seemed to get their collective feet underneath them. They peppered Huskies goaltender Blake Pietila with shots, totalling 35 over the game’s final 40 minutes. However, they could only find the back of the net once, with just 1:16 remaining in regulation.
Pietila, who was making his first start of the season, made save after save, 43 in total, keeping the Huskies in control of the game despite the shot disparity. While the Mavericks seemed to get visibly frustrated by how surprising the second-year goaltender’s efforts were, the Huskies’ coaching staff was not, given that Pietila puts the same level of effort into his practices as he does his games.
“(Pietila) has been excellent in practice,” said Brooks. “He competes very hard every day. His attention to detail (is impressive). He always has his foot on the gas pedal. It separates him a little bit on his work ethic, just his compete and battle on pucks. He plays every drill to the end.”
For Pietila, who last saw action two weeks ago after relieving Mark Sinclair in the Huskies’ 4-1 loss to Lake Superior State, the chance to start and finish a game, earning his first career win in the process, was well worth it, despite the lack of a home crowd to cheer on his numerous key saves.
“It would be nice to have the fans there and show their support,” said Pietila. “It was still just as great a feeling to make the save for my teammates. You could hear them on the bench, so it was great.”
Pietila was nearly as good Monday, making another 35 saves, including 31 over the first two periods, in a 2-0 loss. The Huskies coaching staff felt like he gave them a chance to even things in the third period, where the Huskies outshot the Mavericks 10-4.
“We knew that was going to happen,” said MTU assistant coach Dallas Steward after the loss. “We have to embrace that. You have to enjoy that and you have to work for that. Those are the types of situations where you build character personally and as a team.”
While the Mavericks had long stretches Monday that looked more like the game they are capable of playing, the Huskies struggled to find the type of consistency necessary to be competitive week in and week out.
“I think we had moments of good, but there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Steward.
Despite the mistakes made by both teams over the course of the series, the two teams each came away with a win. Given how complicated 2020-21 has already been for the WCHA, the result feels like a weekend where both teams grew despite the challenges.
Calder continues hot start
Lake Superior State forward Ashton Calder exploded on the scene last season, scoring 12 goals, up from seven as a freshman. With another tally Sunday, he already has four this season.
The hometown product already has two game-winning goals and has racked up six points on the young season.
His goal on Sunday opened the scoring for the Lakers. They added one more from Brandon Puricelli before the end of the opening frame. From there, the Lakers added one more in the third to earn a 3-2 victory over Alabama Huntsville.
Getting rubber to the net
Bowling Green struggled to find the net over the weekend against Mercyhurst, settling for four goals in a split with the Lakers.
However, the Falcons did pepper Lakers goaltender Hank Johnson with 90 shots over the two games.
Defenseman Tim Theocharidis led the way for the Falcons in Sunday’s 3-1 win. He scored with less than four minutes remaining in the first period before adding a second tally 12:47 into the second.
Theocharidis has three goals on the season, all of which have come in the last three games.
Last time: 1-1
