What a difference one week can make for a team – just look at the Soaring Eagles from Elmira who took down No. 5 Geneseo on Tuesday and then No. 7 Oswego on Friday and No. 3 Utica on Saturday to capture the Utica Thanksgiving tournament and knock the Pioneers from the ranks of the unbeaten. Another group of Eagles from Brockport also knocked off a pair of nationally ranked teams in route to a tournament championship at Skidmore. Lots of other great action and tournament champions crowned over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Here is a recap of the great action in the East:
Utica Thanksgiving Showcase
The tournament featured the host Pioneers along with Elmira, Oswego, and St. John’s from the West. In the first round, the Johnnies battled the host Pioneers to a 1-1 overtime tie behind 52 saves from goaltender Bailey Huber. The outcome now hinged on a shootout where three Utica players found the back of the net and Ethan Roberts stopped to final attempt by the Johnnies to advance the Pioneers to the title game.
In the other first round matchup, the Elmira and Oswego game produced a lot more scoring with the Soaring Eagles putting up seven goals in the comfortable 7-1 win. Chance Gorman scored a hat trick that featured a power play goal, a shorthanded goal, and an even-strength goal.
In the title game on Saturday, neither Utica nor Elmira could score in the opening period, but the second period produced five goals. After Dante Spagnuolo gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead, Kerfalla Toure and Janis Vizbelis scored just 30 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead. After Brian Scoville tied the score at 2-2, Shawn Kennedy scored what proved to be the game winner in the final second of play in the second period for a 3-2 Elmira lead. Bailey Krawczyk and Gorman extended the lead in the third period for a 5-2 win and the tournament title. Kennedy earned MVP honors for the Soaring Eagles.
Skidmore Invitational
The Thoroughbreds hosted Tufts, Salve Regina and Brockport in their annual Thanksgiving tournament and punched their ticket to the championship game with a 3-1 win over the Jumbos on Saturday. Cooper Rice, Jaden York, and Jack Strauss provided all the scoring and Tate Brandon made 20 saves in the win.
In the other first round matchup, the Golden Eagles knocked off No. 10 Salve Regina, 3-2 to advance to the championship game. After falling behind 2-0, Brockport scored three unanswered goals, including Scott Ramaekers game-winner early in the third period. Goaltender David Filak stopped 33 shots in the win.
On Sunday, it was Brockport that jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the unbeaten Thoroughbreds. Skidmore rallied to tie the game on goals from Jaden York and Kaeden Patrick and neither team could find the game-winner in overtime setting up a shootout for the title. The Golden Eagles would score once in the shootout and that was all Filak needed as he stopped all three Skidmore attempts to earn the shootout win and tournament title. Filak stopped 37 of 39 shots as Brockport was outshot by a 39-16 margin for the game but saw their goaltender help steal a pair of wins over ranked teams.
LayerEight Tournament hosted by Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh played host to their usual Thanksgiving weekend opponents in Middlebury and Norwich with St. Olaf joining as the fourth team in the newly sponsored LayerEight Tournament. On Friday, two goals from Bennett Stockdale and 19 saves from Eli Shiller carried the Cardinals to a 2-1 win over the Oles.
Familiar foes Norwich and Middlebury squared off in the other opening round contest with the Cadets routing the Panthers, 7-1. Seven different players scored for Norwich with Devon Thibodeau chipping in with one goal and an assist for the Cadets.
In Saturday’s championship game, Kevin Weaver-Vitale and Tio D’Addario scored for Plattsburgh less than 30 seconds apart to help the Cardinals eke out a 2-1 win over Norwich. Jacob Hearne made 34 saves in the victory that kept Plattsburgh undefeated at 8-0-0 on the season. Forward Bennett Stockdale who setup the game-winner from D’Addario, was named the tournament MVP.
Terry Moran Invitational
Vermont State – Castleton played host to Rivier, Morrisville and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in their annual holiday tournament and took advantage of a first period goal by Anthony Persi and 22 saves from Simon Brenter to capture a 1-0 win over the Trailblazers.
In the other first round matchup, Rivier used a four-goal third period to erase a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 5-2 win over the Mustangs. Tyler Sitnikov scored a pair of goals for the Raiders who advanced to the championship game.
In Saturday’s championship game, the Raiders started fast and dominated the host team scoring seven goals on the way to a 7-1 victory. Liam Hennessy opened the scoring for Rivier and finished the game with two goals and two assists. Damon Kiyawasew, who also had a four-point game earned tournament MVP honors in the first ever tournament win for Rivier.
Bowdoin/Colby Face-off
Bowdoin and Colby played hosts to Suffolk and New England College in their annual Face-off Tournament. On opening night, NEC upset Colby, 2-0 on the strength of two power play goals from Wyatt Andres. Goaltender Kai Tomita made 25 saves to earn the shutout win.
Bowdoin netted three goals and Kevin Clark made 12 saves in the Polar Bear’s 3-0 win over Suffolk that set up Sunday’s game against NEC to decide the tournament championship.
The Polar Bears used goals from Jack Gilligan and Jack Studley along with 20 saves from goaltender Alex Kozic to eke out a 2-1 win over the Pilgrims to earn the tournament title.
North Country Tournament
The tournament was hosted by Canton and featured Hamilton, Potsdam, and Trine from the West. In the opening round, Trine downed the host Kangaroos 6-4 while Hamilton skated past Potsdam, 3-1 to setup the title game on Sunday.
Goaltender Jack Grant made 37 saves while four different Continentals scored to help Hamilton to a 4-0 win over the nationally ranked Thunder. Noah Leibl, Jackson Krock, Ryan Brown, and Luke Tchor provided all the scoring for the Continentals who have opened the season with four consecutive victories. Grant earned tournament MVP honors for Hamilton with the shutout win.
Non-Conference
Curry faced a pair of NESCAC schools and came away with a pair of wins over Wesleyan and Trinity. Against the Cardinals, Jacob Crespo, Ryan Prewitt, and Austan Bellefeuille scored all the goals goaltender Shande Soderwall needed in a 3-0 win for the Colonels. Soderwall stopped all 33 shots he faced to earn the shutout win. On Sunday, the Colonels rallied from one-goal deficits twice and Nicolas Lariviere delivered the overtime winning goal to help Curry skate past Trinity, 3-2.
Geneseo rallied back from its Tuesday loss against Elmira with a pair of weekend victories over Amherst and Williams. On Saturday, the Knights scored three unanswered goals to erase a 2-1 deficit on the way to a 4-2 win over the Mammoths. Cooper Fensterstock scored two goals for the Knights in the win. On Sunday, a four-goal third period broke open a high-scoring affair against the Ephs in an 8-3 win. Tyson Gilmour and Peter Morgan each scored a goal and added two assists to move Geneseo to 9-2 on the season.
Albertus Magnus moved to 5-3-0 on the season with a pair of wins during the week. On Tuesday, the Falcons needed Paden Hicks’ goal in the final minute of regulation to earn a 3-2 win over Manhattanville. Zane Kindrachuk and Caden Pattison each scored one goal and one assist as the Falcons raced to an early 4-0 lead before downing Connecticut College, 4-2.
Saturday saw a matchup between instate rivals Southern Maine and the University of New England. Jayden Price’s shorthanded goal setup by Jack Murphy late in the third period added some cushion in the Nor’easters 3-1 win over the Huskies.
Wilkes took a pair of games from King’s during the week to improve their record to 6-3-0 on the season. On Wednesday, Nick Swain’s hat trick paced the Colonels to a 6-2 win over the Monarchs. On Sunday, Swain added two more goals and Michael Paterson-Jones made 29 saves in a 5-0 win on home ice.
Three Biscuits
Chance Gorman – Elmira – scored a hat trick featuring even-strength, power play and shorthanded goals to pace the Soaring Eagles to a 7-1 win over Oswego in the opening round of the Utica Thanksgiving tournament.
Jack Grant – Hamilton – stopped all 37 shots in backstopping the Continentals to the championship in the North Country Tournament. Hamilton downed Trine 4-0 to earn the title.
Liam Hennessy – Rivier – scored a pair of goals and added a pair of assists in Rivier’s 7-1 win over Castleton to earn the title in the Terry Moran Invitational tournament. The championship was Rivier’s first ever as a D-III program.
December is looming ahead and that means there are just a couple more weekends of action in the first half of the season. Just a couple of unbeatens remain in the east but still more challenges before the semester break for teams to set the tone for the second half.
