And then there were none…
It was a tough weekend for ranked teams in the East, as Plattsburgh, Utica, Skidmore, and Trinity all dropped games over the weekend leaving no unbeatens in the east and making for some interesting polling to come on Monday. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the competition continues to be playoff caliber every game and every weekend. Great stuff in and out of conference to cover in the weekend’s wrap-up for the East:
CCC
Endicott played a pair of non-conference foes skating away with an overtime tie and a win against Massachusetts-Boston and Rivier. On Friday, the Gulls had 2-0 and 3-1 leads erased by three unanswered goals from the Beacons requiring a late rally with Cass Bowes scoring in the final three minutes of regulation to earn the tie. On Saturday, John Goldowski scored two goals and Ryan Wilson stopped all 27 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over Rivier.
Curry played Anna Maria on Friday night and skated a way with a 4-0 win over the AmCats. Gage Dill scored one goal and added an assist for the Colonels who saw goaltender Shane Soderwall stop all 39 shots he faced to earn the shutout win.
Salve Regina closed out the first half of their season with a runaway 9-1 win over New England College on Tuesday night. Seth Benson, Matthew Fawcett, and Johnny Mulera each scored two goals for the Seahawks. Hoon Kim added four assists and Joe Kile chipped in with three assists to help pace the offense. Goaltender Selby Warren stopped 18 of 19 shots to earn his third win of the season.
Independents
Following a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Trinity on Tuesday, Albertus Magnus rebounded with wins over Vermont State-Castleton and Nichols to finish their first half at 9-4-0. On Thursday, the seesaw affair saw the Falcons needing a third period rally from a one-goal deficit. Tim Manning scored to tie the score just over midway through the period before Sam Anderson delivered the game-winner in the final 90 seconds of regulation for a 5-4 win. On Saturday, a goal, and an assist each from Paden Hicks and Connor Bertamini paced the offense in a 6-0 win over the Bison. Logan Bateman made 27 saves to earn the shutout.
On Tuesday, Anna Maria downed Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 4-1 before dropping a Thursday night game against Curry. The AmCats closed out the week with a 5-2 win over Southern Maine led by two goals and an assist from Braeden McKinnon. AMC closes out their first half hosting New England College on Wednesday, 12/13.
Canton closed out their first half schedule with a 4-1 road win over St. Michael’s on Friday night. Sam Brunton, Brendan Morrow, Evan Pringle, and Lucas Roy each scored a goal for the Kangaroos in the road win. Goaltenders Kelson Hooper and Nate Hopkins combined for 21 saves in the win.
MASCAC
Plymouth State closed out the first half of their schedule with a 4-1 win over New England College on Friday night. After spotting NEC a 1-0 lead on Paul Waldhauser’s first period goal, the Panthers scored the next four goals to ease to the home win. Carson Lanceleve, Will Redick, Will Pray and Andrew Stuckless all tallied for PSU who end up 9-1-2 at the semester break.
Framingham State extended their win streak to three games with a 2-0 win over Worcester State on Thursday night to close out their first half and level their MASCAC record at 4-4-0. The battle on the ice saw neither team able to score in the first two periods but late in the third period, Robert Bernier gave the Rams a 1-0 lead and with just under two minutes remaining in regulation, Brady Rossback sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Goaltender Trevor Sternberg was outstanding in net, making 36 saves to earn the shutout win.
NE-10
Southern New Hampshire closed out their first half with a pair of road wins against Post that moved the Penmen to 5-5-1 for the season overall. On Friday, Jim Minnig scored two goals to pace the offense in a 6-1 victory. On Saturday, power play goals from Jack Gray and Kurt Watson in the opening period were enough offense for Sean Guerin who stopped 31 of 32 shots. Ethan Rodriguez closed out the Penmen scoring with a shorthanded, empty-net tally for the 3-1 final.
Assumption closed out their first half with a pair of non-conference games against MASCAC opponents. On Thursday, the Greyhounds took a 1-0 lead into he third period only to see the Owls explode for six goals on the way to a 6-3 win. On Saturday, Assumption bounced back with a comeback of their own in the third period. Ryan Decker scored two power play goals to erase a 3-2 deficit and Jonathan Surrette added an insurance marker with an empty-net goal in the 5-3 win. Assumption finished the first half at 12-2-0 overall and 8-1-0 in NE-10 play.
NEHC
Hobart traveled to play Trinity on Saturday, 2-1 to close out their first half. After Shane Shell and Ned Blanchard traded goals in the second period, it was a winner-take-all third period for the team that could solve the opposing netminder one more time. Jonah Alexander found a way to get a puck past Devon Bobak and Hobart’s Damon Beaver made 16 third period saves to preserve the one-goal win.
Elmira picked up win No. 11 on the season with a 7-0 rout of Brockport on Saturday night. While seven different players scored for the Soaring Eagles, Shawn Kennedy, and Janis Vizbelis each had a goal and an assist while Kyle Curtin earned the shutout making 31 saves.
NESCAC
Tufts moved to 4-2-0 in conference play and into first place with a weekend sweep of Bowdoin and Colby. On Friday, John Mulvihill paced the offense with two goals as the Jumbos jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the way to a 4-1 win over the Polar Bears. On Saturday, Tyler Sedlak opened and closed the scoring for Tufts who skated away from the Mules with a 3-1 win.
Hamilton kept pace with a weekend sweep of their own against Middlebury and Williams. On Friday night, the Continentals surged to a 3-0 first period lead that was extended by Max Bulawka, who added two scores in the 5-1 final over the Panthers. On Saturday, Hamilton needed a win of the comeback variety as Owen Stadheim gave the Ephs a 1-0 lead that stood until the third period where Ben Zimmerman, Luke Tchor, and Devan de Vries all scored to give the visitors a 3-1 road win. Bulawka chipped in with a pair of assists for Hamilton.
After a 7-2 win over Manhattanville on Tuesday, Conn College extended their win streak to three games with a 3-1 win over Colby on Friday. Rocco Testa-Basi, Javi Ubarri, and Cole Eichler paced the offense for the Camels. Looking to extend the win-streak to four games, the Camels took a 3-1 lead against Bowdoin in the third period only to see the Polar Bears score three times in just under six minutes to steal a 4-3 win and weekend split.
SUNYAC
Buffalo State had a great weekend starting with their Friday night win over Plattsburgh. The Bengals matched firepower with the Cardinals in a game that saw the visitors come back from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits. Late in the third period with he score tied at 4-4, Parker Allison netted a power play goal and Nick Stuckless gave the Bengals some breathing room with and empty-net goal in the final minute for a 6-4 win. There was not letdown by the Bengals on Saturday as they cruised to a 5-0 win over Potsdam with Jason Kwestel picking up a goal and an assist in support of Marcus Cumberworth who made 40 saves in the shutout win.
Geneseo picked up a pair of wins including a marquee affair over previously unbeaten Skidmore on Friday night. The Knights ceded the first goal to Danny Magnuson but then scored three unanswered before Nick Cozzi cut the lead in half. The third period saw Knight goals from Peter Morgan and Luke Panchisin to seal the 5-2 win in front of goaltender Jacob Torgner. The Knights closed out their first half with a SUNYAC contest against Morrisville and skated off with a 5-0 win. Five different players scored for Geneseo with Panchisin chipping in with a pair of assists that moved the Knights to 13-2-0 overall and 7-1-0 in SUNYAC play.
Friday night saw a fired-up Cortland team upset an Oswego squad that might have been thinking about their Saturday game with Utica. The Red Dragons jumped out to a 3-1 lead which Stephen Kyrkostas extended with a pair of second period goals on the way to a 5-2 win. The Lakers did bounce back in a big way with goals from Cam Symons, Shane Bull, and Tyler Flack to upset No. 4 ranked Utica, 3-2. Brandon Milberg made 21 saves to earn the win.
UCHC
Chatham picked up a pair of much needed conference wins with a weekend sweep of Lebanon Valley. On Friday, the Cougars let the Flying Dutchmen skate off to a 2-0 lead before they tallied seven unanswered goals in the 7-2 rout. Andrew Martino scored tow goals and added an assist in the win. On Saturday, Ethan Hoover provided LVC with an early lead, but True Crowe answered for the Cougars and the game finished regulation in a 1-1 tie. Just under a minute into the extra session, Kyle Contessa netted the game-winner for the Cougars who took the 2-1 win.
Stevenson dispatched King’s on Saturday with Liam McCanney leading the way for the Mustangs with a pair of goals and two assists in a 7-0 win. Goaltender Ty Outen made 28 saves to earn the shutout – his second in a row.
Wilkes continued their winning ways with an opening win over a struggling Alvernia squad to start the weekend. On Saturday, Nick Swain was dynamic for the offense with two goals and three assists for the Colonels in a resounding 9-1 road win. On Sunday, the more desperate Golden Wolves came out with urgency and were rewarded with Logan vande Meeraker scoring just 26 seconds into the first period. Alvernia extended their lead to 2-0 on Jordan Gagnon’s goal late in the second period. Wilkes would cut the lead in half with a Cam Lowe power play goal in the third period but that is all goaltender Jackson Fellner would allow as he stopped 39 of 40 shots in the 2-1 win and a split of the two-game series.
Three Biscuits
Kyle Contessa – Chatham – scored the overtime winner for Chatham in a 2-1 win over Lebanon Valley to earn a weekend sweep.
Hoon Kim – Salve Regina – recorded a four-assist game in Tuesday’s 9-1 rout of New England College that closed out the first half for the Seahawks.
Tyler Flack – Oswego – scored the game-winning goal for the Lakers in a 3-2 upset of No. 4 Utica on Saturday night.
Bonus Biscuits
Trevor Sternberg – Framingham State – the Rams’ netminder stopped all 36 shots he faced in a 2-0 shutout win over Worcester State on Thursday night.
Marcus Cumberworth – Buffalo State – the Bengals’ netminder made 41 saves in Friday’s upset win over Plattsburgh and stopped 40 on Saturday to earn a shutout against Potsdam in a 5-0 win.
Nick Swain – Wilkes – recorded a five-point game with two goals and three assists in a 9-1 win for the Colonels over Alvernia on Saturday.
The first half is virtually over with just a handful of games scheduled for the week as schools enter the semester finals and head to break for the holidays. No game picks until after the holidays but there just may be a new edition of “A Letter to Santa” coming this week with asks of the Big Man for a dynamic second half of the season.
