Longtime Mercyhurst equipment manager and athletic trainer Mike Folga passed away Aug. 31 (photo: Mercyhurst Athletics).
In honor of late equipment manager and athletic trainer Mike Folga, the Mercyhurst senior class of 2020 has chosen to endow the Mike Folga Legacy Scholarship as its senior class gift.
Folga died Aug. 31 after battling cancer.
The fundraising continues this Friday, Oct. 25, when the Senior Class Gift Committee hosts a 50-50 drawing at the Ice Center when the Mercyhurst men play Ohio State at 7:05 p.m.
“The senior class recognizes Mike Folga’s commitment to Mercyhurst, his service to the institution, and to the hockey community, and it is a legacy we want to preserve through this scholarship,” said Senior Gift Committee chair Mitchell Marsh in a statement.
The scholarship is intended to benefit a student who actively supports Mercyhurst but encounters a major setback – an illness, accident, family or financial problem – that could jeopardize his or her education plans.
Besides Marsh, students who worked on the scholarship plan include Lauren Wychowski, Summer Dutton and Claire Werynski.
“I have often said that it is the people who go to the heart of what makes Mercyhurst the outstanding institution that it is,” said university president Michael Victor. “That we were fortunate enough to have had the company of Mike Folga for more than 20 years, and that our students recognize the gifts of character that he so generously shared with us, is a tribute to them, to him, and to all of us at Mercyhurst University.”
Trevor Cosgrove has posted two assists through five games this season for Colgate (photo: Colgate Athletics).
In beating and tying UMass Lowell on the road last weekend, Colgate moved closer to finding something that it’s been missing – an identity.
“For us, it’s focusing on process. Trying to figure out who we are,” Colgate coach Don Vaughan said on Tuesday.
The Raiders took positive steps against the River Hawks, who were coming off a split against defending national champ Minnesota Duluth.
“It’s hard work. It’s pushing pucks behind defensemen. It’s being aggressive in the offensive zone and not have to pull back and muck it up through the middle like we’ve had to do the last couple of years,” Vaughan said.
Going into Friday night’s game, Colgate was 0-3 and had scored only two goals. They fell behind early, but didn’t sag.
“I didn’t sense (a letdown) on the bench like I have some other times,” Vaughan said. “Our guys were so dialed in.”
They pulled out a 4-3 win on Ben Sharf’s goal just nine seconds into overtime, then skated to a 0-0 deadlock on Saturday.
“To go in there and get four (goals) on Friday night was great for the guys,” Vaughan said.
“Saturday we’re back to goose eggs, but the effort was there. I really liked the way we played. It was up and down. There were long periods of time that each team had possession in the offensive zone. I told our guys at the end of the game, we’re back to playing a fun brand of hockey.”
Goalie Mitch Benson was excellent in both games. He stopped all eight Lowell shots in overtime on Saturday.
The defense pair of Nick Austin and Trevor Cosgrove, both juniors, played big minutes and was rock solid.
“They can both escape. They can be the way out of the zone. They did that on the weekend,” said Vaughan. “It’s good to see those two guys step up and contribute the way they did because we’re going to need them to continue to do that.”
Freshman center Arnaud Vachon scored his first goal on Friday and hit a couple of goalposts. At 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds, he is an intriguing player.
“He played an extra year of junior hockey at Brooks (in the AJHL) and he knew that that team would have a chance to win the championship and he was captain there,” said Vaughan. “He’s coming in here as a man.
“He’s a 21-year-old freshman that is a big body, heavy, strong on the puck. He’s going to continue to create for us offensively. He’s hard to move and he can get up and down the rink. We expected him to come in here and hit the ground running and he has not disappointed.”
Colgate hosts 1-3-1 Miami for two games this weekend.
Power surge for RPI
Scoring goals figured to be one of the challenges facing Rensselaer this season, but it hasn’t been in the early going, thanks to a potent power play.
Four games into their season, RPI’s success rate with the man advantage is a lusty 40 percent, second-best in the country. That’s a major upgrade from last season, when they were 55th in the nation at 7.5 percent.
The Engineers are coming off a weekend in which they went a combined 5 for 12 on the power play in a 5-2 loss to Connecticut and a 7-2 win against Canisius.
The line of Jake Morello, Billy Jerry and Patrick Polino combined for eight points, including two on the power play against the Golden Griffins. A 5-on-3 goal by Polino in the second period turned out to be the game-winner.
“It’s 2-1 with 13 minutes left in the second period. There was the opportunity to let that game get away. Canisius had some good chances. We had some untimely penalties,” said RPI coach Dave Smith.
But, spurred by the Polino goal, the Engineers scored two more in the second period and rolled to the win.
“We’re seeing that returning veteran guys know how to play (on the power play). Coach (Chuck) Weber has done a wonderful job with them, giving confidence to those groups and we’ve had some stability in those groups, not only from week to week but from last year to this year. They’ve been really important for the overall number,” Smith said.
The coaching staff changed the lines after losing to Connecticut, and it paid off.
“We hadn’t loved some of the cohesion, if you will, with some of the lines, so after a loss (Friday) night it gave us a chance to shake it up a little bit, maybe get a little more from some guys,” said Smith.
“What (Morello, Jerry and Polino) in particular did well, just very responsible in terms of all three guys working together. They cycled the puck very, very well, with possession, not throwing it blind away. Patty and Jake’s energy with Billy’s size was a really good combination. Obviously, there was some excellent finish there as well.”
Union’s due
Union made history last weekend, and it wasn’t the kind anyone’s going to brag about.
The Dutchmen lost twice at UMass and it wasn’t close on either night. That left them with an 0-6 record, the first time ever that they’ve started a season with half a dozen defeats in a row.
On Friday, Union was down by two after 40 minutes. But in the first minutes of the third they gave up a pair of goals 13 seconds apart and the game got away from them as they were outshot, 22-2. The final was 6-1.
It was no better on Saturday. The Dutchmen gave up a goal 58 seconds in and lost 5-0.
Union has struggled all over the ice, scoring only eight goals while giving up 25. Their team save percentage is .882. Only Canisius has worse puck possession numbers.
Rick Bennett’s team has a pair of rivalry games this weekend, which should give them an opportunity to get things moving in a positive direction. Union hosts RPI on Friday, then will make the short drive to Troy for a rematch on Saturday.
No rust on Tsekos
It was a long time between goals for Zach Tsekos.
He scored eight times for Sacred Heart in 2017-18, then sat out last season after transferring to Clarkson.
On Friday, in his third game for the Golden Knights, Tsekos delivered all three goals in a 3-2 home victory over Vermont. Jack Jacome assisted on all three.
The hat-trick goal was a beauty as Tsekos faked out a defenseman in the neutral zone, closed in on the net and ripped the puck past Catamount goalie Stefanos Lekkas on the short side.
“We weren’t necessarily expecting finish or bang for our buck early. When you sit out a year sometimes it takes eight to ten games, but he was dialed in in practice last year, give him a lot of credit,” Clarkson coach Casey Jones said.
“His teammates like him, you can see that, they’re cheering for him. Kudos to him. That’s a nice way to start off his career here at Clarkson.”
David Berard says his Holy Cross team needs to keep ‘being smart and making the right plays’ (photo: Holy Cross Athletics).
The scoreboard said Northeastern held a lead, but Holy Cross head coach David Berard stood behind his bench with an air of confidence.
His Crusaders were starting to impose a little bit of force against the nationally-ranked Huskies, and he saw a familiar script starting to unfold. His team was beginning to limit scoring opportunities, and the defense began frustrating its opponent.
He almost knew what would happen.
Four minutes after the Huskies scored to take a 2-1 lead, Holy Cross turned an offensive series into a scoring opportunity. Mike Higgins dumped a puck to Patrick O’Leary in the right-wing corner, drawing a defenseman into the corner. The possession turned back towards the faceoff circle, and Conner Jean strode a couple of steps back towards the slot. O’Leary threw the puck to the area, and Jean got enough of a stick on it to send a slow-moving glide past the goalie and over the line.
It was a textbook case of Holy Cross patience, and it helped the Crusaders tie a Hockey East foe 2-2. The goal was deflating, but it became exacerbated because of the road team’s defense. Northeastern’s early-period goal was one of its few scoring opportunities in the second or third period, and for the second time in three regular-season games, a Holy Cross defense stole the show from an opposing home team.
“We limited scoring chances against a team with a lot of skill,” Berard said. “We frustrated them by getting in the way and playing fast and hard. It’s a blueprint for some success, and the Providence game was similar. (The Friars) were on us in the first period, and they had legs because they had played a game, and it was our first game after only playing an exhibition. After that first period, we played really well and our defense led the way by protecting the net front.
“It got us back into the game and gave us offensive opportunities.”
It’s only three games, but it’s an encouraging sign of a reemergence of one of the league’s defensive stalwarts. The team allowed per game to 27.44 and 26.92 in his first two years, a hefty slash from the high-water mark of 33.18 two years before his arrival. Those numbers jumped over his next two seasons, but the first three games of this season have the team back to 28.30 shots per game.
It’s a number helping buoy a complete change in the first three non-league games, and it’s especially evident in late-game scenarios. Holy Cross beat Providence and Northeastern with third period comebacks, beating the Friars in overtime and nearly knocking off the Huskies in the same situation. Even in the lone loss against Merrimack, the Crusader offense buzzed, outshooting its opponent by a 27-11 shot margin.
Compare that to last year. Holy Cross was 25 goals better in the first period than the third last year despite being significantly outshot earlier in games. In non-conference games, opponents went 7-0-1 with a plus-20 goal differential in the second and third periods. It’s a tangible byproduct of the team’s approach, which focuses more on internal improvement than strategy or matchups.
“We don’t play in groups of five (defensively),” Berard said. “We soft-match at times, but I don’t hard-match lines if we’re home or away. It’s really hard to match anyways if you’re on the road. You might try to match a defensive pair against someone’s line, but we won’t do it exclusively. We do it situationally. We’ve talked about being a four line team that can play all of our defensemen. Good teams need to be able to play everyone against anyone, and then at the end of games or periods, go with a certain group.”
It’s an exemplary system built by a blue collar approach. It seems basic or obvious, but the game results are the result of what happens in practice. Berard indicated that his staff attempts to simulate specific situations as a way to teach muscle memory, and it walks the delicate balance between external preparation and internal development.
“We need to develop that mindset, that anyone can play against anyone and have the confidence to (do it),” Berard said. “The players understand their job to play hard every day and understand situations. (We preach) being smart and making the right plays. That’s what a good hockey team does.
“We work on transitions. We work on breakouts, getting through the neutral zone. We create situations in practice that they’ll see in the game, so when they get to the game, they’ve seen it before. It’s rehearsed in practice, so they can play without figuring it out on the fly. If you have to figure it out, you’re a little hesitant or slow, and that can lead to problems. But we also try to give enough information that it’s not overloading about an opponent. We want to execute a game plan, but we want to know what might be coming.”
Holy Cross continues its non-conference slate this weekend when it hosts St. Lawrence on Friday. It begins conference play next week when it travels to RIT for two games.
Edge of your seat
The Holy Cross tie marked the latest in an early-season string of extra session hockey for Atlantic Hockey clubs. It was the eighth overtime game and tied the league for second-most among Division I conference with the WCHA. Only Hockey East has more, but four of that league’s nine games are against AHA competition.
The league is posting a 4-2-2 record in those games, but the biggest impression comes within the numbers because every overtime except for one is the result of an AHA comeback. The league has eight third period comebacks against non-league teams, including two against Hockey East. Sacred Heart tied UConn after scoring a third period goal with three seconds remaining, and Holy Cross used its tying goal with 23 seconds to springboard to an extra time victory.
There’s a little irony to the overtime storyline because the extra session was such a big part of the offseason discussion. The AHA instituted a new overtime format for its league games and shifted to the three-point format used by the western leagues. But because every game happened out of conference, we haven’t yet been treated to the league’s inaugural 3-on-3 period or a shootout.
I don’t think we’re going to wait much longer for the overtime format to kick into Atlantic Hockey’s league games. Most teams only have one or two conference games played, except for Robert Morris, which is 3-1 with nine points, but Murphy’s Law is pretty obvious. The more games there are, the more opportunities everyone will get to break that first barrier.
What to watch this week
Some sneaky good regional rivalries dot the schedule this week, including Robert Morris’ trip to Happy Valley for a game against Penn State. The two teams developed a fast rivalry after the Nittany Lions joined Division I, and the Colonials will hope to avenge last year’s sweep that included an 11-goal outburst on Neville Island.
Out in Western Massachusetts, the AIC-UMass game is immediate theater this weekend after the teams burst onto the national scene last year. Headlines usually include the term “rivalry” when discussing the two teams, but it certainly never felt like it will this year with both teams coming off of national tournament runs.
Mercyhurst hosts Ohio State in Erie, Pa., in a return match from a two-game sweep for the Buckeyes from last year. The Lakers are only three hours from Columbus, Ohio, so this game will likely reverberate through the greater Cleveland region if they can steal a couple of games for the conference.
The league slate, meanwhile, kicks up with a couple of good, solid matchups. Army West Point heads to Bentley, and RIT travels to Air Force in matchups steeped in familiarity. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, takes the long trip west to Niagara for two games out at the border.
Bentley also plays host to St. Lawrence, which plays at Holy Cross on Friday. St. Lawrence assistant coach Ben Murphy was a longtime assistant coach for the Falcons, and this marks his first trip back to Massachusetts since departing for the North Country.
Philip Beaulieu anchors a tough Northern Michigan back end this season and has posted four assists through four games on the young year (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Northern Michigan coach Grant Potulny didn’t want to take all the credit for his team’s incredible comeback at Boston University.
Down 4-1 on Friday night in Boston, the Wildcats scored three third-period goals and hung on to force a tie against the then-No. 20 ranked Terriers. That excellent third period gave the Wildcats the momentum to come back Saturday and earn a 4-3 win.
But according to Potulny, the main reason for NMU’s pushback in the Boston series was down to captain Philip Beaulieu.
“He’s done an amazing job building our team in the locker room,” Potulny said of his senior defenseman. “And what’s really done behind closed doors and away from the rink has allowed our team to be in a situation where you have the ability to come back because your mindset is right.”
Potulny said he was going over scenarios in his head to start the period, but when Vincent de May scored a little over five minutes in, then Caleb Schroer got another less than a minute later, the Wildcats coach said he knew they had a real chance.
“The technical aspect of it was, let’s just get one and see what happens. Then we got two in a hurry and all of a sudden, it was a real game,” Potulny said. “(NMU goalie) John (Hawthorne) helped us get to that point with his stellar play, but I was just hoping to get within one and be able to pull the goalie. As the period goes on you’re running through scenarios about who you’re going to have out there and what you’re going to try to do, and we didn’t even have to get to that. A lot of that goes back onto the guys for having the belief.”
The Wildcats are now 2-1-1 after their first four games. It’s still a small sample size, but they’ve been able to score — they’ve got 13 goals so far. The most important thing that Potulny can see offensively for the Wildcats is where those goals are coming from. First he said, he can see obvious improvement over last season in the team’s 5-on-5 play.
“It’s nice to have the ability to come back in games, nice to extend the lead,” he said. “You always hope to play defensively and hold teams to as few shots as you can, but sometimes you’re going to have teams that have major league talent and you might have to score four to win. Showing you have the ability to do that one gives you confidence and two lets you know you can stay alive in every game.”
But perhaps most importantly for NMU is how involved the defense is in the offense. Potulny said he has seven defensmen who are expert puck-movers, including Beaulieu, Ben Newhouse and Hank Sorensen.
“Phil’s got a point a game, and Newhouse and Sorensen are just under that. Mike Van Unen had a coming our party last weekend. I think their ability to move pucks and advance play and get us in areas where they are transporting or making a play to put players in good spots when they recieve it is making a difference in our ability to generate offense,” Potulny said. “They’ve helped in the offensive zone by keeping pucks in good areas, whether it’s on the net, or it’s making a play to their partner or a seam play.”
He highlighted a particular goal from Saturday’s game against Terriers on Saturday — the one Griffin Loughran scored to put the Wildcats up 3-2 early in the third period — as a prime example of his defensive corps’ puck prowess.
“Phil was on the blue line doing his PK Subban impression, and Darien (Craighead) supports it,” Potulny said. “’Griff’ gets to the net and phil makes a great play. That’s been a difference for us. We have six guys back there, seven, that can generate offense.”
Surging Alaska keeps surprising
First, Alaska almost beat Denver twice before ultimately losing both games in the first week of the season. Then, the Nanooks went to Houghton, Mich., and picked up two key WCHA wins against conference foe Michigan Tech.
But it was this weekend’s results against top 10 Penn State that really turned some people’s heads on the Nanooks.
The Nittany Lions won 7-0 in their opening game Thursday, but the Nanooks turned around the next day and won 4-0, recording something of a “signature win” for them.
“Tonight was a great response from our group,” Alaska head coach Erik Largen told the Nanooks team website after the game. “We played a selfless team game tonight. Now we need to reset and get ready for our in-state rivals next weekend.”
The win was the first nonconference victory for Alaska (not counting nonconference games played against WCHA teams) since the 2015-16 season, and their first road nonleague victory since 2014-15. In addition, they were able to hand Penn State its first-ever shutout in the modern era. (They were once shut out by Michigan in 1918.)
BGSU gets the sweep
Bowling Green lost to Western Michigan 5-2 in the third place game of the Ice Breaker tournament two weekends ago. This past weekend, they were sure not to let that happen again.
The Falcons swept the Broncos by 2-1 scored in both nights of their home-and-home series against their former CCHA rivals. On Friday in Bowling Green, the Falcons got the win in regulation on goals from Frederic Letourneau and Max Johnson, who scored on the power play late in the third.
On Saturday, BG needed overtime to earn a comeback win in Kalamazoo. Western scored early in the second before Alec Rauhauser tied it up midway through the middle frame. Cameron Wright then potted the game-winner just 11 seconds into the extra time
“We knew Western was going to play harder tonight and they certainly did, and I think there were times in the game where we looked a little tired based on the PK opportunities we had, and how hard last night’s game was,” BG head coach Ty Eigner said following Saturday’s game. “But all-in-all, we asked our guys to come here and compete, and they certainly did. To come out of here with a win against a really good team like Western Michigan is good for us.”
The Falcons, now 3-2-0, start their WCHA conference games this weekend with a home series against Michigan Tech.
Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley, who has been behind the bench for all 250 wins in Colonials history, talks with hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger about this year’s team. Conversation also touches on Atlantic Hockey and the league’s 3v3 overtime rule adopted this season, graduate transfers, and Schooley’s role on the NCAA D-I men’s ice hockey committee.
The NCHC announced Tuesday that it has established a student-athlete well-being task force, which “has added or revised policy and created new educational opportunities to be implemented during the 2019-20 season,” according to a news release.
The announcement comes on the first day of the NCAA’s second-annual week-long diversity and inclusion social media campaign.
The task force is for student-athletes to become better informed and enlightened on topics such as sportsmanship and conduct, diversity and inclusion, sexual assault, mental health and more. Initiatives include updating the conference’s policies and procedures and student-athlete code of conduct, as well as establishing educational programming and requirements for the NCHC schools and the conference office.
“The general well-being of our student-athletes in today’s world of college athletics and campus life is of utmost importance,” NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton said in a statement. “We believe the work produced by this task force now and into the future can better support the needs and challenges faced by student-athletes across the NCHC.”
The group consists of two athletic directors (Colorado College’s Lesley Irvine and St. Cloud State’s Heather Weems), two coaches (North Dakota head coach Brad Berry and Colorado College assistant Leon Hayward), two faculty athletics representatives (Western Michigan’s Lisa DeChano-Cook and Miami’s Ron Scott), and a president/chancellor designee (St. Cloud State’s Judith Siminoe).
“Our goal is to foster an environment across the conference that underscores and supports the value of every student athlete, administrator, staff member or coach on our campuses and throughout the conference. We believe and embrace the notion that diversity and inclusion improve the learning environment for all student-athletes and enhances excellence within the Conference,” added Scott. “As we move forward, we will work to promote, establish, and maintain an inclusive environment and culture, built on the pillars of sportsmanship for athletes, administrators and coaches that provides the best opportunity to participate in and experience fully the sport of hockey.”
The task force will remain together and hold calls to discuss other topics, such as sexual assault and mental health, in the future, establishing initiatives to assist in each of those areas.
Tyler Irvine is one of three Merrimack players with four points on the young season (photo: Omar Phillips).
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Jim: This weekend’s results, Paula, have seemingly cemented one thing in the minds of USCHO poll voters – Denver and Minnesota State are clearly the top two teams right now.
They were the only two teams to receive first place votes and, not surprisingly, perfect 6-0-0 Denver led the way with 47 of those 50 votes. Both certainly deserve their status.
But the one team that might be wanting to sound an early alarm is two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs were swept on the road this weekend at Wisconsin, hardly a slouch team. But that drops the Bulldogs record to 1-3-0. Should that be a cause for concern?
Personally, I say no. Scott Sandelin has always had a good feel for his team and early losses haven’t exactly sacked this team in recent years. Last season after going winless in the opening weekend, the Bulldogs snapped off eight straight wins and 10 off 11. Two seasons ago was even more grim as the Bulldogs started out 0-2-3 and 3-5-3. Of course, we know what the end results of the last two seasons were.
But I’ll pose the question to you: Any reason for extreme concern for the Bulldogs?
Paula: I could almost feel the alarm from Duluth fans coursing through the Internet after the decisive loss to Wisconsin Friday and by the end of Saturday’s loss, the onset of panic was palpable – but I’m with you.
Bulldogs fans should have a little faith that Sandelin knows what he’s doing after back-to-back national championships.
As you point out, Minnesota Duluth had a very slow start to the 2017-18 season and the Bulldogs were 2-1-1 at this point last year. All but four skaters who have seen time this season for Duluth have experienced a national championship, and we both know what that does for a team.
One reason for concern that I’ve heard is the relative strength of schedule the Bulldogs have faced in these first two weeks of the season, but I don’t see UMass Lowell as a slouch and I suspect that many teams will be exploited by Wisconsin’s offense before this season ends. Wisconsin, especially, has been rebuilding for a few seasons, and it may be difficult for some fans to accept that the Badgers may have arrived.
I don’t think there’s any reason for any team to have extreme concern yet this season, with the exception – perhaps – of Arizona State. As the only independent team, the Sun Devils need to play their way into the NCAA tournament on the strength of PairWise alone, and a 3-3 start is not what they desired. Granted, they split with an improved Mercyhurst team and dropped two games to a Minnesota State team that will undoubtedly be in the mix at the end of the season and they swept Air Force with an impressive goal differential, but the Sun Devils will have to dispatch of many opponents they should beat and defeat a few they’re not expected to in order to earn a repeat invitation to the tournament.
But – again – it’s awfully early.
Jim: I do have concerns about Arizona State.
Last year, an incredible year for the Sun Devils, I feel like Arizona State snuck up on a lot of opponents.
That is one of the most difficult things to understand for up-and-coming teams. There is something exciting and enjoyable about being an underdog. Reverse that role and things become much more difficult.
Look at Atlantic Hockey as a conference. That was a pushover league for many years. But the last few seasons that team has also won its opening game of the NCAA tournament. Atlantic Hockey always feels like an underdog, but over the first 15 nonconference games was 7-7-1.
Since that time, AHA opponents seem to have awoken and a .500 record turned into a .333 mark, back in line with past seasons.
It is difficult to reach college players, but the best teams need to play hard to rise to the top.
Paula: And building a consistent level of excellence – staying at the top – is something that is so very hard to do. Look at Michigan and Boston College, for example, to programs that a couple of decades ago were always big on the national scene. Each has been coached exceptionally well. Each has benefited from that sustained excellence with enviable recruits. Each, now, is looking to return to a level of play and success that was almost a given, year in and year out.
All of this brings to mind the series between Alaska and Penn State this past weekend. The first night, the Nittany Lions trounced the Nanooks 7-0. The following night, Alaska returned that favor by delivering a stunning 4-0 upset. After Saturday’s game, coach Guy Gadowsky talked about how that single loss should prompt a lot of self-examination in Pegula Arena.
And all of this brings to mind the outlier status of some schools like Arizona – an independent – and Alaska, geographically isolated. Then there’s the WCHA, which wants to jettison Alaska, Alaska Anchorage, and Alabama Huntsville from the conference because the travel issues are so great.
Two weeks ago when Clarkson played Michigan in Ann Arbor, people in the Michigan press box were surprised to learn that the Golden Knights made the 500-mile trip by bus rather than plane. Some schools don’t have the means to travel by air, even when the distance is great. For some schools with more generous travel budgets, a bus trip can be an event that helps build team chemistry.
There is so much that goes into the logistics of travel for college hockey that I wonder if some programs – and not just the ones I’ve mentioned – are destined to be perennial outliers.
Jim: Ah, college hockey travel.
That’s such an interesting subject based on many aspects of funding of your athletic program.
Certainly there are teams that have plenty of money and their hockey teams can take charter flights anywhere they want. Notre Dame and Michigan both come to mind, but there are many others.
Then there is the actual geographic makeup of your league. If you’re in the ECAC and Hockey East, your team might hop on a flight once a year, if even that. Some schools might have ability to charter but most fly commercial airlines. Not the most convenient, but still easier than taking a bus. In the WCHA, for example, how many long bus trips might teams take? I know Alabama Huntsville often buses to league games on a sleeper bus. Sometimes, that’s actually not the worst accommodation compared to the potential for delays and problems associated with air travel.
But let’s look at recent national champions. Most of those programs don’t seem like teams jumping on a charter flight every weekend. Maybe some have elevated. Providence, for example, got a massive donation from a booster after their 2015 championship that allows the team to charter once per year, I believe on the interest alone. But for the most part, the average team go through travel struggles whether it be lost luggage or spending 14 hours on a bus. None of it is luxurious, despite what fans might think.
Paula: I am always a little perplexed when fans assume a level of luxury throughout college hockey that does not exist – in spite of the comfort with which most teams actually do travel. I think it speaks to our overall sports culture in general, that tendency to see athletics as an elite group because it is for many reasons, but not necessarily in the ways that we think.
Also, that assumption of luxury when it comes to college hockey speaks volumes about the heightened profile of the sport itself. You and I and all fans of the sport lament that college hockey doesn’t get the exposure we think it deserves relative to the product itself, and we all want to see the sport grow even though we know how expensive an undertaking that is. In spite of all of that, we all perceive that D-I men’s hockey in particular has grown in both stature and popularity.
Maybe there’s something to that. Social media makes nearly everything immediate and sometimes amplifies things we wish that it wouldn’t, but there’s no question that it contributes to every aspect of the game – from which programs young, talented players dream of joining to the ways in which programs market themselves to an overall awareness of the game.
College hockey will always face an imbalance in funding because of the makeup of membership in a small pool of D-I teams, but as you pointed out with your example of Atlantic Hockey, that no longer automatically means a discrepancy of quality.
The renovated Appleton Arena will be dedicated in February (photo: St. Lawrence Athletics).
St. Lawrence announced Monday that the rink inside the newly-renovated Appleton Arena will be named to honor the Torrey family.
The building will remain named Appleton Arena to recognize the original contribution from the Appleton family. The Torrey Rink will recognize 100 years of engagement with the university by members of the Torrey family, since their arrival on campus in 1920.
“The renewed Appleton Arena extends a remarkable heritage in college hockey,” said SLU president William Fox in a statement. “It’s equivalent to the greatest sporting venues in America — Fenway, Wrigley, the Rose Bowl. There is none other like Appleton. Naming the ice of Appleton for a distinguished Laurentian ‘century family’ — with its presence on both sides of the St. Lawrence River — brings together a story set apart like none other.”
The impact of Torrey family’s generosity can be felt across campus as it has supported capital projects to create the Diana B. Torrey Health and Counseling Center, the Sandy MacAllaster Soccer Field, The MacAllaster Room on the northside of Owen D. Young Library, and most recently, the Legends of Appleton Room inside the renovated Appleton Arena.
“Without question, it is most fitting that the Torrey and Appleton legacies will be joined in such an iconic venue,” said former Saints hockey coach Joe Marsh. “The rich history of Appleton Arena provides the perfect backdrop to highlight the remarkable generosity shown by both families to St. Lawrence University, over so many years.”
The completely donor-funded project has raised $18.5 million and will provide St. Lawrence’s men’s and women’s hockey programs with renovated and new state-of-the-art facilities, in addition to enhancing the fan game experience.
The building dedication and Legends of Appleton Weekend will take place on Feb. 7-8, 2020.
A second phase of the project will also expand Appleton to support the Saints’ NCAA Division III men and women’s lacrosse, field hockey, softball and the men’s and women’s rowing teams. Plans and construction drawings have been completed, including a nearly 5,000 square-foot Division III strength and conditioning area.
The university is currently seeking a lead gift for the second phase and that portion of the renovation will begin when fundraising has been completed for that phase.
The project is supported by The Campaign for Every Laurentian, the largest comprehensive fundraising initiative in the 164-year history of the university.
Wisconsin moves up 11 places to No. 6 after sweeping former No. 3 Minnesota Duluth, which falls to No. 8. Providence is up six to No. 7, Quinnipiac falls one to No. 9 and Boston College falls four to No. 10.
New to the rankings this week are Bowling Green (No. 17) and Minnesota (No. 20).
A total of 15 other teams received votes in this week’s rankings.
The USCHO.com Poll consists of 50 voters, including coaches and beat writers and sports professionals from across the country.
Quinnipiac’s Keith Petruzzelli led the Bobcats to a 4-3 win over Maine on Saturday night (photo: Rob Rasmussen).
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature.
1. A B1G sweep
Wisconsin swept two-time defending champion Minnesota Duluth 6-2 and 3-1 at home, giving the Badgers a 3-1 start to this season and dropping the Bulldogs to 1-3. With the nine goals in the series plus their 14 from the weekend before, the Badgers top the nation in scoring offense with an average of 5.75 goals per game.
After Saturday’s 3-1 win, coach Tony Granato said that he’d been a little concerned about an emotional letdown following the Badgers’ dominant performance Friday – and their 17-goal output in two consecutive games – but said that Wisconsin had found “a different way to win” to secure the sweep.
“We’re not going to be able to score six or 11 goals all the time, so when you don’t have it, you’ve got to find ways to play smart defensively, and I think the commitment from our team and group was very obvious from the start of the game.”
Minnesota Duluth suffered back-to-back losses just four times in 2018-19 and was swept by a single opponent just once last season.
2. Hot-starting rookies
Three Wisconsin forwards are off to a hot scoring start. Cole Caufield (6-1-7), Alex Turcotte (3-5-8) and Owen Lindmark (3-2-5) are making a good case for the Badgers having the best recruiting class in the country. Caufield and Lindmark each had two goals Friday and Turcotte had a goal and three assists on the weekend.
Massachusetts will give Wisconsin some competition for that distinction, though. Reed Lebster (3-1-4) and Cal Kiefiuk (2-2-4) and defenseman Zac Jones (2-5-7) are making their mark early as well.
Against Union, Jones had a goal and four assists and currently leads the Minutemen in scoring. Lebster had two goals and an assist on the weekend and Cal Kiefiuk had a goal and an assist.
3. Undefeated and most impressive
After opening 4-0 on the road, the Pioneers returned home to sweep Boston College, 3-0 and 6-4. Denver is a perfect 6-0 this season, and freshman goaltender Magnus Chrona (1.83 GAA, .930 SV%) has played every minute so far. Chrona posted his second career shutout Friday night.
Denver’s start is made even more impressive by its offensive output. The Pioneers are averaging 3.83 goals per game and have yet to score fewer than three goals in a game this season – and 14 Pioneers have contributed at least one goal this season, with several netting three so far. Five different skaters have accounted for Denver’s six game-winning goals.
4. A rare shutout loss for the Nittany Lions
When Alaska beat Penn State 4-0 Friday night to earn a road split with the Nittany Lions, the Nanooks did something that no team has done against Penn State since the 2017-18 season. The last time the Nittany Lions were kept off the scoreboard was a 4-0 road loss to Michigan Jan. 19, 1918. It’s just the second shutout the team has experienced at Pegula Arena.
“I think it would be really disappointing if every individual on our team, coaching staff included, doesn’t learn a lesson,” said coach Guy Gadowsky. “We got beat badly. We got beat 4-0 in our own barn.”
Gadowsky was the head coach at Alaska from 1999 to 2004.
The Nanooks win came a night after being shut out themselves by Penn State, 7-0. Coach Erik Largen said that he was happy with his team’s response to Thursday’s loss. “We played a selfless team game tonight,” said Largen.
5. And the minutes keep coming
In the series between Alaska and Penn State, the teams combined for 85 penalty minutes, 33 of which were earned by the Nanooks in their win. In the second period of that game, Alaska’s Steven Jandric earned a five-minute major for contact to the head with a game misconduct.
A total of 17 Nanooks have at least one penalty to their credit this season, and the team leads the nation in PIMs (120) through six games played, averaging 20 per game.
Through six games, the Nanooks have killed off 31-of-34 opponent power plays.
6. The sweeps have it, but the ties are interesting, too
Of the 16 single-opponent series on the weekend, seven resulted sweeps, six were splits and three had a single game that ended in a tie.
Each of the three series that featured a tie was interesting in its own right.
In Minnesota State’s 4-4 home tie against North Dakota Friday, the teams combined for 23 shots and a goal apiece in the first period before limiting each other’s chances for the remainder of the game. The Mavericks had 11 shots for the remainder of regulation – their total for the first period – while North Dakota registered 14 shots through the end of 60 minutes. Minnesota State had two shots in OT to North Dakota’s one. In their 2-1 win the following night, the Mavericks were outshot 35-22.
Colgate and UMass Lowell played a pair of overtime games in the Tsongas Center, with Colgate senior Ben Sharf’s fourth career goal in his 84th career game winning Friday’s contest nine seconds into overtime. The teams skated to a 0-0 OT tie Saturday. Colgate sophomore Mitch Benson had 35 saves in his first career shutout. Lowell senior Tyler Wall stopped all 25 shots he faced in his ninth career shutout.
Northern Michigan improved to 2-1-1 on the road against Boston University with a 4-4 tie and 4-3 win. The Terriers outshot the Wildcats 39-20 in the tie.
7. Two nights, two looks, two different results
Check out this goal by Maine junior Eduards Tralmaks, the first of his two goals in Friday’s 4-2 win over visiting Quinnipiac. That’s junior Keith Petruzzelli in net, who gave up four goals on 18 shots in the loss.
Petruzzelli rebounded Saturday, though, by stopping 22-of-25, including this incredible save on Jack Quinlivan as he and Emil Westerlund executed a nearly perfect two-on-one breakaway.
After the split, Maine is 3-2-0 and Quinnipiac is 3-1-0.
8. This Colonial’s on a mission
Robert Morris transfer goaltender Justin Kepelmaster has averaged just over 37 saves per game in five contests this season, including the 43 he made in the Colonials’ 4-0 shutout win over Army Saturday. That was Kapelmaster’s second shutout of the season.
Before transferring to RMU, Kapelmaster spent three seasons at Ferris State where he had five shutouts in 48 career games.
9. Fast and slow starts
Through the first three weeks of the season, everyone has played at least two games except for the six Ivy League schools, who will start Nov. 1.
There are 15 teams that have yet to lose a game, but nine of those have played just two contests and two of those teams have yet to win, as Bemidji State and St. Cloud State faced off against each other two weeks ago and skated to a pair of ties.
In addition to the Beavers and Huskies, seven other teams are still seeking their first wins. Four of the nine currently winless teams have played just two games. Union is 0-6 to start its season.
10. A B1G start
The Big Ten was 8-2-0 on the weekend against nonconference opponents, bolstering its inter-conference record after two weeks to 16-6-2 for the best (.708) win percentage so far in Division I.
Freshman linemates Nathan Smith (8) and Lucas Sowder (21) combined for two goals and five assists for seven points in Minnesota State’s 4-4 tie with North Dakota Friday, October 18. The Mavericks would win 2-1 on Saturday (photo: Jason Wachter/Minnesota State).
Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger look back at the weekend of October 17-20. Denver moves to 6-0 on the season with a sweep of Boston College, Minnesota State gets a home tie and win against North Dakota, and Wisconsin sweeps defending champs Minnesota Duluth top the podcast. Also of note: Maine’s split with Quinnipiac, Providence’s north country sweep, Bowling Green’s home-and-home wins over Western Michigan, Alaska’s split with Penn State, and RIT’s near-10,000 crowd in a win over Merrimack.
Haley Mack (left) scored four goals on the weekend to help lead Bemidji State to a sweep of (8) Minnesota Duluth (Photo: Jim Rosvold/USCHO.com)
(1) Wisconsin at LIU Brooklyn
On Friday, Chayla Edwards and Grace Shirley scored their first career goals for Wisconsin in the 10-2 win. Daryl Watts led the Badgers with a goal and three assists. Carrigan Umpherville and Grace Dima scored for the Sharks in the loss. On Saturday, Sophie Shirley tallied a hat trick and added an assist, Abby Roque had two goals and two assists and Grace Bowlby, Dara Grieg and Jesse Devito all scored their first career goals in the Badgers 12-0 win.
St. Cloud State at (2) Minnesota
Grace Zumwinkle had a goal and two assists and Alex Woken had a goal and an assist to lead Minnesota to a 3-0 win in game one. On Saturday, Emily Brown’s first period goal stood as the only tally for nearly 30 minutes until St. Cloud State’s Dana Rasmussen tied the game less than two minutes into the third period. Minnesota pulled away in the final ten minutes with Brown’s second goal and tallies from Catie Skaja and Taylor Heise to earn a 4-1 win and weekend sweep.
(3) Northeastern at Maine
Alina Mueller had two goals and two assists and Chloe Aurard had a goal in two assists as Northeastern rolled to a 6-1 win. Tereza Vanisova scored the goal for Maine.
(3) Northeastern at New Hampshire
The two teams played a scoreless first period. Late in the second, Skylar Fontaine put the Huskies up 1-0 and a short-handed goal from Chloe Aurard doubled the lead just seconds before the period break. In the third, Aurard struck again before Nicole Dunbar got New Hampshire on the board to make it 3-1. Veronika Pettey’s late goal sealed a 4-1 win for Northeastern, who are now 5-0 on the season.
(4) Clarkson at (10) Robert Morris
Clarkson out-shot the Colonials 42-17, but Robert Morris fought the Golden Knights to a 3-3 tie. RMU sophomore goalie Arielle DeSmet made a career-high 39 saves. There were 20 penalties called in the game, including three different calls on Robert Morris for too many players. All but one goal in this game was scored with the player advantage. Rhyen McGill had Clarkson up 1-0 after the first period and Taylor Turnquist doubled the lead shortly into the second frame. Robert Morris reeled off three-straight goals over the next ten minutes. Michaela Boyle, Jaycee Gebhard and Emily Curlett found the back of the net on the power play to put the Colonials up 3-2. But McGill responded to tie it up and that’s how the game would finish. On Saturday, Clarkson freshman Gabrielle David completed a hat trick by scoring the game-winning, overtime goal to earn the Golden Knights a 6-5 win. David opened the scoring and Lauren Bernard doubled the lead midway through the first for Clarkson. Robert Morris responded by scoring the next three goals. Maggy Burbidge, Boyle and Emily Curlett put the Colonials up 3-2 early in the second. Clarkson had a 4-3 lead heading into the final frame thanks to goals from David and Michaela Pejzlova. Curlett scored on the power play and Gebhard scored a short-handed tally to make it 5-4 Robert Morris with 6:54 left in the game. The Golden Knights pulled their goalie for an extra attacked and it paid off with a goal from Elizabeth Giguere to force overtime, where David won it 6-5.
Merrimack at (7) Boston College
This one was all Eagles, as they cruised to an 8-0 win over the Warriors. Lindsay Agnew led Boston College with three goals and two assists. Caroline DiFiore added a goal and two assists and Delaney Belinskas had two goals for the Eagles in the win.
(7) Boston College at Vermont
BC goalie Kelly Pickreign made a career-high 33 saves to lead the Eagles to a 3-2 win. The teams were scoreless for the first half of the game until Vermont’s Alyssa Holmes put the Catamounts up 1-0. Hanna Bilka responded two minutes later to tie it up for Boston College. Savannah Norcross put the Eagles up 2-1 just before the end of the second. Bilka scored her second of the game on the power play early in the third to extend the lead. Theresa Schafzahl’s extra-attacker tally midway through the third cut the lead in half but Vermont could not complete the comeback and BC took the 3-2 win.
(8) Minnesota Duluth vs Bemidji State
On Friday, Minnesota Duluth took a 2-0 lead into the first period break thanks to goals from Anna Klein and Jalyn Elmes. But from there it was all Bemidji, as they scored four unanswered goals to earn a 4-2 win. Haley Mack scored twice in the second period and then Paige Beebe and Abby Halluska scored in the third to earn the win. In game two, it was once again the Haley Mack show as she scored both the Beaver goals in the second period. Anneke Linser scored early in the third period for Minnesota Duluth, but they could not complete the comeback as Bemidji won 2-1 and swept the weekend.
(9) Ohio State at Minnesota State
Tatum Skaggs opened the scoring, putting Ohio State up 1-0. Minnesota State responded on the power play to tie it at one with a goal from Sofia Poinar. Brooke Bryant and Tristen Truax scored in the second to put the Mavericks up 3-1, but Jincy Dunne responded just before the period break to make it 3-2. Dunne scored again midway through the third to tie the game 3-3, which is how it ended.
Wisconsin swept defending national champion Minnesota Duluth over the weekend (photo: Tom Lynn).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of Oct. 14 fared in games over the Oct. 18-20 weekend.
No. 1 Denver (6-0-0)
10/18/2019 – No. 6 Boston College 0 at No. 1 Denver 3
10/19/2019 – No. 6 Boston College 4 at No. 1 Denver 6
No. 2 Minnesota State (3-0-1)
10/18/2019 – No. 16 North Dakota 4 at No. 2 Minnesota State 4 (OT)
10/19/2019 – No. 16 North Dakota 1 at No. 2 Minnesota State 2
No. 12 Ohio State (2-1-1)
10/18/2019 – RV Omaha 2 at No. 12 Ohio State 3
10/19/2019 – RV Omaha 2 at No. 12 Ohio State 1
No. 13 Providence (3-1-0)
10/18/2019 – No. 13 Providence 6 at St. Lawrence 0 at Canton
10/19/2019 – No. 13 Providence 4 at No. 10 Clarkson 2
No. 14 Western Michigan (1-2-1)
10/18/2019 – No. 14 Western Michigan 1 at RV Bowling Green 2
10/19/2019 – RV Bowling Green 2 at No. 14 Western Michigan 1 (OT)
No. 16 North Dakota (2-1-1)
10/18/2019 – No. 16 North Dakota 4 at No. 2 Minnesota State 4 (OT)
10/19/2019 – No. 16 North Dakota 1 at No. 2 Minnesota State 2
No. 20 Boston University (1-1-1)
10/18/2019 – RV Northern Michigan 4 at No. 20 Boston University 4
(OT)
10/19/2019 – RV Northern Michigan 4 at No. 20 Boston University 3
An explosive second period was a game changer for Denver as the No 1 Pioneers completed the weekend sweep of sixth-ranked Boston College (photo: Nick Monaghan/Denver Athletics).
Top-ranked Denver exploded for three goals in a 2 minute, 37 second period in the middle frame of a battle agains Boston College to flip a basically even game and earn a 6-4 victory over the sixth-ranked Eagles, and earn the weekend sweep.
Tyson McLellan, his second of the game, Ian Mitchell and Liam Finlay all found the back of the net in the middle stanza for the Pioneers domination. A late power play goal by Bobby Brink put away the game.
That said, Denver didn’t exactly dominate the first, allowing Alex Newhook to give BC an early lead. But McLellan and Jake Durfinger stuck quickly before Aapeli Rasanen found the equalizer for the Eagles sending the game to the intermission tied at 2.
The third became interesting as the Eagles found late goals. Mike Hardman scored at 2:49 of the third to make the game interesting and Jake McBain shot through a massive screen with 5:24 left gave the game plenty of excitement.
No. 2 Minnesota State 2, No. 16 North Dakota 1
A night after a crazy back-and-forth 4-4 tie, host Minnesota State found a way to come from behind and earn a 2-1 victory over North Dakota.
Shane Pinto got the Fighting Hawks on the board at 10:59 of the first.
But Mike Michaelis wasted little time in the middle period evening the game, scoring at the 26 second mark.
Edwin Hookensonson scored his second of the weekend at 5:21 of the third, a lead the Mavericks would never relinquish.
Joey Abate’s goal with 7:30 remaining in regulation broke a 1-1 tied and gave Omaha the upset victory and weekend split with host Ohio State.
The Buckeyes power play, and its inability to score, was a difference in the game. Twice Omaha took five-minute major penalties, but found ways to kill the penalties. Omaha was 5-for-5 on the penalty kill on the night.
Isaiah Saville made 37 saves to earn the victory.
The freshman class steps up big as the Mavericks earn a split at No. 12 Ohio State, 2-1.
Wisconsin never trailed against the number three team in the nation and reigning national champs, earning a weekend sweep, as David Lebedeff finished with 31 saves to help the Badgers to a 3-1 victory.
The Badgers jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals by Alex Turcotte at 5:04 of the first and Ty Pelton-Byce at 12:09 of the second.
Noah Cates made sure the third was competitive scoring with 5:35 left in the second.
But Sean Dhooghe’s empty net tally with 36 saves added the necessary insurance to give the Badgers the impressive sweep.
Bowling Green 2, No. 14 Western Michigan 1 (OT)
By identical scores, Bowling Green an sweep of the weekend, taking down No. 14 Western Michigan, 2-1, for the second consecutive night.
Saturday’s game went to overtime as Cameron Wright scored just 11 seconds into the extra period.
It was a game with plenty of shots, particularly by the Broncos, who posted 38 shots on Eric Doppelgänger’s. But the Falcons found a way to prevail and earn the weekend sweep.
Northern Michigan 4, No. 20 Boston University 3
The visiting Wildcats had a statement weekend taking three-of-four points against a ranked Boston University team.
Vincent de Mey scored twice, adding to a goal on Friday, and Darien Craighead posted a goal and assist in the victory.
The Wildcats never trailed in the game, but it became a close situation late when Jake Wise pulled the Terriers within a goal.
Nolan Kent, though, finished with 27 saves to earn the win.
The WCHA announced Saturday a one-game suspension for Ferris State freshman defenseman Max Finner, effective for the Bulldogs’ next game.
The suspension is a result of Finner’s five-minute major penalty and game misconduct infraction for kneeing, which occurred at the 9:28 mark of the second period in Ferris State’s game of Friday, Oct. 18 at Miami.
Ferris State’s next scheduled game is tonight, Saturday, Oct. 19, at Miami. Finner is eligible to return for the Bulldogs’ Friday, Oct. 25 game at home against Northern Michigan.
Minnesota State twice trailed by two goals but goals by Nathan Smith (above) and Connor Mackey helped earn the Mavericks a 4-4 tie with North Dakota (Photo: David Faulkner/SPX SPORTS)
No. 2 Minnesota State, boasting the best home record in the last two years nearly suffered a home defeat at the hands of No. 16 North Dakota. But a second period goal from Nathan Smith and a Connor Mackey tally with 13:45 remaining helped the Mavericks earn a 4-4 tie in the opener of a two-game series with the Fighting Hawks.
After the two teams traded first period goals, North Dakota appeared ready to seize control early in the second. Harrison Blaisdell and Jackson Keane tallied twice in a span 2 minute, 28 second span early in the second.
? Connor Mackey with an absolute BEAUTY wrister to tie things up for the Mavericks in the third! 4-4 game. pic.twitter.com/YNNDgZRGjh
Even after the host Mavericks responded with a Edwin Hookenson goal at 5:18 of the middle frame, the Fighting Hawks regained the two-goal lead at 13:37 of the second on a Dixon Bowen marker.
That left Smith, who had a response just 78 second later and Mackey to work their magic to leave Verizon Wireless Center with the draw.
Dryden McKay made 23 stops for Minnesota State while Adam Scheel was equally strong making 20 stops.
Northern Michigan 4, No. 20 Boston University 4
In probably the most dramatic of the games on Friday, Northern Michigan rallied from three goals down in the third period to earn a 4-4 tie at No. 20 Boston University.
Vincent De May, Caleb Schorer and Darien Craighead all tallied in a span of less than 12 minutes in the third to force overtime where the game ended in a draw.
The Wildcats got tremendous goaltending from John Hawthorne who finished the game with 35 saves.
Northern Michigan opened the scoring on a Joseph Nardi tally at 7:39 of the first. But before the opening 20 was over, BU struck three times. Patrick Harper, David Farrance and Logan Cockerill all potted goal in the first and Patrick Curry’s tally, the only of the middle frame, made it seem like victory was certain for the host Terriers.
No. 1 Denver 3, No. 6 Boston College 0
The nation’s newly-crowned number one, Denver, proved its worth on Friday, shutting out No. 6 Boston College, 3-0, in its home opener.
Magnus Chrona made 23 saves to earn the shutout for the Pioneers.
The only goal to beat either goaltender was Cole Guttman’s shot at 3:21 of the middle stanza. That came during a five-minute major for cross-checking assessed to Boston College’s Luke McInnis. He was ejected from the game.
Denver scored twice in the empty net with Tyler McLellan and Brett Stapley picking up the insurance tallies late in the third.
No. 17 Wisconsin 6, No. 3 Minnesota Duluth 2
Wisconsin rookie Cole Caufiled registered his third-straight two-goal game to begin his collegiate career as the Badgers knocked off the defending national champions from Minnesota Duluth, 6-2, in the opener of the two-game series.
Caufield was one of four Badgers to register multi-point games. Owen Lindmark matched Caufield with two goals of his own.
The Bulldogs high-flying defenseman Scott Perunovich wasn’t on the ice for long, ejected from the game at the 2:32 mark of the opening period. A scuffle after the whistle resulted in two minor penalties to the Badgers, but Perunovich was ejected for a major face masking penalty. Hunter Lellig suffered the same fate late in the frame when he was assessed a major and game misconduct for checking from behind.
Alaska 4, No. 9 Penn State 0
Justin Young scored twice and Anton Martinsson stopped all 35 shots he faced as the Nanooks blanked host Penn State, 4-0.
Penalties played a role in the game, not so much in power play goals as neither team scored in a combined 11 opportunities, but in the flow. Penn State, while trailing 2-0, couldn’t capitalize on a major power play and then, trying to play catch up took five of the game’s final seven penalties making any sort of a comeback nearly impossible.
Penn State posted a shutout in the series opener between the two clubs, 7-0, on Thursday.
Colgate 4, No. 18 UMass Lowell 3 (OT)
Despite a fast start, No 18 UMass Lowell feel behind in the first period and tried playing catchup all night before falling in overtime, 4-3, to Colgate giving the Raiders their first win of the young season.
Went the distance with Colgate tonight but ended up losing a tough one in OT. Still getting contributions from the young guns though as Matt Brown and Carl Berglund each picked up their second of the season.
Kenny Hausinger scored the equalizer on the power play with 7:18 remaining in regulation. But just seconds into overtime – nine to be exact – Ben Sharf’s shot from a bad angle beat River Hawks net minder Logan Neaton over the left shoulder to set off the celebration for Colgate.
Trevor Cosgrove notched a goal and assist for the Raiders while rookie Matt Brown posted a goal and two assists for the River Hawks.
Peter DiLiberatore and the Bobcats will host Maine for two games this weekend (Photo: Omar Phillips)
Mark
Last week: 7-4-1
Overall: 7-7-1
Nate
Last week: 8-3-1
Overall: 8-6-1
Mark and I did a little better last week after a rough opening week. Here are the games scheduled for this weekend. All start at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Friday, Oct. 18
Vermont at Clarkson
Nate: The Golden Knights are coming off an impressive opening weekend at Michigan, while this is the first game of the season for the Catamounts. That earlier start should prove beneficial for Clarkson, a team that was 15-3-1 at home last season. Clarkson 3-1
Mark: This should be a good goalie matchup between Vermont’s Stefanos Lekkas and Clarkson’s Frank Marotte. The Golden Knights have two games under their belts, while this will be Vermont’s opener. Advantage Clarkson. Clarkson 3-1
Maine at Quinnipiac (Friday, Saturday)
Nate: Maine swept Alaska Anchorage at home last weekend, but was pummeled 7-0 by Providence in its season opener. Quinnipiac is closer to Providence than Alaska Anchorage in terms of talent, so the Bobcats should be able to get the home sweep to move to 4-0 this season. Friday: Quinnipiac 5-1; Saturday: Quinnipiac 6-3
Mark: Maine rebounded from its season-opening debacle in Providence by sweeping Alaska. Quinnipiac is coming off a pair of one-goal wins over AIC. Feels like a split. Friday: Quinnipiac 3-1; Saturday: Maine 4-2
UConn at Rensselaer
Nate: These teams played last weekend in Hartford, with RPI beating UConn for the second time in as many trips to the XL Center. The Engineers seem to have the Huskies number of late, so I’m sticking with the hot hand in this matchup. Rensselaer 4-2
Mark: The Engineers beat the Huskies in Hartford last weekend. UConn returns the favor in RPI’s home opener. UConn 4-2
Providence at St. Lawrence (at SUNY Canton)
Nate: The Saints will likely see a familiar face in the Providence goal with Harvard transfer Michael Lackey having started the first two games of the season for the Friars. He’s posted a .946 save percentage in a 1-1 start for Providence, who still has a lot of talent despite some notable losses in the offseason. Providence 3-2
Mark: After a bumpy weekend last week, the Friars pull one out on the road. Providence 3-1
Union at Massachusetts (Friday, Saturday)
Nate: It’s been a tough start for Union. The Dutchmen have given up twice as many goals as they’ve scored and have taken 24 penalties in four games. That’s not a good combination for success against last year’s national runner up. Friday: Massachusetts 5-2; Saturday: Massachusetts 4-2
Mark: Not much has gone right so far for the Dutchmen, but they manage a split in Amherst. Friday: Massachusetts 6-2: Saturday: Union 3-2
Colgate at Massachusetts Lowell (7:15 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday)
Nate: Goalie Mitch Benson and the Colgate defense should keep the Raiders in each of these games, but I’m not sure if Colgate can generate enough offense to come home with a win. Friday: Massachusetts Lowell 3-2; Saturday: Massachusetts Lowell 4-1
Mark: The Raiders have scored two goals in three games while giving up nine. Their struggles continue against the stingy Riverhawks. Friday: Massachusetts Lowell 5-1; Saturday: Massachusetts Lowell 4-1
Saturday, Oct. 19
Canisius at Rensselaer
Nate: It’s been a rough start for the Golden Griffins, who were outscored a combined 13-1 last weekend at North Dakota. The Engineers aren’t as a formidable opponent, but this is a winnable home game for RPI given Canisius’ start to the season. Rensselaer 4-1
Mark: The Golden Griffins were routed at North Dakota last weekend. While the Engineers are not the Fighting Hawks, expect Canisius’ road woes to continue. Rensselaer 4-0
Vermont at St. Lawrence (at SUNY Canton)
Nate: St. Lawrence rebounded to split its opening series last weekend at Mercyhurst, and I think it will do that again this weekend against a Vermont team that struggled to score last season. St. Lawrence 2-1
Mark: This is a good night for the Catamounts to pick up their first “W” of the season. Vermont 3-2
Providence at Clarkson, 7:30 p.m.
Nate: These teams are pretty evenly matched. Both play a physical style, yet both also have a lot of skill in their respective lineups. I’ll give the edge to the home team. Clarkson 3-2
Mark: At this point in the season, the experienced Golden Knights are too much for the young Friars. Clarkson 4-2
Emilio Pettersen and No. 1 Denver will face No. 6 Boston College for two games. (Candace Horgan)
It’s one week in, but I have a one-game lead on Matt in our season picks race for the six pack of beer. Picking Minnesota to sweep worked out, as Matthew got the dates of the sweep reversed.
This weekend’s action has a couple of big series. North Dakota will look to build on its momentum against No. 2 Minnesota State, No. Minnesota Duluth faces No. 17 Wisconsin, and new No. 1 Denver hosts No. 6 Boston College for a pair.
Friday-Saturday, Oct. 18-19
No. 6 Boston College at No. 1 Denver Candace: This is Denver’s first home series of the year. Goaltender Magnus Chrona has played well out of the gate, and Denver’s offense seems to be back to form, though it’s only four games in. The Eagles have a lot of upperclassmen in the lineup that should provide a leadership and stability. This is likely a split. Denver 4-2, Boston College 4-3 Matthew: This should be a fun series between teams that have started out on unbeaten if imperfect spells. Denver has an advantage in finally being back at home after going straight from Alaska to Michigan last week, but the Pioneers won’t have everything their way here. A split would be no bad thing for either team. Denver 4-2, Boston College 4-2
No. 3 Minnesota Duluth at No. 17 Wisconsin Candace: Duluth struggled a bit last weekend in splitting with UMass Lowell. Wisconsin lost an offensive showdown against Boston College before returning the favor next night against Merrimack 11-5. Minnesota Duluth wins with defense, and while Wisconsin has two explosive first-year players in Cole Caufield and Alex Turcotte. Something tells me those two won’t be scoring with the same prolific ease they did last weekend. I’m going with Duluth to sweep in two close games. Minnesota Duluth 3-2, 3-2 Matthew: UMD had an down-and-up series the first time out at home against UMass Lowell, but now they travel to a Wisconsin team that scored an unreal 11 goals in its last game. Duluth has good goaltending, but this should be a tight series regardless of how it pans out. Wisconsin 3-2, Minnesota Duluth 3-2
Omaha at No. 12 Ohio State Candace: Omaha opened well against Alabama Huntsville, but Ohio State presents a much different challenge, especially since the Buckeyes are at home. I don’t feel quite strong enough about the Mavericks this early in the year, but a split wouldn’t surprise me. Ohio State 3-2, 4-2 Matthew: Omaha is a very young team with a dozen newcomers, but while I have a feeling the Mavericks will be a tougher out this season than they were last year, this weekend might not go so well for them. Ohio State is fresh off winning the IceBreaker in Toledo, and I like the Buckeyes to continue their unbeaten start. Ohio State 4-2, 4-2
Ferris State at Miami Candace: Miami is winless to start the season. That will end this weekend, but I don’t think the RedHawks are fully in sync enough for me to pick a sweep. Ferris State 4-2, Miami 4-3 Matthew: Ferris has had a better start to the season results-wise, and as much as I want to take the homer pick, I think the Bulldogs will get something in Oxford. At the same time, though, even a split would be welcome for a Miami team looking to get its new coach his first win behind the RedHawks’ bench. Ferris State 4-2, Miami 4-3
No. 16 North Dakota at No. 2 Minnesota State Candace: Coach Brad Berry talked in his interview this week about needing to get a strong start this weekend and learning lessons from last year’s series against the Mavericks. North Dakota also seems to have found its offense, but Minnesota State presents a much tougher challenge. I think this will be a split, but picking the right nights has me stumped. Minnesota State 3-2, North Dakota 3-2 Matthew: Minnesota State is 23-1 in its last 24 home games, and getting even a split there would be more impressive for UND than the Fighting Hawks’ home sweep last weekend against Canisius was. The Hawks proved that they know where the net is, though, and that could put them in a good place in Mankato. Chances are, you’d be happy with a split from this one. North Dakota 4-2, Minnesota State 4-2
No. 14 Western Michigan versus Bowling Green (home-and-home) Candace: In this case, I’m being a league homer. Bowling Green is a solid team, but I’m not sure they are NCAA tournament worthy again. Western Michigan should continue its strong start. Western Michigan 3-2, 4-2 Matthew: Three games in eight days against the same team has to be a bear, and winning all three would be some feat. Western won the first game last week at the IceBreaker, but I’m not sure they sweep this weekend. Bowling Green 4-2, Western Michigan 3-1
Ève-Audrey Picard will try to lead Vermont past (7) Boston College this weekend. (Photo: Brian Jenkins)
(1) Wisconsin at LIU Brooklyn
This is LIU’s Homecoming weekend and Saturday’s game will be played at the Nassau Coliseum, home of NHL’s New York Islanders. The Sharks are 0-2 to start the season, having been swept by UConn two weeks ago. This unfortunately won’t be an easy matchup for the Sharks, as the Badgers come in undefeated, with four of the nation’s five top scorers and averaging five goals per game while allowing. 0.83 goals per game. The Badgers will sweep.
St. Cloud State at (2) Minnesota
The Gophers swept Robert Morris last weekend while St. Cloud State swept RIT. Minnesota beat St. Cloud State four times last season. The Gophers have the advantage here, especially playing at home. They lead the WCHA, averaging 5.50 goals per game. They have played closer games in the first game of their series, before pulling away in game two. SCSU rookie Klara Hymlárová has been fun to watch so far and leads the team with five points. I expect Minnesota to sweep.
(3) Northeastern at Maine
Maine played two close games last weekend and came out with a loss and a tie against Quinnipiac. They were 0-2-1 against Northeastern last season and I’m not sure it’s going to get any better for them this season. Northeastern is off to a 3-0 start and Alina Mueller continues to lead them on offense and was named Hockey East Player of the Week last week. This should be a Northeastern win.
(3) Northeastern at New Hampshire
The Huskies swept UNH last season in three games, but this isn’t the same Wildcat team they faced. Having Ava Boutilier in net makes a big different for New Hampshire. She has two shutouts already this season and is a leader for them on the ice, lending confidence to the defense and letting them get more involved in the offense. I have high hopes for UNH this season, but I think this one goes to Northeastern.
(4) Clarkson at (10) Robert Morris
This is an interesting matchup as the Colonials showed they could play with Minnesota for five periods last weekend before the Gophers pulled away in the third period of game two. Robert Morris is a strong team with very good scorers. Clarkson has had a week off since they split a series with Minnesota Duluth two weekends ago. I don’t feel like I have a good read on the Golden Knights yet this season, but they have a number of offensive threats and that alone makes them scary. I’m hoping this is a close series and I’m hoping for a split.
Merrimack at (7) Boston College
Boston College already took two games from Merrimack this season, allowing the Warriors just one goal. They’ll be looking for a bit of revenge, but will have to generate more offense and find a way to stymie the Eagles, who have been getting scoring from a number of players. Freshman Hannah Bilka leads the team with 8 points and BC has started the year 4-0. I don’t see their winning streak ending here.
(7) Boston College at Vermont
Vermont has had a strong start to the season, including a win and tie against St. Lawrence last weekend. They lost all three games they played against BC last season, getting outscored 12-4. I think this is a closer game than that, but I do think BC ends up with the win.
(8) Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State
It has not been the start to the season Bemidji State wanted and I don’t think it gets any better for them this weekend. The Bulldogs have been strong so far and they simply have too much offense for the Beavers. Not to mention, they have Maddie Rooney in net. That doesn’t bode well for BSU’s ability to put points on the board. I expect UMD to sweep.
(9) Ohio State at Minnesota State
This is an underrated intriguing matchup between the Mavericks seem to be able to give Ohio State problems. They’ve beaten the Buckeyes twice in the past two years and pushed OSU to overtime last season, as well. Minnesota State seems to have what it takes to trip up Ohio State, who are coming off a sweep by Wisconsin and looking to get back on track. I’ll call for a split here.
The NCHC announced Tuesday that it has established a student-athlete well-being task force, which “has added or revised policy and created new educational opportunities to be implemented during the 2019-20 season,” according to a news release.
