No. 12 St. Cloud State travels to play No. 6 Denver in a two-game NCHC series this weekend (photo: St. Cloud State Athletics).
Desperation is a pretty typical term you’ll hear thrown around by coaches, especially those of teams battling a current losing streak. “We need to come out playing desperate tonight,” seems to be a mantra of coaches who need that “get right” type of game.
But what about a team that’s in the middle of a 10-game unbeaten streak? You wouldn’t expect to hear desperation, but this weekend that might be the case for Arizona State.
The Sun Devils have put together an impressed 16-3-5 record, the fourth best winning percentage in college hockey behind Boston College, Wisconsin and Maine. That trio currently comprise three of the four top team in the PairWise, while Arizona State sits a distant 16th.
There are a number of factors that go into ASU’s current positioning, most notably a massive unbalance of home vs. road games this season (26 home games, 10 road games, two neutral-site games). But when you look at Arizona State’s remaining schedule, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to improve the team’s overall RPI and thus move up in the PairWise.
Except, of course, this weekend. The Sun Devils will host Cornell for a pair of games. Two wins and the Sun Devils’ RPI could improve by more than .01, something that sounds insignificant, but could move them up a spot or two in the PairWise.
Two losses on the other hand could spell the end of any NCAA tournament hopes.
Even if Arizona State sweeps Cornell this weekend, they’ll still need near perfection the rest of the way. The only remaining opponent inside the top half of the PairWise is Alaska, which ASU will play twice at home and twice in Fairbanks.
So taking all this into consideration, should we factor desperation into the equation when approach the ASU/Cornell line? The line currently stands at Cornell (-105) and Arizona State (-125). The over/under is 5.5.
It makes sense that a desperate Arizona State team at home will come out with added intensity. But then we need to also think about Cornell. The Big Red are in an equally precarious position when it comes to NCAA position. They enter the weekend further down the PairWise, tied for 18 with Colorado College. Certainly, they will have more opportunity to improve their RPI than does ASU, but you have to think that Cornell will come out with some intensity as well.
As we moved towards the end of the regular season, though, keep a team’s desperation level in mind when making your wagers.
Other games to watch:
Providence (+150) at Boston College (-195); over/under 5.5
Boston College has not played a single regulation game in 35 days, that of which was a thrilling 5-4 victory at home over Providence. The Eagles lost more than a quarter of its team to the IIHF World Junior Tournament, so that break was wisely schedule by coach Greg Brown.
The point, though, is these two teams are pretty evenly matched which makes Providence’s +150 line a pretty good value. The 5-4 result might be triggering the over in many people’s minds, but bettors may recall that the last matchup was a 2-1 game heading to the third period. Still, 5.5 seems a manageable over/under and a bet we like.
St. Cloud State (+124) at Denver (-160); over/under 6.5
Denver is one of the best home teams in the country. But the Pioneers about to be tested by arguable their toughest opponent to come to Magness Arena this season. St. Cloud State, despite a modest position of 12th in the PairWise, has quietly improved its record to 7-0-1 in NCHC play and sits atop of the league. One could argue that the Huskies have only played teams in the bottom of the league thus far, a point that is true.
What is a bit interesting is the close relationship between these two head coaches. A week ago, the two were together behind the bench of Team USA in Sweden as they won gold. Now they’ll oppose one another knowing pretty much everything about their opponent.
The over/under of 6.5 on this matchup is intriguing. Three of the last five times these teams played, the total has been under 6.5.
Best bet: Providence at Boston College – over 5.5 goals.
Ryan Dickinson registered two goals and an assist in 15 games this season for Oswego (photo: Oswego Athletics).
The ECHL’s Worcester Railers have announced that defenseman Ryan Dickinson has been signed for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Dickinson joins the Railers in the middle of his senior season at Oswego.
In three seasons with the Lakers, the Brighton, Mich., native totaled 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) in 65 games to go with 47 penalty minutes and a plus-28 rating.
Dickinson began his collegiate career at Ohio State during the 2020-21 season. With the Buckeyes, he played in 14 games and recorded an assist to go with 29 penalty minutes and a minus-3 rating.
Mark Snarr and the St. Norbert Green Knights head to Aurora this weekend. (Photo provided by St. Norbert Athletics)
Week two of January is here and we’ve got a full slate of games on tap, including some non-conference matchups.
The weekend will be highlighted by a showdown of nationally ranked teams as St. Scholastica takes on UW-Eau Claire.
Time to take a look at some of my predictions for the weekend.
Friday
Concordia (7-5-1) at No. 8 UW-Stevens Point (11-3)
The Cobbers are up against a nationally ranked team for the second straight weekend, earning a split against St. Scholastica last week. So confidence in this type of game won’t be a problem.
The Pointers are one of the hottest teams in the country at the moment, winning our in a row, and they are unbeaten in seven home games this season.
Two really good offenses will be up against each other, with the Pointers scoring 52 goals and the Cobbers tallying 44. UW-Stevens Point, 4-2
No. 6 St. Scholastica (11-2) at UW-River Falls (9-5)
The Saints have had a tougher time as of late, dropping two of three, but don’t be foole by that rough patch. This is still a very good hockey team that plays well on both ends of the ice. And three of the top 10 offensive threats in hockey are on the team, with Carsen Richels tallying eight goals and Arkhip and Filimon Ledenkov combining for 14 goals and 27 assists.
But the Falcons are one of those teams that will play you tough. They have won three in a row and are led by Noah Roofe, who has come through with four goals and six assists. St. Scholastica, 5-3
Saint John’s (5-8-2) at UW-Stout (5-8-2)
The Johnnies are going to be facing a team that has a top 10 offense nationally. The Blue Devils average 4.13 goals per game, good enough for ninth. Saint John’s is averaging 2.40 goals per outing.
One thing to watch here is special teams. UW-Stout is converting 32.2 percent of its power play opportunities while Saint John’s boasts an 88.1 penalty kill percentage. These two team are better than their records indicate. Should be a good one. UW-Stout, 4-2
Saturday
No. 6 St. Scholastica (11-2) at No. 12 UW-Eau Claire (9-5-1)
A big-time matchup here in early January. The thing to watch in this game is goalie play. Both offenses are effective, but this is a game that probably is decided by defense.
The Saints lean on Jack Bostedt, who has racked up 246 saves and sports a 2.01 goals against average. The Blugolds have Max Gutjahr, who has a 2.00 GAA and has tallied 335 saves on the season. While the Saints are favored, I’ve had luck picking upsets this year. This might be one of them. UW-Eau Claire, 3-2
Concordia (MN) (7-5-1) at UW-Stout (5-8-2)
The Cobbers face a big road test here against the Blue Devils. The Cobbers and Blue Devils are both solid offensive teams and both have strong goalies. Matt Fitzgerald leads the way for Concordia, making 208 saves and fashioning a 2.44 GAA. Tyler Masternak, an All-WIAC pick last season, has a 3.82 GAA. Dawson Green has also seen time in the net for UW-Stout, sporting a 3.38 GAA. Concordia, 4-2
Friday and Saturday
Bethel (10-3-2) vs. Augsburg (6-5-1)
This is the big conference matchup of the weekend in the MIAC. The Royals are of to a great start and sit just three points out of first place. The Augies are six points back of the top spot but never a team you can underestimate.
Tyler Kostelecky is the leading scorer in the MIAC, racking up eight goals. Cade Stibbe leads the Auggies with six goals. This one could end up as a shootout. Bethel, 5-3; Augsburg, 4-3
St. Norbert (9-4, 7-1) at Aurora (7-7-1, 6-2)
Winners of two in a row, the Green Knights enter a big weekend with a chance to remain at the top of the NCHA standings. St. Norbert is one of three teams with 20 points, but the Spartans come in just two points behind.
Adam Stacho has been the top goal scoring threat for the Green Knights, tallying nine goals, and Logan Dombrowsky leads the conference in assists (14).
Akl Hassan has led the way for the Spartans, scoring four goals and dishing out 11 assists.
The Green Knights are 4-4 on the road this year while Aurora, hoping to snap a three-game losing streak, is just 2-3 at home. St. Norbert, 5-2 and 4-3
No. 11 Trine (12-3, 7-1) at MSOE (8-5-2, 2-5-1)
The Thunder are looking to avoid an upset and keep pace with Adrian and St. Norbert atop the standings.
Defense could be the key in this one, especially with two of the best goalies in the NCHA on the ice. Kye Kozma owns a 1.98 GAA on the year and has made 223 saves. Austin Schwab has led the way for the Raiders with a 2.11 GAA and a total of 331 saves. MSOE will be hyped up to play a ranked team at home. Trine goes in hoping to avoid an upset. Trine, 3-2 and 4-2
Kyle Kozma is in his second season of playing hockey for Trine. (Photo Credit: Trine Athletics)
Kyle Kozma’s dad used to be a goalie but he was told at a young age by his father to not play the position.
“He told me don’t be a goalie,” Kozma said. “He told me to be a player, to go score a goal, get an assist, and then if I still wanted to be a goalie after that, I could try it.
“I scored my first goal when I was in a house league. I was 5 or 6. And then I went to the bench and asked my dad if I could be a goalie now. He said fine. The rest is history.”
Indeed it is. All those years later Kozma is now a standout goalie for the nationally ranked Trine Thunder, who are in the midst of another successful season.
Kozma has appeared in 12 games this season for Trine, logging more than 700 minutes on the ice and fashioning a 1.98 goals against average. He’s 10-2 and has given up just 24 goals while racking up 223 saves.
Along the way, he’s helped No. 11 Trine go 12-3 and establish itself as a contender for the NCHA crown.
“We have a good hockey program,” Kozma said. “We’re having tons of fun playing every night.”
This is Kozma’s second year at Trine and his best one yet. He credits the experience as a freshman – he started 14 games that year – as a big reason why he’s found even more success this season.
“As a freshman, you come in excited and a little nervous and you don’t know what to expect, Kozma said. “But after a year of playing and going through a full season, you know it all works and you are more relaxed. I’ve been able to slow things down and have a sense of confidence on the ice.”
Kozma isn’t sure what first drew him to play the position, but he’s thankful he stuck with it.
“Maybe it was that you get to wear the cool gear and there is only one of you on the ice. I’m not sure. It’s a unique position. I’m glad I picked it. It worked out,” Kozma said.
Kozma chose Trine because of the programs’ recent track record of success and he knew going in he would be given an opportunity to likely see the ice in his first year.
“Coach talked to me about having an opportunity to play as a freshman. And that drew me here. Plus, we have a great facilities here,” Kozma said.
He’s embraced the chance to be a goalie for the Thunder and tries to stay even keel for his team.
“I’m very calm and relaxed. I might really be angry or upset, but my teammates don’t see it. I don’t want them, too. I them to see be confident that I have their back out there,” Kozma said.
He came into this year after an offseason of putting in extra work.
“I worked on my skating. Everyone can always be a better skater,” Kozma said. “I also worked on my mobility, having a wider butterfly and playing the puck and acting like a third defenseman back there.”
Playing for Trine has been a blast for him so far and he enjoys everything about being a college hockey player.
“I love representing a school and playing in big games where the rink is packed,” Kozma said. “And being with my teammates, it’s like having a second family.”
Carter Slaggert has posted five points in 21 games this season for Notre Dame (photo: Notre Dame Athletics).
January begins the big push in Big Ten play, with midseason nonconference matches slowing giving way to nothing-but-B1G league series as students return to campuses by the third week of the month and classes resume.
Last week, Wisconsin swept Notre Dame in South Bend to open the second half of the Big Ten season. This week, two conference series feature Michigan State at Penn State and Notre Dame at Ohio State.
Three of the four teams playing for Big Ten points this weekend are chasing the fourth – and everyone is chasing first-place Wisconsin, who hosts Lindenwood in nonleague play for two games.
The Badgers sit in first place with 30 points, followed by the Spartans with 25. Wisconsin and Michigan State are also two of the three Big Ten teams comfortably among the top 16 teams in the PairWise Rankings. Wisconsin sits at No. 1, Michigan State is seventh and Minnesota at 12th is a little less cozy.
Michigan is on the bubble at No. 15. Everyone else is outside looking in.
In fact, outside looking in – or up – is where pretty much everyone is in the Big Ten, except for Wisconsin and Michigan State.
That’s nothing new, said Jeff Jackson.
“I think it’s a continuation of what we’ve been seeing,” said Jackson, now in his 19th season behind the Notre Dame bench. “I just think that the teams have shifted around. We’re the ones taking the punches right now, at least in the last month.”
With four conference wins and half the points of first-place Wisconsin, Notre Dame sits in fourth place in the Big Ten. The Fighting Irish went 4-2-2-1 in their first three Big Ten series, with two ties against Penn State, a sweep of Ohio State, and splits with both Minnesota and Michigan.
To end the first half of B1G play, the Irish dropped two on the road to Michigan State. To begin the second half, they were swept at home last weekend against Wisconsin.
“We had been doing pretty well in the Big Ten until we got to the last two series,” said Jackson. “We’ve got to find a way to get back to where we get points every weekend. We can’t afford to be taking sweeps. It is harder to sweep in the Big Ten.”
The wins against Minnesota and Michigan – plus a win against Boston University in an early nonconference split against the Terriers – all came on Friday nights.
“Consistency has been a little bit of a problem for us all season long, but I think I hear that from most teams that aren’t having the kind of success that they would like to have,” said Jackson. “It’s just a matter of our guys finding a way to be prepared for opponents when they have a pushback, which is going to happen on the second night if you beat them on the first night, which has been the main problem that we’ve dealt with.
“The two times that we’ve been swept, we played good enough to win on Friday night and, again, it was a drop-off even after a loss, which we have to find a way to cure because we’re not going to win every Friday night game. We have to make sure that we’re as prepared as we were the first night [on] the second night.”
With no B1G wins and four conference points, Ohio State begins conference play in the second half with a three-game nonconference win streak after beating Mercyhurst 5-3 Dec. 30 and sweeping instate rival Bowling Green in a home-and-home series last weekend, 6-2 and 4-2.
In fact, the Buckeyes own a four-game unbeaten streak, dating back to their home series against Minnesota Dec. 8-9. After losing 5-4 the first night, Ohio State tied Minnesota 1-1 in the second game and took the extra shootout point.
Another good sign: in four of their last five games, the Buckeyes have scored no fewer than four goals.
Steve Rohlik said that the recent roll is good for his team’s confidence.
“We’ve been resilient,” said Rohlik, in his 11th season as OSU’s head coach. “Nothing’s been easy. The guys came back with a good focus, good energy. Our practice has been good.
“We thought we played pretty good there before the break. We had a good series there against Minnesota and I think we came back with that mentality. Every game’s big – conference, nonconference. For us, we’re trying to get better every night. We’ve certainly got to be at our best this weekend. We know that.”
And what do the Buckeyes need to improve on in the second half?
“Everything,” said Rohlik. “The way we approach everything is that we look to improve from one-on-ones to full-team efforts, in all areas. Special teams, we talk about it a lot and it’s an area that we’ve worked on a lot that we’ve got to continue to get better in, but if we can contribute five-on-five and score a couple of goals five-on-five, that would be a big area for us.”
Averaging 2.75 goals per game, the Buckeyes are pretty good with the extra man, converting at 22 percent for the 18th-best power play in the nation.
When Notre Dame hosted Ohio State Nov. 10-11, the Fighting Irish swept the Buckeyes by a collective score of 7-1. Jeff Jackson knows that such history means nothing this weekend.
“They’ve found their footing since Christmas break as far as getting off to a good start,” said Jackson, who added that his own team is “probably getting back into some semblance of game shape which we lost over the break.”
The Buckeyes, said Jackson are “always a challenge, especially in their own building. We’re looking to have to be prepared to play our best to beat them.”
Looking for their first Big Ten win of the season, Rohlik said that the Buckeyes have to “go out there and limit our mistakes, because they do. They don’t give games away.”
It’s the nature of Big Ten hockey, said Jackson.
“The biggest thing is that even if there’s two teams at the top, nobody walks away easily in the Big Ten from a game,” Jackson said. “It is a challenge. We beat each other up. You hope that it makes us better.”
Trinity’s Devon Bobak & Co have eyes on a successful road trip in Maine against key contenders Colby and Bowdoin (Photo by Trinity Athletics)
The schedule now shifts to mostly conference play for the balance of the second half, so every game means a little bit more moving forward in January and the second half. I finally found a sweet spot with my picks last week going an impressive 11-1-0 (.917) and that now brings the season overall record to 76-37-7 (.663) which is trending upward. The races are bound to get increasingly interesting as the schedule unfolds and no teams should be taking any opponent lightly at this point of the season. Here are my picks in some key games this weekend in the East:
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Fitchburg State v. Massachusetts-Dartmouth
The Falcons picked up a pair of key MASCAC wins last weekend and want to keep the positive MASCAC momentum against a long-time rival in the Corsairs. It is always tough playing in the Massachusetts-Dartmouth barn so expect a one-goal game and maybe some overtime magic – FSU, 3-2
Post v. St. Michael’s
The Eagles did not play this past weekend as scheduled so thinking the added rest might be helpful as they head out on the road to face a Purple Knight team seeking to reverse their recent results. Another one-goal game with the visitors sneaking past for a nice road win – Post, 4-3
Friday, January 12, 2024
Curry v. Endicott
The matchup features two of the teams expected to contend for the CCC title and in this one, home ice does matter a lot. The Gulls will need to score first and find some early success that helps earn a hard-fought win with an empty-net goal providing the final cushion – Endicott, 3-1
(2) Elmira v. (13) Norwich
The Cadets want to keep the Soaring Eagles and their travel partner Hobart in range in the NEHC standings and A Friday night win at Kreitzberg will help get the Northfield fan base revved up for a big weekend. Special teams make the difference along with Clark Kerner being clutch for the Cadets – Norwich, 3-2
Tufts v. Amherst
The Jumbos are on a seven-game heater and come off a win against Fitchburg State after securing the championship at the Boston Landing Invitational. Back to league play where the Mammoths look to reset with a win in a game that features a lot of goals – Amherst, 5-4
Middlebury v. (3) Plattsburgh
The Panthers v. the Cardinals is always a great game regardless of the records and this one stays close for a while before the home team cashes in on some third period offense for a comfortable win – Plattsburgh, 4-1
Southern New Hampshire v. Assumption
The Penmen are coming off a one goal loss to Wentworth while Assumption did not play this past weekend. The Greyhounds best start fast and avoid penalties against a team that makes a habit of scoring special team goals, man-up or down. Home team ekes it out – Assumption, 4-3
Wilkes v. Arcadia
The Colonels have played well and now look to advance toward the top of the UCHC standings, so wins are important over every opponent. Too much offensive skill from the visitors in a win that is tighter than the score indicates – Wilkes, 5-2
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Massachusetts-Boston v. (14) Skidmore
The Thoroughbreds lost three in a row, all to nationally ranked squads before rebounding with a big win over a tough Cortland squad on Tuesday. They keep the momentum going with a nice conference win over the Beacons on home ice – Skidmore, 4-1
(10) Trinity v. Bowdoin
Maybe the two hottest teams in NESCAC face-off in what will feel like a playoff game. Great goaltending on both sides keeps things close but this is my upset pick of the weekend. Polar Bears win it in overtime – Bowdoin, 3-2
Rivier v. Nichols
The Raiders can score goals and will push the Bison from the opening puck drop. The Bison will battle for the full 60 minutes but fall just a bit short with an empty-net goal creating the final margin – Rivier, 5-3
Anna Maria v. Western New England
The AmCats travel to face the Golden Bears in what should be a fast-paced and physical affair. Expecting the special teams to factor into this game quite a bit with the visitors winning that statistic and the game – AMC, 4-2
As usual there is a lot of great action across the region and some teams just coming out of their semester break hibernation so it will be interesting to see if the extra rest was a positive or created some rust – “Drop the Puck!”
The Falcons’ Will Gavin potted three power-play goals last Saturday at Bentley (photo: Trevor Co/U.S. Air Force).
Sometimes in life, and in hockey, you can do everything right and still lose.
Air Force, coming off a last-place finish last season, had an improved start to 2023-24, but ran into a scoring slump to close out the first semester on a 1-5-1 stretch that saw the Falcons score a total of eight goals.
Recently, Frank Serratore’s team faced some tough competition in losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off in Milwaukee, dropping those games 3-0 and 4-1.
“I told our guys after Wisconsin and Duluth – we made them play their best hockey to beat us”, said Serratore. “Those games were tight.”
Serratore said that throughout the scoring slump, his team was doing the right things, but the pucks just weren’t going in.
“We were getting chances, ” he said. “Our goaltending was good, our special teams were good. I liked the way we were playing and knew that eventually, pucks were going to start going in.”
And boy, did they last weekend at Bentley.
Air Force scored a total of 10 goals in 3-1 and 7-3 wins, moving up to sixth in the Atlantic Hockey standings, just a point out of fourth.
The 10 goals in those two games were more than the Falcons had combined for in their previous eight contests.
It was also the first six-point sweep for the Falcons in almost two years, the last coming against Mercyhurst on Jan. 21-22. 2022.
“We had more goals in the first 13 minutes on Friday than we did in the previous three games,” said Serratore. “I liked how we stayed cool throughout this. The last thing to do when you’re not scoring is press to try to score more, then make mistakes defensively.”
Junior goaltender Guy Blessing has started every game so far in net for the Falcons and has been solid, especially over Air Force’s last eight games (2.16 GAA, .917 save percentage).
“(Before last weekend) He had a stretch where his save percentage was over 93 percent,” said Serratore. “And we went 1-3 in those games.”
On Saturday, senior forward Will Gavin tallied three power-play goals, tying an Atlantic Hockey record.
Gavin leads the league and is second in the nation with nine power-play goals. His 13 goals this season are second in the AHA and 19th nationally.
It’s the most by a Falcon in a single season since he had 16 in 2021-22. And Air Force still has a minimum of 15 games left.
“He’s got the hardest shot of any player that I ever coached,” said Serratore.
Classmate Luke Rowe picked up four assists last weekend and now leads the league with 18 helpers. The Falcons got a boost when the NCAA recently approved a waiver for Rowe, who graduated early, to complete the regular season.
“We were pretty sure that he would get the extra 60 days that are usually afforded to players to keep playing beyond graduation,” said Serratore. “You see that a lot in spring sports like baseball where the NCAAs extend into June. He needed three more games to complete the regular season and that got approved.”
So Rowe will be in the lineup this weekend when American International visits for a pair of games. The Yellow Jackets are currently in third place, five points ahead of Air Force.
Serratore says his preparations will be the same, looking to continue to bring his suddenly high-flying offense.
“Last weekend, we continued to do the things we need to do to be successful,” said Serratore. “I wasn’t happy with some of the penalties but overall, we were getting traffic in front, and getting pucks on net. The difference was that for a change, everything was going in.
Episode 8: Nicole checks in from Switzerland, Cornell makes a move in ECAC
Nicole Haase (@NicoleHaase) joins the PodKaz from Switzerland, where she is covering the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship. Nicole and Todd Milewski (@ToddMilewski) talk about group play in the tournament and look at some of last week’s results in ECAC Hockey, including two wins by Cornell and Clarkson handing Colgate its first conference loss. Plus, a look ahead at No. 2 Minnesota hosting No. 1 Ohio State.
Make sure you like and subscribe to The PodKaz on your favorite streaming network to get access to new episodes as soon as they post.
Bradly Nadeau and Josh Nadeau have been go-to players this season for the resurgent Maine team (photos: Anthony DelMonaco).
Maine’s Alfond Arena isn’t the largest in college hockey — it isn’t even the largest in Hockey East.
But it’s a far cry from where Maine’s Nadeau brothers played youth hockey.
“Where I’m from, we have, like, 50, 60 persons coming to every game,” said Josh Nadeau, who, with his brother Bradly, hail from Ste-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick, population 460. “It’s amazing here, seeing all the fans support us.”
Alfond, always known for its energetic atmosphere, is even more feisty these days with the Black Bears off to their best start in years. Maine enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the country, with a 13-3-2 overall record, a No. 7 ranking in the USCHO.com D-I men’s poll and the No. 4 spot in the most recent edition of the PairWise.
The Black Bears’ hot start is thanks in large part to the efforts of Nadeau and his brother Bradly, who are neck-and-neck in the race for the team lead in scoring (10-16-26 for Josh and 13-12-25 for Bradly). Josh Nadeau was named NCAA national player of the month for December.
“They find ways to get on the scoreboard and affect the game, even if they struggle a little bit,” said Maine third-year coach Ben Barr. “That’s a good trade to have. Pretty impressive for a freshman (Josh) to go out there to be player of the month for the whole NCAA. Credit to him and his work ethic. I’m sure he’s going to keep getting better.”
Though not twins, the Nadeaus share a bond common to siblings close in age (Bradly is 18, Josh is 20 — both are listed as freshmen forwards). Josh said their hockey bond formed early in the backyard of their childhood home in Canada.
“Ever since we were young, we’d play together all day,” Josh said. “My dad built a rink at home and we’d stay until midnight sometimes. My dad would put up lights and we’d stay out in the dark — all day and all night. That’s kind of why we’ve been playing good together, (having) a lot of success. We’ve been working hard all summer and all season to get where we’re at.”
Another big part of the Black Bears’ success has been depth at the goaltender position. While senior Victor Ostman has received the majority of the starts, freshman Albin Boija posted a 1.06 goals-against average, .964 save percentage and 53 saves, going 1-0-1 vs. Colgate (ECAC Hockey) this past weekend, earning Hockey East goalie of the week honors. Ostman has thrice received the same honor this season, making the Swedes the only pair of teammates to be so feted by the league.
“He’s worked hard all year, really,” Ostman said about Boija. “It’s cool for a friend to get a chance. (He) didn’t play a ton the first half, but he’s worked hard in practice. To see it in games is really cool to see. We all know what he can do in practice.”
With inter-conference play now in the rear-view mirror, Maine will focus on maintaining its place among the cream of the crop in Hockey East. The Black Bears sport a 5-2-1 league record, good for third behind Boston University and Boston College, and kick off the remainder of the season with a two-game series at Connecticut starting Friday.
While expressing pride in his personal accomplishments and gratitude for the accolades received, Josh Nadeau said success will be measured by where Maine as a team finishes the season.
“I’m not satisfied — I want more,” he said. “I want the team to have success and hopefully win the national championship at the end of the year.”
St. John Fisher University will add two intercollegiate hockey teams to its athletic offerings beginning in 2025 and will be the first collegiate partner of the Rochester (N.Y.) Ice Center, the program’s home ice.
The school is located in Pittsford, N.Y.
The addition of men’s and women’s hockey teams to the roster of sports offered at the university broadens its total number of athletic teams competing in the NCAA Division III to 26 teams.
Fisher’s athletics department is now in the recruiting phase, and incoming hockey student-athletes will enter the university in the fall 2025 semester.
This news builds upon recent years of growth in the Fisher athletics department as well as the increasing popularity of hockey in the Western New York region and on campus. Fisher’s club hockey team won the American Division Championship at the AAU College Hockey Tournament in March 2023.
“We are confident that our university’s academic offerings, continuing growth, and reputation and record in the NCAA Division III will enable us to successfully recruit hockey student-athletes to Fisher who will add to our success,” said Jose Perales, vice president for enrollment management, in a statement. “We look forward to providing the total Fisher experience to students who might now consider Fisher because of the opportunity to play intercollegiate hockey. Not only will they have access to a state-of-the-market academic experience but the exceptional Fisher athletics experience as well.”
The university anticipates a roster size of 25-30 student-athletes on both the men’s and women’s teams with an eye toward their first competitive intercollegiate game in fall 2025.
“This is an exciting time at Fisher and expanding our intercollegiate athletic offerings to reflect the growing interest in hockey adds to that excitement,” added Bob Ward, Fisher athletics director. “Through our partnership with the premier facility in the region, the Rochester Ice Center, our student-athletes will have access to cutting edge facilities, and a place to call home.”
The university said that next steps include hiring a coaching staff and the finalization of the sport’s conference affiliation.
FloSports senior content creator Chris Peters joins hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger to wrap up the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship and to take us behind the scenes for Team USA’s gold medal, as well as a look at the USNTDP.
This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Division I Men’s Frozen Four, April 11 and 13 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit ncaa.com/mfrozenfour
Zak Galambos has been a stalwart on the Western Michigan back end this season (photo: Ashley Huss).
Tenth-ranked Western Michigan’s road sweep last weekend against Lindenwood was a trip down memory lane of sorts for coach Pat Ferschweiler, while watching his Broncos start the second half of the season how they mean to continue.
Friday’s come-from-behind 3-2 win and a relatively easy 6-1 victory Saturday at the Centene Community Ice Center saw the Broncos complete a season sweep of second-year independent Lindenwood. The Lions had also lost twice in Kalamazoo, Mich., at the start of December.
“I thought we went down there last weekend and played really good hockey,” Ferschweiler said. “Lindenwood has a good goaltender and they work extremely hard, but we were able to find two wins.
“It was a similar series to last time. Right now, we’re a more talented team and we put a lot of pressure and shots on them. They have quality goaltending and have some real compete, but I was happy with our play both nights.”
Two third-period goals Friday from Dylan Wendt and Zak Galambos saw Western overturn a 2-1 deficit from the middle of a game where the Broncos outshot Lindenwood 46-23.
Saturday’s rematch was much the same in that department, with the Broncos outshooting the Lions 41-21. Western buried more chances that day, when Wendt and Alex Bump both scored twice. Three consecutive power-play goals also put the Broncos out of sight by the time Wendt found the net for a second time midway through the third period. Sam Colangelo then scored in the final minute to cap a two-goal series for him.
Ferschweiler enjoyed the weekend on a personal level, too. A former director of the Kansas City Stars youth hockey organization, he relished getting to see first-hand what Lindenwood offers in a setting where Missouri youth hockey is also continuing to grow.
“St. Louis is one of the true hidden youth hockey gems in the U.S,” Ferschweiler said. “They have a bunch of really good rinks, a bunch of ex-St. Louis Blues and qualified coaches in town. They do a good job there with youth hockey, and there’s been an expansion of facilities, including where we were playing, at the Blues’ practice facility. They’ve got three nice sheets there, and it was full all weekend with youth hockey.
“They have something really good going in St. Louis. Even back in the old days, the AAA Blues were a quality, quality program, and now there’s CarShield at that level and they’re cranking out some future Division I players. There’s a lot of unique hockey there, and they do it really well.”
Ferschweiler was also asked Monday what he sees the future holding for Lindenwood with regards to a potential conference affiliation.
“The conference conversation is a complex and fluid one, and I wouldn’t want to make a prediction there, but certainly they have the building blocks and the facilities in place, that it looks like they’d be attractive to a conference,” he said.
“I think there’s lots of changes coming, and I’m not really sure which direction it’s going to go. It’d be interesting.”
Western returns to NCHC play this weekend at Miami. It’s all conference games the rest of the way for a Broncos team that, like it has over the past several years, is punching above its perceived weight. WMU only had two regulation losses before the holiday break, and two more in overtime, with a roster that doesn’t have its three top point-producers from last season.
“I really liked our first half,” Ferschweiler said. “It’s another year with a lot of new players and a lot of lost scoring. We lost close to 200 points out of our lineup last year, and then there’s always the question of how we’ll be able to score again, but we’re up there that way again, and our goals-against is way down this year.
“We’ve scored and we’ve defended well, which is a great recipe for long-term success.”
The Assumption Greyhounds have had much to celebrate through the first half but are focused on a strong finish in the NE-10 (Photo by Assumption Athletics)
Currently sitting atop the NE-10 standings and with an overall record of 13-3-0, the Assumption Greyhounds have had early success with a foundation of strong team play, great offensive talent and a legacy coaching staff that includes all former players at Assumption dating back to former head coach Lance Brady. Head coach Michael Looney played for coach Brady and then coached with him as an assistant and has built his staff building on the culture and legacy of Assumption hockey alumni.
“I was a four-year player for coach Lance Brady,” noted Looney. “It was a privilege to play and coach with Lance and I have tried to build off some of that culture and legacy with my staff who all played hockey here and have a championship pedigree with some of most recent titles in the NE-10. I think the players see the passion to the program and the focus and dedication of the staff wanting to continue the success of the program and that helps translate onto the ice. Nick [Blanchette], our goalie coach, played with me for four years under coach Brady and now has been coaching with me for several years. “Roachie” [Robert Roche] was part of the 2017 title team and our newest assistant coach, Robert Holyoke was part of our last championship team in 2022. Their collective experiences as Assumption alumnus and hockey players is something I think the current team relates to well and we are seeing that translate to performance on the ice.”
Leading the way for the Greyhounds is junior forward, Ronny Paragallo. Through 16 games this season, Paragallo has scored 14 goals and added eight assists for 22 points. In last Wednesday’s game against Wentworth, Paragallo’s hat trick helped the Greyhounds to a 5-2 win and bounceback from an overtime loss to Johnson & Wales on Tuesday night that opened the second half of the schedule for Assumption. Paragallo combined with teammates Jonathan Surrette and Ryan Decker account for 37 of the team’s collective 69 goals and the trio has been a threat to score in all situations.
“When Ronny was a freshman, Robert [Holyoke] was one of his linemates,” said Looney. “They paired up pretty well on the ice back then on that championship team in 2022 and now it is interesting to see how the relationship has changed with Robert as the coach and Ronny as the player but both focused on helping to improve the play on the ice. Ronny is very receptive to Robert’s suggestions and coaching and our team is seeing the benefits in his play and numbers on the scoresheet.”
After finishing the first half with an 8-1-0 record in the NE-10, the Greyhounds are firmly entrenched in first place but are not taking anything for granted with a second half slate including teams looking to qualify or improve their position for tournament action. A favorable schedule finds the Greyhounds playing their next ten games in a row on home ice including important league series with Southern New Hampshire, St. Anselm, Franklin Pierce and St. Michael’s.
“We can’t take our foot off the accelerator in the second half,” stated Looney. “Back in 2022, SNHU had a similar record in the first half and didn’t keep the momentum in the second half and was ousted early in the playoffs. We were beneficiaries that year moving on to the NE-10 title game, but we want to keep our positive momentum from the first half going in the second half. Dropping that overtime game to JWU was a tough loss but I liked the way we bounced back the next night against a tough Wentworth team. We will need a lot of that character and effort heading into our remaining league schedule with a focus to earn a top seed and compete for another conference title with our best hockey yet to be played.”
With Saturday’s contest with Post postponed to a future date, the Greyhounds hope to start another win streak in this weekend’s two-game series with SNHU that kicks off over a month of games on home ice and chance to solidify the top seed in the NE-10.
Antonio Venuto was a key player last weekend for Ferris State as the Bulldogs split with Bemidji State (photo: Paige Williams).
It might not seem like a team who just snapped a seven-game losing streak would be exuding confidence.
But Ferris State’s recent win over CCHA-leading Bemidji State was an important one for Bob Daniels.
“I think we’re in a good place right now,” Daniels said in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon. “We feel like when we’re on our game we’re a pretty good team. I think Saturday when we beat Bemidji, we felt like we won that game… we felt like we were in control of that game. So for a team that’s at the bottom of the standings, we have a lot more confidence than what you might expect.”
It had been a long time since the Bulldogs (6-14-1) could celebrate after a game. Since beating St. Thomas 5-2 way back on Dec. 1, there’d been a string of seven losses. For the most part, the defense had been there, but the offense had not — only once did they manage to score more than twice in a game.
“Sometimes if you develop a habit, it’s hard to break that habit,” Daniels said. “We had a habit of playing well but well enough not to win. So hopefully with this win [against Bemidji] we can get some confidence and continue to play well. I’m seeing signs of improvement so I’m very optimistic about the rest of the year.”
One big positive Daniels took from Saturday’s 5-3 win against the Beavers: spread out scoring. Five different players scored for Ferris, including two defensemen (Nick Hale and Jack Mesic) and a freshman (Luigi Benincasa; Daniels said freshman defenseman Trevor Taulien was originally credited with the goal but Benincasa tipped it in).
“It really felt like a team win,” Daniels said.
Still, one player was involved in four goals on the weekend: Antonio Venuto. The senior winger scored against the Beavers in Friday’s 4-1 loss to snap his personal five-game goal drought, then had three assists in the win. He’s currently got a team-leading 20 points, including 12 goals, and is on a good pace to be the first Ferris skater to reach the 30-point mark since Gerald Mayhew hit 35 in 2016-17.
“Venuto, what I like about him is, he’s improved each and every year here,” Daniels said. “It’s not like he came here and set the world on fire. He just works hard and he’s one of those kids who, you’re really excited when the good stuff starts happening to him.”
Daniels said Venuto, who had six goals and 15 points in 35 games last season, really improved on his skating over the offseason.
“It’s one of those things where, you have a year-end meeting where you tell a guy what he needs to work on, and he does it,” Venuto said. “The proof’s in his scoring. He’s pretty confident in himself. He’s earned that confidence, and he has that confidence.”
Venuto and Benincasa have been playing together frequently this season. Benincasa, who Daniels calls a “dog” on the puck, has 13 assists on the year.
“He really sees the ice well. He’s extremely smart, and what’s really helped him make the transition to college hockey is that he’s got such a high hockey IQ,” Daniels said.
The Bulldogs’ next test will be a big one: A series against Minnesota State in Mankato, Minn. Although Ferris lost twice to the Mavericks when the teams played in Big Rapids earlier this season, the Bulldogs did beat MSU twice in Mankato last season. It’s reasonable to think that the last-place Bulldogs could give the Mavericks fits this weekend.
“We’ve played everyone in our league and there’s no one that I feel we can’t beat. I also don’t think there’s a team out there that can’t beat us. It’s so close,” Daniels said. “Obviously you want to position yourself in the playoffs for the best seed you can get, but also you want to make sure you keep improving and peaking at playoff time, because that’s the only vehicle any of us are going to have to make the NCAA tournament.”
Trinity defeats #3 Amherst. (Photo by Trinity College Athletics)
We had an exciting week of D-III Women’s hockey this past weekend and earlier this week, one team made a run and some other upsets occurred! The second half is officially upon us!
Trinity? Where’ve you been?
The Bantams had a trio of tall tasks in their way this past week, visiting #8 Norwich on Tuesday, then hosting #3 Amherst for a pair of home games over the weekend.
Trinity entered the week 3-3-2, not stellar, not bad considering who they had faced early in the season. Well, this has been Trinity’s past week: 2-0 over #8 Norwich, 4-1 over #3 Amherst, 1-1 vs Amherst, & most recently 3-0 over Plymouth State, giving the Bantams a record of 7-3-2, vastly improved from their 3-3-2 start.
Trinity 2-0 #8 Norwich
It was a low offensive game, shots 21-18 in favor of the Cadets, penalties slim, two for Norwich, one for Trinity.
Both goals in this one came in the middle frame, Ava Gosnell scored the eventual game-winner at the 8:52 mark, while her teammate Anne Levia scored very late in the period at 19:24.9. These goals held up and goaltender Hannah Leclair began her eventual ranked-win streak, making all 21 saves.
Trinity 4-1 #3 Amherst
This series became a lot more interesting once we saw the Bantams shutout Norwich earlier in the week. Amherst goaltender Natalie Stott has been doing her usual, winning games and not allowing hardly any goals, consistently keeping under a 1.00 GAA.
Well, this one was different. Trinity took a 4-0 lead that wasn’t tarnished until a quarter of the way through the 3rd period when Clare O’Connor scored the lone Mammoth goal.
Trinity’s scoring came in flurries near the end, but here’s how it happened:
Ava Gosnell – 14:02 of the 1st period
Martina Exnerova – 6:43 of the 2nd period
Jenny Guider – 2:55 of the 3rd period
Emma Robertson – 3:03 of the 3rd period
Goaltender Hannah Leclair had another statement-performance, making 28 saves on 29 shots from a well-versed Amherst team. The offense deserves a lot of credit in this one, Amherst has been one of the best defensive teams of the past two seasons and didn’t show any signs of weakness until this game vs the Bantams.
Trinity 1-1 #3 Amherst
This was the most-penalized game of the two, both had a lot of time-served, but this one featured four minor penalties for Amherst and seven for Trinity, which I’d argue makes the tie look even more impressive on the Trinity side, killing off that many penalties vs a dominant Amherst team.
Trinity led in shots 22-17, Hannah Leclair had another good game, stopping 16 of 17 shots. Natalie Stott allowed 5 goals on 41 shots on the weekend.
*Trinity added a 3-0 shutout victory over Plymouth State today 1/9/24, improving to 7-3-2.
Head Coach Keith Maurice (that has a nice ring to it), spoke about his team’s performance on Saturday, scoring 4+ on Amherst for only the second time in two years, he said:
“Our team did an excellent job sticking to our game plan, and I feel our game against Norwich really helped us prepare for Amherst. Any time you’re able to put up four goals on a goalie you’re giving yourself a chance to win the game. We knew it was going to be a challenge to score against Amherst, what they’ve done the last two years is impressive. It only speaks to how well coached they are and how well the players execute their game plan.”
Maurice also added when asked about what the team must do to stay more consistent, showing they’ve got great performances such as these in them:
“Every year it’s about finding the identity of our team and I believe our senior class and captains have created the standard that is Trinity hockey. This has been a fun team to coach and I see that in every practice and how we compete against each other and all of that is because of the leaders on the team.”
Oswego breaks the streak!
Oswego State entered this past weekend 5-5-1 vs Plattsburgh, who sat a nice 9-1-1, their only blemishes coming from their rivals in Vermont: Norwich.
Oswego entered this weekend with a horrific record vs the Cardinals, I don’t think anyone would dispute that to put it bluntly, the Cardinals held a record of 46-1-1 vs the Lakers historically…
Oswego defeats #4 Plattsburgh on Friday 1/5/24. (Photo by Taylor Streiff)
Well… Friday was different. Oswego, who’s had in my opinion one of the, if not the hardest schedule of anyone thus far as I’ve said many times, considering they began their first 9/11 games on the road, then their welcome home gift is two games vs Plattsburgh…
Oswego jumped out to an early lead, much like earlier this season when they visited the North Country, Sarah Muller scored a quick one, only 1:52 into the game, putting her team up 1-0 early.
Oswego didn’t let up, scoring a pair before the end of the period, it was Ashlyn McGrath at 12:09 & Mack Hull AT 18:51 to give the Lakers a 3-0 lead after the opening frame…
Plattsburgh would score in each of the following periods, but it was too late. Julia Masotta scored midway through the 2nd period at 9:38, while her teammate Ivy Boric trimmed it to one with less than 30 seconds left in the game, but it didn’t complete the comeback.
Oswego wins it 3-2 and Head Coach Mark Digby picks up his signature win at the helm of the Lakers.
Other Notable Games
#7 Hamilton & #11 Colby had a big series this past weekend, both teams split the series, keeping the NESCAC tight as always. Colby, currently sitting at 5th in Pairwise, will be an interesting rest of the way as conference play continues.
#4 Middlebury & #14 Endicott tied 3-3, Middlebury struggling to find wins thus far, maintaining the high ranking and pairwise spot, it’ll be interesting to see how it fares come conference tournament time.
Maddie McCollins of UW-River Falls (Photo by Sam Silver)
We’re back in action out west, where it currently looks like at this rate, we may be headed west come March. UW-River Falls holds a commanding undefeated record of 15-0-0, while Gustavus sits behind them in pairwise, their only losses coming to the Falcons. Will we see a west winner for the second-straight season? Back-to-back? Long way to go!
UW-River Falls remains unbeaten *Stats via USCHO*
We’ll take a quick look here as River Falls didn’t play any “notable” or “ranked” games, but they’re still perfect, something no one else in Men’s or Women’s D-III hockey can say…
Currently, Maddie McCollins leads all of women’s D-III with 35 points through 15 games played (16G, 19A). The 2023 USCHO Player of the Year had teammates close behind on the stat list, in 3rd, it’s Megan Goodreau (28 pts – 10G, 18A), 5th is Alex Hantge (26 pts – 10G, 16A), 7th is MaKenna Aure (23 pts – 10G, 13A), and T-12th is Aubrey Nelvin (18 pts – 6G, 12A).
This team is stuffing the stat sheet, near the top, if not the top of most team-statistical categories. Head Coach Joe Cranston’s Falcons seem to be absolutely loaded and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. It’ll be fun to see their games against WIAC-rival UW-Eau Claire, who has been able to cause them more issues than any other team as of the past few years.
Most recently, UW-River Falls defeated Concordia (Minn.) 8-0 & 7-0 over the weekend, while also adding a 6-1 victory over St. Scholastica tonight (1/9/24).
The Green Knights of St. Norbert visited the Blugolds of Eau Claire this past weekend. SNC with a solid record of 10-3-0, unranked, while UWEC entered at 10-3-0 as well. Both teams would leave the weekend with the same record after the split, 11-3-0.
Game One: Norbert 5-1
The first game of the series was an odd one… If you looked at the stat sheet, you’d probably ask how St. Norbert scored 5 goals when they only had 11 registered shots-on-target. Well, Norbert scored 2 goals in the 2nd period on 2 registered shots, they then proceeded to score 3 goals in the 3rd period, on 3 registered shots… Eau Claire failed to register a save in the game after the 1st period, eye opening to say the least…
St. Norbert Women’s Hockey (Photo by Patrick Ferron)
One could say, as many goalies who participate in games like this will tell you, sometimes facing 20-30 shots is easier than facing 10. 20-30 keeps you loose, active, and mentally sharp, versus the flipside, you face one shot every five to six minutes of the game and BOOM, get ready to make a save after standing there still. Not acceptable to give up five on five shots, but just a thought.
The scoring went like this:
2nd Period:
Naomi Balon – 9:42 SNC 1-0
Grace Wittkopf – 12:29 SNC 2-0
Maddie Hunter – 19:44 SNC 2-1
3rd Period:
Abbie Tollefson – 15:31 SNC 3-1
Lexi Bonfe – 16:13 SNC 4-1
Abbie Tollefson – 16:26 SNC 5-1
Not the type of game you’d expect from the Blugolds from what they’ve shown thus far, even so with the Green Knights. Only putting up 11 shots on goal, not exactly a dominating sat, but they scored 45% of their shots-on-target, so you’ll win a lot of games doing that obviously.
Game Two: UWEC 3-1
Game two brought better luck for the Blugolds, winning 3-1 after making a goalie change and saving more than 55% of Norbert’s shots-on-target.
The scoring began from UWEC’s Eden Gruber at 15:30 of the opening period. Sam Bandholz doubled the lead in the 2nd period, just over the halfway mark at 12:44. Morgan Olson cut the lead in half, scoring for St. Norbert at 17:43, then Sophie Rausch, the nation’s 2nd-leading point scorer (29 pts – 17G, 12A), sealed the deal late in the 3rd at 18:42 to give Eau Claire the home-alumni game victory.
The Jills shock the Spartans!
Aurora has had a down year to say the least, entering the weekend with a record of 7-6-0, while Northland, under new Head Coach Natasha Hawkins, entered at 4-8-1, which currently is on pace for their best season since now-Curry Head Coach Kelly Rider won eight games in 2018-2019.
Northland Women’s Hockey (Photo by Andrew Birko)
The games were played in Ashland, WI, a big home series for the Jills in which they took advantage of in the first game, winning 2-1.
The Jills were outshot by the Spartans 45-19, but goaltender Karlee Lehner had a stellar night, making 44 saves and only allowing the lone goal.
Kyleigh Moffatt scored the opening goal of the game in the middle of the 2nd period at 12:51 to give Northland the 1-0 lead, which would hold up until the last minute of the same period. Darci Matson scored the game-tying shorthanded goal with 25 seconds left (19:35.5) in the middle frame.
The hero would then be Kate Holtz for the Jills, scoring the game-winner at 1:26 in the overtime period to give Northland their signature win of the season and maybe even the past few seasons could be under consideration.
Aurora would win Sunday’s game 4-1 to split the series, despite the loss, Northland goaltender Corrin Hanson made 45 saves to keep her team within striking distance.
Ryan Conroy scored the winner for Yale as the Bulldogs nipped RPI 2-1 back on Jan. 5 (photo: Colleen Murphy).
The semester break often sits silent for college hockey teams.
The World Junior Championship ramps into gear around the holidays, but aside from the occasional four-team tournament, movement almost never occurs within conferences until players return from their individual and collective layoffs. Standings don’t change, and only the limited game offers the rare opportunity for a team to make up a game-in-hand or gain ground on teams sitting idle.
Last weekend was the rarest of those chances. A first half packed ECAC’s standings to the degree that a six-point weekend could rocket someone up the standings, and the only two series between travel partner sides had two teams deadlocked in a three-way tie for seventh place. Even with a long way remaining, it felt like Brown and Union would play Friday for a chance to join Clarkson or Princeton atop the race for teams situated under Quinnipiac, and the Rensselaer-Yale consolation prize would move someone past Harvard for an improved track when the second half began in earnest.
The complexion looked simple but the Bulldogs, the team that won a combined 16 games over the past two years as they fought their way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead crashed the party by sweeping a six-point weekend that vaulted Keith Allain’s team into fourth place with a front row seat to the second half of the season.
“Both of the games this weekend speaks a lot to the team,” Allain said. “We had the lead in the third period [of both games] and gave it up, so we had to respond to that adversity, but coming back and finding a way to win the games, I give a lot of credit to our senior class. It’s a group that had their freshman year ripped away completely, and their sophomore year was touch and go with COVID restrictions, but they’ve stuck with this program and continue to stick together and work hard.
“They’re the backbone of the success we had this past weekend and the success we might have moving forward.”
Yale was once a tentpole franchise for the ECAC’s overall hockey league, but the aftermath of COVID-19 arguably decimated the team to a degree that wasn’t felt anywhere else. The Bulldogs that won the 2013 Frozen Four national championship were a decade removed from their legacy as a No. 1 overall team with two regular-season championships and two postseason tournament crowns, but their ability to finish around first round bye territory took a massive hit when the Ivy League canceled the 2020-2021 season.
The five other impacted ECAC teams – Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard and Princeton – were joined by RPI and Union in their absence, but next to a Dartmouth team that changed coaches prior to rejoining college hockey, no team experienced a delta drop like Yale. A sixth-place team that twice advanced through the first round of the playoffs immediately fell to 12th with a roster boasting approximately two dozen newcomers to college hockey, and despite improving to the No. 10 seed with a win in the first round last year, preseason predictions from the experts didn’t exactly fortune tell a run towards the top of the league.
“We lost some players through the COVID [years],” Allain conceded. “And we’ve lost some recruits as well. But this group that’s committed to Yale was committed to seeing things through. They believe in what we’re doing, and it’s really important that they’ve been able to stay together and go through it. They’ve been in school for four years, but this is really only their third year of college hockey. They still aren’t an experienced senior class in terms of games played, but the games they have played and experiences they have had developed their resiliency.”
Even the most hardened Yale supporter can soften with that theory, but Allain’s ability to develop a nucleus finally struck dirt this year when the Bulldogs began fighting significant battles against more-heralded teams. The majority of results broke against the Bulldogs, but few teams matched their ability to pressure opponents into one-goal games.
Right from the start, a one-goal, overtime win over Brown preceded a two-goal loss to Cornell that featured an empty net goal by the Big Red, and an overtime loss to Princeton coincided with a hard-fought game against Quinnipiac that pumped two goals past the Bobcats.
The 2-1 loss to Clarkson was one of the last vestiges of bad luck or bounces or whatever happened in those games, and after losing 3-1 to Long Island with another one-goal game that included an empty netter, Yale finally blasted past a couple of games by beating Merrimack and winning the return match against the Sharks.
“I mean, it’s always comforting to play with the lead,” Allain said. “So we don’t enjoy being behind, but I think when I spoke to the type of adversity that our senior class faced, all through their careers here at Yale, they’ve overcome enough to have that confidence that the next time they’re in a situation, they know they can do it. That’s what’s happened with this group. We don’t lose our composure. Our bench stays calm. Guys know we can get our job done.”
The scariest part about the weekend was that Yale started to resemble those teams from the bygone pre-COVID era. The Bulldogs of those days always seemed to pair a top line that could score at will, but Allain managed to pair NHL-level talent with a depth chart designed to weaken and pepper opponents. A stingy defense helped turn goaltenders into brick walls (and vice-versa), and the numbers all eventually shook down in a way that made Yale impressive – even as Ivy League teams typically produced lower total amounts because of the late start or six-less games.
Comparing the teams is unfair, but Yale beat Union after it received goals from both David Chen and Niklas Allain, players with whom Briggs Gammill and Teddy Wooding notched goals or assists throughout the game. Ryan Conroy added an assist to Chen before assisting on Allain’s goal against RPI, and he scored the game-winning goal over the Engineers with an assist from Wooding. From a production standpoint, that means the top five players on Yale’s stat sheet were involved on every goal on the weekend with an added empty netter from Ian Carpentier, who tied for second on the team with his fourth goal.
The numbers won’t jump off a page when the nation-leading scorers all have 10 goals or more, but the fact that Yale didn’t start its season until the end of October is combined with the fact that seven different players have multiple goals. More than a dozen different players have at least one goal this year with 16 players holding at least an assist – the overwhelming majority of which appeared in the 15 games on Yale’s 6-9-0 overall record.
“Our team really started to play better before Christmas,” said Allain, “and a big part of it was that our fourth line scored two goals against Merrimack. They’ve started to contribute and become a line that we can put our trust into, and I think that gives everyone confidence. We can pretty much roll four lines. There are some situations where we don’t have that superstar player, and we need everyone to contribute, but that’s really fostered unity within this group. They know they’re relying on one another and aren’t relying on one guy.”
Finding the right chemistry has Yale poised for dark horse status in the second half of a season that’s already turning into a Quinnipiac-sized runaway train. The 22 points credited to the Bobcats haven’t included a regulation loss, and it’s easy for them to be the clear-cut Cleary Cup favorites unless some unfortunate collapse occurs between now and the postseason. The remaining 11 spots, though, are up for grabs, and Yale’s six-point weekend illustrated the inherent danger in overlooking any of the remaining teams.
Rising from the ashes of the postseason race, the Bulldogs now enter a weekend series against Ancient Eight rivals with the inside track on fourth place. Four of the 13 remaining league games will actually require them to leave New England, and the trips to the North Country and Colgate-Cornell are spaced around home games at the fabled Yale Whale at Ingalls Rink.
A home game against Quinnipiac is part of the Nutmeg Classic in Hartford, but the larger bulk of remaining games are against teams that enable Yale to control its fate. There’s a return trip to Southern New England from Union and RPI and a separate trip to Harvard and Dartmouth that ends the season, and even the Cornell-Colgate trip around Valentine’s Day is flanked by single-game home weekends against Brown on Feb. 9 and Princeton on Feb. 23.
None of this means Yale is heading for a boat-rocking home series in the second round, but the very real possibility of seeing one of the conference’s premier teams return to a home ice playoff series is out there for the taking.
Tuesday’s scheduled game between the UW-Stevens Point women’s hockey team and Concordia (Wis.) in Mequon, Wis., has been postponed due to today’s winter storm.
Jimmy Snuggerud’s hat trick lifted Minnesota to a 6-2 win over Colorado College on home ice Monday night (photo: Eric Miller).
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Dan: A hearty good morning to you all, and an especially happy Tuesday to my good buddy Ed, to whom we’re sharing TMQ duties this week.
It was a wild, incredible weekend of hockey exemplified by a couple of different storylines that we actually discussed at length before we ever sat down for this one.
Ed, we can start literally anywhere here, and I’m sure we’ll get to the majority of it before this done, but I want to start with the World Juniors and Team USA’s 6-2 win over Sweden. I recall specifically saying that the Americans needed to play with that edge that makes them American – the red, white and blue swagger associated with why international countries usually hate seeing USA win gold medals in anything. I wanted to see them march into the arena really embracing the devil’s due of being the enemy on that ice, and I was deeply rewarded by watching that team walk out with the gold. The key word there being team because I felt like the Americans gelled as the tournament progressed.
In the end, I found myself practically doing the chant on my couch at home with them. From a pure hockey standpoint, what stood out to you about this American side?
Ed: Dan, I agree about the team becoming better as the tournament went on, and about the swagger. I’m usually not a big fan of fighting but I loved seeing Lane Hutson take on a much bigger Anton Johannson in some admittedly unnecessary late-game fisticuffs, putting an exclamation point on USA’s bravado.
I guess there were two things that stood out for me on this team on the ice. First, just the skill level. We’ve talked a lot in this column about the crazy abilities of modern players to shoot and skate. But putting all of those 2004 and 2005 birth-year players together on one team really showed how the game has progressed in the U.S., and how much of an impact the U.S. National Development Program has had.
I was also impressed by the team’s resilience. The team didn’t really face “adversity” (a word I cringe a little about using compared to real human adversity) but they did come back in a couple of situations. Team USA had to come from behind twice against Czechia and ultimately prevailed with Isaac Howard’s seventh-round shootout goal. The Americans also recovered from a somewhat sluggish first period and a 2-0 deficit in the semifinals against Finland.
The U.S. team’s success also said a lot about the state of college hockey. With all but three players coming from the NCAA ranks, and an all-college coaching staff led by Denver’s David Carle, it showed the world just how good D-I men’s hockey is.
Speaking of college hockey, play slowly got back underway last weekend, although teams with players in the WJC smartly scheduled exhibitions, bye weekends, or at the very least nonconference games. What from this past weekend jumps out at you?
Dan: I was trying to work an alphabet joke into this, but I’ll just come out and say it: Air Force and Yale deserve some serious headlines after what they did this weekend.
Let me start with Air Force because I had a front-row seat to what the Falcons accomplished with their weekend sweep at Bentley. Last month, the Massachusetts-based Falcons went west and took four points from Air Force with an overtime loss and a 3-0 win, but the second game sent the cadets into a bit of a tailspin over the next few weeks (no pun intended). While it’s true that they had to play both Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth – no easy task – they lost both games in their holiday tournament by a combined 7-1 score, and dating back to mid-November, Air Force failed to score more than two goals in regulation in seven straight games. The team that scored five against Mercyhurst seemingly lost its lightning bolts, and the lack of points sent them tumbling down the Atlantic Hockey standings table.
Winning both of those games at Bentley – and dominating one of the best statistical defenses in the country in the process – included a milestone when Will Gavin scored a hat trick exclusively on the power play on Saturday night. Full credit here to Todd Bell in the AHA offices, but it was the fourth time that ever happened and tied a league record for goals in a single power play. Outside of stealing the thunder that I’m sure Chris Lerch is going to use this week for his weekly piece on these pages, it also vaulted Air Force into sixth after it started the weekend in one of those first round road spots.
As for Yale, I’m leaking my own lead for ECAC here, but the Bulldogs went from last to fourth in one weekend’s worth of work after sweeping their trip to the Capital District. In both instances, they had to show some major resilience in beating RPI and Union, and because of ECAC’s parity, a team that started the second half in a tie for 12th place was able to move into fourth with a shot at second.
Maybe that’s a teaser for the upcoming week, but those are two WILD numbers for me. They’re also two teams that absolutely nobody had on their weekend bingo cards.
Embedded within that argument is, of course, the constant argument that ECAC is fighting things this year, but it seems extraordinarily strange that a league would have that much of a packed table to allow a team to move eight spots with six points. I’m admittedly worried for the league this year because it scored four spots in the national tournament last year and is likely headed for one unless someone beats Quinnipiac in the postseason. I’d even go so far as to say that Atlantic Hockey is having a better regular season, and I think I’d be statistically correct.
Is this a sign of something in college hockey, or is this something that’s an aberration?
Ed: Parity isn’t always a signal that everyone is good; sometimes it’s a sign that everyone is sort of “mid” as the kids say these days. I think maybe what we’re seeing with the ECAC is a bit of a hangover from eight of its 12 teams taking a year off during COVID, plus the Ivies not being able to take fifth-year players. Both of those will correct themselves in another year or two … I hope.
To address your question as to whether this is a sign of something in college hockey? It might be.
We’re seeing the results of a few things this season. I already mentioned a couple of reasons why the ECAC may have stepped back a bit. Things are down in the CCHA as well, and part of it is that Minnesota State is recovering from Mike Hastings’ departure. And that’s not a shot at Luke Strand by any means, especially since a few players and recruits also made the trip from Mankato to Madison. But the overall winning percentage of the league in non-conference play has been buoyed by the Mavericks in past seasons, and a rising out-of-conference record lifts all PairWise boats.
Another factor that I think is overlooked is that this is now the fourth year of a full complement of 18 scholarships in Atlantic Hockey. As of this writing, that conference is .368 in non-conference play. That’s still below the .400 or better that’s likely necessary for an at-large bid in addition to the automatic qualifier – though RIT still has a chance – but it’s the best that the league has seen in its evolution from a humble-by-design start as a cost-containment conference.
The other part of the equation is just how good the other three conferences have been out of conference. And so I’ll ask you: Is the other side of the coin going to be a continued pre-eminence of the Big Ten, Hockey East, and the NCHC?
Dan: I don’t think those three leagues are ever going to slide back into the ether, but I think the context around the conversation provides insight into why that’s going to happen.
Think about how Hockey East only had two teams in the NCAA tournament last year and compare that to Atlantic Hockey or the CCHA. Like you said, the CCHA (and the WCHA before that) very obviously built on Minnesota State’s overall success as a meal ticket in the PairWise Rankings, but getting a second team and an at-large bid into the national tournament is something that’s only happened once in Atlantic Hockey history. In contrast, the NCHC, Big Ten and Hockey East would feel like the season was an abject failure if any of those leagues only had one team, and even last year’s Hockey East – which had two, one year after the 2022 tournament had three, none of which were better than a No. 3 seed – felt like a down year.
That context is rooted in the size of the leagues and their ability to generate revenue, which we all know is a disparity between the conferences. Throw in the transfer portal for good measure there, but I don’t see the gap closing any time soon. I do worry that NIL will gradually leak its way into college hockey – it already has – and that’s going to cause even more disparity because the bigger schools affiliated with Division I or Division I power conferences are going to have the resources and tools to get student-athletes into the NIL deals that other schools don’t currently have. While I agree that NIL is important and is a tool that the athletes deserve to use, I also worry about Division II play-up schools or old Division III schools grandfathered into college hockey and if they’re going to have the resources to keep up with NIL once it lands for good.
It’s actually a really good question that you’re asking because that’s the devil on my shoulder. My angel on the other shoulder reminds me that college hockey is deeper than ever, and the constant growth of the game is actually loading that underbelly with better, more talented players and teams. Quinnipiac won the national championship last year, and Minnesota State and St. Cloud came within a game of winning national titles in the two previous years. We’re a decade removed from Union and Yale winning national championships, and it’s been eight years since North Dakota won a title, 12 years since Boston College won one, 15 years since BU’s last tie, and 21 years since the Gophers last hoisted the trophy. Ferris State played for a national championship more recently than Michigan, though it’s only by a year, and RIT has as many Frozen Four appearances in the last 15 years as Wisconsin – shoutout the 2010 Frozen Four matchup between the two teams in Detroit.
Maybe hockey’s the one sport that’s a little more immune to all of this, but it’s very dialectical. Both can occur at the same time. We can have a Hockey East, NCHC, Big Ten run of dominance…and we can have parity and growth of the game all at the same time.
I’ll kick this over to you to close this one out for us, but as the second half begins in earnest this month, let’s look into the crystal ball. Tell me one thing that you think could really happen in the second half among those three leagues, since it’s increasingly shaping up that they’re our focal point as the tournament gets closer.
Ed: It’s possible that one of those three leagues could still slip up and not get more than two teams into the NCAA tournament. A bit of cannibalism can still happen if some teams inside the bubble but near the edge converge on a .500 record. As we write this on Monday night, we’re still waiting for the results of Minnesota-Colorado College (Minnesota won 6-2), but both the Golden Gophers and Michigan have the predicament of a precarious PairWise position.
If things play out such that defending champion Quinnipiac doesn’t win the ECAC regular season and there are two teams from that conference, while Atlantic Hockey and CCHA both get one team in, that would leave out every at-large below No. 12. Figure in just one upset in one of the three leagues, and you’re at No. 11. (And that doesn’t even figure in Arizona State if the Sun Devils win most of the rest of their schedule.)
That’s my predicition for this March. Those three leagues will divvy up the 10 or 11 spots available, and three or four very good teams will be watching the tournament on ESPN.
St. John Fisher University will add two intercollegiate hockey teams to its athletic offerings beginning in 2025 and will be the first collegiate partner of the Rochester (N.Y.) Ice Center, the program’s home ice.
