Richard “Dick” Leo Dougherty died peacefully and surrounded by family on Nov. 23.
Dougherty was 84.
He played at Minnesota, where he played under legendary coach John Mariucci, where he earned All-American honors. In his three-year college career, Dougherty accumulated 187 points, which is still tenth all-time at the school. He’s also in fifth place for all-time career goals with 109 and single-season goals with 42, scored in the 1953-54 season.
Following his college career, Dougherty was a member of the United States Olympic team, where Team USA brought home a silver medal in Cortina, Italy. In 2003, he was inducted to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, in 2006 to the M Club Hall of Fame and to the Bronco Hall of Fame in 2012.
He is preceded in death by parents, Leo and Mary, sisters Pat Larson, Esther (Tully) Kane, Myrna Nystrom and brother William (Bill) Dougherty. He is survived by his wife, Judith Dougherty, sister Delores (Roger) Campbell, children, John (Lisa) Dougherty, Mary Jane (Rod) Haanen, and Jenny (Dan) Herman, as well as his grandchildren, Emilie, Sam, and Sadie Dougherty, Stella, Sophie and Maddie Fredrickson, Angie (Dave) Sandstrom, Will and Grace Haanen, and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass was held at St. Thomas Aquinas Church on Nov. 29.
Former St. Mary’s player and St. Norbert assistant coach Rob Nicholson died suddenly on Nov. 27.
Nicholson was 59.
Nicholson was drafted in the tenth round of the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers and was the first player from Green Bay to be selected in the NHL Draft.
Known to his peers as “Nicky,” Nicholson began his coaching career with a club team at St. Norbert in 1980 and was later an assistant during the first six seasons of Tim Coghlin’s tenure as head coach at SNC.
Nicholson was the Green Bay Gamblers USHL team’s president for nine seasons and was also president of the Brown County Youth Hockey Association.
“He touched a lot of players in the city of Green Bay over a long period of time,” Coghlin said to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “He’s a larger than life character with a great personality and a great communicator. You don’t ever forget an encounter with Rob. You just don’t.”
“The hockey community lost a great ambassador to the game,” added USHL president and commissioner Bob Fallen in a statement. “Rob was instrumental in the transition of the Gamblers going from the historic Brown County Arena to the state-of-the-art Resch Center. He used his position to grow the game of hockey in the local community as well as nationally. The USHL and Green Bay Gamblers have grown to what they are today because of dedicated individuals like Rob.”
Nicholson is survived by his wife, Ruth, six children and eight grandchildren.
Visitation will be Friday, 3-8 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon, at Proko-Wall Funeral Home in Green Bay. There will be an evening service Friday at 7:30 and a funeral service Saturday at noon.
All USHL games on Friday, Dec. 2, will feature a moment of silence in memory of Nicholson.
ECAC Hockey announced Tuesday that Quinnipiac senior defenseman Connor Clifton and St. Lawrence junior defenseman have each been assessed one-game suspensions as a result of their actions in last weekend’s Friendship Four event in Belfast.
The action on Clifton was taken after review of an incident that occurred at the 13:26 mark of the first period in the Bobcats-Vermont contest where Clifton was assessed a major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct penalty.
Clifton will miss QU’s next game on Friday, Dec. 2, when the Bobcats host Rensselaer.
Gluchowski’s action was taken after review of an incident that occurred at the 18:37 mark of the third period in the Saints-Massachusetts game where Gluchowski was assessed a major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct penalty.
Gluchowski is not eligible to compete in the Saints’ next game on Friday, Dec. 2, when St. Lawrence hosts Harvard.
Yale’s John Hayden has tallied six power-play goals in just nine games this season for the Bulldogs (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
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.
Paula: Thanksgiving weekend is always a bit unusual for college hockey. Every division is fully engaged in conference play going into that weekend with the exception of the Big Ten and for the most part, the Thanksgiving holiday brings a lot of nonconference play. This year, the weekend’s games seem to have resulted in some interesting movement in the poll, especially for teams that didn’t even play. Penn State, Ohio State and Western Michigan all climbed in the poll even though they had the weekend off, for example. This leaves me wondering if voters are beginning to have a better perspective of the overall field and not just reacting to weekly results.
Frankly, I’m surprised that Bemidji State only dropped three spots after being swept by Princeton, while both North Dakota and Michigan each dropped four spots after splitting at home, the Fighting Hawks with Michigan State and the Wolverines with Lake Superior State. For these last two, the resulting drop seems to be as much a comment about the strength of their specific opponent this weekend as about the progress of the teams that split at home.
Jim: I’m still not ready to say that the voters in the poll have a better feel for anything, though I do feel in many cases this week voters looked at team’s overall records when casting their votes. Teams with records around .500 like St. Cloud State and Michigan both fell in the poll. So it’s possible that because there were a limited number of games last weekend, voters were paying attention to records as opposed to simply reacting to results from the previous weekend.
That said, one of the team’s that was successful on the ice, Denver, with wins against Air Force and Wisconsin, wasn’t able to make much progress sitting at No. 2. Top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth was idle and it seems voters didn’t feel it fair to shift their first-place vote from the Bulldogs to the Pioneers, despite the two wins. In fact, only one voter shifted from UMD to Denver and Denver’s point total in the poll increased just two votes total.
Next weekend is yet another bye week for Duluth at this point in the season (though UMD did play on the first possible day this year, the weekend most teams played their exhibition). Denver will face Colorado College with the opportunity to extended its unbeaten streak to 14 games and, if successful, will take that streak into a two-game series against Duluth.
Series between No. 1 and No. 2 have been rare since the USCHO.com poll started, but if Denver and UMD holds those spots next weekend, we’ll be looking at the second time this season where the top two teams meet.
Paula: And that, in many ways, is very exciting to see for every fan of Division I, but the strength of both Denver and UMD is also an indication of how strong the NCHC is again this season – how strong, at least, that the voters perceive that conference to be. I know that when I cast my ballot, I find myself looking at what I perceive to be the relative strength within a conference for some teams, even when they’re not playing within their own conferences.
I think that’s what we saw with Western Michigan moving up a couple of spots this week even though the Broncos weren’t playing. As voters’ confidence in the overall NCHC improves, so does their confidence in its individual teams, even when those teams seem to be in need of proving themselves. Same goes for the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes, two teams that may be very good this season but are having to overcome both individual and conference history to gain the confidence of voters.
Switching gears to some individual results for the weekend, were you surprised by anything that transpired over the weekend? You correctly called Minnesota’s trip east, with a loss to Northeastern and win over Boston College. I didn’t think that Bemidji State would drop two to Princeton, but I was really surprised to see Michigan State win and tie in North Dakota.
Jim: I think the biggest surprise for me was Princeton’s two game sweep of Bemidji State. We talked the last couple of weeks about the fact that it is early to put a whole lot of stock in the PairWise, but if you just take those PairWise numbers, Bemidji State entered the weekend 2nd in the PairWise and Princeton was 60th out of 60 teams. So whether or not the PairWise is 100 percent reliable right now, that two-game sweep was one heck of an upset.
Another, for me at least, was Vermont win in Belfast over Quinnipiac to capture the Belpot Trophy. Vermont was nearly done in for four minutes in that tournament when it fell behind 2-0 to Massachusetts. But a four-goal rally in that game and a dominating 5-1 victory over Quinnipiac helped earn to tournament title.
Which brings me to the topic of in-season tournaments and this is a topic that pops up every now and again, particularly at this time of year. Quinnipiac advanced to the championship game without scoring a goal. A scoreless tie against St. Lawrence was decided by a shootout goal. The same happened to advance Clarkson to the championship game of the Shillelagh Tournament at Notre Dame, a tournament they ended up winning.
Maybe it’s the hockey purist in me that doesn’t enjoy these shootouts to decide in-season tournaments. I know coaches don’t love playing long games during the regular season and the potential for a double- or triple-overtime games. But I’ve also had coaches tell me that the reason they play in-season tournaments is to simulate scenarios that they may encounter in the post-season (survive and advance scenarios, often non-traditional game times, etc.).
So I ask, do you favor using a shootout during the tournaments or would you prefer to watch sudden death overtime as long as it takes to decide a winner?
Paula: Everyone who’s ever heard me pontificate about the shootout knows how much I hate it in regular-season play. I like the idea of teams being able to play to a genuine tie at the end of an overtime period. That is an accurate representation, then, of that specific game.
When it comes to in-season tournaments, though, I’m really torn – and I’m sure that surprises a lot of people. Like you, I’m a hockey purist and it’s pretty amazing that a team can advance to a title game in an in-season tournament without having scored a legitimate goal in the tournament’s semifinal game. I can understand how coaches would be concerned by games that can drag on and on, especially since the subsequent game counts in the PairWise, when one team may have played three periods of regulation and another played significantly longer in their respective previous games.
Maybe that third option is playing with fewer players in OT in order to provide more opportunity for overtime goal scoring.
Speaking of fluky outcomes, I’ve been looking at some things that appear on the surface to be statistical anomalies. Granted, we aren’t midway through the season, but a quick look at, say, the goaltenders who are among the top 20 shows only a few playing for teams that are currently under consideration in the PWR and a few goaltenders that are having good seasons that are playing for teams that are not performing consistently well in front of them. Then there are players like Union’s Mike Vecchione with his 14 overall goals or Yale’s John Hayden with his six power-play goals and I’m reminded of how increasingly Division I hockey is a team sport, that the days of a single team being able to rely on a great goaltender or even a hot line to take them especially far be gone.
Are there specific teams, then, that are impressing you with their overall efforts? I’d put St. Lawrence in that category, a team that may be a sleeper this year, with 18 guys who have scored at least one goal and no one that is a nationwide household name.
Jim: I think I can target Western Michigan again as a team that certainly has a top-tier player in Matheson Iacopelli, but also has a lot of depth offensively. The Broncos had 15 different goal scorers and 24 players who have recorded points (not to mention 28 different players who have dressed). My guess is that every night for Andy Murray it is a difficult decision which 18 skaters should wear the jersey. The Broncos have also gotten wins from three different goaltenders, and though Trevor Gorsuch has carried the water for Western, you have to think that Murray has other choices in net should he need them.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
Thumbs up to Minnesota coach Don Lucia who, with a 4-2 road win against Boston College on Sunday, became just the eight coach in college hockey to record 700 career wins. Lucia did plenty to rebuild Alaska in the late ’80s and early ’90s and then produced six straight 20+ win campaigns (two were 30+). He also coached at Colorado College.
And that is all before he got to Minnesota. Since taking over the Gophers in 1999, Lucia has missed the NCAA tournament just five times. His Gopher teams have reached the Frozen Four five times and, of course, he coached two national champions in 2002 and 2003. Congrats, Coach!
We have to give the thumbs down to the four games of the Friendship Four. Not because they weren’t all excellent games, and certainly not because of the incredible tournament that was run by the organizers. But the reality is that in each of the four games, there was a bad hit by one team resulting in a major penalty (St. Lawrence, for the record, was responsible for two, UMass had none). Three of those majors also included game misconducts. Not a lot of “friendship” when it came to play on the ice. We get it. Battling for a trophy can turn physical. But it seemed there were a lot of dangerous hits that everyone wants to get out of the game.
We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving weekend.
It was a light schedule in the WCHA, but we still learned quite a bit.
1. Bowling Green continues to roll after a slow start. The Falcons swept Alaska Anchorage this weekend, winning one game during 3-on-3 overtime and the other in a shutout.
2. Michigan Tech’s Angus Redmond is the unquestioned starter for his team now. Redmond didn’t make his first start until Oct. 28, but has now started the past 10 games and has an 8-1-1 record during that time.
3. The Alaska school still have an uphill climb. Of the four WCHA games this weekend, all four were lost by teams from Alaska. The Nanooks and Seawolves have combined for just 33 goals in 18 WCHA games this season.
Utica vs. No. 5 Middlebury
Elizabeth Wulf scored two second-period power-play goals en route to Middlebury’s 5-1 win
No. 3 Adrian vs. No. 1 Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh scored three times in the first period and that was more than enough for the top-ranked team, as they cruised to a 5-0 win. Melissa Sheeran scored twice for the Cardinals.
No. 1 Plattsburgh vs. No. 5 Middlebury
Plattsburgh jumped out to a 2-0 lead and was able to withstand a late charge from the hosts to earn a 2-1 win. Melissa Sheeran and Kayla Meneghin each had a goal and an assist.
No. 3 Adrian vs. Utica
Adrian had a 3-0 lead midway through the second period, but Utica forced them to a 4-3 win. Each team scored a five-on-three power-play goal. Kelly O’Sullivan had Adrian’s first two goals.
No. 7 Oswego at Williams
There were seven goals in the third period on Saturday as Oswego blew the game open en route to a 7-2 win. With a 2-0 lead heading into the last period, Oswego was led by three third-period goals from Alexa Aramburu. Williams was outshooting Oswego 20-15 before the third-period outburst. It was a stark contrast to Sunday, where it was a single Aramburu goal that gave Oswego the 1-0 win.
Chatham at Johnson & Wales
On Saturday, Chatham outshot Johnson & Wales 39-22, but it was a single goal late in the game from Johnson and Wales’ Casey Chodkowski that was the winner. On Sunday, Chatham struck first and it was two second-period goals from Kasandra Peterson, including a short-handed goal, that would prove to be the game-winner, that led them to a 4-2 win.
University of New England at Salem State
Salem State earned its first win of the season, taking down University of New England 3-2. UNE outshot Salem State 46-20, but Kerryann Goode scored twice in the Vikings’ three-goal second period to secure the win.
Denver wins ugly
Denver won both its games this weekend, but coach Jim Montgomery couldn’t have been happy about the way the Pioneers did so, especially Saturday against Wisconsin. Against both Air Force Friday and Wisconsin Saturday, the Pioneers had difficulty holding onto the lead in the third period, and need an OT goal from Jarid Lukosevicius to win. It was Denver’s third straight OT game.
Denver’s penalty kill also struggled. Friday, up 2-1 going into the third, Air Force struck just 39 seconds into the period. Denver answered 13 seconds later, but gave up a tying power-play goal by Erik Baskin at 5:04. Air Force also scored a power-play goal in the first period. Saturday against Wisconsin, Denver entered the third up 5-2, gave up a goal early, scored a five-on-three power-play goal to make it 6-3 and then took a five-minute penalty and gave up two power-play goals. Denver’s penalty kill gave up five power-play goals on the weekend.
Coach Jim Montgomery admitted his team looked tired Saturday, perhaps after all the extra time played.
“It sure looked like it in the last 30 minutes,” said Montgomery of his team’s fatigue level. “We made mistakes with the puck, we didn’t go through bodies in the third period, which got them some momentum and got them the power play. I think Tanner (Jaillet) was a little tired too, because that didn’t look like Tanner in the third period. That’s why you need good depth.”
North Dakota back to winless ways
Starting Halloween weekend, North Dakota, which entered that weekend against Minnesota-Duluth ranked number one, went three straight weekends without a win, going 0-4-2. After sweeping St. Cloud on the road in impressive fashion, it seemed the Fighting Hawks were back in form, but this weekend against Michigan State, the Fighting Hawks went winless again.
And unlike the previous winless streak, when the Hawks were playing teams ranked in the top 10, Michigan State was unranked and had a 2-6-1 record.
Special teams was an issue in both games. Friday in a 4-3 loss, the Spartans scored four-on-four and also got two power-play goals, including the game-winner from Joe Cox at 2:35 of the third period. Saturday in a 2-2 tie, the Spartans got the first goal short-handed, partly off a play by Cox, who carried the puck up the left-side boards and got a shot off, then picked up the rebound, deked two Hawks players, and passed to Thomas Ebbing in the slot.
North Dakota’s offense also had trouble finishing, as they outshot the Spartans in both games, 33-21 Friday and 34-19 Saturday.
North Dakota knows what it takes to win, as shown last year by winning the national championship, and while a lot of talent from that team is gone, much still remains, including top scorer Brock Boeser and goaltender Cam Johnson. The team knows it needs to find consistency.
“We saw how well we played in St. Cloud, we saw how well we can dominate,” sophomore defenseman Christian Wolanin said. “But what does it mean if we don’t do it every night? Anybody can be good on certain occasions, but to put it together for a full season? We saw what we did last year.”
Omaha remains strong on the road
Omaha has had the benefit of playing much of the first half of the season at home. However, that hasn’t translated to success, as the Mavericks have struggled in Baxter Arena, going just 2-5-1. For some reason however, the Mavericks have done well on the road, where they are without a loss. That trend continued this weekend, as they tied and beat Northern Michigan, raising their road record to 5-0-1.
Friday, the Mavericks struck first, scoring at 10 minutes of the first period, only to give up two goals in the next 1:17. However, Tyler Vessel’s power-play goal at 9:56 of the second tied the game, and Kris Oldham made 19 saves over the last two periods to preserve the tie.
Saturday, Evan Weninger made 31 saves as the Mavericks shutout Northern Michigan, 2-0. Omaha’s two goals came over a 14-second span in the second period, one from Jake Randolph and one from Justin Parizek.
Perhaps coach Dean Blais has reason to be happy, as Omaha closes the first half with road series against Wisconsin and St. Cloud State.
Thanksgiving in the moment is one of the greatest times in the United States. It’s a great meal surrounded by family and friends. If you’re like my family, however, you wind up with an exorbitant amount of leftovers that wind up finding their way into containers to be sent home with relatives.
My wife and I had a discussion on Sunday about the validity of leftovers. Those first couple of days, you’re all puffed up, ready to have open-faced turkey sandwiches slathered in gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and maybe some mayo to add something “different” to it. By Sunday, though, the thought of another cranberry anything is insanity, and anarchy reigns in the fridge since you still can’t fit anything in there. If you didn’t put something in the fridge that should’ve gone in, there’s a chance it’s growing legs and spawning into a new world order (aka – it spoiled really bad really fast).
Welcome to the end of the weekend. Hopefully you have room in your hockey stomach for one more round of leftovers before we turn the page to the new week.
They’re Baaaaaack
Apparently some of us forgot to put the AIC Yellow Jackets in the fridge with the rest of the Atlantic Hockey teams. The Yellow Jackets showed up this weekend with a little bit more vinegar in their blood, then picked up three points on a Niagara team who came to Springfield riding a hot streak.
In their first game on Friday, the teams posted one of college hockey’s all-time rarities with a 0-0 tie. For AIC, it was their first in 14 years, while it was the third since 2009 for the Purple Eagles. AIC’s Alex Murray joined Niagara’s Jackson Teichroeb for 50-plus combined saves, which included the Purps’ second straight shutout, the first time in four years they’ve achieved the accomplishment.
The scoreless weekend nearly lasted through the entire first period on Saturday, but Nicolas Luka scored his first goal with just over a minute remaining to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead. They built a 3-0 lead before Niagara scored halfway through the third in a 3-1 AIC victory.
The three points catapulted AIC into third place, one point behind Army West Point and RIT, who are tied for first, and it came against one of the league’s hottest teams entering the weekend. Even though they’ve played more games than a bulk of the teams behind them, it’s a great sign for the direction of the team in the first year of Eric Lang’s tenure.
Remember a time before Friday, when I talked about that lull AIC was in? I think they broke out of it.
Sacred Heart entered their game against Connecticut having won three out of their last four meetings and five of their last ten all-time against the Huskies. Last season, the Pioneers scored twice in the first 30 seconds en route to a 7-4 thumping of the state’s flagship university.
It was a much different road this time around. The Huskies scored twice in the first period to take a 2-0 lead, but in a tale of the old “60 minutes” adage, they watched it evaporate over the game’s last 40.
Jordan Minello scored just about halfway through the second to cut the lead to 2-1, then added a tying goal five minutes into the third. Austin McIlmurray scored at the 8:14 mark, and Justin Danforth scored his third of the season to provide some insurance. Danforth’s goal, on the power play, also included the rare goalie point, with the secondary assist to Brett Magnus.
The win boosted Sacred Heart to nearly even with UConn in their all-time record, and it made up for the loss to Yale earlier in the year. In the emerging hockey market in the Nutmeg State, which I’ve spent ample time talking about these past couple of years, it’s a big win for the only college hockey team in the state that’s cloaked in red.
Non-Conference Busters
Though Harvard defeated Bentley and Holy Cross lost its two games at the Shillelagh Tournament, Atlantic Hockey picked up some good non-conference performances this weekend. I’m sure Chris will do a better number crunching the overall numbers, so I’ll just focus on some individualized performances.
Air Force nearly pulled off the upset of Denver at home, losing 4-3 in overtime at the Cadet Ice Arena, then held serve over Colorado College on the road (all 15 miles of it), 6-3. That’s a solid moral victory for a team that continues to sustain success against Rocky Mountain foes. Even in the loss to the Pioneers, Air Force rallied from three one-goal deficits, and it’s good for the league to be able to claim wins are “holding serve” against a particular team, meaning they would be expected to win.
And give credit to Robert Morris, who defeated Dartmouth, 3-0, in the first of their two games before the Big Green picked up a return victory at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.
Tournaments and nonconference play around the holidays is every conference’s chance to showcase their teams as proof of why they are worthy of respect and consideration amongst the best in the nation at the D-III level. This weekend saw its fair share of upsets, another unbeaten drop from the ranks without a loss ,and a surprise CCC winner in the Castleton Tournament, taking down teams from the NEHC and NESCAC to win the title.
Here is this weekend’s recap, and hopefully everyone is over their Turkey-day hangover.
Skidmore Invitational Tournament
Sometimes it is a special player, or two, that takes over a tournament, and that is exactly what the Neumann Knights did behind the offensive prowess of Jory Mullin and Shane Topf to outscore their opponents by a 14-1 differential in winning the tournament. Following a hat trick in Saturday’s 6-0 shutout win over Fitchburg State, Mullin added a second hat trick and four total points in an 8-1 romp over the hosts from Skidmore. Topf also had a productive weekend, recording a pair of goals in each contest and combined the two accounted for 10 of the 14 goals scored by the Knights on the weekend.
PAL Stovepipe Tournament
The Massachusetts-Dartmouth Corsairs should be thanking their netminder Drew Michals, who made 40 saves in Saturday’s 5-4 semifinal win over Suffolk before upping the ante with 45 saves in a 4-3 win over Johnson & Wales in the title game on Sunday. Michals has faced over 400 shots in just the first nine games of the season, so he is proving to be a workhorse for the Corsairs this season. Forward Casey Shea scored three times in the two wins that saw Mass.-Dartmouth move over .500 on the season at 5-4-0.
Rutland Herald invitational Tournament
Western New England spoiled the party for both the host school and previously unbeaten Tufts in winning the tournament. Goaltender Kevin Gollmer recorded over 65 saves in the two games while surrendering just one goal in the championship final against the Jumbos.
On Friday night, Gollmer shutout Castleton and the Golden Bears needed every single one of his saves in the 1-0 regulation win. Gollmer made 20 saves in the third period of the title game to fight off a furious comeback attempt by Tufts.
Primelink Tournament
The host Plattsburgh Cardinals were downed by this year’s invited guest from the West, Concordia, and had to settle for a 5-2 consolation game win over winless Middlebury by a 5-2 score on Saturday.
Norwich had knocked off the hard-luck Panthers in overtime, 3-2 on Friday night, as Payton Baldillez netted his first of the season for the game-winner. On Saturday, the Cadets shutdown Concordia by a score of 3-0 behind 19 saves from Braeden Ostepchuk. Kevin Salvucci, Taeron Lewis, and Ian Williams scored for Norwich, with Lewis and Williams recording their first goals of the season.
Bowdoin-Colby Tournament
Geneseo won the tournament with wins over Bowdoin and Colby by scores of 7-4 and 4-3 in overtime. Saturday’s win over Bowdoin saw the Knights overcome a hat trick from the Polar Bears’ Cody Tedesco. On Sunday, Pat Condon scored his second of the game with an extra-attacker on the ice and just 25 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, where teammate Conlon Keenan scored his ninth of the season to win it for Geneseo.
Colby made the championship game with an 8-3 win over Becker to move to 3-0 on the young season before the overtime loss on Sunday.
Nonconference action
Manhattanville hosted the No. 1 St. Norbert team in a two-game series and after dropping the first game by a 3-1 score on Friday, returned the favor with a hard-fought 3-2 win on Saturday behind 19 saves from Tyler Feaver and goals from Matt Lippa, Kevin Loppatto, and Cory Anderson.
Massachusetts-Boston, a recent victim of the upset bug, returned the favor on Friday, knocking Utica from the ranks of the unbeaten in posting a 4-2 win behind goals from Colin Larkin, Dakota Keene, Tyler Sifferlen, and Cody Wickline.
Amherst had a great weekend and some road miles, which probably don’t seem so bad following a 6-5 overtime win at Utica on Saturday before returning home to take down Babson on Sunday afternoon by a 4-1 score. In Sunday’s win, Amherst scored a man-up, man-down, and at even-strength before sealing the win in the third period with an empty-net goal. All told, nine different players scored for Amherst in the two contests.
Elmira earned a home series sweep against Nichols by scores of 4-1 and 7-4. Forwards Eric Bolden and Nick Ford combined for four goals and six points in the win, while goalie Parker Butler made 32 saves to help the home team extend their winning streak to three games.
Three Biscuits
Jory Mullin, Neumann: The Knights forward had his own personal invitation to score in the Skidmore Tournament, as he put up hat tricks in consecutive games over Fitchburg State and the host institution for six goals leading Neumann to the tournament win. Mullin, the tournament MVP, also added an assist for a seven-point weekend as the Knights outscored their opponents by a 14-1 margin.
Connor Fries, New England College: Appropriately so, the Pilgrims’ forward feasted on Wentworth this weekend, scoring a hat trick plus one in the 6-3 nonconference win. Fries scored once at even-strength, two on the power play, and added his fourth into an empty net to seal the deal.
Kyle Shapiro, Southern Maine: The Huskies netminder stopped 47 shots, including 41 in the final two periods in leading Southern Maine to a 2-1 upset win over Trinity. One day after the Bantams put up 12 goals on Franklin Pierce, they ran into a hot goaltender as Shapiro stopped all 17 shots in the second period before adding 24 more saves in the third to stymie the Bantams and push the Huskies record to 5-4-0 on the season.
Then there was one — Oswego, that did not play this week and is the sole unbeaten team remaining. If coach Gosek’s team did any scoreboard watching over Thanksgiving, they surely know that any game is in question, regardless of the records coming in. There are still a couple of weekends remaining in the first half, so still a lot of hockey to be played before the semester break.
Cornell at No. 1 Wisconsin
The Badgers needed more than 50 minutes to find the net Friday night, but managed three goals in those final minutes to win 3-0. On Saturday, Wisconsin scored a minute into the game and Cornell came back to tie them twice in the first period, but the Badgers pulled away in the second to sweep the weekend with a 5-2 win. Annie Pankowski scored three times on the weekend, giving her six goals in the past four games.
Bemidji State at No. 2 Minnesota
Minnesota scored three times in the final frame on Saturday en route to a 4-0 win. On Sunday, Kelly Pannek scored twice in the first to lead the Gophers to a 4-1 win. Dani Cameranesi had four goals on the weekend.
No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth at Harvard
Harvard struck first on Friday, but Minnesota-Duluth scored the next four goals, including two in the third period from Katherine McGovern to secure the win. On Saturday, the Bulldogs outshot Harvard 41-16, but the Crimson had a 1-0 lead in the final two minutes of the game. Ashliegh Brykaliuk scored with just 1:17 to go and Sidney Morin secured the win in overtime. Lara Stalder finished the weekend with five assists.
No. 5 Clarkson vs. Robert Morris (Windjammer Classic)
Clarkson had a 3-1 lead with a minute to go in the second period, but Robert Morris’ Brittany Howard netted a power play goal a second before the buzzer to close the gap and Kristen Welsh scored with :31 to go in the third period to force OT. The tie was not broken, but Clarkson moved ahead in the tournament with a shoot-out win.
Merrimack at No. 8 Quinnipiac (Nutmeg Classic)
Quinnipiac outshot Merrimack 44-12, but needed a shootout win to advance in the tournament. Kenzie Lancaster scored for the Bobcats while Paige Voight netted the goal for Merrimack.
No. 6 Boston College at No. 10 Northeastern
A barrage of third-period scoring decided this one. Northeastern had a 2-1 lead six minutes into the final frame thanks to a short-handed goal by McKenna Brand and a goal from Paige Savage. Boston College responded with a short-hander of their own from Kristyn Cappizzano and goals from Toni Ann Miano and Kali Flanagan to secure the 4-2 win.
Syracuse at No. 7 North Dakota
On Friday, Syracuse blocked 28 shots and scored once in each period to upset North Dakota 3-0. Heather Schwarz had two goals and an assist for the Orange. On Saturday, the Fighting Hawks returned the favor with a 3-0 win of their own. Ryleigh Houston, Emma Nuutinen, and Jordan Hampton scored for the Fighting Hawks.
The rest of the top 10
Connecticut 2, at No. 8 Quinnipiac 3
No. 5 Clarkson 3, at Vermont 1
Thanksgiving and hockey went hand-in-hand over the weekend as Concordia made the trip east to play the Great Northern PrimeLink Shootout in New York and fashioned a 1-1 record, including a win over nationally ranked Plattsburgh State on Friday night.
The Cobbers scored twice in each of the first two periods to nail down a 4-3 victory, improving to 3-0 in games played in the prestigious East Coast tournament.
Jon Grebosky and Dalton Mills both scored in the opening period, with Grebosky scoring his first goal of the season. The goal for Mills was his fifth. Jordan Krebsbach’s first goal of the season tied the score at 3-3 and Garrett Hendrickson tallied the game-winner. Grebsbach’s goal came off the power play and marked the fifth consecutive game in which the Cobbers have scored a power-play goal. Jeremy Johnson tallied one assist in the win and now has a team-best seven on the season.
Concordia had its weekend end with a 3-0 loss to Norwich on Saturday and is now 4-4 on the season. It’s only the first time this season the Cobbers haven’t scored in a game.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point is now winless in two games against NCHA powerhouses. A weekend after falling to St. Norbert, the defending national champions lost 6-3 to Adrian.
Wis.-Stevens Point fell to 6-2-1 and Adrian improved to 6-1. Vincent Paquette paved the way for the Bulldogs, scoring a goal and two assists as he finished with a career-high three points. Connor Armour and Kyle Brothers both tallied a goal and an assist and Kevin Entmaa won his fifth game of the year in goal, tallying 21 saves in the victory.
Lawrence Cornellier paced the Pointers with a pair of goals. Max Milosek suffered his first loss. He is 3-1-1 on the season.
Adrian jumped in front 4-0 in the game and dominated the rest of the way to secure the win. The Bulldogs have scored first in every game they have played this season. The game was a rematch of the 2016 NCAA quarterfinal showdown between the Pointers and Bulldogs. Wis.-Stevens Point won that game 5-2 at Adrian.
Concordia (Wis.) swept the Thanksgiving Cup series with Bethel over the weekend, winning 6-4 and 4-0. The sweep propels the Falcons to their fourth Thanksgiving Cup crown.
Six different players scored a goal in Friday’s win. The Falcons jumped in front 2-0 on goals by Mac Ferner and David Haaf before Bethel tied the game on goals by Marvin Dallas and Andrew Bjorklund. The goal by Dallas was the first of two that he scored in the game. Jim Pearson gave the Falcons the lead for good at 3-2 in the first period and a goal by Nick Erb made the score 4-2 after one period of play. Jack Romanuik earned his fifth win of the year for the Falcons, racking up 28 saves. He is now the career leader in wins at the school with 12.
On Saturday, Concordia scored three times in the third to secure the 4-0 win. Pearson scored two of those goals and Erb had the other in the third as the Falcons improved to 6-3-1. Chase Hollander earned his first win of the season. The transfer from Wisconsin-Stout now has seven wins in his career, winning six times in three seasons at Wis.-Stout. The shutout was the fourth all-time in the history of Concordia hockey.
The Falcons were solid on the power play, stopping all five of the Royals’ chances. The Falcons and Royals started playing the Thanksgiving Cup during the 2013-14 season and Concordia is 7-0-1 all-time in it.
Marian went on the road Saturday and rallied for a 5-4 win over St. John’s in a nonconference game. The Sabres trailed 3-0 after one period and were behind 3-2 after two periods of action. The score was tied at 4-4 late in the third before Cole McCaig punched in a goal to lift the Sabres to the victory. Marian won despite being outshot 35-29 and giving up two power-play goals. Derek Perl, Scott Minthrop, Braden Crone, and Brodie Jamieson all scored to give the Sabres a 4-2 lead before Brady Heppner tied the game at 4-4.
Mike Baldwin nailed down the win for the Sabres, racking up 31 saves and pushing the Sabres’ win streak to two games. Marian has scored five or more goals in those two games and it’s the first time this season it has won back-to-back games.
St. Olaf won for only the second time this season with a 4-1 victory over Lawrence Saturday. The Oles got a pair of goals from Drew Otto. Otto also tallied an assist while Steven Sherman came through with two assists. JT Paine and Caleb Callaway both scored as well. The Oles skated out to a 2-0 lead and never looked back as they snapped a three-game losing streak. They scored twice off the power play and killed off the Vikings’ three power-play chances.
The game marks the fourth time this season St. Olaf has scored at least four goals. They are 2-2 in those games. Eric Hancock earned the win as he tallied 25 saves. The win is his first of the season.
Wisconsin-Superior got back on track Saturday with an 8-1 win over Finlandia. The Yellow Jackets snapped a five-game losing streak with the dominating victory at home. Viktor Sahllhag led the way for the Yellow Jackets, dishing out five assists. He also scored a goal. Anton Svensson finished with two goals and an assist. Matt Audette tallied four assists and Danile Litchke racked up two goals and an assist.
Chuck Marcoe scored the lone goal for the Lions. It was his first of the year.
Bryce Fink earned the win in goal for Wis.-Superior, racking up 17 saves. It’s his first win of the season for the Yellow Jackets, who held the Lions to an 0-for-6 showing on the power play. The win by Wis.-Superior marks the third time this season the Yellow Jackets have scored eight or more goals in a game. It’s the second time this year they have held an opponent to one goal.
The Merrimack Warriors continue to be a team that leaves us scratching our heads. An 0-3 start to the season made it easy to write off this team early. But that was likely premature. That leads the three things I learned this week.
1. Merrimack might be hitting its stride?
I have had a difficult time all season trying to figure this team out. But a shutout on the road against an improved Wisconsin team last Saturday was followed up by a 5-1 victory over Providence on Friday, a game in which Merrimack exploded for five goals in the third period.
Coach Mark Dennehy said before the season that he liked the depth and maturity of this team and that may be beginning to shine through. Merrimack has an off week before they take on one of their toughest tests of the first half, a two-game series against Merrimack Valley rival UMass Lowell. That could be a weekend we learn the most about this club.
2. Vermont keeps Belpot in Hockey East
The trip across the pond to Belfast proved a victorious one for Vermont as the Catamounts won the Belpot Trophy, giving the crown to a Hockey East school for the second time. Everything about the victories was impressive.
Start on Friday in the first semifinal when the Cats looked like they left their legs in Burlington, getting outhustled by Massachusetts and falling behind, 2-0, in the first four minutes. But that’s when things changed. Some key penalty kills allowed Vermont to rally for that victory before crushing No. 3 Quinnipiac in the final, 5-1.
It was a very strong special teams weekend for Vermont, which went 3-for-8 on the man advantage and killed 12-of-13 penalties. Since a two-game sweep at the hands of Lowell, Vermont has gone 5-0-1 and now sits in in second place in Hockey East.
3. Impressive rally for the Huskies
Northeastern took a long time last season to gel as a team. And while this year’s Huskies, the defending Hockey East champs, haven’t exactly been barnstorming through the first half, Friday’s 6-4 victory over Minnesota could be galvanizing.
Trailing, 4-2, in the third, Northeastern exploded for four goals, two off the stick of Dylan Sikura, who finished the game with a hat trick.
The Huskies have a very odd schedule leading up to break. They will play a home-and-home with Boston College split up over the next two Tuesday night. Then after a week off, NU travels to Michigan State for a single game on Dec. 18 to close the first half.
The Princeton Tigers went up to Bemidji State for a pair of games in which they picked up a 4-1 victory on Friday and a 3-1 victory on Saturday.
For a team that hadn’t won a game on the road all season, defeating the No. 10 team in the nation twice in one weekend. Friday was the most impressive of the two victories as they were able to get three goals past Michael Bitzer which most of college hockey has been trying to do all season. The fourth goal was an empty net goal.
Bitzer only had allowed 19 goals in 14 games coming into Friday’s contest.
The Tigers also spread the scoring out throughout the weekend with Ryan Kuffner and David Hallisey leading the way with two goals each. Both goaltenders got to contribute as well with Colton Phinney making 35 saves on Friday and Ben Halford on Saturday making 43 saves including 32 in the final two periods.
Clarkson leads the way for the ECAC in Thanksgiving Tournaments
There were two holiday tournament over the weekend and the Clarkson Golden Knights took Notre Dame’s Shillelagh Tournament. They defeated the Yale Bulldogs in a non-conference in a 3-2 shootout on Friday and defeating the hosts Notre Dame on Saturday 2-0. Freshman goalie Jake Kielly was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament as he made 62 saves on the weekend.
Yale took the consolation game with a 3-1 victory over the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday. Joe Snively had three goals on the weekend including two against the Crusaders.
Out in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence took second and third respectfully in the Friendship Four. The two teams faced off in a conference game on Friday as the two teams needed a shootout to break the 0-0 tie that will go in the standings. Quinnipiac had a tough time against the Vermont Catamounts as the Catamounts took the title 5-1.
St. Lawrence needed another shootout victory as they defeated the UMass Minutemen 3-2, but the game will go in the record books as a 2-2 tie. It was also the Saints first game against former coach Greg Carvel.
RPI and Dartmouth get their first road wins; Brown still seeking their first
The RPI Engineers took a split against Arizona State in Tempe while the Dartmouth Big Green took a split versus Robert Morris. Along with Princeton’s sweep of Bemidji, that leaves the Brown Bears as the only team in the ECAC that hasn’t recorded a win on the road this season.
Brown had a decent first period against Maine in Portland, Maine on Saturday night at one point out shooting the Black Bears 8-2, but the couldn’t sustain it as they fell 5-1. They were out shot 22-18 in the final two periods.
Brown heads to West Point, N.Y. on Saturday to face Army.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I feel like I need to go on a cleanse until Christmas. Four Big Ten teams followed Turkey Day with some nonconference games this weekend.
Here’s how things shook out:
Minnesota dropped Friday’s game at Northeastern 6-4 and rebounded by beating Boston College 4-2 on Sunday
Michigan split with Lake Superior at home, losing 3-1 on Friday and winning 4-1 on Saturday
Wisconsin defeated Colorado College on Friday and lost to Denver on Saturday
Michigan State defeated North Dakota 4-3 on Friday and tied the Fighting Hawks 2-2 on Saturday
Here are three things I saw this weekend:
1. Michigan State helped out the Big Ten’s nonconference record big time
The Spartans going to Grand Forks and coming back with a 1-0-1 record was huge for the Big Ten’s nonconference record, but it was also huge for a team that hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders this season.
It wasn’t pretty, the Spartans were vastly outshot both nights and actually scored on two of their three first period shots on Friday night. On Friday MSU was able to get a 4-1 lead and then hold off UND’s comeback during the final 10 minutes of the game.
Ed Minney made 30 saves on Friday and followed up with 32 on Saturday. He now has a 4-3-1 record and a 2.98 GAA. It will be interesting to see how the Spartans build on this weekend. They have a young team, and confidence from good results against the defending champions could help them grow.
Michigan State will play an exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 Team next Sunday.
2. Lucia gets No. 700
I’m sure he would have rather done it earlier this season, but it was poetic that Don Lucia won his 700th career game against Jerry York’s Boston College squad. Vinni Lettieri led the Gophers on Sunday with the game-winning-goal and two assists.
With the win Lucia became the eighth head coach in NCAA history to win 700 games. 421 of those wins came as the bench boss for the Gophers, he was the head coach Alaska-Fairbanks and Colorado College before Minnesota. York has 1,023 wins, which is the most in NCAA history.
Eric Schierhorn picked up the win for Minnesota on Sunday, his sixth of the season. Lucia called out his goaltender after Friday’s 6-4 loss to Northeastern. Schierhorn responded with 31 saves against the Eagles.
3. Conference play starts with a bang
The four Big Ten teams that were in the USCHO Division I Men’s Poll this week will face off against each other next weekend as conference play finally begins for the Big Ten.
Michigan will travel to Penn State and Minnesota will host Ohio State next weekend. Conference titles aren’t won in early December, but it will be nice to see Big Ten teams play other Big Ten teams and find out if these four ranked teams are legit.
Austin Poganski (North Dakota, left) and Butrus Ghafari (Michigan State, right) battle for position Nov. 26 at Ralph Engelstad Arena (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of Nov. 21 fared over the Nov. 25-27 weekend.
No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth – was idle
No. 2 Denver – defeated Air Force, defeated Wisconsin
No. 3 Quinnipiac – tied No. 19 St. Lawrence, lost to No. 20 Vermont at Friendship Four
No. 4 Boston College – defeated Connecticut on Tuesday, lost to No. 11 Minnesota
No. 5 North Dakota – lost to, tied Michigan State
No. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell – was idle
No. 7 Boston University – defeated No. 9 Harvard on Tuesday
No. 8 Penn State – was idle
No. 9 Harvard – defeated Bentley
No. 10 Bemidji State – swept by Princeton
No. 11 Minnesota – lost to Northeastern, defeated No. 4 Boston College
No. 12 Notre Dame – defeated Holy Cross, lost to Clarkson at Shillelagh Tournament
No. 13 Ohio State – was idle
No. 14 Minnesota State – was idle
No. 15 St. Cloud State – was idle
No. 16 Michigan – split with Lake Superior State
No. 17 Union – was idle
No. 18 Western Michigan – was idle
No. 19 St. Lawrence – tied No. 3 Quinnipiac, tied Massachusetts at Friendship Four
No. 20 Vermont – defeated Massachusetts, defeated No. 3 Quinnipiac at Friendship Four
ECAC Hockey on Sunday announced that Dartmouth junior defenseman Tim Shoup has been assessed a one-game suspension as the result of his actions in the Dartmouth-Robert Morris game from Saturday, Nov. 26.
The league action was taken after review of an incident that occurred at the 11:55 mark of the third period in the Big Green-Colonials game where Shoup was assessed a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct penalty.
Based upon the league’s action, Shoup is not eligible to compete in Big Green’s next game on Sunday, Nov. 27 when Dartmouth travels to Robert Morris.
Last time: 7-4-1Overall: 22-20-5After a steady run of league games, ECAC Hockey teams will take part in numerous holiday tournaments this weekend. All games are at 7 p.m. EDT unless otherwise noted.Friday, Nov. 25St. Lawrence vs. Quinnipiac, 2:30 EDT (Friendship Four, Belfast, Northern Ireland)The Saints have already beaten the Bobcats once this year, and a win in Belfast would give St. Lawrence a season sweep of the series. But QU has been playing well lately, and should even the series up. Quinnipiac wins Yale vs. Clarkson, 4:05 p.m. EDT (Shillelagh Tournament, Notre Dame)Yale has really been struggling . The Bulldogs are 2-4-1 and allowing more than three-and-half goals per game. Clarkson is in the midst of a five-game unbeaten streak, and I think that streak continues against the Bulldogs. Clarkson wins Princeton at Bemidji State, 8:07 p.m. EDTThe Beavers are one of the best teams in the country, while the Tigers have yet to win a game. Bemidji State wins Rensselaer at Arizona State, 9:05 p.m. EDT It’s been a tough season for each of these 2-11 teams. I’m throwing a dart and taking RPI. Rensselaer wins Saturday, Nov. 26Vermont/Massachusetts vs. St. Lawrence, 11 a.m. EDT (Friendship Four Consolation Game)Assuming Quinnipiac wins Friday, the Saints will either face Vermont or Massachusetts in the third-place game in Belfast. I think SLU wins this game regardless of the opponent. St. Lawrence wins Vermont/Massachusetts vs. Quinnipiac, 2:30 p.m. EDT (Friendship Four Consolation Game)Again, the matchup depends on what happens on Friday, but if Quinnipiac beats SLU, I’m not picking against them in the title game. Quinnipiac wins Holy Cross/Notre Dame vs. Yale, 4:05 p.m. (Shillelagh Tournament consolation game)Assuming Clarkson beats Yale on Friday, the Bulldogs would either face Holy Cross or Notre Dame in the Shillelagh Tournament third-place game. It seems unlikely that Holy Cross would knock off the Irish, so I’m betting it will be the Bulldogs and Crusaders in the third-place game. Yale wins Holy Cross/Notre Dame vs. Clarkson, 7:35 p.m. (Shillelagh Tournament championship game)Again, I’m assuming Notre Dame advances to the championship. If that’s the case, the Golden Knights will have their hands full with a talented Irish team. Notre Dame wins Rensselaer at Arizona StateRPI completes the sweep. Rensselaer wins Bentley at HarvardThe Falcons have been average on both ends of the ice this season, and that won’t do it against a Crimson team that is off to a strong start. Harvard winsBrown at MaineIt’s been a rough start for the Bears this year, and it doesn’t get any easier with a trip to Maine. The Black Bears beat Quinnipiac at home last month. Maine wins Colgate at ProvidenceA win against the 2015 national champions would be quite an accomplishment for a young Raiders team, but that is going to be a tough task, especially on the road. Providence wins Dartmouth at Robert Morris, 7:05 p.m. EDTI see this series ending in a split. I’m just not sure if I’m picking the right team on the right night. Dartmouth wins New Hampshire vs. Cornell, 8 p.m. EDT (Frozen Apple, New York City)The Big Red return to Madison Square Garden for the sixth straight season and will face New Hampshire for the first time since 2013. The Big Red have shown flashes of offense this season and are familiar with playing on the big stage at MSG. Cornell wins Princeton at Bemidji State, 8:07 p.m. EDTBeavers complete the sweep. Bemidji State wins Sunday, Nov. 27Dartmouth at Robert Morris, 2:05 p.m. EDTI think the Colonials come back for the split. Robert Morris wins Tuesday, Nov. 29Cornell at Colgate, 7:05 EDTThe Big Red should come away with a win in a rare mid-week conference game between these travel partners. Cornell wins
The weekend’s action is light but does feature a major clash between ranked teams in the Cardinal Panther Classic.Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 26-27No. 7 Oswego at WilliamsWilliams has only played two games, so this is a bit difficult. I’ll call it a split, with Oswego taking the first game and Williams edging them in the second. Oswego 3-1, Williams 3-2Cardinal Panther ClassicUtica vs. No. 5 MiddleburyI expect this year’s hosts to do well in this opening match. Middlebury 4-2No. 3 Adrian vs. No.1 PlattsburghThis game could go either way, I think, but I’m not sure it’s ever OK to pick against Plattsburgh. The Cardinals win a tough one. Plattsburgh 4-3No. 1 Plattsburgh at No. 5 Middlebury (championship game)As mentioned above, I’m not going to make a habit of picking against Plattsburgh, though this game tempts me to break my rule already. Plattsburgh 3-2Utica vs. No. 3 Adrian consolation gameUtica’s got a stingy defense, but I think Adrian nets a few. Adrian 3-1Sunday, Nov. 27Concordia (Minn.) at MarianThese two should be evenly matched. Both are looking to improve in their conference and a win this weekend might provide some confidence to help achieve that goal. I’ll pick Marian at home, Marian 2-1The weekend’s action is light but does feature a major clash between ranked teams in the Cardinal Panther Classic.Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 26-27No. 7 Oswego at WilliamsWilliams has only played two games, so this is a bit difficult. I’ll call it a split, with Oswego taking the first game and Williams edging them in the second. Oswego 3-1, Williams 3-2Cardinal Panther ClassicUtica vs. No. 5 MiddleburyI expect this year’s hosts to do well in this opening match. Middlebury 4-2No. 3 Adrian vs. No.1 PlattsburghThis game could go either way, I think, but I’m not sure it’s ever OK to pick against Plattsburgh. The Cardinals win a tough one. Plattsburgh 4-3No. 1 Plattsburgh at No. 5 Middlebury (championship game)As mentioned above, I’m not going to make a habit of picking against Plattsburgh, though this game tempts me to break my rule already. Plattsburgh 3-2Utica vs. No. 3 Adrian consolation gameUtica’s got a stingy defense, but I think Adrian nets a few. Adrian 3-1Sunday, Nov. 27Concordia (Minn.) at MarianThese two should be evenly matched. Both are looking to improve in their conference and a win this weekend might provide some confidence to help achieve that goal. I’ll pick Marian at home, Marian 2-1
Richard “Dick” Leo Dougherty died peacefully and surrounded by family on Nov. 23.
