On the fly
Friday, December 10
American Int’l 1 at Union 8
The Dutchmen boasted as many multi-point scorers as they did goals in the blowout, with sophomore Jeremy Welsh leading the way with a hat trick. Senior Justin Pallos scored twice, and frosh Mat Bodie, sophomore Wayne Simpson and junior Kelly Zajac also chipped in with solo goals. Senior netminder Corey Milan stopped 14 of 15 in 45:29 for his first win of the season; rookie Troy Grosenick got clean-up duty with four saves in just under 15 minutes of relief.
Mass.-Lowell 2 at Princeton 5
The Tigers came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, ultimately out-shooting UML 45-18 and scoring four straight to close out the win. Rookie left-winger Andrew Ammon made a big splash in only his sixth NCAA game, earning a natural hat trick in only 6:32 late in the third period with even-strength and game-winning, power-play, and shorthanded (albeit into an empty net) goals – his first three goals of his career. Classmate Jack Berger scored his first collegiate goal as well, and senior Matt Arhontas added to his team-leading goal total with his seventh in support of freshman Sean Bonar (16 saves).
Saturday, December 11
Quinnipiac 2 at Providence 5
The Friars scored first late in the opening frame, and QU never managed to pull even. Sophomore Ben Arnt and junior Yuri Bouharevich potted goals for the Bobcats, but four goals against freshman Eric Hartzell (19 saves) in 40 minutes spelled defeat in Providence. Senior Pat McGann stopped 10 of 11 in his first appearance of the season.
Boston University 1 at Rensselaer 4
The Engineers special teams ran BU ragged in Troy, opening with a shorty and scoring on three of 10 power plays to frustrate the Terriers. The seniors did the legwork for RPI, as classmates Chase Polacek, Joel Malchuk, Tyler Helfrich and Bryan Brutlag lit the lamp; junior Allen York made 28 saves for his eighth victory of the year. The teams combined for 99 minutes of penalties, 65 served by the visitors as tempers flared leading into the final horn.
Army 2 at Union 6
The Dutchmen improved on the best power-play percentage in the country, scoring all six goals on nine advantages. Freshman Daniel Carr notched a hat trick with one goal each period, junior Luke Cain added a pair, and Bodie scored once more in front of sophomore Keith Kinkaid (16 stops). Union out-shot the Black Knights 53-18 and remained unbeaten at home in eight games (7-0-1).
Niagara 4 at Colgate 3 (ot)
The Purple Eagles out-shot the Raiders 19-4 in the third period to force overtime, and the visitors’ only shot of extra hockey eluded junior Alex Evin (39 saves) to drop Colgate. Senior Francois Brisebois did his part for the home side, scoring twice and adding a helper on sophomore Thomas Larkin’s second-period strike, but it wasn’t quite enough as ‘Gate dropped its eighth of nine (1-8-0).
Mass.-Lowell 2 at Princeton 7
The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the game’s seventh minute and never looked back, going 3/5 on the power play and rifling 41 shots on the beleaguered RiverHawks. Rookie Matt Farris, soph Rob Kleebaum and junior Derrick Pallis each scored twice for the Stripes and senior Tylor Fedun chipped in another; sophomore Mike Condon made 24 saves in Princeton’s third straight W. The Tigers pinned a dozen goals on UML on the weekend and scored 17 in their last three games.
Sunday, December 12
Vermont 6 at Dartmouth 5
The ostensibly superb junior goalie James Mello had an off-night to beat all off-nights, allowing three goals on three shots in 7:46 against Vermont before being replaced by classmate Jody O’Neill (18 saves on 21 shots). That could have set the tone for the game, but instead the story of the night was the tug-of-war that ensued for the lead. The Big Green actually held a 5-4 lead for 9:30 in the third period before the Catamounts took it right back, scoring twice in 2:34 to stun the hosts. Junior Nick Walsh and senior Adam Estoclet scored a pair apiece, and freshman Matt Lindblad found the net as well for his team-leading 13th point. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Green, and also concluded a string of seven consecutive outings allowing two goals or fewer.
Clarkson 9 at Sacred Heart 2
The Golden Knights went 2/7 on the power play and senior Brandon DeFazio earned a hat trick in Clarkson’s fourth straight win and sixth victory in seven games (6-1-0). Frosh Will Frederick, sophomore Nik Pokulok, juniors Jake Morley and Nick Tremblay and seniors Scott Freeman and Bryan Rufenach each beat the ‘keeper too, all in support of junior goalie Paul Karpowich (27 saves). The Knights are 4/17 on the power play in their last four games, finally elevating their season’s percentage into double-digits (10.4 percent) after starting the year 3/50.
In retrospect…
Prediction precision: Me: 8-1-0 this week: Damn you, Vermont. 61-29-11 (.658) overall.
Tom Rodbell: 6-3-0.
Guest guessers: 38-31-6 (.547)
Head to head: Sullivan 5, Guests 2*
Who’s next? ECACWriter@USCHO.com for your shot.
Read all about my frustration at Time-Warner’s play-by-play guy! Only at SullivanHockey on Twitter.
