And then there was just one…
With Oswego knocking No. 1 ranked Plattsburgh from the ranks of the undefeated, it is just Skidmore remaining with an unbeaten record (shootout loss in Skidmore Invitational reflects as an overtime tie) and a very few weekends remaining in the first half of the season. Competition continues to be fierce across every conference and the action this weekend certainly showed some of the contenders who have kicked their games into another gear heading towards the semester break. Here is a summary of the action in the East last week:
CCC
Endicott and Salve Regina played a two-game series between ranked teams, and it was the Gulls who took advantage of the points available. On Friday night, the teams played a playoff style game that ended in a 2-2 overtime tie (Endicott won shootout for CCC tiebreaker purposes) with goaltenders Cayden Bailey and Atticus Kelly accounting for 83 saves for both teams. On Saturday, the Seahawks played host and skated to a 2-1 first period lead on Matthew Fawcett’s goal in the final ten seconds of play in the period. Jackson Sterrett tied the score for the Gulls in the middle stanza and became the hero when he scored the game winning goal in the final two seconds of regulation to give the Gulls an exciting 3-2 win. Andrew Kurapov assisted on all three Endicott goals while Ruyan Wilson stopped 21 of 23 shots to earn the win in goal.
After skating to a 2-2 overtime tie on Friday night against Nichols, the University of New England returned home on Saturday looking to keep pace with Endicott. After ceding the first goal of the game to the Bisons’ Jack Lee, the Nor’easters scored three unanswered goals from Anthony Cinato, Ryan Kuzmich and Garrett Devine and held on for a 3-2 win. Billy Girard IV made 18 saves in the win.
Curry was looking for a weekend sweep of Wentworth following a 3-1 win on Friday night against the Leopards, but the home team had other plans for the Colonels on Saturday. Curry’s Wilhelm Patriksson gave the Colonels a 1-0 lead with this power play goal in the first period but from then on it was the Leopards who dominated the scoring with five unanswered goals in a 5-1 win. Jack McGovern stopped 37 of 38 shots and five different players scored for Wentworth who earned a weekend split with the win over Curry.
Independents
Albertus Magnus increased their win streak to five games with wins over Post and Canton this week. On Tuesday, the Falcons took advantage of three-point games from Gustav Muller and William Lavigne in cruising to a comfortable 8-1 win over the Eagles. On Saturday, the Falcons scored a goal in each of the first two periods for a 2-0 lead entering the final period of play, but it only took the Kangaroos seven and a half minutes to erase the deficit and take a 3-2 lead on goals by Evan Pringle, Brendan Morrow, and Jackson Drysdale. Cameron Weitzman tied the score for the Falcons midway through the period and Zeth Kindrachuk scored the game-winning goal with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. The win moved Albertus magnus to 7-3-0 on the season.
Rivier continued their winning ways with a Tuesday night win over Franklin Pierce. Four different players scored for the Raiders in the 4-2 win over the Ravens. Will Augustine picked up his second win of the season in goal stopping 36 of 38 shots.
One goal in each period and 33 saves from goaltender Matthew Hennessy helped Anna Maria to a 3-1 win over Morrisville on Saturday night. The AmCats moved to 6-3-0 on the season with the win.
MASCAC
Plymouth State continued their torrid play against conference foes with a pair of wins over Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Salem State. On Thursday, two goals from Will Redick led the way in a 3-1 road win over the Corsairs. On Saturday, Redick continued to have the hot hand netting a hat trick in the Panthers’ 6-1 win over the Vikings. The win extended the Panther’s unbeaten streak in league play to 6-0-2 this season.
Worcester State was also successful in picking up a pair of wins for the week with a 5-2 win over Salem State on Thursday and a 5-3 win over the Masschusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Saturday. After giving up a shorthanded goal to the Vikings’ Luke Day, the Lancers scored the next four goals to erase a 2-1 deficit and post the 5-2 win. Martin Dlugolinsky scored one goal and added two assists to lead the offense. On Saturday, Dlugolinsky and Maxwell Tucker each chipped in with a goal and an assist in the 5-3 win over the Trailblazers.
Fitchburg State and Westfield State played a thriller on Thursday that saw the Owls twice rally from one-goal deficits to leave the game tied at the end of regulation. Late in overtime with a power play, Antoine Gignac decided the contest with his overtime winner in the final minute of the overtime period and a 3-2 Falcon win. On Saturday, the Falcons couldn’t carry the momentum forward as Framingham State netminder Trevor Sternberg stopped 23 of 24 shots to earn his first win of the season in a 3-1 win over the Falcons. Walker Smith, Cameron Lindsay, and Brady Rossbach scored for the Rams in the win.
NE-10
St. Michael’s played host to Assumption in the weekend battle between the top two teams in the conference and it was the Greyhounds who showed they are worthy of the top spot in the standings with a weekend sweep over the Purple Knights. On Friday, forward Shane Sullivan had himself a night with three goals and three assists in a 7-5 win over St. Michael’s that saw the Greyhounds launch 50 shots at the goal. On Saturday, Ryan Decker scored a pair of goals as Assumption raced out to a 6-0 lead before cruising to a 6-3 win and sweep of the Purple Knights moving them to 11-1-0 on the season overall and 8-1-0 in NE-10 play.
The defending champions from St. Anselm were off to a slow start but got a big boost with their win over D-I LIU on Tuesday. Trailing 2-1 after the first period on a last-minute goal by Will Christensen, the Hawks rallied in the third period with Patrick DeMarinis tying the game at 2-2 before Max Burum scored the game winner at 19:49.6 of the third period and a 3-2 win. On Friday, back in NE-10 play, Southern New Hampshire rallied for a 2-2 overtime tie with the Hawks with Ryan Pomposelli assisting on two third period power play goals for the Penmen to earn the tie. On Saturday, the battle of Manchester, NH was again a tight affair with the Hawks skating off wit a 4-3 win led by three assists from Christensen.
NEHC
Skidmore remains the only unbeaten among D-III teams in the east. With their weekend sweep of Southern Maine and Babson to move to 9-0-2 overall and 5-0-1 in NEHC action. On Friday, Ryan Waltman led the way for the Thoroughbreds with two goals and one assist in a 5-1 win over the Huskies. On Saturday the contest with the Beavers figured to be a closer affair and through the first period there was no scoring before Babson scored the only goal in the second period off the stick of Egan Schmitt for a 1-0 lead. In thew third period, Skidmore exploded for five goals including two from Kaeden Patrick to cruise to a 5-2 road win.
Hobart returned to NEHC action at home against Massachusetts-Boston and Johnson & Wales and produced two lopsided wins in The Cooler. On Friday, Tanner Hartman scored one goal and added assists on four others as the Statesmen comfortably skated past the Beacons by a 6-1 score. On Saturday night, Hartman reversed the scoring line with a four-goal game and added one assist in an 8-0 blowout over the Wildcats. Mavrick Goyer made 26 saves to earn the shutout win, Hobart’s seventh shutout on the season.
Elmira also produced a pair of wins over UMB and JWU to stay near the top of the NEHC standings. On Friday, the Soaring Eagles took advantage of two goals each from Janis Vizbelis and Bailey Krawczyk in a 6-2 win over JWU. On Saturday, Kerfalla Toure scored two goals and added an assist in Elmira’s 7-1 rout of the Beacons.
Norwich played travel partner New England College on Saturday night and needed a three-goal third period to skate away with a 4-1 win over the Pilgrims. Bertrand Cooper’s power play goal in the third period broke a 1-1 tie before Paul Schmid and Patrick O’Neal added insurance markers for the Cadets.
NESCAC
Trinity continued their winning ways in conference play with a weekend sweep of Hamilton and Amherst to move to 4-0-0 on the season. The Bantams and Continentals both came into Friday’s game looking to remain perfect in NESCAC play but it was the home team who enjoyed the better of things with Richard Boysen scoring two goals and Devon Bobak making 22 saves in a 4-1 win over the Continentals. On Saturday, Bobak was perfect with 18 saves and goals from John Campomenosi, Jacob Smith and Gerard Maretta led to a 3-0 win over the Mammoths.
Tufts is off to a great start in NESCAC play at 2-2-0 with a weekend sweep of Williams and Middlebury over the weekend. On Friday, Aidan Lovett, and Liam O’Hare each scored a goal and added an assist in the Jumbos’ 7-4 win over Williams. Goaltender Peyton Durand stopped 33 of 37 shots to earn the win. On Saturday, third period goals from Max Resnick and Cole Dubicki broke open a close game leading to a 4-1 win over the Panthers.
In the big Colby v. Bowdoin rivalry game, the Polar Bears outshot the Mules by a 50-24 margin but had to rally from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to earn a 3-3 overtime tie. Andy Beran was sensational for the Colby making 47 saves including 5 in the extra period to preserve the tie.
SUNYAC
Plattsburgh had two key SUNYAC games on the weekend and started out great on Friday with a convincing 6-1 win over Cortland on Friday night. Luk Jirousek led the way with two goals as the Cardinals won decisively over the Red Dragons in their annual Teddy Bear toss game. On Saturday against their longtime rivals from Oswego, the Cardinals dropped their first game of the season to the Lakers, 5-3. Shane Bull and Tyler Flack each scored a goal and added an assist while goaltender Cal Schell made 39 saves to pick up a big conference win.
Geneseo moved to 6-1-0 in conference play with two shutout wins over Fredonia and Buffalo State. On Friday, four different goal scorers supported goaltender Jacob Torgner’s 34 save shutout in a 4-0 win. On Saturday, Tyson Gilmour recorded a goal, and three assists and Stefan Miklakos added a goal and two assists in a 5-0 win over the Bengals. Torgner made 30 saves to complete back-to-back shutouts for the Knights.
UCHC
Manhattanville leveled their UCHC record at 4-4-0 with a big weekend sweep on the road against Alvernia. On Friday, Lane Paddison and AJ Bella scored in the first period and goaltender Sebastian Woods made 35 saves to make those goals stand up in a 2-1 win. On Saturday, Johno Hoins scored two goals to help the Valiants eke out another one-goal victory, 4-3. Woods was again outstanding making 37 saves in the win.
Neumann moved to 5-4-0 in UCHC play with a weekend sweep over Lebanon Valley. On Friday, Tony Andrews scored two of the Black Knights five unanswered goals to pace a 5-2 win over the Flying Dutchmen. On Saturday, the visitors again scored four unanswered goals but held off a furious LVC rally to earn the 4-3 win and weekend sweep.
Three Biscuits
Jackson Sterrett – Endicott – scored two goals including the game-winner in the final two seconds of regulation to give the Gulls a dramatic 3-2 win over Salve Regina on Saturday.
Will Redick – Plymouth State – scored a pair of goals in a 3-1 win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Thursday and added a hat trick in a 6-1 win over Salem State on Saturday for a five-goal week.
Max Burum – St. Anselm – scored the game-winner in the final 15 seconds for the Hawks who upset D-I Long Island University, 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Bonus Biscuit
Jacob Torgner – Geneseo – the Knights’ netminder made 64 saves in a pair of shutout wins over Fredonia and Buffalo state this weekend.
The first half is winding down but not so much the action and intensity level on the ice. Just a couple more weekends for teams to earn results before the semester and holiday break so look for the excitement to continue in any action remaining on the schedule.
