Minnesota was idle last weekend, but even in that regard, the Gophers regained the top spot in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll with 32 first-place votes.
Minnesota moved up one from last week, while last week’s top-ranked team, St. Cloud State, fell to fourth after losing to and tying Union. SCSU did garner four first-place votes, however.
Ferris State charged up to No. 2 from No. 4 with a tie against Michigan and a win over Michigan State. The Bulldogs also received 12 first-place nods from the voters.
Michigan remained No. 3 after the Ferris State tie.
Idle Providence stayed No. 5 and had the other two first-place votes.
Union moved up four spots to No. 6, while idle Boston College dropped one to No. 7, idle Quinnipiac went down one to No. 8, idle Clarkson fell one to No. 9 and Massachusetts-Lowell, also off last weekend, dropped one spot to No. 10.
Yale sat idle and remained No. 11, as did Miami at No. 12 and Notre Dame at No. 13.
Wisconsin swept Colorado College and jumped one place to No. 14 and idle Cornell fell one notch to No. 15.
Northeastern was off and stayed 16th, Denver beat and tied Renssealer to move up three to No. 17, Lake Superior State split with Alaska-Anchorage and falls one to No. 18, idle Nebraska-Omaha is again No. 19 and Minnesota State, fresh off sweeping Alabama-Huntsville, re-enters the rankings at No. 20 this week.
There will not be a poll conducted Dec. 23. The next poll will be released Dec. 30.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country.
Maine goaltender Martin Ouellette has eight wins this season, one off his total of all of last season (photo: Melissa Wade).
Save for a single game between Providence and Army on Friday night, the first half has wrapped up for all Hockey East teams.
There have already been a number of interesting story lines: Northeastern’s surprising first half, Merrimack’s offensive struggles, Massachusetts-Lowell attempting to defend its regular and postseason titles from a year ago.
Among all that, there have been highs and lows and plenty of great hockey that I’ll try to summarize a bit here.
Breakout team of the first half
There are a number of teams that could be classified as the breakthrough team. There is Northeastern, which has an impressive nonconference record but still hasn’t proven itself in Hockey East play.
There is also Vermont, which many believed would be among the bottom two or three teams but is 8-6-1 overall and 4-5 in conference play.
The team that has surprised me the most, however, has been Maine. The Black Bears returned enough key players from a season ago but seemed to lack the chemistry to be a winner night in and night out. But after winning three straight games and five of its last seven before break, Maine stands at 9-6-1 overall and 4-2-1 in league play.
What has impressed me most about this Maine team is its defense and goaltending. Maine has allowed just 10 goals in nine league games and its 30 goals allowed overall is the lowest among Hockey East teams. Much of that can be credited to a breakthrough season-to-date for goaltender Martin Ouellette.
Given the reins most of last season, Ouellette was impressive but came away with just nine wins. At the break, he already has eight to go along with a 2.06 GAA and .929 save percentage. Those numbers aren’t quite as good as some Hockey East goaltenders but his contributions have meant a lot to this Maine team.
Where the Black Bears will need to improve is play away from Alfond Arena. Maine is still without a road win, something that will need to improve if the Black Bears are to be the surprise team that they seem poised to become.
Top performance by a returning player
Johnny Gaudreau of Boston College has been everything people expected and more this season. He has registered 28 points in just 16 games, putting him on pace to reach the 60-point plateau at the end of the regular season (a solid postseason run could mean 70 or 80 points).
At this point, Gaudreau looks like a man among boys. His speed, his shot, his hockey sense — all make him one of the most talented offensive players this league has seen in some time.
Is there a caveat? Of course. Gaudreau needs to stay healthy in the second half, something that can be difficult for a marked man standing a generous 5-foot-7. But if his point production can hold up, you have to believe he once again will be a member of the Hobey Hat Trick.
Top performance by a rookie
I mentioned in the opening that Northeastern has been one of the most surprising teams in Hockey East. Coming off a last-place finish a year ago, few expected the Huskies to match their overall win totals from a year ago (nine) before Christmas.
A major reason for Northeastern’s success has been the addition of rookie Mike Szmatula. The 5-foot-9 forward from Commerce, Mich., started the season red hot. He’s cooled a little of late, scoring just three points in his last eight games, but he has plenty of talent that will be valuable to a Northeastern team that scored just 81 goals in 34 games a year ago. (The Huskies already have scored 54 goals in 16 games at the break.)
One note: Notre Dame’s Vince Hinostroza needs a mention here as he easily could have been the top rookie to date had he not missed six games with an injury. His 1.17 points per game is third-best among rookies but his body of work, due to the injury, is a bit limited. Don’t be surprised come season’s end, though, if he walks away with rookie of the year honors.
Boston University’s offense has sputtered without the injured Cason Hohmann (photo: Melissa Wade).
Team most in need of the break
The consistently inconsistent Boston University Terriers are probably the happiest to see the first half come to an end. Brilliant at times, BU hasn’t proven it can show up to play night in and night out.
First-year head coach David Quinn, taking over for Jack Parker, has been tearing his hair out with this club. Some nights it plays well and isn’t rewarded. Some night it struggles but gets the win. But the majority of the low points for this team have come as a result of simply not showing up (including a 4-1 loss to Bentley to close the first half).
The team remains without Cason Hohmann and has seen its offense sputter since his injury in late November. The break may serve Hohmann and the Terriers well if it allows him to further rehab his injury before the Terriers again have to take the ice.
But there is no question that many areas of BU’s game will need to improve if the Terriers are to be competitive in the second half.
Team poised for a second-half move
This one is simple: Notre Dame. The Irish suffered a number of injuries in the first half and at one point were barely able to dress the full complement of players.
But most of those injuries have been resolved and this team should be at full strength when it returns from the holiday break. Hopefully for Notre Dame, it hasn’t dug its Hockey East grave. The Irish are 10-7-1 overall but just 3-4-1 in league play. Notre Dame is six points behind first-place Boston College with just 12 league games remaining.
That’s a point that may be lost on many. With the reduction in league games, most teams have played 40 percent of their league games before the break where in years past most teams had more than two-thirds of their league games remaining for the second half. Teams that are near the top of the league this season like BC, Providence, Lowell and Maine have a decided advantage compared to years past.
First-half grades
Rather than hand out letter grades at this point in the season, I’ll simply divide this up into three categories: Exceeds expectations, meets expectations and needs improvement.
Exceeds expectations
Northeastern
Vermont
Maine
Meets expectations
Boston College
Massachusetts-Lowell
Providence
Notre Dame
Needs improvement
Boston University
Massachusetts
Merrimack
New Hampshire
And finally …
As this is the last column prior to the holidays, on behalf of Dave and me, I’d like to wish all of our readers the best of holidays and the happiest and healthiest of new years. We’ll see you at Fenway in January!
Scoring goals has been Corey Leivermann’s specialty thus far for Gustavus Adolphus (photo: Laura Westphal/SportPix).
We have reached the halfway point of the MIAC season and if last year is any indication of how the conference race plays out, it should be an entertaining second half to say the least.
St. Thomas heads into the break with the edge at the moment. The Tommies are 4-0-2 in the MIAC and 8-1-2 overall. But six points separates the top three teams as Gustavus Adolphus and Concordia (Minn.) are still very much in the mix for the championship.
Gustavus is 4-1-1 in the league and 7-3-2 overall, while Concordia sits in third at 3-2-1 in the MIAC and 8-3-1 overall. The Gusties have 14 points, while the Cobbers have 10.
Saint John’s and Augsburg have some work to do to remain in contention, but it’s too early to count either team out. At the very least, both teams are on course to be playoff teams. The Johnnies, the defending MIAC tournament champions, are 3-3 in the conference and 6-6 overall. The Auggies are 2-1-1 in MIAC play and 8-1-1 overall.
The remaining four teams don’t have winning records in conference play, but they could certainly play the role of spoiler for someone else at some point in the second half.
So with the first-half history, it’s time to take a look back at each team and look a little bit ahead as well.
Enjoy reading and have a great Christmas and New Year!
St. Thomas: Much of the Tommies’ success is a credit to goalie Drew Fielding. He has allowed only 15 goals and has a goals-against average of 1.34. He has tallied 289 saves on the year and has registered four shutouts, including one in a 3-0 win over St. Scholastica on Saturday.
If Fielding continues to play at a high level, the Tommies are going to remain the frontrunner for the MIAC championship.
Alex Altenbernd has been playing well on offense, scoring six goals and dishing out five assists. Connor McBride has also stepped up and has four goals and an assist.
The first 18 days of January will provide the Tommies with two chances to make statements outside the league as they play at St. Norbert and at Eau Claire. The final four games of the season, though, could define their title hopes as they play Gustavus and Saint John’s.
Gustavus Adolphus: The Gusties closed out the first half with a 2-2 tie against St. Olaf, but overall, they have been ona roll. Their last loss was Nov. 15, a 3-1 defeat to Concordia, and they have won five of their last seven.
In six of their seven games, they scored at least three goals, and that offensive success will be key going forward. Corey Leivermann has fueled the offense with eight goals and six assists, while Adam Smyth has come through with five goals and four assists.
John McLean has been solid in goal, racking up 229 saves. The Gusties are more than capable of winning a championship if they remain as productive as they have been on offense.
A mid-February date with St. Thomas in a home-and-home could go a long way in determining the fate of the Gusties in terms of winning a conference title.
Concordia (Minn.): The Cobbers enter the break on a two-game win streak and have won four of their last six overall.
Caleb Suderman is having a stellar season. He has tallied nine goals and six assists while Jordie Bancroft has come through with five goals and seven assists. The Cobbers are balanced, and that balance will be vital to their championship quest, as will the play of goalie Chris Neamonitis. He has made 343 saves and has a 1.90 goals-against average.
Concordia has already played St. Thomas and Gustavus, but it still has a two-game series with Saint John’s in mid-January. That could be a huge series for the Cobbers as the Johnnies will also be hungry for a pair of wins that could bolster their title hopes.
The Cobbers will need to be ready to be sharp on the road as they play six of their final 13 away from home, including the two games with Saint John’s.
Saint John’s: The Johnnies have some work to do if they are going to win another title, but they do go into the break with some momentum after knocking off St. Scholastica 3-2 last Friday night.
Josh Gross leads Saint John’s with four goals and six assists, while Tyson Fulton has struck for four goals as well. But if the Johnnies are going to stay in the title hunt, goalie Saxton Soley needs to be at his best and have a strong second half. He owns a goals-against average of 2.13 and has made 200 saves.
The Johnnies will have opportunities to gain ground in the title chase as they still have two-game series’ on tap against Concordia, Gustavus and St. Thomas. The series with St. Thomas is on the final weekend of the regular season
Augsburg: The Auggies ended their first half with a 5-0 loss to Saint John’s, but losing has been rare for them in general as they closed the opening half of the season with six wins in seven games. The loss to the Johnnies is their only one of the year and don’t expect Augsburg to fade anytime soon.
Ben McClellan has been effective as he has scored eight goals to go along with three assists. Nicholas Widing has scored five goals and dished out seven assists.
Augsburg has scored a total of 38 goals.
John Bretzman has seen most of the time in goal and has made 169 saves on the season.
The Auggies open the second half at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, providing an opportunity to make a statement. Their hopes for a conference title will be determined over a three-week stretch in late January and early February as they play Gustavus, Concordia and St. Thomas in consecutive weekends.
Bethel: Pride will be what the Royals will be playing for in the second half. They are just 1-9-2 on the season and have scored more than two goals just once in their last six games.
Brock Raffaele and Travis Payne have been bright spots for Bethel, scoring five goals apiece. Raffaele has also tallied seven assists, while Payne has dished out six assists. The Royals have scored 24 goals in all but have given up 38 on the season.
Still, the Royals have been competitive. Five of their losses have been by a goal, including one-goal losses to St. Thomas and Eau Claire.
But they will need to make those plays in crunch time to win the close games in the second half because their schedule is brutal. The game against Stevens Point on Feb. 1 opens a stretch where the Royals will play St. Thomas, Saint John’s and Gustavus.
St. Olaf: The Oles opened the year with four consecutive losses, but closed the first half with a 2-1-1 record.
St. Olaf has scored only 26 goals, but Dan Cecke has been strong offensively with seven goals and three assists. Peter Linblad has also been a bright spot, scoring five goals and tallying an assist. Steven Sherman has played well, too, tallying four goals and four assists. David Rath has added four goals and four assists as well.
If the Oles can shore things up defensively, they could turn things around a bit in the second half. St. Olaf has allowed 40 goals. The good news for St. Olaf, which is 0-4-1 away from home, is that it will only play four true road games in the second half.
Hamline: The Pipers have just one win on the year and have lost six of their last seven.
The problem for Hamline is that it has managed only 16 goals and has given up 49. Kevin Novakovich has played well during the tough season, scoring four goals and dishing out four assists. Brandon Zurn has also shown promise, having tallied three goals and two assists.
It’s not going to get much easier for Hamline in the second half as the Pipers open with St. Scholastica and have a stretch where they play St. Thomas, Concordia, Saint John’s and Augsburg in consecutive weekends. Hamline just needs to be as competitive as possible and hope it can take some positives from the season to use to build on for next season.
Saint Mary’s: The Cardinals have a bit of momentum heading into the break, having won three of their last four, and that could serve as a sign of better things to come in the second half of the season.
Bobby Thompson has had a good season so far. He has scored four goals and dished out five assists. Bob Marx has also played well, tallying five goals and three assists.
No one else has more than two goals, but if the Cardinals can become a little more productive on offense, they could turn things around.
Christian Gaffy has seen most of the time in goal, playing in games and making 232 saves.
If St. Mary’s can get on a roll early in the second half, and get a little help from others, it has a shot at perhaps making a second-half push for a playoff berth. But the Cardinals will need to be at their best every night to make it happen.
Castleton senior Colin Murray has the Spartans in the hunt for an ECAC East championship (photo: Dan Hickling).
‘Tis the season for joy and merriment and also a time for all good boys to make their wishes to the cherubic elf with hopes they will find stockings filled and presents under the tree.
Certainly all of the coaches in the ECAC East have been good this year, so why shouldn’t they expect to receive as well.
Santa, please, no coal for this group, but here is what they probably wish for their teams in the second half.
Babson
A 9-2-0 start should have everyone excited in Beaverland. At their best, Babson has been very good and one of the most difficult teams to score on with solid team defense and strong goaltending from sophomore Jamie Murray. So just what could coach Jamie Rice want besides world peace and better movie selections on the bus during road trips? How about a bit more offense for the team that scores timely goals, but to date, less than three per game, and that will put a lot of pressure on any team’s defense and goaltending.
Castleton
The first half under new coach Steve Moffatt finished at 6-4-1 and saw some very good, some OK and some not-so good. So what is needed for the second half? Continued strong performances from seniors Ross Herzog and Colin Murray would be appreciated and more than anything, a better penalty kill along with fewer penalties would be a big help in the second half for the Spartans.
Massachusetts-Boston
For some teams, the break shouldn’t come at all and coach Peter Belisle probably feels just that way considering the roll the Beacons are on entering the holidays. So what does the coach need for a team on a five-game winning streak where they have outscored the opposition by a 23-7 margin? One of the bright lights in the 9-2 win over Wentworth was Frankie DeAugustine, who scored four goals in the game for the Beacons. Santa, could you keep that magic happening in the second half for the talented sophomore? Belisle would sure appreciate it.
New England College
The 8-3-0 start overall must be a pleasant surprise for coach Tom Carroll. Continued offensive success from sophomore Cheyne Matheson would be a welcome present, as would some goals for junior James O’Reilly, who has just one entering the break. Not to be greedy, but that might also help the power play for the Pilgrims and that would be a great stocking stuffer for Carroll and the team in the second half.
Norwich
One might expect that replacing such a star-studded senior class would find the Cadets struggling to put up their usual numbers, but not the case for coach Mike McShane’s troops, who enter the break atop the conference with a 7-1-2 overall record. For sure, the coach would like to be healthier in the second half of the season and probably would like to see more of the hot hands displayed by goal-scoring forward Chris Duszynski, whose 11 goals lead the team. No pressure Santa, but if there is room in the bag for a little better penalty kill, the coach would appreciate finding that under the tree, too.
Skidmore
At 3-4-4 overall, the Thoroughbreds are trying to find their stride entering the second half. In fact, it would be great, Santa, if you could bring coach Neil Sinclair a little recipe for home cooking to start the new year where they play two non-conference opponents before facing travel partner Castleton to open the second half of the season. It doesn’t get easier after that, so keeping the three seniors at the top of the scoring table would be helpful in posting more wins in the second half.
Southern Maine
A 0-2-1 finish to the first half finds the Huskies at 4-5-1 overall and put a little downer on some bright spots for coach Jeff Beaney’s team. Freshman goalie Dylan Wells and freshman forward Kelby Lorenz have been very productive for Southern Maine. Some additional scoring would be a most welcome gift for the Huskies, who have scored more than three goals only three times this season.
St. Anselm
After a very slow start, the Hawks finished the first half with a three-game winning streak to close at 3-3-2 overall. The goaltending tandem of Nick Dries and Robert Kang has performed as advertised while the young Hawks search for offense. Coach Ed Seney will probably be pleased if some more balanced scoring would show up to support the strong starts from Joe Tebano and Johnny Daniels. A few more goals and maybe fewer overtime games will be played in the second half.
St. Michael’s
A win, Santa please, a win for the Purple Knights would be the best present. Coach Damian DiGiulian’s very young team has played well enough in spurts, but not a complete game yet that included the requisite puck luck or opportunistic bounce to earn the season’s first ‘W.’ Experience is everything and the freshmen have the first half of the season under their belts so Santa, please help them translate that new experience into better and more consistent play in the second half.
University of New England
The giant-slaying Nor’easters certainly might think they received an early Christmas present in their final game of the first half where they posted a 3-1 win over nationally-ranked Babson. Coach Brad Holt’s team won’t be satisfied with just the one-game phenomenon, so Santa, could you find some back-to-back wins for this team that would greatly appreciate the results matching their output on the ice and give them something they haven’t seen all season, a win streak?
There are just a couple of weeks of downtime before holiday tournaments and nonconference games kick off the second half and the race to the playoffs.
Go easy on the egg nog, boys, and here is hoping all your wishes from Santa come true.
With the first half in the books, Minnesota will head to 2014 as the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll as the Gophers again garnered all 15 first-place votes this week.
The rest of the poll is the exact same as the Dec. 9 poll.
Wisconsin sits second, Cornell third, North Dakota fourth and Harvard at No. 5 rounds out the top five.
Clarkson is again No. 6, followed by Boston College at No. 7, Boston University at No. 8, Quinnipiac ninth and Robert Morris in the No. 10 slot.
Mercyhurst also received a vote this week.
The next D-I women’s poll will be Jan. 6, 2014.
The USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 15 voters, including 14 coaches of Division I programs and one women’s hockey writer.
Wisconsin-River Falls captain Jon Schreiner has his team on a roll entering the holiday break (photo: Kathy M Helgeson/UW-River Falls Communications).
Two months of college hockey have come and gone and who would have thought Wisconsin-River Falls would be the team with the best record in the WIAC at the moment?
The Falcons are 2-0 in league play and an impressive 8-1-1 overall. Not bad for a team that won only 13 games a year ago. Not only are they winning, but they are nationally-ranked, sitting at 14th in the latest USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point and defending national champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire are nationally-ranked as well. The Pointers are fourth in the country and are 10-1 overall and 1-1 in the league. Eau Claire is 7-3-1 and 0-1-1 in the conference.
Stout (3-7, 1-1) and Superior (4-7-2, 0-1-1) have both shown promise at times and are likely to be competitive going forward in a conference that can make a case for being one of the best in the nation.
With the teams on break, I’ve decided to take a closer look at each team before getting back to the regular column routine in 2014.
Enjoy reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Wisconsin-River Falls: The Falcons are flying high heading into the holiday break. They are one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won six consecutive games. Their only loss this season was a by a goal and that was a 3-2 defeat to Augsburg.
Willie Hess leads the offense with eight goals and five assists, but five other players have scored at least two goals. Defensively, the Falcons have been able to count on two goalies in Tanner Milliron and Scott Lewan. The two have combined for 261 saves.
Of course, the schedule does not get any easier. The Falcons have three nationally-ranked teams to battle in the first 18 days of January. Those games against St. Norbert, St. Scholastica and Stevens Point could very well define the direction they go in the rest of the year.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point: The Pointers have won 10 of their first 11 and look like the frontrunner for the WIAC championship at the moment. They stubbed their toe only once and that was in a 3-2 loss to Stout.
Offensively, this team is a machine. Stevens Point has scored 65 goals and it’s given up just 17. Garrett Ladd has led the way with 11 goals and 10 assists and Joe Kalisz has struck for seven goals and six assists. A total of 19 players have scored for the Pointers and with that kind of balance and depth, they will be tough to beat on any given night.
Brandon Jaeger has seen most of the time in goal and has 167 saves on the year. Spencer Viele has won twice in his two starts.
One thing about the Pointers on defense is that they have been tough against the power play as teams are converting just over 10 percent of the time in those situations.
Stevens Point is the team to beat as far as I’m concerned and don’t be surprised if the Pointers win a championship this season.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire: It might seem like the sky is falling for the Blugolds, but despite three losses, you can’t write the champs off. The Blugolds have lost all three of their games to nationally-ranked opponents, including two to St. Norbert, and they go into the break with a two-game win streak.
It’s not easy being the champions and trying to follow up on what was accomplished last year, but Eau Claire is still very much alive in the mix for a title and perhaps, even another run at the national title.
Joe Krause and Jon Waggoner have been steady forces on offense, tallying seven goals and six goals, respectively, while combining for 12 assists.
The Blugolds have also seen Jay Deo step up in goal lately. Deo has won the last three games for Eau Claire, giving up just three goals, and if he continues to make progress, he could play a key role in how this season plays out for Eau Claire.
The Blugolds start off the new year with a home game against Augsburg, but an opportunity to make a statement will come on Jan. 18 when it plays host to St. Thomas. Like I said, I’m not writing off Eau Claire yet – still too much hockey left to be played.
Wisconsin-Superior: After a big win over second-ranked Norwich out in New York at the end of November, the Yellow Jackets have had a tough time getting on track in December.
Superior is winless in its last four games, with ties against Eau Claire (2-2) and Finlandia (3-3) mixed into that streak.
The Yellow Jackets have allowed 37 goals on the season and need to improve defensively if they are going to come out playing well in 2014. Drew Strandberg and Dayn Belfour have both taken turns in goal and own goals-against averages of 2.18 and 3.49, respectively, and they will need to continue to make strides if the Yellow Jackets are to thrive.
The offense will also need to be more productive. Superior has 32 goals on the season, including five goals apiece from Cody Hotchkin and Pat Dalbec. Finding consistency on offense is key. In five games this year, Superior scored one goal or less.
Superior has shown it can play with the best teams in the nation. It’s just a matter of being consistent in order to live up to its potential.
Wisconsin-Stout: The Blue Devils can at least feel good knowing they head into the break with a huge win over Stevens Point with a 3-2 win over the Pointers on Dec. 7.
The win ended a rugged stretch where Stout had lost six consecutive games. Four of those losses were by one goal, which illustrates the competitiveness of the Blue Devils.
Kevin O’Donnell has been a bright spot, scoring seven goals and dishing out five assists. He is the only player with more than three goals on the season.
If Stout can be a little more productive offensively and make those plays in close games that lead to a win instead of a loss, the Blue Devils have an opportunity for a decent season.
Goaltender Corey Koop, of course, will need to continue to step up as well. He’s been solid all year, making 320 saves, and that includes 59 saves in a thrilling upset of the Pointers.
Stout likely won’t win a conference title, but it could play the spoiler role on more than one occasion in the second half of the year.
No. 17 Denver at Massachusetts Candace: Denver continues to look good since getting swept by Nebraska-Omaha at the beginning of the November. NCHC co-goaltender of the week Sam Brittain, the top goalie in the nation, is a virtual fortress in net. This could be a trap game for a Denver team playing on little rest, but I think they pull through. Denver 3-2 Matthew: This really ought to be Denver’s game to lose, but the Pioneers mustn’t overlook a Massachusetts team that has won its last three games in a row, all against decent opposition. Add to that the fact the Minutemen are at home for this game and it has the makings of a potential upset, but I think DU will do just enough to finally head home from its extended east coast swing with another win. Denver 4-2
Geneseo and Nazareth took to the outdoors at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y., on Sunday, with Geneseo eking out a 3-2 victory (photo: Dan Hickling).
With the holiday break having begun in earnest, the weekend just past saw little in the way of Division III action.
However, less is often more, and so it was on Sunday in Rochester, N.Y, where No. 14 Geneseo and Nazareth hooked up in what could be called the “Currier and Ives Classic.”
In sum, the teams skated outdoors at Frontier Field as part of Rochester’s 10-day long celebration of hockey.
The game itself lived up to the build up as Geneseo eked out a 3-2 win.
Tyler Brickler scored twice (Nos. 7 and 8) for the Ice Knights, countering two tallies by Nazareth freshman Ben Blasko (4 and 5).
The only action No. 11 Utica saw was at home against the U.S. National Under-18 Team, a tilt the Pioneers won handily 4-1. Four different scorers connected for Utica and freshman goalie Marcus Zelzer turned aside 29 shots offered by the 18s, a team drawn heavily from D-I commits and NHL draft candidates.
St. Scholastica endured the toughest weekend among all USCHO.com ranked teams. The ninth-ranked Saints dropped both of their starts, 3-2 at St. John’s on Friday, then were blanked at home the following night by No. 6 St. Thomas.
Fine week for WIAC
For the three seasons prior to this year, Gustavus Adolphus had built a brilliant 44-0-4 record on home ice. An early season, one-goal defeat put an end to the stellar streak. In the final game before the semester break however, the Golden Gusties were stung once again at home, taking a 3-0 loss at the hands of visiting No. 10 Wisconsin-River Falls. Gustavus Adolphus had not been on the losing end of a regular season shutout since a 0-0 tie with Trinity on Jan. 14, 2011. Wis.-River Falls senior Katie Batters had a pair of goals in the win, but her first of the night was all that was required to trip up the No. 6 Golden Gusties. Batters’ unassisted short-handed tally occurred 13 seconds into the third period. Falcons freshman forward Jenna Ulberg precipitated the short-handed situation when was sent to the box for checking at 18:33 of the second. Batters, the top goal scorer for the Falcons with seven, had been held without a score in her last three games before taking to the sheet at Don Roberts Ice Arena. Batters closed out the festivities with an empty-netter with a helper from Brook Story with six seconds left in regulation. Ashley Kuechle turned aside 25 shots in gaining her third shutout of the year. The Falcons held the Golden Gusties leading scorer, sophomore Allison Eder-Zdechlik, to two shots on goal in the game, both coming in the first 40 minutes of action. Both of the Golden Gusties losses at home this season have come at the hands of teams from the WIAC.
The WIAC has had a significant role in what has become a weekly merry-go-round of suitors for the lower end of the USCHO poll rankings. Overall, the four entities in the conference have combined for a 16-5-6 nonconference record. Factoring out Wis.-Eau Claire, the numbers improve to 15-1-4. Wis.-River Falls is the lone team to take a nonconference hit, a 5-3 loss to Bethel.
St. Thomas coach Tom Palkowski could have concluded 2013 by achieving his 100th career win with the Tommies, but visiting Wis.-Stevens Point concocted an opposite scenario with a pair of weekend victories in the Tommies’ home building. Cassandra Salmen scored two third-period goals last Friday in a tight 3-2 Pointers win. On Saturday, St. Thomas had a hefty advantage on shots on goal over Stevens Point, but it proved to be all for naught as Megan Nickelson’s winner at 10:39 left in regulation capped a 1-0 win for the Pointers. Palkowski currently stands at 98 wins. The Tommies open the 2014 with a home-and-home series with St. Norbert on January 4.
It was a pretty brief week for Hockey East teams, and thus my three things that I learned this week will be equally as brief. Here we go:
1) Maine is climbing toward “legit”
I know this will draw the ire of some Black Bears fans, but I’ve had a difficult time calling this Maine team legit to this point. That said, reaching the break with a 9-6-1 mark and a 9-1-0 record inside the friendly confines of Alfond Arena is impressive. Now I know that the Black Bears beat a somewhat weak AIC squad this weekend, but wins at home against Massachusetts-Lowell, Boston College and Boston University tell me that this team is poised to be a potential sleeper (or should I say contender?) in the second half. The one issue that must be solved: winning on the road. A 0-5-1 mark away from home is cause for serious concern given that six of the next seven games for Maine will be away from home.
2) What should we make of UMass?
Massachusetts finished off a weekend road sweep of Colgate on Sunday giving the Minutemen three straight wins. But this streak follows an eight-game winless skid leaving me shaking my head as to what to make of this UMass team. The Minutemen still have one game left on Tuesday night when they host Denver, a team coming off a win and tie at Rensselaer. That game could be a statement game for UMass if there is to be any belief this team can finish in the top half of Hockey East.
3) And the Terriers remain inconsistent
Raise your hand if after BU’s win over Cornell at Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving weekend that you began to have high hopes for the Terriers. I, for one, have my hand in the air. But a loss and tie to Merrimack followed by an ugly 4-1 loss against Bentley at home pushes BU to the break at 7-8-2 and in 10th place (albeit with games in hand) in Hockey East. BU, like Maine, is winless (0-5-0) on the road but has proved that there is little game-to-game consistency for this team.
Check back on Wednesday as I will be handing out mid-term grades for all 11 Hockey East teams.
Remember when Minnesota State’s power play was one of the worst in the country? I believe I used the word “feeble” to describe it in more than one story. Don’t look now, but the Mavericks have the WCHA’s best and the nation’s 10th best power play, as it’s shot up to 22.6 percent. It’s been clicking at nearly 40 percent during MSU’s recent seven-game win streak. Jean-Paul LaFontaine leads the league in power-play goals (7) and points (11). The Mavericks scored four power-play goals in their first 10 games of the season. In the eight since, they have 17. Against Alabama-Huntsville, they scored three power-play goals each night of the series sweep, which proved to be the difference in the games.
Falcons, Nanooks come up big on road
Bowling Green and Alaska not only scored some huge road points this weekend with each winning and tying at Michigan Tech and Bemidji State, respectively, but they buoyed themselves before break after some tough stretches before the weekend. The Falcons not only beat the Huskies on Friday but scored two late goals in a come-from-behind tie on Saturday. That series followed a 1-4-0 stretch that included four one-goal losses. The Nanooks, meanwhile, have two wins and a tie on the road in their last three games following a five-game losing streak and a 1-7-0 stretch.
League has good goaltending
There was quite the goaltending battle between Alaska Anchorage’s Chris Kamal and Lake Superior’s Kevin Murdock on Saturday night in Anchorage. The Seawolves and the Lakers appeared to be heading into overtime scoreless, but UAA’s Brett Cameron scored with just under 16 seconds to play. Murdock finished with 26 saves, and Kamal stopped 18 for the win, his first of the year, and series split. Anchorage is 7-2-1 at home this season. There’s been some pretty good goaltending in the league this season with Ferris State’s C.J. Motte, Minnesota State’s Cole Huggins, Northern Michigan’s Mathias Dahlstrom and Michigan Tech’s Pheonix Copley, to name a few.
Oh, and one more thing …
Interesting comments about the officiating – one no-call in particular – from Michigan Tech coach Mel Pearson on Saturday night. It’s a long but measured statement probably best viewed than transcribed. Check it out.
After a dreadful November where they went 3-6-1, North Dakota has put together a five-game win streak to move two games over .500 at the break after sweeping Northern Michigan this past weekend, 4-1 and 3-1. For fans that are accustomed to seeing second-half surges, this is good news.
In my column last week, I interviewed North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol, and he singled out the line of Rocco Grimaldi, Drake Caggiula, and Luke Johnson. The trio were all over the score sheet in both games this past weekend. On Friday, Johnson scored a goal while Grimaldi had two assists, including one on Johnson’s game-winning power-play goal.
In Saturday’s game, Caggiula scored the game-winner at 14:42 of the third on assists from Johnson and Grimaldi. The goal was part of a three-goal third period that saw North Dakota rally from a goal down.
Johnson, a Chicago Blackhawks prospect, is playing right wing on the line, a shift, as the freshman had been playing center. In an interview after Friday’s game, Johnson indicated that his confidence is increasing thanks to playing with Grimaldi and Caggiula.
“I think I just have more confidence,” Johnson said. “Obviously, my linemates are two good players that know how to distribute the puck. I think confidence is the biggest thing.”
Also contributing strongly on the weekend were defenseman Jordan Schmaltz, who had three assists, and defenseman Paul LaDue, who had a goal and an assist. Goalie Zane Gothberg made 37 saves in the two games.
North Dakota is off from official games until Jan. 10, when it hosts a two-game set against NCHC foe Colorado College. Then after a home-and-home with Bemidji, North Dakota travels to Denver for a two-game set in an always heated rivalry.
Denver stays hot
Speaking of the Pioneers, Denver has also seen a turnaround in recent weeks. After getting swept by Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 1-2, the Pioneers’ record stood at 3-5, and included four overtime losses. Since that game, Denver has only lost once while improving to 9-6-3 on the year. The streak has included a win and shootout win against arch-rival Colorado College, a sweep of Western Michigan, a tie and win against Air Force, a win against No. 12 Miami, and, this past weekend, an overtime win and tie against No. 18 Rensselaer.
A lot of factors are at play in Denver’s turnaround. Number one is the continued excellent play of Sam Brittain, who made 40 saves over the two games against RPI. Brittain currently leads the nation in goaltending with a 1.61 GAA. His save percentage of .945 is third, behind Harvard’s Raphael Girard and Mass.-Lowell’s Connor Hellebuyck. Of course, those two have played eight and 10 games respectively, while Brittain has played 17, making his stats all the more impressive. Brittain is second nationally in minutes played, behind Quinnipiac’s Michael Garteig, and is also tied for the lead in shutouts.
Goaltending isn’t the only factor in Denver’s turnaround. During its first month of play, the Pioneers were getting scoring almost exclusively from their defensemen. Of late, the forwards have been contributing. Freshman Trevor Moore leads the team with 14 points, and center Quentin Shore is second with 13 points.
Against Rensselaer on Friday, defenseman and team captain David Makowski got a goal in the second to tie the game, while freshman forward Emil Romig scored the game-winner in the third. On Saturday, forward Ty Loney got the only goal for Denver in the 1-1 tie.
Denver has a quick turnaround, as it travels to Amherst to play Massachusetts on Tuesday in its final game of the first half. The Pioneers then return with a single contest against Brown on Jan. 3 before a huge home series with conference leader St. Cloud State on Jan. 10-11.
No. 1 no more?
Speaking of St. Cloud, it is likely that the Huskies’ tenure as the country’s no. 1 team is short-lived after their loss and tie against Union at home.
On Friday, Union’s Mat Bodie assisted on two power-play goals in the first period and then scored at just .43 seconds of the third period to dash any comeback hopes for St. Cloud. Of note in that game is that St. Cloud coach Bob Motzko pulled goalie Ryan Faragher at 8:50 of the third period.
Faragher was back in net on Saturday and made 23 saves. St. Cloud took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, then gave up three goals in the second. However, a Jonny Brodzinski extra-attacker power-play goal with 20 seconds left in the game enabled the Huskies to at least get a point on the weekend.
St. Cloud’s penalty kill hurt it in both games, as Union scored two power-play goals on Friday and another power-play goal in Saturday’s game.
St. Cloud has an exhibition against the U.S. U-18 squad on Jan. 4 before returning to action with the series at Denver on Jan. 10-11.
(Anyone who read that with Professor Farnsworth’s voice in mind, well done.) Union finished the week 2-0-1, taking two league points from Dartmouth on Wednesday and all but sweeping No. 1 St. Cloud on the road this weekend. A huge pair of results that are sure to knock the Huskies off their one-week perch and boost Union near the Top 5.
“All-in-all, for the adversity this team faced with the tough stretch of games, the players did a great job and I’m proud of them,” coach Rick Bennett said, as quoted by Ken Schott of the Schenectady Daily Gazette. “It was a good road trip,” he continued. “If you had told the coaching staff before the trip that we would come away with a win and a tie against the top team in the nation we would have been pleased. But we are far from satisfied.”
Union is making a serious run, now unbeaten in 10 games (9-0-1) and 11-1-2 since starting the season 1-2-1. At the top of the ECAC standings through nine games, the Dutchmen have two points and a game in hand on second-place Quinnipiac. Yeah, it’s too early to start calculating “magic numbers” and all that, but it has nonetheless been an impressive 2013 half of the 2013-14 season for the Garnet & White.
Holiday downers
Rensselaer, Colgate and St. Lawrence – on the other hand – had weekends to forget. RPI lost and tied No. 20 Denver in Troy. The Raiders were swept at home by what had been a four-win Massachusetts club (now 6-11-2). The Saints, once looking like a top-10 team, have lost seven of their last nine games… including Saturday’s 5-1 loss at Vermont.
This leaves ECAC Hockey with nine teams entering the holiday break on a down note: Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Quinnipiac, RPI (exhibition win over US National Development Team notwithstanding), SLU, and Yale all concluded their pre-Christmas schedule with losses and/or winless skids.
Haggerty, Girard and the rest
Statistical tidings following this game-light weekend:
• RPI’s Ryan Haggerty continues to lead the nation in goals (18) and goals per game (1.06). He is the only player with a goal a game… besides Cornell goalie Mitch Gillam, who has one goal in one game.
• SLU star Greg Carey, meanwhile, leads the country with 36 points and 1.89 points a game. He also has 13 goals, good for a four-way tie for second with Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau, younger brother and Saints teammate Matt Carey and Quinnipiac freshman Sam Anas.
• Union junior Shayne Gostisbehere is one off the national lead in shots on goal, with 86. Oh yeah, reminder: He’s a defenseman. No other blueliner in the nation even has 60 shots on goal, much less 80; Gostisbehere is also more than a shot-per-game ahead of any other defenseman in the country.
• Harvard senior Raphael Girard leads Division 1 with a .948 save percentage.
• QU’s Michael Garteig leads the country in minutes played – 1,146:53 – but there is just one goalie who has played every non-open-net minute for his team, and that is Holy Cross’ Matt Ginn.
• Clarkson keeper Steve Perry is third nationally with a 1.72 GAA.
• QU (+1.58) and Union (+1.33) are the only league teams to boast goal differentials over +1 goal per game.
• SLU leads D-I with a 29 percent power play. Wow. Cornell (26.9 percent) and Union (25.8) round out the top three.
• Finally, the Bobcats and Dutchmen are 1-2 nationally in shot margin per game. Quinnipiac averages more than 14 shots per game than its opposition; Union, more than nine additional SOG’s.
Clarkson delivers
Neither cold nor snow could stop No. 6 Clarkson on Saturday; maybe RIT should have tried gloom of night.
After falling by a 12-1 score at Clarkson to open the season, the Tigers hosted the Golden Knights in the first outdoor game for the program. The temperature was 13 degrees when the puck dropped, and snow was falling through the game, which was still scoreless as it approached the midway point. Over a stretch of 3:20, Clarkson rattled off three goals, two by Carly Mercer. Kolbee McCrea scored late in the second period and again early in the third to get RIT back within a goal. Vanessa Gagnon had two goals, including a short-hander, as the Golden Knights closed with another three-goal run and skated off with a 6-2 win.
Bestland climbs charts for Lakers
In the only CHA conference games of the week, Mercyhurst traveled to Lindenwood for a series, where in the first game senior Christine Bestland and sophomore Emily Janiga blew away the Lions while engaging in a bit of can you top this.
Janiga tallied short-handed to open the scoring and give the Lakers a lasting lead. Bestland followed with a short-hander of her own eight minutes later, the first of her goals in a pure hat trick. Then it was Janiga’s turn once more, sandwiching goals in the second and third periods around a Caitlyn Post goal for Lindenwood to complete her own hat trick. Janiga wound up with three helpers and six points in the Lakers’ 7-1 victory.
Bestland finished with five points on the day, pushing her career total to 205 and moving her ahead of Valerie Chouinard (200) and Bailey Bram (201) into third place on the all-time list for Mercyhurst. Bestland figures to still have a shot at catching Jesse Scanzano (225) for second place. Meghan Agosta-Marciano holds first for both the program and the entire NCAA with 305. Bestland now has 33 points on the season, tied for second in the country.
On Sunday, Nicole Hensley was in the Lindenwood net and the Lions shut down Janiga and Bestland, but Jenna Dingeldein picked up the slack with two goals and an assist. Shelby Bram contributed three helpers. Katie Erickson had the lone goal for Lindenwood in a 4-1 Mercyhurst win.
North Dakota gets road sweep
No. 4 North Dakota gained 5-2 and 2-1 wins at Minnesota State. Meghan Dufault had two assists and was one of five goal scorers on Friday. Susanna Tapani scored twice on Saturday as UND completed the sweep despite 43 saves from Danielle Butters. The wins moved North Dakota to within a game of Wisconsin for second place in the WCHA.
Bulldogs bounce back
After going winless in its previous five games, Minnesota-Duluth closed 2013 with a pair of 2-1 triumphs at St. Cloud State. The Bulldogs’ top line carried them in the series. Senior Jamie Kenyon scored three of the goals, Hannah Bramm had four helpers, and Jenna McParland added two assists and put in the game-winner on Saturday with 14 seconds left. Kayla Black recorded both wins. Molli Mott had both goals for the Huskies on the weekend.
Vermont wins in overtime
Amanda Pelkey split the defense in transition and roofed a backhander 3:54 into OT to give Vermont a 1-0 win at Dartmouth. The Catamounts had the better chances throughout the game, but Lindsay Holdcroft stopped the first 24 shots. The Big Green’s best opportunity came when Laura Stacey got loose on a second-period breakaway, but she was stoned by Roxanne Douville, one of her 18 saves in registering the shutout. Vermont heads into the break with a winning record of 8-7-4, while Dartmouth (2-11-0) will look to regroup.
Dutchwomen and Black Bears split
Union took the first game versus Maine, 2-0. Stefanie Thomson and Courtney Turner scored power-play goals and Shenae Lundberg had the 21-save shutout.
Union’s power play continued to do good work in game two, scoring three times, but Maine matched that production and added three more tallies for a 6-3 win. Lundberg was chased after yielding four goals on 12 shots. Shawna Lesperance led the way with two goals, including the game-winner, while Abbey Cook and Kelly McDonald contributed two-point games. Thomson had two more goals for the Dutchwomen.
Future Frozen Four sites announced
The NCAA announced the locations for four future tournament championships. The Frozen Four is scheduled for Minneapolis, Minn., in 2015 and 2018, Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, N.H., in 2016, and Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., in 2017.
Very light weekend in terms of games in the Big Ten, but here are three things I saw in the three games.
Kerdiles makes up for mistake in a big way
At the end of a very long shift on the power play, Wisconsin sophomore Nic Kerdiles attempted a long cross-ice pass. Instead of finding the stick of a Wisconsin teammate, the puck was picked off and soon found itself in the back of Wisconsin’s net.
“I made a bonehead play there,” Kerdiles said. “I was tired and usually you make more mistakes when you’re tired, so I’d definitely credit that to not getting off the ice and it was definitely my fault.”
Kerdiles made up for the play late in the in the second. He scored the eventual game-winning goal in the Badgers 4-1 victory with two seconds left in the second period.
“When you make a bonehead play like that you real owe one to the team,” Kerdiles said. “That’s what I focused on and Coach [Mike] Eaves gave me that opportunity to go out there and play with my line.”
Wisconsin starts slow on Saturday, but finishes with a bang
The Badgers’ game on Saturday wasn’t an easy one. Wisconsin fell behind 2-0 after the first period and battled back to take a 3-2 lead in the third period before giving up a game-tying goal with less than two minutes left in the third.
“We put the onus on the players,” Eaves said. “It was not the start that we talked about and we found ourselves behind. This is an upperclassmen team and we said ,’you gentlemen need to take the reins and you know what to do and they went out and did that.'”
Tyler Barnes scored the game-winning goal less than two minutes into overtime.
“It was a good [break] out from the defenseman and Brad [Navin] got the puck, got it to the net and it came off the back wall to me and I just threw it towards the net,” Barnes said.
Michigan State’s offense doesn’t show up against Ferris State
Michigan State managed to hold Ferris State to two goals and 22 shots on Saturday night, problem was that the Spartans only mustered 16 shots and none of them found the back of the net. The Bulldogs are now unbeaten in in their last 15 games.
“It was a really tough game to play,” head coach Tom Anastos said. ”There wasn’t a lot of room out there. We made a couple big mistakes and they ended up in our net and we weren’t able to create anything to change the momentum, offensively.”
Three things (okay, four) from Atlantic Hockey play this weekend:
Oh the weather outside is frightful.
People in Rochester, New York went to a snowstorm at a baseball field and watched a hockey game break out. With about a foot and a half of snow falling in the upstate area, the RIT Tigers and Niagara Purple Eagles battled through a slopfest outside. The snow was so thick during the women’s game earlier that timeouts caused delays as players and work crews shoveled the ice off. The men’s game had more of the same, and pregame ceremonies were shortened to avoid the ice becoming too snow covered.
So snow covered was the game that skaters left wakes of snow piles as they skated through the rink. Skating with the puck wasn’t an option, and players were forced to lift the puck to make passes. Predictably, the game ended in a 2-2 tie, even after the teams adjusted to the conditions.
“We just wanted to get the puck in, the way it was snowing out there,” said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson after the game. “We wanted to get the puck deep and shoot anything at the net.”
Somewhere in Rochester this morning, children among the 5,000 fans in attendance at Frontier Field are shoveling off a frozen lake to play some shinny. While the game play was sloppy and tough to deal with, they’ll be happy to try and recreate the 16-degree frigid winter wonderland they saw last night. “I was worried about rain, sun, and warm temperatures, and we got January,” joked Wilson after the game. But he put it into perspective saying, “It was a great event for our players, our school, and the Rochester community. The weather definitely made for some tough play, but both teams adjusted well.”
The “Snow Game” will resonate in the standings.
The fact that the game ended in a tie is something that can’t be lost on the AHA faithful. Because of the conditions, goals and shots were at a premium; both teams had nine shots in the second period but scored three goals (two by RIT). But had this game been played inside, an RIT team that’s been undefeated in their previous five games might’ve had a different result against a Niagara team swept last weekend by UConn. Instead, the tie resulted in RIT getting one point instead of two. That cost them a chance to move into third place and a one-point lead over Connecticut and Air Force. With just one point, the Tigers are now tied with the two schools, two points back of Bentley for second and four back of Mercyhurst for first.
I’m not going to say that better weather or playing the game indoors would’ve resulted in a different final score, but if RIT or Niagara misses out on a first round bye or first round home series by one point, this game will be the one I point to and say, “That had the biggest impact later down the road.”
How the Falcons Stole BU Christmas
After a dizzying week of varying opinions about Bentley’s chances at Boston University on Saturday, the result finally boiled down to where it matters – on the ice. In that regard, the Falcons dominated; deemed an upset by most, they shocked the college hockey and sports world but didn’t shock themselves. They controlled the pace of the game from start to finish, had BU scouted perfectly, and forced the Terriers into their game style. For the better part of about 53 minutes, the Terriers looked predictable, slow, and, at times, disheartened or frustrated to the point where head coach David Quinn promised changes upcoming in his postgame press conference.
BU turned the light on for the last seven minutes of the third period in a last ditch comeback attempt, but at that point, they were already down 3-0. After scoring a goal to make it 3-1, BU pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker. Danny O’Regan had a wide open look on the stick side that Bentley netminder Branden Komm stopped. It was a dastardly form of robbery, the back-breaking save that slammed whatever crack was open in the door. Bentley added an empty net strike, and Komm became the all-time winningest goalie in program history with victory #36.
Bentley was outshot, 43-37, but their defense stood strong in front of Komm. They went into the dirty areas, fought for pucks, and gave up their bodies. Senior Zach Marginsky took a Brendan Collier slapshot right off the leg, went down the tunnel to his locker room, and returned less than four minutes later to deliver two quality shifts down the stretch late in the third. And they found unsung heroes in players like Mike Berry and Kyle O’Brien, both of whom turned in solid efforts from the blue line.
Bentley is now 6-0-1 in their last seven, 7-1-1 in their last nine. In the eight games in which they haven’t lost, their GAA is 1.71. They’re over .500 for the first time since they were 11-10-1 last year. They haven’t been multiple games over .500 since they were 9-7-3 on January 8, 2010. As they’ve proven they can rise to the occasion as the stakes get higher, they’ll have another chance with even higher stakes. Their next game is December 28th when they “host” Holy Cross at Fenway Park.
The 12 Pains of Christmas
AIC traveled to Orono, Maine this weekend for a weekend set with Hockey East’s surprise squad of the year, the Maine Black Bears. And for two nights, the Yellow Jackets again served as a tune-up for a more powerful team, getting outscored 12-2 over the weekend and receiving losses 11 and 12 on the year. It was a painful reminder of the long haul of a season after they stole the hearts and minds of the media and fans with their 3-0 start to conference play.
In our AIC season preview capsule, I prognosticated that AIC would tumble back to the bottom of the standings if they couldn’t replace what was arguably the program’s best senior class. The freshmen coming in would experience growing pains, ultimately leading to a season with more losses. And much of it hinged on the defense, which lost some of the league’s most underrated players in Chris Markiewicz and Jeff Ceccacci. There was also the task of replacing Ben Meisner, the all-everything AHA goalie capable of winning a game all on his own.
Opponents are putting the puck on the AIC net to the tune of 41.3 shots per game. In 15 games, all three goalies faced a combined total of 620 shots. Combining that fact with the transition to a new goaltending regime, the Yellow Jackets are giving up over five goals per game, dead last in the NCAA. Since beating Holy Cross, 1-0, back on November 15th, they’re 0-9. Across those nine losses, they’ve given up less than four goals only once.
Despite this, some positives. AIC is 3-0 when leading after two periods, and they’re 2-3 in one-goal games (2-2 in the AHA). They’re also 2-3 when scoring first. It proves that, when they can protect the goalie and/or get a game-changing performance in back, they’re capable of stealing wins. When the offense is clicking, they’re capable of winning. But it won’t get any easier after their break for the holidays. They’ll return to action on January 3rd and 4th when they play Air Force.
Ridder Arena and the NCHA will host the 2015 Division III national championship semifinals and finals (photo: University of Minnesota Athletics).
The NCHA will be the host institution for the Division III men’s national championship in 2015.
The event will be held in Minneapolis at Ridder Arena on the Minnesota campus on March 27-28, 2015.
“I am very pleased and excited to announce that the NCHA has been selected to host the NCAA III men’s ice hockey national championship in 2015,” said NCHA commissioner Dr. G. Steven Larson in a statement. “We look forward to the opportunity to serve the NCAA membership. Our staff and member institutions are very enthusiastic as we prepare to make every effort in providing a first-class experience for the participating teams and fans at one of the top venues in the country.”
The 2015 championship will mark the second time in five years that the event has been hosted by the NCHA and held at Ridder Arena. The 2011 championship game was played between two current NCHA members in St. Norbert and Adrian when St. Norbert won 4-3 in a thriller.
Semifinal games will be played on Friday, March 27, and the winning teams will advance to the title game on Saturday, March 28.
Bowdoin will host the 2014 event March 21-22 at Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine.
The NCAA also announced the event hosts through 2018 as the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., will host in 2016 and 2018 and the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, N.Y., gets the event in 2017.
