Atlantic Hockey has suspended Army freshman forward Kyle Plageman for one game under the league’s supplemental discipline policy.
Plageman was given a major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct at the 19:58 mark of the first period against Merrimack on Oct. 26.
Upon further review by AHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio and supervisor of officials Gene Binda, it was determined that Plageman targeted the head of the Merrimack player.
Plageman will miss the Black Knights’ next game on Friday, Nov. 1, against Connecticut, but is eligible to return Nov. 2 when Army hosts Bentley.
Freshman Alex Iafallo is tied for the Minnesota-Duluth scoring lead with four points (photo: Candace Horgan).
After four games last season, Minnesota-Duluth was 2-2. The Bulldogs had just split with Ohio State at home to open the season, then traveled to Notre Dame and split there. They promptly went into a swoon thereafter, going 1-5-2.
This season, with six games under their belt, the Bulldogs are again coming off a split with Notre Dame, this time at home, before traveling to Ohio State. In fact, the Bulldogs next six games are on the road, a murderer’s row stretch that also includes stops in Grand Forks to face North Dakota and Minneapolis to face Minnesota.
“It doesn’t pay to look anywhere except the next game,” said Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin. “I think that the schedule we have, whether it is nonconference or league, we have a lot of tough opponents and we have a weekend off after this, so it kind of breaks up the six-game stretch.
“You just have to worry about who you are playing each weekend. It doesn’t matter what league they are in, everybody is a pretty good hockey team, so we are focused on how we have to play the game each and every night. I think that’s one thing we have stressed a lot, trying to play the game the right way, and if you do that, you are going to give yourself a good chance to win some games. If we don’t do that, you’re not.”
After opening with a win and a tie against Michigan Tech, the Bulldogs split at Colorado College and at home against the Fighting Irish. In both series, the Bulldogs lost on Friday and rebounded on Saturday.
Sandelin said he sees a lot of similarities in those two series and what his young team can learn from them.
“I think our first third of the weekend, our first two periods Friday, were a little better against Notre Dame, but very similar, and our last four periods have been pretty good,” he said. “We just have to figure out the first third, and hopefully we can do that soon.”
The Bulldogs have a balanced scoring attack that is led in part by two freshmen, Kyle Osterberg and Alex Iafallo, who came into the season somewhat unheralded. Both have four points, tied with senior Joe Basaraba and junior Caleb Herbert for the points lead on the team.
“I think we expected those guys to contribute,” said Sandelin. “I think both of those guys [Osterberg and Iafallo] came in under the radar a bit. A lot of people talked about Dom [Dominic Toninato] because of his good year. It’s just good to see those guys getting adapted to college hockey and having some success offensively.
“They are learning every game. They are certainly guys that, like all of our freshmen, we knew we were going to count on those guys to play some minutes, some more than others. And right now, I think they’ve all done a pretty admirable job for freshmen stepping into this league, especially our young defensemen.”
The defense, too, has relied on contributions from rookies, with Carson Soucy tied with several players for second on the team in scoring and Willie Raskob also helping to key the defense.
In fact, most of the Bulldogs’ blue line corps is underclassmen; they have one senior in Luke McManus, and a couple of juniors, Tim Smith and Derik Johnson. Yet despite that youth, Duluth sits at third nationally in team defense, allowing just 1.67 goals against per game.
“I think defensively, our team has played pretty well,” said Sandelin. “I think last weekend was a great test against certainly a real good hockey team that is big, is strong, is fast. There’s not a lot of holes in their team. We played those guys our third pretty well. I think they were better Saturday. Again, it’s a learning process.
“It’s not an easy position to play as a young player, and I think they are both [Soucy and Raskob] getting a lot of ice time. Since the preseason, I think we’ve seen them improve each week. We know the ups and downs they are going to have during the year like all freshmen do, but hopefully those peaks and valleys aren’t extreme, and right now we haven’t seen a lot of them.”
Coming into the season, Sandelin expected that sophomore Matt McNeely would be his starting netminder, but so far, time has been split evenly between McNeely and senior Aaron Crandall, with the latter starting both games against Notre Dame.
Having two goalies playing well is something that excites Sandelin.
“I am going with whoever is playing well right now,” Sandelin laughed. “Obviously, Matt had two good games against [Michigan] Tech and an OK game against CC and then we threw Aaron in there and he played well, and he’s played three solid games for us.
“So right now, that’s actually a bonus for our team, because I think both of them have played pretty well so far. Hopefully, that will continue, because we are going to need it.”
Nic Dowd (left) and St. Cloud State are 3-0-1 entering NCHC play (photo: Rachel Lewis).
St. Cloud State readies for conference action
St. Cloud State, 3-0-1 after a pair of nonconference series, is readying for two big weekends. The Huskies travel to North Dakota this weekend to open their NCHC season and then host Miami. Those two teams are the ones St. Cloud is expected to battle for the Penrose Cup, given to the winner of the NCHC regular season.
Through the first four games, coach Bob Motzko has been pleased with the overall play of his team, but sees some areas that need improvement.
“We’ve had different lines all four games, and we’re still trying to search for our combinations,” he said. “I think we are going through some of the normal growths of a hockey team right now. We had some dynamic changes to our roster, and so we are trying to put the right people in the right seats on the bus, and it’s trial and error.
“You kind of guess early, play a few games, and you start to figure it out. I’m real happy with those guys that are returning. I don’t think they are playing at the top yet, but they are playing very consistent and strong for us right now.”
Offensively, the Huskies have been led by senior co-captain Nic Dowd and sophomore Jonny Brodzinski, both of whom have four points. A few other players have also come through on the offense, including sophomore Kalle Kossila, as well as two freshmen, defenseman Niklas Nevalainen and forward Ryan Papa.
“We’ve been scoring some goals, obviously, but our offense is a little behind right now,” said Motzko. “I think that might be a normal thing. With the bye week, you’d like to have played some games right there. We kind of showed it in spurts, but we haven’t sustained great play for long periods of time.
“Our power play is not clicking great yet. It’s still early to be evaluating that. We’re moving in a good direction, but I’d like to see our offense have more sustained play from a pressure standpoint and making some plays and not have these lulls.”
One area where Motzko expects improvement is defense — in three of the four games the Huskies have played, they have jumped out to early leads only to let the opponent back into the game. Motzko expects to see better play from goaltender Ryan Faragher, and better overall team defense.
“He’s played three of them, and he’s 3-0,” Motzko said of Faragher. “He’s off to a good start from that standpoint. I think he still has to work on that consistency. One thing we’ve done is we’ve had leads in all three of those games. We had 2-0, 2-0 and 4-0 leads, and the teams have all come back. We have to continue to work on that consistency.
“Part of that might be a little bit goaltending, and part of that might be a little bit our systems and our play and the teams we’ve been playing. It’s still something we need to work on, but we’re making progress and we like the start that’s Ryan’s off to.”
According to Motzko, the team is excited about its trip to Grand Forks this weekend to face North Dakota, which the Huskies see as an important test.
“We have been playing them four times every year since I’ve been here, and it’s always early in the year,” Motzko said. “It’s a great test for your team and a great opportunity to move your season forward and start to get better. We’re excited for it.”
Important exhibition
While last Saturday’s game against the U.S. Under-18 team was just an exhibition for North Dakota (which it won, 4-1), the game meant a lot for the team, especially junior and senior brothers Mark and Mitch MacMillan.
The team wore pink jerseys in support of North Dakota Strong, which raises money and awareness for breast cancer research during October.
“Our family has been affected by it pretty immensely, like everyone has,” Mitch MacMillan said in a video interview with North Dakota Athletics. “Everyone knows somebody or has a relative or friend who has been affected by breast cancer. My grandma passed away when I believe I was 1 or something, so I barely got to know her. She got to meet me a little bit, but she never got to meet Mark or our sister, Alyssa. Now we’ve had two aunts who have been diagnosed with breast cancer but who have survived it.”
The game-worn jerseys are being auctioned off here, with all proceeds going to the Mayo Clinic for breast cancer research. That will benefit the patients at the Altru Health System in Grand Forks, which is part of the Mayo Clinic Health Network.
In the video interview with North Dakota Athletics, Mark MacMillan said: “I know the past few years, they have been having the North Dakota Strong campaign, and this has just ramped it up a bit. It’s awesome. All the other teams are getting involved. We are having pink games for other events as well, and other student-athletes are speaking like me who have been affected by breast cancer at a personal level, so it’s awesome to see the support.”
The game was one of four North Dakota sports games in support of North Dakota Strong. The women’s ice hockey team also got involved, as its series against Ohio State Oct. 18-19 (which North Dakota split), was part of the event. During those games, donations were also taken from fans at the games.
NCHC players of the week
Offensive player of the week — Austin Czarnik, Miami: In a tough weekend out in Providence, Czarnik was an offensive force for Miami, assisting on five of the RedHawks’ six goals. Four assists came on power-play goals, and one was on a short-handed tally. Czarnik had the primary assist on the two goals that helped Miami rally to tie Providence on Friday before the RedHawks lost in overtime, and helped his squad rally from a two-goal deficit again on Saturday to earn a 4-4 tie.
Defensive player of the week — Ethan Prow, St. Cloud State: Prow notched three assists during the Huskies’ road sweep of Colgate while finishing a plus-3 and blocking four shots in each game. He assisted on the game-winning goal in the third period Friday, and helped the penalty kill go 5-for-7 on the weekend; he wasn’t on the ice for either power-play goal.
Rookie of the week — Ryan Papa, St. Cloud State: Papa scored his first two collegiate goals while helping St. Cloud sweep Colgate. He scored a goal in the second period of Friday’s 4-2 win, and his goal Saturday gave St. Cloud a brief 2-0 lead in a 4-3 win. Papa also posted a plus-1 rating in each game.
Goalie of the week — Josh Thorimbert, Colorado College: Though the Tigers’ offense was MIA in a road series against Clarkson, Thorimbert was a bright spot, stopping 70 of 73 shots for a .959 save percentage and 1.45 GAA. He stopped 28 shots in Friday’s 2-1 loss, allowing just one goal at even strength, and stopped 42 shots Saturday before Clarkson scored with 9.9 seconds left in overtime.
Joe Battista, the longtime Penn State employee and associate athletic director for Pegula Ice Arena and hockey development, announced Tuesday that he will leave the school, effective Nov. 8, and will take a new role with Pegula’s East Management Services as its vice president of hockey related businesses.
“Joe Battista has been an integral part of the Penn State community for more than 30 years as a student and employee and I thank him for his loyal service to the university and intercollegiate athletics,” said Penn State director of athletics Dave Joyner in a statement. “Joe’s vision, passion and tireless efforts toward bringing NCAA Division I hockey to Penn State were unmatched and it’s fitting that he was able to see both the men’s and women’s hockey programs play at Pegula Ice Arena.”
“It is with mixed emotions that after more than 26 years my career at Penn State is coming to a close,” Battista said in a statement. “It has been the greatest honor to represent my alma mater as a Lion ambassador, student-athlete, hockey coach, athletic facilities manager, fundraiser and athletics administrator.
“It is now time for me to set new goals and dream new dreams [and] I am grateful to the Pegula’s for having faith in me and for giving me this wonderful opportunity.”
A 1983 graduate of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, Battista served the university in a variety of capacities during his 27-year tenure. He returned to Penn State in 1987, beginning a 19-year journey as head coach of the school’s ACHA Division I club team. With the Icers, Battista captured six national titles and won more than 500 games.
After the 2005-06 season, the Pittsburgh native left the bench to become the Nittany Lion Club’s executive director (2006-09) and then joined the Smeal College of Business as its director of major gifts from 2009-10.
In September 2010, Battista took the role as an associate athletic director after helping facilitate the largest gift in university history – the $88 million donation that helped fund Pegula Ice Arena and NCAA Division I hockey – from Penn State alumnus Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim.
Kallie Billadeau of Syracuse (Syracuse University Athletics)
Candace: Well, another week of some puzzling results, and some expected ones. Let’s start with the biggest result of the weekend from my perspective. Syracuse beat Boston College, 4-1, despite being outshot, 44-25. I have a couple of questions after that result. First, should BC be concerned about defense and goaltending, which were one of its weaknesses last year? Second, does this mean that we need to start looking at Syracuse as a legitimate threat in the CHA and a possible NCAA team, or is it too early for that consideration?
Arlan: We’ve definitely seen this same pattern from BC in the recent past, where the Eagles will outshoot an opponent by a wide margin and still lose. I think it was worse a couple of seasons back, when teams would be in the teens in shots and still manage about five goals on BC. A 4-1 loss can invite criticism in a number of areas. Offensively, how many good teams can you beat by scoring one goal? I didn’t see any of the BC game at Syracuse, so I can’t comment on any of those plays, but there were definitely cases in the loss to New Hampshire where the defense wasn’t doing its goaltender any favors. Those plays happen, particularly early in the season, and I’m sure that Katie King Crowley expected there would be some growing pains as the team adjusts to life without Blake Bolden and Dru Burns. Sometimes it happens with strong offensive clubs that are accustomed to possessing the puck most of the time that they don’t get as much practice defending in game situations, so they aren’t as accomplished at it. Boyles can play well, and we’ve seen evidence of that in the past. Can she channel Molly Schaus and slam the door and keep the scoreboard stuck on 0-0 until her offense gets going if she must? I’d say that she can, but with a lower frequency than one would see from someone like Schaus. Maybe we just chalk the Syracuse loss up to it being the Eagles’ first road game of the year and move on.
Is Syracuse legit as far as the CHA race? Sure. The Orange were last year, except for that tricky problem of being unable to beat Mercyhurst, and Robert Morris can only provide so much help; eventually, a team has to help itself. The challenge will be finding a way to beat the Lakers more often than not, and that is a huge mountain against a team that one has never defeated. At the same time, they need to hold off Robert Morris and not give away games to the other teams in the league. On the positive side, Syracuse seems to be more set in goal with Kallie Billadeau than its nearest challengers. Amanda Makela has definitely been stronger for Mercyhurst the last couple of weeks, so maybe the Lakers are getting their defensive zone figured out. Robert Morris started Jessica Dodds in both games on the weekend for the first time, and her numbers weren’t as solid as they had been, but she did get the all-important wins over Vermont. So I’d put Syracuse in the race, but at this point, they are still at best the second choice behind Mercyhurst.
As for NCAA consideration, that may be premature. The Orange have four losses already, and while the two to Clarkson may not be that damaging, they’ve also split with New Hampshire and Providence. That middle layer appears to be broad this year, but to squeeze into the top eight without an automatic bid, a team like Syracuse will need to distance itself from the middle of the pack teams, not fit right in with them. Are you more optimistic about the Orange being in the conversation come March?
Candace: I’m going to say no until I see Syracuse beat Mercyhurst. Until the Orange finally pull that off, which they have never done in their history, I think Syracuse will have to be deemed that team no one really wants to play in the CHA tournament, but which will be unable to ultimately pull it off. However, if, in two weeks, Syracuse manages a split in its first series with Mercyhurst, I may revisit that opinion.
Speaking of conference races, a few weeks ago, we were talking about Clarkson being the possible favorite in the ECAC. I don’t know if Cornell read those columns or not, or used the coaches’ poll as motivation, but judging by Cornell’s decisive 6-3 win over Clarkson on Friday, the Big Red have something to say about it, and aren’t going to go quietly. Are you ready to revisit your preseason prediction of Clarkson taking the ECAC crown?
Arlan: My preseason predictions may be even less accurate than my weekly picks, if that is possible. I doubt that many of the players spend too much time worrying about what people like us or the league coaches are forecasting. They are elite athletes because they have that desire to compete, and that already fuels them more than any keystrokes we could dream up.
The ECAC went down to the wire last year, and I expect that it will again this season. Cornell definitely got the jump on Clarkson out of the blocks and looks like the favorite, but that could change drastically once the Golden Knights get the Big Red in Cheel Arena. Clarkson has too many impact players, particularly in its senior class, to just go away quietly. I wasn’t expecting that it would face a three-game winless streak by this point, but it’s a long season and everyone will encounter adversity.
While I’m not ready to give the Golden Knights the last rites, I appear to have underestimated Cornell. The Big Red will be the subject of this week’s column, and senior Jessica Campbell and junior Emily Fulton will shed some light on their team. Those two have joined with Jillian Saulnier to shred opposing defenses thus far, and any team with a top line like that will be a force in a conference race and beyond.
Harvard has also started quickly, so it may be a three-team race once more. We’ll have to see how the Crimson progress without Katey Stone at the helm as the campaign unfolds. It still looks like those three with Quinnipiac as the best of the rest, but until teams go out and win big games on the road, it is tough to declare who will emerge.
What has surprised you more so far: the goal-scoring prowess from Cornell, or Harvard yielding 44 shots to Princeton in a shutout win?
Candace: I’ll go with the latter. Cornell hasn’t exactly been an offensive dud in recent years, and even with some of the players the Big Red lost to graduation, they still returned plenty of offensive talent. At a certain point, I think teams with a history just build on it. I talked with Air Force coach Frank Serratore a few years ago, and he said something interesting in the context of men’s teams like Boston College and Minnesota and Wisconsin. He said that those teams weren’t rebuilding teams, they were reloading teams. Every year, when they lose players, they just reload, because they have that tradition and the best players want to go there, whereas some of the teams from smaller leagues like Atlantic Hockey are more cyclical. I think the same holds true in the women’s game right now, perhaps even more so, and maybe we are seeing that in a Cornell team that just has that tradition and a coach who knows how to get the best players to come there, in spite of the academic demands of that school. Right now at Cornell, I think you are seeing a situation where perhaps talented players who were overshadowed by big guns like Brianne Jenner and Lauriane Rougeau and Laura Fortino are getting more ice time and getting a bigger chance to shine.
Speaking of reload teams, Minnesota had another one of its close games at Bemidji State this past weekend, but still won. What is it about Sanford Center that seems to make the Gophers nervous? Bemidji last year was one of three teams that threatened Minnesota’s perfection, despite having a so-so year, as the Beavers took Minnesota to overtime before the Gophers pulled through.
Arlan: More than the Sanford Center, I’d say it is the Beavers that Minnesota find to be problematic. True, the two most recent wins for BSU over the Gophers came in that building, but the teams had that overtime game in Ridder last year. Also, just weeks before Minnesota won the 2012 title, Bemidji State came from two goals down in one game in Minneapolis to earn a tie a day after the Gophers were the team fighting back from a two-goal deficit.
Bemidji has a nice mix of attention to defense with skating ability. Coach Steve Sertich said that he thinks his club matches up well with the Gophers in terms of team speed, and I concur. Where the Beavers may fall short at times is generating offense out of that speed, but in that 4-3 game, they got some pucks to go. The problem that most teams not named Wisconsin have had is stopping Minnesota’s offense at crunch time. After BSU scored to make it 3-3 early in the third period, the majority of the game was played in the Gophers’ offensive zone until they had the lead back. In many facets, the Gophers aren’t the same team that they were last year, but one thing that they still retain is quality through three forward lines. At any point, any of those can become a scoring line and take over a game. Sertich agreed that made them tough to defend, because you can’t focus on one line to shut down.
Against BSU, sophomore defenseman Milica McMillen was out with an injury, so only two members of last year’s defense were in uniform. Minnesota survived that Friday night, but it was a lot more vulnerable on the back end Saturday. However, Brandt and Kelly Terry said that the forwards shared in those breakdowns.
I’d say that as the streak has lengthened, opponents of Minnesota have had even greater purpose and brought a top effort every game, but outside of the first two NCAA tournament games last year when faced with the prospect of having their season end early, the Gophers have seemed to take a positive from the streak rather than pressure to avoid losing. You sometimes mention teams having belief. For years, Wisconsin seemed to believe it would win every time it was in a tight game. Now, some of the Minnesota players have a similar belief when a game is on the line in the closing minutes, because lately, winning is all they know.
Speaking of the No. 2 Badgers, they are about to embark on a very crucial sequence of games in November. How many wins over those eight games do you think they need to consider it a success?
Candace: I’m thinking at least six. Wisconsin really can’t afford to lose any, but I expect a split for sure in Grand Forks. That leaves either one of the Ohio State games or one of the Minnesota-Duluth games for them in reserve; personally, I think Northeastern and Boston University are too inconsistent this year to be able to beat Wisconsin, although you never know. Realistically though, Wisconsin can’t afford to lose much, because with as competitive as the WCHA is, and with the way the PairWise works, it’s going to be hard to get more than two teams in from any one conference, especially with Hockey East and the ECAC both looking like a team could step in at the last minute and take the playoff title and thus push a bubble team farther down. So far, Wisconsin has been able to win the games it needs to, and I think that will continue. Aside from the two games at Ridder, the Badgers have been scoring at a good clip. Brittany Ammerman’s welcome return to the lineup has given the Badgers another potent offensive weapon; she’s tied for third in scoring nationally. Alex Rigsby is her usual fortress in net. Wisconsin is currently tied with Harvard for first in team defense nationally, and has played far more games than the Crimson. The offense is a respectable eighth.
How do you see the Badgers? Do you expect them to come out of this brutal stretch unscathed?
Arlan: The most important games for Wisconsin will be the two in Vail. Northeastern and BU are its final games out of conference, the series last weekend versus Lindenwood being the only other games. The Badgers should be in good shape against those teams, because I don’t think the Huskies or Terriers will be able to score more than a goal, maybe two. Wisconsin doesn’t take penalties and has a great penalty kill, so opponents have to score five-on-five goals. The Badgers have the best team defense I’ve seen thus far, meaning it will be an uphill climb for anyone.
The schedule may pose the biggest threat. Fly to Vail and play at altitude. Return home, then head to North Dakota, and Madison to Grand Forks is another long trip. Follow that up with a trip to Duluth, which is at least a shorter bus ride. Around the end of the first semester, young players especially can hit a wall. Rookies are vital to Wisconsin’s fortunes this year, so if they bonk, then a shaky weekend at Minnesota-Duluth could result. Other than that, I don’t see them losing more than one game in November. North Dakota should get at least a tie from the Badgers, probably a win on home ice. North Dakota’s offense is dangerous enough to score against a great defense.
No matter how that all plays out, I don’t see Wisconsin missing out on the NCAA tournament altogether. If the Badgers slump a bit, they’ll likely miss out on home ice, but that’s it. With Mercyhurst losing two of three to WCHA teams, on top of Lindenwood’s struggles against that league, I don’t see the CHA getting two teams into the NCAA field without an autobid. Right now, the third best team in the WCHA looks to be ahead of the second team from Hockey East. So unless there is a major shift, this is setting up to be a year where the WCHA is back to three teams in the tournament. An early guess would be three WCHA, three ECAC, and one Hockey East, with either a CHA team or another Hockey East entry completing the field.
I think we both expect BC to rebound at some point, but through the first handful of games, BU is the top Hockey East team in RPI, and the Terriers are 10th. Their tie with Rensselaer is looking worse as the Engineers continue to spin. Nobody in the league looks that good in terms of being one of the top eight. New Hampshire has likely been the biggest surprise in a positive direction, and the Wildcats have a loss to St. Lawrence, a loss to RIT, and a tie with Maine. I have trouble coming up with a hypothetical NCAA scenario that doesn’t include Wisconsin with what we’ve seen so far around the country.
Do you have your eye on a tournament dark horse that can throw a wrench in the works?
Candace: Well, there are a lot of unknowns, but say that Mercyhurst wins enough in the CHA that it gets an at-large, as it has done seemingly every year. Then say Boston College wins the league regular season crown for Hockey East, and its PairWise is hovering around five. Then say Boston University or Northeastern or New Hampshire wins the Hockey East tournament, gaining the at-large bid. Then all of a sudden, there are only five spots in the NCAA tournament available. I think we can safely say that things will go as planned in the WCHA, and either Minnesota, Wisconsin, or North Dakota wins that tournament. But what if, say, it’s North Dakota that wins that tournament, and North Dakota is ninth in the PairWise? Or say those three are in the top eight, but someone outside the top eight wins ECAC? See, I still think that something could happen to throw off the entire playoff picture, depending on where a couple of teams are hovering in the PairWise when the conference tournaments start.
Speaking of New Hampshire, I am having a hard time getting a handle on the Wildcats right now too. They sit at 5-2-1, and they beat both Syracuse and Boston College. Alexis Crossley is so far not producing as she did as a freshman, but Nicole Gifford is off to a good start in her senior season, and Sara Carlson is playing well. In net, Vilma Vaattovaara has produced good stats. Is New Hampshire a program on the rebound, perhaps heading back to its glory days?
Arlan: I’m not sure how I address that without touching on the topic of UNH goaltending, and it might be simpler to discuss Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, but here goes. Last season, Jenn Gilligan emerged from the goalie carousel as the starter. She has yet to appear this year, and Brian McCloskey has described her situation as “a conditioning thing.” Vaattovaara looked strong in the win over BC, but followed that up with a win over Penn State where the Nittany Lions scored on five of 28 shots. I’ll concede that PSU has more offensive pop than the average second-year program, and she is playing behind a retooled blue line where forwards are being converted as the team loses natural defensemen. Crossley didn’t play in Pennsylvania; per a reliable source, she is dealing with multiple injuries and her return is unclear, so that likely explains any lack of production on her part. In any case, rookie Ashley Wilkes was between the pipes on Sunday and yielded a single goal on 18 shots. So who starts versus BU on Friday? Vaattovaara would be my guess, but if it is Wilkes, sophomore Marie-Eve Jean, or Gilligan by the time the Terriers return on Nov. 24, it wouldn’t be a shock.
So, yes, I’d say the Wildcats are still rebounding. There appears to be a partial vacuum near the top of Hockey East, and they look to be as promising as anyone else for this season. More sources of offense seem to be present than a couple of years back. As for a return to glory days, probably not if we are talking about a four years between losses sort of glory. The Wildcats don’t have a Marie-Philip Poulin, Alex Carpenter, or Kendall Coyne returning next year, so this appears to be a rare chance to make up some ground.
What do you think about another storied program in Providence so far? I had high hopes for the Friars, but to date, they’ve been one step forward and the next one back. They get the Eagles twice plus a game with UNH in the first week of November, so we should get some more information on whether Bob Deraney’s squad is capable of contending.
Candace: There’s a lot of potential upside over in Providence. Two key players, Molly Illikainen and Haley Frade, are actually off to slow starts offensively. Yet Providence has a lot of people putting up points. Corinne Buie is off to a great start in her senior year with eight points, and freshman Cassidy Carels seems to be a great addition to the lineup; she’s tied with a few other players for second in team scoring with four points. If Illikainen and Frade start producing at the same clip they did last year (close to a point a game), Providence is going to be a team no one wants to get into a shootout with.
The downside for the Friars is defense. I’m reluctant to throw a goalie under the bus, because a lot of things can be the cause of stats, but Sarah Bryant, who has played the majority of games for the Friars so far, has only an .892 save percentage and a 2.83 goals-against average. That’s just not going to get it done. Providence has to tighten up the ship defensively to have a shot at the playoffs. I’m sure coach Bob Deraney is wishing that he had Genevieve Lacasse back in net with the offense he currently has, but goaltenders like Lacasse only come along so often.
If the defense can tighten down and provide Bryant some support, Providence could be a dangerous team to face come playoff time. We’ll know more about Providence after its next six games, as in addition to BC and UNH, the Friars travel to Clarkson for a pair. I think Providence should be shooting for 4-2 or better over this stretch if the Friars want to prove themselves a legitimate playoff team.
Josh Holmstrom scored one of three power-play goals last weekend for Massachusetts-Lowell, which entered the weekend 1-for-25 with the man advantage (photo: Melissa Wade).
When Massachusetts-Lowell dropped three of its first four games, it wasn’t quite time for River Hawks fans to get one leg up on the Tobin Bridge railing, but it still felt like a cold slap in the face.
Lowell had played great hockey over the latter two-thirds of last year and opened this season as the nation’s No. 1 team.
Last weekend, the River Hawks took two huge steps in the right direction. On the road, they defeated Michigan State 4-1 and fourth-ranked Michigan 2-1.
“Every weekend is an important weekend,” Lowell coach Norm Bazin says. “We certainly wanted to come back with a strong team effort and complete our game and round it out. It was a nice move in that direction.
“[But] by no means do I think we have everything solved. We have to continue to work and develop as a team. We’re new in several positions and guys are developing their roles and developing this year’s identity.”
The biggest turnaround was on special teams. In the first four games of the season, the River Hawks scored only once in 25 power-play opportunities; while short-handed, they allowed five goals in 18 chances. They were outscored on special teams in every game.
There’s no sugar-coating those results: They’re brutal, making it almost impossible to win.
While out West, however, the River Hawks turned those results inside-out. They killed all seven power-play chances against them and scored three for themselves in eight opportunities.
Night and day.
“Our special teams had to improve this past weekend and thankfully it did,” Bazin says. “We’re making small steps in several different areas that we needed to improve in order to have a chance and an opportunity for success at the end of the night.”
Bazin rotated goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck and Doug Carr over the first four games, but stuck with Hellebuyck out West.
“He’s a Michigan kid and I thought it would be nice for his family and friends to see him play as much as possible,” Bazin says.
The rotation is likely to return in some form or other, at least for the time being. Hellebuyck’s performance as a freshman last year was astounding — a 1.37 GAA and a .952 save percentage — but fans shouldn’t forget that two years ago Carr earned second-team All-Hockey East honors and was a runner-up league player of the year.
“It’s day to day,” Bazin says. “I’ve got two very capable goaltenders and I expect to use them both.”
A new face on the blue line, Michael Kapla, has contributed, assisting on four goals, but it would be presumptuous to assume that he’s taking over departed star Chad Ruhwedel’s role.
“[Kapla] been good for us, but I don’t think anyone is going to fill Ruhwedel’s shoes,” Bazin says. “He’s someone in time that hopefully can fill a void, but for the time being he’s being acclimated to college hockey and doing a nice job of it.”
Lowell now heads into its first Hockey East action, taking on New Hampshire in a home-and-home series. (The meeting with Massachusetts was a nonconference game that doesn’t count in the standings.)
For programs unlikely to qualify for the NCAA tournament, league games take on greater importance since the focus is on the standings. The River Hawks, however, are playing on the national stage so their so-so 3-3 record matters a great deal.
“For us, all the games are equal,” Bazin says. “Obviously, we didn’t get off to the start we’d like. Whenever you don’t win your first game it’s certainly concerning, but at the same time it’s a long, long season and we’ve played what we felt was excellent competition.
“This week is going to be another challenge for our team to keep growing, because we do feel like we’re a work in progress.”
Mark Anthoine (left) scored twice and added two assists in Maine’s 8-4 win over Massachusetts last Saturday (photo: Melissa Wade).
Another 180 degrees
Another team that got off to a slow start but turned it around with a great weekend is Maine. Expectations for the Black Bears were far more modest than those for Lowell, but not among some of the team’s fandom. (One wrote to me before the season started that he expected Maine to make the NCAA tournament.)
So after getting swept by St. Lawrence and squeaking past Bentley, the Black Bears’ two-game set against Massachusetts loomed reasonably large as October contests go. Maine answered the challenge with a 3-2 overtime win on Friday night and an 8-4 shellacking on Saturday, keyed by a six-goal, second-period outburst.
“We’re a program that has had difficulty scoring so to get six goals in a period certainly isn’t anything anyone would have predicted,” Maine coach Red Gendron says. “It’s really important for the confidence of our players. They read the newspapers, too, and they can read the stats page. They know that we’ve struggled.
“I mean, we had five goals in three games going into the weekend. So that’s great for their confidence and confidence is a big part of success in any sport.”
That’s particularly true for freshmen, so it’s especially encouraging for the Black Bears to see three of them — Blaine Byron, Cam Brown and Josh Henke — ranked among the team’s top four scorers.
“They’ve been forced to play right away and play a lot right away in a lot of situations,” Gendron says. “They get out there on power plays, so they have opportunities to do things. But at the end of the day, they’ve done it, they’ve contributed. Kudos to them.
“But there’s an awful lot of work that needs to be done. I see the positives of the weekend, but I know full well that we have not arrived.”
The Black Bears now prepare for two games against … the same UMass Minutemen they just finished playing. And these two upcoming contests, both at the Mullins Center in Amherst, count in the standings, unlike the two wins already in the books.
(With the scheduling switch from three league games against every other Hockey East team to two, prompted by the addition of Notre Dame this year and Connecticut next, many league teams have chosen to fill out their nonconference schedule with league teams, at least while that transition continues. Maine’s geography dictates that many two-game sets are either both at home or both on the road. This year’s league games against UMass will be on the road; next year’s will be at home.)
So will it be tougher to face the Minutemen coming off two wins against them?
“It has a different set of challenges, that’s all,” Gendron says. “I don’t think they’re harder or easier. The other team is going to do everything they can to play better, and we better make damned sure that we’re diligent in our preparations because if we don’t, they’ll punch us in the nose at Amherst.
“Every game is important and success one day doesn’t by itself ensure success the next. We know that and we’re approaching it accordingly.”
As for how Gendron views the first steps to his molding the program to match his vision, he makes it clear that there are no “my guys” vs. “the guys I inherited.”
“They’re all my kids now, they’re our kids,” he says. “They play for the University of Maine. All we want them to do is to work to get better individually and for our team to get better each day collectively.
“That’s what we worry about and that’s what we stress daily. Come March, we’ll see where we’re at. We’re either going to be good or we’re going to be so-so or we’re going to be not good, but we’re going to try to get better every day until it’s over.”
Nonconference titans
What a difference a year makes.
Last season, Providence came within a game of winning the Hockey East regular season title and within a game of advancing to the league tournament championship game. But as detailed two weeks ago in this space, the Friars fell short of an NCAA bid largely due to a subpar record in nonconference games.
Minnesota State and Miami inflicted the key wounds. Providence took three of the four games into overtime, but emerged with only one tie.
This year, it’s been role-reversal time. Playing both series at home, the Friars swept Minnesota State to open the season, 5-1 and 3-0. Last weekend, they hosted the third-ranked RedHawks and though both games went into OT, this time the Friars claimed a win and a tie.
I was bullish on Providence during the preseason but had trouble seeing whom they could hurdle in the standings. Now, however, the third-ranked Friars are making the case for restating that question: How are teams going to hurdle them?
Quick hits
• What surprise team is tied for the lead in Hockey East scoring? The Northeastern Huskies, that’s who. They share the scoring lead with Providence, averaging 5.00 goals per game.
Maybe you share some of my Hockey East snobbery so you hadn’t bought into the Huskies based on their sweeps of Alabama-Huntsville and Holy Cross. Fair enough. But even though they got only a split at St. Lawrence last week, they showed that they can score in bundles, winning 6-3 before losing 6-4.
• Congratulations to Providence for its first sellout of the newly renovated Schneider Arena last Friday. I look forward to seeing the results of all of last year’s construction.
• Who would have thought you’d see Boston College 10th in the league in team defense? Yes, 10th!. Obviously, the season is early and the opponents have been tough, but after giving up nine goals in their two-game set at Minnesota, the Eagles have averaged 3.20 goals against per game.
And finally, not that it has anything to do with anything but …
• My niece, Cherie Hendrickson, and her friend, Kelley Steadman, are playing professional hockey in Russia and are blogging about their experiences. You might enjoy reading that blog.
• A lot of Red Sox fans are acting like it’s a done deal that we’re going to win the World Series. I’m not counting any chickens until that championship gets hatched. GO SOX!
Our guests on the October 29 edition of USCHO Live! are Canisius coach Dave Smith, whose Golden Griffins beat then-ranked Denver for the team’s first non-conference win over a ranked team, and USCHO.com ECAC Hockey columnist Brian Sullivan.
Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT at blogtalkradio.com/uscholive. If you can’t listen live, check out the podcast of USCHO Live! available on the player at the right (click through if you’re reading this via RSS.)
Be part of the conversation! Send your tweets to @USCHO, and your emails to [email protected].
Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach, administer and play college hockey, and journalists who cover the sport.
About the hosts
Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.” Jim is the winner of the 2012 Joe Concannon award, and is a studio analyst for NESN.
Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and as RIT’s play-by-play voice for seven seasons. Ed is also general manager for a four-station radio company and is based in Rochester, N.Y.
There’s one midweek game in the Big Ten this week. We’ll get our season picks record with the results from last weekend updated on Friday.
Bowling Green at Ohio State
Drew: The Buckeyes captured their elusive first win last weekend against Robert Morris on Friday, and then added another one to the win column against the Colonials on Saturday. These two teams will complete their split up home-and-home series today; Bowling Green won 4-3 at home two weeks ago.
Paula: This will be the 176th meeting between the Falcons and Buckeyes; BGSU leads this series all-time 94-72-9. OSU is 3-1-3 against BGSU in the last seven contests, all of which have been played in Bowling Green. The Falcons last played Oct. 18-19, an impressive tie against and win over visiting Colgate, two games in which BGSU outscored Colgate 8-1.
Drew’s pick: I’m going to say Ohio State rides the momentum and picks up a 3-2 victory. Paula’s pick: It’s difficult to call against the Falcons, who are 2-1-2 and have outscored opponents 17-12. I’m thinking that Drew’s onto something here, though. OSU 3-2.
With a tie and a win last weekend over Boston College, Minnesota earned all 50 first-place votes and retains the No. 1 ranking in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.
Not since the first-ever USCHO.com polls on Oct. 6, Oct. 13 and Oct. 20, 1997, has a team been a unanimous top-ranked team in the month of October. North Dakota accomplished the feat some 16 years ago.
Notre Dame holds steady at No. 2 after splitting with Minnesota-Duluth, Providence moves up five spots to No. 3 with a win and a tie against Miami, Michigan beat Boston University and fell to Massachusetts-Lowell to stay fourth and North Dakota, which won an exhibition game against the U.S. National Under-18 Team, went up one to No. 5.
Miami drops three spots to No. 6, Quinnipiac is up two to No. 7 after sweeping Holy Cross, Boston College falls three to No. 8, St. Cloud State moves up a notch to No. 9 with a sweep of Colgate and with a single win over New Hampshire, Rensselaer moves up two spots to occupy the tenth rank this week.
At No. 11, Yale is down from No. 7 after losing to Brown and beating Princeton, idle Lake Superior State goes from No. 15 to No. 12, Wisconsin was also idle, but falls from No. 11 to No. 13, Cornell is now No. 14 after taking both games from Nebraska-Omaha and UML is back up to No. 15 from No. 18 with wins over Michigan and Michigan State.
Idle Minnesota State remains 16th, Clarkson enters the rankings at No. 17 after sweeping Colorado College, two losses to Michigan and Michigan State push Boston University from No. 13 to No. 18, Northeastern split with St. Lawrence and moves up one to No. 19 and Minnesota-Duluth finds its way to No. 20 after the Notre Dame split.
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.
Coach Nate Leaman and Providence are 4-0-1 after beating and tying Miami (photo: Melissa Wade).
Here’s our weekly look at big events and big issues around Division I men’s college hockey.
Todd: I mentioned in passing in this space last week that Providence was 3-0 heading into a series with then-No. 3 Miami that could be interpreted as a great early test for the Friars. I think they did quite well. Providence got an overtime win and a tie against the RedHawks — losing a two-goal lead in the finale — to improve to 4-0-1. Are the Friars ready for elite-level status this season?
Jim: I think that my biggest concern with the Friars was whether they could score goals. When you have Jon Gillies in net, you know you’re not going to allow a ton of goals, so the thought of winning games 2-1 or 3-2 exists.
That said, it’s a lot easier to be successful if your offense is also strong and thus far the Friars have shown that. Through six games, Providence is tied with Northeastern for the nation’s lead in goals per game, averaging 5.00. Yes, Providence’s totals were bolstered by a 10-4 win over American International, but you can’t deny that the Friars can score.
Speaking of Providence, might we believe that the city of Providence could host two very good college hockey teams with Brown’s performance last weekend at the Liberty Hockey Invitational, ECAC Hockey’s season-opening tournament in Newark, N.J.?
Todd: If the Bears’ top line continues to produce at the level it did in Newark, you’d have to think so. But I’m not so sure that Matt Lorito, Mark Naclerio and Nick Lappin are going to be able to produce six goals and 15 points every weekend. It was a great way for Brown to start after its run to the ECAC Hockey title game and a winning overall record last season. If the Bears can keep the momentum rolling, they’ll be a team to watch.
Not that a whole lot of people were around to watch them over the weekend. The attendance for the two games Friday in Newark was 1,209, with 1,546 seeing the two games Saturday. I’m all for playing games in big venues but I wonder whether having that few people in the seats takes away from the experience.
Jim: I’m a firm believer that if you are going to play in a big stadium, you have to fill it. Penn State had more than 17,000 in Philadelphia on Saturday against Vermont. That’s success in a big venue. It’s also the reason that I am sometimes against the outdoor games. In addition to the fact that they’re becoming overplayed, you look back to when Union and Harvard played two years ago at Fenway Park in front of a mostly empty ballpark. The Frozen Fenway games are great and have all sold out. But the ancillary events that the Red Sox add outside of the Hockey East events don’t seem to do well enough and thus are unnecessary to me.
Going back to the ice, looking at box scores from the weekend, I saw Raphael Girard posted a shutout against Bentley. If he continues performing well in net this season, you have to like Harvard’s chances to be successful in the ECAC.
Todd: We can keep adding names to the list of ECAC teams that have a good chance at a highly successful season. Clarkson swept Colorado College at home last weekend to move to 6-1-1, and on Monday it appeared at No. 17 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. The Golden Knights are the fifth of five ECAC teams in the rankings, with three more also receiving votes.
ECAC teams are 26-11-4 against teams from other conferences so far this season after also posting the best out-of-conference record last season. Too many people disregard the league — which proved to be foolish when you saw last year’s NCAA title game matchup — and maybe the recognition is finally coming around.
Brown’s Mark Naclerio (27) scores one of his three goals and one of his seven points in two games at the Liberty Hockey Invitational (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
Jim: That is one impressive nonleague record to date that the ECAC is sporting. It’s certainly better than the Big Ten and NCHC’s out-of-conference marks, two conferences that many people felt would be dominant in the overall college hockey landscape.
Which brings me to ask: Despite a small sample size, do you think that it’s possible that when all is said and done that either or both of those conferences won’t bring with them the dominance that their collective members have had in college hockey in recent years? In other words, has realignment maybe brought with it struggles for the newest conferences members?
Todd: I don’t know if realignment is what has brought on those struggles or is just putting them in a different category. The tough starts for Michigan State, Penn State, Colorado College and Nebraska-Omaha probably would have been the same had they been in the same conferences they were in a year ago.
I think it’ll be a few years before we see the full effects of realignment in recruiting, but for now the big question for me is whether the conference changes will alter teams’ NCAA tournament hopes. It’ll take quite a bit of the conference schedule before we know anything definitive on that, though.
Let’s take a look at what’s ahead this weekend. We get to see more conference play and a few games between ranked teams. No. 5 North Dakota hosts No. 9 St. Cloud State in the NCHC, and in nonconference play, No. 13 Wisconsin hosts No. 12 Lake Superior State. I’ll be interested to see how the Badgers respond to two blowout losses in Boston two weeks ago and a weekend off, and how the Lakers do after a 4-0 start and a weekend off.
There are plenty of big games out east, too. What catches your eye?
Jim: Well, Massachusetts-Lowell rebounded from a rough start with two wins at Michigan State and Michigan and it will begin league play with a home-and-home series against a New Hampshire team that has struggled at the start. I still think UNH has a lot of upside and, in league play, we’ll learn a lot more about both teams.
Northeastern and Boston College will also square off in a two-game series beginning at BC on NBC Sports Network this Friday. Northeastern is off to a wild start but many say the Huskies haven’t played anyone tough. Well, BC coming off an ugly loss at No. 1 Minnesota should be a tough opponent for the Huskies.
In the ECAC, I’m interested to see how Yale comes out of the gates against St. Lawrence and Clarkson, two teams that have played pretty well to date. Similarly, Quinnipiac will travel to Cornell on Saturday in a key early season matchup. And in Atlantic Hockey, Air Force will come east to play Rochester Institute of Technology and Mercyhurst, the latter a matchup of two of the top preseason favorites in the AHA. A lot of important early league games on the docket this week.
The undefeated Minnesota women’s team is again the top-ranked team in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll.
Minnesota (8-0-0) earned all 15 first-place votes as it has all season long.
Wisconsin stays second, while Cornell is again in the No. 3 slot.
North Dakota moves up two spots to No. 4, Clarkson retains the fifth rank and Boston College falls two to No. 6 this week.
Spots 7-10 remain the same as last week with Harvard, Mercyhurst, Quinnipiac and Ohio State occupying those spots, respectively.
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.
According to the Omaha World-Herald, the summertime fight that led to two Nebraska-Omaha players being booted off the team came to a legal end Monday as a Douglas County judge dismissed the last of the misdemeanor charges filed against the accused assailants when the alleged victim in the fight failed to show for the court proceedings.
Alex Simonson, Matt White and Preston Hodge had been charged with disorderly conduct after the Aug. 3 incident and only Simonson remains on the Mavericks’ roster. The incident reportedly started with the three players hurling racial slurs at Lamar Triplett.
The charge against Simonson, a senior forward, was dismissed Monday without prejudice after Triplett failed to show up and testify. The charge against Hodge was also was dismissed after Triplett missed an Oct. 16 hearing.
White plead guilty on Sept. 10 and was fined $75. He’s now in the ECHL with the Ontario Reign.
“I just look at it as they were punished enough and I’m glad it’s all over,” Triplett said in the article. “I didn’t even want [White and Hodge] kicked off the team and their scholarships taken away. I think it was just one of those things where the alcohol was doing the talking.”
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota sophomore forward Christian Horn has left school to play for the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League. Horn did not see any game action with the Gophers this year or in 2012-13.
Hockey East announced Monday that it has suspended Northeastern senior forward Cody Ferriero for two games as a result a slashing incident on Saturday, Oct. 26, at St. Lawrence.
Ferriero, who has a goal and three assists with 39 penalty minutes in four games this season, will miss this coming weekend’s home-and-home set with Boston College.
The San Jose Sharks’ prospect is eligible to return on Saturday, Nov. 9, against Massachusetts-Lowell.
It was a very interesting weekend in Big Ten play. I was lucky enough to see Boston University play against Michigan and Michigan State — and I’m thinking that coach David Quinn may pay me to stay out of the building when his team plays.
Here are three things I took away from the weekend.
1. Hockey East owns the Big Ten.
Hockey East claimed victory in the first Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge, and I have to say that I am not surprised at all. For the last decade, teams from the CCHA and WCHA have struggled against Hockey East teams, and HEA teams have given even top programs in those leagues plenty of trouble.
A points system was used to help determine the outcome. Teams earned two points for a win, one point for a tie and an additional point for a road win. For example, Massachusetts-Lowell earned six points for its road wins against Michigan State and Michigan.
In points, Hockey East won this challenge 18-11.
I like the challenge very much and I know that fans of Big Ten teams enjoyed seeing such high-level nonconference play early in the season. The Friday night Boston University-Michigan game felt like an NCAA playoff game. It was outstanding — and so good to see in October.
Some of what transpired in this challenge will affect teams for post-season play. It will be interesting to see come March.
2. Ohio State beat Robert Morris — and it matters.
The Buckeyes swept the Colonials in a home-and-home series, giving Ohio State its first wins of the season and its first win ever over Robert Morris in Columbus. In three previous meetings between the teams in Columbus in recent seasons, the Colonials were 3-0-0 over the Buckeyes. Friday night, the Buckeyes overcame a 2-0 deficit to score five unanswered goals, two by Nick Oddo, two others on the power play.
“It didn’t start out pretty tonight,” said coach Steve Rohlik. “What I liked about our team tonight was [that] they weren’t going to let it happen again. We competed hard and bounced back, and good teams find a way to win.”
The Buckeyes were up 4-0 after the second period of Saturday’s rematch in Pittsburgh but allowed three in the third period.
Freshman goatlender Matt Tomkins had both wins for the Buckeyes.
3. One small blemish … and then a lot of goals.
By the five-minute mark in the first period Friday night, Minnesota led visiting Boston College, 2-0. The Eagles came back to score three to make it a 3-2 game after one, and the Golden Gophers tied it up in the second. The game ended tied, 3-3.
By the 5:10 mark in the first period of Sunday’s game, the Gophers again led 2-0, but they learned something from Friday night’s contest. By the end of the first period, the Gophers were up on the Eagles 4-0 and Minnesota won that game 6-1.
Minnesota coach Don Lucia said that he thought the game was closer than the score and Boston College coach Jerry York conceded that the Gophers took advantage of nearly every BC mistake.
Lucia said after Sunday’s game that it was defense was key for offense.
“It started out great for us, obviously, when you score four goals in the first period,” said Lucia. “Our defense did a great job all weekend long, really got involved offensively. Nice plays off the rush to score some goals.”
The tie is the only blemish on Minnesota’s record (5-0-1) so far this season. The Gophers are averaging 4.83 goals per game. Sophomore Adam Wilcox (.938 SV%) played both games for Minnesota.
One more thing.
Michigan’s Zach Nagelvoort (1.47 GAA, .947 SV%) showed signs of being absolutely the real deal against Boston University and Massachusetts-Lowell. Agile. Quick glove.
Familiar look atop league standings
Just the tip of the iceberg has been revealed in the conference schedules, but the teams jumping ahead in the standings are no strangers to leading.
ECAC Hockey action got underway for two thirds of the circuit’s 12 teams with Cornell and Harvard, squads that have combined to take home the last six titles, sharing first place.
Only five games total have been played in Hockey East, but the early leader, New Hampshire, is one of the most storied programs in the game’s history, and has earned the trophy in six of the league’s 11 years, although not in the last four.
Minnesota has claimed at least a share of the regular season crown in half of the WCHA’s 14 seasons, and the Gophers cashed in their games in hand over Wisconsin and took over sole possession of the conference lead.
CHA play doesn’t commence until Thursday when Robert Morris squares off with Penn State, so nobody can yet claim supremacy. Perhaps nobody will welcome the onset of conference action more than Lindenwood; the Lions have faced WCHA competition exclusively and are winless in 10 games.
New goalie wins record at Cornell
Lauren Slebodnick became the winningest goaltender in Big Red history on Friday when No. 3 Cornell defeated Clarkson, 6-3. She upped her career wins total to 55 with a 6-4 win over St. Lawrence on Saturday. Slebodnick bests the mark that Amanda Mazzotta established two years ago.
Offensively, Cornell got huge performances from its top line of senior Jessica Campbell and juniors Emily Fulton and Jillian Saulnier. The trio combined for seven goals, 12 assists, and 19 points on the weekend, highlighted by Fulton’s goal and eight assists. With 12 points in four games, Fulton is the nation’s leader in points per game.
Versus Clarkson, Cornell took an early 4-1 lead, and then pulled away after the Golden Knights had climbed within a goal. Against the Saints, the Big Red steadily built a four-goal lead by midway in the final period.
Eagles slow on takeoff
For the second straight week, the offense for No. 4 Boston College took a while to get going and the Eagles found themselves in a hole to an unranked opponent. BC spotted Syracuse three goals before Kate Leary produced a shot that Kallie Billadeau couldn’t stop, and Sadie St. Germain answered for the Orange within a minute. Billadeau saved the other 43 BC shots, and host Syracuse enjoyed a 4-1 win. Jessica Sibley, Allie LaCombe, and Margo Scharfe had the other Orange goals, while defensemen Danielle Leslie and Nicole Renault each contributed a pair of assists.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, that loss was their only outing of the week. Syracuse followed the win up with a 5-2 victory over Union to even its record at 4-4.
Those pesky Beavers
No. 1 Minnesota extended its winning streak to 57 games at Bemidji State with 4-0 and 4-3 triumphs. Saturday’s game was only the fifth time over that stretch that an opponent came within a goal of the Gophers, and BSU has managed to do so twice. Hannah Brandt’s second goal of the game proved decisive after Hanna Moher had gained a third-period tie for the hosts. Amanda Leveille’s third shutout on Friday has her tied with Quinnipiac’s Chelsea Laden and Amanda Makela of Mercyhurst for the national lead in that category.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 2 Wisconsin polished off Lindenwood by 5-1 and 4-1 scores. Courtney Burke and freshmen Sarah Nurse and Sydney McKibbon all had three-point games. Rookie defenseman Mellissa Channell scored in each contest, her first goals as a Badger. Nicole Hensley made 87 saves on the weekend for the Lions, giving her a national high of 371. Meghann Treacy of Maine is next in saves with 229.
In addition to falling to Cornell, Erica Howe and No. 5 Clarkson shutout Colgate, 2-0, with Jamie Lee Rattray and Shannon MacAulay earning the goals. Junior Brittney Brooks made 44 saves in her first game of the year for the Raiders.
No. 6 North Dakota ventured on the road for the first time and gained 2-1 and 6-1 wins at St. Cloud State. Michelle Karvinen scored both UND goals in the opener, with the game-winner breaking a tie with just over five minutes left. She scored twice more on Saturday when North Dakota broke the game open with four second-period goals.
Dylanne Crugnale had two goals and Sarah Edney added a goal and an assist for No. 7 Harvard in its debut, a 4-2 win over previously unbeaten and No. 9 ranked Quinnipiac. Two goals and a helper from Hillary Crowe plus 44 stops by Emerance Maschmeyer keyed a 4-0 shutout by the Crimson over Princeton on Saturday. The Bobcats bounced back with a 4-2 victory at Dartmouth; Kelly Babstock and Morgan Fritz-Ward had three-point weekends.
No. 8 Mercyhurst got five points from Christine Bestland, including the game-winning goal in Friday’s 2-1 win, in sweeping Maine.
Other results
A once-promising season continued to spiral downward for Rensselaer as the Engineers were swept at Connecticut.
St. Lawrence and Princeton were able to win at the unranked halves of their travel pairings, Colgate and Dartmouth respectively.
Providence and Northeastern had better fortunes on the road half of their home-and-home series.
Brown and RIT split with each team winning by a 2-1 score.
Visiting Vermont found itself playing from behind with little success in getting swept at Robert Morris.
Minnesota State scored the first goal both days only to have Minnesota-Duluth battle back to win.
Yale lost its second game similar to how the Bulldogs fell in the first — on a third-period goal to a Boston school, Boston University in this case.
UNH liked its first trip to Penn State’s new rink, winning a scoring contest on Saturday and a more conservative affair on Sunday.
Three (O.K. four) things from Atlantic Hockey action this past weekend:
Canisius delivers a solitary blow
Atlantic Hockey continued to struggle in non-conference games. The league went 1-8-1 out of conference to bring its record to date to a lowly 6-33-4.
The single victory was a dramatic one, however, as Canisius knocked off No. 16 Dever 4-1 at Magness Arena. In the first ever meeting between the schools, the Golden Griffins scored power play, shorthanded and even strength goals to open a 3-0 and never looked back.
“We got great goaltending and had goals from our power-play unit, penalty kill, empty net and 5-on-5,” said Canisius coach Dave Smith. We were very hard to play against tonight, which is the recipe for us to win.”
It was the first time in school history that Canisus had defeated a ranked non-conference team.
There were few bright spots elsewhere. Mercyhurst and Rochester Institute of Technology managed comeback ties at Alaska and Penn State, respectively. The night before, Mercyhurst lost a 4-1 lead to the Nanooks and fell 5-4, surrendering the clinching goal with a minute and a half to play.
History repeated itself for Bentley, which fell 3-0 to Harvard. Just like the game played almost a year ago to the day (10/27/12) , the Falcons had a large Bentley fan contingent make the short trip to Bright Hockey Center to see their team shut out. Last year it was a 5-0 loss.
How they stack up
Here’s a summary of non-conference records so far:
Air Force: 2-2, 5 games left
Niagara: 0-3, 4 games left
American International: 0-1, 6 games left
Sacred Heart: 1-2, 4 games left (including a NC game with Connecticut)
Robert Morris 0-4, 3 games left
Army: 0-2, 2 games left
Bentley: 1-5, 1 game left
Canisius: 1-0, 6 games left
Connecticut: 0-2-1, 4 games left (including a NC game with Sacred Heart)
Holy Cross: 0-5, 2 games left
Mercyhurst: 1-5-1, 4 games left
Rochester Institute of Technology: 0-3-2, 2 games left
In case you’re wondering why the number of non-league games played isn’t the same for all teams, games in Alaska and some tournaments, like the Ice Breaker, are exempted from the 34-game limit. Mercyhurst plays in four extra games this season, so the Lakers have 11 non-conference games. The typical number of OOC games for an AHA team is seven since each plays 27 conference games. Army is playing only 31 NCAA games this season.
Frontrunners
It’s very early in the season, but Air Force has already set the tone with home victories over defending champion Canisius (3-2) and defending regular-season champs Niagara (7-4) this past weekend.
On Friday against the Golden Griffins, the Falcons erased a two-goal deficit with three tallies of their own in a 2: 28 span midway through the second period.
Sunday was a wild affair that saw Air Force and Niagara combine for six first period goals. The 7-4 final featured power play, shorthanded, extra attacker and empty net goals.
“We have not been a very dominant team at home the last couple years, but this group wants to change that,” said coach Frank Serratore.” We are off to a good start with four straight wins at home.”
When it comes in a shootout. RIT and Penn State skated to a 3-3 tie at sold out (6,221) Peluga Arena Friday night, and under Big Ten rules a shootout ensued.
In non-conference games the shootout is for bragging rights only. Points are on the line in Big Ten league contests, but the NCAA doesn’t recognize the shootout as a way to settle things, so games using it are considered ties.
It was the first shootout RIT has been involved in a shootout in the 51 year history of the program.
“It was fun,” said coach Wayne Wilson. “We talked about the possibility and picked some guys that had been doing well in practice.”
Rookie defenseman Alex Perron-Fontaine and senior Mike Colavecchia were successful in RIT’s first two attempts, and goalie Jordan Ruby stopped the first two Penn State shooters, negating the need for a third shootout round.
Here are photos from the four games at the Liberty Hockey Invitational in Newark, N.J., on Friday and Saturday, featuring Yale, Brown, Dartmouth and Princeton.
The WCHA dropped the puck on conference play this weekend at Alabama-Huntsville and in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Alaska also hosted Mercyhurst in its final nonconference series of the weekend.
With Bowling Green still to play Tuesday at Ohio State, here’s what I think I learned this weekend in the WCHA.
1. Home is where the wins are
After starting the year 6-11-3 in nonconference play, WCHA teams have combined to go 12-7-3 since then to improve to 18-18-6 following the Nanooks win and tie at home against Mercyhurst.
That turnaround can be credited to WCHA teams playing nonconference opponents on home ice, where they are 12-4-3. On the road in nonconference play, the WCHA is 4-12-3 and on neutral ice, they’re 2-2-0.
In 2013-14, WCHA teams are scheduled to play a total of 26 nonconference games at home, 42 on the road and 13 on neutral ice.
Bemidji State leads the league with five nonconference home games, followed by Alaska (4) and Bowling Green (3). The rest of the league’s seven teams have two each.
If the trend continues — with seven nonconference home games, 23 road games and nine neutral ice games remaining — the WCHA will finish around 32-41-9, not taking into account quality of opponents.
No wonder commissioner Bruce McLeod and others in the WCHA would are pressuring league members to schedule more home games and not take easy payouts to play on the road with no return trip.
2. The WCHA schedule makers got it right last weekend
A new era in the WCHA kicked off with two old, heated rivalries in Northern Michigan/Michigan Tech and Alabama-Huntsville/Bemidji State.
The Wildcats and Huskies split the first two games of their four-game series with NMU winning 2-0 before a sellout crowd of 4,260 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette and Tech earning its first win of the season in its first home game of the season, 4-1, in front of a near-sellout crowd of 3,944 at John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton.
The Chargers didn’t get as big of crowds in Huntsville or any wins, falling 6-1 and 1-0 to the Beavers, but a more stable and consistent home slate this season should help the program boost attendance. Ferris State heads south this week.
The only rivalry missing this weekend was Nanooks vs. Seawolves, but maybe the world just isn’t ready yet for that much chirping in a week.
3. Tech goalie Pheonix Copley is too hard on himself
Making back-to-back starts for the first time this season after splitting weekends with sophomore Jamie Phillips, Copley stopped 14 shots to earn his first win of the season on Saturday.
Despite getting the win Saturday, the sophomore from North Pole, Alaska, was hard on himself.
“Obviously the goal, it’s one you’d like back,” said Copley, who stopped 31 shots the night before in a 2-0 loss at NMU. “It was kind of off angle, not the best shot.”
The goal Copley gave up was a short-range rocket by NMU senior forward Stephan Vigier, who bounced the puck off the left post and past the Tech goalkeeper.
Vigier happens to also be tied with Alaska’s Cody Kunyk and Nolan Huysmans for the league-high in goals with five, so I think Copley can brush that goal off. Not many goalies in college hockey would have gotten that one, but it’s also nice to see the sophomore set the bar so high.
1. Hockey East wins the inaugural Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge.
And it wasn’t even close.
Hockey East took a 9-4 lead in the first week and finished it off with a 9-7 performance this past weekend to win the challenge, 18-11.
The scoring system awarded two points for a win, one for a tie, and a bonus point for a road win. This weekend, Massachusetts-Lowell made the most of that system, picking up six points with road wins at Michigan State and Michigan.
What does it mean?
It certainly will help come NCAA tournament selection time.
But until then, clench your fists, pound your chest, and let out a mighty roar.
2. Lowell and Maine enjoyed important turnarounds.
The River Hawks had opened in disappointing fashion, starting the season as the nation’s number one team before losing to Sacred Heart, a team that had won only two games last year. Following a win over Massachusetts, they then got swept in a home-and-home with Quinnipiac.
With the NCAA’s extra importance on road wins and home losses, two of the latter so early in the season were causes for concern.
Well, Lowell took two huge road steps in the right direction. The River Hawks began by beating then-winless Michigan State, 4-1. A tough test followed, however, fourth-ranked Michigan in its own barn.
They aced that one, too, toppling the Wolverines, 2-1.
So those two home losses have now been compensated by two road wins.
Maine had also opened its season in underwhelming fashion, having only a home win over Bentley to offset two losses at St. Lawrence.
Hosting a UMass team that had been playing well, the Black Bears squeaked out a 3-2 overtime victory on Friday night and then followed that on Saturday with a six-goal explosion in the second period to take a clear-cut 8-4 win.
3.On the other hand, there’s Boston University.
The Terriers season has been a mirror image of Lowell’s. BU opened with a 3-1 record before heading West, acting as the River Hawks’ travel partner. It was no embarrassment to lose on Friday to fourth-ranked Michigan, but their strong start would be frittered away if the Terriers didn’t come away with two points against winless Michigan State.
They took a 1-0 lead into the final five minutes of regulation, but surrendered two goals in the span of 52 seconds, and the Spartans added a late empty-netter.
Hey, the season is barely underway and both losses came on the road, but the jury remains out on the 3-3 Terriers.
Scoring goals, like Josh Archibald did on this penalty shot attempt Friday against Cornell goaltender Andy Iles, hasn’t been a problem for Nebraska-Omaha so far this season. Killing penalties however, has. (photo: Michelle Bishop)
Heading into the 2013-14 season, a quick look at Nebraska-Omaha’s first seven games made it seem as though that slate could serve as a springboard to help the Mavericks jump into NCHC play in November with some momentum on their side.
Unfortunately for UNO though, that’s not the way things have worked out.
After breezing by the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology 6-1 in an exhibition game Oct. 7, the Mavericks have finished their October slate of official games with a 2-4-0 record. This includes UNO’s current three-game losing streak, compounded by a sweep at home at the hands of No. 19 Cornell last weekend.
There were some good things that the Mavericks did against the Big Red, including outshooting Cornell 71-33 on the weekend and 40-13 Saturday.
UNO’s discipline let the team down catastrophically though, with the visitors scoring three power play goals in a come-from-behind 5-3 win Friday before prevailing 4-3 in a rematch where all four of the Big Red’s goals came while on the man-advantage.
Goal-scoring certainly hasn’t been a problem for UNO, as it notched six last weekend and is averaging 3.17 goals scored per game. That’s not incredible – Northeastern and Providence are both leading the country with an eye-popping even five per game – but netting three goals per game will at least keep you in with a chance to win.
What’s killing the Mavericks are their penalty numbers (52 already so far this season for 123 minutes) and currently Division I’s second-worst penalty killing units (29-for-44, or 65.9 percent).
Averaging 20:30 worth of penalties per night doesn’t inherently mean that’s all all-you-can-eat time for the opposition, but no team can afford to put itself in a situation that dire and expect to succeed.
Things could potentially get worse for UNO before they – and the Mavericks – get better. Denver, No. 5 North Dakota, No. 4 Michigan and No. 6 Miami all await the Mavericks in the month of November.
One last bit of food for thought on this subject: Those four teams have, respectively, Division I’s 11th, 26th (tied with Lake Superior), fourth and ninth-best power play units so far this season.
Minnesota-Duluth upsets second-ranked Irish
Likely feeling a little better coming into the new week is Minnesota-Duluth, which gave No. 2 Notre Dame a run for its money in a 3-2 loss Friday in Duluth before upending the Fighting Irish 4-1 in the rematch.
UMD won’t play at home at the AMSOIL Arena again for five weeks, but the Bulldogs made sure Saturday their fans went home with a good memory to tie them over until St. Cloud State comes to town Dec. 6.
The Bulldogs delivered arguably their best opening-period performance of the season Saturday, opening up a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals coming nine seconds apart in the game’s 14th minute. Upperclassman forwards scored UMD’s first two, with Joe Basaraba roofing a backhanded shot past UND goaltender Chad Katunar at 14:24 before junior Caleb Herbert doubled the hosts’ lead at 14:33.
A pair of freshmen then added what ended up being insurance goals for Duluth.
Dominic Toninato bagged his first collegiate goal just 3:16 after Herbert’s tally, effectively ending Katunar’s night as he was relieved of his duties at the end of the first period. Fighting Irish senior goaltender Steven Summerhays then came in but conceded UMD’s fourth goal without reply, a second of the season from Kyle Osterberg at 10:35 of the night’s middle frame.
The visitors spoiled Bulldog goaltender Aaron Crandall’s shutout attempt at 13:22 of the third period through a power play goal from Austin Wuthrich, but no other rubber found its way into UMD’s net.
The hope for Duluth now is the big win over the Fighting Irish will launch the Bulldogs into a tough November slate where all six games are on the road. Ohio State, North Dakota and top-ranked Minnesota all welcome UMD into their barns next month.
North Dakota forward stretchered off in exhibition
In a scary moment during the second period of North Dakota’s 4-1 exhibition Saturday over the U.S. Under-18 Team, UND forward Drake Caggiula was stretchered off after a collision that resulted in him laying motionless on the Ralph Engelstad Arena ice for roughly ten minutes while medical personnel stabilized him.
Caggiula had tried to hurdle a fallen Under-18 Team player but was upended and fell to the ice with his fall broken by his head-and-shoulder area. He was then taken via ambulance to Grand Forks, N.D.’s Altru Hospital and was released a couple of hours later after undergoing tests.
All tests came back negative. At the time of writing though, it’s unclear whether Caggiula will miss any further amount of time on the ice.
For updates on this and other news pertaining to NCHC schools, keep glued to this blog and follow myself (@matthewsemisch) and league co-columnist Candace Horgan (@CandaceHorgan) on Twitter.
