Thankful for upsets

Dylan Nowakowski and St. Scholastica took down No. 1 St. Norbert last Saturday (photo: CSS Athletics).

Just call it upset weekend.
Two top five teams and another in the top 10 went down as the month of November came to a close in the Division III hockey world. All three teams were unbeaten going into the weekend.
Top-ranked St. Norbert, which just rose to No. 1 last week, was topped by St. Scholastica, while No. 2 Norwich also found itself on the losing end of the scoreboard in a loss to Wisconsin-Superior.
Seventh-ranked Babson, also suffered a loss as it fell to Williams.
Those games and more highlight the look back at the weekend in this week’s blog.

ECAC EAST

Babson fell behind 3-0 to Williams and was unable to rally as it suffered a 3-2 road loss on Sunday.
The No. 7 Beavers suffered their first loss of the year after opening the season with eight consecutive wins.
Down three goals to No. 12 Williams, the Beavers attempted to rally. Connor Berto scored late in the second period and Nik Taslopoulos added a goal to slice the Williams lead to one.
Babson held a 42-28 edge in shots and Jamie Murray made 25 saves.
Babson allowed more than two goals for only the second time this season. It also had its streak of 11 consecutive wins in November that dated back to last season come to an end.
Castleton brought its three-game winless streak to an end Sunday with a 4-3 win over Brockport in the consolation game of the Rutland Herald Invitational.
Charles Bando scored the game-winning goal with 1:02 left in regulation to lift the Spartans to their fourth win of the season. Castleton is 4-3-1 on the year.
The Spartans got a solid game in goal from Erick Cinotti, who racked up 25 saves.
Ross Herzog scored his third goal of the tourney in the victory, while Reid Lesswing and Will Laking also scored goals.
Castleton held a 42-26 advantage in shots.

ECAC NORTHEAST

After racing out to a program-best start of 6-1, Salve Regina has lost its last two, including a 6-2 road loss to Wesleyan on Sunday.
The Seahawks lost 6-3 to Trinity on the road Saturday and after the two weekend losses, the Seahawks are 1-3 on the road.
William Gomolinski and Jonathan Felteau scored the only goals for the Seahawks against Wesleyan, which owned a 46-36 advantage in shots.
Johnson and Wales won the consolation game of the Manchester PAL/Stovepipe tournament on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Southern New Hampshire.
Josh Obregon scored the lone goal for the Wildcats. Cody Sarmiento got credit for the assist.
Joey Ballmer earned his first shutout at the college level as he racked up 30 saves.
The Wildcats were outshot 30-25 in the win, but managed to kill off six power-play opportunities by Southern New Hampshire.

ECAC WEST

Aftter a 3-2 loss to Morrisville State on Friday, eighth-ranked Utica bounced back in a big way as it rolled to a 5-1 win over Connecticut College.
The Pioneers are now 7-2-1 overall on the season and are 5-0-1 on the road.
Louie Educate scored twice for the Pioneers, putting the first two goals on the board, and Steve Zappia finished off the scoring with two goals of his own. Educate pushed his season goal total to four.
Jide Idowu also scored in the win, striking for his first collegiate goal in the second period.
Marcus Zelzer racked up 24 saves and is now 3-0 on the season.
Utica held a 37-25 edge in shots over the Camels.

MASCAC

Eric Defelice scored the lone goal for Salem State in its 1-0 overtime win against Connecticut College on Sunday. It was the third goal of the year for Defelice. Andrew Bucci and Ian Canty were credited with assists on the play as the Vikings improved to 4-3 on the year.
Salem State, which is the only team in the league with an overall winning record, took 27 shots and limited the Camels to 21 shots.
Goalie Ryan Sutliffe improved to 4-1 as he racked up 21 saves.
The last three games for Salem State have all gone into overtime. The Vikings are 2-1 in those games and 4-1 overall in overtime games this season.
Worcester State finished third in the Worcester City Shootout on Sunday as it knocked off Becker 3-2. The Lancers scored a goal in each period en route to the win and won despite being outshot 39-30.
Curtis Martin scored twice, including once in the third on the power play to extend the Lancers’ lead to 3-1. Martin’s goal in the opening period was scored off the power play as well.
Goaltender Drew Case improved to 2-1 as he racked up 37 saves.
Worcester State ended a five-game winless streak with the victory and is now 4-4-1 on the year.

MIAC

St. Mary’s capped a perfect weekend with a second straight 2-1 win over Lake Forest on Saturday. The Cardinals pushed their win streak to three and their overall record to 5-5 behind goals by Dylan Dock and Andrew Ketter.
Ketter became the fourth player over the weekend to score his first goal of the season.
Phil Heinle racked up 30 saves and the Cardinals were tough against the power play, forcing the Foresters to go 0-for-5 on Saturday. Lake Forest was 0-for-7 on the power play Friday.
Gustavus Adolphus didn’t lose on the weekend either, tying Lawrence 6-6 and earning a 2-1 win over Marian on the final day of the NCHA/MIAC Showcase in Appleton, Wis.
The Gusties trailed 2-1 heading into the third period, but scored twice in five minutes as they pushed their overall record to 6-3-1 on the year.
Corey Leivermann scored first and extended his point streak to six games, while Drew Aspinwall came through with the game-winning goal. It was the first game-winner of his college career.
Erik Johnson earned his first college win as he stopped 23 shots in goal.
Gustavus was out-shot 25-24.

NCHA

St. Scholastica pulled off its biggest win of the season as it took down No. 1 St. Norbert 4-2 on Saturday.
It was the 13th-ranked Saints’ first win over a top-ranked team under head coach Mark Wick. Prior to the victory, the Saints were 0-3 against the No. 1 team in the land.
Chad Golanowski scored twice in the victory, while Brandon Millin and Keegan Bruce also scored goals. The Saints were outshot 41-27, but it mattered little as they found a way to get the job done.
Colin Rundell earned the win in goal as he racked up 39 saves.
The game, played in Wausau, Wis., was sponsored by the Marathon County Youth Hockey Association and the proceeds from the game went to benefit rink improvements at Marathon Park.
No. 5 Adrian continued its winning ways as it took down Fredonia 7-2 on Saturday. With the win, the Bulldogs have positioned themselves for a rise in the poll this week because of the upsets above them.
Seven players scored goals for Adrian, which scored three times in a span of 2:42 to snap a 1-1 tie and take the momentum for good.
The Bulldogs held a 40-22 edge in shots and were 3-of-5 on the power play. Shelby Gray, Josh Ranalli and Brett Pinkerton all scored power-play goals for the Bulldogs, who improved to 8-0 on the season.
James Hamby won his seventh game of the year as he made 22 saves.

SUNYAC

Plattsburgh put the finishing touches on its fourth PrimeLink Great Northern ShootOut championship with a 3-1 win over Middlebury on Saturday.
The second-ranked Cardinals held a 26-21 edge in shots over the 15th-ranked Panthers and scored all of their goals in the opening period.
Connor Gorman, Dakota Mason and Michael Radisa all scored goals for the Cardinals and goalie Mathieu Cadiux racked up 20 saves as he earned MVP honors in the tournament.
The victory by the Cardinals delivered their first championship since 2010. The Cardinals have won all four of their titles on their home ice.

WIAC

Wisconsin-Superior was the lone conference team in action and it capped its weekend at the PrimeLink Great Northern ShootOut with a stunning 3-0 win over second-ranked Norwich on Saturday in the consolation game.
The win comes on the heels of a 4-1 loss to third-ranked Plattsburgh on Friday.
Superior is the first team from the western part of the country to a win game in the shootout. Prior to its victory, western teams were 0-11 in the event.
The Yellow Jackets got two goals from Pat Dalbec and one from Cody Hotchkin, while Dayn Belfour earned his first shutout win in goal for Superior, which handed Norwich its first loss of the season. He stopped 27 shots and improved his record to 2-2.